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 Mar 23, 2021
Tuesday Mar 23, 2021
Freed fellow Sammy Kelly, one of two co-owners of Digivangelism, is here to share her freed story with us! When Sammy was younger, she always saw herself as a missionary, excited by the prospect of a lifestyle other than the typical 9-5 grind, which is what led to her eventually co-developing Digivangelism, a company whose goal is to spread hope and healing through knowing Jesus Christ and to help church leaders do that more effectively in their communities.
Sammy not only shares her story with us but also offers some great advice – (1) don't be afraid to get started in some small way even if it's not initially full-time and (2) introduce positive habits into your life. (She, for example, has been running a mile each day for 293 days!) She also suggests that most businesses succeed because they're enthusiastic and optimistic and are willing to go through the ups and downs of their journeys. She credits Donald Miller – author, business mentor, and influencer – as an inspirational resource for her and recommends his Business Made Simple educational program and book.
As I frequently say, the road to entrepreneurship and even entrepreneurship itself can sometimes be lonely, but it doesn't have to be, and Sammy also touches upon how you can combat that entrepreneurial loneliness, such as connecting with people and making friends with them even if they live very far away and also making use of rest days to engage in social activities.
Be sure to check Sammy and what she does out at the various methods that she lists! I really hope that you will continue to join me on 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] – Jackie introduces this episode's guest, Freed fellow Sammy Kelly.
[1:18] – Sammy tells us a little bit about herself and how she got started as an entrepreneur.
[2:13] – We learn that when Sammy was younger, she thought that she wanted to be a missionary.
[3:30] – Sammy offers two pieces of advice for people who want to embark upon a similar journey as hers.
[5:28] – Sammy comments on how she has combated entrepreneurial loneliness – making connections even if they're long-distance and also taking advantage of time off to engage in social activities.
[7:07] – We learn how Sammy balances her personal life and her work life.
[8:45] – Sammy credits Donald Miller as an inspirational resource for her.
[10:42] – We discover that if she could, Sammy would tell herself five years in the past to invest her money and to expose herself to helpful resources such as books and podcasts.
[11:22] – Sammy shares what she hopes for within the next few years – such as wanting to buy a van and get a dog and also for Digivangelism to be more closely connected with education and have a certification program.
[13:20] – Sammy reveals that she considers her superpower to be enthusiasm.
[14:59] – We discover where we can reach out to Sammy online.
Links and Resources
Apply for our Freed Fellowship Monthly Grant
Free Training to Help You Grow Your Business
Jeff Haden - The Motivation Myth: How High Achievers Really Set Themselves Up to Win
Donald Miller – Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
Donald Miller – Business Made Simple University
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Tuesday Mar 16, 2021
Beginning her journey networking on social media for various animal rescue sanctuaries, fellow Freed member Shawna joins me in this episode to share her Freed story, sharing how she got into virtual assistant business six or seven years ago which was when she realized that that was where her true calling was because it was what she most enjoyed. She has since been working as a virtual assistant, enjoying her time helping companies grow.
The Freed Fellowship, seeking to foster a community of entrepreneurs to make the road a little less lonely, is always encouraging our guests to talk about how they curb that entrepreneurial loneliness, and Shawna shares her own secret – that she avoids loneliness via networking on social media! She always has clients to assist and shares with me that, even though the type of client whom she helps varies depending on the situation, her idea of a dream client is someone who already has a vision of what they want done, since formulating and executing the vision herself is oftentimes part of what she has to do. Stressing the importance of knowing your skills and building a network so that you can “have your little elevator pitch ready,” ambition is clearly something that is important to Shawna, and she offers helpful advice about what you should do if you wish to walk the journey toward becoming a virtual assistant like her!
I hope that you'll continue to join me on 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
[0:05] – Jackie welcomes us to the podcast and explains what the premise of the podcast is.
[0:55] – Jackie welcomes Shawna, another Freed team member, to the podcast.
[1:16] – Shawna narrates her story, telling us how she got started and how she ended up an entrepreneur.
[2:21] – Shawna explains that her ADHD growing up led to her repeatedly changing her mind about what career path she wanted to follow.
[3:06] – We receive two tidbits of advice from Shawna if we want to become virtual assistants like her, to know our strengths and to be sure to network.
