The Comeback Chronicles Podcast
Welcome to The Comeback Chronicles, where raw truth meets unwavering resilience. Hosted by Terry L. Fossum, this podcast reveals the untold stories of remarkable individuals who’ve faced crushing defeats—only to rise stronger, wiser, and more determined.
Through candid interviews, you’ll hear about moments of failure, heartbreak, and doubt, as well as the transformational steps that led to victory. This isn’t just about inspiration—it’s about equipping you with actionable strategies, like Terry’s signature ‘Oxcart Technique,’ to overcome challenges and ignite your own comeback story.
If you’re ready to break free from fear, shame, or self-doubt and move boldly into your conquer zone, The Comeback Chronicles will empower you with the tools, mindset, and motivation to rise above and achieve your next great success.
Get ready to turn your setbacks into stepping stones and reclaim the life you’re destined to lead.
The Comeback Chronicles Podcast
Valerie Bowden's Journey from Social Work to Conscious Capitalism in Africa
Valerie Bowden shares her incredible journey from social worker to entrepreneur, transforming her life through a seven-month solo backpacking trip across Africa before building a business connecting African talent with global companies.
• Left a 9-to-5 social work job to backpack the Cape to Cairo route through 13 African countries
• Lived in Ethiopia for eight years, where she met her husband and started a family
• Experienced the heartbreak of a failed startup that led to personal withdrawal and identity crisis
• Learned that taking the first step without knowing the outcome is essential for growth
• Founded Cradle to provide virtual assistants, marketing support, and cold calling services with staff in Africa
• Overcame a $30,000 loss from an unpaid client early in her business journey
• Creating win-win opportunities where African talent gets meaningful employment and US businesses get affordable support
• Discovered that personal transformation—becoming someone who doesn't quit—is more rewarding than financial success
Take the first step without knowing what's going to happen. It will be messy, but that helps you take your next step. If you're in a hard spot, don't withdraw from people who love you. And consider choosing Africa—for travel, hiring talent, or even grocery shopping—the continent will surprise you.
If you've been stuck in fear, self-doubt, your past failures and you're ready to break through your comfort zones to finally reach the pinnacle of success in every area of your life, then this podcast is for you. Here's your host, Terry L Fossum.
Speaker 2:Hey, terry L Fossum here, welcome back once again to the Comeback Chronicles podcast. The podcast it's all about you getting past your fears and your self-doubts and your excuses and reaching new heights, and you're going to love today's guest. I really do honestly believe that, because I do so. If you've ever thought about going on an adventure I mean a crazy adventure, not just we're going to go across town or starting up a nonprofit, or starting up a for-profit that makes a significant difference in the world then you're going to love today's guest as well, valerie Bowden. Now Valerie, get this.
Speaker 2:So she got her advanced degree in social work. She got her, went to grad school for social work and she had been to Africa. She had volunteered for three months. Now, going into social work figured that's what she wants to do, until she did it for a year, and then that wasn't going to be the deal. She left her home in the Midwest, solo backpack across Africa. So, all by herself, she spent seven months traveling the Cape to Cairo route and after that get this she lived in Ethiopia for eight years.
Speaker 2:Have you seen Ethiopia? There's a reason she lived there, though. Now, get this. This is what I love, and chance happens by stepping out there. A lot of times While she was out there she stumbled into the outsourcing concept and what a fabulous win-win it would be if done correctly.
Speaker 2:And I can attest to this because I've done some philanthropic projects in Africa as well, and when I heard about this project I'm like this is perfect, it's fantastic. People need to hear more about this. So her business is called Cradle C-R-D-L-E Cradle, like the cradle of civilization, and she's spent years building up across all industries, level up their sales force, rise above the competition. With one single thought, one single concept Choose Africa. She's been featured in a PBS documentary that highlighted the challenges of orphans in Ethiopia, the issues behind volunteerism which I want to hit on that a little bit too. That's important for people to understand and the need for stable employment in emerging countries Not just throw money to them, but build up their employment. Cannot wait to talk about all of this. Valerie, thank you so much for joining me today.
