Corporate to Creative | Karissa Perry on Entrepreneurship, Motherhood, & Redefining Success

In this week’s episode of Generational Tea, we sit down with Karissa — a mom of two and former corporate girlie who made the bold move to quit her job and start a business with her husband. Together, they now sell what they call the perfect men’s t-shirt on Amazon (link + exclusive code below). We talk about what it’s really like to leave a traditional career to pursue entrepreneurship, the realities of working with your spouse, and how motherhood impacts the journey. Karissa opens up about navigating identity shifts, the pressure to “do it all,” and finding joy in the freedom she’s created for her family. This episode is for anyone feeling stuck in a job with no balance, anyone toying with the idea of pivoting, or anyone who’s wondering if it’s actually possible to raise babies and build a business. (Spoiler alert: It is.)

• Join the conversation: What did you think about Karissa's story? How did your weekly challenge go? Share your reflections in the comments or via our social media.
• What She Said: Karissa shares a meaningful quote that keeps her grounded on tough days. Tune in to hear it! 
• Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Mens-Shirts-Sleeve-Premium-Tapered/dp/B0DFGJV5H3?th=1&psc=1 
• Use code GENTEA15 for 15% off your order!
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• Microphone flags by Impact PBS
• Intro music by Cymatix
• Logo by @makariann 
• Business email: generationalteapod@gmail.com

Transcript

0:11

that's like one of the biggest issues we have is when we are in different time zones, it's hard to, we're still trying to regulate that Rome wasn't until That's right. Exactly. Is your mama there? She took the kids to the park. I was like, you gotta get'em outta here. They're, they're like all over me right now. Oh, well tell her I said thank you. How old are your babies? One just turned three and the other one is one. Oh, my busy lady. They are so beautiful. Thank you. Oh yeah, I was, looking at your Instagram and your Facebook earlier, and I was like, oh my gosh. What a cute little family. Well, thank you. Thank you. Yes, yes, yes. so wait, how do you guys know each other? when did you meet? Probably in 2008. I don't know. I was like in middle school. Yeah. Well, yeah. The end of your middle school year and then you guys moved, right? Yeah. So we knew each other from church, velocity. Okay. Marathon at the time. Honey, there's been so much stuff that's went on since then. Be glad you're in California. Oh, really? Okay. This is. Yeah, but anyways, it's all good. So, yeah. Garrett had the biggest crush on her, like, oh. They went to homecoming together. Oh, okay. He had the biggest crush on her. Maybe that's why your face looks familiar.'cause I'm pretty sure I've seen the homecoming photos. Yeah, I've looked the same since I was like two years old. I really just get bigger and look older. My face isn't same, so. Well that's a great thing. So your brother is, um, not Tyler, but the younger one. Is he out there in California now? He is, yeah. And he's in the army. Yeah. He's about to leave soon. Hopefully. We'll see. Nice. Well, Weston actually is a strength coach for the Army now. Right. He got outta college football. Louisiana. Yep. There's no other reason to move there, honey. No. Literally living in a town of like 5,000 people, but the military bases aren't over here, so it's, it's, it's interesting. I, I was gonna ask how that's been for you. I'm sure it's a culture sauce. Well, I'm not a big city girl, so it's not the worst, but it is, it's an adjustment. Imagine. Did you guys meet in college, or where'd you meet? Yeah, we met in college. We didn't go to the same school. One of my college teammates ended up marrying one of his high school friends, so we met at their wedding, so yeah. Oh, I love that. Yeah. It was during Covid. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, Weston was one you, you can't get a lot out of him, and we didn't even know he was dating somebody. Again, you're on a need to know basis, and 99% of the time you don't need to know his business. He's gonna make sure. So when she came around it was like, whoa. Well, well he, he texted me one day and he said, I'm bringing a girl home this weekend. Is that okay? And we were in the middle of renovating our whole upstairs. You remember that Cana? I do. You slept on a mattress on the floor the first night you ever. And she decided to stay so well. I actually slept in Westing room, but I, well, I knew that, but whatever. Not important detail. We're ready. Now's fine. Not important anymore. It, you know, I wasn't born yesterday, honey. Yeah, I know what y'all be doing. You know how it is. Oh my gosh. Oh my word. Sorry. We digressed. Anyways. Yes. Welcome everybody to the Generational Tea Podcast. I'm Cana. And I'm Ronnie. And today we have, again, a very special guest that we're gonna interview today. So Carissa, welcome to the podcast. We're so happy to have you here. Do you just wanna briefly introduce yourself to the listeners, a little bit about you? Absolutely. Hello