Episode 63

What’s New in Our Entrepreneurial Journey?: Season 5 Wrap-up

In this week's episode of Ongoing Mastery: Presenting & Speaking, Kirsten and Kellie talk about current developments in their entrepreneurial journey. Find out why Kirsten’s rediscovered a database she built years ago and what it’s like for Kellie, who’s a partner in two separate start-ups right now.

Our favorite moments:

  • (00:36) Everything that changes is really good data for getting to your goals
  • (03:26) If you’re a big picture person, you need a detail-oriented person on your team, because the little bits still need to be taken care of
  • (07:35) Reframe failure as iterations
  • (08:34) Even experienced entrepreneurs sometimes need to pivot
  • (11:20) Self-care is crucial for entrepreneurs
  • (13:15) Kirsten plays video games when she needs a break
  • (13:52) Kellie rests by moving more, getting some form of exercise

If you enjoyed this conversation about the entrepreneurial journey, check out Season 1, Episode 10, our wrap-up of season one that took an earlier look at how we came to be entrepreneurs at all. The link is in the show notes.

Rourke Training’s webpage: https://www.rourketraining.com/

Ongoing Mastery: Presenting & Speaking page: https://ongoing-mastery.captivate.fm/

RSS feed: https://feeds.captivate.fm/ongoing-mastery/

Read a transcript of this episode:  https://share.descript.com/view/NqQHWDlGiK7

For the video version of this episode: https://youtu.be/UBcW52EOr6k

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kirstenrourke/


Looking for a kick-ass speaking group? Use our affiliate link to join Innovation Women: https://bit.ly/innovationwomen

Transcript
Kirsten:

This week, Kellie and I talk about current developments

2

:

in our entrepreneurial journey.

3

:

Find out why I've rediscovered a

database I built years ago and what

4

:

it's like for Kellie, who's a partner

in two separate startups right now.

5

:

Let's jump into it.

6

:

Hello everyone.

7

:

Welcome to Ongoing Mastery:

Presenting & Speaking the podcast,

8

:

and today the conversation.

9

:

Hello Kellie.

10

:

How are you?

11

:

I'm well.

12

:

Kellie: How are you

13

:

Kirsten: Kirsten?

14

:

I am good.

15

:

Today we're gonna talk about

the entrepreneurial journey.

16

:

'cause we've had, we've had some

stuff, like all entrepreneurs, we've

17

:

had some stuff happen, haven't we?

18

:

Yes.

19

:

Yes we

20

:

Kellie: have.

21

:

And like all entrepreneurs,

but in our own way also.

22

:

Yes.

23

:

Like all

24

:

Kirsten: entrepreneurs.

25

:

And the reason we're doing this episode

this way is because there's a lot of

26

:

people that we know that are also in

the entrepreneurial space, and it gets

27

:

hard to remember that everything that

changes, even if it's not the original

28

:

direction you want it to be going

in, is actually really good data for

29

:

you to get to where you want to go.

30

:

Yeah.

31

:

So, Everyone who's watching the video

should be watching Kellie's face during

32

:

this part because Kellie and Dani were

very, very patient with me because I

33

:

am not great at customer relationship

management stuff like tracking and being

34

:

able to keep the details and dot the

i's and cross the T's is not my gift.

35

:

Notice again, Kellie's face as

she's going, no, no it's not.

36

:

Kellie: I, on the other hand, am a

T-shirt owning member of the Oxford

37

:

Kirsten: Comma Club.

38

:

Yes, yes.

39

:

And I respect that.

40

:

The Oxford comma rules.

41

:

So I have been trying to find a CRM.

42

:

That would work for me, and I kept

finding ones that were fine, provided

43

:

that either Kellie or Dani wrote

her on me and kind of reminded me to

44

:

do this stuff, which as she pointed

out to me yesterday, is not actually

45

:

an effective way of using the tool.

46

:

Right.

47

:

It's a tool that works for

48

:

Kellie: me and I can get you to

make it work for you, but it doesn't

49

:

Kirsten: actually work for you.

50

:

Yeah.

