Ep. 5 The Stern Truth: What is an Octocornpreneur? with Brittany Rhodes

As a business coach with over 35 years of experience, I've heard countless entrepreneurs say they don't have enough time. I sit down with Brittany Rhodes - what I call an "octocornpreneur" - who juggles three thriving businesses while raising two children and maintaining a busy personal life.

Brittany shares her secrets for managing multiple ventures simultaneously without losing her sanity. She reveals how building solid systems and surrounding yourself with the right team are fundamental to her success as a small business owner. We discuss the importance of leadership that puts people first and how authenticity is crucial when delivering to your clients.

What makes Brittany's entrepreneurial journey so inspiring is her ability to create sustainable businesses that don't require her to sacrifice family time. She shares wisdom about overcoming fear that holds some founders back and explains why you should "only do what you can sustain."

If you're an entrepreneur feeling overwhelmed by your workload or a small business owner looking to scale without burning out, this episode is for you. Get relevant insights from someone who's mastered the balance act of business and life.

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Transcript

[00:00:00] Marshall Stern: So I often hear from entrepreneurs. I don't have enough time. I just, I wish I had more time. I wish there was more hours in the day. Today you're going to hear from the amazing Brittany Rhodes as we sit down and we find out why she is what I call an optical premier. Brittany has managed to juggle multiple businesses while raising a family and having pets and doing volunteer work.

So you want to know her secret. Stand by and let's hear the stern truth. Enjoy.
Hi, I'm Marshall Stern and I've spent over 35 years leading and growing multiple small businesses. I know firsthand the struggles of entrepreneurship, feeling isolated, lonely, overwhelmed, and feeling like you have to do all by yourself. I've been through multiple recessions, and I have felt the highs and the lows I've been there, and I get it.

This podcast is here to change that. Every week I will put. You straight talking advice, real world strategies and honest conversations about what it takes to succeed in business without the fluff, the gimmicks, or the sugarcoated. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress, then you are in the right place.

This is the Stern Truth.

[00:01:18] Marshall Stern: Hey, Brittany, how are you? 

[00:01:22] Brittany Rhodes: I'm good. How about you? 

[00:01:24] Marshall Stern: I'm doing fantastic. Thanks for asking. Okay. Brittany Rhodes, tell me all about yourself. Tell our listeners all about the entrepreneur and what that really means. 

[00:01:40] Brittany Rhodes: Are you wanting the Stern truth today? 

[00:01:42] Marshall Stern: I want the Stern truth.
Because you don't just have one business. You don't just have one business. You have a few things going on. Correct. 

[00:01:49] Brittany Rhodes: There's a lot going on. Plus with kids. There's a lot on my plate. Let's start out with, I have a cleaning company. I manage properties around the world. There's a trailer rental company and I have two boys, age five and nine 

[00:02:07] Marshall Stern: I saw Stella before we got on here.

[00:02:09] Brittany Rhodes: Oh yeah. I have two dogs and I'm highly allergic to them. 

[00:02:13] Marshall Stern: So one to three businesses or did I lose track? 

[00:02:18] Brittany Rhodes: Three businesses, but I also do like a lot of volunteer work and assistance on the side too, where I can, but 

[00:02:23] Marshall Stern: three, three businesses volunteer, two kids, two dogs. Anything else? Yeah, 

[00:02:30] Brittany Rhodes: No, I think I'll, no, I think that's about it besides your regular household lifestyle that you have to keep up with.  

[00:02:38] Marshall Stern: Before we get into how you manage all this, and I think people understand what I mean when. When I refer to you as the entrepreneur, 

[00:02:47] Brittany Rhodes: Okay.   

[00:02:49] Marshall Stern: This was a name that you and I came up with together. Really? 

[00:02:52] Brittany Rhodes: Yeah. 

[00:02:53] Marshall Stern: Okay. But let's let our listeners understand it a little bit. You 

[00:02:56] Brittany Rhodes: You called me a unicorn and I said I was like an octopus. 

[00:03:01] Marshall Stern: There you go. What did you mean by the octopus? 

[00:03:03] Brittany Rhodes: You’ve got to moms always have to stretch their arms out in every which way to get the job done. I feel like that's what you do in business too, is you're always reaching out in different directions with growth and building something to make it sustainable.
And an octopus with all its tentacles does that. 