listeners. Um, my name is Carissa Perry. Excited to be here today. I am a recently ex corporate sales leader slash recently new entrepreneur and a mother of two. I'm here trying to figure it out. Yeah. Nice. Awesome, awesome, awesome. Well, today we're really gonna dig into, like you said, your transition from being a corporate girly to an entrepreneur and all the things that go along with that, as well as some fun other questions. So let's dive right in if you're ready. I'm ready. Let's do it. Awesome. Awesome. Ronnie, you wanna kick us off with the first question? Uh, yeah. So Carissa, you have a company called Perry Collective. Is that right? That is correct. Just wanna make sure I have been on there. can you tell us a bit about your background and what life looked like before you made the leap into entrepreneurship? Yeah, definitely. very different. I guess I'll start back with when I went to school. I went to school for corporate and social event planning, which is not what I ended up doing and not what I'm doing now as it tends to happen when it comes to college degree. but I went to school for event planning. Did that for a few years right out of college where I quickly learned, this is glamorous and fun, but I'm working every Friday night. I'm working every Saturday night. I don't have much of a social life. I'm 22 years old. We don't know if I love this. It doesn't have the most beautiful paycheck attached to it to make it worth it. So I did as young people do, follow the money into sales. which is when I started really my real corporate journey, probably six, seven years ago now. I spent some time as a sales rep. Pounding the pavement. I, I actually really liked it and I was actually humbly fairly good at it. so I did that for a few years and then eventually worked my way into a leadership position where I spent the last three years of my corporate career leading sales teams of 10 to 12 people and then hit their financial goals and ultimately get better at their job. So that's, that's a little bit about what I did before I made the crazy leap and left that corporate journey behind me. Yeah. Nice. Was there like a specific tipping point or a moment when you were just like, I don't wanna do this anymore, I can't do this anymore, when you decided to leave your corporate job? Yeah. You know what's funny, and this may be like a bit of a hot take, but I actually really liked working. I was super fulfilled I really enjoyed that competitive environment, facing that successful corporate career. I found a lot of purpose in it for a long time, but. Something came into my life a few years ago that gave me even more purpose than I could have ever imagined, which was ultimately my kids. So, I started out really loving my job, still loved it all the way up until the end, but I will say the more time I spent away from my kids, the less fulfilling I found my job to be. So it really just came down to, you know, my priorities shifting a bit. mm-hmm. However, I'm, I'm actually honestly, which is crazy for an entrepreneur. I'm a pretty financially risk averse person in general. Um, so I wasn't ready to just like, make this emotional decision and like call my boss and say I'm outta here, um, without having some sort of safety net in place to make that leap. So we actually kind of started this entrepreneurship journey when I was pregnant with my second child, my daughter. so we really sat down and started to brainstorm like two things before we got to this tipping point, which is one, what could we start or create that would allow me to bring in some sort of income without sacrificing a full day away from my kids? And two, what's that magic number that we can set aside to make sure that our monthly bills would be covered for like six to 12 months if worst case scenario happened? This business so miserably, my husband lost his job or. Where something crazy happens. yeah. Gotcha. Yeah. So what were some of the emotions or fears that came up in making such a big transition? A lot. Uh, a lot of emotions, a lot of fears. I think there's definitely this stigma as a woman that if you walk away from a successful career that you've built, after you have kids, you're like giving up your identity and you're just throwing it all away. so I started a lot with the. Just like identity crisis of it all, I will say. and then of course I worried about the financial implications. Like you have all these entrepreneur influencers on Instagram, like you just quit your job and you buy a car wash or a vending machine, and then you're a millionaire tomorrow and it really doesn't work like so. I did worry a lot about like, how long is it gonna take to get this off the ground? Do I even have what it takes to make it happen? but ultimately on the positive side, the emotions that I got to feel during making this decision were. Like, how much more of my kids' life am I gonna be present for? How much more time am I gonna get to spend with them? And ultimately that, that trumps all of the fear. So we went for it. Yeah. So I'm curious, like, such a big transition, was it like tapering off your corporate