Ep. 70 with Megan Rose Perron | Co-Founder, Bee & Blossom Co.

Pivot, Faith, and Charcuterie Dreams

What if the bravest business move is letting go? Our guest shares a candid arc—from a cancer diagnosis at 19 and deep church hurt to a marriage on the brink, a faith renewed, and a business pivot that surprised everyone. She built a purpose-driven activewear brand for real, changing bodies, pushed it to Shark Tank’s second audition round, and still chose to close it when the cost to family and health grew too high. That surrender didn’t end her entrepreneurial story—it cleared space for one that fit this season.

We walk through the decision gap and why shortening it accelerates growth; how postpartum rage and big feelings call for repair, not perfection; and what it looks like to separate Jesus from the wounds inflicted by people. Then we zoom into the pivot: spotting a mobile charcuterie concept at a slow pop-up, getting a cart built with help from a fellow founder, filing an LLC over dinner, and turning profitable within months. Early wins came fast—St. Jude’s Dream Home event, Aflac, and the Minnesota Vikings wives—powered by authentic storytelling, smart local signals, and consistent social. No ad budgets, just community and clarity.

This conversation is a field guide for mompreneurs balancing identity, marriage, and momentum. We talk ego versus obedience, boundaries that protect the home while fueling the brand, and practical resources like SCORE mentorship and WomenVenture for planning and funding. If you’ve felt torn between a public win and a private truth, you’ll find language, hope, and next steps here. Subscribe, leave a quick review, and share this with a friend who’s standing at her own pivot point—what’s one decision you’re ready to make faster today?

Resources Mentioned:

• Score
• WomenVenture

Connect with Megan:

• TikTok: @rekindlingmotherhood
• IG: @beeandblossomco
• Facebook: Bee & Blossom
• Book with Bee & Blossom

Contact the Host, Kelly Kirk:

• Email: info.ryh7@gmail.com

Get Connected/Follow:

• The Hue Drop Newsletter: Subscribe Here
• IG: @ryh_pod & @thekelly.tanke.kirk
• Facebook: Reclaiming Your Hue Facebook Page
• CAKES Affiliate Link: KELLYKIRK

Credits:

• Editor: Joseph Kirk
• Music: Kristofer Tanke

Thanks for listening & cheers to Reclaiming Your Hue!

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome And Guest Connection
• 2:35 Moving, Social Media, And Community
• 4:50 The Mobile Charcuterie Spark
• 8:45 Action Over Hesitation
• 11:25 Vulnerability And Origin Story
• 15:20 Family Rejection And Resilience
• 22:30 Mom Guilt, Safety, And Love
• 26:30 Faith Journey: Hurt To Healing
• 34:40 Marriage Rebuilt Through Church
• 41:30 Health, Trauma, And The Body
• 48:30 Motherhood, Repair, And Apologies
• 54:30 From Coaching To Apparel
• 1:01:30 Shark Tank, Scale, And Burnout
• 1:08:00 Letting Go Of A Dream
• 1:13:20 The Pivot To Be & Blossom
• 1:19:10 Early Wins And Big Clients
• 1:23:30 Dual Entrepreneurs, New Boundaries
• 1:28:20 Faith In Business Without Walls
• 1:34:00 Advice, Resources, And Closing

Transcript

Kelly: 0:10

Welcome everybody to Reclaiming Your Hue, where we are dedicated to empowering women to embrace and amplify their inherent brilliance. Our mission is to inspire mothers and entrepreneurs to unlock their full potential and radiate their true selves. I'm your host, Kelly Kirk, and each week my goal is to bring to you glorious guests as well as solo episodes. So let's dive in. Good morning, Megan. Good morning, Kelly. How are you? I'm just dandy. How about yourself? I'm doing great.

Megan: 0:42

Thank you so much for having me. I'm really excited to be here.

Kelly: 0:45

You are so welcome. I have to say, I've been following you on social for quite some time. And then we had a really nice, unique opportunity to not only connect, um, I think initially it was going, it was supposed to be to talk about being on the podcast. Yes. And then there was a pause for a moment, and then something really wonderful came out of that pause for you, which brought us together to talk about something different, which we'll get to in just a second. I'm leaving all these little seeds and teasers for the listeners. And I can't wait to talk about what that conversation was and how it evolved. But here we are, and I cannot be more excited for you to share your story on Reclaiming Your Hue. So let's dive in. Yes, let's do it. First, I would love for you to share how it is that we got connected. Yes, I made it to it, but yeah, absolutely.

Megan: 1:44

So, like you said, we were connected on socials, which honestly has been just such a gift since I moved here. I'm not from Minnesota, I am from the East Coast. Okay. Moved here with my now husband, knowing absolutely no one. Like met my now mother-in-law, like, hello, you're the only person I know here, whatever. It was in June of 2019. Yes, and I knew absolutely no one. Oh, I'm from a military dense town, and my whole, my people are scattered everywhere across the country. Knew no one in Minnesota.

Kelly: 2:15

Oh my god.

Megan: 2:16

And I know. So I really built the communities that I've built through all of my businesses from the ground up, from literally nothing, no one that I went to high school with or anything like that. Yeah. So it's been such a gift, and you were one of the people I met on social media, and you reached out about being a guest on the podcast, and we connected. And that conversation was probably supposed to be like 15, 20 minutes, and it ended up being what, like an hour, hour and a half.

Kelly: 2:42

I think so. Yes.

Megan: 2:44

And just like just chatting and connecting in that way and realizing um how much our our platforms and our communities share in common. Yes. And how much our missions as individuals, I think, just crosshairs. So there's a lot of alignment. So much. Yes. And then when I shared with you my new passion project that I was getting started with, it aligned perfectly as a business opportunity to be a part of the celebration of your one-year anniversary for becoming your cue.

Kelly: 3:11

Yeah. Okay. Would you like to share what that business is?

Megan: 3:15

Yes. So Be in Blossom Mobile Charcuterie Bar is my newest business, my most fun business I have ever been a part of. And we got started. The timeline is just as crazy as a lot of other things in my life. Have been my old employee. She was actually an old client of mine. It goes way back years and years. Um, she used to work for me with a business and she would do a lot of events for me. And we would see some other vendors and be like, oh man, maybe we're in the wrong business. Like it'd be so fun to do permanent jewelry or something like that. Very, very popular, very trendy, very profitable. And then I was scrolling on Instagram and I saw a charcuterie cart that's in California and jokingly sent it to her as like, oh, we should do this. And she didn't know this yet, but I had already made the decision to sunset that previous business. Yeah. We'll talk more about that, I know. But I sent it to her as a joke and was like, oh, we could do this. There's none in Minnesota yet.

unknown: 4:11

Yeah.

Megan: 4:12

And about a week later, she was like, Yeah, actually, I talked to my husband and like, we're game. Let's do it. Let's be business partners.

Kelly: 4:19

So cool. Yes. Seriously, so cool. And it's I love it. So there's something that comes up quite frequently here on the podcast with guests such as yourself. This like timeline of like seeing something and then getting into action. Yes. And I I feel pretty passionate about the shorter that you can close that window of decision making, the quicker you can find success.

Megan: 4:57

I could agree with that. Yeah. I'm a doer myself.

Kelly: 5:02

I was gonna say, I I wholeheartedly see that out of you in how you show up and show up vulnerably and very raw on social media, which is a gift in itself, truly. Not a lot of people can do it and do it to the to the extent that you're doing it, which is also, I mean, chef's kiss, seriously. But that that thing that you just talked about, I saw something and thought, how cool is that? Had had conversations with somebody who could potentially be a game player and all of that with you, and then shot the message. God had a little plan of his own and all of it, and then all of a sudden, here you are. And then you and I are having this conversation, and I'm literally like, tell me more about being blossom. And you were at the anniversary event for reclaiming your hue, and it was like everyone was like, This is the coolest thing ever. And I have to share this. My husband, who's picky, very picky, I should say particular is probably a better way to put it. He's not picky, he is particular. And he was like, that was incredible. That was like top-notch, just absolutely incredible. And I thought, well, I wanted to make sure that I was taking care of the gals that were gonna be there at the event. And who better to have roll in than you and McKenna, right?

Megan: 6:32

McKenna, yes. And she is joining the mommy club. Also, she's pregnant right now, do right before Halloween. So it's just we're woman-owned, we're mom-owned. It's just what uh is in my my blood at this point. It's just who I am. They both run side by side. And as you were talking, a couple of things really popped into my head at the forefront that I feel like is important for a listener to hear is like the vulnerability piece. I learned to rip off that band-aid of fear or whatever it is that comes upon us when we feel like we have to put on a mask or like not be vulnerable. Um, and two things. One, um, when I was 19 years old, I was diagnosed with cancer and I had um melanoma. Okay. And they for a while didn't know what stage it was. It was like I got the call the day before New Year's Eve. So it was, you know, vacation time. All the surgeons and things were backed up because of holiday time that they were out. Um, and during that, it was about three weeks that they didn't know what stage I had. They didn't know anything about it. I was waiting to be operated on. And during that time, I really just realized at 19 years old, I was only 19, and I I had, I didn't have my family in my life, I had no one. My boyfriend broke up with me. Let's not talk about my choice with men back in the day. Sure. That's okay. Just yes. But um, I really decided if there's something that I want to do in life, I'm gonna go for it. And even if I flop and fail right onto my face, at least I tried, at least I did it. And like they're failing forward. Like you hear a lot of speakers talk about that, a lot of successful people talk about that. And I have found my biggest lessons in failing, and I would have never otherwise known, you know, it would have left the unknown. And then that piece of like the fear of rejection or the fear of being judged, as I just mentioned, I don't have my parents in my life, and that was a very messy situation, but it was such a gift in the entrepreneurial world and just in the world of making connections, is that I got over that rejection and any other one doesn't sing so bad.

Kelly: 8:37

Can we talk about this a little bit more?

Megan: 8:38

Yeah.

Kelly: 8:39

I would love for you to um share a little bit more about what you're talking about, especially as it pertains to family.

Megan: 8:46

Yes.

Kelly: 8:46

Um, I I have to imagine that there are people who are listening right now where if I'm trekking with you the same way that you're talking about or that you've emphasized, I think I've got a sense of it. But I would love for you to just unpack that a little bit more for the listeners.

Megan: 9:06

Yes, absolutely. So I literally just this last weekend my husband and I got baptized together and I had the opportunity to share my. Congratulations. Thank you. Thank you. So exciting. It was so exciting. I was very nervous because we got to get up in front of everyone and share our testimony, share our story. So I just recently shared it. So it's in the in the forefront of my mind. Um, but I grew up in a relatively like, you know, quote unquote normal, whatever that means to people, um, household, until it wasn't sure. Right. And things started, I my eyes started opening to certain things that were happening. And um, my parents ended up getting divorced when I was 15. And they both had a lot of their own stuff going on, and that could be an entire, you know, we could talk for hours, different different podcast episode. We will leave that as it is and leave that to your imagination. They just had a lot of their own, like, shall we say, demons they were fighting, and it left me to figure out a lot on my own as a 15-year-old. And um, my mom and I were real close through high school, definitely more friends than a parent relationship, though. And that is a that's an issue, especially to a teenager.

