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Untethered with Jen Liss
You came here to live a magical existence – one you'll be proud of when you're 90 years old. So break free, be you, and unleash your inner brilliance with speaker, coach, and breathworker, Jen Liss, as she interviews people who are living their most abundant, authentic – and often non-traditional – lives. Get inspired by how they've pursued their passions, embraced their gifts, and started living in the most brilliantly badass ways (so you can too!) Whether you're starting a new career, pivoting to entrepreneurship, wanting to make more money, or simply looking to manifest a magical human experience, this is the podcast for you. Get a free mini meditation breathwork session every Thursday. Subscribe now and follow Jen Liss on Instagram @UntetheredJen for updates and inspiration.
Untethered with Jen Liss
Chasing dreams and building success – with Molly Ruland
Imagine the audacity of dreaming up your perfect day – and then actually chasing it down. That's exactly what Molly Ruland did, and she's on the podcast today to inspire you to do the same.
Three years ago, Molly decided she didn't need to wait for retirement to live her dream life. Having taken her business online during the pandemic, there was nothing holding her back, so she sold her belongings and bought a house in Costa Rica.
In this conversation, we talk about what it takes to make bold decisions, in our lives – and also in our businesses. Molly is a seasoned business owner who road the waves of the pandemic and came out surfing. For the business owner who could use some real talk, this episode shares her genuine perspective on what a business owner needs to be successful in today's world.
We talk about the emotional roller coaster that comes along with bold moves, and the how lonely it can feel sometimes as an entrepreneur. Molly shares her strategies for growth that go beyond the conventional, and the art of transforming social media connections into actual deals and leveraging extensive networks to propel your brand forward.
MEET MOLLY RULAND
Molly Ruland, the CEO & Founder of Heartcast Media, is a leading expert in the field of branded podcast production. Her agency specializes in creating top-notch branded content that helps businesses generate revenue and cultivate strategic relationships through the power of podcasting. With extensive experience and knowledge in the business of podcasting, podcast booking, and content creation, Molly frequently shares her insights as a speaker. Her belief that listening is the revolution is what has driven her success, and she currently resides in Costa Rica with her 3 dogs, nestled next to a volcano, where she manages her global business remotely. Pura vida!
Connect with Molly:
https://www.heartcastmedia.com/
Ready to untether? It's time to unleash the brilliant unicorn you were both to be! See how you can work with me at JenLiss.com.
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- Leave a review!
Music created and produced by Matt Bollenbach
Hi and welcome to Untethered with Jen Liss, the podcast that's here to help you break free, be you and unleash your inner brilliance. I'm your host, jen, and in this episode we're going to talk about how to create a life you don't need a vacation from and how to make money in business in 2024. Let's dive in. Hey there, friend, it's Jen. Welcome back to the podcast. We have a beautiful guest today, molly Ruland. Molly is the founder and CEO of a branded podcast production house. It's called Heartcast Media.
Speaker 1:The very fascinating thing about Molly that you will probably find fascinating, that anybody who wants to live their dream most brilliant life might be interested in, is the fact that she up and moved herself to Costa Rica a couple of years ago while still keeping her company based in DC. So her company has been highly profitable. It actually has expanded since she made that move, expanded since the pandemic because of some very smart business decisions that Molly made, some very smart life decisions and business decisions. So I know that, whether you are an entrepreneur or whether you are somebody just trying to create your most brilliant life, you are going to get so much out of this conversation. She is full of straight talking things that a lot of us need to hear and we really dive into what does it mean to create a profitable business? So, if you are a coach, if you are creating any kind of online business or even in-person business, we talk a lot about relationships, the things we need to do to truly build a successful business via relationships during this time when we're experiencing recession-like situations where people are laid off and there's a lot of fear happening and there's been a lot of shifts in the business world.
