Kind of a Big Deal

Build a Brand That Matters

• Kristin Belden • Season 1 • Episode 2

Share episode

What if one of your toughest moments leads to the best thing you build?

Join me as I sit down with Réland Logan as we discuss her journey to entrepreneurship, the power of authentic branding and the importance of uplifting women in leadership. 

We delve into the nuances of personal and business branding, the challenges women face in asserting their worth, and how to craft a unique voice in a crowded market. With plenty of laughs and a dash of candidness, Réland highlights strategies for creating a cohesive brand that resonates and draws true connections.

You'll Learn: 

⭐ The power of LinkedIn in forging professional relationships

⭐ The importance of authenticity and clarity in personal branding

⭐ Strategies for women to embrace their accomplishments and leadership

⭐ The intersection of branding with operations and financ

⭐ Réland's unique multi-step approach to brand development


Key Insights

  • Empathy in Branding: Brands should reflect authentic stories and personal experiences, allowing one's unique voice to shine through.
  • Uplifting Women: Creating a culture of support among women leads to better leadership outcomes and a shared commitment to collective success.
  • Cohesive Brand Strategy: Successful branding transcends aesthetics; it includes aligning messaging with operational goals and sales strategies.
  • Fear of Self-Promotion: Women are often conditioned to downplay their accomplishments, which limits their potential impact.
  • The Use of Humor: Infusing humor into the process of branding and marketing can alleviate stress and foster creativity.

Timestamps

  • 00:00:00 - Introduction 
  • 00:05:30 - Discussion on Women in Leadership
  • 00:10:15 - The Importance of Authentic Branding
  • 00:15:45 - Reland shares her unique approach to branding
  • 00:28:00 - Reland's business origin story during COVID
  • 00:35:00 - Insights about legacy and impact
  • 00:40:00 - Recommendations for developing personal brand strategy

Resources and Links

If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review! And if you're interested in more stories and tools for women leaders, sign up for my newsletter at Beldenstrategies.com. Let's continue to empower each other in our journeys!

Hi, Ryland. How are you? I'm so good. You ready? I'm so ready, and I'm so excited to have your energy right now because I think we need it. We need it in this moment. We need it in this life. So thank you so much for being here. Um, before you introduce yourself and give us a little bit of background on kind of what you're building and, and what your story's about, I wanted to share a little bit of context, which is.

Our relationship is a product of when LinkedIn works. Like this is actually, I, you know, there's a lot of chatter about what are we doing over here on LinkedIn, like what's the point of it? What's happening? The reason the two of us have, the connection we have is because of this platform, and I think that's kind of amazing.

I. That is very, very true. Like there's so many people that I'll reach out to. I'm like, listen, I just wanna be your friend. I don't know why. And then like, they don't respond to me. And I'm like, all right, well no big deal. But you are missing out. And then there's some people who are like, Hey, you also have an eight, 9-year-old.

Let's talk about this. This place is hell. All of it, please. Um, and then you become great friends and. It's really incredible. Like it does work. It just doesn't work when you throw spaghetti at walls people. Yes. That's awesome. Yes, yes. And I'm sure you'll tell us a little bit more about that, but I am stories just super grateful for how you show up.

I mean, you are literally, you know, as I think about supporting specifically women and leadership, you are the epitome of a badass who. Always is lifting other women up and I think that that is not always the case. And to see you out there if anybody's following on LinkedIn, and if they're not, they will be after this.

I think you'll see that she shows up in every single way in support of her clients and support of people. She's just come across and you know, I think we really need more of that, so I just appreciate that about you. Um, thank you because I feel like everyone was lurking on my LinkedIn and not not engaging well that, that, that is also there is something to that.

Right? I do think that that happens a lot, but it doesn't mean it's not adding value. You are truly incredible at your craft. Of ING consultant brands. I think it's because I, and I want you to give your voice on kind of what your work is because it is so much more around, I mean, we talk about branding, we talk about storytelling, but you have this real strength and clarity and how you show up and you work with people and you really have your finger on the pulse of what's working, what's not, how to get folks to kind of think a little bit differently about how they're showing up with their work.

Um, I went through your brand, Muta brand breakthrough, and lemme just say that she takes no prisoners in the best way. I just, I will never forget. When you shared with me that my website was giving hometown buffet, I guess, hard not to laugh, like so big, but I, it loved on the internet, loved it.