[00:03:21] Marshall Stern: It does. And a unicorn is something unique. 

[00:03:25] Brittany Rhodes: Yeah.

[00:03:26] Marshall Stern: It's known to be fictional. But it's used in today's terms as something that is very rare and unique. And so I think when I met you. It just seemed natural that I thought, okay, unicorn.
And then you said octopus. So I'm calling you an Octa-entrepreneur.   

[00:03:46] Brittany Rhodes: And with the unicorn, I think too, sometimes people think that you're a magical being and you can get everything done, but sometimes that's not always the case. 

[00:03:54] Marshall Stern: Thank you. Who's leading this interview? 

[00:03:56] Brittany Rhodes: I think you are. 

[00:03:58] Marshall Stern: No. Okay. So tell, I'm curious because here's why I brought you on here.

I hear so much from. Clients, people in our groups, our Facebook groups, momentum group, other groups, just business owners I meet on an everyday basis over the past forever. I always hear, and they used say to me too, right? How do you do so much? How do you get it all done? And I always hear I don't have enough time from this person.

I don't have enough time. And they have one business and some of them have no kids, they just have one business. So first off, I do want to wish you a happy, belated happy International Women's Day. 

[00:04:35] Brittany Rhodes: Thank you. 

[00:04:36] Marshall Stern: Okay. Which ha was recently. It was, and I actually, this episode really is a dedication to all of the lovely women out there who are doing so much, and you're a symbol of that.

I'm not trying to put you on this ped. You're welcome. I'm not trying to put you on this pedestal, but you do so much, and I want to know how you manage to get it all done without losing your, you know what?   

Oh, I was going to use a different word, but you can use that word. 

[00:05:09] Brittany Rhodes: So for sanity, I actually got a rose.
It was really sweet. You had messaged me saying Happy Woman's Day. And then I went through a store and they offered me a rose and I was like, wow, people take this really seriously. And I think it's great because women do try to do their best in the world of being an entrepreneur. And it's hard sometimes when you are stretched all different directions to really show your.

Passions of your workflow and getting jobs done and helping other people. I think with a lot of businesses and how you sustain it, all your platforms that you have in place and your systems and how you're managing it all before you even put yourself out there to do it is important. You have to have a system and have stuff set up before you just dive into it.

So I think that fun thing I did with each business is I built it. Before just pushing it out the door. And it's like a stepping stone. Each stone you take, you're growing right, and you're developing more and more for your business, but you gotta make sure each stone is put together properly before going onto the next one.  

[00:06:16] Marshall Stern: I actually, I love that because systems is a scary word for some people and a lot of people just jump. There's different kinds of people. There's those who just jump in and just try, and then they just lose their sanity as you like to call it. Yeah. And there's others who don't jump in or they just put one toe in.  

For the fear. There's always fear that holds 'em back. But how did you, I guess going back, like how did you learn all this? Or did you come from an entrepreneurial background? How did you start in business? It's a few questions in there. 

[00:06:55] Brittany Rhodes: So while I was in high school, my mom forced on to take a college course that was offered through my high school.

So I did two of my grades where I was actually doing college as well. And it was a hospitality and tourism course. Sales and marketing, food and beverage. I became a management level, food safety, and then front office and housekeeping. Now, I did not know that I was supposed to. All four sections together, and I did a volunteer work of 150 hours in each section individually.  

I got my foot out the door in a large way to really learn those sections at a young age, and that I think really helped my business and taught me how to present myself in the world outside of once I left high school and really go out on my own. I did work in an office, an accounting office, then worked in accounts payable, receivable.

I did lots of different jobs off shipping and receiving. So I feel like all these pieces of managing different things helped me build that. I can do it on my own too. And when it comes to stepping stones and people's figuring out where to go with their business and not wanting to take the leap of faith or not take that next step.

I feel like it's because they're waiting for someone to write on that stone what their next step would be instead of trying to figure it out on their own and assess did I do everything properly? And sometimes that's where a life coach and having a mentor is really important because you can help them figure out their stepping stone pieces that maybe they didn't have the education from somewhere before to put together to do it on their own.

[00:08:30] Marshall Stern: Okay. Fair enough. But how you're just a self learner? Self? 