job over time or was it like a clean break, dive right into entrepreneurship? Like, how long did the transition take you? Yeah, like I said, I, I'm like fairly financially risk averse because. Many decisions I make now, like my children lay in the wake of the consequences that come with those decisions that I make when it comes to our income. So we did start this process about nine to 10 months before I actually stepped away from my job. I went back to work after both of my kids were born, and we really spent our time, like after they would go to bed at night trying to build our products, trying to get things in place, but that ultimately when I stepped away. I was able to have those two things that we talked about that were really important to us, which was one, like a product in place and a plan ready to go. And two, a savings account that was in a healthy enough position where I didn't have to feel like crippling anxiety about stepping away from a stable in firm in paycheck. So we started the process like nine months before it even happened. just kind of messing around with it, seeing what it led to, and then. Ultimately quit almost a year later. So it wasn't like those influencers say like, quit your job and you're a millionaire the next day. Yeah. I've seen a lot of that on TikTok and everywhere. It's frustrating because you're like, oh, it's that simple. No, it's not. Exactly. Exactly, man. So really digging into your business, the Perry Collective, what Rhonda explained to me is it's what you described as like the perfect men's T-shirt. Is that right? Yes, Awesome. Well, can you tell us a little bit more about the product and how the idea came about? Yeah, definitely. I would say out of the two of us, my husband is definitely more of like the fashionista more on it with the trend. Like his algorithm on social media is just like fashion in men's clothes, women's clothes, you name it. and he actually likes to get things from me as he comes across them because. All the time you're seeing on social media like, oh, this, this women's clothing that's just like a luxury product, but half price on Amazon. So to order me things, which is super fun for me, um, but he became increasingly frustrated that he was coming across all these cool Amazon finds for me, but didn't really find anything for himself. And he's very particular about the way his, he doesn't wanna raise his arms and have his Shelly stick out. He doesn't want it to hug in the right the wrong places and this and that. So the fruit that he buys and smell aren't actually quite expensive. And so we thought, you know what? If we're so mad that we can't find him, why don't we just make it? Obviously now that I'm kind of running the business, is it my passion to have this super cool men's feature? I wouldn't say necessarily, but it's good. So that's what we decided to start with.'cause we saw a new market for it, and that's ultimately what it came down to. Nice. That's cool. I'm like a little jealous that your husband will just like buy you clothes all the time. My friends are compliment in my office. I'm like, I don't, I, I don't know where he found it. Talk to him. He knows. That's awesome. I love that. Oh my gosh. if your business journey was a movie, what would it be entitled? Do you guys remember that movie? I think it's like from the early two thousands of Ice Cube. Are we there yet? When he is on a Oh yes. I love that movie. Yes. That's a good one. Never forget. So I would say, are we there yet? In the sense that sometimes I feel like the kid in the backseat on a road trip that's like, okay, are we there yet? I'm very, uh, type A. I'm very controlling. I'm very impatient. Um, I wanna just like. Set a goal and reach it immediately. And that's just not the case when it comes to starting a business. So I would say, are we there yet?'cause that's kind of what's in my head every day. Like, oh my goodness, when's it gonna happen? When's gonna be that moment, the tipping point where this is successful? oh my gosh, I love that response. Also love that movie. I, I want to go watch it. Yes. And then the second one are, are we done yet? Or something like that? I feel the very much same way about podcasting. I'm like, are we famous yet? I know. I can imagine. I can imagine. You, you ladies get it. A hundred percent. Okay, next question. So what is it like building a business with your husband and how does it work day to day? Is it like a tag team situation or clearly divided roles? Can you just share some more insights about that? Yeah, it, it's interesting, we're both very opinionate like strong opinion type of people. So that can make things a little murky sometimes. at first it was kind of a tag team effort, like let's get each other's opinions on everything, and we still do check in with each other before we make any decision. Um, but our role is pretty clearly divided now, especially now that I'm stepped away from my full-time job. I'm kind of more running the admin, the marketing, all of those things. we check in with each other, but ultimately we've had to become comfortable with just. Trusting the other person to