It was like, you're right. And I, I mean, I knew this because it was really just a placeholder and it was just, you know, operating as it needed to. I needed the, you know, the website, UL, whatever. But the fact that you were just going through it with humor and grace, um, you know, I just, I loved it and I think everyone would do well to have someone with your kind of clarity, give a sense of like, what's working, what's not, and the way you kind of like walk people step by step.

Is. I also think very unique to your process because sometimes you kind of get this jumble of like, well, you could be doing this a little more. You could be, but like step by step, by step by step. So I'd love for you to share just a little bit more about your work and what you're currently building. Well, thank you.

Before we move into that, I need you to know that anytime you see me reference Hometown Buffet, because I feel like I do it a lot lately, I was thinking of you like, I cannot separate the two. And so anytime you read it, you just need to be like, oh, she was thinking of me. And like that is because I think I even said in your video like.

Oh, shoot, I've never thought of this before. Yes, so for, for context, it was, you want this to feel like the most beautiful like tasting menu, like crafted and right now we're giving hometown buffet. No offense to Hometown Buffet it. It's great. I really love, it was my favorite restaurant. Yes. So, right.

There's not what we're going for from a brand perspective, so No, we should, we should give skip to that. Um, well, hello everybody. Welcome. Um, I just want every woman to know that in that moment, listening to how amazing she thinks I am was very uncomfortable. And, uh, but that's why she's doing this because as women, um, we are a big deal and sometimes we do not realize it.

Mm-hmm. And we have to realize it to have really kickass brands. So That's right. That's why I do what I do. Why are we all also uncomfortable with it though? I mean, my husband literally the other day was like, complimenting me on something and he's like, you're literally, I can feel your body like, like what up?

Um, my compliment to my other half last night was like, oh, he's so great. 'cause he doesn't tell me. I'm pretty like, yeah.

Wild, but it's because like Kristen, we really like pull it apart. 'cause I've had to pull it apart like a lot lately with the podcast. And um, and when I'm doing these, these brand anything, we'll go through the steps later, but when I'm doing them I have found that, you know, many women like. You couldn't sign for your own credit card until a few years before I was born.

Yeah. I'm 35. So that wasn't that long ago. Yeah. And I was still, as a kid, very much told like, you need to play nicely, you need to do these things. Like you need to sit there and be quiet and you know, you need to help and volunteer and like I was basically. Raised but not raised to be Miss America.

Um, I never did Miss America pageants. I think all of You're really incredible. You should have, you should have. You should thank, thank you. I would've been Miss Congeniality.

We have been trained to not take compliments.

We have literally been conditioned yet we watched little boys and we grew up with little boys who got praised for doing the things that we were always told were bad. Yeah, we were praised for doing our homework correctly. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Well that's not hard. If you told me two plus two is four, well then two plus two is four.

Right? Right. Like we were very good parrots. Yes, yes. Gosh. Yeah. So to step into what makes us awesome, it, it's really. Uncomfortable because that being awesome is the expectation as a woman. Hmm. That's the expectation is to be awesome. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But if you're too awesome, you're too much. And if you're not awesome enough, well then why can't you just be like everyone else?

And it's a, it's a tightrope. And it's a tightrope that is absolutely ridiculous and needs to be cut into shreds with the knowledge that there's a trampoline below it. And we're gonna bounce up a lot further because this is, this is comical. You and I were talking about my limiting belief that I uncovered in this last business retreat.

We are not gonna go into that today 'cause there will be no tears here, everybody, but the year prior. It had everything to do with what I look like. Oh, wow. There's this thought, I blame Hollywood, but there's this thought that pretty people can't be smart at the same time.

And then it, it gets like really wishy-washy because I was so afraid that people weren't actually listening to the words coming outta my mouth or the things that I do. And you brought all the attention to how my brain works. When you started this conversation mm-hmm. And, and how beautiful that piece is.

And so I've had a, I've come a long way. I still don't always wear makeup all the time. Um, like I'm really scared to fully show up mm-hmm. In that way because I still sometimes don't see, uh, people see me for how intelligent I am versus what I look like, and yeah. Society's really screwed us ladies up, and we're slowly as leaders starting to dismantle that.

And I think that is a really beautiful thing. And to your point, that is why I uplift women because I've had too many be mean to me. And I don't think that's the way we should show up. Yeah, absolutely. Um, for nothing, for literally nothing.

