In the Arena with Lacey Steffes

"It wasn't a failure. It was an experience."

This week on Unwritten I'm sitting down with Lacey Steffes — a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur who's built Spa Serenity, Pause Facial Bar, Gateway Powersports, and a dirt drag series that grew from 800 people to 8,000 in about two years.

We get into what it actually takes to keep going. Why failure isn't the end of the story, it's just information. Why the people questioning what you're doing are usually the ones standing outside the ring. And why, for Lacey, the real key to success was never more structure — it was surrounding herself with people who are in the arena right alongside her.

We also talk trusting your gut, going all in, and how she turned everyday events into marketing that spreads on its own (ask her about the field trip that got a whole class Snapchatting from the track).

Lacey is one of the four women teaching at my upcoming workshop, the 4 Pillars of Success, and this conversation is a perfect taste of the real, no-fluff wisdom she brings.

Come sit in the arena with us. 🎟️ https://www.eventbrite.com/e/1992439066884?aff=oddtdtcreator

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:00

Perfect.

SPEAKER_03 0:02

Hey, it's Stephanie. Thank you so much for tuning in to another episode of Unwritten. I have Lacey Stephis here. Thank you for joining me.

SPEAKER_01 0:09

Hello.

SPEAKER_03 0:10

You are a veteran of the podcast now.

SPEAKER_01 0:13

I am, and I promise I'm not gonna talk about Christmas cookies.

SPEAKER_03 0:17

I know probably not yet. And doing your own thing on Christmas. That's like Yeah. But we are kind of talking about that a little bit today.

SPEAKER_01 0:27

A little.

SPEAKER_03 0:28

Because um, you and I both have a understanding of life that's a little bit unique in that we like to take opportunities and ideas and creative stuff and run with it.

SPEAKER_01 0:45

Yeah. That does excite me.

SPEAKER_03 0:49

And you are you are a self-proclaimed serial entrepreneur. You're a serial entrepreneur and Spa Serenity just celebrated 20 years in business. And Gateway has been in business for how long now?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

Five years.

SPEAKER_03 1:08

Five years, that's what I was gonna say. And what would you say is what would you say the biggest risk is in being a serial entrepreneur? Like what kind of and not I know nothing keeps you up at night, but figuratively.

SPEAKER_01 1:27

I mean, occasionally I do stay up at night. But um, so I think in between Spa Serenity and Gateway Power Sports, we also had Greatest Place on Earth, which was an apparel brand. Um we have so Spa Serenity had a salon that we closed and opened Pause Facial Bar four years ago. Um, and then within the last three years, we've also taken on a dirt drag series. So I think that's the serial entrepreneur part. Um, you know, and I the risk is that you're gonna fail or or the perception of failing, right? So Greatest Place on Earth is a great example. Um, it is no longer operational, not currently. Maybe it will be again someday, but um, you know, ultimately when you put a lot of effort into something and you don't get the return, whether whatever that return is, whether it's emotional return, um financial return, at some point you have to make a decision that it's just time to move on to the next thing. Usually that comes for me when my plate is so full that I have to let something fall off.

SPEAKER_03 2:40

Yeah. I think that's a really interesting way to put it. It's not a failure, it's it's just like it doesn't fit on your plate anymore.

SPEAKER_01 2:51

Yeah. It's when it no longer becomes a priority and it's more of a burden, um, it's time to move on or change direction.

SPEAKER_03 3:02

Yeah. So has there is there anything that you've kind of thought about in the last few months that you're like, maybe I should try that? I wonder what that would look like.

SPEAKER_01 3:14

Um, well, I always I always think about just like what would it look like to just go get a job somewhere? Like the consistency of that, primarily the financial consistency of it. Um as I'm maybe getting older seems like maybe that would be a good idea. I don't ever see that happening. Um, because I don't know that I'm actually employable anymore. I think I would just I would have a hard time taking direction.

SPEAKER_03 3:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 3:40

Or seeing things that were happening that maybe weren't as efficient as they could be, or so, anyways.

SPEAKER_02 3:46

Yeah, you would be that employee that's like puts notes up on the board.