[00:08:37] Brittany Rhodes: Yes and no. So education side I did have, but business side, I learned that on my own by work, doing some other business work that could con all contribute into me learning to how to put this out there now, Canva, things like that. And, using an accounting platform maybe that was never taught to me. I learned those things on my own social media work. I didn't do like a lot of social media work in high school because it didn't really exist. Some of the platform stuff that we have now. So yeah, that's all self-taught. AI is huge and new.
That was not something when I graduated in 2011. All those things I think you do have to learn and grow with your business and grow with the world around you as new stuff and new technologies come out. So self-taught partially, yes. 

[00:09:28] Marshall Stern: But you're self-driven. 

[00:09:30] Brittany Rhodes: Self-driven, for sure. 

[00:09:31] Marshall Stern: Yeah. Yeah. What do you think, why do you think other people, and we can say whether it's moms or dads, or people doing even have kids, just business owners, what do you think I guess this would be your stern truth of why you think they never really achieve what they want to achieve?  

[00:09:53] Brittany Rhodes: Maybe because they're scared, like you said, of taking that leap of faith to do it and not wanting to disappoint themself or have the critics of other people judge them for the work that they're doing. It's hard. It is a hard market, but I feel like with how big our population has grown and the amount of businesses out there, it's, you can still go for it.

It like, there's a niche for every business and there's no reason to say no. You can always do it. Why not try and work for yourself and build an empire? 

[00:10:27] Marshall Stern: That's actually very wise words. 

[00:10:30] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, thank you.

[00:10:30] Marshall Stern: Very wise words. So what about, so things I'm going to assume things are not all roses every single day of your life. 

[00:10:46] Brittany Rhodes: Yesterday there was a roof leaking in one of the properties that I handle. I've had cleaners sick and I've had to jump in and go clean some hoses when I've also got stuff on my plate, and I had to drop what I was doing to get that done first before doing something else.  

This, being a business owner, you have to be the owner and you have to put yourself out there to do the work. You're not just riding them back and letting other people work for you, either. You have to put yourself out there always, no. I'm a huge advocate for if I can go work every single day this week, but I have someone that really wants to work because she needs the income and I want to make sure that she's happy.

So I give her the work before giving myself the work. So I believe that it's also a partnership with employees and owners. You have to treat the employees fairly and it's important to be the a good boss if you're gonna have employees working under you because. You want their respect and you want your client's respect for the work that you deliver.  

No, like this hose leak was a kind of a nightmare, but it was handled well. The guests and I worked together and they put a towel out there, and maintenance was coming at their departure, and it wasn't detrimental to their stay. I feel like everything, there's a solution to everything and you have to just find the right way of navigating to get.

The end result that you're looking for, which works good for both parties. 

[00:12:18] Marshall Stern: Okay. So I hear what you're saying and it is like, Marie, I do no more problems. No I do. But no, I hear what you're saying and I agree. I love the saying like Marie Fur's saying everything's figureoutable.

However, when you are, because some of our listeners will be like, okay, that's fine and dandy, but like, when I'm in it, when it happens. When shit happens. because it does. How have you have you always been like figureoutable? Have you always been that kind of person? Or did you learn 

[00:12:55] Brittany Rhodes: I work really good in guest services, so I think that like I'm pretty good at navigating situations now.

There's been some situations that I can't also handle, like a guest is completely snowed in and they can't access the front door. I can't solve that unless I have a shovel and I'm there. So it is stressful. Like I'll be cooking dinner and I've got two kids running around the house. I'm cooking food on the stove and this guest just arrived and can't get in.

What do you do? So I pick up the phone and call the handyman. I'm like, I know this is an emergency situation. I, you might not be available and I'm not expecting you to be. Do you have any solutions on how we can best harm lift since you live there, maybe you know somebody else that can come out. And I feel like the team that you put in place also can help you because it's not just an independent army to run a business.

You do need a team too, and it depends on what you're working in, right? But I feel like I have good teams set up in the places that I help my client, and I ensure that from the start. 

[00:14:02] Marshall Stern: Isn't that all leadership, like being a good leader? 

[00:14:04] Brittany Rhodes: I guess so being a good leader is important, but we're not also miracle workers.  

[00:14:10] Marshall Stern: No. But good leaders do have they have a team. It's not just all about them. They have a team like you even said, like that's, I think leadership is critical for success of any business, even if you're just a solopreneur, right? 