So isn't it crazy? It's so, it's so interesting you said that because literally I was chatting with Glenda, uh, yesterday, another woman that I was trying to like the show and she was saying something similar, which is, it almost feels like for a while there, it was one of two things. Either you were the only woman in a very male dominated space, and you had to figure out how to show up in that. And or there might've been, you know, other women that were not lifting you up. You know, and it's not to say that that is everyone's experience by any stretch, but I do think we hear more about that than I would like to hear. And so, yeah, how do we play our part in, you know, kind of shifting that to make sure that it's not happening as often for women that are kind of coming up into their leadership.

'cause then you're just afraid of everyone. Yeah. Yeah. And you're afraid to put your message out there. And the biggest thing about branding is putting your message out there and like what your big ideas and like your thought around it. And then we do weird things. And I'm gonna call it weird because even though it seems so normal, we need to stop.

And that weird thing is we'll be like, oh yeah, but. Everyone's already doing it. What do you need my voice for? I did it from my podcast. We would've never known each other had I let that keep going in my head. Mm-hmm. Your perspective is unique based on your own lived experience, and I think, yeah. Everyone has.

Something to share. I saw something on LinkedIn, and I wish I could quote who said this because I thought it was brilliant, but I, I have it written down somewhere, and I'm sure someone might be able to share this, but she was asked who, what makes somebody a thought leader? How do you become a thought leader?

And she's like, uh, you have thoughts and you're a leader. Like, that's it. Like there's nothing more magical about it other than that. And you get to voice into that, you get to speak into that. But I think a lot of us do find that. Bandaid. Difficult to rip off. I know I did. As I was thinking about engaging on LinkedIn, it was like, what are people gonna think?

Is this kind of like, especially if you're shifting or evolving at all, which I was evolving a bit into kind of a new business structure, a new way. I was thinking about who I was serving and. So you're like, are people gonna even, you know, recognize what I'm saying or how I'm saying it? It's also kind of the point, by the way, is that you're not being recognized for maybe what you were known for before, but it can feel really terrifying.

It's, it's so scary. It's so scary. Because if we think back, I mean way back, like back into the days of like sticks and caves, the idea was that you were safe. With your people. Mm-hmm. We were not individualized creatures. So when we start to have individualized thoughts, which we all do, the person you live the most with is yourself.

Mm-hmm. Fun fact. Um, it's scary if it's outside of the norm because the norm keeps you safe. Yeah. And our world is not the same as like discovering fire and. Painting with berries and cables, and so we actually are more safe if we can push against the grain because there is actually more safety in building something for yourself than working for someone else.

Mm-hmm. But that does not negate the fact that it's terrifying. Two things could be true at the same breath. Well, and I think also, you know, for those that might be, you know, watching or listening, there are folks too, right? That even if you have a full-time job or you're W2, more and more, we're seeing that.

I was actually just on a call a moment ago with the coaching program. I'm a part of. Where she was doubling down on nothing is really secure at this moment. We're seeing things shift so quickly that even if you love your job and you love your employer, that's awesome. You also need to be thinking about what is your brand?

What's your reputation? How are you showing up in spaces? Because that's really the only thing that's secure. Shout out to Alana, um, for bringing this up because I think. She has been saying this for a long time, and now it's just getting more and more urgent as we're seeing things shift so quickly, and so I think everyone would do well, not just business owners or consultants or solopreneurs, but anybody that's thinking about the future kind of security of how they're gonna move into the next phase of whatever their career is.

Somebody said a long time ago, and like everyone's like, oh yeah, that's like a thing. And it was said in such a casual way that made everybody feel like, oh, that's something we put on a t-shirt, which was, your network is your net worth, but it is now that plus your personal brand, like can you actually tap into.

The money of your network. Yeah. And if you can't, somebody who can will get something over you. Totally. Totally. Do you follow Daniel Priestley's work at all? No. He wrote like key person of influence. This is someone to check out. I really enjoy what he shares. He's very pro entrepreneur, very interesting content.

And he was just on diary of a CEO recently. Okay. And he was talking about. He believes, and this, I'm just gonna kind of paraphrase here, and I'm not saying whether I agree or disagree, but I think it's. That he believes that our election results were partially a product of the fact that our current president understands branding, that he understood what it means to show up, love him, hate him, whatever.

As who he is, and you have access to this almost, right? You are seeing him on podcasts unfiltered. You are hearing him speak unfiltered, and we as an audience almost expect that from people now that there's been this shift that he had kind of called out from a long time ago, like. When you think of Tesla, you don't necessarily think of the car or the robots or whatever you think of LMS.