[4:16] – Shawna describes her dream client.
[5:15] – Shawna clarifies how she curbs entrepreneurial loneliness via social networking.
[6:11] – We learn what Shawna's daily schedule usually looks like.
[7:11] – Shawna discusses the importance of a virtual assistant taking breaks to eat and not overworking.
[8:05] – Shawna recommends Score to us – a website where you can communicate with other mentors.
[9:07] – Shawna reflects on what she would tell herself five years ago if she could as well as what she hopes for in the future, such as how she's hoping to form a collaborative agency.
[10:25] – Shawna credits herself as being adaptable, as she is easily able to adjust what she does for her clients' needs.
Links and Resources
Tuesday Mar 09, 2021
Tuesday Mar 09, 2021
Switching things up a bit in this episode by doing a reversal of what we did in our first episode, Maggie Partin now interviews me, host of the Freed Stories podcast Jackie Heil, who, like Maggie, made the scary jump from the corporate world to the world of entrepreneurship!
I was in the corporate world for about eight years as a communications and events coordinator, but I am now a freelance content creator who specializes in writing and voiceover work. If, like me, you are looking to get into entrepreneurship, remember that (1) there is never going to be a perfect time, so just go for it because even though the jump is scary, it's so worth it in the end, and (2) you should always know the value of what you do and stick to that value. Don't accept discounts! Know your worth! Know what your services are worth!
The road to entrepreneurship and entrepreneurship itself can frequently be a lonely one, but it doesn't have to be! Because of Freed Fellowship, for example, it really hasn't been too lonely for me. The things that I missed about the corporate world such as networking have been satisfied by the Fellowship, and that is the gap that we are looking to bridge here at Freed. We want to make that transition easier by fostering a community of entrepreneurs.
I hope that you'll continue to join me on 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
[0:05] – Jackie welcomes us to the podcast and explains what the premise of the podcast is.
[0:54] – Maggie announces that she will be interviewing Jackie in this episode.
[1:24] – Jackie shares with us her story of how she got started on her entrepreneurship venture and what she now does.
[2:11] – We learn that when she was young, Jackie was always writing and performing and made cards, dreaming of working for Hallmark.
[2:41] – Jackie informs us that she has a degree in writing, editing, and media.
[3:10] – Jackie offers advice to people who want to begin a path of entrepreneurship.
[4:22] – Jackie comments on whether or not being an entrepreneur has been a lonely path for her, crediting Freed Fellowship for preventing loneliness for her.
[5:07] – Jackie explains how she manages her time and what her daily schedule tends to look like.
[6:10] – Jackie gives credit to Reddit for being a helpful resource for her as an entrepreneur.
[7:36] – Jackie reflects on what she would tell herself five years ago if she could and where she sees herself five years from now, such as how she hopes to have an agency of her own with several like-minded people.
Links and Resources
Reddit – The Podcast Guest Exchange
Tuesday Mar 09, 2021
Tuesday Mar 09, 2021
Are you in the corporate world looking to make the scary jump to entrepreneurship? Are you worried about the road to entrepreneurship being a lonely one? If your answer to either of those questions is yes, then the Freed Stories podcast is for you!
The Freed Stories podcast seeks to bridge the gap between wantrapreneur and entrepreneur. Join me, your host Jackie Heil, in this episode as I interview Maggie Partin, co-founder (alongside yours truly) of Freed Media and someone who made that scary jump from the corporate world to entrepreneurship. Maggie and I discuss how she got started on her entrepreneurship venture, describing herself as a “multi-passionate entrepreneur.” She encourages new entrepreneurs to trust their instincts and to take risky leaps if need be, and she shares with us the challenges of entrepreneurship, such as how it can be frustrating to do something that has never been done before because there are no answers out there; you have to learn on your own.
Being on your own is, after all, often the scariest part of wanting to move toward entrepreneurship. The road to entrepreneurship can be lonely, but it doesn't have to be! We at Freed Fellowship seek to build a community of entrepreneurs and bridge that lonely gap, and Maggie and I discuss that loneliness and how to overcome it, and she also provides us with what she considers to be the three core things to do if you're just starting your journey of entrepreneurship: (1) surround yourself with people who will support you and hold you accountable for what you say you're going to do; (2) have a clearly defined mission statement that you define right from the get-go; (3) be prepared for things to go awry and have a back-up plan in case they do.