SPEAKER_01 3:50

That's like, I think we need to have a meeting about blank. Um I think the thing that's happening in my current life that's very intriguing to me is um the dirt drag series. I have to continue to remind myself, my partners, um, and then people who we encounter that this is my side hustle, that I do own a couple of other businesses and employ, you know, 20 or 30 people that need my day-to-day supervision operation input. And this event that happens a couple times a year is just a side hustle. Fun. Um, yeah, yeah. But there's a lot of opportunity there. So it is a balancing act right now to try to manage the amount of time or bandwidth that that particular project consumes. And um because it is the new shiny thing, so it's uh it's hard to kind of put that stuff down and go back to regular life business operations sometimes. But although when I'm in those business operations, I'm equally as excited about them.

SPEAKER_03 4:51

Yeah, I mean, it is the dirt dregs could easily be a business in itself, and just promoting that twice a year could be an entire business.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 5:01

Like you would stay busy, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:04

All of all of my jobs could be full-time jobs. Um, but they're not. There's other things.

SPEAKER_03 5:12

So you know, we were talking before we started the podcast, and we were both on the same frequency, which happens quite often. And we were talking about, and you you kind of mentioned it too, just briefly, like the financial like, oh, wouldn't it be nice to have the financial stability, the safety, the sameness? Every two weeks you get a paycheck, you go to work, you do your thing. I mean, there's obvious trade-offs to that. Um and I was talking about that earlier on my podcast because I feel like I have that same program running inside of me and that I wasn't raised like this. And I think that's where like sometimes attention comes in, like, or the thought process of but you know, I could go get a job at Quick Trip. Quick Trip sounds lovely, you know? And I'm just curious about what do you do? Like, do you just like for me? It's like, okay, I catch it, I catch those thoughts. It's like, oh, okay, I understand now, like I'm still on my path. There's nothing wrong with me. It's just an old program. So tell me a little bit more about your processes through that same family of origin. You know, how long has your dad been l living in the house? Like they've been there a long time.

SPEAKER_01 6:31

Um, probably since since my brother was born and he just turned 40.

SPEAKER_03 6:34

So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:35

My family's my dad and stepmom have been in the same house.

SPEAKER_03 6:38

And same, same life. You know, like the TV's still probably in the same spot, maybe.

SPEAKER_01 6:44

There are probably a lot of people that have that that uh family history, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:47

Yeah, I think actually I think it's kind of rare.

SPEAKER_01 6:50

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 6:51

You know, I think especially I mean maybe maybe Midwest, but I do believe that it's just based on like the familiarity of like or like the term trad wife that's come about because of this book. You know, you and I were I was raised to be a trad wife. I don't know about you, but you know, like everything from my grandma teaching me how to make bread and 4-H and learning how to um properly set a table and being judged on it at a 4-H convention thing, like I do believe it's it's it's rare.

SPEAKER_01 7:26

Yeah, I think it is a Midwest thing.

SPEAKER_03 7:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:30

For me, I feel like the um the thought around wanting more, um, I have always like really never felt like settling was an option. And there are always gonna be people in my life that say, I'm worried about you, I think you should slow down, I think you should take a break. Like, do you really want to take that project on? Like, when would you actually do that? Um, and probably a couple years ago, maybe post-COVID, I was really starting to like take that to heart and think, like, maybe I should slow down, maybe I should stop. And I don't really know that it ever happened, but I do feel like any time that I tried to do it, it felt very inauthentic to myself. And also I've realized that I do have a personality, like I need to be busy. When I'm not busy, I kind of get in my head and make problems, and so I really feel like this is just me. This is the way I like to be. I like to be always engaged and thinking and planning and creating. Um, I'm not great at like status quo, which makes me not great at operations um in a business. Um, I like to be developing, which is kind of that entrepreneurial, like you're always creating. Um and it took me a long time to be comfortable in my own skin and to listen to the people who say, like, I don't even understand why you do all of that, and they don't have to understand, it's not them. It's me. And those people are very there's a lot of people who are very close to me that say that. Um, and that's okay.

SPEAKER_03 9:15

Yeah, it's not their life.

