From Burnout to Business Success: A Conversation with Amy Stauffer

Feeling stuck in the hustle, constantly working but not seeing the results you want? In this episode, I sit down with Amy Stauffer, a dance studio owner, consumer reporting expert, and fellow podcaster, to talk about the shift from burnout to balance.

Amy shares her journey from corporate recruiting to running a successful dance studio, balancing multiple income streams, and launching a podcast. She opens up about the moment she quit her corporate job from a hospital bed, how she built a thriving business while pregnant, and why embracing flow changed everything for her.

Key Moments:
[00:01:43] – The unexpected flower delivery that started the conversation
[00:06:02] – Amy’s career journey from recruiting to dance studio ownership
[00:17:01] – The moment she resigned from her job while in the hospital
[00:25:00] – Opening a business while pregnant and navigating early challenges
[00:38:00] – Learning to embrace flow instead of forcing success
[00:41:10] – The downside of pushing too hard and how to step into alignment
[00:47:51] – Why Amy started her podcast, Clearly I Have Nothing to Say
[00:54:00] – Favorite cocktails, wine, and special memories with friends

Tune in for an insightful conversation about redefining success, making intentional shifts, and learning to work with flow instead of burnout.

To listen to Amy's podcast (Clearly, I have nothing to say...) or learn more about Amy: https://www.clearlyihavenothingtosay.com/ 

@clearlyihavenothingtosay on Instagram

For info about Farm Girl Flowers: https://farmgirlflowers.com/  

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Transcript

Amy Stauffer
===

[00:00:37] Penny Fitzgerald: Amy Stauffer is a fellow podcaster I met through Cathy Heller. We both had taken Cathy's intensive course on creating a podcast and volunteered as alumni to talk about her experience for Cathy's audience. We immediately hit it off and scheduled conversations to be on each other's shows. As we started this conversation, Amy's doorbell rang and it was Flowers [00:01:00] from a co worker from the same company we both had received flowers from about a week prior from Cathy.

[00:01:06] What a nice surprise. If you want to make someone's day or thank them in an impactful way, check out Farm Girl Flowers, a company founded and run by women for women. And if you want to make my day, you don't even need to send me flowers. Just subscribe to my weekly Insider email to get notified about the latest podcast episode, plus a weekly dose of inspiration, humor, upcoming events, and the occasional cocktail recipe.

[00:01:33] Sign up at pennyforyourshots.com/insider. Now, here is Amy Stauffer.

[00:01:43] Hello. Good morning. I'm good. How are you? 

[00:01:48] Amy Stauffer: Excellent. So flowers. So doorbell rings and I thought it was going to be, you know, a classic Amazon package I didn't need. And it was [00:02:00] not. I don't even know where they're from. So we'll get to that later. I, I, I don't even know who they're from right now.

[00:02:05] So how I bet I know. 

[00:02:06] Penny Fitzgerald: I bet I know. Maybe. Oh my gosh. How lovely is that? So, I mean, how cool is it to be appreciated and by someone we admire so much. 

[00:02:21] Amy Stauffer: You know, what's funny is I don't think they're from Cathy because I already got her flowers very similar time to you. So these are, these are a new gorgeous surprise.

[00:02:31] So I am like, Oh, I know. Oh, can I, can I tell you about the flowers that Cathy sent? 

[00:02:39] Penny Fitzgerald: Yes. 

[00:02:40] Amy Stauffer: So my dad passed away nine years ago now. Um, but my dad, I live in Ohio. My dad lived in Florida. So when I came home, the very first thing on my doorstep was those flowers. Um, and that was when that company had really just started.

[00:02:57] I've kind of followed along with that company. [00:03:00] Uh huh. And then when I came in my home, my friends had done so many lovely things, but that particular box and brand just you know, brings me to him. So of course, you know, when she sent those, I was so like, how cool, you know, he's, he's coming through, you know, from her too.

[00:03:18] So I was like, it was nice. Have you ever gotten that cool brand before? 

[00:03:24] Penny Fitzgerald: No, I had never seen it before. What? Um, okay. So I don't have the little card in front of me. Remind me, do you remember the name of it? It's called Farm Girl Flowers. 

[00:03:34] Amy Stauffer: Yes. And her backstory, um, is just, you know, the classic, like she was working at nine to five and was over it and told her friends she was going to start this really kind of stunning fresh flower business.

[00:03:52] And everyone was like, you're crazy. Everybody does it. She's like, I'm going to have it in California, which is [00:04:00] expensive to do I'm going to charge top dollar. So I, I, and now she's gone on to be like, no joke. Like, I think she may be like a fortune thousand. I'm not kidding. Like it's wow. Big company. And she locally sources and her website is really easy to navigate and they're not cheap.

[00:04:17] They're not cheap, but you saw them. I mean, they're like 

[00:04:19] Penny Fitzgerald: gorgeous. 

[00:04:20] Amy Stauffer: I know. And the burlap and just how they come is just such a little like warm hug. So yeah. So I appreciated it. 

[00:04:29] Penny Fitzgerald: Absolutely. Yeah. The presentation was just amazing that this box came, I think it was Amazon that dropped it off. Right. Yeah. And it's, you know, this.

[00:04:39] Very sturdy box with the Farm Girl Fresh logo on the outside. Very cute. You open it up, the flowers are presented really nicely in this box with, you know, some damp foam around them and a beautiful card in burlap. You know, the whole thing is just wrapped. Right. It's like a little warm hug in addition [00:05:00] to the flowers.

[00:05:01] Amy Stauffer: Yes. And I, uh, was grateful just to be, you know, invited on. So I was, yeah, that was enough of the gift. So, yes, it was exactly. So today I have mystery flowers. So I don't know. See you there from later. We'll check it out later. That'll be a. Another fun part of my day. 

[00:05:20] Penny Fitzgerald: I know I need to text me and let me know.

[00:05:23] Amy Stauffer: I will. Yes. So exciting. 

[00:05:26] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh 

[00:05:26] Amy Stauffer: my 

[00:05:26] Penny Fitzgerald: gosh. Yeah. I 

[00:05:27] Amy Stauffer: love it. Hopefully they're not my neighbors or something and I'll be walking. 

[00:05:30] Penny Fitzgerald: No, we'll see. Oh, gosh. Okay. So, Amy, tell my audience a little bit about you. What, what do you do? You're in Ohio and your, your day gig is. You're a dance instructor, right? 

[00:05:49] Amy Stauffer: I am. So I feel like I have had a few identity crisises through, through my life, um, but I know for sure I am that typical [00:06:00] will outwork you type personality.

[00:06:02] I've learned over the last year or so to knock off that kind of talk. Like, you know, I don't need to be. bragging about that. I guess I've trying to move to a more of a flow type state, which has been very healthy, but over the last year. So yes, my life and passion, that classic, like, you know, take your hobby and make it into your dream job.

[00:06:25] I do live that. I have a very successful dance studio in the Midwest called North Royalton Dance Academy. It's the name of our town I live in. And we have national champions and professional dancers that work. We have kids that take one class a week. I have this. 13 person staff that is just 2nd, and on who have been loyal to me and.