Speaker 3:Thank you so much for having me and for such a wonderful introduction. I mean, you nailed it, you shared it so well, thank you.
Speaker 2:Well, we do our research at the Comeback Chronicles podcast.
Speaker 3:I can see that I'm impressed.
Speaker 2:We got to talk. I mean, there's so much to unpack here, but let's first of all. Okay, you're, you did a year of a nine to five. You're in the midst of that and what happened?
Speaker 3:I realized that I was. You know, I was 24, 25, and I was only looking forward to the weekend. Look, I just I didn't like days. I dreaded Monday and I was like I am not meant to be doing this, at least right now. But I didn't know really what I should be doing. All I knew is that a couple of years before, I had spent three months in Ethiopia. I had a fabulous time in Ethiopia, so I thought I should just go back to Africa. And then I was so broke because I was like right after grad school that the only way I could do that was to buy a one-way ticket to South Africa.
Speaker 3:And that was kind of the start to what became my backpacking trip.
Speaker 2:Again, as we were just talking before we started recording as a backpacker, I love that. I love that. Now, at some point you did a startup right, you start up at tell when did when in all of this did that happen?
Speaker 3:Yep, so fast forward. I did my seven month backpacking trip and through that trip I realized, okay, you know what Some of the charities in Africa really aren't so great and what's really just needed is is jobs. And so I decided I'm going to even though I went to school for social work undergrad and grad I'm with Roa kind of social work I'm going to switch to business, but conscious capitalism, right, business like a social enterprise. And so I decided, living in Ethiopia by myself, I'm going to start a business that's going to create employment, it's going to help farmers, it's going to be this whole thing and the social impact was amazing.
Speaker 3:The business concept was amazing, but for so many reasons including lack of investment, covid, like all of the things that could be it failed and it it just worried me. You know I had. I am such an optimistic person that I just didn't think it would ever fail or that I would ever have to stop. And so when it, when we decided we could no longer move on, I mean my world it just kind of fell apart for a couple months. It was really hard. I had a hard time going out to see friends. I didn't go out. I mean, honestly, looking back. I didn't handle it in a way that I'm super proud of now.
Speaker 2:Well, I think it's important if you don't mind sharing. And again, for everybody listening. My number one is always taking care of my guests, only making sure that they are comfortable and safe, but there are people who are listening on to the show who are going through the same thing right now. Would you mind sharing more? What did that feel like? I mean, how do you feel personally? Thank you.
Speaker 3:I, you know I made the mistake of really wrapping my identity with my outward success. So when the outward success wasn't there, it really took apart my self-esteem for a while and I think the part I regret the most is just how much I withdrew from friends and family, like not going out, not keeping up with some of my old friends, and that's the part that you know you can't get back.
Speaker 2:Why do you think you did that?
Speaker 3:Man, I was just so embarrassed. I was afraid I would go out and hear about how awesome their jobs are, how awesome their business is going, and then I would be saying mine's falling apart and I don't know what to do and I put all my money into it. Now I have no money, so I withdrew. And I think the thing that really sticks with me the most is that one of the friend groups I withdrew from one of my friends, actually passed away last year and I just always think, wow, like I missed out on so many such a time. I could have really stayed with my friend and now I'll never have that time back and I think that always weighs heavily on me.
Speaker 2:Wow, wow. And did you also have a feeling that you failed? I know you were serving people with that company. Did you have a feeling you were failing them as well?
Speaker 3:We did our best to make sure that they got other jobs and then, in the midst of the pandemic and everything that's happening, I think everything got a little bit crazy. So I didn't feel as bad about them because I knew that they were fine, which was a relief. I felt bad that I had wasted, like so many, friends and family's time as well, like getting free advice or extra support, and I think the worst thing for an entrepreneur is to have to go back to a nine to five, and that's what I had to do, and there's nothing worse as an entrepreneur to go and finally, you know, be brave, make that step and then crawling back to a job after your startup failed.