[00:14:24] Brittany Rhodes: Yeah.   

Like the cleaning team that I have is amazing.

We are friends, not just. They work for the company, but I work for the company too. We are also, we are a team. We work together. Like we'll hustle out four or five Airbnb turnovers in one day in the summer, and we kicked butt that day. We know it. And we'll go get food together. We'll go get a drink after together because we did that.

And like we work well together and having a solid foundation is really important.

[00:14:53] Marshall Stern: Yeah, no, a hundred percent. And the fact that you said earlier on about, one of your cleaners you could have done the work yourself, but she needed the money more, so you just left. Let her go. Take that.

That's what being a leader's about. It's putting your people ahead of you. Yeah. And there's leadership is a there are tons of leaders around the world and some of them are really, they suck. Like they just suck. So they're horrible leaders because they tell their people what to do and they think of themselves first and be, I see 
[00:15:25] Brittany Rhodes: A little bit of a pushover. If I'm in a position where I need $400 and it's an emergency situation, I'd probably lend it to them because like I care. But sometimes it's maybe too much caring and you have to know your boundaries too.   

[00:15:42] Marshall Stern: No. A hundred percent. A hundred percent.

My wife used to always say to me that I was just before she got involved in my business, my signed business, that I was too nice to my people because she came from corporate. And I was too nice to him. But you know what, I had one of my guys with me for 20, actually twice, oh, excuse me, 26 years before I sold the business.
It 26 years. And another one 15 years. So it, because I took care of them. Because we can't do this all by ourselves. Even if you're a solo premier, you still, which I hate that term, but it's a thing. Thanks. 

[00:16:17] Brittany Rhodes: What it is a thing. People say, oh, you're the boss. I hate when I go somewhere and I'm introduced as the boss.

I thought we were friends first. I'm not just your boss, like we, I work with you. 
[00:16:28] Marshall Stern: So 

[00:16:29] Brittany Rhodes: I, yeah, I get it. It's 

[00:16:31] Marshall Stern: Teamwork. It's teamwork.  

[00:16:33] Brittany Rhodes: But I can tell you that with as much on my plate that I have. I'm still looking for growth. I feel like I'm still not doing the most that I can do, and that's not letting any one of the businesses suffer from me.

Trying to put myself out there in more ways, it's just I know that I can do more and I want to have more that I've given in my lifetime, that I've made a successful startup, something that someone else can grow off of too. 

[00:16:59] Marshall Stern: Wow. That's actually beautiful. I like that. I like that. 
[00:17:02] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, thank you.

Maybe my kids will follow in my footsteps. Who knows? 

[00:17:06] Marshall Stern: I told my kids I didn't want them to follow in my footsteps, so not knowing the business is fine, but not the sign business. Do something else. 

[00:17:14] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, I'll tell you, as soon as my kid is able to drive, he will be a landscaper for all of these houses out here.  

[00:17:20] Marshall Stern: Yeah, a hundred percent there. That is a 

[00:17:21] Brittany Rhodes: Hard thing to come by. 

[00:17:23] Marshall Stern: Yeah. Okay. What about, common myth that other experts or that you hear in business that yeah, you just don't buy into. 

[00:17:41] Brittany Rhodes: I have been a victim of pyramid schemes and sales and being false myth led on products and services.

Now I sell my services at a very low rate because I care about my clients making money off of their investment. And sometimes I feel like people think that they want me to do way more than what they're paying me for. And. I'm not trying to say that I will do, like I, I've said I will do that service for you, but they have to understand that they need to compensate for it too, if they expect it, and actually give me the resources to succeed at it if they want me to do something that I don't usually offer.

And I think the myth and the reasoning that I see behind a lot of people not giving to clients and when they're an entrepreneur trying to do their business is. They're not giving their reassurance on their clients, on what they are going to deliver and actually giving the exact product properly as what it needs to be.

I don't think we need, we don't need in life false delivery and false promises and being confused on what we're being sold, right? So I feel like you are what you are and you're selling what you are selling, and that's what you should honor and that's what you should provide. Did I answer your question?

[00:18:58] Marshall Stern: No. No. Or you want more? Do you got more? I don't know that's good. That's good for now. Okay, so we've talked about your businesses, how you juggle all the businesses, basically. You have a good team. 

