Want to start and grow the business of your dreams?

If so, this is the episode for you.

Whether you’re still in corporate and you’re dreaming of more freedom, or you’re a business owner wanting to take your biz baby to the next level, there is some gold in here for you.

Kaylene Langford is the founder and co-director of StartUp Creative. She is a business coach that works with people to help them realise their potential and exceed their own expectations.

So, let’s dive in!

Listen On: Apple Podcasts | Spotify

In this episode, we chat about a lot. Here’s a sneak peek:

• The journey of StartUp Creative and how it came to be;
• Everyone has an idea for a business – but not everyone knows what to do with it;
• A discussion around our decisions to start a business, and the ability to design your life;
• How to build a business that allows you to build your dream life;
• The freedom of lifestyle that goes along with creating a business on your own terms;
• The personal issues we both had with corporate life and trying to fit into a ‘corporate box’;
• Kaylene’s catalyst for change and what ultimately pushed her to start a business;
• The importance of realising that you create your own reality, and the impact of procrastination, inaction and ‘talking’ about doing something;
• The perks of business ownership, including the amount of work
• Success comes through small actions carried out consistently – you can’t always see the path laid out ahead of you or know what’s coming;
• The importance of being in the game and just STARTING;
• Some of the unexpected things that have happened to Kaylene since starting her business;
• The importance of acting on opportunities when they come up;
• How to deal with the ups and downs of business ownership;
• The importance of appreciating the little things and having perspective;
• Acknowledging that starting a business involves learning a whole new skill set and to need to give yourself the grace to learn.

• StartUp Creative website
• StartUp Creative Instagram

Transcript

STEVIE: Want to be inspired to start your own business or to grow your business and finally get the freedom that you want from it? This is the episode for you.

Hello, hello and welcome to The Lifestyle Business Sweet Spot. In this episode, I am chatting with Kaylene Langford from Startup Creative. Originally, we were going to talk about all things Marketing for Small Business and where Social Media sits on the whole marketing side of things. But we kind of got sidetracked and I’m really glad we did. I’ll let Kaylene explain exactly what she does. 

But essentially, she is a business coach for Small Businesses and people who want to start a business themselves. She really inspired me with her Instagram account in the early days before I started my own business. And when I was still in corporate and dreaming of having a life that gave me the freedom that I wanted, and that’s pretty much what we focus on in this episode. 

I won’t go through everything we chat about, but it’s a really interesting one for anyone that wants to be inspired, that wants to do more with their life and that wants the kick in the butt that will give them the inspiration, the whatever it is to do so. So without further ado, let’s get into today’s podcast episode. 

If you like it, make sure you head to iTunes and you give it a quick rating and a review. And of course, subscribe so that you actually get notified every Tuesday when new episodes go live. All right, that is it for me. Let’s get into the episode. Hey, Kaylene, welcome to the podcast. 

KAYLENE: Thanks for having me, Stevie. 

STEVIE: We’ve had a couple of full stops. But we got there in the end.

KAYLENE: How Many podcaster does it take to actually run the podcast? A lot.

STEVIE: We tried different thing we actually tried to record what was it a couple of weeks ago we tried on Zencastr which is my podcasting platform of choice and that didn’t work. So we moved to Zoom and then we move to Skype and that didn’t work. So we’re on take two but hopefully all good this time.

KAYLENE: That’s the things we do for our audiences.

STEVIE: These things to see. I’m super excited to have you on there because I have been following you pretty much since before the start of my business. I think like I was one of those corporate employees, it was just like dying to get out and do my own thing. And I think that’s when I came across Startup Creative Instagram and everyone listening it’s just full of these, like super inspiring quotes that if you don’t want to quit your job and go after what you love after a week of following 

KAYLENE: Thanks for the kind words on Instagram. It’s nice to know that sometimes it’s easy to get stuck behind a screen and, have your opinion on what you think, life’s all about. You forget that actually having an impact. So good to hear. 

STEVIE: Yeah. So how did you get started? I mean, I guess it’s really inspiring and helping other people start their businesses and I’d be keen to hear a bit about how you started yours. 

KAYLENE: Yeah, absolutely. So yeah, Startup Creative aims to educate, inspire and grow creative entrepreneurs, anyone who’s looking to turn their passion into a viable business. So, we have a podcast, we have a print magazine blog, I do business coaching one on one, I do events, workshops, and resources, digital products. 

And our goal is to really, you can come to Startup Creative and go so I’ve kind of had this idea or like, a dream about a business. So I’ve always wanted to be and that you can sit down with us and go, yes, let’s do it. Like what’s, what’s the dream? Tell us what you want.