Speaker 2:And, of course, it's easy for you to smile and laugh about it now you know, and every entrepreneur knows what you're talking about there, but at the time it's not funny, is it?
Speaker 3:No, it's not, it's not fun, and it was. I mean, it was like months and months. And so I mean now I look back and I've learned so many lessons from it. Like, don't wrap up your identity and your business, make sure you're having fun along the way. Because I also I didn't travel much, I didn't enjoy my time. So not only did the business fail, but I have nothing else to kind of show for that period of time in my life either. You know, I didn't build up relationships, I didn't travel, I didn't, I didn't do anything else. And so I learned, yeah, just so many, so many hard lessons. But then those lessons serve me today, so now I'm able to look back and be grateful for them.
Speaker 2:So how have those lessons served you today? And we'll get into the success of your company and everything which is going to be so much fun. And I still want to hear a couple of stories from the trail. There's always stories from the trail, but how did those lessons serve you today? Can you think back to any specific instances back then and how you're applying it to today?
Speaker 3:Well, one of it's not necessarily a lesson, but the nine to five that I had to do was an outsourcing company, and I didn't even know that outsourcing in Africa existed. It was just the only job offer I got and I took it, and then that led to literally what I'm doing now. So if I wouldn't have had that startup fail, I wouldn't have ever worked at the company, which wouldn't lead me to doing what I do now, and I love what I do now.
Speaker 2:See, isn't that just the truth? All too often, when we get doors slammed in our face, which happens to all of us, we only see that door in front of us and our hurt nose when we don't realize the old thing well, another door opens up. Yeah, it really does, and maybe this was the push you needed to go out the correct door to begin with.
Speaker 3:Does that relate? Yeah, 100%. Looking back, it's almost hard to believe how perfectly it worked out, but it was exactly what I needed and so, yeah, I'm so grateful for it now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Growth always hurts. That's the way it is. But that's the pain that makes us stronger and takes us to those places we couldn't go otherwise. As a backpacker, you certainly know that. A couple of tales from the road, from the trail.
Speaker 3:Oh man, well, okay, so it started. Know, it took me seven months and nine days and I did from Cape town to Cairo, so I went through 13 African countries and I just had the best time. I have no horrible stories, no scary stories, nothing like that. All my stories are like I got lost and then somebody helped me.
Speaker 2:And I want to. I want to go and hit that, because a lot of the listeners are going, including my wife, when I told her about you, like how did she have the courage to, on her own, go through Africa? Because that, I mean, that's a great courage and a first step story lesson that we can teach as well.
Speaker 3:Talk about that the lesson of my life is that you always just have to take the first step without really knowing where it leads. So when I decided to go to South Africa, I didn't even know the Cape to Cairo route existed. I thought I would travel for maybe six weeks and I would just go from South Africa to Egypt. There's only a couple of countries in between. I would spend a week in each country, and the only reason why I bought a one-way ticket is because I was worried about the safety. So I thought if something bad happens, I can just fly out of wherever I'm closest. So it wasn't even supposed to be this big, huge trip.
Speaker 3:But after I was traveling for a few weeks, I met so many other backpackers who were doing the Cairo to Cape Town route. So same trip, but in reverse order. They told me how safe it was, how much fun they were having. I learned how to do public transport. Um, I realized I was having a lot of fun. The locals were super nice, and so that's when I decided to do Cape to Cairo after I'd already been traveling for a while.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's fantastic, and that's the only way you can get those memories and those experiences is just step out, do things you've never done before, right.
Speaker 3:Yes, exactly. And then the funny thing about traveling Africa is that there's like no information online, so it's not like you can if I was backpacking or even traveling somewhere else you can find the train tickets, the bus tickets, you can see the route online. Like that doesn't exist in most of the countries, at least when I was traveling online. Like that doesn't exist in most of the countries, at least when I was traveling, and so I never knew how I was going to get there until I got there. So I literally just go to the bus stop and say I want to go to the next city, how do I get there? And then they would just point to the bus and I did my entire trip like that. So it taught me the lesson in life that there's always a way, but you don't really see, like you don't see that next stair step until you take that next step, and so that's just how I did my entire trip and now how I try and live my life.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's a fantastic lesson for everybody to hear right there. So you, you did your Africa thing. What made you fall in love with it so much that you decided to live in Ethiopia for all those years?
