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Small Business Bestie
Entrepreneurship is hard, and sometimes we could use a friend to walk a mile in our shoes. Small Business Bestie is here to provide that friendship, support, and inspiration that small business owners need from time to time.
Small Business Bestie
37: BONUS- Celebrating 2024 WINS with Raquel Carter and friends - LIVE
In our very first "audience" recording, we had to include our favorite woman-supporting-women, Raquel Carter! This episode focuses on the significance of celebrating wins within the entrepreneurial community. The conversation highlights the importance of recognizing both personal and professional achievements, fostering support among women entrepreneurs, and the impact of maintaining a positive mindset.
• The role of community in bolstering individual achievements
• Celebrating small victories alongside major accomplishments
• Starting meetings with recognition of wins to encourage positivity
• Distinguishing between personal and professional celebrations
• The value of setting BHAGs to inspire ambition
• Finding balance between work and personal life challenges
• The impact of shared experiences on entrepreneurial resilience
Thank you for being a part of our vibrant community, and don’t forget to celebrate your wins, big and small!
Follow Raquel and Guide Realty:
https://www.facebook.com/raquel.w.carter
https://www.facebook.com/GuideRealty
Website:
https://www.guide-realty.com/
Check out the Small Business Bestie Website
Follow along on the Small Business Bestie Pod Facebook
Connect with Michelle on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/bestiemichellesmock
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Check out Cultivate Accounting
Small Business Bestie is edited by Bourbon Barrel Podcasting
Welcome to the Small Business Bestie podcast. I'm your host, michelle. We are creating community and coaching women entrepreneurs, and we are so glad that you're here. Let's meet this week's Small Business Bestie. I'm going to go ahead and just kick off the podcast. For those of you who don't know Michelle Smock, I'm with Small Business Bestie. It is a podcast geared towards uplifting and inspiring women entrepreneurs across Central Kentucky and beyond, and Ms Raquel was at the top of my list for people I wanted to have on the show on episode like 36 or 37 now, and she's a busy lady so we have not been able to get together yet. So this is the most fun. It's the first time I've ever recorded live with an audience, so thanks for being a part of my experiment. I held out for that. Yeah, it could not be a better way to end the year. So without any further jibber jabber, raquel Well good morning.
Speaker 3:Good morning, I love it. I love it. So, yes, and I love that, I love you guys being here. I love the theme for today. It's all about winning, you know. So we're going to celebrate each other, we're going to celebrate our wins. Michelle's going to ask me some questions that aren't too hard.
Speaker 3:They're not going to be hard Good deal, good deal, and we'll just have a great time to engage with each other. But welcome. I know I spoke to a bunch of you guys coming in and some of you guys were so kind in thanking us for opening our space, you know, and including the women in the space Women we do normally have some men, but you know we like them too. But what I would like to say and I'll start with some wins this Strong Woman, strong Coffee and us hosting this has been an amazing win for us and you guys thank us for being here. But I thank you for being here. Just having so many women and so much energy and ambition and support in one room that I can guarantee is going to happen at least once a month. I mean, you can't pay for that, like you cannot pay for that kind of support. So you all have blessed us with your presence as much as the appreciation you give us for hosting.
Speaker 2:So thank you, yes you guys all deserve a round of applause for me Showing up for yourself. So before we get started chatting with Raquel, I wanted to know how many of you guys have some wins from this week. Yeah, how many from this month? Okay, how about from the year? Who's willing to share a win from the year?
Speaker 4:Come on Tanya.
Speaker 1:Just Sunday was my two-year anniversary of passing my GED test. I'll tell you, because math was kicking my butt, but then I kicked it back. I was like bam. And so I'm doing podcasts as well with Black Appalachian Coalition. I'm going back into school. I'll be in my fourth semester in spring at BCTC so I can graduate and then I can go on to KSU Kentucky State University and keep up there.