Speaker 1:So, without further ado, welcoming to the podcast Molly Ruland. Hi, molly, hello, thanks for having me. So thrilled to have you here and to talk specifically about a life that you don't need a vacation from. That's something that I myself am looking to do. That's something that so many of my listeners are looking to do, so we're thrilled to hear how you are creating that for yourself. And what I'm really curious about to dive in is when did you make that decision? When did you have that? You know what I am going to live the life that I want to live right now. I'm not waiting.
Speaker 2:Well, it's like twofold really. I had a multimedia company for the last 23 years and I closed it in 2018 because I was pouring from an empty cup. There was a lot of things about the business that I did not like and I was just. You know, I was deteriorating in front of people's eyes and I was taking care of everybody, but nobody was asking if I was OK. You know, it just wasn't working. I made a lot of mistakes asking if I was okay. You know, it just wasn't working. I made a lot of mistakes. I devalued myself and I had some medical issues and they thought I had cancer. And I was somewhat relieved because I was so worn down and stressed out that I was like I really couldn't imagine continuing on. And then they said, well, you don't have cancer. And I thought, well, I better, I better retool this whole program, and so that's when I formed the new company in late 2018.
Speaker 2:And I was, you know, just a few like a year into the business. We were growing, everything was going really well, and then the pandemic hit and I have a podcast studio. I'm sorry, I have three puppies. It's the downside of living in Costa Rica you end up with dogs. They just show up, they're boisterous, but I have a water bottle, I'll handle them the best I can. So, you know, I had a very brick and mortar business. I had a podcast studio where people came in and sat around a table and used microphones and I had a very expensive lease to go with it. And then the pandemic hit, you know, and they and they're like, oh, just keep paying the lease, this will be over in a couple of weeks. And I'm like, no, so I cut my lease in that commercial space in May of 2020. And everybody thought I was crazy and I was like I'm not closing the business, I'm closing the liability, and those are two very different things.
Speaker 2:And then I took time and recognized that our business is selling podcasting as a business development tool, right To generate revenue and create strategic relationships, and people still need to do that in a pandemic and they need to do it in even more creative ways because there aren't opportunities to go to conventions. There's not opportunities to go to conventions and typical networking events and things like that. The need for being able to network in different ways, create business opportunities in different ways, was more apparent than ever because of the pandemic and people couldn't go to conventions and people couldn't do those things, and so they really needed a service like mine. So I just decided I'm going to get better at remote than everybody else. I'm going to figure out the audio settings on Zoom before everybody else. I'm going to do, you know, really figure out how to run this business in a great way without having to have a physical location. And that's what we did.
Speaker 2:I didn't pivot, you know. Remember, in the beginning of the pandemic, everybody was like pivot, pivot. I'm like no, no, no, no, don't abandon your business model, just adapt, you know. Adapt on how to serve your clients in this new world that we're living in. And so that's what I did, and we grew the business 200% in 2020.
Speaker 2:All my clients were very accustomed to me being, all you know, not in the same country anymore, and our client base grew to be an international one, and I just started to recognize that, wait a minute, you know this.
Speaker 2:You know why am I paying so much money to live outside of DC if I'm running my business remotely? You know, I'm living in a city, paying $4,000 a month. You know super expensive utilities, expensive Uber rides, but I'm working out of a house all day, and so I thought, if there was ever a time for me to make this jump and move to Costa Rica and run my business globally and remotely from another country, this is the time to do it, because I wasn't sure what them used to this, now used to having a producer that's not in the same country, just to show them like it's possible. Nothing's changed. Your quality hasn't changed. In fact, we can work faster because now we're in different time zones, and so we can get the work done, you know, faster than the average bear, because we're all over the globe and it worked, you know.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and we're three. We're three years since that. What has happened since then? You're obviously I see in the background that you're obviously in Costa Rica.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so moved to Costa Rica. The business has continued to grow. You know our client base is all over the world. I think, from a you know living the life, that you don't need a vacation from standpoint it's you know. The thing about living in Costa Rica or making a big jump like this is you know it's a big risk.
Speaker 2:But, more importantly, I don't think that we give ourselves enough time to think about what do we really want? Right, like there's an exercise called the perfect day. What does your perfect day look like? You know? What time do you wake up? How long do you stay in bed? Is it cold outside? Is it dark outside? Is it light outside?
