Find People To Grow And Glow Up With

This week on The Space Social Podcast I brought on my designer bestie, Madi Goade, to discuss community.  As a business owner, your community is everything. We are not all alone out here, even as we all run our own businesses. And I wanted to bring one of my biz besties to share really honestly about just that!

Madi’s and my life went in the same direction for the most part. We both started our businesses full-time in 2020, finally believing we needed to take this passion seriously. As Madi told me, “I turned my lifelong love for design into brand and web design for disruptive entrepreneurs.” 

Since we both started about the same time- we kept finding ourselves in the same phases of learning and growing. Our skills went so perfectly together. So, we decided to grow our businesses together. From the beginning, we’ve been sharing insights, working together, using each other’s skills, and just growing and glowing up together.

And let me tell you- finding someone to blow up with is SO crucial. I think it’s part of what made us so successful, as we just build this girl squad that’s glowing up together. We highly recommend finding women you align and vibe with- regardless of industry or service- and find community together. Share your wins, your work, and what you need to work on together.

We refer each other all the time, help each other get clients, and support each other without limits. It really isn’t about competition here. 

This isn’t an exclusive group either! (I also totally loop in my photographer, Abi Loryn, in on this squad too!) Madi told me how this isn’t a “cool kids group”. We  are a totally inclusive, always room for more kinda thing. There is always money to go around, clients to go around, and work to go around, because we are one big sisterhood and we have to be in this together. Nobody needs to fight for their business or support it alone. 

A big part of Madi’s and my story is that we both thought we’d be "traditional" women. Wives, mothers, homemakers. That simple. But, now, we live lives we never dreamed possible for women. We both had to grow up and out of our upbringings in the same way. And I think that shared background really helped us feel connected as we grew our businesses. We had to work through a lot of the same beliefs and structures along the way. So, if you can find someone who shares your background or questions, that can be such a beautiful foundation for your sisterhood.

And we both think entrepreneurship is such a powerful, life-changing thing- even if it’s hard work. Madi told me, ““Entrepreneurship is part of my mental health regime.” To her, being an entrepreneur is just like a doctor, therapy, yoga, or meditation - it’s part of how she keeps herself well and centered. The other day I got to have a therapy session in the middle of the workday- which is completely unheard of in the corporate world! Even if I’d have had the time, there’s no way I would’ve had the energy. Owning our own businesses makes the rest of our lives possible. We can take breaks as we need them, take a yoga break whenever, grab lunch with a friend- whatever serves us during our work day. 

But we don’t mean to glamourize it. Getting here was a TON of work, and I’m so grateful we had each other as we did the hard work. But we both had the motivation and knew this was important to us. Even if we often feel like we’re always working- having that control over our schedules is so, SO important to us. It’s literally what keeps us together. 

We were both pregnant in corporate, and for Madi, she struggled with mental illness that kept her from really using her gifts. But we both got that expiration date treatment, as our pregnancy made us “useless” to our jobs. And we both got that dumb ending where we got fired right as we were about to have our kids. Like wtf?? But it gave us this fire for entrepreneurship. Here, we have the control, the freedom, and the ability to create our lives and use our full potential. 

What does this look like

For Madi, she has depression and anxiety and there was so much pressure and intensity in the corporate world. But doing this for her own business- gave her the control and freedom to care for herself and actually do the work she loves to do. “I can’t work for someone else’s dream again,” she told me.

For me, I wanna get pregnant again and grow my family. And I know in this job I can be nursing between work calls no problem. I won’t be seen as useless and I can share or not share about my pregnancy on my own terms, it doesn’t have to be my whole identity. I can be present for my baby and get work done- on my own schedule. 

And we both don’t think this life is for everyone, but for us- it’s something we wouldn’t trade for anything. This is the beautiful part of this for us. 

I know that forming sisterhoods like this is so, so important for your business. No marketing strategy can beat having a good friend who will refer you, cheer you on, and support you no matter what. I know for us, we’ve been such great cheerleaders for each other- but also great clients. Madi did my website and branding- which made me feel SO good and professional (finally felt confident charging more!) and I’m currently running her social media so she can focus on what she actually loves- design and branding. We bring strategy and skills to each other, and I so want every woman to have that kinda bond in their business.