[00:06:46] You know, it is really the best job in the world to be able to work with girls who and guys who sit on their phones a lot and come in and, you know, move their body. It's just, there's so much good to it and, you [00:07:00] know, as a teacher, we're saying the same things they're saying at home. We're just saying them differently.

[00:07:06] So if it, if it works, when we say it, you know, it's the best thing ever. So I, it's Always say, or my mantra has been, it's bigger than dance, which it is because they get so much discipline and self respect and organization as well as a skill out of what we do. And this coming weekend, we're actually taking our large team.

[00:07:30] So we have a couple of different kind of cylinders of how we sort our team, but our large team out to compete. And it's just, it's just such a celebratory party. It's drama. I'm not going to lie. There's always some drama. So I am grateful at 44 to still dance every day and be around artists every day and, um, you know, be grateful.

[00:07:53] So I said on my podcast that every time I go to the studio, when I go in the day to literally like take out [00:08:00] garbage or like clean the millionth time that day, I always put my hand on the wall and just say how grateful I am for that building. For that experience and, um, how many doors and opportunities it's open for me because studio, there's a gazillion dance studios, but somehow myself, my team, our dancers have carved out, you know, this kind of like, wow, they're here.

[00:08:23] And wow, you guys are here. We can't wait to see your dances. So it's, it's. It's a big deal in our space, and I feel very grateful. So that's my, like, world. But in addition, I do some consumer reporting, which I work for a consumer reporting company, which is kind of boring, but I love it so much. I had a dad.

[00:08:42] Who would like sit with me at the table and show me like, you know, bonds and stocks and ETAs and how they dip and move. So I have this knowledge that I thought everybody had until I graduated from college and TransUnion was like, girl, nobody has this. So I was like, [00:09:00] so I've had this kind of niche skill set.

[00:09:02] So I'm thankful for my dad for that as well. So that's kind of my world. And then we both podcast. So that's. That's, that's my new passion project. So that's me. I've got three kids, which keep me very busy. I have a senior in high school right now, which is a lot, and my husband owns a business. So that's involved with our lives.

[00:09:20] So we, we're doing all the things we're doing all the things, but I'm moved to in the last year to flow, which has been. If I could say the key to all this, the key to all this is that flow. 

[00:09:34] Penny Fitzgerald: Wow. Nice. Okay. Well, I have a lot of questions. Yay. I'm ready. Yeah. Okay, cool. So the, I had no idea about the consumer reports thing.

[00:09:43] So is it statistics that you're looking at and like doing reporting for a company or what, what do you do in there? 

[00:09:50] Amy Stauffer: Yeah. So you like, listen good there. So I'm excited. So it's like, you know, the nerd, I love it. So when you go apply, if you went to apply for an [00:10:00] apartment, so if you walked in off the street and walked into an apartment, you give consent to the.

[00:10:05] Leasing person to run a criminal and credit background check on you to make sure that you'd be a good tenant for them. And that's ultimately what I do. So we create algorithms and flow charts and models to show the risk to the apartments on the person. Wow. It's neat. Yeah. So you enter this information into a database and within 8 seconds, you get back like.

[00:10:31] Tons of information on someone. Um, and then from there, the apartment complex sort of able to make a decision of that person would be, you know, they're going to pay their rent or they're going to, you know, do crazy things in our apartment. So that's. What I do and the industry has evolved a lot. I've been doing it for so long now.

[00:10:50] Like, it's been like since college. So, so long in the industries evolved a lot, which has been cool for me to learn. I go to trade shows with them. We do guests. We do presentations. We do podcasts. [00:11:00] We do live meetings. So, um, It's been this and they're so good with me because they know it's, um, uh, I don't want to say fun.

[00:11:10] Um, that's not the right word. It is, it makes me, keeps me very curious. So I'm very grateful to be with a company who's like, yeah, where's Amy? We haven't seen her in, you know, a couple months and then I'll give them like two or three months of really great work. So I knock on wood, um, just found this really niche.

[00:11:31] Kind of interesting skill set that people just don't have, like, I know how to read credit reports and credit lines and of course, it's all learnable, but I can like almost speak it down a little. So, so that's why I'm like, 

[00:11:44] Penny Fitzgerald: yeah, so, so it's late. People can understand what's happening here on this report, right?

[00:11:51] Yes. They're like, 

[00:11:52] Amy Stauffer: Oh, you, you can read credit reports. I'm like, okay, you're kind of profiling me, but yes, I can. Wow. [00:12:00] Interesting how much actually goes into that algorithm that's been created really since the 80s. So it's um, it's a very dense 300 thread kind of algorithm that creates your credit score.

[00:12:12] And I fortunately No, every line item, every tag code, every, but it's junk. It's all like, I know, it's all like, I know some, you know, engineering. So, but I am grateful to have this kind of niche skill set, which has really created a nest egg for my family and can be. Yeah, 

[00:12:35] Penny Fitzgerald: it's, it's good to have, yeah, some, you know, other income streams.

[00:12:40] It's 

[00:12:40] Amy Stauffer: very true. That's also been, I think a, you know, win for my, myself, my husband and I went to state colleges. We didn't come out of school with any debt. We had 50 bucks. I mean, let's be honest, we had like 50 bucks, but now we're like, huh, we've like, we're kind of kids, you know, doing okay now. And I do think [00:13:00] again, I stray from using that word, you know, I'll work you or I'll hustle.

[00:13:05] I just, I'm learning that those words are really not powerful words anymore for me. And that's just something that I've taken on over the last year is that I choose to be in flow and I choose to have. Money flow to me and opportunities flow to me and I'm not, I'm not dying from work or, you know, it's, it's a choice and it's been very healthy for me, even with my children, like, 10 years ago, I would have said, you will be the hardest worker in the room.

[00:13:31] You will not work. Everybody. You will stay longer. You will do this. You will learn that. And now I'm kind of like. That's not the advice I actually pass anymore. They probably think I'm crazy, but my advice now is to leave with love and to work, you know, feeling good about that and staying in tune with where when you're done or when this isn't aligning.

[00:13:50] And, um, I don't know if I can say I stayed in jobs. Um, maybe too long sometimes because it was like, Oh, the hardest worker and I can't leave this. [00:14:00] That's just not, I think I learned a little bit of that from Cathy, our kind of mutual mentor. And maybe you've had your same with that where you're like, 

[00:14:09] Penny Fitzgerald: definitely, definitely.

[00:14:11] Yeah. And I grew up with, you know, well, I'm Midwestern too. And I don't know if that's, you know, it's not of course, strictly a Midwestern thing, but that, that work ethic where. You know, you work hard and you get things done and getting to a point. Um, and yeah, I think Cathy had something to do with that for sure, but getting to a point in your life where, you know, no matter how much I bust my butt, I can't fix this for you.

[00:14:36] This corporate company that I'm working for, or this job that I'm in that I'm working hard for someone else. And it's not working, you know, it's not going to work because of the way it's structured. So yeah, somewhere along the line and my, my mom and dad were both solo, you know, they were entrepreneurs and they both worked for themselves and they worked [00:15:00] hard.

