Freed Stories: Turning Five and Six Figure Businesses into Seven and Eight Figure Legacies This podcast shines a light on everyday entrepreneurs and business owners who are scaling their ventures to new heights. Each episode features a member of our community sharing their Freed Story - a journey of challenges, breakthroughs, and invaluable insights. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your business to the next level, these real stories of grit, determination, and creativity will educate and inspire you. Join us as we explore the diverse paths founders, entrepreneurs, and small business owners take to achieve their unique personal and professional freedom. Freed Stories is your companion on the entrepreneurial journey, proving that while the road may be challenging, you don’t have to travel it alone. Tune in for practical wisdom, innovative strategies, and the motivation to turn your business dreams into reality
Episodes
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
Tuesday Jul 06, 2021
Returning from the last episode is Kayla Castañeda, C.E.O. and co-owner of agua fresca company Agua Bonita. She is here to elaborate more on her journey and discuss some topics such as what it was like to launch a company amid the COVID-19 pandemic last year and how the pandemic has impacted her business currently, and she also gives some advice on what the first step should be for someone who wants to launch their own business.
Kayla also agrees to a business breakdown round with Andy in which she presents a current challenge that she is having with Agua Bonita and then bounces ideas back and forth with him about how to find a solution to the challenge and what tools will be needed to achieve the desired result. She reveals that her greatest challenge right now is fundraising, and Andy strongly encourages her to come up with a list of 100 dream investors and explains why that is so important.
We hope that you enjoyed the second half of our conversation with Kayla of Agua Bonita, and we can't wait to see how Agua Bonita grows and flourishes in the future! Please stay tuned in to Freed Stories as more guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, etc.! Be sure to also hit the subscribe button so that you never miss an episode, and remember to free your mind; free your media!
Time Stamps
[1:38] – Kayla discusses how she navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has affected her business now.
[3:58] – Kayla reveals how she came to realize what her individual skills are.
[5:18] – We learn what kind of work Kayla did with previous companies prior to launching Agua Bonita.
[6:47] – Kayla advises us on the first step to take if we want to launch our own business.
[9:55] – Kayla's greatest challenge lately has been figuring out who to speak to and the structure of her business.
[10:15] – Andy explains the three components of the business breakdown model: (1) the pain point, (2) the desired result, and (3) what tools are needed to achieve that result.
[13:12] – Andy identifies Kayla's pain point, and Kayla touches upon what her desired result is.
[14:28] – Not all money is good money, Kayla asserts.
[17:10] – Andy advises Kayla to develop a list of approximately 100 dream investors.
[19:55] – Andy offers Unshackled Ventures as an example of a venture capital firm and describes its focus.
[21:35] – Kayla reveals that Agua Bonita currently has a dream 50 list but that there is room for growth.
[23:54] – We learn where we can find Agua Bonita online and get updates.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Email Us: team@freedfellowship.com
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Tuesday Jun 29, 2021
Andy and Maggie take the reins in this episode of Freed Stories to interview our Freed fellow of April, Kayla Castañeda! Kayla is the C.E.O. and co-owner of Agua Bonita, a company that makes healthy and ready-to-drink agua frescas (a traditional Mexican drink). Kayla is here to share her Freed story and share some background information about herself and Agua Bonita!
Kayla got her foot in the beverage industry working for Coca-Cola as a market developer. This led to her consulting for beverage startups where she met her would-be Agua Bonita partner, Erin PonTell. She reveals why she centered her company around agua frescas and what her vision is for the company and also talks about how the company came to be and how, because it launched amid the COVID-19 pandemic, it naturally grew into being a direct-to-consumer company.
Kayla also shares some insightful advice with listeners who might be on (or plan to soon be on) a similar path as hers. For example, we at Freed often say that the road to entrepreneurship can sometimes be lonely, and Kayla says that a major factor in having combatted that for her is having a partner in the business, so she recommends having a partner and/or co-founder if possible. She shares that that has also helped her stay on top of things and be efficient because work can be delegated between her and Erin depending on their individual strengths and skills. Kayla also recommends staying true to yourself and to your vision, even if that means not keeping up with what's trendy!