make the call on something that falls within their wheelhouse. Otherwise you can spin in circles for forever without actually making a decision. so that's definitely helped a lot, having more segmentation and more ability to just let go and trust that the other one is handling what they're responsible for. Yeah, that's huge. That's awesome. That's like, that's life changing, what you just said. Yeah. About that. Um, not just in business too, but like life, no life in general, like being okay with someone else making the decision because you know that they know more about it or they're in a better place to make that decision and you trust them. That is. I know people that have been married like 40 plus years, and they never get to that much less people that are in business together. You, you know how probably 80 plus percent of people that go into business together don't make it, and I feel like you and Bo have like a secret sauce. So you should, you should, we'll capitalize on it, but you should definitely capitalize on it as well, because that is crazy. That's all I'm gonna say. Dream team material. It, it really is to, to be the age that you guys are and to be okay with somebody else making the, the decision, since you both are very much leaders, it's difficult. Mm-hmm. When you have two leaders in the same household. Somebody always feels slighted, but it sounds like you guys have made, uh, the best out of that. So kudos. Yeah. That's awesome. And you said that you're like a type A controlling person, which I relate to that. I know her son Garrett relates to that too. So like especially that you're able to do that, being a type A person that's also Yes. Great accomplishment. Yes. Huge, huge. It's definitely not easy. And I'll say, I think that the secret sauce to making the secret sauce work is. Like you can't bring it up. You can't like make these passive aggressive comments about a decision that they made that you don't agree with you. You just have to be okay. Like a decision is made. We're moving. We're moving on. You don't have time to turn around. Yeah. Yeah. That's it. Oh, that's, mm-hmm. That part. Yeah. Yeah. Not always looking back to what could have been. Yeah. But just accepting this is the reality and here's the next step in that. Yeah. I feel like a lot of people live their lives in the rearview mirror. Oh yeah. And so, mm-hmm. That's amazing. Mm-hmm. That kudos to you guys. Yeah. How do you handle the pressures of being a mom of two and a business owner at the same time? And do you struggle with any self-doubt or imposter syndrome? Yeah, the press is real girl. I feel like I am. Anytime I'm giving my attention to one of them, them being the business of the kids. Yeah. The other one is being neglected. Right. So it, it's like it can make you feel like you're never fully your best at anything because something is going without for something. Yes. You getting your attention. Um, so that part I think is hard, uh, because I, I'd love to sit down on my computer and like plot world domination on how to get this business off the ground. All day. But at the same time, the primary reason I stepped away from my job was to spend more time with the kids. So I have to keep that in the forefront of my mind. Mm-hmm. because I, I doubt my abilities and, and each of these roles daily, but you just have to do your best and, and remember what's, what's the most important thing ultimately at the end of the day. Mm-hmm. That's great. Yeah, definitely. I know for me, just I felt like a part-time mom was the hardest job ever. Because you didn't make enough money to put your kids in full-time daycare, but yet you, you're so divided. People aren't coming to you. You don't make enough money to have your house cleaned, to have somebody else watch your kids and all that. So you're, you're stuck in this middle, like you were saying, where you're always like, Ugh. Feeling less than I should have gave more here or, or I don't have the meal cooked or whatever. And so I feel like even though you may see it, like as you stepped away from your job, you definitely have at least a part-time job and a full-time job of being a mom. And so good for you because I just wanna tell you, I see, I see you. I remember very clearly when I was raising my boys and I was a registered nurse. I could have made a lot of money even back then. I really could have. But Jim and I made a decision that, that wasn't the forefront. So mostly the work that I did was. For vacations or back to school clothes or things like that. Because when you have someone who, works full time in a very successful, like you were in like corporate job, it's more work for you to come home. A hundred percent. Yeah. You may, oh yeah. Would you agree with that statement? Hundred. I get to eat lunch with two hands when my kids were in daycare. Oh, a hundred percent. Yes, yes, yes. You didn't have to cut up somebody's chicken at lunch. You actually gotta cut your own. So I, I a hundred percent get that. I hope that our listeners really hear that because I think when you're in a full-time job, uh, you know, it doesn't matter what stage of