Speaker 2:Like, really, really granular. Like, what is your perfect day? Do you spend the first two hours in bed and then working out or in your garden? Or do you want to start working at 5 am until you know what is your like? You know, do you really want to spend your days building websites, coaching people? You know, whatever it is, it is right, but without any worldly tethers. So like, forget about the kids, the husband or whatever. Like what's making it impossible? Just think about what do you really want. How do you want to live your life, how do you want to spend your days? And then it gets a lot easier to reverse engineer it with the family, with the kids, when you've actually identified what it is that you really want. And and and I know that women don't do that we don't ever give our, we don't even, we don't even get to say what we want for dinner because you got three kids with allergy. You know like I could give a million examples of how we really don't ever get to just say what we want and do it. And so it's an opportunity to do that and reverse engineer your life, especially if you don't have a husband or kids or anybody else in the scenario. Right, that's impacting your decisions. You have even more freedom to do what you want, but everybody does. It's just a matter of really deciding what it is you want.
Speaker 2:You know, I see it in Costa Rica a lot, where people put this idea of Costa Rica and what it is and they risk it all and they come here and they immediately buy a house or build a house. You know, they've never built a house before. They don't speak Spanish, but they think they're going to come to a developing country and build a house in another language and not have a horrible experience. They can't adapt to the language, they can't adapt to the different math, they can't adapt they want. They don't understand why there's no online, they're annoyed by everything because it's not the United States. And so you see, people come here, invest a lot of money and they don't last two years because they can't hang.
Speaker 2:You know, and it's a good reminder that, like, don't put off your dreams and what you want until this arbitrary date later, because you might not want it. You know, you build up this idea of living in Costa Rica. Well, guess what? That's not what it's like at all. It's a developing country. You know what I'm saying. Like you know the whole Pura Vida, everything's great, everything's a beach, like you know.
Speaker 1:Sure, you know, yeah, but it's also a developing country and you're going to be less flexible, like if you wait until you're in your 70s to go. Move to Costa Rica. Are you going to enjoy Costa Rica in the way that you, at 40, 50, 60, are dreaming of what it would be like? You're not going to enjoy it the same. It's going to be different for you. Your body is different, your expectations are different, all the things are different.
Speaker 2:You're bringing up such a good point, your mindset, and I think like, on a smaller level, we should all do that. Like, don't put off your happiness and joy until later. You know, in your business, don't put off making revenue until later. Right, like I hear women all the time say like well, I'm gonna start this business, but it'll be at least a year before we see revenue. And I say why? Why, I don't know.
Speaker 2:There's a morning digest called the Morning Brew and this guy, alex Lieberman, owns it, or used to, whatever. He's got a ton of money now. He's a smart guy, whatever, but he creates businesses on a whim and will hire people and take discounts and do stuff for free. Why, why are we putting off revenue until later? It doesn't have to be that way. Now Alex has a ton of money to hire the best people and invest in the company, so obviously he has a leg up. But with those tools he's making money immediately. He made more money in the first three months of his last business than I have in four years. You know what I mean. So this idea that the good stuff will come later is kind of a trap.
Speaker 1:The good stuff can be right now right here totally wraps back to that perfect day. So I've done that perfect day exercise, and it's a regular one. That is done at retreat, and for a reason because it's hard to do, especially as women, because we have so many things that start to come up and say, well, I can't, because, I can't, because, I can't, because, I can't, because I can't, because I can't, because and when you sit to do that exercise, I highly recommend doing it and as you're doing it, watch your mind chatter coming up and telling you to stop. And that's why you do it at retreat, because you're away from all the reasons and so you actually can dream.
Speaker 2:You can't hear your kids screaming in the background while you're thinking about it.
Speaker 1:But we don't let ourselves dream. And when we don't let ourselves dream, there's no possibility if you don't dream, if you don't let yourself.