STEVIE: Do you see people come to you without even an idea that just like, I want to do something, and I don’t know what it is. 

KAYLENE: Yeah, I’ve got a coaching client this afternoon. Actually, I get a couple because I think there’s a real gap in the market for people like I would say 9 out of 10 people have an idea if not 10 out of 10 everyone has an idea for a side hustle. So you sit down with almost anyone you know and listen to the conversation I’m often in the corner at a party or in a bar or family lunch having these conversations. 

So I’ve got the real-life statistics to prove it is that people don’t have you ask you what you do, and you tell them and they’re oh, well actually, I’ve got this idea. And I think there’s very little most of the time when you go I’ve got this idea. 

The first person you’ve probably tell is your partner or your mom or your best friend and your best friends probably the best scenario case scenario and of those but mom’s probably gonna go What about your job? What about your real career? And most of the time partners that Yep, okay,  I get a lot of coaching clients are like my partners that I can invest in you as a coach because they’re sick of hearing about some about my idea.

STEVIE: I remember when I started my business. I was like going back and forth on the name. And I’m like, should I call it and honestly, I had the worst names. And in the end my partner was like, I don’t even care. I don’t care. name it something and go. 

KAYLENE: Yeah. Oh yeah, my partners are saying I’m like that I’m sure we had an argument yesterday when I was, you need to pay more attention to my business you have no interest because I have “ whatever babe.”

STEVIE: So true. I actually give my partner side move on what I did, and he was like, I’m pretty sure it’s all about like influences and like, and I looked you actually Listen, this is good.

KAYLENE: Yeah, sorry. I guess that’s where we come in where the person that goes, You know what we go you tell us your idea. And that’s all you need to have. Or like, yeah, I’ve definitely had clients who’ve been, I had one client He was, I just want to change the world, I want to have an impact and I want to leave a legacy. 

And I’m not prepared to just hustle through a nine to five just because I want to do something good in this world. And then we’ve also got a client today actually, who said, Look, I don’t have an idea. I just know I want to work for myself. 

And I think that’s really common is that people witnessing more and more, these epic lifestyles that we get to showcase all over Instagram,  there are people who are genuinely living it, which is designing the life of your dreams and doing what you love. And it’s now acceptable to go What do you want to be doing what’s your passion, where do you come alive and chase that as a career like it’s, it’s becoming less and less cliche to have to, go to university, get a job, buy a house, get married, have kids,  say for a time and

STEVIE: Yeah, 

KAYLENE: And says once a year like that norm that would be bucking that trend. We’re like, no, that’s not okay anymore. There’s got to be a better way to do this. And 

STEVIE: I always wonder if it’s because it’s something that I remember when I finished uni, I was going to go into this corporate law firm, and I just remember thinking It’s all there is, if I take this job  do I just end up working in this law firm doing something I don’t love. And I remember being so desperate like ended up turning down the position.

Because I was so desperate. I don’t want to do that. But I don’t know what else is. And I don’t think that was all that definitely wasn’t because this is over 10 years ago, 15 years ago now and I finished school. There wasn’t that discussion around, it’s not your only option. You can do other things. 

And I wonder if I don’t know, it’s just soI don’t know. It’s so cool for people that are potentially finishing school even now that they don’t need to get 10 years down the track I did to realize that there are options.

KAYLENE: Well, I actually did a talk at Deakin University last week. And I was in front of all these university students. And I wish someone had told me that I could have been an entrepreneur. Someone said to you, hey, you’ve got those qualities of an entrepreneur what do you know? 

What would you do inside a business? Or I wish someone had the spark that in front of this UNI students and said Hey guys, you can be an entrepreneur, like no one ever told me but does one let you know that this is available?

STEVIE: I know I love that and I think that’s my resonate with your business and your purpose so much because I’m so passionate about it. Yeah, it really is life-changing in terms of I know, for me, I keep going back to myself, but I think it’s really, really made the difference in realizing that the status quo isn’t necessarily what you need to do and that there are so many options out there if you have the courage to pursue it, 

KAYLENE: Yeah, one hundred percent. And I think that’s like I guess when I do a lot of personal development and I’m guessing that bookshelves would probably look very similar. but I remember hearing really early on people like Tony Robbins and Tim Ferriss and that saying things like, but what’s your WHY? Like, why do you get up? 

Here’s what you do and then there’s why you do it. And yeah, for me, I look at Startup Creative What do I do? I run a podcast, I educate, inspire and grow creative entrepreneurs, these are the things I do, I do business coaching. I do marketing and varsity, I do that stuff. 