Speaker 3:Oh man Well, I mean first of all African countries you only hear about the bad things, right as in America, you only hear about the bad things, you don't hear about the good things.
Speaker 3:So when you're actually traveling you have so much fun, you see how much safer it is, how good the food is, the coffee, all the things to do, and so after I did seven months of adventure, after an adventure like rafting the Nile, then the next day I see gorillas, the next day I'm at a market, then you definitely can't go back to a nine to five. After you did all that cool stuff, I was a little bit ruined. So I had gotten a job offer in Ethiopia when I was traveling and I decided to do it and it was only for six months. So I told my parents, just six more months and then I promise I will come home and get like a real job, I promise. And then, of course, eight years later, I finally came home with like a husband and a baby. So I had met my husband a couple of years into living in Ethiopia and then that was when we really cemented that we were going to live there for a while and then, once we had kids, we eventually came back.
Speaker 2:But yeah, and what was the job you got there?
Speaker 3:So first, once I realized I didn't want to do exact social work, because I realized I didn't want to do charities anymore it was a job that was connecting women exporters to buyers in the US. So that was kind of my first attempt at figuring out business is how do you actually increase trade?
Speaker 2:What was that? It was?
Speaker 3:connecting like Ethiopian women exporters, so women who were selling coffee, jewelry, scarves, and then I would try and find the buyers in the US and I was acting as kind of like the bridge between them to connect them.
Speaker 2:Okay, got it Got it fantastic.
Speaker 3:And that's where you started getting the idea about Cradle. So I was doing the importing, the exporting, and then I mean I had a whole bunch of jobs. So then I started working at a restaurant and then that's when I started eating some of the food and making my own snacks. And that's what led to my failed startup, which was an agribusiness, to make some Ethiopian inspiredinspired snacks. And then, of course, once that failed, then I got into outsourcing. So a long journey to end up to where I am today, that's for sure.
Speaker 2:Now you also. We talked about you were starting up a nonprofit and ended up losing 30K on that gig. What was that all about?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so it wasn't my nonprofit but it was my business cradle. So that was. Another hard lesson I learned is about the first year into business.
Speaker 3:Before we really had proper contracts or proper financial model, we had worked with this client who seemed good at first. He talked about his nonprofits in Africa. He said that he wanted to do life-changing commissions for our cold calling team and so we really thought so much of him and he hired 12 people from us and then he just never paid us and he never paid us and never paid us. We didn't want to fire the 12 people, right, you know, we were still hoping for the commissions, we still believed in him, but it turns out he never paid us so we had to pay out of pocket for those team members. We lost, yeah, almost 30,000 through it and and yeah, it was a tough 30,000 for our first first year and a half in business Massive, yeah, yeah. And yeah, last we heard I think his business partner moved out of the country. I think they've conned a lot of other companies, so we're not alone.
Speaker 3:But that was another thing. That's like okay, I finally have the business I love, and then you have this horrible experience and it does taint you a little bit. So good news is it led us to develop proper contracts, proper finance model. It's not feasible to happen again, but it was a big hit for sure.
Speaker 2:So how did you get through it? I mean, you got hit for $30,000 early in the in the game. It's like you said, that's hard, that's hard. So what was it that that drove you to keep going forward, not to quit, to keep pushing forward? What do you think kept you going?
Speaker 3:It's funny I had seen this Taylor Swift interview where she talked about how she loves making music, but that's not where most of her time goes. Most of her time goes towards all these other things. So she was saying you have to really love what you do because you have to deal with so much other things along the way. And I just thought, like that really hit me. Like I love what I do, I love the team members we hire. They're fun, they're energetic, they do a great job. I love our other clients. So it was just one of those things like this is something I have to deal with. It's just part of business. I just said, like now I have my MBA, I'm just going to count it as like a learning lesson. And I kept yeah, we just had to keep going.