Speaker 1:So I just want to like leave more for my kids, and we got to be the example right. If we want our kids to do certain things, we have to show them first, and so I can't wait to do a podcast with my daughters. So podcasts that I'll be doing is at the Northside Library. They have such an amazing setup, it's so beautiful, and so I just like to interview people strong, beautiful women. I interview a few men eventually, but I just like to just collaborate with different women from all walks of life that have just learned stuff before me, walked the life before me, met my daughters still learning to walk the walk, and then just a mix, because you know, we all have struggled, we all have been like do I really want to wake up like this, Like it's not as easy as Beyonce says it, but one day it might be, you know.
Speaker 2:Showing your girls what's up and how to move forward in the world and starting a podcast. I mean those are some wins, right? Yeah, good job To Miss Sylvie. Busy, busy, busy wins. That's a lot of busy wins, for sure, miss Sylvie is going to kind of share a win with us.
Speaker 5:Oh, it's my book. My book was published on November 1st. It's available on Amazon and soon will be in Boundary Noble. Trying to go quickly here, I know you need to get on to this fabulous interview, but also a podcast, family Tree, food and Stories. You can go to any podcast outlet and get that. It's really growing. I have a fabulous partner in Florida who knows how to do social media. Oh my, that's social media, anyway, wonderful time. So thank you all very, very much. A culinary journal you write a recipe on one side and you write a story. I teach storytelling at Carnegie Center and soon to be the library in various places. So thank you both for everything you do.
Speaker 3:No, thank you. Good deal, come on. One more, come on.
Speaker 4:So I'm Stephanie Duckworth and I have a business called Honey Sean Pies here in Lexington. This past year I was able to acquire some commercial kitchen space and sell retail here in town at Wilson's Grocery and Meat in Kenwick. I've been coming to these strong women strong coffee workshops for the past year. I've met so many wonderful people, my accountant Mandy back there, and my business is profitable. I've been yeah clap for that. And this morning actually a radio interview that I did for WEKU is airing, so I was able to listen to that on the way here and I'm not sure how long it's going to air, but you can check it out on the website. Thank you, wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker 3:I think those are some wins. Those are amazing wins. You guys have been busy, busy, busy yeah.
Speaker 2:Raquel, what's a win you have from the year?
Speaker 3:Oh, wow, we've got lots of wins this year, aside from this we just talked about. You know, I really think and some of you guys will appreciate this One of our largest wins this year was overcoming last year and sometimes we look at that like we're always overcoming the year before. But 2023 for us was a tough year. A tough year, but we didn't know until we got to the end of it. Right, because we continue to do this, we continue to do the wins, we continue to celebrate. Every meeting that we have internally starts with the win. So it's either delusional, right, or it's that fake it till you make it thing, or it's actually the thing that pushes us through. So this year we had great wins in Guy Realty. Our Louisville office is prospering. We have a new managing broker here at Lexington, so my schedule won't quite be so busy, michelle and we've grown in agents, and the growth that we've had in the individual agents has been amazing this year. So I really struggle to find anything to complain about in 2024.
Speaker 2:Yeah well, and I think you brought up a great point that when we continually celebrate our wins throughout the year, when you get to the end of the year, it's really hard to find something to pick apart and say that was bad, because your mindset has just maintained that focus on how am I winning? What's been going right. So you mentioned that during your internal meetings you guys start with a win. How does that like in practical terms? How does that sound? Do you honestly just walk in and say tell me a win, oh yeah yeah, we have a great grass to pick up.
Speaker 3:Always we sit in this room and I say, okay, you know what time it is. And amazingly, no, most of them are too young to know that. Most of them are too young to know what that means. Most of them are too young to know that Me too too young to know what that means. Who knew the reference? So we're going to divide it around. These are our people, these are our people.
Speaker 3:But you know what? What's so funny about that is? We do, and every week they know it's going to happen. Every meeting they know it's going to happen. But, like you'll even ask my managing broker, ivy here, it's a struggle. You know they sit there and I have to pull it out of them sometimes, and that is not unusual. Has anybody felt that way? You know? I ask you guys, do you have a win? And it's like, oh, I don't know. You know, I don't know where I'm winning. So a lot of times we're just so focused on our to-do list, we're so focused on the things that go wrong that when it's time to actually say we are winning somewhere, it's hard for us?
