📍   For a while now, I've been thinking about making a refresher podcast episode. One where I share with you why I actually started this podcast and what leadership means to me. Why I even feel called or qualified to have a podcast. Have you ever had a moment where you just know you're supposed to do something, but you're not really sure how it's going to play out?

That's exactly how this podcast started for me. In fact, you probably remember from previous episodes that I talk about how I hemmed and hawed over starting this podcast for three years. I tried to start it with somebody else. I had like three different cover photos for what I wanted it to look like. I even had different voice recordings, intro ing and outro ing the episode.

I tried to use AI with my voice to type out what I wanted each episode to say, instead of just talking into it. I did all the things you should probably never do when trying to start a podcast. I never actually asked for help though. I never tried to find someone to mentor me or anything like that. I just hadn't thought about it.

 Ultimately when I launched this podcast in 2024, I realized that it wasn't going to be launched perfect. It wasn't going to have this like grandiose plan that I had just thought of and thought of and thought of and now it was perfect and everyone was going to think it was perfect.

In fact, I launched it because I knew deep down that my experiences, both the wins and the failures, were meant to be shared. Because I've learned along the way that I'm not the only one who's faced trials, hardships. Problems, difficulties in business, difficulties in relationships and friendships, and neither are you.

Life, business, and leadership. It's all a cycle. People keep creating, they keep innovating, they keep building, and the world keeps changing, which means we have to change with it. But how do we do that? How do we grow without losing ourselves? And that's what I want to talk about. That's podcast. I've spent my entire career building businesses.

So I've been in boardrooms, I've been in the trenches, and I've walked through fires I never thought I would survive. But what I've learned is this, my story is not just mine. It's one that so many people relate to. I've realized that there were so many people out there who are hustling, who are grinding, who are trying to build something of their own, feeling like they're alone in it.

And I just want to change that. You I wanted to create a space where I could just talk to you, to the person who's figuring it out, who's wondering if you're on the right path who's learning how to handle stress, how to build businesses and how to grow as a leader. I could have honestly written a book first.

And if I'm being honest with you, I have two books started one with someone else than one on my own. I could have kept speaking on stages, which. I will always continue to do because I love to speak. I could keep mentoring in small rooms and even in the big ones.  But I wanted something that could reach you wherever you are, in whatever space you exist in, whether you're driving to work, folding laundry, or sitting at your desk wondering if you should keep going.

I wanted this to feel like a conversation, like a mentor in your ear telling you, Hey, you're not alone. Keep going. I always knew that I was meant to lead, but not the way that most people think. Some people assume that leaders want to be in the spotlight, that we crave recognition, that we need to be front and center.

But for me, leadership was never about being seen. It was about helping others step into their best selves. It was about making sure that people who come after me have the tools, the mindset, and the belief to be better than I ever was. Now, I'm not going to lie to you and say that I don't enjoy the spotlight, that I don't enjoy when people notice me in a room, because I know they'll listen if I've got the right personality, if I talk the right way, if I have enough energy.

They're going to listen. And I've learned how to work rooms because of that, and not in a haughty way. But more in a way that once you realize the energy people crave, once you realize what they need from you to be able to move forward, everything changes for you. I love walking in a room and being this energetic nature.

I love talking to someone and saying, hey, I mentor small business owners, and a week later, they're on my schedule to get mentored. I love talking to someone about being a guest on the podcast, and then they say, I want to be a guest on your podcast, but I want you to mentor me first because I want it to be perfect when I get on the show.

That fuels my soul because then it's more leaders who are passionate and dedicated to being the very best version of themselves. Now, do you need to be perfect to work with me? No. Do you need to be perfect to be a guest on my podcast? Absolutely not. But I'm telling you, I'm going to learn something from you and you're going to learn something from me.

Leadership means something different to me. And yes, there are many people that have incredible. I guess you could say perspectives on what leadership is. Servant leadership, just leadership, being a manager, being a leader. There's a lot of different ways people say it, I can't think of them all right now.

But I call leadership generational leadership. In the very first episode of No Silver Spoons, back when we were called Dentistry Support the Podcast, I talk about generational leadership and how my whole goal of this podcast is just to emulate that. In my mind, generational leadership is the kind of leadership that doesn't die when I do.

It's the kind that lasts, the kind that changes businesses, that changes lives, that changes families, because people who have been mentored and led well turn around to do the same thing for others. That's the legacy that I care about. Raising up leaders who lead with integrity, who lead with strength, and with wisdom to make decisions that don't just serve them, but they serve the people coming after them.