[00:19:16] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, I do have a good team.   

[00:19:18] Marshall Stern: And you trust your team? 

[00:19:20] Brittany Rhodes: I do.

[00:19:21] Marshall Stern: Yeah. There's two different things. You can have a team and then you could not trust your team and I. That's two, that's two totally different things. So leadership's all about entrusting your team, empowering your team. So you believe in your team. What about juggling all of that with two kids, two dogs?  

[00:19:43] Brittany Rhodes: I'll tell you I spent $1,400 on a robot vacuum that mops and vacuums in my house so that when I'm out working. My Molly Maid is here doing the floors for me. So it's one less duty because you're, you can't do it all. You are not, no one is a supermom. But I feel like having a structure on how you do your businesses and how you implement it into your life is really important because if you can't sustain it, you shouldn't be doing it because there's no reason why your kids or your family, your household needs to suffer because you are trying to sell yourself in a way that you can't keep up to both.  

[00:20:20] Marshall Stern: You can't sustain it. You shouldn't be doing it

[00:20:25] Brittany Rhodes: Or you should find a way to sustain it. 

[00:20:28] Marshall Stern: Okay. Yeah. 

[00:20:30] Brittany Rhodes: And then that way you can implement it in the best way.

[00:20:36] Marshall Stern: Perfect. That's good. That's good. There's lots of, you're
 
[00:20:37] Brittany Rhodes: Going to have like my own quotation message. 

[00:20:39] Marshall Stern: You‘re going to start seeing me posting that? No, but seriously, these are like a lot of good my father used to say, whenever you go see like a speaker or read a book or he passed away along before the internet and all that kind of stuff.

So there's no YouTube. But whenever you learn something if you go see someone or read something, whatever. One golden nugget, one takeaway, and then it's worth it. And that's really my goal here with these podcasts, especially when I'm interviewing other entrepreneurs, is just at least one golden nugget or takeaway.
And I think people are going to get a few from you. 

[00:21:13] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, so I shouldn't, I can tell you I've never watched videos on how to run a business or read a book on. Being a boss or, I've never done it. I've just implemented it. And I believe that you should stay true to your character and who you are and that you'll do great things by doing that.


[00:21:37] Marshall Stern: do you ever I agree. I love that too. Do you ever suffer from what they call imposter syndrome? Do you ever who, what the hell am I doing? Do you ever. I, yeah I'm going to guess I have an answer for that, but I want you to answer it 

[00:21:54] Brittany Rhodes: first. Okay. Can I know your answer first? Oh, I know what you think.

[00:21:59] Marshall Stern: On the surface, I would say no. I would say no. But that's probably false at some point. I'm sure there must been something along the way. 
[00:22:09] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, okay. So what do you mean by imposter? I think that I'm doing wrong by what I'm delivering. 

[00:22:16] Marshall Stern: Not wrong, even just limiting beliefs. But the imposter syndrome would be like one of your businesses, like people always who might be running this business there's this business out here, they're doing so much better.
Or look at that website, they're doing so much better. Or on it's smoking mirrors most of the time. And social media, it looks like these people have gotta figure it out. And here I am, who am I? That kind of thing. Or maybe not now. Maybe early on. I'm just curious. 

[00:22:44] Brittany Rhodes: I've seen people post like different cleaning stuff and I'm like, oh, I like how they delivered that.

And yeah. That's something that I could totally implement 

[00:22:52] Marshall Stern: Or that's different. That's different. 

[00:22:55] Brittany Rhodes: Okay

[00:22:56] Marshall Stern: but that's different. That's different. That's taking the positive and say, oh, I could implement that, as opposed to looking and saying, why am I not doing that? What's wrong with me? Why maybe I shouldn't even be in this business.

[00:23:06] Brittany Rhodes: I think what I deliver and what I promise and what I show people, what I can provide, I think. I'm true to that and I'm good with where I'm at on that. I do think though, that I could do more. So for instance, cleaning, I posted as of January, 2025 and then launching carpet cleaning and upholstery cleaning services.

So that was a growth, that was something where I could offer more and. No one's hired it yet. We've sent out some quotes, but I do not rec buying a upholstery cleaner or carpet cleaner for my own house, I'll tell you that much. But I do feel like I could push it more. I could do more advertising. I could, but it's also.