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely. And that brings up another really great point that, like, when we're so focused on the to-do list, on the future of, like, what we still have to accomplish, oftentimes we, like we move on from those wins so quickly, right, like, okay, I marked that off the list, let's go on and you don't take time to stop and say list, let's go on and you don't take time to stop and say I marked that off the list. I don't really celebrate it. So, having those moments where you're meeting with your team and verbalizing what your wins are, as uncomfortable as it is, do you find that that helps you to be more comfortable in celebrating your wins as well?
Speaker 3:to speak it, oh, absolutely Absolutely and, just like Amy said, and having the people around you that are able to acknowledge that, so you know, to pull that out of you to say, oh, when you're struggling with the wind and, interestingly enough, both internally and in all my spaces, like you guys are the rock star women of the town, right, you know?
Speaker 3:I mean, you wouldn't come to these things if you weren't. And you find that when you're in a group of people that have such big goals, that are so ambitious, that have so much that they want to accomplish, we actually struggle celebrating some of those smaller wins Because we haven't gotten that big thing that we set out to do. That along the way, you know, we're really hard on ourselves. We're like, oh, I set this goal for 100 million and I only got 85 million, you know, in sales. But you feel like a failure because you set this big goal and you start to second guess yourself. You're like, oh, am I being unrealistic? Do I need to make my goals more realistic? Do I need to be more reasonable with myself about what I can obtain? And you don't find that in every group. So it's interesting that you only find that, or you mostly find that, in groups of the most ambitious people, groups of the people that care the most about their success.
Speaker 2:And so, yeah, it's a phenomena, yeah, and you bring up a great point Like it's so important to have that community of people who challenge you not to pull your goals back, you know, to moderate yourself, to say like, oh, you know, I only did 85 million. I mean really, but you know I only did this, so next quarter I'm going to set my goal at 80, so that I know I'll surpass it. To have those people around you who say, don't you dare, right, right. So are you familiar with a beehag? No, a beehag, this is my oh yeah, michelle's shaking her shirt, she knows this.
Speaker 2:So a beehag is a big, hairy, audacious goal. Oh, yes, okay, a beehag, right. So I think that that's like really important for me, especially because I, you know, I wear a couple of different hats and it's easy to say like, well, if I just get this thing taken care of, then these other things I don't have to be so ambitious about. But it's really important for me to sit down and set those big, hairy, audacious goals that say, like you know, in 2024, I'm going to launch a podcast or whatever the thing is, you know, to like, continue to challenge myself to have those. But what's more important is to have a community of people who challenge me to continue setting those goals time and time again. Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Absolutely. And again, it's the positive and there's some negative to it. You know, in setting those big goals, it's a mindset that we really have to make an adjustment for. And that's where the wins and the celebrations come in. That we'll talk about a little bit later.
Speaker 3:And I can't remember, you guys, I read so many books, I can't ever remember which one I'm quoting, but there was a particular study and I'll shorten it. But basically, these two individuals one had a larger goal, one had a smaller goal and the one with the smaller goal met their goal and felt great about themselves. The one with the larger goal did not meet their goal, but they way out performed the person with the smaller goal and they felt bad about themselves. So it's like, oh, I failed. And this other person felt like they won and they're satisfied. So at that moment I was like, oh, maybe I should bring my goals down. You know what I mean. Yeah, but the fact that you felt better in that moment you still did not do as well. I mean you still, clearly, you know, were achieving at a lesser rate and that's not the objective. So that's not.
Speaker 2:You know, it's a fine line that we balance there, absolutely so weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually what's your like cadence to making sure that you're celebrating your wins?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I have to remember sometimes to actually do the work. I'm like oh yeah, we do real estate, don't we? You're just so busy celebrating all the time. Well, because you know, like I said, that's why we make it every meeting. So every meeting, and when a meeting doesn't go well, or when we're off for a week or something, my marketing director, toral, say you know why that went bad, didn't you? You know why that fell flat? Oh, we didn't start with the wins, you know, like just to set the tone.