Speaker 2:Because 20 years will go by in a flash. You know, I'm 48 years old, which is shocking to me. You know I'm like who authorized this? It wasn't me, but you know, the last 20 years went by in such a flash and the next 20 will go by even faster. And so I made the decision that I'm going to make the next 20, the best 20,. You know, I I made that decision, and one of mine was I want to live someplace with a view, and when I travel, I want to get the place with the view. Like I'm done playing small.
Speaker 2:I've worked so hard in my life. I left home at 17. I've had multiple spinal surgeries without any family support. I've had a lot of hardship in my life. I'm grateful for all of it, but I'm at the point now where I'm like I've generated a lot of money, I've made other people a lot of money, I'm running a successful business. It's time for me to think about what I want. I want a view, you know.
Speaker 2:So now I live on the side of a lake, you know, and I can see a volcano from my desk, and it's like living in an actual painting, you know, and there's trade-offs for it. You know, I don't have a Trader Joe's down the street. I can't Uber Eats dinner after we get off this call tonight, even though I really love to not cook, you know, but the closest town is 25 minutes away, so like I'm gonna be cooking after this recording, you know. So it's not all. Everything isn't always perfect, but you got to decide.
Speaker 2:Well, what's the trade-off, you know, and for me, I would much rather live in a beautiful place, because I know that for my business to do what I want it to do, I got to put in a lot of hours worth of work, and so I'm super cool with it being at this desk overlooking the lake.
Speaker 2:I'd rather be right here right now, without all the niceties of the modern world, whatever that means getting my work done, than being head down in an office in DC, paying $50 Ubers to go three miles and coming out to my car and find another parking ticket. It never ends right, so you just pick, and so being here doesn't mean I'm not working anymore. In fact, I posted on LinkedIn yesterday of a picture of my desk and I said people think, as I live in Costa Rica, it's all pina coladas and boat rides and some days that is true, but very rare. You know what I mean. Most days, I'm sitting right where you're looking at this desk and I'm grateful to have this view, but my ass is still in this seat, you know yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you're making. You made choices and those choices are allowing for certain things. You know, I had the same moment. So my husband and I decided to move to the Pacific Northwest. We left Kansas and we used to travel a ton. We were going to foreign countries. We loved it. It was so much fun and that was our decision, we said. When we first got married. We said we're going to live here because it's cheap and we're going to travel. And that was our choice. Well, now we've moved to the Pacific Northwest where, yes, the cost of living is higher.
Speaker 1:But two days ago I was on a hike and I looked around on this hike and just had this moment of holy shit. I am living an actual dream, the same thing that you get looking around your house. This is 20 minutes from my house, I don't have to travel to it anymore. And sometimes I can get in my head though so I'm curious for you too just on the real, because sometimes I can get in my head and be like, oh, now we can't travel anymore, that that whiny voice will sometimes still come into me. And then I'll go 20 minutes away and go on this hike and be like, oh my God, I'm living an actual dream.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, you know, sometimes I feel like I'm a little bit lonely living out here. But I feel like everybody feels a little bit lonely right now, you know, I think the pandemic and all the isolation. You know I have friends who live in cities surrounded by people and they're like I feel lonely.
Speaker 1:It's a pandemic of loneliness. I think the pandemic just actually made it more obvious it was already. It was already a problem.
Speaker 2:I agree. But you know, I think for me, sometimes I feel conflicted if I'm like a little depressed or struggling or feeling anxious or whatever it might be, and I'm like, oh you have, you know, you can't be sad in a beautiful place and I'm like, no, that's bullshit, you can totally be sad in a beautiful place. There's not transactional like that, you know so, but it's a good reminder to be grateful. Like being grateful doesn't dismiss the real PTSD that I have, but it helps me to like be present. You know what I mean and look around, you know, instead of just being in my head sometimes it's like take a deep breath and look around. It's like a simmer down biscuit. You're going to, you're going to be okay.