But why do I do it? It’s like the light beneath that, that I don’t necessarily talk about that. It’s my motivation for sitting at my desk for hours on end or, coaching for hours on end is freedom, the freedom that using designing the life of your dreams, when I started it, I was sitting on a couch in a two-bedroom apartment on Beverly Hill,Sunday struggling together to get $3 together to go down and get a coffee. 

STEVIE: I remember those days, 

KAYLENE: Oh my god. They’re the days back in those moments I was so clear on that one day I will be able to take Mondays off every Monday off, that I could travel the world whenever I wanted. That was the vision that I held them to. And that was my own personal freedom and when I’ve reached that point now in my life where I go well like a finally built a business that has allowed me to live my dream life I’m constantly going, is this what I love? 

And this is what I desire, or is this me following the norm? And so I will take Mondays off or Fridays or, start working 11 or whatever suits me make sure that I’m available to go to appointments or  look after myself and I think that whole freedom of lifestyle is starting a business allows you to design that and it’s what I hated most and you probably had worse than me as a lawyer is in a nine to five. 

Your life is dictated around having to turn up into this building and be response somebody else’s almost dictating your every move by saying when you can go on holidays if you’re allowed to be sick, do you have secretly evil, having to call in sick, you remember that feeling where you, I’m so sick but I’m so terrified. 

STEVIE: You get need to call in.

KAYLENE: Like Yeah.

STEVIE: Once you’re at work, for me, it was, it dictated how I behaved I had to have in a very particular way I had to be put on that professional face. And that’s draining. It takes away your personality, it takes away,  who you are for 10 and 12 hours a day. And that’s the thing that I’m yeah, sorry, hon. 

KAYLENE:  For most of the time, then people you know, we spend these five days a week, hustling and pretending and, ticking all the boxes and not expressing ourselves and not using our creativity or speaking up for what we truly want. Sacrificing time with our loved ones, like I couldn’t imagine. I mean, when I started my business, I was in a relationship with a woman who had a daughter, so technically parented for five years. 

And,  we built our businesses, we’re both building our businesses around being able to pick her up from school and be at parent-teacher interviews and go to the dance concerts and horse riding after school and stuff like that. So I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to be trying to raise children and I have to say, Sorry, I can’t come to Atlantic Canada to be in that office and I’m too scared to ask my boss or I don’t have enough leave up my sleeve and I’ll never ever get this opportunity. That was your first race ever again.

STEVIE: Yeah, totally. 

KAYLENE: Yeah, it’s frustrating these are stuff like that. Oh my god, I can’t believe people leaving like this for 2 days a week. But get like fainting. And then what do you do?

STEVIE: Then you all over again? I know Yeah. What I go back to I think about that time for me and I knew  I was very aware of all of the difficulties and all of the struggles and all of that sort of thing, but I have no idea how to get out of it.  I mean, I saw the story around it and it took 

KAYLENE: Yeah, 

STEVIE:  Definitely was not an overnight thing. It literally took years of getting my mindset to the point where I thought I could get something and then actually spending time giving up my weekends to work on it. But 

KAYLENE:  Yeah, 

STEVIE: I think that’s the thing  I can just imagine there’s definitely people listening to podcasts now in that position. And I don’t know, I’m keen to hear what was because you would have had that moment, right? Like you would have had that moment where you’re, okay, something needs to change. But where do I start?

KAYLENE: Yeah, well, for me, the pain that was really the catalyst for change, was I think my unhappiness had manifested in physical illness in my body. So I started waking up with these really severe headaches for about three months. And now I really front of the head. And as soon as I opened my eyes, and I was this, my moods were really bad. And, I just felt I was living in chronic pain. 

And, but then, I’m not eating enough. I’m sitting in front of a TV that the screen at work took too long, like eight glasses and did all the things and then eventually,  I’m gonna go to the doctor, and she was that we need to get you for brains. 

And this afternoon and both buildings. I’m calling them now getting you in, can you go for an MRI? And so is that to be triggered a bit of fear. And if anyone’s ever had an MRI, they’re overwhelming experiences. You go into this little almost like a coffin. And this is have you ever had one?

STEVIE: No, but I’ve seen it in the movie.

KAYLENE: Yeah, and that whole experience of waiting for the doctor and the results and all of that. It really got me thinking about like, what is this? is this really life? Am I dying? 

STEVIE:  Yeah. 

KAYLENE: I started questioning and what would I do differently? If this is something really serious that I have to face? And who knows what’s coming next? What would I do? And for me, I’m actually unhappy. This is not what I’m not enjoying the job. 