 Have I worked with some really bad leaders? Totally, I've worked with some really bad leaders. Totally. I've worked with people who thought they were better than me, probably were better than me, but made me feel smaller than them instead of lifting me up. I've had people who didn't even notice I was in the room and if they would have just noticed me I actually had wisdom for them that could have propelled them faster.

You see, the world is always evolving and so is business. We live in a time where things change constantly. Strategies that worked five years ago might be useless today. And leadership requires adaptability. Businesses require resilience. And that's why I keep talking about this. No matter what stage of business you are in, you need to be prepared for change.

You need to be willing to pivot, to learn, to keep growing. And I don't say that because I want to make you feel bad, like on your own, you're not going to get there. But honestly, You've got to learn that change is inevitable. No matter how good you are in the game, the game will always evolve. The game will always grow.

There will always be one more target to reach. How are you going to get there? When I started my very first company, sometimes people think I mean dentistry support because it's my largest company to date. The very first business I ever registered, my husband and I had a cleaning company.

Now, do other people have cleaning companies? Yes. How many cleaning companies?  A lot of people have cleaning companies. Was that the first cleaning company that had ever existed? No. Was it the last? No. Did we sell that business for a massive profit?

Yes. How long did I own that business for? We own that business for less than six months. We created the business, all of the best practices we marketed it fabulously and sold that business for a fabulous profit.

What I've learned is that 90 percent of the businesses that you think of, probably more like 98 percent of the businesses that you think of, someone else has already thought of that business. And so you're creating a business because you feel confident in what you do to deliver that in a beautiful way.

Now, some people, I would say 2 percent  or less of the population, come up with an invention, something no one's ever thought of. And so they're able to sell or provide a service that no one's ever thought of. Fabulous. But for the vast majority, your business has already been done.

Someone else started doing your business. And you're coming after them. All of those people ahead of you, they're teaching you something. And you need to learn from them. You need to because they're paving the way for it to not be so rocky for you. Every competitor doesn't need to be treated as a threat.

You need to learn to understand who your enemy is when you think of your competitor, and how that person has actually paved the way for you. Do you think that I work with clients who have similar businesses as me? Who ask me advice that would be technically proprietary information to my business? Do you think I work with them?

Well, sure I do. Sure I do work with them and they pay me for every penny of my advice. I don't say that in a rude way, but I've worked really hard to get here. So if you want to work with me because you want to be successful as my businesses are, I'm going to help you do that. Absolutely. We're going to join forces together, but it won't be free.

This podcast, it's different for me. This is my way to connect with you for free. I just want to share this wisdom that hopefully you think of one thing from this episode or any of the others that stood out and is going to help you move forward.

When we started that first company together, my husband and I, we didn't know half of what we know now about handling stress, making decisions, keeping our vision clear. And honestly, we learned most of it the hard way. But we also learned that the key to longevity in business wasn't just strategy, it was our mindset.

It's how you handle the highs and the lows. It's knowing that no season lasts forever, good or bad. And that's something I hope this podcast helps with, giving you a place to come back to when you need to reset, refocus, and remember why you started. You see that first business we had, it didn't even last forever.

It was six months old before we sold it. I believe collectively my husband and I have sold 10 or 11 businesses at this point. At the end of the day, I created this podcast for you, for the person who's trying to figure out what's next, for the entrepreneur who feels like they're spinning their wheels, for the leader who's wondering if they're making the right decisions.

I started this podcast because I knew that somewhere out there, someone needed to hear this. Someone needed a friend, a mentor and a voice that gets it. And if you're listening to this right now, I don't think it's by accident. Maybe you needed this reminder. Maybe you needed someone to tell you that your voice matters, that your story matters, that your leadership matters.

And if I can leave you with anything today, it is this. Don't let fear hold you back from stepping into what you were meant for. The world needs leaders just like you. The world needs people who build, who create, who make things better. And if I can play even a small role in helping you do that, then this podcast is the most successful podcast there ever was.

So today, if this episode meant something to you, I want you to do me a favor. I want you to share it. Send it to someone who needs to hear it. And if you haven't already, make sure you subscribe so you don't miss an episode. I'll be here every time you need that reminder because leadership isn't about being perfect.

It's about showing up, doing the work and lifting others up along the way until next time, keep leading, keep building and keep believing in what you're creating. I'm rooting for you every step of the way. I'll  📍 catch you guys on the next episode.