[00:15:01] And it was, we were not wealthy. In fact, um, we were probably if you really examine it, I would, we were probably poverty girl government cheese is really good.

[00:15:20] I really loved it. Yeah, sure. But, you know, work ethic aside, I'm, I'm with you on this whole thing that whole. You know, what do you love and who do you love and how do you, how do you serve your people and what is, what's your passion? What are you led to do? And let's do more of that, huh? 

[00:15:38] Amy Stauffer: Yeah. And it's, it's scary to leave things that are, I don't know, like I had a job that I loved.

[00:15:47] I was a recruiter for a long, long time where I would, you know, go to Tupperware or go to Dell or go to Pepsi and sit there and recruit all their accountants or recruit all their Office staff and I [00:16:00] loved it because I was young and I had no children and I was able to just really jump on that. So I had my 1st daughter and I was like, well, this isn't really work.

[00:16:07] Like, I can't be in places with her. Like, this isn't going to work. 

[00:16:13] Penny Fitzgerald: My 

[00:16:13] Amy Stauffer: daughter, which is, she's 17 now, she was on 32 airplane flights before she was a year old. Oh my gosh. 32. So that gives you like the idea. When I was pregnant with her, I had three different OBGYNs cause I moved three times pregnant with her.

[00:16:28] So it's like, it gives you an idea of the lifestyle that I was living, which felt very, very normal. So, you know, I, I, Stayed at that job with her. I was more settled. I kind of had an office that I worked out of and I was like, oh, okay, technology was kind of accelerating at that time. So that was helpful.

[00:16:45] Then I got pregnant my son. And when I had my son, he went to the NICU, which is totally healthy and fine. In the scheme of things. Good. So they were calling me from the hospital bed. Like, you need to call this. You need to call these companies. These deals are falling apart. And I [00:17:00] resigned from the hospital bed.

[00:17:01] Right there. Like, I'm done. I'm here. I'm 

[00:17:03] Penny Fitzgerald: done. I cannot blame you. Wow. 

[00:17:06] Amy Stauffer: Happened to be during that 2008 recession. I was like, I was making no money either. So I was like, what's going on? I worked on straight. I've always worked in commission. I don't know why I find these jobs and it was interesting. No kidding.

[00:17:18] The second I thought that they couldn't do it without me and you know, all these 10 years of flying all over the country and doing all this stuff, I, I promise you, they were like, get some resumes. 

[00:17:27] Penny Fitzgerald: There 

[00:17:30] Amy Stauffer: was no loyalty or like nothing. And my husband was like, how do you feel about that? I was like, you know what?

[00:17:37] I feel good about it. Like I'm done. They're done. I'm done. And you know, six months later they did reach back out and say, you need to come back in some type of capacity. And I was like, I'm not coming back because you knew that girl. That's no longer me. Now I have two kids. I'm at home or, you know, doing things.

[00:17:51] I'm going to start my own business. So it was a very interesting time in my life, mid thirties to realize, Some of this stuff [00:18:00] didn't matter. You know, some of these things that I was checking off a checkboard didn't weren't relevant. 

[00:18:05] Penny Fitzgerald: If 

[00:18:06] Amy Stauffer: I could give advice to 30 year olds, 20 year olds now, like you got to leave with love.

[00:18:11] You got to feel passionate about who you're serving. Like you said, and there'll be more kind of fruits in that, in that walk. Yeah. Fruity things. So, yeah, 

[00:18:22] Penny Fitzgerald: yeah. It's a quality of life. It's a, it's a values thing. Well, and that company showed you who they were. You know, I mean, that's you going back to them, you know, that would, something would happen down the road.

[00:18:37] That would be, they'd show you where their loyalties lie and it's not with you. 

[00:18:44] Amy Stauffer: When I, I saw them do it to so many people prior, you know, I saw them do it to so many people, but you, you know, embody that you're unique or different and, you know, they probably had to hire two people to maybe do what I was doing to manage, but I'm sure [00:19:00] after time they were able to get down to one and hopefully the person was better than me.

[00:19:03] I mean, I, I don't, I don't, I don't want to know. I send them good, but it was interesting to see how quickly, like get some resumes. I was like, So you're here in my hospital room, making me call companies and then when I'm done, you're just like, get out of here. I was like, oh, that's interesting. So yeah, reflective, you know, all these years later.

[00:19:22] Penny Fitzgerald: Absolutely. So how did you, was it like a light bulb moment? Was that the moment or. Okay. So then you, had you had in mind that you wanted to start something of your own? 

[00:19:37] Amy Stauffer: I did. So my sister actually owns her own dance studio as well, which is so crazy. And my sister really tumbled to her own dance studio during nine 11, her, they've been, they were living outside of New York city and her husband had been laid off during nine 11.

[00:19:51] And she was like, what am I going to do? And so she ended up opening up her own dance studio there. And at that time I can remember her saying to me, this is your [00:20:00] dream. But I got to get income now, you know, I got to get this income where I can balance, you know, my kids and my husband and be able to really move quickly.

[00:20:08] And I remember watching her go through the process of it. And surely none of it's easy. There's no part of this that's easy, but I did see her light up a little. I was like, Oh, she's happy. You know, she's a little happier. So, because I had moved so much, I mean, I, my husband and I have lived in nine states and like five years.

[00:20:28] Like it was a lot. You really can't, you know, open a business that's a brick and mortar when you're doing that. So I was doing choreography all over the country and judging for dance competitions and sometimes dancing. Sometimes I dance professionally for a long time as well, but your body does quit you, which is okay.

[00:20:45] And when I. Had my daughter. I did not know what gender she was. It doesn't matter what gender, but my, in the delivery room, she was eight seconds old. My husband was like, guess what? I was like, you're gonna have to open a dance studio. I was like, okay, you [00:21:00] know, our daughter's eight seconds old and really that was the truth of it.

[00:21:04] So, I had lived in our home for about eight months and coincidentally, I had ran into someone at like a Halloween party. And she owned one of the largest dance studios in our town. And she was like, I know exactly who you are. You have to judge our tryouts. So I went and I judged her tryouts for a couple hours and already she could tell the girls were gravitating towards me and moms were asking questions.

[00:21:27] So I remember she walked me out and she was paid me in cash and she said, I never want to see you again. Ever. And I was like, so I went home. My 

[00:21:35] Penny Fitzgerald: God. 

[00:21:36] Amy Stauffer: Yeah, it was okay. She was right. She was right. What she said. She, she could tell right away, like, Ooh, this girl's coming in with fresh energy and a lot of, a lot of training and people in the Midwest just didn't really have this exact mirror as me and not to float my boat.

[00:21:50] It was just a perfect storm really. So then within six months or so, I was like, okay, I'm going to open up. Open up my business. Coincidentally, she ends up going out of business. She was much [00:22:00] more mature than me. And I almost bought one of her buildings. And I decided not to mainly for parking and just space.

[00:22:05] It just didn't work out. But her and I are actually really good friends now, which is, you know, you know, how time just like realizes we're all in this together, really. And she was ready to kind of move on from the business. So, so I was grateful for some stepping stones that led me to really. You know, going on my own path and, you know, now we have multiple studios and we have where my studio is, there's probably seven studios within a mile.