When you think of Virgin, you don't think of the planes. You think of Richard Branson. And so how you are representing your brand is a huge part of it. So I think, um, it's an interesting thing to think about for sure. I don't like saying this out loud, like, I almost wanted to do one of these. No, you can, you can say it from that, but I can still hear you.

I did. Um, there's this, this person, I love personality tests for those listening. I have a degree in psychology and I have a degree in fashion marketing. I'm, I love dual dynamic things, and that's, that's totally fine. They have a lot of crossover and. There's this test that you can take called the wealth dynamics test, and it will go over like what your personality type is and then who you need in your court to really like start to amplify your ability for wealth from a leadership perspective.

And mine is my main one is a creator, which is intuitive. The ability to like create systems and do these things in a way, and my secondary is being a star, which is like. Your brand is your personality. Create and creators are a very interesting, interesting type in the way that. I'm very strategic and visionary and that is why I have the brand that I have and I help build brands because I can see things faster than others can. Like my superpower is the ability to connect the dots and be able to like systematize it very quickly.

Mm-hmm. Even when people aren't ready, which is the dark side of that because then I get frustrated 'cause people aren't moving as fast as I am. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Um, and that's fine. So it's, it's interesting and I really enjoyed that test. 'cause then it was like, who do I need around me in order to make this better and get it to the right people? Because at the end of the day, I really love helping people. Yeah. I do. I love it with all my heart. I think women deserve to be, nobody does it better than women.

If women ran this world, um, it'd be a better place. Just know that. Very, very rarely in history did we see women at war, war table. You guys have to think about that one, and yet you see them when it's time to talk about peace. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. It's just a very interesting concept in general and just kindness.

Like you and I talked about this the other day online where I was like, we all sit here and say we want all this kindness, all this stuff, and then we're mean, and it like shows up in all these ways and we gravitate towards the negative and we gravitate towards people like our president. Like say what you will, I can't say I'm over it, but like I have no choice but to be over it. He's not nice. Mm-hmm. There's a lot of negative things. There's a lot of like just meanness. Yeah. And yeah. So many of us are craving kindness. Well, that has to reflect in our actions. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely. And that's all I wanted.

Yes, I think kindness could do us all. Well, I think that, you know, we're. It many times. I obviously, some of it feels like a projection, right? If somebody's coming at you a lot of times, or if they're, you know, snarky or have a sarcastic comment, many times it's coming from a place of insecurity, right? So I recognize that.

Um, but I do, I liked what you shared, which is it's about also recognizing when the kindness is happening and, and amplifying that it's not just, you know, feeling frustrated or sad that there is negativity. There will always be always. And so how do we find the ways to kind of amplify. Um, when folks are showing up with grace and kindness, and I think we could do that for ourselves a little bit more as well, right?

Like, how are we being kind to ourselves? Let's recognize that when have I just given myself grace throughout the period of whatever I'm building? Like, I think we tend to kind of forget those things along the way. And so to just remind ourselves to just, you know, take that pause and reflect is important.

Um, I would love for you to share a little bit more about what you do specifically and what your philosophy is as you're working with people, because I think that that. Really helps women as they're thinking about if they're just at the first stages of either entrepreneurship or even if it's a pivot in their brand or they're kind of evolving their company in some way.

'cause I think you come from a foundation of like, what is the kind of holistic way that you want? Folks to be asking themselves these questions. So maybe just basics. What is it that you do that brings to the world? Let's go over what my process is first, and then let's talk about asking questions, because I think asking questions is really important, um, to all these steps.

So for those of you who hear brand and you just said, okay, cute, you make logos and colors. No, I don't. Um, that's probably one of the last things I do and probably the least important thing that I know how to do and what the, the point of brand is. It is this concept of where operations, finance, and marketing intersect.

It is where everything needs to flow from in order to make everything cohesive and has systems that work that amplify where you wanna go in 5, 10, 20, 25 years. It is the. Heartbeat and the strategy of where to go. So what I do is, is very systematic while still bringing vision and strategy to life and.

I am learning that as a, that is like a super superpower because I do look at the operational sales systems that are taking place because if you do not have your operations and sales systems in deep alignment, then your brand messaging will be absolute garbage because you are coming from an unclear place and you cannot message something that is unclear.

Mm-hmm. And to be clear is to be kind folks. I really, really work with folks to make sure that that pathway is clear. 'cause that's what we're messaging off of. Once we have a solid message, then we can have visuals that tell that message. Because the reality is the human brain takes in visuals 60,000 times faster than the written word.