Speaker 3:So we do that with closings. If any of you guys follow us on social media like you want to close I mean you want to close your houses here anyway you need to use any of our agents. I mean you want to close your houses here anyway, you need to use any of our agents. We have 46 in the Lexington office and nine in the Louisville office. But when we have a closing here, it's a big deal. You know everyone that's purchased the house, you know sometimes you get there easily, sometimes not so much, but it's always a big transaction for you. So when we host closings here now, I mean they have music, we have confetti, we have champagne, we do toast. We've had closings here. We do all the things. Can I be an agent, search this pile and just find another property? We'll do the parnay for you my first one.
Speaker 3:Well, there we go, there we go. 20, 25 goals, that's right, we're on it now. But you know, we've had people in here with 25, 30 of their family members. I was like, bring them, bring everybody, let's celebrate. Oh, that's amazing. There's one in particular. I remember that I think she had 14 or 15 people on Zoom. She was like, well, my family lives somewhere else, can I Zoom my mother in? And we're like, yeah, we rolled the TV in Tora, hooked them up and she had like 15 people on Zoom at her closing. And if anybody's ever closed the house, you know that's not normal and that's okay because we don't want to be normal. But every milestone is amazing. Every milestone should be celebrated. So, yes, Absolutely so.
Speaker 2:One of the things that I struggle with personally is it's easier for me to celebrate my professional wins than my personal wins. So do you have a system in place where you're celebrating your personal wins, Because I would assume at your meetings you're probably mostly talking about professional wins.
Speaker 3:Yeah, we do mostly talking about professional wins. Yeah, we do, and the answer is no, and hopefully I'm not alone. We'll find that some of us are not as good at the balance as other people, and it's a growth area for me. So the answer is no, but the message is still the same.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 3:You know, the message is still the same when you're looking in your personal space and you're looking in your personal life. But I don't have a good cadence, in that it's more of a. I still have to force myself.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, those of you who are in the Small Business Bestie Facebook group, I've now been inspired to create a Saturday recurring post to make sure that we're celebrating our personal wins, because we talk about business a lot and we forget that, like you know, my kid potty trained. We forget that, like you know, my kid potty trained, or I learned how to paint my nails or whatever your thing is. It's important to celebrate your own personal journey and growth as well, outside of the professional realm.
Speaker 3:Absolutely, absolutely, so you guys can help me in that regard.
Speaker 2:I'll start calling you on Saturday. Have some coffee with me and tell me about what's going good in your, your personal life. Yeah, I love it. I love it. So what? What process do you use for setting goals? We've talked about, like the, the big, audacious goals, but is there a process that you use to set those?
Speaker 3:Well, so I do a couple of things. One is very complicated, you know. I take all the numbers and I make the spreadsheets and I come up with everything. I have this, um, internal person that always tries to make me do things that are different than everybody's, like, oh no, I don't want to do it that way, you know. And so I have a 10-year-old daughter. That that's her predominant characteristic. I like to call it one of my minor ones. But spreadsheets and numbers and direction, you know, sometimes I go down that rabbit hole and I make sure there's some validity or some, I guess, at least a way to substantiate the goals, and then I'm like, okay, there's the numbers. How?
Speaker 5:do I feel?
Speaker 3:Where do I want to spend my time? Where do I want to grow? And that's where the BHAG comes in. I'm like, okay, this is what makes sense. And you know what, instead of doing what makes sense, this is what I'm going to try to kick ass.
Speaker 2:And yeah, I'm sorry, I don't know that's okay, I'll just mark that little E.
Speaker 3:We're going to be fine. You know, this is really. This is really where I'm better served or where we're going to push the envelope is what we're going to do. So and I've done it both ways. You know, I've actually been in business a long time. Guide Realty has been open since 2008.
Speaker 3:Most people didn't know Guide Realty because we were a small mother and daughter boutique company at first. We added a few agents, but I was a real, particular, careful goal setter. You know, I had wonderful spreadsheets. I focused on incremental growth in special. Let's, 5%, 10%. You know those are reasonable expectations of growth. And they're true, you know, and they're manageable.