I hope that you'll join me on 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
[0:05] – Jackie Heil provides an overview of what the podcast will cover overall as well as what this particular episode will cover.
[0:54] – Jackie welcomes Maggie Partin, the other half of the Freed Media duo, to the podcast.
[1:16] – Maggie gives us some background information about herself such as how she got started on her entrepreneurship venture.
[2:19] – We learn what a typical day's routine looks like for Maggie.
[3:39] – Maggie explains how she balances her personal life with her work life.
[4:50] – We discover what Maggie's career dream was as a child and how that led to what she ended up doing, such as how she was interested in architecture and building homes.
[7:19] – Maggie tells us about how she was temporarily an events and parties planner but how that burned her out physically and emotionally, which led her to start ventures such as Stitch Fix.
[9:51] – Maggie offers us advice on what to do if we're looking to move from the corporate world to entrepreneurship like she did.
[12:26] – Jackie comments on Maggie's advice, adding that some people don't realize how lonely self-employment and entrepreneurship can be.
[12:53] – Maggie illustrates how she deals with loneliness as an entrepreneur and finds the balance between feeling lonely and enjoying time to herself.
[15:10] – Maggie sheds light on what she has learned from The Fellowship.
[17:22] – Maggie lists off and explains what she considers to be the three most important things about starting a small business.
[20:27] – Jackie asks Maggie what she would have told herself five years ago if she could and where she sees herself five years from now, and Maggie shares that she hopes to own a home and also run several multimillion dollar businesses.
[22:27] – Jackie brings the episode to closure by thanking Maggie for joining her.
Links and Resources
Tuesday Mar 02, 2021
Tuesday Mar 02, 2021
Welcome to the Freed Stories podcast from the Freed Fellowship, a program that gives small businesses and entrepreneurs feedback on their ideas as well selects a monthly fellow who receives a grant and mentorship. In this intro episode, I – co-founding member of the Freed Fellowship Andy Louis-Charles – give you a little bit of background information about myself, such as how I became an entrepreneur at the young age of only eight, and outline how and why I helped form the Freed Fellowship.
It was my vision to help help unleash the human potential amongst both individuals and teams, and although it took me more than a decade (during which time I pursued a multitude of opportunities), I was finally able to realize my vision.
I also introduce you to Jackie Heil, fellow co-founder of the Freed Fellowship. Jackie, who is currently a freelance content writer and creator, will be your regular weekly host on Freed Stories. She briefly gives a little bit of background information about herself and her vision with the Fellowship. As she emphasizes, the entrepreneurial journey does not need to be lonely, and the Freed Fellowship is here for you!
We hope that you'll join Jackie on 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, and if you're an entrepreneur yourself, we also encourage you to come speak on the show and share your story! Let's get freed!
Time Stamps
[0:05] – Andy Louis-Charles shares with us that he has been an entrepreneur for most of his life, having made bookmarks at eight years old.
[0:26] – Andy reveals that in 1997, he read an article that inspired him and gave him hope.
[0:50] – We learn that it took Andy more than ten years to get where he wanted to be, pursuing countless opportunities in the meantime.
[1:14] – We discover that Andy exited 2019 financially fulfilled but feeling like there was still something missing, explaining the initial vision that led to the formation of the Freed Fellowship.
[1:59] – Andy projects what the biggest economic opportunity will be over the next ten years.
[2:17] – Andy introduces himself and clarifies why he helped form the Free Fellowship, also explaining what the Freed Stories podcast will be covering.
[2:49] – Andy further discusses what the podcast will cover, outlining, for example, how the podcast will share entrepreneurs' ups and downs and successes and failures.
[2:59] – Andy hopes that some entrepreneurial listeners will also become guests on the podcast, sharing their own stories, and he introduces Jackie as the podcast's main weekly host.
[3:16] – Jackie introduces herself and provides a little bit of background information about herself.
[3:49] – Andy reiterates that Jackie is one of many whose stories we will hear on the podcast and that he hopes that entrepreneurial listeners will share their stories on the podcast.
Links and Resources