We hope that you enjoyed our conversation with Kayla of Agua Bonita and that you will stay tuned as more guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to also hit the subscribe button so that you never miss an episode, and remember to free your mind; free your media!
Time Stamps
[1:12] – Andy reveals this episode's guest to be Kayla of Agua Bonita.
[1:40] – Kayla provides us with some background information about herself and her company.
[4:21] – Kayla discusses the gap in the beverage industry and how she wanted to fill that gap with Agua Bonita.
[6:18] – Andy enthuses over the importance of your company being unique even if you're in a category that already exists.
[7:30] – Kayla compares Agua Bonita's products to traditional agua frescas.
[9:28] – Kayla reflects on drinking agua frescas as a child.
[11:10] – We learn about some of the spices that Agua Bonita tends to incorporate into its drinks.
[12:48] – Kayla shares what the process of going from the kitchen to commercial formulation has been like.
[15:46] – Kayla elaborates upon her experience with an accelerator program.
[18:49] – We discover how Kayla has avoided loneliness in the world of entrepreneurship.
[21:19] – Agua Bonita, Kayla explains, is currently a direct-to-consumer company.
[23:55] – Kayla had predicted that Agua Bonita's products would be most popular in southern California and southern Texas, a hypothesis that was proven true.
[25:16] – Kayla expounds upon how she and Erin manage their time and stay on top of things.
[27:27] – We receive a couple tidbits of advice from Kayla: (1) network as often as you can and (2) budget efficiently.
[29:55] – Kayla credits LinkedIn as an invaluable resource.
[30:33] – Kayla also recommends and gives some background information on the book Capital Gaines by Chip Gaines.
[31:39] – We learn what Kayla would tell herself five years ago if she could.
[32:01] – Kayla hopes to still feel good about what she does five years from now.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Email Us: team@freedfellowship.com
Chip Gaines – Capital Gaines: The Smart Things I've Learned by Doing Stupid Stuff
Tuesday Jun 22, 2021
Tuesday Jun 22, 2021
Joining me in this episode of the podcast is Blair Paysinger! Blair is owner of Post 21, an online marketplace for Black-owned businesses with approximately sixty vendors. They have been in business for a little more than a year, having initially launched on June 1, 2020, and Blair walks us through how Post 21 came to be and what it has been like running it alongside her mother, with Blair handling the more creative aspects of the company and her mom handling the business side of it.
Blair also touches upon various topics such as what Post 21's biggest failure has been and what she learned from that failure and also shares her hopes for the future (such as wanting Post 21 to grow into more of a warehouse like Amazon that offers speedier deliveries). She also offers helpful advice to anyone who might want to go down a similar path as hers and start their own business, and she of course answers our most important question by revealing what her superpower is!
I hope that you enjoyed my chat with Blair and that you will stay tuned as we check back in with her in a few months to see where her journey has taken her! In the meantime, be sure to continue listening in as more guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to also hit the subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[1:04] – Jackie is joined in this episode by Blair Paysinger of Post 21.
[1:18] – Blair gives some background information about herself and her journey.
[2:07] – Blair reveals that she runs Post 21 alongside her mother.
[3:07] – We discover what Blair wanted to do when she was a child and how that morphed into what she does now.
[3:55] – Blair shares that her role with Post 21 is more creative whereas her mom's role is in dealing more with the business side of things.
[4:23] – We learn how Post 21 works.
[4:53] – Post 21 is Blair's first business of her own.
[5:27] – Blair reflects upon her biggest failure and what she learned from it.
[6:31] – Blair expounds upon possible reasons why Post 21 flourished even during a pandemic.