SPEAKER_01 9:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:17

So something that you are gonna be a speaker at this upcoming business workshop that I'm post I'm putting on. And I think there's a lot of entrepreneurs out there that have like a great idea, they have what they are thinking in their heads and wanting to produce is gonna help humanity, help all the things, but they don't have the right systems and support to make it happen. And that's what this class is about is learning those systems and supports. So could you tell me just a little bit about kind of what works for you? Like what does keep this? Um, it's like a clock turning, the clock of Lacey, you know?

SPEAKER_00 10:06

It's a great visual.

SPEAKER_03 10:07

And in the form of support and structure, like what do what have you learned throughout the years that you need to create a successful business? Or like I do want to talk about the dirt dregs because I think it's phenomenal, but you know, like like how do you what do you need in place to make this stuff happen?

SPEAKER_01 10:27

I would say I probably don't lean on structure as much as the people, as you were saying that. I'm looking at you and I'm thinking kind of also back to the um feeling confident in taking on projects that you want to take on, or new jobs, or having another baby, or building a house, or whatever the thing is, and not feeling judged by the people around you. I think it's the people. So, in that situation, those people who are questioning what you're doing, I think a lot of times that comes from uh scared, scare people being scared, scared that you're gonna change, scared that maybe you're gonna move away, scared that you're gonna find new friends or new coworkers. Um, so the exact opposite of that, I think the most important key to success for me has been finding people who I can align myself with that are already doing the thing. It kind of goes back to like the Brene Brown, like in the ring. You know, you don't the people who aren't in the ring, the people who aren't, you know, juggling all the balls, like they don't get the opinion, they don't get to judge. Yeah. But if you find the people who are in the ring with you, I doubt that they're gonna say, you're crazy, or why are you doing that, or don't you think that that's gonna jeopardize your blank because they're doing the same thing.

SPEAKER_03 11:53

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

And they're figuring it out. So, you know, surrounding yourself with those people. And I find myself often, not often, but when I do feel like I'm like out of sync or questioning what I'm doing, I also probably realize that I have been so busy doing all the things that I haven't continued maintaining those relationships with people who are encouraging me to keep doing the thing. You know, when you sit down with somebody and say, Oh my gosh, I have this great new idea, I'm gonna do X, Y, and Z, those people who are questioning you are gonna look at you're gonna be afraid to tell them that. And then you're gonna, they're gonna look at you and say, Why are you doing that? versus the person that you sit down with. It's like, oh my god, that's amazing. I've got a connection for you. This person would really be able to help you. Um, so it's just like surrounding yourself with those people who are constantly reaching and in that stretch zone.

SPEAKER_03 12:41

Yeah, that's a beautiful way to put it.

SPEAKER_01 12:44

We're just like right in the zone. That Brene Brown, she's a smart cookie.

SPEAKER_03 12:49

She is. Brenee brown.

SPEAKER_01 12:51

Get comfortable being uncomfortable.

SPEAKER_03 12:54

Yeah. Man in the arena. Man in the arena, yeah. And isn't it like some from somebody else too? Anyways.

SPEAKER_01 13:01

I think uh Roosevelt.

SPEAKER_03 13:03

Roosevelt. Um it's not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena. That's like a small small one. So yes.

SPEAKER_01 13:57

Yeah, and the other people who are in the arena with you. You know, they're they're in their own arena, but it's the same show. Um and they have similar goals, successes, and failures.

SPEAKER_03 14:10

Mm-hmm. And not being afraid.

SPEAKER_01 14:12

Because a fail, you know, kind of going back to the greatest place on earth. Like to me, in my mind, that's not a failure. The fact that I started a business and it's not, it doesn't exist anymore. Like, that doesn't feel like a fail to me. It feels like I did it, it was great. It made such a positive community impact. Um over we started it in 2018 and then closed it probably like 2023. But during that, you know, safer at home and COVID and community, like it made a really great impact in our community. And so it served its purpose there. And when it was time for me to set it down, we set it down and who knows where the future of it will go. But um, so to me it didn't seem like a fail. Um, it was an experience, and I learned a lot from it.

SPEAKER_03 14:59

Yeah, I would never think of that as a failure. And I do think, like, you know, now that we're because I I want to segue into the dirt dregs because I do feel like that was the the infancy of user-generated content.