Speaker 2:I love it, and do you think it's in part because of the feelings you have towards the African people there, because I mean, it's a great culture. I've spent some time there too. It's a wonderful culture. Do you think that that responsibility kind of helped drive you forward too as well? I?
Speaker 3:think it's. I think it's also just seen as an American. We're just, we're just taught that you know, african countries need charity and they're poor, and we only hear these bad things. And then, being an American who has actually lived on the continent and sees that much of our aid does not really work not all of it, but most of it or some of it doesn't work and seeing that there's so much potential and so much talent there, it's like I just feel so compelled to be the person in the US saying like, hey, we have to stop what we're doing. We have to see this continent in a different way, if not we're going to miss out. And for business owners out there, connecting to African talent is such a win-win model and that really drives me to keep going, even when it gets hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I really believe you're right on that that all too often the charity we give people weakens them. It doesn't help build them up. Now it's important, and don't give me a bunch of bad emails and letters and all that. Everybody I give a lot of money, all right. Now it's important and don't give me a bunch of bad emails and letters and all that. Everybody I give a lot of money, all right, but it's two very particular charities that I well. That's why I was in Africa. I was following up on on two of them that I was giving a decent amount of money to. I looked into them, but one of the many things I've learned through doing philanthropic work all of my life is the old teach them how to fish thing you know, and in this case, if we can help.
Speaker 2:Another reason I love cradle and what you're doing, Valerie, here, is you are, you're giving them an opportunity to work, to build themselves up, and not only does that give the financial opportunity, but that helps change a culture as well, cause we've got opportunities that we can give to them and they'll take them and they'll run with them if they're taught how to do it. And that's what you're doing with Cradle, isn't it?
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I mean, for college grads anywhere in this world to not have a good job once they get out of college is hard. So, yeah, I'm really when you give someone the opportunity to work hard, they do work hard. And one of the things I love I don't know if you've heard like the Trevor Noah analogy about the fishing, but it's like not only do you have to teach them how to fish, you also have to give them the fishing rod. So in our situation, especially if someone in Ethiopia or Zimbabwe were to apply for a US company, too often they'd be turned down because of the country of origin. So we try and be that part that's saying like no, give them a chance, at least interview them, and we kind of take that role and then from there it's really up to them to clench the interview, but we try and make it at least happen and open that door.
Speaker 2:So what all kind of jobs do you provide for people? If I'm looking for somebody to help me out through Cradle, how can you help me out?
Speaker 3:Great question. So we do virtual assistants. That will just make your life so much easier. Help you buy back your time. We do marketing assistants to help you with LinkedIn, social media, podcasting, things like that. And then our biggest vertical is actually cold calling. So it could be cold calling or appointment setting Anytime you need like a very perfect American accent to be that first touch point on the phone. That's what we do, really well.
Speaker 2:And that perfect American accent is critical these days.
Speaker 3:We are I mean honestly, that's one thing I have to brag about is especially in Ethiopia. Ethiopia has like the best accents, I don't know like they have great education, they have great English, but they also watch tons of Hollywood movies. I don't know what it is, but the English is incredible in Ethiopia particularly.
Speaker 2:I'll be darned. I'll be darned. So on the social media, you said they can do LinkedIn and all that. They're in Ethiopia. What would make me think that they know more about social media than I do? That's a softball question right there, yeah.
Speaker 3:I mean, honestly, the younger generation is just on it right In today's world. We're such a especially after COVID, where it's like a global world, so young people are kind of on par with young people everywhere. So I mean, who else would you want running your TikTok or your Instagram? Like, you don't want someone older, you want someone who's like 22, 23. Like, that's actually the perfect person for the job.