life you're in, especially when you're raising your kids, you can look and find somebody's got it better or somebody's doing it better than you are. Or somebody's doing it worse than you are, but we gotta figure out that our plumb line is not based on what everybody else is doing. It's based on what you've decided as a family and how you guys are moving forth. And so just that you've found this in this, um, this early in your life, you guys are going be absolutely bosses. But I do think women need to know that part-time work. Is a lot. I'm not, I, I'm glad I had the opportunity to do it. I was fortunately in a situation where I could work all night, take a little nap in the morning while the kids went to mother's morning out. I wasn't like stuck in that eight to five grind. But yeah, I do think when you step back from a full-time job and become full-time mom with a little part-time, it is, it is so difficult. Oh yes. Now that I'm on the other side, I see the moms that are out there chasing their career and I'm feeling like, did I give up that part of myself? So it's, I feel like, especially in the day of social media, like whatever decision you make as a mom, it's wrong. Yes. But there's no way that you can do it perfectly. Mm-hmm. So you have to, I think what you said, Ronnie, is huge. Like what decision you've made for your family. Like that's what's best for us. This is what works for us, and anybody's got a problem with it, you know? Yes, yes, yes. Trust me, if they've got a problem with what you're doing tomorrow, it'll be somebody else. So just hold on. It's true. Because they'll be on to somebody else. If you're not fueling what they're trying to put you in that space, then. Trust me, they'll go on. Yeah, that's right. That's right. I love that. Well, that's, I think it's so awesome. I mean, I'm not a mom yet, but I'm always so inspired by people. I mean, even just being a mom is crazy hard work. I know. So seeing someone that has not only the courage to like make a big life change, to create the future they want, but also someone who's being a mom at the same time and working through all the comparisons. Mm-hmm. The self-doubt and all that. I think that's really something to be proud of. And I know your kids are gonna be proud of you in the future too. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. Yeah. You're gonna have amazing games, for sure. For sure. Mm-hmm. So next question. So how has your definition of success changed from stepping away from a nine to five? I think this is actually what I probably have struggled with the most in stepping away. Um, I, I feel like in the nine to five world. Success is incredibly measurable. Yes. If, you know, you get a score on an annual review, you have in, in the world of sales, you have a quota that you're performing against, you have a, you know, number of digits you're getting on a commission. Like all of these things could tell you black and white, like you're doing a good job. and then you go into business for yourself and all that's gone out the window and you're kind of like making your own rules and you don't really know what a good day looks like because you've never done this before. so I think it's really important. To create those for yourself if you're stepping away and going into your own business. Otherwise, you're never feeling like you're doing a good job because wow. You don't have, you don't, nobody's telling you what that looks like. Yeah. So I think that's something that's helped me a lot is like every week, no matter how big or small it is, I create three things. I write them down, I stick them on the side of my desk that I need to get done for the business. If I can get those three things done, like that was a good, um, otherwise, like I said, you're back in the. Am I ever doing enough? Am I doing it right? I don't know. Am I doing a very good job? I'm not quite sure. Mm-hmm. That's been important for me. That's great. Yeah. That you've like, especially in a sales career where bonuses are a big part of your salary and you being in leadership with that, you're, you're also helping your employees get to the maximum amount. What I'm hearing you say is that you've kind of redefined what success looks like now that you're in this different space in your life. Yep. The corporate world tells you it's, it's in a box and you know how to, you, you have all the resources to get to the success and you know when you've gotten there. Right. That is not the case when you're, you're the cmo, the CFO. The CEO. You're every Yes. You know what I mean? So that's great. Well props to you. Yes, definitely props to you. I, I kind of relate to that in a way that I was an athlete for a lot of my life and that's where I got a lot of my like sense of accomplishment and success and fulfillment. Yeah. And then once I finished college with that, I was like, okay, what now? Like how do I feel successful? Like being 20 something, I don't even have a career. So it's hard. I feel like that's when the self-doubt and the imposter syndrome and. Like just insecurity comes in. I know that's something I've dealt with. Do you feel