SPEAKER_01 15:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:18

And what you did, what's happening now. So for people that don't know, you you might be critical of yourself. Okay. So uh the greatest place on earth was a brand, and it was it was really so the basics the basic of it was t-shirts, sweatshirts, things that said greatest place on earth, but the the feeling of it was that people of Baraboo, Baraboo, the community of Baraboo had us had a way to celebrate how much they love their town. And it brought people together. And, you know, there was a hashtag and people were posting pictures of themselves and their kids in shirts and sweatshirts and camping and on vacation everywhere. People were taking photos of themselves posting it, greatest place on earth. And it got a lot of recognition. I even saw a photo from quite a few years ago, and like my sweatshirt was in the background, you know, my greatest place on earth sweatshirt. Like everybody had a greatest place on earth sweatshirt.

SPEAKER_00 16:25

We sold a lot of sweatshirts in a couple of years, right?

SPEAKER_03 16:28

And that's like the funny part is that it's um it it is this, it was an idea to bring people together, and the way you did it was through events and selling a product, and it was on a small scale. So now the dirt drags, and before anybody dismisses, oh my gosh, this is the most redneck thing in history, I'm gonna turn this off. There is a huge lesson to be learned because first off, tell me how many people went to the first few that were at Hub City.

SPEAKER_01 17:04

I feel like we saw like about 800 people at an event.

SPEAKER_03 17:08

And then how many people were at this last event that now that it's your brand, your business in Richland Center, how many people were at the last event?

SPEAKER_01 17:17

There was probably six to seven to pro six to seven thousand, maybe even up to eight, um, and over a two-day event.

SPEAKER_03 17:25

So from 800 to 8,000 in what two years? So tell us, I mean, that's that's that does seem pretty amazing.

SPEAKER_01 17:32

Now that you're saying it out loud.

SPEAKER_03 17:34

I'm pretty um so tell me about that because how many people would love to take an event that five people sign up for and make it into 5,000? And tell me, tell me a little bit about the that process.

SPEAKER_01 17:50

Yeah, let me just I do think um you're right, greatest place on earth probably was the baby child of this event series, uh, the Hub City Dirt Drags that we're doing now. Um, I think they are very similar concepts that we use. It's creating an experience, something that's fun, something that's worth taking a photo or video of and sharing it on across social platforms. So having your consumers create content for you and tag brands to get more interaction. Um, the Dirt Drag series in general, I think I feel like it's been a great fit for me because I have spent a lot of 20 years, 20 plus years working in what I would consider like traditional business models with traditional marketing and traditional messaging. And then to be able to take that skill set along with um some things that I've learned from some other what I would consider more like redneck events, uh wild kid truck show events. Um I guess taking those elements and crossing them between the brands, between our more traditional brands and then our event series has really been kind of a key to the magic. So um giving consumers, spectators, visitors an opportunity to capture content that is exciting and share it across their platforms has really been like the key to that marketing.

SPEAKER_03 19:30

So would you say the key to the marketing is FOMO?

SPEAKER_01 19:33

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 19:36

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_01 19:36

But and then I also think taking my traditional marketing and moving it onto that brand too, like um very simple like event things. You gotta have good bathrooms, you have to have accessibility to food and drink. Um, people don't want to wait in line too long. People want to constantly be entertained. So just like taking those things, those elements, and and bringing them to the drag race um with brand recognition and you know, flutter flags and all the things that feel exciting um really just kind of makes it the perfect storm.

SPEAKER_03 20:09

So yeah. And also the interesting part to the dirt drags is that you also have an ATV business.

SPEAKER_01 20:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

So it's it's not spa serenity, it's not a pause, it's not like a downtown bear boo thing. It's it's your business and you're using this other business to amplify the business. So it's it's a constant machine. Again, that clock that can kind of just keep the gears rolling and content coming in. Because I'm sure if it's if it's slow at the um gateway Power Sports, you can throw some exciting UTV, ATV clips from your dirt dregs into your content, and then boom, you've got content again. And and then you're tagging different brands and events and yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:06

Yeah, I think weaving them together, there's definitely some crossover. Um, I think it's interesting, each business has its own like identity and each one has its own quirks. You know, what's gonna we were just talking about Paws Facial Bar, which is connected to spaserenity, and we've been doing uh a lot of content that kind of feels trendy and you know, real, things like that. And this week um we had a day that was kind of soft, and so I just asked one of the aestheticians just to make a quick selfie video, just saying 4th of July is coming, and you know, it's time to really take care of your skin, and it popped off great. And we filled in the appointments that we so it's just like that constant reminder. I mean, uh, that's like basic 101, right? Be authentic. Um, but I needed that reminder this week that it just takes somebody being authentic and you know, speaking to a camera and saying the words, um, the music reels, the flashy stuff. Well, sometimes that does hit also.