Speaker 3:And I was like, okay, I've got this, it's controlled, but there's a point where that's just like monotonous. You know that is this why you're here, Is this what you're doing? And then you have that moment. It's like, well, if I'm going to work this hard anyway, if I'm going to go home with all this stress anyway, if I have all of the ups and downs and joys and not joys of entrepreneurship, if I have to carry that with me, anyway, I'm going big. You know, I was like it's the same. It's the same mentally, it's the same toll it takes on you and it's the same. It's the same mentally, it's the same toll it takes on you and it's the same excitement when you win. So I'm like you know, if I've got to do it anyway, let's see where we can max out so reasonable, then go for it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a little bit of balance. Yeah, you know the SMART acronym for goal setting, which I'm going to forget because I'm on the spot right now, but I think it's like specific, measurable, attainable.
Speaker 2:No not attainable. What's the A Help Achievable? Yes, I'm going to give it to Elizabeth now. She said realistic and timely. So yeah, I mean. But that's like what you're talking about. Like you've got to balance that like smart goal setting right, Like checking all of those boxes with the BHAG goal setting. You know, like you got to have a little bit of both of that combined to make it fun, make it exciting, make it worth doing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, you know, we actually changed the R in SMART from reasonable to relevant because what we decided was you know we want to be making an impact, so it's still, you know it. No, that's, it has to be reasonable but it has to be relevant, like if what we're doing doesn't change anything, if it doesn't make an impact, then we really just have jobs and there's nothing wrong with that. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that. And, depending on your space and your time in life and what your focus is right now, if you're focused on family more than on the, all of those things are acceptable. You know it takes all of us, but you have to understand where you are in your journey and then push yourself just a little bit. Absolutely.
Speaker 2:All right. So what is your favorite way to celebrate your wins? Oh see, you're getting back.
Speaker 3:This is like fun stuff.
Speaker 3:I mean because I'll just go buy a piece of cheesecake and call it good, hey, that works for me One of the jokes about, like when people say what are your hobbies, what are things you like to do, and I'm like it sounds so boring. I like to eat and drink. You know we're going to go out to eat. You know, a fancy cocktail is wonderful for me. You know, family time is nice. We do like to travel some, but travel can be stressful sometimes. So we always get in this dynamic or I do like is it a vacation or is it a trip? You know, is it like, are you going and doing things and is it sightseeing, or can I go somewhere and do nothing? Yeah, any space and time where you can just unwind, you know, I would say, is more celebratory for me, and probably because we spend so much time like celebrating, like the act of celebrating at work and in our other spaces, that you know, just to get home and unwind some, yeah, it's really important.
Speaker 2:Absolutely All right. Does anybody have a question or comment for Ms Raquel? Yes, Ms Sylvia.
Speaker 5:I'm just curious. I look into getting one of those organizational apps or something sauna or something, those kinds of things and they look more confusing to me than just the old-fashioned way of keeping track of yourself, but it gets really hard. Just the old-fashioned way of keeping track of yourself, but it gets really hard. And you know, is it just me? I mean, I'm old right To adapt to a new app. That's complicated, I can't manage. But do you recommend those?
Speaker 3:Well, and that's interesting because in sales, in our sales organization and in my sales career I've always used a CRM you know a client relationship manager to help me keep track of people and numbers and all those things, and I preach it and I give a lot of credit to my success on it. But in dealing with you know so many different agents and so many different business owners that are not always like me because, remember I mentioned, I'm a spreadsheet guru, like at the core right. So systems and seeing things orderly, that way works for me. But when I realized it doesn't work for everyone, if you're spending more time on the system than you are on the part that you're gifted at, then I'd say don't do it. You know, and there's probably people in here that'll cringe.
Speaker 3:So now when I do, when I do a training, especially a sales training, I'll say yeah, number one, you know you've got to have a way to manage your business. So if it's a software tool, that's fine. If you've got a notebook, you know. If you've got index cards, whatever it is, as long as you have a system that you'll use and that you'll manage, I say that's priority. And then, as you grow, when you realize this is getting a little bit out of my ability to do that. Then what do we do then, michelle? We outsource, right? We find someone else to help you do that when you get to that point in your business.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and that was the input that I was going to have to go on top of that is that do the system that you can manage until you can't manage it anymore and then reach out for help. There are so many people in our community that I know of that. Help implement.