Speaker 3:And if you think for listeners, if you think the young people, which is pretty much everybody to me these days, don't know about this stuff. You could not be more wrong. I guarantee you they are as hip as us old people would say. As anybody here in the States hire because of the team members. I know they're so cool. They make me feel not cool because they're so cool, but yeah, I mean they've gone through college, they're well-educated, especially at Cradle. Everybody we've hired we always say we're step two, so they've already worked for, like an outsourcing or an international company that unfortunately probably didn't pay them well, didn't treat them well, but probably did give them good training. So we're step two, like once you have that good training and you know what you really want to do with your life, then you can work for us and we really match you based on your career.
Speaker 2:That's interesting. So what effect have you seen with the people that you're working with and their communities? How are you helping them besides a paycheck, which is well kind of important?
Speaker 3:Oh yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing to see like moms who now have more money to send their kids to like a better school. Um, there was some. There was a guy who said like he was going to have to like leave his family and go find work somewhere else and because he has a job with us, he gets to stay and he has. He has two kids. So that felt good. One girl was just like.
Speaker 3:The first thing I did with my paycheck is I took my mom out shopping and for her that was the biggest win. And it's also on the other side because we work with so many, I would say, small and medium-sized businesses in the US who probably couldn't afford to hire someone in the US. So that means the founder is just kind of doing it themselves. And so I especially love working with some of these moms or or dads in the US who now they have more time with their kids, they're able to take their first vacation, their sales are increasing easier, so it's really cool just to see how it's it really is like the win-win on both sides.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. Was it worth it? You went through a lot to get here between failed company that had you basically locked in your house for a while, not wanting to talk to anybody, embarrassed, and all that. Okay, Now let's, we'll, we'll try again. Cradle bam, $30,000. Somebody rips you off of tough times. Heartbreak, I get it Been there, you know Now that you're at this side of it. Was it worth it?
Speaker 3:It's so worth it, but not because of what I thought would be worth it.
Speaker 2:It wasn't.
Speaker 3:Now that we're finally doing well, I can pay myself a paycheck. I you know we've been, we've been lucky to get some really great kind of recognition. That's not actually what makes me happy. What makes me happy is, honestly, who I've become in the process, like someone who doesn't quit, someone who can make decisions, someone who can lead a team, someone who now is employing 100 people. The person I've had to become to do that is what makes me most gratified at the end of the day.
Speaker 2:And that is always the case, I believe, with an entrepreneurial effort of any kind.
Speaker 1:It is that.
Speaker 2:It's just like at the end of our backpacking trips. You know we saw a lot of stuff, we did a lot of stuff, but it's what we gain from it internally and externally that really matters the most. What would you love to leave everybody with? Some pearls of wisdom from everything that's been through, from the young lady that's gone across Africa on her own, built this company and everything else.
Speaker 3:What would you like to leave everybody with? I would say my advice is always to take the first step without knowing what's going to happen, because you're not going to ever know what's going to happen. So you just have to take that first step. It's going to be messy, but that will help you take your next step. Second thing is, if you're in a hard spot, if your business isn't doing well, don't withdraw from the people who love you. Go out there even more and spend more time with them. And the third thing I would say it's our slogan but choose Africa, whether that's whether you're planning, like, a vacation, whether you need to hire a cold caller, or even if you're at the grocery store, like buy that Ethiopian coffee or that chocolate that's made in Madagascar. Like the continent will really surprise you when you start to see the other aspect of it. And so start, just start exploring.
Speaker 2:That's fantastic, valerie. Thank you so much for that Great, great advice at the end there as well. So for everybody listening again, I couldn't agree more Take that step. You don't have to know where it's going to end up. Take that step out the door. You're going to get cuts, you're going to get bruises, odds are you're going to get some heartbreak. But in the end, if you keep pushing through, it'll all be worth it and then you can have your own Comeback Chronicle.
Speaker 1:So that's it for today's episode of the Comeback Chronicles. Head on over to Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen and subscribe to the show. One lucky listener every single week that posts a review on Apple Podcasts will win a chance in the grand prize drawing to win a $25,000 private VIP date with Terry O Fossum himself. Be sure to head on over to ComebackChroniclesPodcastcom and pick up a free copy of Terry's gift and join us on the next episode.