SPEAKER_03 22:06

It yeah, and you've talked about that. You had a something that went kind of viral.

SPEAKER_01 22:11

Yeah, we had a reel that had like 500,000 views on it, and it was just a quick one off like, hey, I saw this. Can we replicate it? We did that, and it uh yeah, was probably our most viewed video ever at Gateway. Just everybody wanting all of our staff to have the third of July off. Which they didn't get. They didn't, but they had they are fine with. With that. It was funny, they were actually like defending like management, or you know, my husband and I, and the because people were like, That's a your boss is a jerk if you're not gonna get the third of July off, and like the staff was they were really upset about like the negative comments. I was like, please stop reading the comments.

SPEAKER_03 22:49

Yeah, specifically because there were thousands of them, so yeah, but I guess like when as you're talking, I think to another thing that's important is like you're just one person.

SPEAKER_01 23:00

I am just one person.

SPEAKER_03 23:02

You didn't you didn't start with a trust fund, you didn't start with anything. Like you you've literally like the last 20 years have just continuously grown, had some hiccups, grown, had some setbacks, grown. And like anybody can do it. Like if if you can do it, yeah. I mean, you're special, but like you're not that special, right? Absolutely, yeah. I agree.

SPEAKER_01 23:25

I think it takes really hard work. Um, it's interesting. I just had someone reach out to me that um has worked corporate life their entire life and are getting to their what I would probably consider their third act, and we're talking about opening um a small business. And I said, please don't do it if you think you're gonna make money at it. Because that is the wrong answer. Yeah, not that there isn't a little bit of money to be made occasionally, but it is not the same consistency that you've experienced in your corporate job. Um, and it will be much harder work. Yeah, but it's really fulfilling. Yeah, yeah. Um so tell me a little bit more, Steph. Uh, I have agreed to be one of the presenters for your upcoming session, but I guess tell me a little bit more about what the plan for that day is and what what I can expect as a presenter, but maybe what the the guests can expect as well.

SPEAKER_03 24:20

Yeah, so I it started because I was thinking about doing a full class on photography for marketers and business owners and small business owners. And I realized that my actual superpower is like photography is great, but I'm actually really, really good at bringing people together. And I worked really hard the last 10 years on my networking and growing, you know, just like inviting amazing women and men too into my life. And I wanted a space to hold all of those amazing people, all the things that I've learned, and bring everybody together for a day. And I thought the best way to do that would be to remove myself as a presenter and bring in the people that I feel make my business successful. And that's where the idea came from. The reason why I just popped it off and like, let's go for it, is because I was watching a documentary on Martin Short and he was just talking about failure and how failure means you're alive. And so instead of just being like, oh, it's probably gonna fail, why would I even start? Like, I've got a million other things I could work on. I'm like, you know what? I'm just gonna throw it out there and I'm gonna gather these women to present because they're the top in their field. And I feel like it's gonna be an amazing day for anybody that's going to take the time to come and they're gonna get something out of it that's gonna help their business grow. And that's it.

SPEAKER_01 25:58

Yeah, kind of gathering that group of, you know, I think in some arenas they say like your five people that you're around, which these probably aren't your five people because it's not gonna be the people you're spending like the most time with, but they are definitely people who are in the stretch zone.

SPEAKER_03 26:14

Yeah, yeah. Um everybody that I mean, I do actually, other than Anna is like my newest friend, but I felt like the minute I sat down with her, I knew her too. I feel like there's a there's a commonality between these women that are it's it's all the same. It's just like just keep going, just keep going. And if it's not working, that doesn't mean you're a failure. It just means you have to tweak it a little bit and find the right message and find the right audience.

SPEAKER_01 26:45

And if it's not working, you're learning something.