[00:22:30] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, wow. 

[00:22:31] Amy Stauffer: I know. So it's just a crazy thing that just kind of blew up around here where people are opening studios. I have not had a, um, alumni open a studio yet. Like one of my directly trained dancers yet, but that will happen. That will a hundred percent happen. Yeah. It happens to everybody. My head is like, I'm going to embrace it and congratulate them and try to see how I can be of assistance.

[00:22:54] I think that's where it gets really sour is when alumni, like people I've directly trained, then go [00:23:00] open and like simulate kind of. 

[00:23:02] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, 

[00:23:03] Amy Stauffer: for me, I love my alumni, so I'm not going to be ugly, but that will happen. And you know, if we touch base in two years, I'll be going, yeah, it 

[00:23:11] Penny Fitzgerald: happened. Yeah. Well, you know, I thought your story with the.

[00:23:18] When you went to the other studio, uh, I thought where you were going with that was that she hired me on the spot. That's where my brain was. Totally the opposite. She was, um, afraid. She let fear and how it just makes me wonder, okay, what would have happened if she would have collaborated with you instead of pushed you away?

[00:23:44] Amy Stauffer: I, I wonder if I would have. Went through with that, with any type of like very extensive teaching schedule. And I think it was because I was in a place in my life where I knew I just had to do it my [00:24:00] way. So even if she was like, you got to start tomorrow and you're teaching 20 hours a week and you're taking our, you know, most elite dancers.

[00:24:08] I don't know if I would have been at a alignment to say, yeah, it's been healthier for me to almost start from scratch, like the first day I opened it's your own weird Yeah, exactly. 20, I had 27 students. I was crying at my dear friend's fire pit one summer night going, I wasted my nest egg and I can't even pay the electric bill.

[00:24:30] And, you know, I, I, and coincidentally my talk about this on another podcast, I signed the lease for the dance studio and my brain immediately went to five years times the rent price. That's what I now owe the landlord, which was, Crazy amounts of money. And my mom happened to be in town. My mom lives in New Jersey and we went to the dollar store and I chucked a pregnancy test on the belt.

[00:24:53] And she's watching this pregnancy rolled out. And she's like, Oh my gosh, girl. So I did go have some [00:25:00] cocktails that night before I took that test. And I was pregnant. So the very first year I opened the dance studio, I had my son in April and I had my first recital in May. That is like ridiculous. You like, don't do that.

[00:25:13] You just don't do that. So I wore the same hooded sweatshirt for 25 weeks. Cause I didn't want anyone to like notice or see or change. So then I took it off one day and one of these moms, which is my best friend to this day was like, did you really think that we couldn't? Tell you were getting pregnant, like pregnant.

[00:25:32] So I feel so grateful now to even have him because I wonder if I would have done it. You know, what I have gone through after the business open and he's my most like hardcore dancer. Like he will dance professionally. He will do the cruise boats and Disney and all the things. Um, and he's just been with me the whole time, which has been so fun.

[00:25:52] It's so, so fun. That's so I don't know. I, I know it's been crazy, but teaching your kids is a whole nother podcast. That's like a whole [00:26:00] that's a whole nother thing. Yeah. So I, I don't know if I would have ever went through with working there. So, I actually always have had a lot of respect for what she did.

[00:26:13] Now, if I can talk about me. When I hire master teachers to come in that are better than me, I, whatever their price is, I pay them. I hire them on the spot. I asked for them to be exclusively with us. I've had the most, um, I still have the most amazing staff. Um, I love to hire my weakness, love, like love. So I, I am very critical about it.

[00:26:38] And. I'm known in town to like, do that, like, Oh, she's going to hire the best of the best of the best and make sure that her kids get exposed to all the things. So it's been opposite for me, like, you know, I wonder if I would have hired me. There's there's the, but I have wanted to hire me and be like, no, let's make it work.

[00:26:59] Let's do it. [00:27:00] So probably. 

[00:27:02] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh gosh. Yeah. That's just, it's part of the flow thing. Um, you know, when you collaborate with others, when you're not afraid of. Losing out, you know, when you have an abundance mindset, instead of like, oh, my gosh, there's a limited amount of income to be had. No, there's not a pie.

[00:27:26] Amy Stauffer: Yeah, no, I, and I feel like if you can get past that. Like to see that, which is hard for people. I mean, I know that fear comes in with owning businesses. There's some good on the other side. There's been stressful moments. I mean, I owning the dance studio during COVID was crazy. I mean, crazy. 

[00:27:46] Penny Fitzgerald: I always 

[00:27:47] Amy Stauffer: say that owning the business when I've been on.

[00:27:50] Presentations are guest speakers and people want to pick out my brain that are my industry. I say, I really do think this is a 25 year job. Like, I really do feel like after 25 years, it's like, what am I [00:28:00] doing? The culture of dance also evolves a lot, like a lot. So you have to kind of always be keen to that and.

[00:28:08] In our space, choreography is key right now, so the cooly, cool and edgy and quirky type of stuff is very cool. And if, for me, I didn't train like that, like I'm older, so I didn't train like that, so trying to stay up on top of your game is, can be very hard. Then I say, so if the career is 25 years, COVID yanked 5 years off that, gone.

[00:28:30] Right. Because it. You know, it was just, you know, you couldn't be in the studios. You're worried. You're going to get someone sick. You're doing things to be a zoom. This is this culture. That's meant to be live and together. And, you know, we, we fix these and T feed and, you know, we do things all the time. And with your teammates and your, you know, your warriors, they hit the stage with, and it was just like, you know, for us.

[00:28:54] And I am grateful to live in a part of the country that did kind of allow us to be together quicker than other parts. My [00:29:00] sister in New Jersey was out of the studio for months, months. And it's, you know, people lose interest and people don't pay bills. And, you know, we have money allotted to things that's not coming in anymore.

[00:29:13] There's no one refunding. I mean, it was like, there was a time when early COVID, I was 200, 000 were like people owed me. And I'm talking about, like, dance competitions and things that I had paid already, so I was like, people want their money back. I don't have my money back. So I was paying people. It was just a whole thing.

[00:29:34] So I say that time was hard. And for me, I came out more grateful than ever for what we do healthier than ever more robust on how critical it is to get to owners and talk to owners like myself, but others just they're like, I'm out. I'm getting a day job. I'm done. I was like, oh, okay. So, I went the other way during that time and saw how critical dance [00:30:00] was to our students and our culture.

[00:30:04] And there, and I have met some really dear friends via zoom, other owners around the country that are the same as me in that way. And we've been friends now and networked and we share opportunities with each other when we, if I can't guess, speak at something, then one of my dear friends will go and do it.

[00:30:20] So it's, you don't want to say that, you know, we had kind of rose petals out of that, but you just get really like, Whoa. It's like, Whoa, our country got shut down and our kids couldn't dance 

[00:30:32] Penny Fitzgerald: and it's not healthy for them. There's so much around that. Yeah. And then, then when you come back, well, it was weird when we came back.