And I think the sense that I probably not at the moment, but since then I’ve been able to reflect back and go, Well,  it was a little bit of a victim mentality and thinking that somebody was going to come along and save me. And they were going to say, Oh, you look really unhappy. And you need a better job or whatever. Why don’t we? Here you go. Here’s a better job.  it doesn’t happen in life. 

STEVIE: Yeah. Oh, blame it on other people like it like blaming it on our stick job or it’s from whatever. 

KAYLENE: So I think if you’re out there, and you are going, Oh, that’s me. I’m in that nine to five. And I’m miserable. And I’m not doing what I love. And I’m sacrificing my loved ones or my joy, to get a paycheck? I think the first thing you do is flip it on its head and go, Okay, if I was the creator of my life and not a victim to life happening to me, what would I do, you have to get out of the victim mentality of life is happening to me and pull me and go, I’m actually the creator of my reality. 

And what happened to me as I read the quote, whatever the mind can conceive, and believe it can achieve. And that was the thing that clicked me into, you create your own reality, healing and everything that you’re experiencing your life right now is a result of what you have allowed. And it’s a pretty brutal thing.  I wouldn’t say that too many other people, but I’m pretty savage on myself. And I kind of gave myself this talking tools, you want something different and get something different. And it was really, that point where I was satisfied.

STEVIE: Your almost sick because your kind of like bullshit.

KAYLENE: And the procrastination and talking about it, and the inaction actually makes it worse, like it actually causes you more pain, because it imagines it’s like an open loop in your head. It’s racing round, and round and round and round and round. And there’s no it’s never again, it’s like a snake chasing its tail. 

STEVIE: Yeah, 

KAYLENE: the loop never stops causes. Because 

STEVIE: Yeah, 

KAYLENE:  You don’t do anything.

STEVIE: It’s archery, that’s exactly what it was. And you know what it is, the pain of staying put becomes worse than the pain of actually doing something that sort of, honestly,  I just so over just doing the same thing and wanting to do something, and being in that loop, and then going into the same cubicle every day. And it was like Groundhog Day, every day. 

And I was doing it over and over and over. And then it just got to the point where it was You know what, I’m so over this, that I’m actually going to put in the work involved. And it’s work, you quit your corporate job, and then you’re off into your dream life. And keeping off into the sunset, I’ve never worked so high my whole entire life. But it actually pushes you to be okay with that. And once you actually kind of start and you start to get momentum, that’s when you obviously start to reap the rewards.

KAYLENE: Will you realize that your energy levels and what you’re putting in is in proportion to what you get out. And I don’t think that’s always rewarded in the business. Businesses that you could work overtime. 

But if for whatever reason, the boss doesn’t like you, they lose funding or whatever, whatever this fair structure of the businesses set up, you’re not always rewarded for that impact the quality of work that you bring to the table. 

And as an entrepreneur, it’s you and I both know, if you sit up and hustle out a two week for two weeks, and write an epic online course it is all your knowledge in the most profitable week. 

STEVIE: 2 weeks solve you in a month. So granting.

KAYLENE: You’ve got it in you to go this is I’m going to put all of my knowledge in a big juicy course to help others. And then scale it, there’s nothing stopping you from making 10s of thousands of dollars overnight, from a digital marketplace.

STEVIE: Yeah. And I think it’s a big leap when you kind of you sitting at a desk to kind of go Okay, cool. How do I get to that point, but what I found is it’s baby steps for me, it was okay, I’m going to commit to starting a blog and writing these 3000-word blog posts every weekend. And I didn’t know that would spending sleep. What’s that?

KAYLENE: That’s such a long blog post.

STEVIE: I know. But then I google them well, that’s how you set yourself apart. And that’s how you, you can make yourself different to everyone else. But then I never kind of could see I couldn’t see ahead of me and say, okay, people are going to read these and say that enough about marketing, and they’re going to want to engage you for services, and then you get so many requests that you can leave your job. 

And then from there, you might have, start a podcast. And from there, you might build an online course. And then it gets to the point where you’ve got that, thing that you thought was unattainable and that you can never get. So I guess my point is it’s baby steps. And sometimes you can’t see where it’s going to lay, 

KAYLENE: You can’t go from zero on your own. If you try to do that it will crumble under your feet. 

STEVIE: Yeah. 

KAYLENE: And I think the other thing that you made a really good point of is like being in the game is that one of the biggest changes so much of your pain will be caused by procrastinating and inaction. 