SPEAKER_03 26:48

Yeah. Yeah. I think about you know, like with the dirt dregs, right? Like if you had the wrong audience and you were promoting it to um like luxury car brands or some shit, right? Like it it wouldn't make sense. But you so you have to find the right messaging and the right audience and and create something. And I think for a long time in my business, I was trying to mimic what other photographers were doing and their audiences versus like what do I want to be doing and who is the best person to serve, and how do I connect with them? And I think that's what the day is all about is is getting all of those pieces hooked in together.

SPEAKER_01 27:30

Yeah, and learning from each other.

SPEAKER_03 27:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 27:33

When you were talking about failure, I was just thinking, um, I did a podcast earlier this week with the diesel performance company, um, which is totally different than very outside of my scope, but uh actually very similar too. Like if you start when you start dissecting things, it's very similar. Um, anyways, the gentleman who was interviewing uh was like, I was at your first event in Richland Center and it was amazing. And in my head, I was thinking, that was the biggest shit show. Like, but I had to take a thought and think, wow, thank you for saying that it was amazing. Um, if you thought that was amazing when you come in October for our fall event, you're gonna be blown away because that was our very first event at a new facility, and we have definitely um improved above and beyond. So um, but in my mind, I probably did stutter a little bit and I was like, Oh yeah, you thought that was amazing? Because that was awful. And quite honestly, Steph can attest to this. After that event, I was all in for being one and done.

SPEAKER_03 28:40

Yeah, you were you were at the divorce, divorce of that event.

SPEAKER_01 28:45

You were like it was pretty traumatizing. It was uh it was our first big event in a new facility. We were in a my husband and I are partners with our um shop manager in this in that drag series, and we had major communication fails amongst our partners. Uh, we lost a shit ton of money. It was a financial bloodbath. Um, you know, we had to come up with money to pay the bills because it rained. We had, you know, so it was just like all the things that could go wrong. We learned so much, and it took a lot of convincing for me to um get on board. But when I did get on board, I decided I had to be all in. And we didn't talk about this earlier, but um, I know it's one of the points that you wanted to talk about, stuff was like I knew that in order to make it successful, I had to go all in. So I can't ever think about is this gonna work and is this gonna be the last event? Like in my mind, when you're when you go all in on something, you have to know that whether you have 800 people or 8,000 people, you gotta give it the same amount of energy.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

Right. And that's how you know it's not a failure if at the end of the day you knew you know that you did everything in your power that you could to make it happen. And then the rest of it is like a uh I mean it's up to the universe. It is up to the universe, and it's also just okay, well then what about what's next? Or you know, like I think for so many uh entrepreneurs, and I it could be men too, with women, solo entrepreneurs, the fear of failure makes it so that people don't start. And that's not the reason to not start because you're there's no such thing, you know, having a bloodbath or whatever you called it.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

It was awful.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

It was, but it wasn't a failure.

SPEAKER_01 30:45

And now I look back and say, we had a lot of learning opportunities at that event. We learned a lot. That was what it was. We learned a lot of things that we don't ever want to do again. And you didn't die, and we didn't die. I thought we were gonna die for a minute, but you do, right?

SPEAKER_03 31:02

You think like, oh my gosh, this is awful. And and your awful is somebody else's best day.

SPEAKER_01 31:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:10

That they wouldn't have had if they hadn't been at your events. And it's it's wild.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:15

So what do you think is uh next for you? I know I kind of asked that at the beginning, but you know, is there any lessons that you feel like that you you've had the last let's say them a month, right? So sometimes like lessons just keep coming up or messages or whatever, and and I feel like I kind of know where this is going, but I'm just curious if you've had any like what are you working on right now?

SPEAKER_01 31:40

I think um maybe the thing that I'm I don't know if I'm I'm working on it, but the thing that has come to fruition is like trusting my instinct. Um, I do think that again, um, I've learned a lot of good lessons from this dirt drag series and doing the the spa and the shop and my family. Hey, I have a family also and my personal life um at the same time. Um, I have learned to trust my instinct. I think I spent a lot of time previous to that not trying to be the loudest voice in the room, even though I like knew what I what needed to be said or what needed to be done. I think I also came from a culture where there were a lot of loud females and they got like judged, called out for being the loudest person in the room. And I didn't like that. Yeah. Um, so I think learning to be confident in my own voice and not being the loudest person in the room, but also having the confidence to know when I know what the thing is that should be done.