like that's applicable to you in the same situation every day? I feel like I'm not cut in the same cloth as all these other people that are running their own business. I guess for, for you two, because, because you started this thing, like how do you two measure like success with your podcast? Sorry, I'm turning into No, I love that. No, you're good. That's good. yeah, I mean that's been. Tough for us too. We we're trying not to stay attached to the numbers.'cause I guess that is like how you measure success. We're trying to stay away from like focusing on that wholeheartedly. Where we're trying to shift our focus in terms of like redefining success for ourselves is like when we get feedback from listeners, like maybe one of our episodes really made an impact on someone. Or like, we're learning from each other, we're going together. I think that's kind of what we're trying to like make sure our focus stays on in terms of success. But it is really hard because. At the end of the day, like, how many people are listening, how many people are following us? Stuff like that. So yeah, kind of balancing both. Yeah. Yeah. And I just want to say a, a little shout out to kaa. Weston came from, working in. Division one college where you work 70, 80 hours a week. It is what you do. It's all you do. You work, you eat, you come home, you sleep. and there's a lot of moving, a lot of mobility that has to happen and Cana has consistently put her her own wants, desires, goals. Aside to take care of Weston and to be there for him. And I know that a hundred percent of the time she is cooking him dinner, she's meal planning, she's washing clothes, she's doing all that, and. I, I pray to God that I never like take that for granted because I can see how much it meant to my son, and I know even though she's moved and he has like a 40 hour work week, and things are great, I know how much it means to my son to come home to somebody that's not constantly stressed out or on the phone. Till late in the night. And so she's, she has selflessly like put her life on hold and I just pray that this whole thing that we're doing will somehow like repay her back.'cause that's, as a mom, that's huge, especially a mom of of boys. Where you kind of feel like, and I have never had a, a daughter, so this is all like uncharted territory for me, but I knew that I was desperate.

Ronnie G: 26:40

This woman had, I had to love her. We had to get along because she loves him more than I do. And so that kind of thing. But I could have ranted to cut all that out if you want. I love it. Yes. I love it so much. Thanks for the compliment, Ronnie. I'm someone like you. Yes. Aww. Yes. Yes. Thanks. Well, thanks for the compliment, Ronnie, and I think you do a great job of making people feel seen. So that's your superpower. I love it. But well. Yeah. I mean, I was so happy to support Weston because of how passionate he was about his career, and I feel like now the tables have kind of turned where he's allowing me to just do part-time work while I try and build this podcast. Mm-hmm. So now he's supporting me in the same way. Mm-hmm. So, mm-hmm. There again. Yeah. Yeah. So, in the tough days, what keeps you grounded, Mrs. Perry? What keeps you motivated on the tough, tough days? I dunno if my husband would consider me grounded ever. Um, but let's say I am for the sake of this question. I think it's really two things. One, that I get to spend the time with my kids and the fact that now I've realized that I honestly, I never really wanna work for anyone but myself again. Yeah. Um, those two things keep me going. You know, it's like once you get a taste of what it's like to be able to make all of the decisions for yourself. It, it's hard to go back. but of course, I, I just have to trust the process and know that one day what we're trying to build will come. but that definitely keeps me grounded, that I want, that I have goals in mind of what I want life to look like for the next few years. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Same with me and the podcast. Like, we're not making money yet. We hope to in the future. Yeah. But I feel like I have to remind myself of the same thing where like, if I was able to do this as a full-time job, I'm like. That would be amazing. I wouldn't have to like, go on someone else's schedule, listen to boss, like, oh my gosh. So it's keeping me focused on build the podcast and then on the tough days where I'm like, is this even gonna go anywhere? I just have to remind myself to trust the process similar to you and know that it, if it does work out, then I'm gonna be like, so, so happy that I stuck it out. Yeah. Yeah. And, let's just cut to the chase. If. If things don't work out, business-wise between any of us, the biggest job you have is raising those two little humans. It's right, and it will be the most rewarding. You may not see it today or even in five years, but I, I know you'll see it. You're amazing person. I mean, but yeah. Yeah, just, just those little things that you get to celebrate. And if I had one piece of advice, I would say, not that you need it, but I would say. Capitalize