And so we, but we have to work backwards to get. To that being really great. That's why you see really terrible stock photography on people's websites and they don't tell any kind of story like a children's storybook. And then you wonder why people don't buy from you. Yeah. Your pictures did have a big piece in this.

So I, that is what I do. And when I do work with folks, we also talk about how do you make your investment back after working with me and, um. That is like the, the big picture of what I do now, how I specifically do it is powerful. Uh, the very first step to work with me. I don't do discovery calls anymore.

Um, I don't meet with people for free for 15 minutes. I. I find that that is a waste of my time and your time. So what I do, and to what Kristen was talking about earlier is I do a video audit of folks, digital presence. I ask them what their goals are, where they wanna take this, and then I look at. You don't have to have a website.

The reason I say digital presence is it could be anything. It could be your LinkedIn, it could be your Facebook. Um, I feel some type of way about that. So show me your TikTok instead. Uh, and people have sent me their slide decks and things of that nature. Yeah. And I will go through it. And I will give you real time feedback so you can see what somebody else sees.

Mm-hmm. And we talk about that. Where is there a lack of clarity? Where are you the hometown buffet versus being a tasting menu with a big old check at the end of that experience? Um, and we go through those things. Is your sales system even clear? I've had people come back and be like, well, that, but that's not what it is.

And I was like. That's true, but that's not what you experienced. Yes. So remember, it's not about you actually, it's about the person who's reading it who wants to work with you, right? If I feel that I can help the person, 'cause I'm an invite only lady, if I feel I can help you, then we move on to the next step, which is to brainstorm.

So brainstorming with me means I interview you for 90 minutes and I start, I've seen the things, now I wanna hear the things and I really listen. I ask a lot of questions and I take that information, I distill it and I. Go. We meet again and I go over exactly what it is that you need to start doing and stop doing in order to hit your goals and make those systems happen again.

If I feel like I can help you with this. I will then invite you to the next step, which is a making waves intensives, where I will execute on those digital presence, those elements. Um, sometimes visual, sometimes it's just backend stuff, and we work together for anywhere between a. Two to three business days, making that happen and launching it out to the world.

Um, there's one last step beyond that that I invite very few people to, but that is actually where I will, um, run your thought leadership. My team will for a year. Mm-hmm. And. But I will only do it. I actually started out as a social media agency. I will only do it if I've helped build your brand along the way to fine tune it for clear messaging.

Mm-hmm. Um, 'cause otherwise I get, well, I don't know if I wanna say that now. And I'm like, I, no, we're not, we're not playing that game. So, uh, each step grows upon itself on cost. Uh, the first step as of today is $50. Um, and then it goes up to five grand a month for that last one. But it is, yeah. I'd say it's worth it, which is like a huge bargain by the way.

And you just have to say like when you were just sharing, there's a couple things to unpack here. One is when you said you shifted from like a three 50 a minute call to this, you know, audit of your digital presence, it is the most valuable thing that I have received in a very long time. And I think that.

The amount of effort that you put into that versus just a 15 minute call is, to your point, the value is just so incredible. And so I would just encourage anybody that's even remotely thinking about it because it helps you also look holistically at, at what your digital presence is. And I think sometimes we get a little, like flustered.

It's like, well, my, my business, you know, page on LinkedIn says this, but then my bio says this. And then like, but what about my headline? And it's like, it can feel very. It can be easier to speak into other peoples than it is to navigate your own because you're so close to it.

And then I have literally never heard anyone say that brand includes your operations and your finance. And I love that because I. You're totally right. And we don't look at our businesses in that way and the story that we're telling because we're operating in such a now moment, not necessarily in the where we want to go moment.

And so to get all of that into one cohesive package is just a, I think a brilliant way of thinking about it. It's because everybody uses brand and marketing interchangeably and they actually aren't the same thing. Yeah. And so Totally. Yes. Yes.

And both are valuable and important and, but I, but I like the way that you're distinguishing it. Give us two minutes on how long have you had your business and what got you to launching your own thing, like where were you before? Just a little bit of that journey.

Oh, COVID. Um, it's been five years. Amazing. Congratulations. Thank you. It was five years in April and COVID made me do it. So what happened was We have this whole pandemic and I was somehow working creative staffing. So I was like doing staffing for Nike, actually for Nike and Jordan brand specifically.

And I was doing really well. I remember I was given a project. Early that day I executed on the project. I was meeting with my boss and his boss and I thought we were talking about the project. 'cause I had already made like such big strides. And that was not the conversation we had. I was laid off.