Speaker 5:Here's the issue A lot of entrepreneurial operations are building airplanes.
Speaker 2:Exactly yes.
Speaker 5:So you just have to have a lion's face and the perseverance I think.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and you know, to bring it back in, sylvia just said that being an entrepreneur is like building an airplane as you're flying, and that's so true, but it's important, as you're building the airplane, to go. I got the wing put together. So, yeah, it is sometimes very overwhelming, but I would say, if you get to that point in the business where you know you need some better systems in place, reach out for some guidance and some help with that. Absolutely yes, crystal.
Speaker 6:So my question is as a woman in leadership. How do you walk that line between relationship and also having that, that stare of leadership that I mean it's typical to navigate sometimes as a woman, especially in a male dominated field or in, you know, entrepreneurship, even like having network with men and all the things? So how do you navigate that, that that line of relationship versus or alongside?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, that's. That's a really good question and for me I don't think it's a line that I navigate Like. I always lead with the relationship part, and so if there are people that I'm struggling to be in that type of authentic relationship with, there are times where I decide that's not a good fit for me. You know so. When you're in those spaces, in every room that you're in men, women, wherever, in our jobs, in our roles, we're forced sometimes to be in rooms where they're not all our people. You know they're not all our people, but the good thing is that some of them are. You know so nine times out of 10, if that's not a good connect, if the relationship you can't make be natural, if you can't move forward with it, then that's just that's not the one for you.
Speaker 3:You know it's just like, I guess, a personal relationship. You're not going to get what you need out of that. On a business setting, you know you're not going to. It's just not going to grow the way you'd want it to. So I'd say you should save that energy and those resources that you have and focus on the people that you can align with more.
Speaker 3:Now, with that being said, I do understand, if you're not an entrepreneur per se and if it's a job and if there's co-workers or people even on your leadership, like peers and things that you have those issues with, then you have to be a little more nuanced in it. You know, because as a leader, just like as a parent, you know sometimes you got to take your like. As a parent, you know sometimes you got to take your meds. You got to suck it up and you got to make the best out of the situation. The only advice that I would always give is that you stay true to you.
Speaker 3:You know you still you don't let that other person change the way you interact. You don't let that other person change. You know your value system and you know they can pull us out of ourselves. Sometimes, right, I was like, wait a minute, go back to you know, oh, raquel, y'all don't want to know her. I was always nice. I was always nice and good. But you know it's like sometimes. You know they'll make you forget your growth in life, right, and then you're like, no, that person, right, there, is not going to take that power from me, they're not going to change the respect and the way that other people view me just because you know they're unhappy or not aligned with me properly.
Speaker 2:Awesome. Okay, we have any other questions for Raquel. Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 1:It's time.
Speaker 1:I've never asked specific questions, like most people, because I don't know how to talk like that yet. But me, my entrepreneurial goal is to own my own restaurant. So I don't know if that's really up to you, but I don't want to necessarily have a brick-and-mortar situation, so I have no money to do that. But I'm thinking about doing a couple of pop-up events, just so people percolate and try some of my food. But I'm like, how do I find spaces to do that, where I know I'm going to have to pay some type of money, but not like crazy money because you don't spend more than you make nothing.
Speaker 3:Yeah well, I'll say two things. Money, because you don't be spending more than you may need. Nothing. Yeah Well, I'll say two things. I'll say two things with that because, again, you know, god puts certain people in your life for a very specific reason. In my Emory, elaine, my 10 year old, she, she, she tests me, she tests me. But so one of our recent discussions because we won't call it an argument, right?
Speaker 3:One of our recent discussions was first of all about she made a comment. Maybe we were talking about the elves or something, I can't remember. But she was like well, mommy, all you have to do is believe. And I said you're right, First you do have to believe, but after the belief that you could do something, you do have to have some action that goes with it. You have to believe, but after the belief that you could do something, you do have to have some action that goes with it. You have to put a plan in place. And she's like no, it's not how it works, you just believe. I'm like no, no, first it's important that you believe, but then so you know, that went on and on and we were late for school. But back to back to your question. But you got her there and that's a win. That's a win.