51

:

The word get is operative there.

52

:

. So Kellie, what is it?

53

:

Why don't you talk for a minute about

the tool that you and Dani use and the

54

:

reaction that Chris and I had to it

55

:

.

Kellie: So the tool is called Click Up, and it has the capacity

56

:

for multiple tiered levels of task

organization and the status of the

57

:

task and who the task gets kicked to.

58

:

And multiple operational

areas, et cetera, et cetera.

59

:

It's amazing.

60

:

It's amazing.

61

:

It's incredibly fiddly, but if you

like fiddly, it's incredibly satisfying

62

:

because when it's working, you can

look at any project that's there.

63

:

Yep.

64

:

When is the keyword there?

65

:

can look at any project, know

whose plate it's on, and when it's

66

:

moving to the next person's plate.

67

:

You can check in about it

and find out what's going on,

68

:

if it's overdue and so on.

69

:

And for Dani and I, it's terrific.

70

:

I don't have any problem finishing a

task, going in, kicking it to the next

71

:

person as part of my daily workflow.

72

:

Or maybe I'll do it at the end of the

day, update all the things I worked on.

73

:

But that kind of thing

makes a lot of sense to me.

74

:

And when we first started using the

tool, talking with my husband's,

75

:

also an entrepreneur in the middle of

also founding his own company at the

76

:

same time we're doing this and his

face just blank horror and physically

77

:

recoiling as I'm talking about all

of the little ticky boxes that you

78

:

can do this and do that and do that.

79

:

And he, he couldn't even let

me finish the explanation.

80

:

He's like, I got it.

81

:

That's great.

82

:

I'm never using it.

83

:

Kirsten: Yeah.

84

:

The funny thing is, is that I didn't

recoil in horror, but internally

85

:

I had that sort of same reaction.

86

:

Chris and I are obviously a lot of like,

it's really important entrepreneurs.

87

:

If you do not, if you are like me,

and you are not somebody who is,

88

:

you are a big picture vision person.

89

:

You are a driver.

90

:

You are a person who is like, okay,

let's go ahead and get you into the

91

:

right space, but you are not the,

okay, let's fill out this form and

92

:

let's make sure this is done correctly.

93

:

Every Tuesday at 3:00 PM

you are not that person.

94

:

You need a Kellie and a Dani in your life.

95

:

Like you need people who can do that

because that still needs to get done.

96

:

But I kept going.

97

:

Click Up is amazing.

98

:

I mean, it's a great tool.

99

:

Mm-hmm.

100

:

, but it also requires me to behave in

a way that is just very alien to me.

101

:

And so I kept trying and I

kept finding tools and was

102

:

frustrating them a little bit.

103

:

Maybe a lot with Yeah, yeah, yeah.

104

:

With how much I would start a tool and

then within a mother matter of hours,

105

:

days, or weeks, be like, oh yeah.

106

:

So I really have to get back to that.

107

:

So in your life, Kellie, do you have

any friends that you are the people

108

:

you go to when you really just need

a reality smack upside the head?

109

:

You wouldn't have anybody like

that in your life, do you?

110

:

I have a lot of people

111

:

Kellie: like that in my life.

112

:

, you don't work with them?

113

:

Kirsten: Yeah, I was gonna

say, I'm like, you don't work

114

:

with anybody like that do you?

115

:

? No.

116

:

So I, at my previous job, worked with

this amazing woman who was also a friend

117

:

of mine named Karen and Karen Blades is.

118

:

She's a fantastic mentor.

119

:

She's just really, really good at kind of

looking at the whole of what you're saying

120

:

and then going, okay, you're talking

about this and that's wonderful, but let's

121

:

go over here and talk about how you're

approaching this and what that's doing.

122

:

So she at one point said,

well, we use Notion.

123

:

And we built our own and

why don't you do that?

124

:

And I'm like, oh, I'd have to restart it.

125

:

No.

126

:

And flappy hand Princess

thing come to what?

127

:

Two weeks ago I decided, okay, I'll

open Notion and see what's in there.