Speaker 1:Thank you for saying that and being so real about it, because that is so important that we reckon it is okay to be sad. It is okay to be sad, I think, as be sad. I think as women too. People it's not even just women, this is actually significantly men we feel like it's not okay to cry, I've got to stop or I've got to be. I can't be sad, I need to be grateful, and it's like you can be both. You can be sad and grateful at the same time, in fact in the same moment, for sure, I think people just aren't.
Speaker 2:People don't know how to deal with other people's emotions, especially if they're not dealing with their own emotions very well, and so all you need to feel is not welcome to express your emotion in a few places and then next thing you know you're just keeping it all in and that you know that doesn't help anybody either.
Speaker 2:I mean this has been a pandemic of grief, right.
Speaker 2:We've all lost so much over the last three years, Whether even if it wasn't somebody dying from COVID, like loss of relationships with family members, loss of civility, loss of accountability, loss of actual human people on this earth. I mean there's just been so much. You know like I remember a very good friend of mine died and it was like couldn't go to a funeral. I mean there's just so much loss and so I think that people that are pretending that that doesn't exist anymore just not real. You know it's like I can still produce a hell out of your podcast and make you a bunch of money and show up and be excellent, but like my mom died, you know like it's been a tough few years and I know that nobody is immune to that from a political side, like how many families were divided, or the vaccine, the mask, whatever, Right, it's like so much division and loss so I feel like we got to talk about it a little bit, just so people are like, OK, I'm not the only one feeling this.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that's really great that you're willing to bring that up and I appreciate it. I appreciate that reminder. We have had a lot of loss. There has been untethering that was not intentional and not asked for and was caused. That gave us opportunities, I think in some ways For example, people we've both moved there's things that it felt like, oh, there's an opportunity for me to do this and at the same time that came with the cost. There's always some kind of cost that comes with our decisions.
Speaker 2:Indeed.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so talking about thinking about business, there's a lot of people who listen to this podcast, who are entrepreneurs, who are business owners business in 2024. Now that we have come through some of that and there have been some shifts, is there anything that you're seeing in the landscape that you feel like is different, that people should be thinking about?
Speaker 2:I think it's going to be a lot harder to make money in closed deals than it was before. These layoffs are out of control. I mean they just laid out like 10% of the workforce or something I'm a chronic exaggerator, but it's bad, right, it's bad out here. Okay, so a big shift in how money is being spent, a big shift in company culture. There's going to be a lot more entrepreneurs and founders and contractors and freelancers on the market because so many people just got laid off. So that's going to shift things, I really feel.
Speaker 2:From a positive note, I think 2024 is the year of relationships. I think that the quality of your life and business is 100% dependent on the quality of your relationships. I have clients that I talk to more in a week than I talk to my own friends and family members. Right, if they're terrible, I'm not going to be happy. If I'm working with people I don't align with morally, you know, like, if I'm doing like baby seal killer websites or something you know, I'm not going to be a happy person. That doesn't align with who I am. But on that same note and I talk about this a lot with podcasts and I think you'll appreciate this so many people do not value the relationship that's created in a podcast from you being the host and me being the guest to me being the guest and you being the host, and a lot of people will show up to these things and be on their phone or like not take it seriously, not have a microphone, not really.
Speaker 2:They're like churn and burn, next, next, next. It's disrespectful to you, number one. But it's also missing the fact that, like you're an amazing person and an excellent relationship to nurture because you're doing it. You're putting a lot of effort into this, you care about what you're doing. You know you know a lot of people. You can probably make some introductions for me. Maybe we'll collaborate. You know there's so much value in like getting to know you and hanging out with you, right, and trying to provide some value for your audience and vice versa.
Speaker 2:With having a podcast, a lot of people just churn and burn those guests and it's like listen, man, like I could probably send you somebody. Like don't underestimate the value in the relationships and nurture those relationships. You know it's not just about social media and posting audiograms and downloads. It's like no, if we really nurture these relationships on both sides of the table, there's a lot of value there and I think that collaborations and partnerships, I think we have to band together, you know finding, you know organizations we can work with, with lots of clients and you can provide lots of value. I think. I think this idea of being like a solopreneur and out there on your own and trying to go viral, like even even I always say downloads don't close deals, relationships do.