SPEAKER_03 32:44

Yeah, that's interesting that you're saying that because um the words attention-seeking behavior have come up a few times this week for me, and how that's bad, right?

SPEAKER_01 32:59

You don't want to be attention seeking, and it's like and it's specifically, I would say, gets put on females, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 33:07

Like you don't want to be too flashy, too loud, to this, to that. Again, another Midwest thing, I suppose, but what the fuck's wrong with being attention seeking, right? Like why is that so bad? You know, because I grew up like that. Oh yeah, like don't don't be too loud. Don't be too loud, don't dress too, however, you know, like just you know, it's that old, just you know, make your bread, yeah, set your table.

SPEAKER_01 33:36

Yeah, but I think there's a way I guess what I've learned is that there's a way that I can be very confident in my voice and my thoughts without um being overbearing or you know, whatever those. And maybe sometimes I am overbearing, maybe but I know what I want and I know what needs to get done, and yeah, in most situations I'm the boss, except for in my marriage, which my husband points out to me frequently that I am not the boss.

SPEAKER_02 34:01

Who is the boss?

SPEAKER_01 34:02

We're shared bosses. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_03 34:05

I feel like someone has to wear the parents here.

SPEAKER_01 34:08

Uh no. I think we're shared, shared bosses.

SPEAKER_03 34:11

Yeah, like a co co-family, co-parenting spouse family.

SPEAKER_01 34:18

How about you? What's uh what's happening in your? I mean, obviously you're working on this uh workshop that you're putting together, but what else is either coming up or has just passed?

SPEAKER_03 34:28

Um so I like starting in December, January, I really set some boundaries financially and um energetically with clients. So I'll I'll back up just a little bit. 2025 was the best year financially for my business. And I was just like last summer, this time I was like shopping and buying shoes and cute outfits, all that stuff. And I hit burnout and I I hit bitterness and I hit like what the like I don't like working for specific people and places, and they don't treat me good, but it's money, you know. So I put a a hard stop on a lot of that draining energy, and slowly then reorganizing my business to reflect something that is actually watering me, giving me sunlight instead of me constantly like feeling like I've I'm giving it out. And you know, I started doing the hikes, I have the class coming up, I'm doing a retreat, and I just feel like there's a transformation happening in my business and also in my life. Uh you know, my son turned 18, I'm moving in with my new boyfriend, and like there's all these transitions happening again in my life, and it's uh very unnerving, but I'm also trusting the process. So there's a lot of trusting happening, but not trust like, oh, everything's gonna be fine. It's like, no, I've actually put a lot of strong boundaries in place so that I can get to the next step.

SPEAKER_01 36:20

Yeah. And even if it doesn't look out like what you think it's gonna look like, it'll still be like it's not gonna look what I think like it's gonna look like. Nothing ever is.

SPEAKER_02 36:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 36:29

Um, but it's kind of funny because when I have clients reach out to me, maybe I haven't worked with them in a couple years, and like, yeah, my my prices have gone up and this and that. And I feel excited if if it's a client that I worked with that I liked. It's like, oh my gosh, you guys were so nice to work with. Like, these are my prices, can't wait to work with you. And it happens. And then if if it's like a company that, you know, they're like kind of dicks to me or they didn't pay for months at a time or whatever, it's like I I feel it, and I know that's not an aligned client, and I have to trust that process that it's like it's not gonna work out. And I kind of I kind of like having that internal direction that feels good.

SPEAKER_01 37:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:22

So I'm just feeling good. That's awesome. That's all I'm trying to do. And help other people feel good, yeah, you know, in a way that's super aligned to who I am becoming and who I have been.

SPEAKER_01 37:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:36

That's it. Life is good.

SPEAKER_01 37:37

Life is good.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

Um, so other than the the workshop that we have coming up and the dirt drags. So can we can you just do a little shout out to the dirt drags? Like, because I love going and I'm not super red Nicky. So can you just we're gonna end pretty quick here, and I just want people to know exactly what they are and when the next date is so that you can plan on because it's a very family-friendly event.