128

:

And oh, all the stuff that Karen

and I built is still there.

129

:

It, it's not gone.

130

:

It's not blocked.

131

:

Oh, okay.

132

:

Alright.

133

:

So I didn't realize I had actually

moved it to my own account and

134

:

it wasn't lost to me forever.

135

:

Alright, so then I told Kellie, so

I have this tool that I actually

136

:

built and it works the way my brain

does, and she was gracious enough to

137

:

not make a face of, you've got to be

freaking kidding me, but even though

138

:

she didn't make the face, it was there.

139

:

Kellie: Well, I am a college faculty

member who will have students in my

140

:

office asking . Questions that are

perhaps already on the syllabus.

141

:

So I have some practice with

the, yeah, the, the tilt and the

142

:

Kirsten: nod, the, Hmm.

143

:

Interesting choice you made.

144

:

Yes.

145

:

So actually this Friday I am

gonna do a one hour open on live.

146

:

Live on LinkedIn.

147

:

If anybody feels like

showing up, they'll show up.

148

:

You know, I'll let people know

about it, but I'm gonna go through

149

:

my notion and explain how it works

to anybody who caress to be there,

150

:

because it's one of those things that.

151

:

It makes a lot more sense when

you see somebody's completed

152

:

version than if you're trying to

do it for the first time yourself.

153

:

Because the original versions of

this took me weeks, months to do.

154

:

Yeah.

155

:

And now this time I'm coming in, going

fiddle, fiddle, fiddle, fiddle, fiddle.

156

:

And

157

:

Kellie: we'll put the link, we'll

put the link to that in the show

158

:

notes because this will go live

after you've done your walkthrough

159

:

Kirsten: with Notion.

160

:

Yes.

161

:

Yes.

162

:

And that'll be up on I, no

doubt, our YouTube or something.

163

:

Yeah.

164

:

So, Kellie, what other things for the

entrepreneurial journey do you think that

165

:

we should share with everybody today?

166

:

Because there's several things

that you and I talked about.

167

:

Yeah.

168

:

That would be, So why don't

you grab one out of the ether.

169

:

So something

170

:

Kellie: I wanna pick up

on that you just said.

171

:

I read someone of our friends

in our network on LinkedIn and

172

:

I apologize for forgetting who

made the point recently about.

173

:

Failure as, not failure, but reframing

it as data collection points that you

174

:

need data to make decisions, whether

that decision is to keep on doing

175

:

what you're doing or to change it.

176

:

Mm-hmm.

177

:

, but you need data and when

you try things, you have data.

178

:

And you need it.

179

:

And so I loved that way

of reframing iterations.

180

:

Yep.

181

:

That you are gonna go through versions

of yourself as entrepreneur, as your

182

:

business model, as what you are providing.

183

:

I'm watching my husband's company and

at first they thought it was gonna be

184

:

a product based, and then they're like,

maybe it's gonna be a service based, and

185

:

now they're back to product based, but

they had to go through the process of

186

:

Thinking through and getting to next stage

development and what would that look like?

187

:

Not all the way to build out, but far

enough to know that they had to pivot.

188

:

Yeah.

189

:

And that is just how it is.

190

:

And the more you can embrace it,

the easier the iterations will be.

191

:

Kirsten: And for those of you

who are watching or listening who

192

:

haven't noticed forever, Kellie's

husband is a serial entrepreneur.

193

:

Yes, he has.

194

:

He has successfully created and launched

and sent out into the world many,

195

:

many, many really interesting ventures.

196

:

So this isn't like somebody

who came in and went, oh God,

197

:

I didn't know what I was doing.

198

:

Right.

199

:

It's like literally, these are

some very experienced people doing

200

:

this, and they still had to pivot.

201

:

Yep.

202

:

So one of the things that I know comes up

a lot for me and Kelly think comes up for

203

:

you sometimes is it's hard to remember.

204

:

If you think in terms of, oh, if only

I knew at 18 what I know today, yeah.

205

:

Then I'd be so about all of these

things and I have to remember that.