Kelly: 10:17

Yes.

Megan: 10:18

Um yeah, and my mom, when I was still in high school, I was I think it was the year I was graduating, um, she began dating a new woman that gave her an ultimatum. Like, you have to choose between me and your daughter. And my mom chose her. And she told me, I was still 17. She said that I was the cause of all of the problems in her life, and it was her turn to be happy, so I had to go. And just like that, she kicked me out. I I've only heard from her once or twice, and both of the times I've heard from her was her telling me what I had to change about myself in order to qualify to be in her life.

Kelly: 10:55

Unbelievable.

Megan: 10:56

And I will be 29 in two weeks. So this was, you know, 12 years ago now. And no, she has not come quote unquote come around. You know, there's been no softness in her heart to make amends. So holy moly. As a mother myself now, yeah. I can't. I mean, granted, my kids are very young, they're not teenagers yet, and I'm sure that there's a lot of life to be lived and things to learn, but I just cannot imagine or comprehend a world where I just let my children walk out of my life.

Kelly: 11:27

You know, I I think of and and I'm sure that you've come across this yourself, whether it's in movie scenes or it's like a little glimpse on on social media, um, you know, like a m like a clip. And it's this like as kids, they didn't choose us, right? Yes. We made the decision. We made the decision, and the decision may have been purely by accident or not, but that was a conscious decision in that moment for whatever it was at that given time, and they are in our lives for a reason, right? Yeah, so I I am with you. It it breaks my heart, seriously, and I'm I'm working to kind of compose myself through this, but it's it's like a friendly reminder to the all of the moms who have been on the podcast, seriously. All of the moms on the podcast who who I know genuinely show up, you're doing a flipping great job.

Megan: 12:39

Yes, yes. I just posted something uh yesterday, I think it was our day before, talking about all of us that feel like we struggle with this um feeling that we're not good moms or we aren't enough for our children. And a lot of it is because of things like social media and all the things that society has built up for us to live up to when it really comes down to like, is your child safe and are they loved?

Kelly: 13:03

Yeah.

Megan: 13:03

Do they have food and do they go to bed and you know snuggled up in their blankies at night? All the other things are here and there. Yeah. And we can grow and learn and do whatever, but uh, you're a wonderful mom if your child is safe and loved.

Kelly: 13:16

Yeah. Well, and I'm sure as you've continued to grow in your faith, and I'd love to talk about what uh your faith journey has looked like too, you start to understand that there's in the and not for lack of better words, in the folds of what we're talking about right now, this uh mom guilt, there's a bit of um martyr that happens in that. And that's like there's there is some selfishness too if you're if you're thinking so much about that, but you're not going, are they safe? Do they have a roof over their head? Do they have food in their bodies? Do they have like warm blankets? Do they have a bed to sleep in? Am I doing my absolute best to nurture and love them? Okay. The rest of that is like you have to sort of and maybe selfish isn't the right way to put it, but um, there's it you're thinking too much about yourself in that moment rather than all of the rest of the stuff that encompasses the particular relationship that you have continued to build with your child. I might get a little flack for that, but you know, whatever. It is what it is. I understand. These are reflections I've had. Yeah.

Megan: 14:32

Yes, it makes perfect sense in my brain that it's um for me, or whether you had a very great example to look to, and you feel like you can't live up to your mom's, you know, how she did everything. Because I see that a lot with previous generations. I'm like, how did you guys do all this? Right. And they were all like dressed up and put together all day, every day, while taking care of a home and all the children. Yep. There's just so many different ways you can look at things, and it can be so hard, and it's almost like the enemy's lies in your ears, trying to make you just focus on yourself and looking at just being so overly critical of yourself. It's like you get stuck in a loop. So, like thank you.

Kelly: 15:15

So, this is it, it's more of a focus on you than it is the what God is doing through your life and even having a child in your life.

Megan: 15:24

Yes, because the children are blessings. So anything that can be done to distract you from that and keep you from that, that is the ML.

Kelly: 15:32

Yes, right? 100%, 100%. So um, which way do I want to go here? Because we're talking in the vein of faith, so I think I want to keep it just rolling this way. So talk, talk myself and the listeners to like what has your faith journey looked like through all that you've been doing in motherhood and then entrepreneurship as well.

Megan: 15:56

Yeah. So I have you could call it like a wave pool, I guess. Of I grew up going to a very extreme Christian school in the South, and uh, we were told we were going to hell for very small imperfections. Just like no one, like, okay, I'm not again, I'm not gonna go into it. There's so many things we could do, like side episodes on, right? But that definitely hardened my heart and turned me away. And when I went home, I saw no example of Jesus in my home whatsoever. Because my parents, we weren't living for that. Like my parents, again, they had their own things going on. They're fighting constantly, screaming, things flying everywhere. So um, when I finally I went to public school after my parents divorced and finished out high school there, and I took world religions as my first uh elective. So I went and explored. Yeah, never practiced another religion. I just learned about them because I was like, hey, if that's what God is like, I'm like, mm-hmm, I'm good. Like I don't want anything to do with that. And then when I was diagnosed with cancer, and again being alone in that time, um, right before I went into the operating room is one of the only, or the only, sorry, the first times that I felt a true peace that made no sense. Because I could have been dying at that time.

Kelly: 17:10

Yeah.

Megan: 17:11

And like, I don't know what you call it a cruel joke, but the week before my surgery, one of my co-workers at the bar I was working at, he was only 40 and he had just gotten diagnosed with melanoma, but they found his at stage four and he died the week before I went in to be operated on. So it was very real in my face that just how aggressive and like silent melanoma can be until it's too late.

Kelly: 17:34

Yeah.

Megan: 17:34

So I just had this strange peace and this trust, and they ended up taking it out when it was 10 millimeters away from my bloodstream, the mitosis cell growing downward. So I had stage one B. I did not have to undergo any chemo radiation. Okay. Just I have a big hole in my back, it's a pretty cool scar that ended up opening up, and then I have uh lymphonectomy in both of my armpits.

Kelly: 17:56

Okay.

Megan: 17:56

So that was a big Jesus moment where I was like, oh, like literally, thank you that I have this opportunity, this second wind, this second chance at life. Um, but without a true like base of morals, I guess I would say, or faith of my own at that point. I just had all the church hurt and all the yeah, the the hurt from earlier in my life. I turned back to the world still. Um, and I went on to do what a lot of young people do at that college age, and I partied. I just did a lot of things that were not productive for my life. And I found myself battling with anxiety, depression, um, sleep paralysis, suicidal ideation, all sorts of very, very dark things were happening. And it was right after I had decided to like end it all. And I think it was literally four months. Yeah, it had to be four months after, is when I met my husband, my now husband. So we were at the gym. He was at my gym on a day pass. He literally was not a member at my gym, and I went in the afternoon because my best friend had a root canal that morning and I had been watching her kids. So I never went at nighttime. I'm not a night gym person. Yeah, and I didn't, by the way. Yeah, no, don't know how you guys do it. You're an elite breed of people. Uh but we run into this cute guy, and she's married, so she doesn't care about embarrassing me. She goes up and pulls a like, oh, my friend thinks you're cute situation. Do you think so? I was like, oh no. But um, we connected and we hit shoulders the next day, went and got sushi after, and we've been together literally ever since. And that was six years ago. Unbelievable. Yes. And still, though, we weren't like, you know, God was not in our relationship at all. We weren't going to church or doing anything like that. I don't think I think I would have called myself a Christian, but I wasn't like living for him in any kind of way. So it wasn't until our marriage had a low point, and it was a point that we weren't sure we were gonna make it. Like we were we were parents at this point. Uh, my oldest, who's now four and a half, was about one, and we just were like, this isn't working. Like, we can't do this. We were fighting, there was deception, there was lies, there was all sorts of things happening between us. And um, my husband finally agreed, like, let's go check out a church. Because he had church hurt as well growing up. So he was like, no, absolutely not hard, no.

Kelly: 20:26

Yeah.

Megan: 20:26

And he finally agreed, and we've been going to our church now for about two years.

Kelly: 20:31

I love it.

Megan: 20:31

It's the first time we ever felt welcomed in a church, and the first time we ever got to see Jesus instead of humanity because all the church hurt that we had was not God, it was not of Jesus, it was the humanity that tainted it and perverted it, honestly.

Kelly: 20:46

Yeah, yeah. So interestingly enough, I'll I'll level set with you. I I grew up in a a Catholic setting. I didn't go to Catholic school, but um my mom took my brother and I religiously on Sundays to church until you know I graduated high school, and I think probably after that, my brother was like, no, thank you. Like, my sister's not there with me. So, but I mean, it was like I remember my dad coming with us to church one time, like the one and only time that that happened, um, the priest had been talking about uh suicide, and you know, the the Catholic religion speaks so uh down to what this looks like after somebody commits suicide. And he had had a friend commit suicide in high school, and he was like, that just is simply not what I believe, and he never went back after that, and it it you know, as somebody who's young growing up, you're like, What? Until I had a friend commit suicide senior year of high school, and I was like, There's no way, there's no way, and you battle with this, like how can how can like what I've been told, you know, and and reared through for so long, how could that be true? How could that simply be true when I know the soul of this person that can't be true? There's no way it's so like into the hurt that you're speaking to. I get that. Anyways, the the fact that you two met the way that you did, little godwink, that even in the the what probably felt like the depths at that point where you're like a black. We have a child together, and you know, like we've put in time and effort together, and it how could it be like this and now it's like this? I'm sh I'm sure, like I am sure that every relationship has had moments like that, whether it's super super deep valley or a little valley, but you were met in that moment by God, and the fact that like I am, I am just like the there's moments like that where I'm like, holy moly. Okay, so we have two choices at that point, and your husband was like, Okay, this is like the last ditch effort almost.

Megan: 23:37

It was, it was literally like this, or we've gotta go our separate ways, at least as a as a separate, like who knows what would have happened because we didn't go that way, yeah. But it was literally like things cannot remain how they are right now, no way. And it was that decision. And I mean, I feel like when it's yourself over time, it's hard to see. Think about like a weight loss journey or any type of transformation. It's so hard to see your own progress because you live in your body, obviously. But like seeing the transformation of my husband in the last two years, one, I'm like, how many more babies can we have? Because it's the hottest thing ever. I know. I'm like, I don't even care. How many more can we fit in the car? What can you know, like, so that's one thing. It's definitely, and it's just lightened up our marriage. Our marriage is at the strongest it's ever been. Like we're the most attracted to each other we've ever been, obviously, from that comment. But just in other ways too. Like, we actually want to spend time together. When we have free time, it's not like, oh gosh, because I've been there where it was like, oh, not gonna lie, like I don't really want to hang out right now. It's not super fun. It's you know, for whatever reason. And we've just been able to connect in this way, and he has just become so much softer of a man. He was always so rough, tough. He was a navy guy. So think about your stereotypical military guy. I'm I'm big macho man. Yeah, and he is, he's very masculine, but he's just bit he's he's relaxed now. He's confident in who he is as a man of God, and that's the piece that was missing.