We just got seven inches of snow last night. So I don't really want to load the carpet cleaner into the back of the car right now because it's heavy and I need some ground to put it on, and I'm not putting it on snow and dragging her in someone's carpet. Maybe that is limiting what I could deliver.  

But I'm not I think I'm good with where I'm at and what I can deliver, but I do see what, when other people make posts that maybe I could deliver more in a different way. But I'm also not mad about how I am already doing it. 

[00:24:23] Marshall Stern: So that's without it, I think is a really good takeaway for people who are watching or listening to this, those who do actually one of, there's many, trust me.

Brittany, you got many? Because a lot of people do suffer from that, and they will say, oh, they're doing this in their business. Why? Why am I not, what is wrong with me? Why can't I find good people?

And then they go down that black that, that rabbit hole, the black hole, the rabbit hole.

There's no good people out there. People not customers too. I can't find customers. I can't find employees. Employees won't stay. This company looks like, look, Brittany's company. It looks like she's, look, they're going to be listening to this and looking at you. Okay? Let's step back for a second. I have to talk to the people listening right now.

If you're feeling, if you're feeling so it sounds like a commercial. If you're feeling, if you're feeling like an imposter, just stop because everyone's different. And here where you with Brittany and you have worked hard at it. You figured it out. I think he figured it out and he built a strong team. And that, for those of you listening, she was like, eh but.

You have a lot going on and you've built the systems and the processes and the people in place to allow you to do all this stuff. But there are if some of you are out there watching, I guess my little message here is you are watching or listening to this and thinking she's got all this stuff and figured it out.

Why can't I try? What's wrong with me? I just have one business and I can't even figure it out. What would you say to that? Besides, stop thinking that way. I'm putting you on the spot now, Brittany. 

[00:26:02] Brittany Rhodes: I've always just given out my information and said, I'm here to talk if you ever need it, and I'll help you with your stepping stone is the right direction.

And I've just been a voice. Sometimes people just need someone to talk to that can hear where their mind is at and help piece it all together to proceed forward. And I've had a lot of people that are looking at Airbnb co-hosting jobs and I get probably about 40 resumes a week, no joke, emails, Facebook messages, and.
All wanting to work with me for free, just so I can mentor them into this business. And it is a lot. But I'm happy to guide people through the steps on how to achieve and deliver the message that they want to deliver and grow their business the way they want to grow it. But I feel like sometimes it's hard to do on your own and sometimes you need someone to speak with.

So I'm always here if anyone ever needs a chat and needs help. 

[00:26:53] Marshall Stern: Oh, no, that's awesome. And we'll put your information in the show notes. I'm going to go at this podcast thing. See, I got the show. I got all the lingo down bat. But yeah, no. So again, like for but if people are listening and watching this, everyone I always say, and they're feeling I'm not there.  
I would say to them, that's okay. Yeah. Everyone goes at a different pace. The question to ask yourself is what is your next step? Are you whole? What is missing? What is missing? And what do you what? It's usually someone, it's usually a mentor, coach, mentor or other business owners, accountability groups or whatever, whatnot.

That's why we started Momentum. But what I. Or what's holding you back? Sometimes it is, it's that belief in yourself that it could be this is not a therapy session for people, but it could be the past trauma, your childhood, your upbringing. You know how with your parents or whatever that they expect you to be a doctor and here you are doing this business thing or whatever.  
Surround yourself with people who support you, right? 

[00:27:59] Brittany Rhodes: Yes. 

[00:28:00] Marshall Stern: And lift you up and not bring it down. 

[00:28:02] Brittany Rhodes: I can tell you, I don't even know if my family's actually ever looked at one of my three websites that I've built. No. But they support me in a way that they're happy with my success and they're like proud of me, 
[00:28:14] Marshall Stern: Okay. So Brittany, that's why I want people. Okay. Okay. Before we go here, couple more questions, but I want people to I want people to know, the listeners to know that you are not normal. 

[00:28:27] Brittany Rhodes: No. 

[00:28:30] Marshall Stern: Not and I honestly, I mean that in a good way. That's why I called you the unicorn. And then we came up with the Octacorn.  
Because most people, and it is normal and I highly encourage people to surround themselves with a strong inner circle of people who can help guide, not just guide them, but just keep them accountable, mentor or guide, maybe at times you need that. And just listening and cheerleading. Not blindly, right?