on those little wins that you have with those little humans because there'll be a day that you need to draw from that. And so I would say write it down, keep, keep some kind of record of it and, and then when it's really crappy, you can go back and say, you know, no one can pay me enough to do that. A hundred percent. So what you're doing is amazing and don't let anybody ever question that. Mm-hmm. Oh, that's got me crying in the club. Oh, me too, girl. This is not the first time. There's been tears on this podcast. It's okay. You guys just bring it out. Well, we were, that reminds me our imposter syndrome episode we were talking about. Like tracking your wins and making like a wind jar. So like, like Ronnie was saying, with your kids, and I think also with your business and stuff too, like I wanna start doing that with the podcast as well to help me keep my motivation and keep myself grounded on the tough days. Yeah. So there's something to it, for sure. Yeah. I'll, all right, so last question before we get to our closing. What advice would you give to someone who's maybe stuck in a job or a lifestyle or a career that doesn't fulfill them, but they're scared to walk away? I would tell them life is too short to spend it doing something that doesn't fulfill you. however. I would also tell them that that fear is valid, like we talked about earlier with these Instagram entrepreneurs, like it's easy. You just do it. Like you just quit your job. You just, um, like it's not real. So what you're feeling is valid. It is real. So I would tell someone in that position, like really sit down and think like, what could you do now that would put you in a position to feel comfortable walking away? For me and my husband, it was creating a, a sound product and getting our savings account in a really healthy place where we felt comfortable. if, if you're feeling unfulfilled, that doesn't mean like you call your boss today and tell him, mc cross, you're out of here. Like, take the time now while you're still working that job. Yes. To build something, even if you can just spend like a few hours here and there, you can set yourself up while you're still working this job to make that leap and have it not be as scary if you take your time. With it, like it, it will be worth it. I'm not saying it's easy to get off your full-time job and then do all the other responsibilities you have, and then take an hour before bed to like work on building a business. but what I can say is that it will be worth it when what you're building allows you to walk away from something that's no longer serving you. Oh, it's worth the extra time. Yeah. Yeah, that's great advice. And I think he really went about it in a smart way, like taking the time to make sure you're in a place to do it. And also just in terms of like the product you're selling, you found a gap in the market from what your husband was griping about all the men's T-shirts and West and probably had some of the same gripes because he is like a literal brick door, and so you can never find anything that fits. So you found a gap in the market and you built it up and you gave yourself the time to be in a place to do it. So. Yeah. Kudos man. Yeah. Yeah. Carissa, we wanna make sure that we get everything where people can like, come straight to the podcast and get a link. To purchasing that. And I saw that you have a little discount code already. Yes. I know that Jim would love him'cause he's very long wasted. So he needs a large through the shoulders now, but he needs an extra large through the length and that is a problem. I am definitely ordering some, like as soon as I get off this podcast, I'm gonna tell you that right now. Yeah, like Ronnie said, we wanna thank you for being on the podcast. I know like we're pretty small right now because we just started, but I'm hoping we're gonna grow and then hopefully people will listen to this episode and you'll be able to get your product out there, even if it's just a few people. But yeah, we'll definitely make a reel. Um, when this episode releases, I'll make sure to put the Amazon link in the show notes mm-hmm. And stuff like that. And the code. But we'll try and give you as much publicity as we can. Of course. Thank you. Thank you so much. I mean, it's just so cool. Alright, we're gonna do our closing real quick. So you said you've listened to the episodes, so you're familiar with the what she said segment? Yes. Nice. Okay. Well, for what she said, you're gonna be the she. And our question for you is, is there a motto, a quote, a mindset, anything that you live by that you wanna share with the listeners? Yes. And this one is not always easy to live by, but this has been at least over the last few years since my kids have been born. Um, a quote that I like to keep front and center in my mind. I'm know if so try about to over center. Um, but the quote is sometimes later becomes, never do it now. Ooh. And I think that's cute. That is a good one. Yeah. I love it. Like I'm the queen of pushing off bigger and better things to stay in my comfortable little bubble. Mm-hmm. But sometimes you do that for so