206

:

The only way that would work is if

the person then has all the knowledge

207

:

and experience of the person now.

208

:

Yeah.

209

:

So I had to go through everything.

210

:

Like the year and a half, two years

we've been doing this has been amazing.

211

:

It's been wonderful.

212

:

It's been terrifying.

213

:

It's been all the things, you know?

214

:

Mm-hmm.

215

:

, all the, all the, we got the t-shirt, it's

a backs of crackers, all the stuff and.

216

:

It's been incredibly educational.

217

:

Yeah.

218

:

Because all the things I'm learning

are about how to come closer to

219

:

the true version of me that the

business needs to be for it to work.

220

:

Mm-hmm.

221

:

. So Kellie, what kind of stuff?

222

:

It's been a wild ride.

223

:

Yeah.

224

:

What kind of stuff has it been for you?

225

:

Kellie: So, for me, having.

226

:

In my house, my husband being in the

middle of startup phase, and here in a

227

:

big chunk of my professional life being

in startup phase, it's been kind of

228

:

nail biting and sometimes when the, I

really need to think hard is happening

229

:

for both of you at the same time.

230

:

That's really nailbiting.

231

:

'cause I don't know what's happening

and I can't do anything about it.

232

:

And I have to be patient because

the big picture people are

233

:

doing the big picture thing.

234

:

But sometimes when you are out of

phase, so one of you is in the more

235

:

really precise detail part, and one

of you is in the big picture part.

236

:

That's also stressful because

now I'm switching back and forth

237

:

between two separate modes.

238

:

Mm-hmm.

239

:

. So it's an interesting being at the

pivot point for two separate, but in

240

:

some ways parallel sets of processes.

241

:

It's also been really fascinating for

me to watch you come round and come

242

:

round and kind of keep getting closer

and then something will pull you away.

243

:

Mm-hmm.

244

:

, but then when you come

back you're like, no, no.

245

:

That was a mistake.

246

:

Right.

247

:

And that cycle is getting shorter.

248

:

Which is nice, right?

249

:

Yeah.

250

:

That you are adapting and really

integrating into yourself what you need

251

:

to make your vision be in the world.

252

:

Yeah.

253

:

And that's awesome for me both

as your friend and as your

254

:

colleague on this adventure.

255

:

Kirsten: Yeah.

256

:

One of the things I will advise or

you know, just recommend to everybody.

257

:

Watching and listening if you are in

the shoes that Kellie and Dani are in

258

:

of essentially having to herd the cats.

259

:

One of the things every Friday we

do, uh, Speaker Friend Friday for

260

:

Innovation Women, and Kellie introduces

herself as herder of cats at Rourke

261

:

Training, and Kirsten is the cat.

262

:

Mm-hmm.

263

:

. Yes, exactly.

264

:

One of the things that is really,

really important is self-care.

265

:

Yeah.

266

:

One of the things is energy management.

267

:

Tolerance management and the ability to

step away and go, I need to recharge.

268

:

Mm-hmm.

269

:

. So if you're watching or listening, if

you are in one of the roles where you're

270

:

like, Kellie, and you're a foundation

piece that keeps, like, this stuff is

271

:

spinning over here and you're like, okay,

let's just keep it in this container.

272

:

Mm-hmm.

273

:

and not like spilling all over the place.

274

:

That is a very energy intensive work.

275

:

Even if the work is, I need to wait.

276

:

Like that is, that is an energy

intensive thing, so please, we both

277

:

encourage you to just take your time.

278

:

And for someone in my shoes, my goal

that I need to keep coming back to is

279

:

giving myself grace and giving myself

permission to be iterative and to

280

:

be not all the things all the time,

exactly in the moment for Kellie.

281

:

What I need to sometimes remind you

of my dear is that while you are

282

:

superwoman and you do have superpowers

and can leap buildings in a single

283

:

bound with an Oxford comma in your

backpack, you're still a human being

284

:

that might need to actually take a

fricking day off every once in a while.

285

:

You know, just a thought.

286

:

Yes,

287

:

Kellie: I do.

288

:

You do have to remind me.