Speaker 1:And it's the truth, it's. The truth is that there's this inherent competition that is felt and I'm just going to layer on with women. There is a societal situation where we see each other as such competition that we tear each other down instead of building each other up unintentionally, not even sometimes intentionally, but it's like it's in the culture. So what do we do? What do we do?
Speaker 2:I was talking with a good friend of mine this morning and she made such a good point. She's like women of our age have dealt with, like they're only being Sure. So what do we do? What do we do? That glass ceiling? We're creating our own companies, but now we're being silenced and police from from the bottom up, from the younger generation, telling us what we can and cannot say and how to say it, and so you really can't win as a women. So now it's like you got to really just police yourself police your language. You know fighting, you know you feel like you can't win Right, but there are lots of really amazing communities out there that are super supportive.
Speaker 2:But from a like, if you are a solopreneur, starting a podcast is a great way to do that, but I would say, do like 12 episodes a year, but be very strategic on who you interview. Don't just interview anybody who fills out your form like, go like, pick the people. And who should you pick? Who should you form relationships with, even outside the podcast? I think it's aggregators. So think about like, like. For me, I want. My ideal client is a CEO or founder of a tech startup right, one of my ideal clients. So, instead of trying to pitch to tech startups, I'm pitching to VC companies, because VC companies have 30, 40, 100, 200 portfolio companies under their umbrella. If I can work a deal with the VC company, I could get 50 clients at one time instead of one, and so I'm nurturing those relationships to create a relationship that can explode into more.
Speaker 2:And I think that's how we all need to think about it, like, who are the people that can connect you? And I think that's how we all need to think about it. Like, who are the people that can connect you? So, even having a podcast, and like, if you're a coach, people that own retreat centers know lots of you know, think about you know who's doing conventions for coaches. Talk to the people that do the booking for that. Have them on your podcast.
Speaker 2:Not the woman who's super popular on LinkedIn, but like the lady that has the Rolodex that could make you a $10 million a year business. That's who you should interview, right? So you know, I think it's just more strategy, more relationship building, being more intentional, not being so focused on social media, because social media doesn't close deals. Like. All social media is doing is nurturing people who are already following you to make sure you still have a business and you're still alive. It's not really closing deals unless you're spending a lot. Linkedin, that's not cheap, that's not organic. You're not going to be like Alex unless you got $600,000 to spend on content creation. So don't try to put your like. It's an unrealistic goal and you could put out 10 social media posts a day Doesn't mean anybody's going to call you or hire you.
Speaker 1:You are bringing such a different perspective from anybody who I have spoken with, so fresh and so different and so needed. You're really thinking about what is needed this year, in 2020, for business, which is obviously so much of why you have been successful and why your business continues to be successful and whether it's pivoting or not. You're just thinking strategically successful and whether it's pivoting or not, you're just thinking strategically and thank you for offering that bit of knowledge to us, because so many of us I speak a lot. One of my goals for this podcast this year is to be more strategic. By myself speaking to people outside of the realm that I've been speaking and I've been kind of like just focused in this one area. I'm like I'm ready this year to have more wider conversations like this that expand my own horizon. So that's a strategic move just for myself. But is that the most business strategic? So that you're just bringing so many questions that all of us could be thinking about for ourselves.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I mean I think that, like, we all have business problems to solve and we all want more business of finding beneficial relationships, you know, like you coach people on how to start podcasts. That's not really my I'm. I'm not as interested in helping people start podcasts. I'm I'm more like a B2B, a branded podcast, like you know, as a company message. It's. It's it's it's like they don't want to know how to start a podcast, they just pay me how to do it, right. So, even though we're in the same industry, I could definitely send you business, because I'm not doing that and I don't want to. I have no interest in that. I hope people start podcasts. That's awesome. They should definitely hit you up, but I am not your man for that project. So, even even there, there's a potential relationship, right, but it's all about following up with people and treating them like humans. You know, uh, I have a case study for you.