[7:16] – We are let in on a couple pieces of wisdom if we want to walk a similar path as Blair's: (1) take breaks and (2) ask questions.
[8:38] – Blair credits videos and tutorials that were emailed to her as especially helpful.
[9:48] – Blair hopes that Post 21 will be more like Amazon within the next five years – with a warehouse and speedy delivery.
[10:31] – We discover that Blair's superpower is her ability to stay calm.
[11:17] – Learn where Blair can be found on social media!
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Email Us: team@freedfellowship.com
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Tuesday Jun 15, 2021
Those of you who have been listening to the podcast regularly may recall our having chatted back in the sixth episode with Tyla Hansen of Tyla's Writing Services, and we are touching base with her again now to get an update on where her business journey has led her since we last spoke. As a reminder, Tyla's Writing Services helps businesses meet their business goals by offering assistance with interview preparation, resumes, LinkedIn profiles, and so much more!
Tyla, whose business just recently hit its milestone of being one year old, now reflects on her work now that the COVID-19 pandemic is finally beginning to come to a close and people are going back to work. She reveals what has changed since we last spoke and even recommends a few helpful tools including Quickbooks, Loom, and Canva!
If you enjoyed catching up with Tyla's story since she was last on the podcast, then be sure to stay tuned because I plan to catch up with her once again in another six months, and until then - be sure to listen in as more guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to also hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:59] – Jackie reveals this episode's guest as returning guest Tyla Hansen.
[1:24] – We learn a bit about what Tyla has been up to since she was last on the podcast.
[1:42] – Tyla reflects on the two biggest changes that have taken place since she was last on the podcast.
[2:21] – Tyla recommends Quickbooks as a helpful financial resource.
[2:55] – Tyla reveals that she uses Loom to present videos to her clients.
[3:30] – Tyla praises Canva, a tool for graphics.
[4:07] – Tyla states that things overall don't feel different with Tyla's Writing Services even with the pandemic reaching its end.
[4:51] – We are made privy to a couple of lessons that Tyla has learned along the way.
[5:53] – Tyla shares her five-year plan for her business such as building a larger team and rebranding.
[7:26] – Tyla touches upon how her daily life has changed since she first started this journey.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Email Us: team@freedfellowship.com
Freed Stories - “Getting It Write with Tyla Hansen”
Tyla’s Writing Services - Instagram Page
Tyla’s Writing Services - Facebook Page
Tyla’s Writing Services - Twitter Page
Tyla’s Writing Services - Reddit Page
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
Tuesday Jun 08, 2021
Andy Louis-Charles and Nathan Rodgers are back to answer more questions about entrepreneurship sent in by the Freed community! In this session of answering these questions, we start by discussing how to go about attracting customers. Andy argues that you should find customers – or people who believe in you and what you're capable of doing – before you have a product, and Nathan reiterates what he said in the last episode, that you should find a way to solve a problem that people are willing to pay money to have solved for them.
Nathan also addresses how to go about spending money on marketing and advertising. With Nathan being somewhat of a marketing guru, he spends several minutes on this topic, emphasizing that how much money that you put into marketing and advertising can be difficult to ascertain because, depending on what you're trying to sell, there is a lot of math involved, math such as conversion rates, that you need to figure out before you're ready to invest in marketing and advertising.
Andy and Nathan also attempt to tackle the huge question of wealth and what drives it. How do some people garner so much wealth while others struggle? Andy points to compounding interests and how, like money compounds over time, so do advantages and disadvantages. Nathan adds to that by discussing structural disadvantages tied to factors such as race and gender, and tackling these disadvantages is actually one of the reasons why the Freed Fellowship was established. We are trying to bridge that gap in advantages and help people make the leap to entrepreneurship!
This wraps up this Q&A session, but don't hesitate to send in more questions as they come up as we will likely do another one in the future! In the meantime, be sure to continue to tune in to the Freed Stories podcast as guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:59] – Andy discusses how to attract customers.