Kelly: 25:08

Yes. Oh, I am just I'm getting chills like thinking about it. It's just so it this speaks to the power of what God can do.

Megan: 25:19

Like, amen. Because literally, and we talked about my mom, my dad is also not in my life, and my dad. We we went back and forth and butted heads from a pretty young age. I'd say middle school. Normal, quote unquote, again, normal things that I feel like parents and kids. Like I wanted to rebel and be, you know, go do things. He's like, no, and maybe said it with harsher words than he needed to, but still, um, until I got older and he had this like control obsession with control over me. Um, and you know, at a certain age, you as a parent don't have control anymore, and still he wanted that, and he would demand that I be available at certain times to go over again these lists of things that he wanted me to change in order to be in his life. I don't know who told my parents that that's like acceptable. Even as a friend, if a friend sent me down, I'd be like, oop, okay. Yeah, I don't think this is a friend.

Kelly: 26:15

Exactly.

Megan: 26:16

It's all about loving that person for who they are and supporting them as they grow. We always want to be growing. But um, my dad, it was actually in 2020. I think it must have been right before the pandemic. So I'm pretty sure the world was still open and operating. But my dad pulled one of those, like, you know, he had been out of my life for a while. He uh he was on this emotional pendulum, most likely some undiagnosed mental health things. Okay. Who who knows? Who will ever know? Um, but he would exhibit a lot of things that would point towards like bipolar or multiple personality because, like, within a 48-hour period, he'd be so excited to be in my life and say, Oh, we're we're gonna have a relationship. I'm so glad you're my daughter. Da-da-da-da-da. To you know, two days later, he's blowing up my phone, telling me that like I'm not his daughter, don't ever breathe his air again, I have no place. One time he literally cornered me and in his home and spit in my face, like that type of just unhinged disrespect.

Kelly: 27:16

That's a good way to put it.

Megan: 27:17

Yes. And I found myself just having to look over my shoulder constantly for when he was going to come back. And I my body was in such fight or flight, I had chronic pain and unexplained medical issues. Doctors told me I would not be able to get pregnant because of the type of endometriosis type symptoms I was I was going through for years in the ER with morphine drips, yeah, more than I ever should have had in a whole lifetime. I had in a couple of years. And I can't say it was for sure because of that, but I can tell you that I haven't had a single ER trip for a morphine drip because of unexplainable, like crippling pain since I went no contact with my dad.

Kelly: 28:01

Okay, so um, forgive me for just a second, listeners. I need to go into the other room to grab the cover of the book that I'm currently reading right now because I want to see if you've read it. Hold on, just like two seconds, and I'm not gonna even cut this up. So it just is what it is.

Megan: 28:18

Perfect.

Kelly: 28:19

Yeah, I'm glad that I grabbed it because um I would have I would have butchered. I'm only like a few pages in. Okay, yeah, let's see.

Megan: 28:29

Okay, so the emotion code. No, I don't think I have. So this the cover does look very familiar, and I feel like it was called the emotional detox. So that's gonna be something different from this. Let's see.

Kelly: 28:40

Maybe it's the same author. Perhaps. Um, let's see. Anyway, so I have not read this, no. For the listeners, this um this book is called The Emotion Code, and it's by Bret Dr. Bradley Nelson. And it's it literally speaks to, and he is uh a man of faith. And so his his whole thing with this is like God has given him the resources to be able to um pull emotions from specific parts of the body. And he's going like literally, he's just page after page after page that I've read so far. I mean, I'm like 50 pages in. So not I'm I'm just at the the beginning of this. And it's just like every single page, he's giving pure examples of how the emotion code um has been utilized to to spare somebody of like trapped emotions in their body. Yeah. And some of it is because of stuff that has happened in childhood, and these people are in their 50s and 60s.

Megan: 29:46

A lot of times they say your trauma, whether it's childhood trauma, sexual trauma, things of that nature, you hold it in your pelvis. And all of the um not all, most of the things I had, they were doing. It like exploratory laparoscopic surgery is to see like what is going on in your pelvis because something's wrong. Yeah, they couldn't, they were like, no, literally, my my uh notes after that laparoscopy was pristine uterus. So I was like, oh, lovely, thank you. But like, what's going on? Like, why am I in so much pain? Yeah. And I'd have these flare-ups, completely unexplainable. And when I had cancer, 19 years old, was it when I was in that tumultuous time of constantly feeling unsafe and knowing I wasn't loved, knowing I wasn't protected by who the people that birthed me. Does that be a great book?

Kelly: 30:37

I like literally and and I'm like, like I said, I'm just at the beginning stages of this book, and I'm like, oh, I wonder if there's somebody here in the Twin Cities area that is like trained in the emotion code. I wonder that I could go to because I'm like, there's something happening, and I don't know if it's just unresolved stuff from my past. Wow, that was a little bit of a vulnerable share there. But it is like these are the things that I start to like, I'm like pondering about marinating and going um unexplained, can't unlike. I'm like, okay, I'm gonna be turning 40 this year and going, is it age? Well, I'm in the best health that I've ever been in my entire life. How can that be? Right. How can that be? Right. So, anyways, just speaking to what you are talking about.

Megan: 31:28

Well, we'll have to talk more about that when we don't have a bunch of people listening, but I will definitely be I will be praying for you for that though, because that's a scary thing to go through and that can be very these are minor things, really.

Kelly: 31:41

They're minor things, like um, and it's it's like reflexes with my hand or tingliness in my leg when I wake up in the morning. You know, it's not terrible. Sometimes it's a pinch nerve, right? Right. But why do I have a pinch nerve? Why am I like there's I know that there's more to it than just like, oh, I slept wrong. Absolutely. It plays a role, but anyways, I'll make sure to drop that as a a resource for everybody in the show notes. But um I want to dive into that one.

Megan: 32:14

Yeah. My goodness.

Kelly: 32:17

That was my unhinged moment. Like, I'm gonna just take a pause for a second, walk away from the microphone, and grab this so I I'm like referencing it properly. But um, I think it speaks beautifully actually to what you're talking about with these like circumstances that you were finding yourself in at that young age, and now you're like, I don't know what your health state is now. I've got a very well- I think, I think I know, but yeah, okay, so uh anything else that you want to speak to in in regards to faith, your faith journey, and how that has just been integral or not integral for that matter?

Megan: 32:58

It is, it has affected every area of my life because just as being a mother has, it just changes you, uh, like almost like it changes your DNA in a way because it changes how I look at myself, it changes my perspective of the world, and it changes my perspective and my love for other people because I just want to love on all these broken people, and I have a specific soft spot for the women who have been through what I've been through, or to feel that rejection, to feel so alone in all the choices I made, the things I did with my body, the things I did with my time that should have never earned a spot in my life. And I will, you know, be healing from that for the rest of my life. You know, yes, and I have daughters. Yeah. So it's it's all very that part of parenting, and that might maybe that segues into talking about the motherhood piece, but to wrap up talking about my family, like my parents, it is so rewarding, and like it's just the the freshest breath of air to see my husband be who he is now because I know my daughters have a strong father, yeah, and they have what I didn't have, and I feel like that is going to save their life in some ways. Yes, and it's going to really influence the decisions they make, and that is not to knock anyone who has had children and the the the father of the children didn't show up the way that you hoped they would or they said they would. Um, because there is there are men out there ready to be fathers, yes, regardless. But that to me has been one of the most healing things is seeing my husband be the dad that I never had. Yeah. Again, the hottest thing.

Kelly: 34:38

I'm like, more babies, please. It's so refreshing to hear what you're talking about. We're sort of in this same place right now, my husband and I, where I didn't, I wasn't a hundred percent confident that um Faith was gonna be a part of his journey with us together.

Megan: 34:57

Okay.

Kelly: 34:58

And and then when we got married, and um, when I found out I was pregnant, I was like, I, you know, we're planting the flag. We we purchased this house, moved in in 2022, and I was like, if we're planting the flag here in this community, I would really enjoy finding a church. And he agreed. And and that didn't mean that like in in agreeing to that, that it was gonna things were gonna change right away, and it didn't, matter of fact. Um, but his journey in faith over the last several years has increased immensely, and what you're speaking to, like the hotness around that, I'm like, this is what God wants for us. Like, he wants that union between husband and wife, and for there to be um a surrender on both ends, and that that creates such a different kind of space for love for one another.

Megan: 35:57

I think people make it or they think about a certain version of it that it's like not fun, and I'm like, no, it's literally so hot. Like, not to get like graphic on your podcast here, but it's like the most intimate connection I podcast.

Kelly: 36:11

We can go with it wherever we want, wherever we want.

Megan: 36:14

But it's literally, it's not this like I some people think it's like so boring or something like that. And I think, no, quite the opposite friend, because I've never been so comfortable with another human in every sense of the word. And that means we have the deepest intimate relationship, we have the deepest friendship, we have, you know, that's my my person I can go to when things are hard and when things are fun and everything in between.

Kelly: 36:39

So I want to speak to this a little bit more too, because I think what's important to emphasize is one, the importance of finding the right church community. Yes, that is speaking the right messages about what it looks like to peel back the onion layers of self and then peel back the onion layers of that union together as well. And when you start to really dive into that, you can't hold space for the bullshit anymore. Pardon my French, as we're as we're literally talking about God in church, but like you there isn't any more space for it. It forces you to get really raw and intentional about how you want to diagnose the things that are happening for you personally and diagnose the things that are happening for you in your relationship. Psh, plural.

Megan: 37:38

Yes, yes, absolutely. It'll it'll humble you, um, but it it makes you shed your ego, which is really rewarding though, because then it when it comes time to face opportunities, vulnerability, all those things, you literally don't care because you don't care what another human has to think of you. Because if you're if you're walking in your purpose, it's not about you. Like nothing about our not to say, like, you know, the opposite of what you said when we're talking about motherhood and we're overly critical of ourselves and like that lens is so magnified on ourselves, but really like our faith and our like obedience to God in that way, of living for Him and showing His love and His light in this dark world isn't about us, it's about the people that we get to help and reach to also feel that like sense of freedom essentially.

Kelly: 38:27

Yeah.

Megan: 38:27

Like you're not bound by all of those ugly things that I was talking about from my childhood. So I want to talk about ego.

Kelly: 38:34

Yeah. Okay. And and we can kind of go um, we can we can have ego go a couple different directions with um what we're speaking to um in entrepreneurship. Let's go there first. Yeah. So when it comes to building a business, right? You've you've actually spoken very beautifully to like I've been through stuff on the personal side that it it was like that wake up call for me, like I I'm not gonna hold back. Like it's just not a part of my DNA anymore. When you decided first, like what came first for you? Was it motherhood or entrepreneurship? And then we can dive into the rest of this with ego and building a business.