And if you can actually start and that’s why a lot of what I promote on social media and our businesses just start, get in the game, and start a blog post open an Instagram account, and you just have no idea what you like,there’s a University, the University of Southern Queensland, came across my Instagram member, I think I quit mine I left my nine to five in August. 

And they contacted me two days a week up until like November, and it was really good pay. And then I was going to be my first Christmas holiday, without pay without holiday leave.  I’ve always been a nine to five and I got paid or through the holidays. And I remember having this mad anxiety and being Oh my god, how am I going to do this? how do you get through this, this is crazy, we’re going to be out of power ran like a rabbit bill is going to come out it’s 

Christmas and no one’s going to be spending money. You can’t set up meetings and all these things. 

And I get this email and that I’m a big believer in manifesting and like holding your intention for what you want and allowing it if you believe in it enough, it’ll come. And so it’s going to come something’s gonna happen. Then I get an email from the University of Southern Queensland, which I’d never heard of. It’s like in Toowoomba or the middle of nowhere. And where it’s the budget was coming to an end. 

So their budget funding round, like round was up until the end of the year, I think it was September. And they said, Oh, we would step up this program that we’ve kind of got up and running written into a course that we can scale and teach and stuff like that. So I drove that. And I had a meeting with them. And they said, Can you send us a quote? So I did like all the outline of what I would develop and the training that I would do and both, and I quoted them, I think $15,000 and they said, Yes, start right away. Can you get it done before Christmas? I was oh my god.

STEVIE: Yeah, 

KAYLENE: it was I just put my head down. And that was just purely being in the game. If I’d sat down and said, Okay, I need to find $15,000, University of Southern Queensland to call and chat with them about their program would not have been on the list. 

STEVIE: Yeah. 

KAYLENE: It was just a blatant being in the game. And if you’re good at what you do, and you show up with authentic truth, and expert opinion, and advice then opportunities do come your way. 

STEVIE: Yeah. And I always used to when people used to talk about things manifesting and whatever I used to just go. I roll like what the hell  I got to remember when I’m quite thrilled oh, no, you should probably not listening to this podcast. Remember, I went through my legal articles with this girl. And she ended up leaving law to go and she ended up working for Tony Robbins. 

And I’d never heard who Tony Robbins was before. And she would find me these things. And I remember her saying to me one day, so I’m right words on my water bottle and the vibrations, basically give me the feeling of whatever I’ve written there I’m sort of thinking you, one person I’ve ever met in my life. My point is, as I’ve gotten more into because I think starting in business is the biggest lesson in personal development you’ll ever, ever ones are taken. 

So really, I got more into sales, like actually got into Tony Robbins. And I started learning about manifesting, and I started learning about all of that stuff. And what I would say is that I’ve definitely had similar experiences to you,  I created an online course at the end of last year. And I went to Bali for a couple of months beforehand to put it together and had saved a certain amount of money, no to a compliant work to get it all sorted. 

And I had literally gotten to the point where I had I was clearing my bank account out, the day that the launch happens. And then the launch was successful, and I was off again. And that was my life. I hadn’t really visualized that all of that sort of stuff. But that combines with really working for it,  you know what I mean, the combination of two wouldn’t, right?

KAYLENE: Will I think Tony Robbins says that success is a combination of opportunity and thought like an action? Yes. So it’s being prepared to take massive action when an opportunity arises, is but that’s where success comes from.

And I’ve dealt with people in business, personally, when transactional ways. And then I also coach people in this space. But not everyone is able to see an opportunity and back themselves and go form I’m going to act on this. So I’m going to. 

And he is a gap in the marketplace, or whatever. And I think what I was going to say before about the people who may be listening to this and going, I need to pay my mortgage, or I’ve got kids or whatever,  how do you manifest, and just leave your nine to five or whatever. 

But I think that something that Deepak Chopra says is, if you have a desire in your body right now, to be an entrepreneur, and to work for yourself, and there’s stopping in you that lights up or gives you butterflies or makes you a little bit nervous or goes,  I wish I could be like them or one day or whatever, the desire alone means that you’re capable of doing it. 

STEVIE:  Yeah, 

KAYLENE:  Yeah. Because there will be people in this lifetime, you will never even go “What if I was an entrepreneur, or I owned my own business, or I sold my paintings at the market, or that I did a collaboration with this, or I, made money from, online courses were living in Bali like there’s” If you’re even questioning going, I wonder if I could do that. Chances are Yes, you can. And you meant to be doing it.