SPEAKER_01 38:03

So the Hub City Dirt Drags happen in Richland Center, Wisconsin, um, the second weekend in May, and the second weekend in October. Um, it's a two-day event this year where in October we're adding expectator camping, which is terrifying to me to deal with 600 potential people overnight. Um, but that's another thing. Do things that scare you every day. Um so it's a dirt drag series, so mostly trucks. Uh, we do do an ATV session in the spring and they dirt drag um on the track. We also have a show and shine, which we have um been featuring the ladies of the truck industry in our show and shine. So that's super fun um to be able to work with ladies who are not only buying beautiful trucks but also building beautiful trucks and building them for other people. Um lots of performance shops have uh female-inspired crews, so that's super fun to be learning about that side of the industry. We've added some events in the last couple um go-rounds. We have a burnout road, so yes, I'm like queen of burnouts, and I know all kinds of things about safety and turbos and things that I never thought I would know. Um, but really, I think the most magical thing for me in these events that we do, so um, is that multi-generational. So my goal is always when I can see um a grandpa with his 1965 Chevelle. I don't know if they made Chevelles in 1965. I'm just being um next to a kid with a brand new Denali with suicide doors, and those two guys are standing there with next to their vehicles that are nothing alike, but exactly the same all at the same time, and they're sharing their passion and their um excitement about each other's vehicles as well as their own. Um, and then there's a little kid in the background eating ice cream, and it's just like it really uh is pretty magical. I think one of the most exciting things that we did last spring at our event was we um brought in uh field trips, so local schools, their small engine class, their farm equipment classes. Um, FFA groups came into our fairgrounds um on Friday morning and met with some of our vendors. So my business partner Riley always says we have a lot of some of the brightest minds in the diesel industry that come into little old Richland Center, Wisconsin, two times a year. And so we've started bringing our school groups in so they can experience and have a one-on-one time with these guys, get to look under the hood of their trucks, get to sit in the driver's seat, um, and really get to understand what kind of opportunities exist in this performance world, um, whether they're working in the shop in their local town or they, you know, go off to some big injection company, you know, on the East Coast and work. There's so many opportunities for kids who are interested in tinkering. You know, the kids that are playing with Legos in elementary school, they might be building motors, you know, when they're in their teens and just uh finding a place for them to know that there's really a great opportunity for life out there. So that was a really fun thing that we did um in the spring. And the bonus side piece of that was at the end of the event, we fed all the kids ice cream and pizza. And actually, we didn't have ice cream, we had pizza, and then we did a couple test passes on the drag track, and then we went to the burnout pad and did some test passes. And every one of those kids had their phone out and they were Snapchatting what they were doing that morning, and their friends were messaging them and saying, Oh my gosh, where are you at? Aren't you supposed to be at school? Like, oh, this is a field trip, and uh, so that's one of my like fun marketing stories. That's that user-generated cut content. So these kids just came out to go on a field trip and you know, talk to some diesel performance uh, you know, builders, and they got to watch these fun kind of sneak peeks of what was happening the next day um at our event, and it was probably the I couldn't even pay for marketing that looked like that. So that was fun.

SPEAKER_03 42:12

That's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 42:13

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 42:13

I think that um you just touched on so many things, but what I heard is that you don't have to know everything, it doesn't have to be perfect before you launch it. And don't be afraid to reach out to audiences that you might not think of, right? Spend some time and like map out that who would be interested in this, like from different ages, different demographics, yeah, and like work on that and and try it out, but don't be afraid to to do it.

SPEAKER_01 42:53

Yeah, and sometimes you don't have the time or the bandwidth to map it out. Sometimes it shows up in your lap and don't be afraid to take those opportunities. Like sometimes you have a big old plan and you know how this is gonna work, but something just shows up, like, trust your gut and make the shift. Yeah, that's where the magic happens.

SPEAKER_03 43:08

Yeah, I love it. Yeah, well, thanks for spending some time with us.

SPEAKER_01 43:12

Yeah, thanks for having me.

SPEAKER_03 43:13

Um, and audience, thank you so much for listening, and I can't wait to hear from you. Thank you. Good. That was good.