[00:30:40] Yeah. Yeah. You know, just not really starting over, but there's a. Yeah. 

[00:30:49] Amy Stauffer: And people will say to me, when does your dance season and dancers never can really stop. It's like swimming. You'll lose your flexibility, your strength, your, [00:31:00] your, um, uh, yeah, all, all the things. So we, we train and dance all year. We really do.

[00:31:08] And they came back and, you know, there was also a lot of young girls with a lot of fear to come back. There was also, you know, mindset of it. It's, it's silly. It's just a virus. We had like the real extreme and I'm sitting at the top of this food chain going, what the heck? I don't know. I don't even know enough about this.

[00:31:27] And for me, if COVID happened on March, two days before it announced, I lost my seat, you know, taste and smell. So I was like, oh my God, do I have it? I have, I have this, like I have this, I have this virus. And I was waiting for like the shoe to fall, like 

[00:31:43] Penny Fitzgerald: mm-hmm . 

[00:31:44] Amy Stauffer: I'm gonna be in the hospital. You know, I didn't know my back would hurt really bad if I sat down, it would fall asleep.

[00:31:50] And like, these are all things that are just very uncommon for me. So I, every day would wake up and be like, okay, I don't feel so bad. Okay, I don't feel so bad. Am I gonna get worse tomorrow? And I don't [00:32:00] wanna tell anyone that I had it because I didn't want to like, cause any mass panic. Right. And then I got better.

[00:32:06] And then I got COVID like three times after that. But like, it was just a very uncertain time. And, uh, I'm grateful that. It's over. Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:32:16] Penny Fitzgerald: It's like, oh, gosh. Yeah. That was very, um, yeah, so much uncertainty and that always creates an emotional roller coaster. And, you know, thank God we're here. You know, some, some of our friends were not as lucky.

[00:32:30] That's right. Yes. Wow. I have got to introduce you to 1 of my best friends in the world. She owns a cheer studio in the Des Moines area. I mean, I've interviewed her for my podcast before too. And you guys are very much alike in your outlook and yeah, it's so fun. 

[00:32:51] Amy Stauffer: I love cheer. So I, um, also have done competitive cheer, choreography and cheer training.

[00:32:59] And I [00:33:00] feel like I just got little. Hold sometimes just a little bit like, oh, gosh, I can't choreograph those 9 charities this year. I need to focus over here on this side, but I, we do cross train at my studio as well. Like, I would say almost all of our high school dancers are cheerleaders at their high school.

[00:33:19] So they chose to cheer over their dance teams just just because it was something different. Like, they were like, oh, I just. And the dancer of today does very heavy acrobatic training. So like all that cheer tumbling we cross over to, so they have all these skills to transition and cheer and then they get the opportunity to learn stunting and they get to, you know, be so involved in their high school, the football game, basketball games.

[00:33:42] So we love, I love cheer. My heart will always be with dance, but like, you know, just a little part of me is still like, oh, I love cheer. Yeah, that's awesome. You'll have to tell her or I'll tell her if I ever meet her that I went to school at the University of Central [00:34:00] Florida and our cheer team there is like the best.

[00:34:03] I think they've been top 10 at nationals for some crazy thing, like 20 years. Really? So I always got to see them because the dance team, I know I saw like cheer the most elite cheer, you know, every day for four years in college and just have so much respect for that type of athlete. Uh huh. So I, I know that world.

[00:34:24] It's, it's something and I. Give her a lot of respect as well. That's so fun. 

[00:34:28] Penny Fitzgerald: That's very cool. Yeah. I'll introduce you guys. That's that's super fun. Her and she has two kids that have, um, come up in the business with her too. Well, she has four kids, but two of them are involved in the, in dance and cheer.

[00:34:42] And yeah, it's so fun to watch. Love it. Yeah. Okay. So let's get back to the flow thing and how it led you to the podcast. So how did you come about? How, how did you formulate yours? 

[00:34:55] Amy Stauffer: Yeah, so I, um, have this like [00:35:00] triangle of. smack in the face that happened, um, that led me here. And, uh, it really had to do with that mantra of I outwork everybody.

[00:35:12] And I'm, you know, I'm, I'm this and like, nobody was keeping any type of scoreboard or check sheet, but apparently I felt the need to spew that everywhere. And I remember feeling like lost. You know, a little bit like lost and I know my love language is word of affirmation. Like I know that that's what lights me up is when everyone tells me, you know, how great I am and how wonderful you are and you know, I probably seek it out, which is a whole, a whole, probably another thing, but I was working on, you know, pouring for my own cup.

[00:35:49] And I started to notice that my identity was very, very wrapped up in my kids accolades. So my, my daughter, she's so private, but she's like, uh, she's done [00:36:00] some, she's a SAG actress. She's younger. She's a kid. She's only 17, but she's done some really amazing work. And I started to notice that if she got rejected from a job.

[00:36:12] She went on to high school and was fine. And I was like, the project you. And she was like, mom, they, they went with a totally different type of actress for that. My identity became very wrapped up and now words of affirmation that got to my ears about her. Oh, are you following this? So like, yes, it went from me to her.

[00:36:34] Right. So like, tell me how great she is. So I was like, Oh my gosh, you're from. And she was definitely like, not saying to me. You love me more when I, not saying that, but was starting, we were starting to go, like, I could feel that, like, you're, you know, you're, you're really wrapped up in me. And I was like, yeah, it's really not very happy.

[00:36:56] So I worked on that. I was like, okay, let me work on this. That [00:37:00] evening, I had a. Seen an Instagram post and Cathy was like, you should start a podcast. You know, every, she said the whole world sees her Instagram, but it's not just me. Yeah. Yeah. I should, I should really do something. That's like a hobby. I should take on a hobby.

[00:37:13] So I had this like, kind of wrapped up in my own, you know, kids identity in that same triangle. I also had felt like. Everything I did was for others. So it was like, you know, all the payroll and all these things I do are so wrapped up in like others. So I had this, you know, my daughter, which is, she's not my muse.

[00:37:35] She's my daughter. And then in addition to that, I felt like there was something I was really doing that felt like, you know, for me. Then the third piece was this word flow. Like I was like, what does this even mean? It's a stupid word. When I started to journal. And really get present about flow. I realized that I needed to do something that was completely removed from [00:38:00] anything I had ever done.

[00:38:01] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh, 

[00:38:01] Amy Stauffer: wow. So there it was, there's a podcast. And I think everybody was like, why are you taking on more? Like, no, no, no, it's not more. I'm taking on something for me. For me. And I noticed very quickly how many people, uh, started to almost judge like, like, Oh my gosh, your cortisol levels are a disaster. So now you're just taking on more.

[00:38:28] And I was like, no, my, my levels are actually healthier than ever. And I'm choosing to put some of y'all down. You know what I'm saying? Like I'm putting down my daughter's I'm only wrapped up, you know, wrapped up in her happiness. And then I'm putting down. You know, more for the dance studio. Like it's always like, let's get more going there.