STEVIE: And just like I always think,  this kind of always think of those sliding doors moments, What is he doing? do that thing, and when you look back when you’re 40 or 50 or 60. And then you just would never know or you would never know what you possibly were capable of achieving. 

And that very possibly could have happened to me if the circumstances of my life were different and if they weren’t the things that really pushed me into doing something like  How sad would that be never to have that opportunity?

KAYLENE:  Yeah. And so much of what you do in business game, you’re probably the same as like if someone had sat me down when I decided to leave the corporate nine to five and had said Kaylene in five years time, you would have ran events in New York have a great podcast at print magazine that stopped in verge in numbers and is get paid this much for coaching. 

STEVIE: Yeah, 

KAYLENE:   And be able to live this life where you travel the world for months at a time.  All if someone had said that, to me, I would have been like gobsmacked. There’s no way I could have predicted this. And I think that’s what we’re saying before is just get in the game and put one foot in front of the other and follow the flow and do the work. 

And,  trust and hold firm to. It’s been done before. There are people out there who are doing this, who have done it, I’ve done it successfully. There are people like Stevie and me who are happy to pass on our wisdom and share how to do it.

STEVIE: So why not you? Exactly, yeah. What I taught to people, there’s definitely covered the people that are  Okay, I’m still in my job, I need to get out. Where do I start? There’s also I think a lot of people that listen to this podcast to the early stages in their business, and they’re struggling with all of the things that come with starting a small business. 

And it’s as I said before, it’s not all sunshine and roses I know personally, for me, the last couple of weeks of business, I’ve just been why do I bother with this? It can be really, really tough. Right? And I guess you would probably say that with some of the clients and things that you coach, I guess I’m just curious, what sort of advice and what sort of information you’d have for those sorts of people because it’s a really tough place to be as well.  You’ve really kind of invested in following your dreams, whatever it is, but it’s tough. 

KAYLENE: I think  I remember so clearly, and I still have days, I will be the first person to admit that I’ve thrown myself on the ground and had massive tantrums. I will be a fool child about it. And I bet Why is it happening?

STEVIE: I think the highs are high. And then the lows are low.

KAYLENE: Yeah. And when one of my first interviews from a magazine so I said What’s the hardest thing about being an entrepreneur and was one of those moments where just cut through and I was Oh my God, that’s it is?  It was that at the end of the day, there’s no one to pass the buck to there’s no one to go. 

And there’s no manager or anyone above you where you can say this happened today? What should we do about it? everything stops with you. And that’s really fucking overwhelming when you’ve come from a world and we’ve been taught, My first job was, I was a netball umpire. And then I went to work at McDonald’s, and then I worked at a pool,  so I worked. You work in hierarchies, where there’s someone always up the chain to you who can solve the hard problems in every century, it all stops the entrepreneur. 

So it really is giving yourself a break in that you are learning a new skill set. And it’s something that you’ve not been trained to do. And I had one coaching client who knows, she, I think she was 43. And she’d been in the corporate since she’s actually from New York, and in these corporate New York scenes in Manhattan for her entire career. 27 years. So we worked about transitioning into a freelance role where she took her skill sets but did it for herself. 

And we did we transitioned her and she started up and she got some clients, and then she came back and I feel really overwhelmed around I was this is completely new skill set, you’ve been doing it for six months, give yourself a break. Fair enough. And I think when I throw myself on the ground and cry, I allow myself to be a breath. 

And just to go, fair enough, and I try to give myself some compassion and to have some down days because that when I’m on, I’m fucking on and try and stop me. So it’s, life, right? It’s the ups and downs, and you have to be able to ride them both. And probably the biggest piece of advice is, try not to get too emotionally involved in the year have your days where you eat chocolate on the couch and watch Netflix, and don’t open your emails, absolutely, I’m all for that. 

But on everyday life,  an email pops up, or someone comments on your Instagram or, someone rips one of your posts or Facebook,  like to that tagging you older little stupid things that can trigger emotion. Try not to get emotionally involved, take a breath and stay in a business mindset a little bit from you’ve got to not take it so personally. 

And it’s really hard when you’re doing what you love. Because every piece of energy that goes into your business is an extension of you. So if someone is to criticize it, or wants a refund, or sends it back, or has something to say in an online platform, I don’t know whether the things that come up, it feels like a personal attack because you care so much. But if you can remove some of that emotional charge, then you’re able to stay in the rational headspace. It goes okay cool, how am  I going to deal with this.

STEVIE: It’s like running your own race, isn’t it? I go with the emotional side. And I will just be winching to, honestly, whoever will listen, my brother, my mum, my partner about something that’s happened that has gotten me down in business. 