[2:14] – Nathan reiterates that you need to come up with an idea that solves a problem for people.
[5:29] – We hear about why we should build a community of advocates, not just customers.
[6:14] – Nathan offers advice on how to spend money on marketing and advertising.
[8:42] – There is, as Nathan asserts, a lot of math involved in marketing and advertising.
[10:36] – Andy adds to the conversation about marketing, emphasizing the importance of getting ten people to love your product because of how word will then spread.
[13:41] – The next question involves what drives wealth, and Andy points to statistics and compounding interests.
[16:29] – We learn why it is so important to consider compounding.
[19:15] – Nathan adds to the conversation about wealth inequality, pointing to factors such as race and gender.
[21:20] – Andy explains what the Freed Fellowship is and why it was founded.
[23:30] – We discover how to learn more about Freed.
[25:06] – Andy describes how the process of applying for the Freed Fellowship works.
[26:50] – Andy lists some examples of Freed fellows and what their businesses are.
[28:51] – The final question asks how guests are selected for the podcast, and Andy explains that process.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Email Us: team@freedfellowship.com
Freed Stories - “What Being Freed Is All About with Andy Louis-Charles”
Freed Stories - “Freed Minds Behind the Magic with Andy Louis-Charles”
Freed Stories - “Down the Funnel with Nathan Rodgers”
Freed Stories – “Getting Country with Becky Pool”
Freed Stories – “Interview with Natalie Maniscalco and Irene Zervoudis of Wonder Girls”
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
Tuesday Jun 01, 2021
It's Maggie here stepping in for Jackie in this episode of the podcast, and I welcome Andy Louis-Charles and Nathan Rodgers back to the podcast, both of whom have been on the show in the past. (If you haven't heard the episodes in which they are featured, be sure to check them out!) We mix things up a little bit this time and do something different, answering questions that have been submitted by members of the Freed community, questions about entrepreneurship in general.
In this first part of my session with Andy and Nathan, we answer several questions about entrepreneurship such as how to get started and what the first action is that you should take, with Nathan emphasizing how important it is to simply find a problem that people are willing to pay money to have solved. Andy and Nathan also discuss how to become an LLC (limited liability company) as well as how to go about determining whether or not you need to do that and how to establish an effective bookkeeping method (which Andy and Nathan answer by offering a lot of recommendations in the way of online bookkeeping services). They close this episode by touching upon a not very fun but very important topic – the necessity of filing taxes and how to be sure that you're staying on top of them!
Join me in the next episode as Andy, Nathan, and I continue to answer more questions sent in by the Freed community, and also be sure to continue to tune in to the Freed Stories podcast as guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:59] – Maggie announces returning guests Andy and Nathan as the guests of this episode and reveals the focus of the episode – answering questions about entrepreneurship sent in by the Freed community.
[1:46] – The first question addressed is what the first thing someone should do on their entrepreneurial journey is, and Andy says it’s to find your first customer and service them.
[4:04] – Nathan adds to Andy's insight, emphasizing that you need to take action and move forward.
[6:43] – Andy argues that it's crucial that you make a sale.
[7:28] – The second question asks how one can become a limited liability company, and Andy says that you should form an entity that you operate your business out of.
[9:26] – Andy gives an example involving a hypothetical baking business.
[10:51] – Nathan points out that if you're wondering whether or not you need an LLC, then you probably do.
[13:02] – Andy addresses how to set up an effective bookkeeping method.
[15:37] – We learn that there are a lot of virtual bookkeeping services such as Bench Accounting and Xendoo.
[16:56] – Nathan recommends Wave as another bookkeeping service, unique in that it’s free!
[18:53] – Andy recommends how to stay on top of paperwork such as taxes.