[00:38:49] And it just became exhausting. I have been happier now having my own thing. [00:39:00] So my triangle was my identity wrapped up in somebody else. These are classic things. My identity wrapped up in somebody else. Obviously I needed to move much, much, much more to flow. And then my life felt like everyone was depending on me.

[00:39:15] It was like, Oh, I don't do this. No, these people don't eat. Like that's the way I was starting to feel. 

[00:39:21] Penny Fitzgerald: It's not 

[00:39:22] Amy Stauffer: fair. That's not a good owner. That's not a good, you know, person to run a business where I'm just feeling like every second is being judged. So I've been so much happier and getting to have conversations with women like you.

[00:39:34] I know you've been on my podcast, which I love and it's been flow, which is work. It's work, work and flow or need to kind of like, you know, be paired for me. You have to work on it every day. 

[00:39:48] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, well, you have to be present. Don't you feel like if, if you're present and you're open to receiving and open to seeing opportunities and open to [00:40:00] collaborations and realizing that it's not all up to me.

[00:40:04] Get over yourself. Who are you serving? That's, you know, that's when it starts to flow and then you can get into momentum and then you, you know, yeah, then, you know, you're the more opportunities, the more opportunities, I 

[00:40:19] Amy Stauffer: think for a long time, I had talked about doing it, like getting up and dumping my brain and journaling and doing some meditation and trying to work out and, you know, uh, Watching the self talk about it's not enough.

[00:40:33] It's not enough. And it was life changing. Like, it's so stupid. Everybody told me to do this for 10 years. And I'm like, I know you have to be ready. You have to be ready. 

[00:40:44] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. 

[00:40:44] Amy Stauffer: Um, and it's, it's like, there's so much on the other side of feeling present. A hundred percent agree. And just feeling lighter. 

[00:40:56] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah.

[00:40:57] Just lighter. Like, yeah. 

[00:40:59] Amy Stauffer: What is this? [00:41:00] Is not that deep. 

[00:41:01] Penny Fitzgerald: Well, yeah. And don't you feel also like when you push for something, like you want it so badly. So you push, push, push so hard and it gets farther and farther away. 

[00:41:10] Amy Stauffer: It's it's the grossest thing, right? Yeah, pushing a rope 

[00:41:15] Penny Fitzgerald: up a hill. I mean, I remember when I was had my team and, um, you know, doing my direct selling business that I had and the more you try, the more you want it for someone else.

[00:41:29] You want their success for them more than they do. You're pushing that rope up a hill. It doesn't work. You know, it's not I, I see this for you and I want so much for you. Let me help you. It's like, yeah, just come with me. Attract it, you know, just here. Let's just let it happen. Let's go to have some fun.

[00:41:51] Let's do this. 

[00:41:53] Amy Stauffer: And I wonder if our world just has had such a shift of like, if I can bring my best self 

[00:41:59] Penny Fitzgerald: [00:42:00] and 

[00:42:00] Amy Stauffer: others like, yeah, lift around. And that's something that I wasn't getting. 

[00:42:07] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. I wasn't either. Yeah. I wasn't getting it. Yeah, it was a lot of fear, a lot of, um, uncertainty, a lot of, oh my gosh, I have to make this happen because I've always been able to before 

[00:42:23] Amy Stauffer: it was, it was, uh, Spinning wheel that literally no one was caring about like, yeah, we got an Amy, you work harder than everybody else.

[00:42:33] You're going to work the whole room. I'm like, well, yeah, you know, and then I was like, that wasn't cool. That wasn't no one cared anymore. I was like, that's not, that's not fun. Oh, wow. So I was very, I'm very grateful to really have put that truly negative. Like, it's just negative. Like, it's just a negative thing.

[00:42:51] If I'm going to outwork you. Yeah. Nobody needs to talk about it. Just do what's in flow. Do what, do what feels in flow. Do what lights me [00:43:00] up. Yeah. And it's been very, very healthy. 

[00:43:03] Penny Fitzgerald: Good. Yeah. That, that need to be recognized for it. I feel for me anyway, there's some ego involved always. Yeah. Yeah. And when you get out of that, that's when it starts to.

[00:43:20] Momentum starts to build 

[00:43:21] Amy Stauffer: during my time at that very big recruiting job that I had, which I loved. And yeah, I won trips and whatever the love is, whatever the heck we won during that time. I was there for about 10 years. I decided to go into interview with a company that would be considered like it's competitor, but was out of the industry that I was in, but they hire people from like, it's like they all kind of like move because our training is similar.

[00:43:45] Okay. So I go there, coincidentally, I get there and the person that was interviewing me was one of my daughter's friend's dad and I didn't realize it. So I go in, I go, you got to keep this really confidential. He was like, for sure. I can't believe you're here. And I never thought you'd leave that job you're in.[00:44:00] 

[00:44:00] So we sit down. I don't even think I, I don't even know if I had a resume. Like I don't even know because when you worked for that company that long, they knew that you had it. They know you doing good things. So I sit down and he was like, you're a president's club for eight years and you were this and that.

[00:44:13] I run this office. I know it. How much money you made. And then he said to me, so what are you going to do now? And I was like, Oh, I guess do it all over again. And he was like, great, go do it all over again. So I remember he's like, we're not hiring you. We're not. He was like, but I would advise that you just like, take a look around over there.

[00:44:37] Anyway, stay there two more years. That's when I quit the job from the hospital bed. But it was like, I remember leaving and saying to my husband, like, he's not hiring me. They made me no offer. And he asked me something silly. Like, what are you going to do now? 

[00:44:49] Penny Fitzgerald: And 

[00:44:49] Amy Stauffer: my husband, which has owned his own business for a long time, he's not as emotional as me, a little more steady of a personality.

[00:44:56] Everything's good. Everything's calm. Every meal is a good meal. Every day is a good day. He's more of that [00:45:00] type of person. I went, I could be like a rollercoaster. And he was like, Amy's complimenting you. He's saying that you're at the top of the mountain and now you have to stay. And I was like, that's just boring 

[00:45:10] Penny Fitzgerald: and he was like, so what are you going to do?

[00:45:13] Now? What are you going to do now? And 

[00:45:15] Amy Stauffer: it was interesting. Like, I'm like, but they weren't interested. It's like, he could almost tell, 

[00:45:20] Penny Fitzgerald: but you were in the forest. You couldn't see, you know, you couldn't see the big picture. 

[00:45:24] Amy Stauffer: That's right. And I, I. You know, I talked to him, our daughters are still friends and I talked to him now and he was like, you were so burnt out.

[00:45:31] You were so burnt out at that time and you were just screaming for help, but you had to do that. You had to get there. And I was like, I really was. He was like, if I offered you the job here, you would have stayed here for 20 years. And I was like, yeah, 

[00:45:45] Penny Fitzgerald: miserable. 

[00:45:47] Amy Stauffer: Yeah, you know what? But it was interesting.

[00:45:50] Just like, yeah. And I only went on the interview for ego, like, I only went on the interview to say, oh, this company thinks I'm amazing too. And they didn't, they were like, [00:46:00] girl, you just go back over there and do what you're doing. So it's interesting how life gives you these kind of like roadblocks or stop signs that have been, are so healthy.