Megan: 39:21

That's what I was mentioning when I said it was a little complicated. So it depends if we're talking about conception or when we found out. Because I filed my very first LLC in May of 2020 after COVID shutdowns hit, because I always knew I had that little inkling in the back of my mind since I was like 18. You're supposed to help other women. You're supposed to help other women. Had no idea what it looked like, and I was scared because obviously, how do you start a business? What does that even look like? Like, I don't know. Um, and COVID hit, I lost my job. The typical 2020 story. And I was sitting there, we didn't have kids yet. So I was sitting there, I'd done every puzzle in my house, I'd bought some new house plants, and I didn't know what else to do with my time. And I said, All right, I'm gonna figure this out. So I filed my very first LLC in PowerFit, which was my personal training business, got all my certifications I needed, did all the back end stuff. And three days after I filed my LLC, I took a positive pregnancy test. And it was our very first month trying. And we didn't think because after the doctors told me, I was like, oh, we're gonna need to take some time. It's gonna take like six months, a year, whatever. Nope. Miss Blakely Gray was on her way, and she was born on Valentine's Day, uh, that next year in 2021. Oh my god.

Kelly: 40:32

She's like Valentine's baby. It's so sweet.

Megan: 40:35

It's it's lovely. It makes that corny, like, well, forgive me if you really like Valentine's Day, but the corny, you know, Hallmark holiday is very special for my husband and I because it's our anniversary of when we became parents now. It's very like that it adds a special little like whatever to the day.

Kelly: 40:50

Um we we sort of have this approach like, shouldn't we always be like it shouldn't just be for Valentine's Day? So, anyways, but yeah, that's so incredible.

Megan: 41:02

They really came about the same time. I never thought I'd be a mom. I never wanted to be a mom. I really thought I was gonna be the drunk auntie of all my friends' kids. I'm an only child myself, but I've always thought, like, I did not see myself as a mother because I was so scared to repeat the patterns of hurt and pain and just screw-ups, unfortunately, that I saw happen around me. And I didn't want that chance because that seemed like a heavy gamble to take. Yeah. Um, so then when I met my husband, we're like FaceTiming his mom when he was still stationed in my hometown in Virginia. And she's like, Oh, hi, I'm Paula. I'm ready for grandkids when you are. And I was like, Oh, under pressure. I literally was like, Okay, like I've known this guy for like a couple weeks and like his mom, but she just, you know, she was halfway kidding. Um, she's never pressured us, by the way. It wasn't, it's not a toxic mother-in-law situation. She's lovely, she's like the best mother-in-law you can ask for, especially when you don't have your own mom. Um, but I was like, oh man, my brain really started being like, oh, so if if that, if this is the relationship I'm choosing, it's going to lead to, you know, if it's for the long haul, it's going to be marriage and children because that is firmly what he wants. That's what he, you know, there was no hidden, you know, bait and switch about it. So I really sat on it and really liked put my heart out there to think, like, is that what I want? Is that what I want? And I was like, I guess I'll give it a try. And so motherhood and entrepreneurship for me started literally in the same month. That's so cool.

Kelly: 42:31

You're the first guest that I've had on. That that's the circumstance. There was, there's typically always been a clear, like I was a mother first in a corporate setting, or you know, maybe a stay-at-home mom, whatever, and then became an entrepreneur, or vice versa. Like I was an entrepreneur and then decided to have kids, and there's this, you know, this intersect that ends up happening that's beautiful and scary and full of lots of ego, just like all around. But yeah, that's that is a really fantastic and cool story. Yeah.

Megan: 43:15

It was uh another God wink. I know you say that a lot on your podcast. Like it was definitely another one of those things because I just knew like I wanted to work with women. Well, becoming a mom and walking into my own motherhood helped me learn, oh, I want to help moms. Yeah, I want to work with moms specifically because we a lot of times are overlooked and underserviced when it comes to the health and understatement.

Kelly: 43:37

Yes. Understatement of this episode, understatement of the year, understatement of the century.

Megan: 43:42

And we're shoved into a box essentially a lot of times. And you chose this, deal with it by yeah. It takes a village, but we're not gonna be one for you. That too, yeah, find your village, but okay, how? Right. Like if you and you don't know how to show up for someone else's their village because you're drowning. So it's like, yes, don't again, that could be its own podcast episode. We could start our own podcast just talking about talking about the topics, all the nuances, yeah.

Kelly: 44:10

Yes, but as a so, you know, what I think about is there is that intersect, right? And and so we're we're kind of going in a couple different directions, but I think it'll all beautifully meld together. So the reason that I started this podcast is because one, I did not feel like I had the community that I I really wanted to have. Like I had my my my mom, my mother-in-law that were here and they were supportive and stuff, but it was like in the in between where I was like, this is way tougher than I thought it was going to be. And also at the same time that I am going through these waves of hormonal emotions, I've lost myself. I've totally lost the identity of who I was before, becoming a mom, before like giving birth to my daughter. And now there's just this massive 180 shift that has happened. So that's the reason that the podcast even came to fruition is because I kept going, like, how are other women doing this? How am I the only one that's feeling this way? I can't be. And then you'd see little blips on on social media, like, no girlfriend, you're not the only one. But I'm like, they're across the country. Like, how can I, how can I start to have really active pointed conversations about this and bring the realities of this to light for people here in the Twin Cities and nationwide.

Megan: 45:46

I really love that you've started this podcast because it's I just know from my work and with that coaching business. I worked with over 150 women in the two and a half years that I was actively coaching people. And there's such a need because everyone feels like we're on this little island by ourselves somehow. Yeah. Even though I don't think I've ever talked to a mom like intimately, more than like, hey, how are you? Of course, we're gonna say good. Yeah. But to actually sit down and speak to another mother, I've never met someone that hasn't struggled pretty often in motherhood because it's our first time doing it. We're learning something new, just like our kids are learning how to be humans. We're learning how to be moms for the very first time. Over and over and over again. Because every time you blink, they're hitting a new stage. Oh, I know. Seriously. So it's it it is, I think, like a I don't I don't know if it's just ego. Ego definitely plays a part in it, but it's almost a shame as well that I think exists where they feel like other people aren't struggling, or it's a weakness, which means I don't love my kids, or it means I'm a bad mom, or whatever. And that's the furthest thing from the truth. Like it's human to struggle, yeah.

Kelly: 46:58

You know, okay. So um, forgive me if I I like led anybody listening or you to believe like ego in all of that. I sort of went tangential, so apologies on it. But when it comes to ego in all of this, I think that there is this is what I would want to speak to in terms of that identity shift that happens, right? There is a sense of letting go of an older version of yourself, and there is this bridge of ego that plays a role in that, and it could be in motherhood that bridge, or it could be in entrepreneurship, building that bridge or letting the bridge go, you know. Yeah, and so that is really what I'm ultimately speaking to is um how you can work through those onion layers of um peeling a back first and foremost. And so let's talk about what has that particularly looked like for you in all of it. It might be a loaded question.

Megan: 48:08

It is. Uh the first thing that comes to my mind is in motherhood, absolutely, because of the um struggles or trials, whatever you'd like to call them from my childhood and early adult years, is there were so many things I was confronted with that I didn't realize I hadn't healed from. And you're faced with them head on, whether that is, you know, when your child is expressing those big feelings and you were always told to shut up and go to your room. Well, we know that that's not what we want to do, but now I've got to teach my child to manage emotions and I don't know how to manage mine. So literally, I've seen a lot of funny reels about it. Yeah.

Kelly: 48:43

Where it's like the analogies, but when you were speaking to that moment in time where each one of your respective parents was going through their own stuff, all I could think about was that is literally us as adults right now going, uh, I'm still I'm still working on the stuff that I need to work on. Yeah. And it's if you're if you're willing to face it head on, then you're like, okay, I can work through this. And then you are in a much prime, much better in prime position to be able to turn around and sort of model for your child what that looks like to him, not saying you, I'm saying the the royal we as mothers and fathers of our children. Um, but that is like that right there is like we're just we're trying to work on how do I not explode in this moment right now because then that's that's repeated patterns of the past and potential damage.

Megan: 49:46

And I'll say, I again I'll be vulnerable and say I struggle with that because I grew up in a very angry household. I had to wonder every day which version of my dad was coming home. Yeah. Was it eggshells or could I chill? And if I could chill, it just meant he was gonna be watching TV. It didn't mean he was gonna play with me. It just meant that, you know, he'd not be screaming in my face. And sometimes I lose my mind with my kids. And I have suffered from I I'm past it now because I'm 14 months postpartum now. But I had really bad postpartum rage after my second one and a little bit with my first. And those are very, very real things. Those are just as real as postpartum depression and postpartum anxiety, and there are resources to reach out to. So if anyone listening is struggling with that, like don't feel the shame from it. But when we do have the outburst or the things that we don't handle the way that we wish we would to stop these cycles, I don't know about you, but anyone else that grew up in an angry home, I was never apologized to. I was never spoken to after. I was just expected to the next morning while there when there's pancakes made that I'm supposed to act like it never happened.

Kelly: 50:54

Yeah.

Megan: 50:54

There was never any, there was never any recollection or reconciliation was the word I was looking for. Um, and so I always do that with my daughters. My my 14 month old doesn't know what's going on yet. I don't, you know, that's not an issue. But I have a four-year-old, four and a half year old. And so when that happens, I go to her and sit down and talk to her like that was wrong. Mommy should not have done that. I did not handle that well because I don't want her to think that, oh, that's how I'm supposed to act, or like, oh, that's that's how mommy is always gonna be.

Kelly: 51:25

So some of like parts of our storyline parallel so much. Really, it's yeah, I have those moments too where it's like, okay, I have I have literally stayed as cool as a cucumber as I can in creating the boundaries as best as I can, and you have crossed it too much. We're done. Like literally, we're done. But then I always come back and I'm like, I'm really mommy's really, really, really, really sorry. Like, really sorry. And there's lots of hugs. Lots of hugs, lots of cuddles. It's tough though.

Megan: 52:00

It's really tough because we are parents, we're not their friends until they are well into their you know 20s or whenever that maturity level levels out. So there is that authority we have to have, but it's showing them that authority with with love. Yeah. And that's the part that I feel like got disconnected for a lot of people from like our parents' generation and maybe the one before that, too. Totally. And that's where the cycles maybe started. Who knows? I haven't looked back like past that. I don't know my family, I can't talk to my family. I don't know them. I can't ask questions. But that to me is how we are making a difference. And no one's gonna be perfect. We always want to do better than our parents and hope that our kids do better than us. Yeah, like we're never gonna aim to be perfect because you're gonna get let down every time. Yeah. But that is what I feel like we can all do is the biggest thing that I hear that our parents didn't do is own up when we're wrong. Whatever that looks like, whether it's yelling, whether it's just handling a situation or even getting mad at someone else or handling like a friend relationship or something with your husband in front of your kids. Yes. And you handle it wrong. You say, Oh, mommy shouldn't have said that that way. Yeah, that was disrespectful, whatever. Or vice versa. There's that conversation because it gives them respect. Yes.

Kelly: 53:15

Amen, sister. You're preaching. Yeah.

Megan: 53:18

Love it. I I'm passionate about this topic because I feel like if I had been explained certain things or given respect, I would have respected myself.

Kelly: 53:27

Yeah.

Megan: 53:28

I didn't have any self-love or any self-respect for many, many, many years. And I made a lot of choices. And I'm not gonna say it's my parents' fault because I am my own person. But I was an impressionable little sponge of a child for many, many years. And that developed how I thought about myself and how I looked at myself and how I made decisions.