[21:25] – Nathan explains that you might need to pay quarterly taxes depending on how much money your business is making.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Freed Stories - “What Being Freed Is All About with Andy Louis-Charles”
Freed Stories - “Freed Minds Behind the Magic with Andy Louis-Charles”
Tuesday May 25, 2021
Tuesday May 25, 2021
Maggie Partin joins me again to talk about her new company and what has changed in her professional life since you heard her in the first episode of the podcast. Maggie's new company is called The Seventh Sense and is a loungewear line intended to support strong emotional and mental health. Maggie discusses what inspired the clothing line and details what the objective of it is, and she also shares what developments she hopes the loungewear line will see over the next five years.
In addition, Maggie offers some helpful advice to anyone who might want to walk a similar path as hers. She clarifies that in order to start an online retail company, you need five tools: (1) an LLC (limited liability company), (2) a professional email address, (3) a Shopify account, (4) a graphic designer if you don't do your designs yourself, and lastly, (5) merchandise and a manufacturer to make your merchandise if you don't do that yourself. She also shares with us a few fun facts about herself, such as what her first major job was and how she felt about it (indirectly providing some invaluable insight into what makes an effective leader and/or supervisor), what sources of support and mentorship have benefitted her over her lifetime and what she learned from those sources, and even how she feels about personal ads!
It was so much fun having Maggie on the podcast again to share updates on how her professional life has been progressing and to talk about The Seventh Sense, and I look forward to talking to her again in the future! As always, I hope that you will continue to tune in to the Freed Stories podcast as guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:58] – We are introduced to this episode's guest, Freed partner Maggie Partin.
[1:42] – Maggie gives us an update on how things have been going for her since she was last on the podcast.
[2:43] – Maggie reflects on how some of her plans have been put on the sidelines in favor of The Seventh Sense.
[5:09] – We discover what Maggie's primary objective was behind creating The Seventh Sense.
[7:02] – Maggie explains why she named her company The Seventh Sense.
[9:42] – Maggie discusses how she has been comfortable with most aspects of her new business but had to learn the accounting aspect of it.
[11:54] – Maggie shares with us what tools that she has been using to help her navigate her journey.
[14:48] – Maggie reveals additional resources that she has used that have been helpful for her.
[17:32] – Maggie recommends a free digital marketing course on LinkedIn.
[19:00] – We discover what sources of support and mentorship have been beneficial for Maggie.
[21:18] – Maggie describes how her first supervisor was an effective mentor for her.
[22:54] – Maggie provides us with a list of five tools needed to do something similar to what she does.
[25:05] – Maggie shares her hopes and plans for the next five years.
[27:06] – We learn where we can find The Seventh Sense online.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Freed Stories - “Forging Your Own Path with Maggie Partin”
The Seventh Sense’s Instagram Page
The Seventh Sense’s TikTok Page
Tuesday May 18, 2021
Tuesday May 18, 2021
Tune in as I chat with Natalie Maniscalco and Irene Zervoudis of Wonder Girls, one of the winners of the Freed Fellowship grant! Wonder Girls was founded in 2020 and is an after-school program for female high school students. The mission statement of the program is to build confidence, leadership skills, a sense of community, and essential business skills to succeed in the career path that these girls choose. They, in addition, do some community service, teaming up with local non-profit organizations, giving the girls the tangible experience of doing non-profit work. Natalie and Irene enthuse over the life skills that the girls of Wonder Girls are learning such as building a network and gaining confidence in themselves, and it's nothing short of inspiring!
Natalie and Irene discuss their jobs outside of Wonder Girls as well as their experience leading up to Wonder Girls, and they talk about how and why Wonder Girls was established. They also talk about what, as young girls, they wanted to be when they grew up and how that impacted what they do now. Irene was very much into fashion and worked her first retail job when she was only fourteen years old, which made her realize that she loved helping people. Natalie, on the other hand, knew that she wanted to wear a power suit after being inspired by a math teacher that she had who always wore one. She knew that she loved leading and took on leadership roles such as teaching, coaching, and camp counseling which she feels has come full circle now with Wonder Girls.