And they just say why is this a big deal? And it’s so true what you said around you, you personally invested,  it’s your baby, and you work so hard on it. And, you can really feel you’ve had the wind knocked out of you if something like that happens. 

And I think it’s something you learn over time,  you developed because skin and I don’t think you should ever get to the point where it doesn’t phase you at all, but you learn how to deal with it, and you learn what’s important to focus on and what’s not.

KAYLENE: Yeah, and if you didn’t care, that would be an issue as well, because you wouldn’t like the reason why we do so well. And we work so hard, and we’re constantly improving is because we care so much. 

STEVIE:  Yeah, 

KAYLENE: And I think the other thing the downfall of doing this and something got to encourage people to do if you’re just starting out is, it can be a very lonely game.  I know that for me, for the rest of my week, I’ve got a few coaching clients, which always feeds my energy. 

But then all of the in-between the hours are going to be on the computer. And if I really sat down and did everything on my to-do list, I could probably be up to be night every night, just me and my computer screen. 

And I’m a very socially outgoing person, and I feed off other people’s energy. So sometimes I have to remind myself to stop work, and go and get a nice dinner or enjoy a glass of wine or

STEVIE: It’s hard to do that like to switch off, isn’t it? I would definitely get to you. I would literally work till midnight every night. And then I got to the point where I was, why am I doing this like either I need to outsource or I need to prioritize or something needs to change. 

And the social thing as well.  I totally agree, I’ve had the last yesterday with me at a computer. Actually, I decided to go side note, I decided to go and work somewhere else yesterday just to get out of the house. And normally I go to a cafe. 

And I decided yesterday that I go and check out the library. I don’t know why I haven’t been in a library since I was 12. And I went down to the Beenleigh Library. Back there it’s really nice to be out even sometimes when you’re not around people or whatever, or you’re not even talking to people. It’s nice to be around other people. I just had this old man he was like 75. And he came and sat next to me and started breathing really deeply. 

And I looked over and he was looking at these photos of Beverly girls and like bikinis and things. Like, oh my god, this is just disgusting. He went to the bathroom and came back and I was anyway, so these are the little things that you know.

KAYLENE: Challenges, my first office was Beverly Hills, I thought it was a bloody luxury., I’m taking my computer, I like to shoot this little 12 inch MacBook Air that I bought with my I crashed my car and write it off and I got an insurance payout instead of buying a new car bought a laptop for my business. 

And I was I’d rather invest in my business so bought ya little shitty computer and it was so tiny and hard to work off. And I had no memory and I had but I thought it was an absolute dream come true. To go and sit across. I don’t know Barra is still there. But I get bread avocado on toast and coffee and go sit in the park with my dog in the sunshine, do emails write proposals?

STEVIE:   Yeah, it comes back to the freedom thing, doesn’t it? The freedom of being able to do what you want. And you would never be able to do that. If you were working incorporate?

KAYLENE: Yeah, just the simple probably a great piece of advice is don’t forget to stop and appreciate those tiny little simple pleasures, sleep not waking up to an alarm clock is one of my favorite things about being an entrepreneur. Well, 

STEVIE: Yeah, 

KAYLENE: I don’t want to try not to take meetings before 10 am. And so it means that I wake up naturally about 7:30 and then meditate and exercise and have a coffee, and then I’ll go to my first meeting or client or whatever. But the finding those little simple luxuries that are yours and try not to get stuck into the hustle on the grind. Because sometimes we just create jobs for ourselves. 

STEVIE: Yeah, I agree with that. And that’s something I’m definitely guilty of. And the other thing I’m guilty of too is sometimes forgetting how lucky I am I look back to two years ago and what my life looks like. And then I look at my life now. I think what you do is you start to normalize your reality. 

And so you start to not appreciate and be grateful for how amazing different aspects of your life are. And I was really getting down last week on certain aspects of work. And then I was waking up in the morning and I was just in this negative mindset, and I actually stopped smells I’m so lucky that I don’t number one exactly right. Don’t need to set an alarm, I get to create my day, I can literally work from anywhere today if I want to. 

And I’m doing what I really passionately love.  it doesn’t bother me sometimes to sit down and do eight hours of solid work. And I just want to know whether days are gone. And I think sometimes you forget that and you make up problems or you start to get down on things that if you looked at if two years ago, you’re two years ago self looked at your life now you just be what are you complaining about? Girl? You know what I mean? 

KAYLENE: Yeah, hundred percent? 

STEVIE: Yeah, I think it was really good. 