Kelly: 53:48

There are truths, cold, hard facts, realities around that thing that you're speaking to. The thing. I don't know if using that word, but that testament to what you're speaking to, which is being a sponge. And that's exactly what our children are right now. The young'uns, the little babes. God bless their hearts. Okay, let's fold in the entrepreneurship piece, the business piece to this. So you you mentioned that you had started um your fitness business, personal training, which then folded into Empower Apparel. Empower Apparel. Yeah, which I've got a few pieces in my collection too. So I love it. I love it. They're so right now, actually. They're like seriously just the nicest. Thank you.

Megan: 54:38

I really feel like I had a little Easter egg going with that brand. We can talk about that in a minute. First, we'll tell everyone what it is or what how it became. Um, so I mentioned Empower Fit that I started and right then found out I was pregnant. Uh, as I walked into motherhood, I had been a gym rat for like almost 10 years to that point. And none of my favorite brands fit right anymore. All the seams were hidden in the most uncomfortable and unflattering places. Yeah. And I didn't even really have a big body transformation postpartum. So I'm like, oh my goodness, what about moms that are undergoing big transformations through pregnancy and postpartum? There's no way that they feel comfortable and confident. Right. Little look into it. Most activewear brands are owned by men. It checks out. Um, yeah. Don't yeah, you want to get upset, go look at that.

Kelly: 55:24

Well, it's it's like um if you have if you have a free moment, you should go and listen to um I don't know what episode it was, but Katie Sievert's episode. She's with uh she owns Let's Talk Women, and it's all about women in health. And it's fascinating the statistics around, you know, like how just women and how women are like perceived through the health lens. So the I mean it's this is a century-long thing. Yes, probably longer. So that sounds very interesting. I'm gonna have to turn that one on on the way home. Yeah, she does events around the Twin Cities too, I on a quarterly basis. So I'll find out when the next one is and shoot you over that information.

Megan: 56:15

But send it to me.

Kelly: 56:17

Anyways, so you're you're talking about how you are you're you're starting to diagnose that there's an issue here with apparel.

Megan: 56:26

And I could I was working with every age and stage of life with women. It wasn't just moms. I was working with some young busy professionals, I was working with some young moms, I was working with some empty nesters, I'm working with some retired moms, like literally the whole spectrum of life. And um, I realized we all shared a common issue is that a lot of us did not feel comfortable or confident in our active wear.

Kelly: 56:47

Yeah.

Megan: 56:47

So I set out on my mission to design active wear for bodies that have been through it all and can do it all. That was like the tagline. Um, and we were solving issues one seam at a time. And I started that, and oh gosh, the years are gonna get all mumbo jumbled together. I had it for three years. So it was 2022, I believe. Okay, like February, beginning of Feb of um 2022, that I filed the LC, made it all official. And when I first started the brand, I saw it as something to run parallel with my coaching business as like a side gig kind of thing. If you've owned a product-based business, you might know that it's kind of an all-in or all out situation, especially when I'm doing, I was doing all custom designs. So minimum order quantities exist, all sorts of other things exist. Um, and it quickly became a beast of a business that was taking, you know, on a on a slow week, like 60 hours, but more like 80 to 100 hours a week, because I was doing my manufacturing overseas. So my negotiations would be at like 11 p.m. midnight. And then all day I'm doing customer service stuff.

Kelly: 57:51

Yeah.

Megan: 57:51

I had a warehouse. I was going to my warehouse, sending out orders, doing all this stuff, doing pop-ups, doing all of these events. And it just got to a point where this was not the low point of my marriage I was talking about earlier, and it wasn't like divorce level serious. I'm not even hungry. That was so weird. Yes.

unknown: 58:11

Oh my gosh.

Megan: 58:14

You know, when before I came in here, because sometimes I don't know what it is. It's like if I drink too cold of water, my throat will do that croaking thing. I can't I don't burp. I can't burp ever. Really? Yeah. So myself and my sister-in-law are the only people I know that can't burp, but neither of us can. It's kind of funny. It's kind of like nice. And my throat will do this, like, like I can't stop it. I can't feel it, but it just goes rah. And like makes this funny noise. And I'm like, I was so nervous that was gonna happen. So I'm glad your stomach did it first. So my throat doesn't hit.

Kelly: 58:42

I'm good.

Megan: 58:43

It's all good. All good. Yes.

Kelly: 58:46

Um, okay, where was I? Um you were talking about um the empower her apparel and the the beast it became, like the size it became, the demands.

Megan: 59:01

It just really put me in a place, and at this point, I already had Blakely, my oldest, and we were, I believe, newly pregnant with Shiloh at that point. Again, the timelines get so fuzzy because life has been crazy the last five years. Um, but it really got to a point my marriage was suffering just because we were we were resenting each other, we weren't seeing each other, we were passing off the kids here and there, and I was stressed because of trying to make things work with the business. Because with product-based business, especially apparel, it is a constant, like very, very financially challenging thing. Because as soon as you make profit or make any money, you've got to put it right back in times five.

Speaker 2: 59:42

Yeah.

Megan: 59:42

So by the end of the three years that I had been in business, I had put like a quarter of a million dollars into the brand. And you remember, like, I don't have my family in my life, and I'll just tell you two, I don't come from money. So this was all like grassroots, taking all the money I was making from coaching. I did have five figure months with coaching, so I was just throwing it. Right into this, all the money that it that the business made went right back into it because beautiful. Like, luckily enough, my husband had has a stable job that was paying for her home expenses and all of the necessities. Um, but my goodness, past that, and then I also took out some small business loans, things of that nature to push the next, you know, the next big line coming out, all of that, because it'd be like a $30,000 to $50,000 investment just to get the next thing out. And then you have to do your marketing, your yeah, yes, you have to do your photo shoots, all of the things. And very quickly, it adds up. And it got to that point, and my ego, my pride, my my vision, I didn't want to let it go.

Kelly: 1:00:45

Yeah.

Megan: 1:00:46

And the very last launch I did, I will be so candid to say I should have never done it. Because even if it would have been the most successful it could have possibly been, it was catapulting me into a space that I didn't want to be because I wanted to be at home with my kids. I didn't want to be a CEO flying all over the place. I'm not in that season of my life.

Kelly: 1:01:06

Yeah.

Megan: 1:01:06

I'm not there. And I actually, okay, fun fact, I've only talked about like one other time and place. I made it to the second round of Shark Tank auditions.

Kelly: 1:01:16

You mentioned this, and I I'm so glad that you brought it up because I am like, I need to make a note, mental note of that to talk through this with Megan. So this is what with the apparel line. Yeah, it was last year. It was last year.

Megan: 1:01:32

It was last year. And do you know why they halted it? Because I was giving birth the week they were filming. Get out. Okay, so actually it must have been two years ago. Sorry, time, time is funny. I'm like, wait, I have a 14-month-old. So she must have been must have been the year before. It was they were filming the week the first week of June in 2024. And I was due on the 7th. And I or I was due on the 14th, 15th. I ended up giving birth on the 7th. So, and obviously it's in California. I would have had to travel and they couldn't risk me giving birth on set.

Kelly: 1:02:00

Yeah.

Megan: 1:02:01

So yes, I did the 20 plus pages of paperwork, signed all the legal documents, signed everything saying I wouldn't talk about it until the process was over, like submitted it all. Wow. It made the audition video. I still have it on my computer. It's like a 10-minute long video. What? Ouch.

Kelly: 1:02:19

Yes. This is so cool. I mean, that's that in itself. We could have our own little podcast just about the emotions that that creates in building something, right? Okay. Yeah. Okay.

Megan: 1:02:36

So let's I feel like I have to say though. Talk through all of this. Yes. So I've seen every single episode of Shark Tank multiple times because, as many entrepreneurs, I just admire so many people on there. And I just think that it is so cool. It makes me feel like giddy inside to see other entrepreneurs succeed and see their stories and see these journeys and learn from them too. Learn from the good ones, learn from the ones that need improvement, learn from all of them. And then the actual sharks themselves are obviously very well-versed and very savvy geniuses in the field. So I've always I've loved seeing it. And then I saw like the audition thing because I just went to their website and was curious, and the audition was there, and I just filled it out and I got an email back that was like, we'd love to do a call and do a little interview with you. And I did double check the email because I was like, this is spam. This has to be spam. No, it was actually Shark Tank. It was literally one of their casting director people.

Kelly: 1:03:28

Oh my word.

Megan: 1:03:29

And I was like, okay, so we had the call and we went through everything. I told her just a blip of my story at the beginning, and she was like, Oh wow, we love this. Like, I'm sending you on to the next round. I didn't even tell her like my whole business plan or anything. I just told her my story, and she was like, Okay, yes. Pushed me to the next round. That's when we made the video, did all that stuff. And I did tell her. Maybe I shouldn't have told them. But I mean, bottom line is I was gonna be giving birth regardless. Yeah. And I said, like, just so you know, because they told me the weeks that they were filming. And I was like, okay, just so you know, I'm pregnant right now, and I'm due on the 15th, and you know, I'm healthy, but baby's gonna come when she wants to come. Yeah. So, and she sure did, I'll tell you that. Yeah, yes. Um, but that um was a very, like you said, emotional because it was just like, oh my gosh, I've literally watched hundreds of people go on the show, and I've seen some businesses that I've supported since before they were on the show. Like it just feels so it's like seeing a friend that's so cool go on Shark Tank. Yeah, and one of the guys in my warehouse that I rented in Arden Hills, he was on Shark Tank, got a deal with Barbara. Yeah, so it was like it felt so I was able to link up with him and just ask some questions, nothing that like violated any contracts, okay? But just like, okay, do the like what should I look for? Like, if you can give some just like pretty blanket advice, what should I do? What should I ask? What should I da-da-da? So it was very cool. And it was still at the point where if I'm if I'm being honest, and around I'd say the beginning of 2024 is when I really started feeling that nudge, like, hey, maybe you should stop. Like, maybe you should slow down and put in power apparel to bed. And I ignored it because if I'm being honest, again, my ego, she just gets in there sometimes. It's something I struggle with. You know, I don't know anyone that doesn't struggle with it in some way, shape, or form. But I was like, you know, I know my family keeps tabs on me, and they do. They love to see me fail. They want to see me fail. That's one of the last things they told me is I'm nothing without them. They told me I was gonna be a drug-addicted teen mom. So they just look at you now. And I'm like, hey, look at you now. Look, okay. And I've I've very proud of the things I've done in my life and will continue to do. But that voice in my head was you can't close this business because they're gonna just laugh at you. They're gonna, they're gonna be so happy, they're gonna have a party because you failed. And I was like, I can't do that. And that became my driving force instead of the mission of the brand. And instead of my family, and actually building a legacy for my family, not talking about those people that gave birth to me, but my family. Yeah, my husband and my children.

Kelly: 1:06:10

Which is an important thing to to just note also. We don't have to dive into it, but there's there is something to be said about um, you know, like there has to be this true like booting your children out of the nest and cutting the cord. And I think that there is some biblical thing to this as well.

Megan: 1:06:31

They leave and cleave. Yes.