Mm. And I was laid off exactly a week before my 30th birthday. And I felt like the world's biggest failure. Yeah. And so fast forward into my handy dandy unemployment and I am sitting on the phone on hold. Speaker phone scrolling through. I'm a person like 1052. I really don't know the number, but it was very high.

My little guy is like two and a half, three. And he's playing with cars. And my baby, I swear, will win in Oscar one day because at that age it was, he would figure out how to turn on cars. And he would pause the movie and he would take all the cars off that weren't in the scene and put the cars back on.

And the only thought that ran through my head was, how in the world am I going to still afford Disney Plus? Oh yeah. Yeah. That's a really shitty feeling to say out loud. Totally. 'cause it brought him joy. Yeah. And look, each car is $5, but I think I've spent a thousand dollars on these Lightning McQueen toys that I will not give up and he still will play with today.

So, um, I was tired of waiting, I was scrolling through Instagram and I was like, you know what? I can do this and I know how to teach sales. So like. I can just teach people how to sell on social media. Easier than done, by the way, everyone. Uh, so I hung up the phone, took my last $250 'cause that's literally all I had at that point.

And, um, started my business. Amazing on a laptop that barely worked, that I saw more of that rainbow spinning wheel. Then I care to admit to make one. Social media may or may not be there right now. Um, yeah, we're on computer number three here and it. I had no idea what I was doing. Mm-hmm. I just knew I needed money and I couldn't sit there and wait on hold.

Like I couldn't wait for the world to catch up to what I needed. Mm-hmm. Um, fast forward, unfortunately, George Floyd was murdered and in that space I live in a very predominantly white neighbor, like state city. And um, I was asked, how do you market to black people? Which was pretty harmful. Mm-hmm. And I said, who in the world asked that question?

Um. But I realized that we had a lot of problems around that. At the same time, the CEO of the American Marketing Association, uh, pulled in all lives matters. I was pissed. I was the VP of programming for my local chapter, and I got together with a bunch of folks around the country for grassroots to write the diversity equity inclusion pledge for the American Marketing Association nationally and Canada.

And, um. I started to realize that what I'm much better at is strategy. I went through a horrible depression. Um, I'm on the other end. Like there's, there's a difference between acute and like what goes on and when you are not a depressed person and it hits you, I, I. It's a very wild feeling to, yeah, to have to acknowledge that.

But in that space, I had a coach and this really incredible speaking coach who worked with Michelle Obama and wrote her speeches and she looked at me one day and she goes, Raylin, your skill is not turning things into a scroll stopping money maker. Your skill is actually finding what's really incredible about people amplifying that, so people wanna buy from them.

Love it. I found that note. Months later when I was more clear. Mm-hmm. Yes. Amazing. Switched from social media to brand agency and I went from $2,500 months to consistent $15,000 months in two months. Oh my God. That's amazing. That's incredible. Yeah, that's like the whole system, like a year that I came up with the system that I have now.

And um, I launched my podcast, I was so darn terrified to do, and I mean, we have brought up. Donald Trump more times than I care to admit in a podcast, however, or just like in any speaking thing. But I will say COVID was probably one of the most transformational moments in my life. Mm-hmm. And it's all because he handled it poorly.

And then I wouldn't have my podcast, the Lux Leap. I wouldn't have this new system if. And maybe I would later down the line. But it was the day that he won the election last year that made me say during a photo shoot in California, in a ball gown, illegally drinking champagne on the beach and nobody gave a damn, um, where I looked around and said, I'm over it.

And everybody looked at me like I was completely nuts. And I go, I'm over. I'm tired of women ha women having to break glass ceilings. Mm. I'm done. And I put my little head down, I came up with a new system. I said I was gonna make a podcast for women because I pulled up. I don't know that of people on podcasts.

I don't think I should do it. Mm-hmm. And, and that I said that on Halloween. And then I called the people back and said, no, actually I'll do it. I'm done. Amazing. And here we are. I love it. I love it. I love it so much because I feel like so many of us land in the spaces that we're in because of big life altering.

I. Moments and they can be very different for everyone. Right. And I think it can be so difficult as you're walking through those moments. Yes. And I don't know if this resonates for you, but I now look at my own version of this and say, but what a gift. Like what a massive gift that was to have to walk through that, because I would never have asked myself the hard questions.

I never would've paused to say, what is it that I really want? What kind of impact am I actually looking to have? Am I climbing the right mountain? Right? Because I do think a lot of times we're just in this hustle and there's nothing wrong with that. I was sharing this in another conversation that I.