Speaker 2:I, five years ago, when I first formed the business, I did. I had a podcast called uh, the lower third and I interviewed um, this guy named Michael Aiken who owns a company called link strategic partners, and they're like in 5,000 fastest growing company. They're just awesome. They do the work of nonprofits, but they're a for profit organization. He's worked with the elderly, foster kids. I mean I'm like, are you and are you an angel on earth? Like he's literally one of the best people I've ever met and I was super curious about him. So I researched him. I did this one minute long intro. You know, michael Aiken was born here. He was Sonny the Clown, his high mascot in Sackett Harbor, new York. He was, like you know, sitting across the table from me, like how did you? You know, and I'm like I Googled you. I spent an hour. It wasn't you know what I mean, it wasn't that big of a lift, but I was genuinely curious about you. You know I was quoting his Twitter. You know stuff that I just you know he's like 40 is the new 30. I'm like I gotta say that, you know it wasn't hard because I was genuinely interested in this man and what he had to do.
Speaker 2:So I read this intro. He goes man, can I hire you to follow me around everywhere? I said, sure, I'm available, you know. But then we had a great conversation. Now, who lit that fire? How'd you get into it? This is a guy who was always like my team, my team, my team, and that's what you should do as a good leader, right? But it was a real conversation. I was genuinely interested. We bonded so hard that day.
Speaker 2:Since then he sent me like over $100,000 worth of business Because you cared, because I cared and I didn't just read his link to Molly Rowland is. You know, I like read, I did, you know, I was excited to deliver that. I practiced it, you know. And then I followed up with him and now he's one of my best clients and we'll just you know. When he knows I'm going through something, he'll leave me a message on Facebook and say hey, friend, I just want to tell you I love you. I think you're fantastic For people who don't think that the value of relationships is real like that.
Speaker 2:Let that be a prime example. He said, hey, the mayor needs a new website. I got 20 grand for you guys do websites. I said we do now, like he has given us so many opportunities and now we're building ten thousand dollar websites for huge brand agencies and stuff from that one relationship five years ago, one podcast interview. So for anybody who's doubting how powerful it can be, you're just going to make sure you're interviewing the right person and I wasn't even angling for business.
Speaker 2:But then I saw what happened and I thought, wait a minute. I didn't talk about hardcast media. I didn't talk about anything we did. I didn't talk about myself at all. There was no mention of podcasts. I think we're in this shiny object world where it's like you got to have this and you got to have a million followers and like, honestly, if you went viral tomorrow and a thousand people wanted to hire you, it could actually bankrupt your business. Like it would not be good, and I think people need to remember that. How many clients does it take to really move the needle? You know how much do you want to make a year? Ok, we'll divide that by 2080, because that's how many hours there are in a year. Ok, now you got your hourly rate there, you go Right. So now you know it's all available to you.
Speaker 1:You just really got to decide.
Speaker 1:Well, that makes me think of something that we talk about in breathwork. I offer breathwork to people and we call it titration, because your nervous system can only handle so much, and so I believe in people doing regular breathwork to support them and to support their nervous system. So it's like little sips at a time If you all of a sudden get blown out like there were some people who went to a breathwork session this past week and I've got so many messages from people who were all at that same breathwork session because there were a number of things that happened that did not support their safety and they all got their nervous systems blown out, basically, and so they didn't titrate. And that's what could happen with your business if all of a sudden, it just like we think that that's what we want, but if it happened, it's like winning the lottery and your nervous system is not prepared to deal with that much and you probably don't have the infrastructure for it and the systems for it and the bandwidth for it and the staff for it.