Kelly: 1:06:32

When they have their spouse, yes, they leave and they cleave, they become so I I mean there your new family is of utmost importance. Absolutely. I'm I'm curious if you've sort of um if your church community has talked you uh through this, but like this hierarchical of needs, which is God, spouse, family, community.

Megan: 1:07:01

Yes, every year. Every year around Christmas time, around like Thanksgiving and Christmas, they do talk about that to almost help people because there's a lot of divide and um, I feel like conflict that comes up around that time of year around families trying to decide whose house are we going to, what are we doing, da-da-da-da-da. And they always remind us like it is okay to make your own traditions. Yeah, it is okay, you have to like because bottom line is if think if I still had my family, and then we've got all two to three events for my husband's family too, and two to three on my side with my divorced parents, and what if their parents were alive? A lot of people have to choose between like 17 events of which ones they're gonna go to, and there's this guilt and this pressure, and it's like you've gotta remember we are celebrating family, and like of course, with his parents, like not mine, but with his family, his parents, they are still very much a priority to us, but they don't come above our immediate little circle, right? And that's and it's a a respect thing that is the the way of life that we're living.

Kelly: 1:08:00

So full circle back to what you're speaking to with this moment in time of like I I was misaligned in what that was look like. Like it didn't mean that you were misaligned in the in the mission of what you were accomplishing because there was a lot of accomplishments with that and very impactful at that too.

Megan: 1:08:21

Yeah, I'm very proud of what I did. Like, I would have women messaging me saying it's the first time they've ever felt good about their boobs postpartum because of the bras I designed. Yeah, and I'm like, dude, I understand. Like I breastfed two babies, okay? I exclusively pumped with this last one, and it did a number to my yeah. Like, oh, I don't even like, you know, we'll we'll look at those later. I keep them in my bra. Yes, you might. Yeah, I'm just like, you know, nowadays this is sidetracking. I just got to FaceTime one of my friends yesterday. I haven't talked to her in two and a half years, and she is one of my military friends. She's down in New Orleans now, and she has two babies now. I haven't talked to her since she became a mom, and she's breastfeeding both of them, and she was talking about just the woes of what happens to your poor nips.

Kelly: 1:09:05

And I'm like, girl, the nips, the we can talk about this for a hot second. Yeah. Because it's not the first time, it's certainly not gonna be the last time. And I think it's okay that we talk talk, you know, a little bit raw and openly about this, but this is this is something that is a a little bit of a sore topic for me, pun intended. I was like literally sore because mine were so sore during the sore, lots of nipple butter, and I think what's like the most troublesome for me personally is my boobs are indeed smaller now than they were when before I had my baby, and I'm like, that's really sad. It is, it is, but at the same time, I love I love I now love the the new version of my body, and it's taken some time. I mean, Maddie's like two and a half years old, yeah, and so it's taken some time, and just this again, another form of um going through a bit of identity crisis, and the boobs are a part of that as well. Oh, absolutely. Yeah, but yes, okay, okay, Megan, sorry, yes, you're fine.

Megan: 1:10:20

Yes, the boobs, and if you're struggling with that, just know like it's a-okay. I feel like we're oh gosh, again, we could go on a whole tangent about body image, but we've gotta stop. As a society, we've gotta stop allowing these people to tell us that a perfect body or an acceptable body is one that looks like a child's, okay? Like that is so inappropriate on its own.

Kelly: 1:10:43

Yes.

Megan: 1:10:43

It is damaging to young women that are just becoming of age, and it's damaging to mothers because we feel ashamed of our bodies that have created life.

Kelly: 1:10:52

Right.

Megan: 1:10:53

And fed life. Wild. Yeah. No, like, and I'm not saying there is no perfect body. There should be no example, but if there is one, should it not be the one with like, you know, stretch marks or sags or whatever it is? Because that shows that you have lived life, you've achieved this, that, or the third. Whatever that means for you. So it's like the scars, the the imperfections, all of that is what should be like, oh wow, cool. Not yeah, not a body that literally looks like it belongs to like a 15-year-old. Okay. That's scary. Why is that so like why is that the idea of attractive?

Kelly: 1:11:27

Well, it's society and it's it is um, I'm not gonna go there. Yeah, I was like, we shouldn't go there, but that is one I can get on a freaking soapbox about it. Yeah. All right, so so circling the way guns back to this again moment in time where it you've had to make a decision. It's the the death of the proverbial baby, the first baby. I would I always said, yeah, so whatever.

Megan: 1:11:54

Second, third, whatever. I would always call it my third baby because I couldn't put it above my human babies. But it really was a baby to me. I gave it this the well, honestly, sometimes more attention than I was able to give to my kids. And it was because of all the the bills that came due with the business. There was no option to just, okay, let's just pause. Like, no, no, we've got we've got bills pay their expenses along with this business. And I think I made the decision the end of October last year. Okay. Um, but I I had to make a plan before I just came out and said it and told everyone. So I spoke with my little team that I had. They weren't working uh like for me as employees, but they were working as like my brand managers. Yeah, told them what was going on, gave everyone like a heads up and said, This is my decision. It's a pretty firm decision of what I'm gonna do. They were very supportive because they saw how burnt out I was, they saw how like almost manic I was becoming because it was just I was getting to a very unhealthy place. So it was all support all the way around. I made the announcement the first week of January because I let the holiday season do what it does. Yeah. And you know, everyone is busy during that time. I wanted to make sure it was a time that we had people's attention. And I shut down the site and closed everything up in February.

Kelly: 1:13:09

Yeah.

Megan: 1:13:10

And I had at first the intention, you might have seen if you've been on Empower Apparel's Instagram, that it was like, oh, I'm switching to a wholesale only model because I thought I could still do that. Okay. And I could. I'm not saying I couldn't. I thought I wanted to do that.

Kelly: 1:13:24

Yeah.

Megan: 1:13:25

I didn't. Because I don't know if you've ever stepped away from a business, a job. Certainly, relationships come to mind for me, whether it's a friendship or a romantic relationship. The further you get away from it, you're like, what did I accept as treatment? And what did I settle for during that time? And you almost feel disgusted with yourself a little bit. Yes. You feel disappointed.

Kelly: 1:13:46

Yes.

Megan: 1:13:46

That's how I felt. And I was like, oh my goodness, what have I been putting my family through? What have I been putting myself through? The the like drunk goggles, I guess I had on came off. Rose colored glasses. Yes, that's what I was thinking of, but drunk goggles is what came to mind. But that's a good analogy, too. But I took them off and I was like, oh, I see so clearly what I don't want. And so, like, I still wear the leggings all the time because I've tried. I have literally bought so many leggings in the last year trying to find leggings that are better than the ones I designed, and I I'm not coming up with any. So I still wear them pretty much every day. I love them. And good for you. It's a good reminder of the accomplishments through that time. And I know that like I do still have my relationships with my manufacturers. There's nothing stopping me from starting it back up if the opportunity arose, but I now know what it requires. Right. And I still have the debt. Like I mentioned to you before we started recording, nothing's off limits. We can talk about it. I have a lot of business debt left from Empower Apparel. It is literally just over six figures that I have left of business debt.

Kelly: 1:14:56

It's this was we were talking about this off air, and I'm like, this is actually the stuff that needs to be out there. Yeah. And the reality. The realities, these are the realities of um operations of businesses and what people are willing to take on or not willing to take on, and how it's managed. And and at some point, if it becomes, and I'll use the word insurmountable for just the time being, it doesn't mean that that's your circumstance by any stretch of the imagination, because it's not. Um, but it may feel like that is the biggest mountain of debt that you have to climb. And then there's decisions that have to come around that as well. This for you, from what I'm hearing, correct me if I'm wrong, it was twofold. It was like this you saw that, but then you saw the impact it was having on the family, and then the realities started to set in. And it was like, okay. This is, I mean, I when I initially approached you about being on the podcast, um, it was when everything for me and I was kind of coming in what I felt was like the the start of all of it, and the reality is that it had been going for quite some time. Yes. And so I was like, holy cats and dogs, this woman is so cool, doing big things, and she's got an apparel line that, like, really, this is so cool. So that was my initial reach out. Lo and behold, I'm learning like right here in in the live that there was the the coaching business, and then this was gonna come alongside of that, and it and it for for a while it did, and then it kind of took a you know took off. It took off and and had a mind of its own almost. Yes, and I'm so curious, where did like be in blossom come like how did that because you really quickly pivoted after that? And I was like, okay, I thought she was cool, she's cool. Like she literally just pivoted, and it goes back to what we were speaking to earlier in this interview of that you that window of time where like some people kind of sit and are like really mourning.

Megan: 1:17:28

I didn't have time for that. I literally didn't have time. I cannot like no, I have already made decisions that led my family to a place that I'm not happy about financially, and I'm gonna get us out of that and you know work my way. And I love that you said the word pivot because this morning before I came in, I was like cleaning up my house a little bit before family help came over because it's embarrassing if your house is a complete wreck when they came out. Listen, this was me. Like I have- Your house looks spotless. What are you talking about?

Kelly: 1:17:58

I know because yesterday I had to um, I shouldn't say had to, I got to get it all shimmied up because I had a a gal coming over here to interview me. Oh it was a very quick interview, but it was fun. It was it's up on LinkedIn, you should check it out. Yeah, but I was like, I gotta get this clean. Oh, perfect. This is perfect because I can have the house clean for when Megan comes tomorrow. Well, don't you ever worry about cleaning for me. Well, it it's there is something, and I speak to I didn't speak very eloquently to this, but I'm like, there's something just so nice. Like when you enter into a home and it's it smells good, yeah, and our mudroom does not smell good, but like you you walk in and it just is that's how I want women to because you're coming and you're talking about your story. You know what I mean?

Megan: 1:18:45

Fair, it could help let a guard down, I suppose. But yeah, I was I was cleaning this morning and I was just thinking, kind of like thinking slash praying slash whatever of like what are we gonna talk about today? And the word pivot is what came to mind because I was like, when I think about my story, because it can be so loaded, like I said so many times in this episode. If we could talk about that for an hour, we could talk about that for another hour. So it's like, okay, how do I stay focused and get out the meat and potatoes and the important things? Yeah, and that is definitely like the number one thing is the pivot that we've undergone in the last year. And it literally, like I mentioned earlier, I was actually at a pop-up for Empower. I think it was our very last pop-up. I hadn't told anyone yet that we were gonna be closing up shop because I was keeping that, and it was November, I think it was snowing. I know that. I always tell time in Minnesota based on if it's cold or hot outside. Yeah. I'm like, I don't know what month, but it was snowing. So it was one of the six months here. Um, so not to hate on Minnesota weather, but it's not what I'm used to. Um, and I was just sitting there, it was a very slow pop-up, very disappointing. I was like, oh man, the turnout didn't go how we hoped it would. And so I had a lot of time sitting on my phone, just had nothing else to do. And I was scrolling, and that's when I saw that charcuterie cart. And I have a girlfriend who owns Cookie Cruiser, and I met her at a pop-up with Empower Apparel. The cutest little, it's like a bike that has a freezer on the front. And it she makes like homemade ice cream cookie sandwiches. So shameless plug for Cookie Cruiser. If you need her for an event, just go to her website. She's got everything right there. You plug and play and a couple different options to have her.