KAYLENE: I think it’s always about having that perspective. And that’s coming back to your why, like, if you do get caught up in the shipping terms and conditions, or,  customer feedback, or, wrong stock arriving, or whatever, is the day to day being part of your business like come back to why you’re doing it. 

Like there’s something deeper, that’s the surface level, that’s what you’re doing. But what’s your why, come back and be why am I doing this? Is it so that I can be at my kids,  school events? Is it so that I can have better relationships? 

Because I’m not,  and after me, I know that when I was working nine to five, I was a horrible girlfriend, and didn’t have any friends. And I like even just from a healthy perspective, I’d really let myself go with exercise and getting my head on and nice things like that. So 

STEVIE: Yeah, totally.

KAYLENE: Why are you doing what you’re doing. And I would say, stay connected to your why and why you’re doing it. Give yourself a bit of a break, like it is hard, and you’re learning new skills that you’ve been wired from probably 8,14 and nine months to work for somebody else and be directed. So you have to figure it out all by yourself. Surround yourself with people who get it all of my closest friends are entrepreneurs 

STEVIE: Same here. Isn’t it funny how that happened then?

KAYLENE: It’s so wild, you just completely attract a new circle of friends of people and you, you work together, you bounce ideas off, you can cry together, you can celebrate together. But you really need that crowd of people who go Yep, fair enough, I get it.  

I remember there were times where my friends were going to nine to five. And I was on my plate, and they’re Oh, well, I just got this task that,  I just couldn’t even talk about work because it wasn’t relatable to half meant.

STEVIE: Know what this is the podcast that I wish that I had and could have listened to two years ago. So I think this is going to be really helpful for a lot of people. And I think sometimes all it takes is a little bit of inspiration,  what I mean? hearing other people’s stories and hearing that it’s possible and hearing that, if there’s something that you really want, it’s completely within your reach to go out and get it. 

KAYLENE: So yeah, 

STEVIE: Thank you.

KAYLENE: My absolute pleasure and good luck to everyone and do reach out if you need a business coach or Stevie does all the social media stuff, which I’m sure everyone is already super fans of.

STEVIE: No, I actually love your social media advice as well. Like I remember, I used to follow  I can’t even remember it was a long time ago. But I remember you doing a live video and you were talking about social media being a value exchange. 

Yeah. And it really like the penny dropped for me then. And I just think to this day, it’s still one of the best pieces of social media advice I ever heard.

KAYLENE: Thank you it’s my pleasure and thank you for following the journey from the beginning.

STEVIE:Yeah, I just really going back to the inspiration thing, I just think  if you’re in that position, follow Startup Creative follow live from the people that  kind of give you the fuel that makes you realize that it’s possible, because those are the things that change your mindset and get you to the point that you think that you can do it, you know what I mean?

KAYLENE: And you really do need to keep your mind strong, because, at the end of the day, your mind is going to be your biggest battle. Like it’ll be your biggest enemy in the beginning.

STEVIE: People listening they need inspiration, or they need help with their marketing or all of the things that’s the best way for them to get in contact with you?

KAYLENE: Yeah, so I do one on one business coaching, so you can book in for an hour consult. And like I said at the beginning, it’s honestly you can turn out with  I had a dream last night about this idea. Want to do it? 

STEVIE: I haven’t done that. 

KAYLENE: Let’s do it. Or you can come with an existing business and be like, Look, I’ve already started I’m struggling. I don’t know how to take it to the next level, what do I do now? Or I’ve got businesses who’ve been in the game for seven years, and they’re turning over, millions of dollars and a going. 

This is what we want for our next move how we do it, like how do we make it? I did a lot of people come to me from that traditional service-based space, and I’m looking to access the digital marketplace and untapped income for them there. 

So yes, whatever stage you’re at, you’re 100% Welcome. If you’d like a one on one session, I also have a limited number of spaces where I work with people over three to six months for bigger goals that people really want to tick off. But if you’re having to do some self-directed stuff, I have plenty of live videos on our Facebook page. We have a marketing ebook and workbook called “What the hell, next?” 

So it’s kind of you started your business and you’re trying to figure out what you do next to actually get some paying customers in the door. And then the last thing is,  we have all we have a closed Facebook group as well, which is I do some live training in there. And there are some previous ones that are saved in there, as well as a bunch of resources and blogs and things on the website and our podcast and everything is called Startup Creative.

STEVIE: Startup Creative for any those but definitely connects with Instagram if you want to be inspired it’s just the ultimate source of inspiration. Thank you so much, Kaylene.

KAYLENE:  My absolute pleasure. Thank you for having me.

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