[00:29:04] Marshall Stern: That's why I threw that in there, but no, but if you have a bad idea, bad business idea, you don't need someone on your side saying, yeah, go Brittany, go do it. And it's yeah, no, like in Arizona, go get umbrellas. Start up in an umbrella shop or a raincoat shop in, in Phoenix, right?

That's a horrible idea. Umbrellas might not be so bad because the sun, people do use it for the sun, but you're not putting a raincoat on. 

[00:29:28] Brittany Rhodes: You better be clear on all of them so you can at least still see this one. 

[00:29:31] Marshall Stern: Trust me, quick story. I wore a raincoat in Palm Beach, Florida like 35 years ago because I was sunburnt from head to toe and I had to go to a baseball game.

And the only clothing they had to cover me fully was this, it was the old like yellow rubbery ponchos, and I was sweating. So much, but I was like basically a lobster, so I had to firm myself up. So other than that, raincoats don't really cut it in Arizona Florida a bit different. Does rain, but not Arizona.

Aren't you glad we had this? Aren't you glad we had this conversation about raincoats? 

[00:30:06] Brittany Rhodes: Yes. I'm never going to wear a raincoat in Nepean. Okay.

[00:30:12] Marshall Stern: We're sitting down with. Entrepreneur, a budding entrepreneur or someone who might be like, just not sure. Next step, confused, whatever. What would be the advice, what advice would you say would, could help them, that maybe helped you or something you could take from your journey that you could pass on to someone else?  

[00:30:39] Brittany Rhodes: Surrounding yourself with good people is important, and building your team is important and ensuring that you are providing the best service to your clients so it doesn't come back on you in a negative way is really important. I think being positive, having good delivery, and having a good foundation, there's no way that you can't succeed.

[00:31:05] Marshall Stern: I think that's great. That's awesome. 

[00:31:08] Brittany Rhodes: I came up with that on the spot.
 
[00:31:09] Marshall Stern: No I think it's brilliant.   

[00:31:12] Brittany Rhodes: I feel like I took notes. Took notes, and I have not gotten any of the questions that you were going to ask me today. 

[00:31:19] Marshall Stern: I'm just going to look at my notes, my questions, if I want to ask you one of them.  

[00:31:24] Brittany Rhodes: Do you want, I'll another question that I have no idea what's coming.   

[00:31:29] Marshall Stern: No. From what I said, I might go, I told you I'm not going to cover all those questions. 

[00:31:33] Brittany Rhodes: I actually feel like we answered some of them, to be honest in the question 

[00:31:36] Marshall Stern: Here it is. Open floor for the, for a minute.

What is one question you would like me to ask you? 

[00:31:45] Brittany Rhodes: Oh, I have no idea. I just feel like we really delivered some truth today. 

[00:31:52] Marshall Stern: Yes. Okay. On that note, thank you everyone for listening. I will put, so I will put your contact information in the show notes and you can definitely get in touch with the amazing Britney, if you would like to.  

Where are you located again? What area? 
[00:32:09] Brittany Rhodes: I'm live in 100 mile house. 

[00:32:11] Marshall Stern: I told you my 70 mile house story. Once I think my horse riding, horseback riding story, I'll leave that for another podcast. 

[00:32:18] Brittany Rhodes: Okay. Another podcast. 70 mile story. 

[00:32:22] Marshall Stern: Yes. A hundred mile or 70 mile. I don't remember what it was called. It was the riding wrench.

I'll tell that story one day because that's actually a good business story. Business life doesn’t means you're going to want to. 

[00:32:31] Brittany Rhodes: Bring me back on another podcast.   

[00:32:33] Marshall Stern: I might have to.  

[00:32:35] Brittany Rhodes: Okay. 

[00:32:36] Marshall Stern: Yeah. Alright. Thank you everyone for listening, and we will see you next week, or you'll see me and hear from you next week. But don't forget, subscribe, review, tell all your friends and your parents.

Thank you so much for tuning in to the pod. If you found today's episode helpful, we would love to hear from you. Please share and leave us a review. 

Also, if you'd like to be a guest in the upcoming episode or join us in one of our Momentum Accountability Group sessions, simply email me to Marshall@marshallstern.net. That's Marshall@marshallstern.net, and don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep pushing. Forward and leading with confidence.