Kelly: 1:20:16

Make sure to drop it in the show notes.

Megan: 1:20:17

Yes, please do. You should invite her on here. She's awesome. She did it all in a year on accident. She literally started her business like on accident and it took off. And she's done like music festivals and all sorts of amazing things. If you're open to the warm introduction, I'd love that. Yeah, absolutely. I'll link you guys together. Just remind me because I'll forget. Um, just being honest. That could be another topic again. Bomb brain. I am like questionably becoming dory. Like, I'm like, huh?

Kelly: 1:20:40

Like every day of my life. A period where it's it does, it does start to get better. Like at least it has for me. Like, I feel like my cognitive abilities are definitely a little bit better now, but it's it that's a lot of water. That's a lot of healthy food, that's a lot of fixing from the inside out.

Megan: 1:21:02

So anyway, yes, my when we said my health was really good, it is in the sense of all the cancer, chronic pain, and things, but I definitely have some levels out of balance. I've been working with relive, relive, however you say their name, and Minnetonka. So another shameless plug for them. Okay. Get your panels done. They're very holistic approach to things, and they're helping me get my brain back.

Kelly: 1:21:21

Incredible timing because I was literally just thinking about this within the last 24 hours. Okay, second.

Megan: 1:21:25

So I'll just like make a note somewhere of the things I need to give you, the links of that, and then connect you with Nicole. So Nicole built her own thing. Her and her husband are very handy people. And so I reached out to her, and I only knew her from doing a pop-up at the hub in Anoka, a very cute little like gathering market. And I reached out and I was like, hey, crazy thing. I just saw like this charcuterie cart idea, and I just think it would be so cool and something that could really add value to Minnesota. And do you have any like insight? Because it's a similar business to hers. And she goes, Oh, yeah, here's the health department's contact that you need to talk to, gave me her direct number and email, and I'll build your cart for you. She built your cart for you, yes, and she did it like for cost, like basically for cost of just the materials.

Kelly: 1:22:12

My heart is exploding right now. Yes. Her name's Nicole.

Megan: 1:22:15

Yes, Nicole, you're a gem if you're listening. Literally, um, she doesn't know it, of course, but before I even contacted her, I prayed and I said, I sound like such a psycho. I was like, I am gonna be telling everyone that I am sunsetting a business because it is too much and I can't handle it anymore, basically. I'm I'm choosing my family, but also I'm starting this other business. So God only let this happen. Only let this come into play if it's meant to be. I am not going to try to make it, you know, like mean girls, I'm not gonna make fetch happen. Like, you just did that. I'm not looking for it. I'm not gonna do it. Just let it happen if it is your will. If that's what I'm supposed to do, because like, why do I why am I so obsessed with this idea?

Kelly: 1:23:00

Yeah.

Megan: 1:23:01

If this is you, make it happen. And I messaged her within the hour, and she got right back to me, sent me voice notes telling me all the like tips and hacks and all the things we're gonna have to do and the like, you know, the the hurdles we're gonna have to overcome, how to do it, da-da-da. And like we met a month later, went over all the blueprint stuff and everything, and she built the cart for us. And that's our cart that we have. And we're so cool. Yes, thank you. So cool. We're doing her um wedding brunch celebration next month, and we're doing a whole brunch spread. Our like our cart's gonna be full of really delicious brunch items and really fun, like pancake sausage skewers, and also a bloody merry bar.

Kelly: 1:23:40

So cool. So cool. Yes. There's um, there is somebody who I have not had the chance to connect with yet, but she has a mobile like liquor thing. What is the name? Do you know?

Megan: 1:23:54

Well, her name is Ashley. Oh, Piccadilly Poors. I think so. Yeah, she's gonna, she's like friends with Nicole as well. So she is gonna be at the wedding reception. It's so they got married in Italy and not everyone was able to make it. So she's doing this stateside party for everyone for the friends and fam. And Piccadilly Poor's is gonna be doing the drinks, and we're doing the charcuterie for brunch.

Kelly: 1:24:15

Oh cool. Well, look at that. That's amazing. Yeah, Ashley and I are in we're in conversation right now. Yeah, I don't know how like that that connection came from my husband, but I think it was like through somebody else.

Megan: 1:24:29

She does a lot of, I feel like corporate events and things and weddings, so maybe something that was connected through. I don't believe in anyways, yeah. Yeah, so she created the cart, and then with my business partner, it was kind of uh okay, let's let's go grab dinner. We grabbed dinner in January and we ended up filing our LLC at dinner, and we announced the business on Valentine's Day on my daughter's birthday. Um, and then we opened our books in April, and we became profitable in July. So we started taking our own paychecks in July. And now okay, free and I have to say amazing. Okay, three clients that we've closed all through my Instagram, and I have run, I created and run our Instagram solo. I don't pay anyone to do it, nothing. It's just from my past experience.

Speaker 2: 1:25:13

Yeah.

Megan: 1:25:13

We have we worked with St. Jude last week, so we did their um dream home show space in Maple Grove. It's like a $1.3 or $1.8 million home that we got to set up in their beautiful kitchen that they just built for the ribbon cutting ceremony. Uh, tomorrow we are making a little pre-made jam for Aflac, you know, like the white duckling Aflac. Yeah. Um, for a little meeting that they're doing, uh inviting someone back after her maternity leave. And then on September, I'm not gonna say the date, but in September, we uh got hired by the Minnesota Vikings wives to do their pregame party at one of the players' houses. This is the coolest thing ever. Literally, we were like, is this legitimate? We had to be like, are you sure? Because you know, and it was through a party planner and all that. So we're like, oh, is this is this legitimate? We don't want to get too excited before, like, no, it's it's completely legit. So we get to make charcuterie for the Vikings wives, and it's just such a cool opportunity. And we're just and honestly, too, the things that have happened, I literally what is today, Thursday. We got baptized like four days ago. Yeah, the opportunities we've had come up this week are outrageous. Just in this week, and just this week, my husband filed his LLC literally last night. Literally last night, and my husband is he's always told me, I don't have the mind for to be an entrepreneur, like I don't have my mind doesn't work that way. And we went to life surge this past weekend. So it was like Tim Tebow, Chris Carter, all these really influential people. It was pretty cool. And afterwards, I told him, I was like, I really feel like you could start your own business. And he was like, he said that again, and I was like, hey, like you wouldn't let me talk badly about myself. So I feel like you're selling yourself short with that. Like, I just feel like you're making an excuse to not explore like something that could help us get to that financial freedom that we're fighting for in our family. And sure enough, it like I swear sometimes and all times, my husband needs to hear it from someone else. Yeah, I don't know if you experience that too, but a thousand percent.

Kelly: 1:27:12

Yes, it's the most infuriating thing ever.

Megan: 1:27:14

No, I'm like, oh, that's a great idea. Where'd you hear that first?

Kelly: 1:27:18

Yes, exactly. And then it takes it takes like someone else, it does take somebody else sometimes. Um, and I'm sure that our husbands can speak to that happening to us as well.

Megan: 1:27:30

Yeah, it's just you know it's like when you're with someone all the time, you know, it's just like they almost become an extension of you, so you still have that like, I don't know, like I don't know. But his buddy, who has done the same thing because he's a diesel tech, he works on Peterbilts and services them, and he was asked by someone at our gym that owns a trucking business to come like turn wrenches and do all his maintenance. And I was like, babe, just file your LC. And he got on the phone with his friend. He's a bit of a consultant role repairing, so doing like turning wrenches, doing all the stuff. That's what he does. So he is now doing diesel repair, working on the big trucks, and that's what he does at work at Oakerville.

Kelly: 1:28:08

So he has okay so now he's doing it on the side as well for his for himself. So yeah, that's really exciting. It's a huge entrepreneur is in one house, yes, and I've I don't know what that looks like at all. We're I mean, that's us, so I get it. But yeah, um, if you guys ever want to uh start a podcast with us and we talk about you know all the things being in marriage and entrepreneurship and parenting and parenting, yeah. So okay, you and McKenna are you're in the thick of it, you are turning profit, yeah, you got over the ego and the fear of like sunsetting a business and then turning around and starting a new business. I wanna like let's talk through those emotions.

Megan: 1:28:59

Yeah, yeah, absolutely.

Kelly: 1:29:01

Because and then we're gonna start to land the plane.

Megan: 1:29:04

Yeah.

Kelly: 1:29:05

I want to talk through the emotions and how that also played into the folds of family as well. Like, how how did your husband even respond in all of this?

Megan: 1:29:16

So through Empower Apparel, we I started Empower Apparel when we were at that low point in our life in our marriage, the one that was like very, very bad and dark. And I'd say, like, through it, as we came out of that, we never had conversations about the boundaries of a business, I think. Um and there was a lot of your stomachs. It is seriously like talking to us, just adding to the combo.

Kelly: 1:29:47

I guess I guess it's it's gonna be about time for lunch, you know, when we wrap everything up. Not right now, not right now, Megan.

unknown: 1:29:56

Right now.

Megan: 1:29:57

Okay, it's totally fine. It happens. Um Um, but we um oh shoot, hold on one second, let me catch up. Boundaries, boundaries. Yep, there's my mom brain train has left the station a little bit.

Kelly: 1:30:11

Talking, I know, I'm sorry that my stomach distracted. Talking through like the boundaries of owning a business and like having or not having.

Megan: 1:30:21

Long story short, resentment built for both of us. But my husband definitely had resentment towards my business because I was spending a lot more time with my business than I was with him. And um, there was a conversation about it, right? Because we didn't have a foundation of respect for each other really from the get-go of the business. That came later. Um, and really, again, like we keep bringing up church, we keep bringing up God, but like there is no other answer or other way that it happened, other than he had a change of heart, like his heart posture changed, and he really wanted to support me. Yeah, he wanted to put down the hit his ego in that way and put down whatever it was that was keeping us apart from each other.

Kelly: 1:30:58

Yeah.

Megan: 1:30:59

And that's kind of what happened in before we started being blossom. I had a very serious conversation with him, multiple conversations, about like, are you sure that you're able and willing to support me through this? Like, I promise that I will not let it get to the point that it did with Empower where it took so much of me.

Kelly: 1:31:15

Yeah.

Megan: 1:31:16

And I really would like to hear your commitment to support me in it as well. Yeah. And that'll look different in different stages of business. And he was wholeheartedly like, yes, do it. Like, I fully support you. And already you can see the difference in the support of this business that wasn't there with my last business. And it wasn't like him being a hater, because I know some people can interpret things, like especially just me saying, not listening to the rest of the episode, just hearing, like, oh, your husband didn't support you in business. Oh, da-da-da. No, it was like very two-sided. Yeah, I seriously was choosing and like vocally so choosing the business over him, kind of being like too bad, so sad, this is what I'm doing. Yeah. There has to be collaborative conversation and mutual respect and boundaries in anything you decide to do once you decide to be married. And once you decide to have kids, oh my gosh. Because there's then there's because then not only am I saying I'm not gonna be around, I'm saying I'm not gonna be around, and you take care of the kids. Right. And that's a lot when he's just you know worked the whole time. He's a new boy, too. Yeah, hello.