Speaker 2:It's like you don't what you think you want, you don't really want. Like most likely you could sign one new client a month and live a very good life, depending on what your offer is. Now. If you sell $10 keyboards, obviously you're going to have to do a lot more sales. But if you sell $1,200 a month coaching, well, how many clients do you need to live a comfortable life Just because somebody else has 30 clients? Okay, so now you're making a ton of money. You have no life of your own at that point. If you have 30 one-on-one coaching clients, all you're doing is working. So is that really what you want? Probably not. I know I don't. That's stressing me out. Thinking about it, I'm like oh my God, 30 people's problems suddenly becoming mine, no, no, it like kicked my nervous system up. I was like oh, that's not for your nervous system, that's not what I'm going to do. Yeah, exactly, you got to listen to yourself.
Speaker 1:I'm like no way, I have to give a follow up to your case study that you were sharing. Because I'm going to read the email that I wrote back to you. Because your email to me to come on this podcast I wrote back I said this might go down as the most enticing and enjoyable podcast pitch I have ever read. Thrilled to have you on the podcast.
Speaker 2:It was great. I was like, yes, it's working.
Speaker 1:People are reading these things, but here's the thing you put effort into writing to me and saying this is why I think I should come on your podcast. That is the difference. You are living your message that you just shared. That's why I share this with people, because you're actively living this. You're not just on here telling us you need to do this. This is what you're doing. This is how you built your business and that's why you're so passionate about turning around and sharing it with others. So noted.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I appreciate that.
Speaker 1:Is there anything that we have not shared today that you know just whether it's a business life thing, that you, just you, want people to know?
Speaker 2:Everything is possible. Everything is, but not just anything. But everything is possible. And just remember that, because I know it feels like nothing is possible sometimes, you know, especially as a business owner. But be kind, you know I work with a lot of women who are like coaches and speakers and things like that, and they're as confident and capable as they are. They're very hard on themselves. You know.
Speaker 2:I tell boo-boos stop talking about my friend. That way you know what I mean. Like they're like. I know I'm so stupid. I know you're so much better at this than me. I'm so dumb when it comes to this. I'm terrible at this. I'm like, first of all, you know what I mean.
Speaker 2:It's an email sequence on MailChimp. You're not supposed to know how to do that. Watch how you talk to yourself. You know what I mean. Be careful of that and, more importantly, watch how you speak about yourself to other people. You don't have to-degradate in front of other people. Like you know, save that for the comedy stand-up, not for you and your business. You know what I mean. Save that for your girlfriends, you know. When you're having a glass of wine, god, I feel so stupid, you know, and they'll go. No girl, you're good, but don't tell other people that, because the more you say those things, the more they become become true. And none of that's true. Nobody's good at a MailChimp and being a coach, and being a speaker and building websites and understanding taxes, and you know what I mean. Like that's just not. That's unrealistic. So be easy on yourself.
Speaker 1:Beautiful advice. Thank you for that. Okay, I have one final question for you, molly. Where do you see the magic in the world?
Speaker 2:In the kindness that people show to one another. I have one final question for you, Molly. Where do you see the magic?
Speaker 1:in the world In the kindness that people show to one another. It's all we got, really. Yeah, the kindness that we show to ourselves too. To loop back to your final, your message there, it starts with us. When we can be that's what I have found when we can be truly kind to ourselves, it's easy to be kind to others.
Speaker 2:For sure.
Speaker 1:I love that.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much for coming on the podcast. Where can people connect with you? Heartcastmediacom, best place to find me.
Speaker 1:Beautiful. We'll put all the links in the show notes. Thank you once again for coming on and I hope it warms up in Costa Rica. What's it doing being cold there Me?
Speaker 2:too Thank you.
Speaker 1:Thank you so much to Molly for coming and sharing everything that she has. There was a lot that really opened my eyes in this conversation with her and the ways that we can be building relationships in new ways and building one another up instead of tearing one another down, instead of feeling like we have to forge ahead as these solopreneurs who are building my thing with nobody else. Yes, you can still build your business, but build it alongside of other human beings. Thank you so much for listening to this episode. If you've enjoyed it, stay tuned for the Thursday thread, where I'm going to pull a little thread out of this conversation and go a little bit deeper on it with you on Thursday. So join me for that and until then, you just keep shining your magical unicorn light out there for all to see. I'll see you next time.