[00:46:10] But at that moment, you're like, dare they not walk down, you know, whatever, you know, whatever. So it's, it's like. Life is good. Life is good. Life good if you, if you allow the flow to be the present. First thing, jump out of bed in the morning. I heard something the other day that I loved. There was some, some gal, she's similar to my age.

[00:46:32] She's like an influencer. And she said every single day she wakes up and says, stay's the best day ever. Stay's the best day ever. Stays the best day ever. Even saying, it makes me feel good right now, like, mm-hmm today's gonna be the best day ever. Today's the best day ever. And I was like, yeah, today's the best day ever.

[00:46:47] Penny Fitzgerald: I love it, 

[00:46:48] Amy Stauffer: right? I was like, let's just order it up. That's right. That's so funny. I wouldn't get there 10 years ago without someone saying, Oh my [00:47:00] gosh, you're the hardest worker in the whole room. And aren't you exhausted? And I'd be like, yeah. Bye. You know what I'm saying? 

[00:47:08] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. No prizes for being the most tired or the most busy year.

[00:47:13] Like, 

[00:47:14] Amy Stauffer: but I somehow felt great about that at that time, you know, yeah, there's a payoff or there was, there was, there was for sure. And I'm grateful to have kind of, as you said, come out of the forest and be like, what exactly was I doing in there? 

[00:47:28] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Yeah. I don't even like trees that much. 

[00:47:32] Amy Stauffer: That's right.

[00:47:33] And I was starting to not have anyone tell me how great I was in that forest. So let me just get out of that forest and figure out what's going on. So 

[00:47:39] Penny Fitzgerald: it 

[00:47:39] Amy Stauffer: was 

[00:47:39] Penny Fitzgerald: good. 

[00:47:40] Amy Stauffer: Very good. Very good timing of life. 

[00:47:42] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah. Oh my gosh. Good for you. So, um, tell, tell my audience the name of your podcast because I know they'll want to go check it out.

[00:47:51] Oh, you're cute. Yes. So my 

[00:47:52] Amy Stauffer: podcast is called clearly. I have nothing to say, which is obviously irony and my pockets a little bit of format. [00:48:00] My, my type is coming through here. So, in the very start of our podcast, we ripped down a top 10 list of our of my guest or myself and their. You know, all over the place, which I love.

[00:48:10] I do not know the top 10 lists in advance. So you learn things about my guests and then we dive into one of them usually. And then at the end, I read the person's bio. So I've learned, I've learned so many fun things. Originally, when I started the podcast, I was not going to have it be dance based. But I am starting to see that.

[00:48:33] Um, it's lighting me up a little to talk with my friends and my colleagues and my fellow dancers about, you know, their journey and about their businesses. So it's been a little bit dance based, but, you know. Penny was on and she was fantastic. And we talked about so many cool things, fear and all the awesome things came up.

[00:48:55] Um, and I've also had acupuncturists on there, chiropractors. So we're, [00:49:00] it's been like just a varied kind of people, which has been so fun. So yes, thank you for letting me talk about my podcast. 

[00:49:05] Penny Fitzgerald: Absolutely. 

[00:49:06] Amy Stauffer: Yeah. And it clearly 

[00:49:07] Penny Fitzgerald: lights you up because you're just all kinds of bubbly. Love it. Oh, so fun. Okay.

[00:49:14] Okay. We're kind of coming to the end of our

[00:49:21] So I always, I like to bring it around to ask, what's your favorite cocktail or glass of wine? What do you like to enjoy? 

[00:49:31] Amy Stauffer: So I actually, we, my husband and I gave up drinking during COVID, which was so random. And then it got like, it's been 60 days. It's been 90 days. It's been a year. It's like, yeah, we had, you know, there was nothing that was.

[00:49:44] It's just been a weird thing. So when we do a drink, which we do, I have to say my favorite drink is this. I hopefully I'm saying it right. Haloma. Yes. Okay. So it's, it's gorgeous and I love tequila. So it's tequila [00:50:00] based and it's got grapefruit and lime and it's just, and I've been to parts of the country where they're making them table sides.

[00:50:08] So they're squeezing the grapefruit into this. They bring it to in that, uh, it's not a tin cup. Is that tin? It's like the same cup the mojito's in. Oh, yeah. No, no, no. Not the cup the mojito's in. It's the same cup as the, um. Like a mule? Yeah, it's a mule and it's, it's, it's so pretty. So it's like, it's cold and it's like sweating down the cup and it's.

[00:50:30] So I love that. My girlfriend makes them fresh in the summer at the pool. And I love those. I also do love a dirty martini with a blue cheese stuffed olive. I can drink those down so fast. It's a little scary. When I was in college, I was a sucker for the lemon drop. So I love the lemon drop shot. And you know what's interesting is my daughter, she's only 17, she doesn't drink, but she talks about her friends in college drink this drink called Pink [00:51:00] Whitney, which is like some gross thing.

[00:51:03] Yeah, sorry. Hopefully Pink Whitney doesn't want to sponsor us here. But it reminds me of, do you remember this thing, Pucker? 

[00:51:11] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, like an apple pucker. 

[00:51:13] Amy Stauffer: Yeah, it's just this. So that's funny because the way alcohol evolves with culture and age is so funny. So I think my favorite would be tequila based drinks.

[00:51:24] Okay. That would be my lead. I do love a margarita. I do love this Paloma wine. Oh my gosh. So my neighbors are like wine enthusiasts. Like my friend has a 4, 000 square feet wine cellar. No kidding. It's with like completely stocked wine, like just incredible. And they introduced me to this brand of wine called Satoui.

[00:51:48] California tui. Yes. Yes. So they go to their wine ball every year. And now that I've had satee, I don't want their wine particularly, [00:52:00] so we get TUI shipped to us, actually. Oh, nice. I give it for gifts. And, let's see, they're, I love their summer, um, pinot. 

[00:52:12] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, 

[00:52:13] Amy Stauffer: and I love their I do not like their Merlot.

[00:52:19] That's yeah, 

[00:52:20] Penny Fitzgerald: they have one. Yeah, they've got several Lovely lovely wines. Have you been to the to their vineyard to their winery? 

[00:52:27] Amy Stauffer: I have not the three times I was gonna go Every time I was pregnant all my friends went and they even borrowed my clothes to go So my friends are like I'm coming over to shop your closet And I'm taking your clothes to the wine, the harvest ball, but you're not going.

[00:52:41] I'm like, the heck? So I've never been, but I've always been like FaceTimed and seen them. Have you been before? 

[00:52:48] Penny Fitzgerald: Yes. It's, it's so fun. It's a, it's a really fun tasting room. They have a picnic area. It's lovely. Yeah. If you get a chance, you got to do it. [00:53:00] I 

[00:53:01] Amy Stauffer: will. Cause my mother in law is huge wine drinker as well.

[00:53:05] She's been all over the world drinking wine and. Just as like, you got to start drinking some wine, Amy, because it's so good. And I said, I think on our other time was I'm looking forward actually to getting my kids kind of like raised and out. So my husband and I could like refire. Yeah. So yeah, that's on my.