What got us here might not be what takes us to where we want to go, but it also doesn't mean we gotta throw the baby out with the bath water, there are still elements and pieces and foundational aspects that will still be part of our story. And so that the critical thing is figuring out what are the ones we wanna double down on and what are the ones we want to kind of release.

But I think. Many times, and this is of course also a place of giant privilege to even get to ask these questions, but I think when you walk through something that feels really challenging and difficult, if you can just take a few moments or just a little pause to start tapping back into. What is my body trying to tell me?

What is my, what is that voice, right? Like I shared with you, it wasn't until I really quieted myself down and closed my eyes and said, who am I really trying to serve? Who do I really wanna work with? Where do I think I can be of most service? I. And every time it was a badass female that I've either worked with or for, or would love to work with or for.

And I'm like, oh, well, ding, ding, ding. Like this is not it. It's there. But I had to like be quiet for a second to actually hear it. A moment to do it. And silence is free. Yeah. I think sometimes we forget that and we think that some of us have that privilege to have it and some of us don't, but like silence is free.

Mm-hmm. And it's okay if it just happens 'cause you're sitting on the toilet like, yeah, this is free. It's true though. Um, I have a really funny story of girlfriends that I met for the first time and all of us were like, the best ideas happen when wet. And we're like, you come up with the best ideas on the hour.

And so that's what it means to work with me. Like I could take very serious moments to make them quite funny. And, um. It has to be. It has to be. It has to be. It has to be fun. Otherwise forget it. Why are we doing this? Ultimately, well not get done if it's not fun. Like that's just, it becomes a chore. Yeah.

Yeah. And I was thinking about this like, you know, the idea of like, people have privilege. I do a coaching program here in my town with a non-profit profit and I teach an accelerator and I work with folks who. I've had it pretty rough in the past, like mm-hmm. Some of the stories I hear are heartbreaking, but they're business owners and they're doing incredible things.

Yeah. And they want to give back. And I was on the phone with one of the women today, um, and going to go talk to somebody about her story and everybody else's story , and in that space as I was like, she was talking to me when we first started out, her goal, her goal for her business was to hit $2,000 a month so she could maybe save for a car.

And she didn't really believe she could hit her first six figures. That was January, mid-January. Talk to her today. I talk to her all the time, but not as much one-on-one. She got a brand deal where they paid to fly her out there, asked her to become an instructor. She has hit 9,500. Dollars in April 8,000 something in May, and she's like, I have this bottle to pop open when I hit 10 grand a month.

And I was like, I love it because you can, because even if you are, you feel like every, every card is stacked against you. You've only seen examples of what's not possible, and that's only for people who are privileged. One, that's a lie you're telling yourself. And two. There is something out there to get you over the finish line, but you have to be open to receiving it and knowing that it could happen because we're all gonna have shitty times.

It doesn't matter how much privilege you have and how much you don't have, we're all gonna have shitty times. Silence is free. Listen to yourself. Yeah, listen to yourself. If I actually didn't take the moment to listen to myself and say, screw it, here's my last 250. We wouldn't be having this conversation.

Totally, totally. Now I get, get to do big things. Yes. So do you think, do you have a, like hack for, and maybe you do or you don't? Um, but for those that maybe because I, I recognize that I had become so disconnected from my inner voice over the years that it took me some time to like. Almost like get to know myself again, frankly, like you, right?

You're kind of peeling back the layers to go like, oh, oh, hey. Like, oh, I remember that part of you. And like, oh, yes. Like there is a knowing there. Mm-hmm. Um, do you have a practice or routine or anything that you would share for anybody that maybe is, does feel a little bit disconnected and does want to get quiet, but isn't totally sure where to start?

Okay. This is kind of funny. Um, talk to your chat GBT for like a month. We'll talk, talk to him for like a month and then ask it what you're missing about yourself or what you know, what's, what's missing. That was like the catalyst for me. But then I do these exercises where I like write what I want in the world, like what I dream about, and then I write.

What comes up for me when I think about that and then I reframe it, like I literally, I do it at this one retreat. I have two frames like reframes, literally amazing. I love it. And so when I had the struggle with my face, one, it was people are magnetically connected to me when I show my extraordinary self and pay attention because they trust me.

Um, which I feel like you did a great job of showing that that's real and it happens in real time. And, um, and then the most recent one is I choose to prioritize my own inner voice and trust my own brilliance. Oh, I love it. So it's, it's taking the time to write about it, come to terms with it, and then reframe it because it doesn't have to be that way.