289

:

And it

290

:

Kirsten: is true.

291

:

. Yeah.

292

:

So everybody, we wanted to have an

entrepreneurial conversation with you

293

:

today because I, I am learning so much.

294

:

I could not, I I, I am so

lucky to be doing this.

295

:

Yeah.

296

:

I'm learning so much.

297

:

It is so enriching.

298

:

And I, one of the things I'm getting.

299

:

Is like I need to have certain things.

300

:

Like yesterday I had to stop working

on the database in Notion because I was

301

:

designing it, and I got to the point

where I literally couldn't see the pieces

302

:

anymore and I was getting fuzzy, and so I

had to stop and turn off all of my tech.

303

:

Go in the other room and turn on No

Man's Sky and climb around in alien

304

:

landscapes and, and make a little

creature that is from a toxic planet and

305

:

has little light bulbs built into it.

306

:

And it squeaks and it coos and it's

a little weird dog how thing my pet.

307

:

So it follows me around

going, oh, strange creature.

308

:

So I made that my hour and then

came back and now I have a little

309

:

alien pet from a toxic land that has

little light bulbs built into it.

310

:

It's so cute.

311

:

So Kellie, what are, what

is something that you do?

312

:

That is your way of resetting.

313

:

Kellie: One of the things I

do is to try to move more, so

314

:

I try to get out for a walk.

315

:

I've started a fitness program at my

local Y and part of the reason why that's

316

:

great is because it dovetails neatly

into picking our teenager up from school.

317

:

It's right down the street from her high

school, but I do a lot of work sitting

318

:

right here in front of the laptop screen,

and I need to not always sit here.

319

:

For what I'm doing to relax or whatever.

320

:

And so I'll get up, I'll move, I've

started listening to audiobooks,

321

:

um, so that I'm doing something

while I'm out for a walk.

322

:

And it often will make me walk a little

bit longer as I get to a breaking

323

:

point in the story where I can turn it

off and my walk will be finished now.

324

:

Yep.

325

:

So the movement helps a lot.

326

:

Just doing something different

than sitting here, but also

327

:

just for my physical self.

328

:

Kirsten: Yes, 100%.

329

:

So for those watching and listening,

what are the things that you do?

330

:

How do you reset yourself?

331

:

Where are you on your

entrepreneurial journey?

332

:

And if you're not an entrepreneur, is

this new information for you or is this

333

:

stuff that you're really familiar with?

334

:

We have, I.

335

:

Coming up next month an interview with

one of the people who's one of the masters

336

:

of Notion and also of productivity from

RAD Reads, and I'm really looking forward

337

:

to that because part of my journey was.

338

:

Being in a cohort, in his program.

339

:

And so I got a lot of what I've learned

was stuff that I refreshed from two

340

:

years ago back when I was in his stuff.

341

:

That's cool.

342

:

So who are the people that you learn from?

343

:

What are the programs or books or

resources that you wanna share?

344

:

Let us know.

345

:

Put it in the comments, give us some,

give us some feedback and that way

346

:

we can share it and keep building our

community, our ongoing mastery family.

347

:

Hmm.

348

:

So that is it for today.

349

:

We just had an entrepreneurial

journey ramble.

350

:

I've got my gallon of coffee in my mug.

351

:

Kellie: I've got my full liter of tea in

352

:

Kirsten: mine.

353

:

Awesome.

354

:

So we will see y'all next time.

355

:

Have a good one.

356

:

Cheers.

357

:

Bye.

358

:

If you enjoyed this conversation

about the entrepreneurial journey,

359

:

check out season one, episode number

10, our wrap up of season one.

360

:

That took an earlier look at how

we came to be entrepreneurs at all.

361

:

The link is in the show notes.

Next Episode All Episodes Previous Episode

About the Podcast

Show artwork for Ongoing Mastery: Presenting & Speaking
Ongoing Mastery: Presenting & Speaking
Presentation and Speaking Skills for Business Leaders

Listen for free

About your host

Profile picture for Kirsten Rourke

Kirsten Rourke