long, you never make it happen. And like for me in particular, this kids home because my kids aren't getting any younger, like no one day they're gonna be in school, they're gonna be away from me all day. I can always go back and work for corporate America again. but I can't over this time back with them. So that's what really like expedited the clock for us when it came to making this decision, because later is gonna become never. The kids will be in school. They won't be little. Um, right. Do it now. I love that. Nice. Yeah, that's great advice for sure. That's huge. We've been reading the Let Them Book by Mel Robbins. I don't know if you've heard about it. I struggle with the same thing where I like put stuff off and I procrastinate and in beginning of the book, she talks about like the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 method. Where if you need to get yourself to do something, instead of procrastinating it and doing it, never or later, you just go 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 in your brain and then you do it right away. Oh yeah. I need to write. I've, I've been using it for a couple days and I'm like, okay. Wow. This is great. It is great because she says it takes about five seconds for your brain to talk you out. Of what you need to, whatever's, um, overwhelming you emotionally or whatever, it takes about five seconds for your brain to talk you out of what, of doing that. And so she just mm-hmm. Thought about like space shuttle and said, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, blast off. And it's, it's pretty cool. We, we have really enjoyed reading her. Oh my gosh. It's probably the best self-help book I have ever read, so, oh, it's highly recommend. We're actually gonna do an episode on it pretty soon here. Audio book listeners, Paige Turners, like, how do we read this book? What do you do? Um. I, I know there's an audio book for sure. I'm a, I'm a read it by the book kind of girl, but it's, it's just so good because I had told Cana and when we were, we initially started reading it was, you see a lot of the memes and the different things or reels that they're doing with the Let them theory, you know, they're like, mm-hmm If somebody, da da da da, let them da, da da. Well, in the book you figure out that let them is only half of the equation. You let them in order to let yourself do this, so mm-hmm. She's kinda like 50% of it, and, and it makes, and I hate that for her.'cause I feel like a lot of just, let's just say evangelicals or whatever are gonna say, oh, well you're supposed to love your neighbor as yourself, blah, blah, blah, all that. I'm not saying that that's not significant, but I feel like. This second part of let them is so crucial. It's like somebody wants to treat you terribly. Okay, let them do that, but then let me initiate some boundaries come up with mm-hmm. You know, like it's, it's your responsibility. Like one thing she said is you can't just say let them to everybody because you'll be lonely. You will cut everybody outta your life. And so what she was saying was. Okay, I'm gonna let them do this because I feel left out. But then I get to decide, oh, I really want to have a relationship with this person. How am I gonna get there if I'm left out of the group? Is that on me or is that on them? And most of the time it's on ourselves. Yeah. Because we get over committed or too much. So she goes into this whole thing of I wasn't invited on that trip. Yeah. And yes, these are my neighbors, but when I look back and see, I have had no time for them, so why wouldn't they go on a trip without me? Yeah. I've not put forth the effort, so it just puts it back on yourself. So I feel like it gives you a lot more power. Let them as a little bit of power. But I think, let me, is like. The secret sauce like you. Yeah. Otherwise, you're always gonna still be a victim to what somebody else thinks or says about you. Yeah. Mm-hmm. I think that's so powerful. it's a self-awareness of it all too. Oh, so good. And such a easy read. But yeah, it's been life changing. Yeah. Yeah. Definitely read it if you're a reader, but we're gonna do an episode on it too, so we'll try to sum it up for everybody. Yes ma'am. You gimme the spark notes. I will, I will. Oh my goodness. Well, thank you so much for joining us. This was a really fun episode, and. Excited to share all your insights and your story with our listeners. Yes. So thank you so much for joining us. Yes, thank you so much. Tell your mother I said hello and they need to come back. South Carolina. They can park their RV right here in my yard and never plenty. I know, that's what I'm saying. Park it and then come up here and stay with me. That perfect. I love you, girl. You're so precious. All right. Thank you so much. Thank you, ladies. Yes. Are you familiar with how we close our episodes? we just do. And that's the, that's the T. Oh, and that's the t. Yay. So we just kind, so for you don't whack your microphone. Yes. It's just kind of like, um, a hands up. So basically a high five, I don't know. Two, three. And that's the, and that's the tea. Thank you Sweet friend.