Yeah. And we're overloaded with a lot of noise. Yes, yes, I agree. Which was part of my like philosophical issue with starting doing any kind of content, frankly, was, and I come from a media and journalism background and I'm like, I just don't want to be another like echo in the void or just sending more crap into the universe.

And so I do think it is about getting back in touch with like, what do you. What do you find valuable? What would you be interested in talking about? Because when it comes from an authentic place than it is, it, it will reach the right person in some way at some time. And I think it's, it is though about tapping back into what makes us tick and what are we actually interested in.

Um, last question. Two, two, because one of them, um, is important just so folks can find you. What does building a legacy mean to you? I think building a legacy for me. The legacy of being able to give I think for me is really, really important.

And I give lots of time now and I live in that legacy and, and I. Give what I can give, but the day that I can give both time and money is. And money in big quantities. Like I give money today and I, I live in that legacy. Even if it's just like, like, you know, Jeanie and Lanin, like it better living space.

Like that's fine. Yes. It's this, it's the compounding. It's of what happens over time. Yes. And where you're trying to go. Totally. Yes. Yes. Have we talked about Rachel Rogers? And her work. I love Rachel Rogers. Oh, me too. I tell everybody, a dear friend of mine shared her book with me. Um, we should all be millionaires for anybody that has not.

And it is an incredible kind of dissertation on what it means to be a woman navigating a relationship to wealth. So it's, it's not only is it the, the title makes it sound a little bit more, um. That's a good time, actually, is open the book. Hundred percent. But she, I mean, I think she talks a lot about this, which is.

If you're looking to have impact, like money is how it happens. And if you're looking to move power, money is how it hap, like it is what it is. It's the world that we live in and we would all do better to just say that out loud and like money is not a bad thing. Creating wealth for ourselves is not a bad thing.

We get to have influence in different ways. When, to your point, if you're. Creating a legacy of giving or generosity. It, it then shifts things in ways that, you know, we, we can't necessarily do from other angles. And so I love that, a legacy of, of giving. Um, where can people find you?

I know we've got a podcast, I know we've got a beautiful website. Um, where, where should folks find you? Number one, if they're interested in working with you, but also to. To listen to your beautiful content.

So you can find me on the internet. But no, you can actually find me@graydigitalmktg.co. Um, that's gray with an A. If you wanna work with me, that's where it will all begin. I'm really easy to find on LinkedIn. I have a lot of fun on LinkedIn. Uh. Spelling, my name is Ireland without the I. So if you did that, it might autocorrect, but it is Ireland without the I last name Logan.

And there you'll find my newsletter that has lots of, um, tips and tricks goes to both my blog and my podcast. Um, you can watch The Luxe Leap on YouTube as well as on in your favorite podcast platforms. And. I'm a really friendly, kind person. Just don't come selling to me in the dms. 'cause I might like, I will correct your messaging.

I've been known to do it mostly because I want you to succeed. But listen, I'm a real one with this. I'm like, why? Like, what on earth were we thinking in this shift to like, I accepted your LinkedIn request and now you're flooding my inbox with a bunch of crap like. Stop it. Bummer. Bummer. Like, now I don't want, now I wanna disconnect from you, which is so true.

And selling is a service, but like you still need to ask the questions necessary to see if it is a good fit. Totally, totally, totally. It is human to human connection, and that's really what matters. Your best salespeople don't feel like they're selling to you, so if it feels like you're being sold to, they're just not there yet. Yeah, and that's okay. Yeah. Okay. That's okay. But, um, if you wanna connect with me, I should just like warn you, everything comes rooted in realness with a side of humor.

It's just who I am as human. It's the best. It's the best. It is the best. Like I, I am, I literally, like, I cannot say it enough, just how fun it is to like. Be in your world. And, um, yeah, it is fun and it is charming and it is clear to your point, and it is direct, but I, we all need that right now. We need someone to just, you know, let's just pull the wool back and say what's working, what's not, so that folks can actually move forward.

So we'll just make it funny and it'll be okay. Like Hometown Buffet. Hometown Buffet. Oh man. We're gonna end it on Hometown Buffet. Yes, we love, because we did have some of the best ham and gravy on Blend. I love you. I'm thankful for you.

I'm so glad to be in your world and um, I'll link out to all the things so people can find you as well. Well come hang out with us, everybody. We're a good time. Should have started that way. Yeah. Appreciate you. See you soon. See you soon. Bye.