They also offer some helpful advice to anyone who might want to walk a similar path as theirs, with Natalie emphasizing how important it is to find the balance between thinking your plans through but also just diving in head first and not overthinking. As Wonder Women, Irene and Natalie also share what they consider their superpowers to be, with Irene revealing hers to be her ability to bring peace amongst chaos and Natalie sharing that hers is her ability to build relationships and make people feel comfortable enough to open up to her.
It was such a blast having Natalie and Irene on the podcast! As always, I hope that you will continue to tune in to the Freed Stories podcast as guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:58] – We are introduced to the guests of this episode, Natalie Maniscalco and Irene Zervoudis of Wonder Girls.
[1:28] – We learn what Wonder Girls is and what its primary objective is.
[2:00] – Natalie shares how she is a publicist and marketer, specializing in bilingual PR and marketing.
[2:19] – Irene reveals that she is a marketing professional in the mortgage and real estate industry.
[2:43] – Irene discusses how and why Wonder Girls was launched.
[4:20] – Natalie explains how Wonder Girls has helped her and Irene as professional women themselves.
[6:18] – Irene shares what she wanted to do when she was younger and how that affected what she does today.
[7:51] – Natalie likewise enthuses over what she wanted to do when she was younger.
[9:48] – We learn how Natalie and Irene met and began working together.
[11:42] – We uncover what the biggest challenge of Wonder Girls has been and how Irene and Natalie have overcome that challenge.
[13:00] – Natalie shares some advice with anyone – especially women – who want to go down a similar path.
[14:14] – Natalie discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic was a hurdle but also served as a benefit for them because it gave them extra planning time before putting Wonder Girls into action.
[16:01] – We learn that Irene and Natalie consulted a lot of nonprofit specialists to help them get started and ensure that they were on the right path.
[18:29] – Natalie projects toward the future, hoping that they can take Wonder Girls national within the next five years.
[19:37] – Irene hopes that her daughters keep the vision of Wonder Girls alive.
[22:29] – Natalie enthusiastically posits that the girls of Wonder Girls are being introduced to networking and are learning how to interact with people.
[24:05] – Irene and Natalie reveal why it's important for programs like Wonder Girls to be helping high school girls at the age where the girls are.
[26:45] – Irene reveals what she considers her superpowers to be – peacefulness and connectivity.
[28:35] – Natalie also shares what her superpower is – her ability to make people feel comfortable.
[31:39] – We learn where we can find Wonder Girls online.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Freed fellow Tami Thornton, owner of Beehive Soap & Body Care, joins me today to discuss her business and how she got started with it. Beehive Soap is based out of Utah (the Beehive State, hence the name of the company) and has been in business for nearly twelve years!
Tami, funnily enough, started making soap as a hobby, but it eventually became a career. As a young girl, she saw herself as going into either nursing or teaching, and although she ended up on neither one of those paths, she does teach others the art of making soap, meaning that she sort of became a teacher after all!
She, in fact, has a lot to teach on this very podcast, offering incredibly helpful advice. Tami encourages us to not allow just one client to be too large a percentage of your revenue because if that one client scales back on buying from you, you don't have other revenue to fall back on. She also suggests not signing a lease until you have your business on the ground because you have to pay rent whether your business has been making money or not, and she advises us to write a business plan out even if we think that we have it sufficiently stored in our heads.
Last year was a challenging year for all of us, and Tami also shares with us how Beehive Soap was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. She describes herself as optimistic and persistent, however, meaning that she persevered, and Beehive is still around and is not going anywhere anytime soon. In fact, it's likely only going to get even bigger from here on out!
If you're interested in purchasing some products from Beehive Soap, Tami lists off the various ways that you can reach out to and purchase from the company. She even describes a few of the company's most popular products! As always, I hope that you will continue to tune in to the Freed Stories podcast as guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:58] – We are introduced to this episode's guest - Tami Thornton, owner of Beehive Soap & Body Care.