[00:53:26] My bucket list, but they have a paper label, their wine bottles and they're just so beautiful. So I love to give those as gifts and it's really, it's like a very delicious wine. So 

[00:53:38] Penny Fitzgerald: yeah, they make some good, good wine. That's 

[00:53:40] Amy Stauffer: my favorite. I'm kind of a, well, you know, when you go to a restaurant and you order the same thing, if you don't order that, so I know there's as good a wine as Satoui, I know there is, but for me.

[00:53:53] That's all I'm drinking right 

[00:53:54] Penny Fitzgerald: now. Don't blame you. Yeah, they're very good. And they have a wide selection to choose from [00:54:00] too. So you don't get bored. That's right. I'm sure. Okay. So I had no idea that we have this much in common because, uh, my husband and I just had Palomas last night. Love, love, love them as well.

[00:54:15] Yes. And we do love a dirty martini as well with blue cheese olives. And you know, the martini rule, right? They're like breasts. Yeah, they're like breasts. One is too few and three is too many. 

[00:54:29] Amy Stauffer: Stop it. Stop it. That's so perfect. That's I'm literally going to text. That's my brother in law because I've been with him on vacation.

[00:54:36] I'm like, I'm not going out with you. You're going to bed. Done. How many dirty martinis you have at the pool today? Well, I didn't have them in the cup. I had them in the. This and I'm like, you're done. Okay. We're out. Bye bye. Peace out. So funny. I love that. I'm going to do that. 

[00:54:52] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh my gosh. Yeah. That's fun. So, and the visa to anything.

[00:54:56] Yeah. We love that winery. So wow. We have a lot, a lot in common that [00:55:00] way as well. 

[00:55:01] Amy Stauffer: I love that. 

[00:55:02] Penny Fitzgerald: I do too. You too. Okay. So do you have special memories with friends and, um, sharing beverages together? 

[00:55:10] Amy Stauffer: Yeah, a couple actually. So a few of them are dance related. Well, I'll share one for sure. So my staff is like 20.

[00:55:21] You know, 25. Yeah. Yeah. I'm 44. So it's when you're with them and drinking, it's like, what the heck's going on? 

[00:55:28] Penny Fitzgerald: All the sweet things. 

[00:55:30] Amy Stauffer: Yeah. It's like, so funny. And like how cuckoo they get. So we are at dance events for 16 hours, 12 hours, you know, starting Friday at 12 o'clock. Yeah. Eight o'clock in the morning, the awards go off at 10 o'clock and I would do this for three days straight.

[00:55:43] And they really know I don't drink when I'm there because I'm on the whole time and people are eating things from me. But I remember they snuck out. We're in a hotel and they, I don't say snuck out. That's not right. They just like, all of a sudden we're gone and I'm like, where's everybody? It's awards.

[00:55:58] They come back [00:56:00] and there's like a nice Chardonnay, just little, you know, little buzz going on. 

[00:56:06] Penny Fitzgerald: Yeah, 

[00:56:07] Amy Stauffer: and you know, they're all drinking age. They're all ladies, you know, they're teachers and have lives. So the girls, when we, after the awards were over and our dancers were on stage, we went up to just celebrate and they enjoyed seeing them so joyful.

[00:56:22] And kind of out of the character of the teacher, you know, so it was just a really cool moment for me. I was sober. So I was like, okay, I'm just here. Yeah, you can 

[00:56:30] Penny Fitzgerald: observe the whole thing. 

[00:56:32] Amy Stauffer: These teachers that are so hard on them and disciplined on them and this, they were able to really just be with our kids.

[00:56:41] And it was like, you know, a little bit of wine, uh, bravery they had going on. So, so it's like a random, cool memory for me. Yeah, just so random. I also have a memory of at my wedding. I got married very young and everybody, nobody lives where we got married, where I got married. [00:57:00] So everybody was in the hotel and you couldn't go anywhere.

[00:57:03] So the wedding reception was, I mean, I had like the classic, like 10 bridesmaids, my husband had the 10 groomsmen, you know, all the just classic wedding. I've been married for 20 years. So it was like this whole thing. Okay. So it was like 11 o'clock at night. And the lady that was running the wedding was like, no, what's really leaving, you know, the bar's going to shut down.

[00:57:23] What do you guys want to do? And my dad was like, kick it over for another hour. You know, let's keep this party going. And the lady turns to me and she goes, I just want to warn you guys. And we were like, what's that? She goes, we've gone through 16 bottles of tequila and 16 bottles of Jack Daniels. And we were like.

[00:57:48] Is that normal? Is that crazy? She's like, that is crazy. Okay. We were like, Oh my gosh. So we kept the bar up in our bike. [00:58:00] My bill for the wedding was ridiculously crazy. But I think it was because no one had any really anywhere to go, you know, cause you didn't have to drive. Anyway, it was a great celebration.

[00:58:11] Yes, exactly. So it's like, just, just like, we're going to keep drinking for another hour. We've already had too much, but no, I didn't keep that bar up. Nobody's leaving. Nobody's driving. It's all good. So it was like silly, just a silly, good, good memory. And like we've over drink it and now let's let them drink some more.

[00:58:27] That'll be fine. 

[00:58:30] Penny Fitzgerald: Could you also bring some water ? 

[00:58:32] Amy Stauffer: Exactly. That I was pizza. I pizza. Remember being like, pizza, let's just, yeah. Oh, I, I, that too. It was like, you're reading my mind. They were like, we're also going to start hanging up bottles of water on the table and I think you guys need to get a snack going,

[00:58:43] We're like, so they're like, they need everything in sight. So it was just a great, great fun. 

[00:58:49] Penny Fitzgerald: Oh gosh. Yeah. It's a celebration and we're all together and yes. Wow. Yes. How fun. Okay, so is there anything I have not asked you that you would like to share? [00:59:00] 

[00:59:00] Amy Stauffer: No, you're such a great interviewer. So thank you for, for getting a nice banter going.

[00:59:04] I really enjoyed it. I have not been a guest yet, so I had told you that. So I thrilled to be a guest today. 

[00:59:10] Penny Fitzgerald: I'm so glad that you chose me. 

[00:59:12] Amy Stauffer: Yes. I am honored to have chose you. I know you're doing all the things, so I'm grateful to be in your company today. 

[00:59:17] Penny Fitzgerald: Thank you. Yeah, I'm glad. I'm grateful that we're connected and now friends.

[00:59:21] This is fun, right? 

[00:59:22] Amy Stauffer: For sure. Yeah. I think we're, we're aligning in so many ways, which is so fun. 

[00:59:27] Penny Fitzgerald: Absolutely. Oh, very cool. Amy, thank you so much. This has been so fun. 

[00:59:31] Amy Stauffer: I enjoyed every second of it and wishing you all the success in the future. 

[00:59:35] Penny Fitzgerald: You too. And let's keep in touch and um, cheer each other on.

[00:59:40] That's exactly right. I'm, I'm, I'm here for it. Me too. All right. Have a great day. Same. Good talking with you. Bye bye. You too. 

[00:59:47] Amy Stauffer: Bye. [01:00:00]