Kelly: 1:32:12

New wish, dad, right?

Megan: 1:32:13

Yeah. Where I someone just asked me yesterday, do you still feel like a new mom? And I was like, I dare to venture say we are always new moms.

Kelly: 1:32:20

Yeah.

Megan: 1:32:21

Because you're always meeting a new version of your kid, you're always facing new like challenges or celebrations in parenthood. So, like, what is an experienced mom? Because you're always gonna have a, you know, my best friend's son just turned 12 yesterday, so but now she's a new mom because she now has a 12-year-old. She's never had a 12-year-old before. Right. So there's so much truth in that. Yeah. There really is. Not until we become grandmas, I guess, that we're experienced moms.

Kelly: 1:32:44

And then we're new grandmas. And then and then there's a whole new season of life. Yeah. It's just seasons. Yeah. It's just seasons. So okay. We'll start to land the plane.

Megan: 1:32:55

Okay.

Kelly: 1:32:56

Um, but I'm gonna start landing the plane with the loaded question. All right. Because I it w it's been like itching at me. And I'm I'm curious if if you have some thoughts around this. Faith is very important to you. It's it's completely evident. How have you or not um allowed that to sway? How okay, I gotta figure out a better way to put this. So I'm gonna actually just do a little storytelling here. The podcast itself did not start off with a uh foundation of um faith. Faith has always been important to me. Yeah. And I did, I was very clear in like it's one of the core values of how I lead with this. But in terms of who I was having on with guests and stuff, like there's been it started to sort of make this shift. So for me, I'm going, does this mean that I have to start to make pivots in decision making and what the podcast looks like? And I'm curious for you, with how you operate your business, what has that look like for you personally? Well, what's my business? It's something I'm struggling with. And I want I want to know if I if if you may have struggled with this yourself.

Megan: 1:34:29

Yeah, I I'm trying to think of how it might relate. Because with Be in Blossom, it stays very superficial, right? Like we're we're serving food for people.

Kelly: 1:34:37

It's not just for Christian business owners or this Christian gathering. Yeah.

Megan: 1:34:42

No, not at all. And honestly, I see a not coming at anyone, but I see an issue, a potential issue, shall we say, if someone is only open to working with a certain group of people, whether that's Christians or non-Christians, if you're not willing to work with someone because they're a Christian or because they're not, because like I forget the way to say it. It's not gonna come out nearly as articulate as I want it to, but it's like the best person to reach someone broken is someone that's been there before. And that is like I can relate to so many people in so many positions that probably aren't Christians because of what I've been through that would never otherwise walk into a church. So, like, we are meant to be the church as us people.

Speaker 2: 1:35:27

I want to I want to elaborate off of this.

Kelly: 1:35:29

Uh-huh. It's um, it's like the proverbial, literally, um, the 99 versus the one.

Megan: 1:35:38

So I have the 99 to get the one. I have a t-shirt that says that because I am that lost sheep that he left the you know, yeah, the congregation to come and find me wandering out in the woods, just being a fool. Yeah, you ever read the Bible and you start to realize that the fool sounds a lot like you, and you're like, oh no. Yes, you're describing me. Yes. Yeah.

Kelly: 1:35:58

Okay. I I like that. I like that that thought process and that approach.

Megan: 1:36:04

And um it's now I also think it's very important to never bend on your your morals and your own faith, though. If someone asked you to, you know, they're only gonna come on your podcast if you denounce God or if you if you absolutely ref don't talk about God or you agree with things that they say that does not align with your faith, that is that's not okay either. Like we have responsibilities as Christians to to not bend due to someone else's beliefs. Yeah. But that also doesn't mean that we are rude, disrespectful, or condemning to other people.

Kelly: 1:36:41

That is also very much the thought process that I've had is I've never wanted to have somebody come on to the podcast who protect perhaps is not in that Christian like vein, right? And feel like I'm getting on a soapbox to talk to them, or vice versa. Like, because I do think that there is a way to have level-setting conversations because this is this is a platform of conversations and storytelling. And I think that there is a way to have mutual respect going into the conversation and not feel like you're overstepping one another, one another and going, yes, these are my views, this is where I came from, this is my story, this is my brokenness, this is why I feel the way that I do.

Speaker 2: 1:37:28

Yes.

Kelly: 1:37:28

And then, you know, on my end, going, This is my testimony, this is why I feel this way, this is this is what has empowered me to do this, to even do this. Yeah, right. But I have these like, I'm like, how does this play into like a future business? Right. I don't know. Stay tuned, listener.

Megan: 1:37:51

Yeah, I mean, that's one of those things you definitely have to like spend your time in prayer and give that over to God because I'm not gonna have that answer for you. I don't think anyone will be able to have that answer. And it's like, um, something. So, fun fact too, what I've been doing because I'm at home with my kids a lot. I have I started a TikTok a couple months ago and I have 5,500 followers now, and I've been monetizing and making money off of TikTok. So I'm just saying it's very fun. And I just talk about motherhood and Jesus. So that's what my platform is all about. And yeah, I go live and do super fun stuff, and I love it, and it's so fun. Um, but one of the videos I made that did pretty well was talking about, you know, the the just like very common things of oh my gosh, she's a Christian and she looks like that, or he's a Christian, he talks like that. Like, oh, like all this judgment. And it's like that's where we really, I feel like mess up the most as Christians is making these assumptions or judging or thinking too far into the future of making up a scenario.

Kelly: 1:38:50

Yeah.

Megan: 1:38:51

Because it really is like it's none of our business, it is absolutely none of our business how God is working in anyone else, and whether or not they claim to be a Christian, whether or not what they're they're swearing, they're dressing a certain way, they're doing whatever they're they're doing, certain action that you don't feel aligns with being a Christian. That's not up to you. It isn't because can you imagine if you became a Christian and God set you down and give you a list of like everything you're doing that goes against his word or his will for your life, we would all just like want to end it right there because that's so overwhelming. He's a loving and tender God, and he takes you by the hand and he will reveal to you whatever it is he wants to work on in you at that time. That was very beautiful. But it's seriously, because we can't like, you know, someone else that might feel very convicted about like I just use the swearing as a thing. That's something I've been trying to work on since my daughter started repeating me with certain things. I was like, oh no, okay, that's not what I want her to do. So we've been working on that. My husband and I both, like, you know, I came from military town, he's a Navy sailor, so same where we cussed a lot. We've been working on that, but that's something we felt convicted of. We're not gonna sit there and say, oh, because someone else, you know, says that drops an F bomb every other word that they're not a Christian, right? Because in due time, if that's something God wants to work on in them, he will.

Kelly: 1:40:11

I've learned that in those, in those moments, that's areas of opportunity to pray around why you are feeling the way that you're feeling about that particular individual. Like, why is it that you're having this like adverse reaction the way that you are, and to literally just go into prayer about it? Absolutely. Um, okay, we're officially landing the plane. Okay. So the first question I'd like to ask you as we do so is what is a piece of advice that you would give a younger version of yourself, knowing all that you know now and have been through. Can I ask for how young?

Megan: 1:40:53

Or does it do I get to choose? You get to choose. Okay. Oh, let me sit on that for a moment. Let me see. Oh, a younger Megan. I would oof. It's a little heavy, and I feel like it's not related to anything we really really dove into here, but it's what's coming to my mind is that you don't need to prove your worth to other people. You don't need to think that your physical body or whatever it is, like who you are, determines if you're good or bad, or or what you are worth, that you need to zoom out and look at the bigger picture, acknowledge everything that you have overcome, and continue to push forward and achieve goals that serve the bigger picture, serve your future family, to serve God, to serve yourself.

Kelly: 1:41:52

So beautiful. Thank you. That was incredible. How about a piece of advice that you would give a woman listening right now who's nibbling on the edges of entrepreneurship? Okay.

Megan: 1:42:07

Yes, I will say tap into the resources. There are so many resources out there for you. A lot of them are free, and you need to get in community with other entrepreneurs, other moms, and pick their brain. Because there is so much freedom to be found in entrepreneurship. You're never gonna get it perfect the first time, but there sure are a lot of mistakes, or like you know, they call them rookie mistakes that you can avoid if you surround yourself with that community of other women that can understand you, that can uplift you, and that can truly guide and mentor you through it all.

Kelly: 1:42:42

That was incredible. Thank you. Yeah. Um, do you have like one resource that you could throw out that I could list in the show notes?

Megan: 1:42:50

Yeah. So well, it's kind of like two in one. Um score is the they have a Minneapolis chapter, and they will link you up with a mentor and you can either meet in person or virtually. I've had two mentors through there, and they have been incredibly helpful in my business journey. They help me write my business plans for free, absolutely for free. And if I needed them today, I could email them and ask for help. Um, and then women venture is where I've secured my funding through. They've been really amazing too. And even though getting the funding this last time was the bad decision on my part, yeah, they still saw the vision and they saw the dream and made it happen for me.

Kelly: 1:43:24

So beautiful. Okay, I will be sure to drop those two. Absolutely incredible. I've I've heard of Women Venture. I know um one of the newest board members on there too. She's a part of my rotary, Afira. Okay, been on the podcast as well. So this is it's interesting when you have these little god nudges or god wings. It's like, okay, I'm I I need to just reach out to the owner of Women Venture and go, okay, do you want to be on the podcast? But then also like tell me more about this. How can these wonderful, beautiful listeners get connected to you?

Megan: 1:44:02

Yeah, so I used to be most like plugged in on social media for my personal stuff on Instagram. That is switched over to TikTok. It is Rekindling Motherhood. Okay. So, you know, that'll have to be another podcast episode that we come on and talk about what rekindling motherhood is. Cause right now it's just behind the scenes. But just as it sounds and it's spelled, rekindling motherhood is my TikTok handle. And then on Instagram, I still show up sometimes on my personal page, but especially to check out all this really fun stuff we're doing with the charcuterie. It's be and blossom co. And if you're looking at our website, it is.co, not dot com because someone else owns that to me. It is be and blossom.co. Um, and then of course, like Instagram is linked to our Facebook. Okay. Yeah. Beautiful.

Kelly: 1:44:47

Megan, such an honor. Thank you so much for having me. You're welcome. Um, I I just love all of the folds that we talked about, the identity shifts, the massive pivots, yes, the learning curves, the ups and downs, the peaks and valleys. Such a treat to have you on. So thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking time, getting the family, you know, support. Child care help.

Megan: 1:45:13

Yeah, it wouldn't have worked out too well. My uh 14-month-old is in that grunting stage where she just sounds like a pterodactyl all the time. She goes, So that would not have been an enjoyable experience for the listeners. So thank you so much for having me.

Kelly: 1:45:25

It was an honor to be on the show. You're welcome. I hope you have a great day. Thanks, you too. Thank you. Thanks for listening. And if you enjoyed this episode and know of any inspiring mamas who are powerhouse entrepreneurs, please help connect them with myself and the show. It would mean so much if you would help spread this message, mission, and vision for other Mompreneurs. It takes 30 seconds to rate and review, then share this episode with your friends. Until the next episode, cheers to reclaiming your hue.