[1:17] – Tami tells us a little bit about herself and her business, such as how she got started with it.
[2:43] – We learn that Tami wanted to be either a nurse or a teacher when she was a child, which morphed into what she does now in that she actually teaches others how to make soap.
[3:32] – Tami addresses a failure that her business endured in the past and what she learned from it.
[5:26] – Tami offers two pieces of advice to anyone who might want to walk a similar path as hers – (1) to not sign a lease right away and (2) to write a business plan.
[7:06] – Tami credits her husband, her daughter, and a program called Banking on Women as sources of support for her.
[9:18] – We gain an understanding of where the name of the company – Beehive Soap – comes from.
[9:51] – Tami lists off a few of Beehive's top selling products.
[11:07] – Tami elaborates upon how COVID-19 impacted her business.
[13:22] – Tami considers her optimism and her persistence to be her superpowers.
[14:04] – We discover where we can find Beehive Soap online.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Beehive Soap & Body Care - Website
Beehive Soap & Body Care’s Facebook Page
Tuesday May 04, 2021
Tuesday May 04, 2021
Freed fellow Elif Ekin, culinary artist and owner of Bohemian Baklava and of a Turkish cafe called Kahve Cafe, joins me in this episode of Freed Stories to share her journey and how she became an entrepreneur. Initially deciding to go into psychology, she soon realized that it wasn't actually for her and chose a path in art history instead which indirectly led to her career in making baklava. She has since been making baklava for a decade or so out of Salt Lake City, Utah and eventually made the decision to open up her own cafe – a decision that she describes as scary due to being a single mother without much support.
One aspect of Bohemian Baklava that makes it unique is that Elif accepts flavor challenges and creates new baklava flavors. (Can you imagine watermelon cotton candy baklava? Well, Elif doesn’t have to imagine it because it's a crazy flavor that she was actually asked to make!) Elif also discusses how she works hard to make Kahve Cafe a welcoming, loving, and safe community where customers are treated like family.
As an incredibly accomplished and inspirational woman, Elif offers people who might want to embark upon a similar journey as hers two valuable pieces of advice – (1) to be mindful of your reputation and how you interact with others and (2) to allow yourself to be vulnerable and real. She also encourages us to investigate our ideas even if they don't work out.
Be sure to reach out to Elif and learn more about Bohemian Baklava and Kahve Cafe via the various resources that Elif offers, and, as always, I hope that you will continue to tune in to the Freed Stories podcast as guests share their stories of entrepreneurship – their successes, their failures, their goals, their hopes, and so on. Be sure to hit that subscribe button so that you never miss an episode!
Time Stamps
[0:59] – Jackie welcomes this episode's guest to the podcast – Elif Ekin.
[1:20] – Elif shares with us that she is the culinary artist and owner of Bohemian Baklava and will soon be opening up a Turkish cafe.
[1:40] – Elif reveals that she has been making baklava for a decade or so in Salt Lake City and started the Kahve Cafe as an indirect result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
[2:39] – Elif describes the most unusual flavor of baklava that she was ever asked to make.
[4:10] – We discover what Elif wanted to be when she was a child and how that led to what she does today.
[5:18] – Elif discloses that she regrets thinking that she wasn't smart enough to start her own cafe by herself.
[6:32] – Elif shares two pieces of advice for people who might want to do something similar.
[9:05] – Elif credits Elizabeth Gilbert's book Big Magic as having been a helpful resource for her.
[10:19] – Elif projects toward the future, hoping that she will have a broader consumer base across the nation within five years.
[11:02] – We learn that Elif considers her superpower to be her ability to create a welcoming and loving community.
[12:17] – Elif lists off the several places where we can find her and her businesses online.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Elizabeth Gilbert – Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear
Bohemian Baklava's Instagram Page