Speaker 3:But the point is, when you were talking about restaurants, like, is that a purview? The thing is, it's the same for whatever your business endeavor is, you know. So first you have to believe right, you have to have a vision, you have to have a plan, and then you do have to have the skill. No-transcript, make the decision, put the work in, and then my bad business advice that I always give is you do have to spend the money before you make it. You know, you, you, to be reasonable. I understand that. But like the, the, the out, the, the output sometimes comes first. You know you have to find a way to be out there, and if it's not the money, it's the time or effort. Right, so it could be if you can replace the time with what the money would be. But there is more output at first than any payback that you get. Absolutely, yeah, yeah, yeah. I would echo that Because I have to turn to the coach and say do you need to fix it? Do?
Speaker 3:you need to fix it.
Speaker 2:I would absolutely echo that that oftentimes entrepreneurs are terrified of debt and it's like a badge of honor to be able to say, like I did my business without any debt at all. To be able to say like I did my business without any debt at all. I was like, yeah, but what growth did you stifle? Because you were terrified of going all in and getting a little loan if you need to. So I would say don't be afraid of debt, but if you're going to take on the debt, you better have a solid plan in place and work, work and work. It's work, absolutely. It's work, work and we're working. It's work, absolutely. It's work, absolutely. Well, ms Raquel, is there anything that you would like to add or leave everybody with before we call it quits?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do think I want to circle back to the celebration piece.
Speaker 5:Yes, I do too.
Speaker 3:I know, I know, I know and you kind of called me out a little bit that I'm not always as good at it, but that's the good news. That's the good news for me too. There's a quote that I often quote again without proper attribution, that says you're most powerfully positioned to serve the person that you once were. And so the reason I say that's so powerful for me is because that whole win thing, like I always thought I had to get it right first. You know, I had to have arrived. I have to to be able to give a new entrepreneur advice. I had to have already been successful in all these other places and I still ain't yet. So I kept saying I thought I had to wait, but you don't right. So when you realize, oh, if I'm celebrating every win that I have, if I'm celebrating where I am and then there's always some, even if they're just one step behind where you are right now, like you're, like, oh, I'm doing great things and I can let these people know or let others know, and people are listening to you then you kind of do you know what you say you're going to do.
Speaker 3:You know it kind of forces you. I'm like if you're having stroke. If you're struggling staying on task, then become a mentor, right, because you know, most of us are people of integrity and authenticity and we're looking to tell somebody what they should do and how to. If you're not doing it, it's not going to ring true and most of us can't sit in that space for very long. So we might not be doing doing it yet, but tomorrow I'm getting, or when, when I leave here, or now, or right now, I'm going to start doing it. So that's it to just you guys. You're already amazing, like every one of us. We are already amazing, we're here, and what could stop us? Everybody, like Tanya said, everybody has a story. Yeah, and it didn't stop you. It didn't stop you, so we're going to celebrate it and keep going.
Speaker 2:I love that. I mean, I feel like right now we're supposed to have confetti pot and normally we would.
Speaker 3:Normally we would, but you know we weren't sure if that was going to interfere with the recording. It's for sound quality purposes.
Speaker 2:Absolutely Well. I have seriously enjoyed the conversation. I know I've been looking forward to chatting with you, and the fact that we got to chat about something that I know you're passionate about and that brings so much optimism and passion to the conversation is amazing. So thank you so much for recording with me. Thanks for hosting the Strong Woman, strong Wafi events Always. Thank you to all of you guys for coming and hanging out with us today. As I always sign off the podcast, we will talk to you guys later. See you later. Thanks for listening. Friends, my name is Michelle Smock and I own Cultivate Accounting, a boutique accounting firm specializing in small business, and I own Small Business Bestie, where I help women entrepreneurs go from idea to launch and beyond. Check the show notes for links to my website and socials, and also please take a moment to subscribe and review. It really would mean the world to me.