Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:01):
In this episode of The Buzz, we're joined by Heather LA,
wellness mentor and founder of Glogetter Co.
Heather shares her very raw and deeply personal journey from
a life so toxic she feared for her safety and
turned to Lifeline for help to a powerful transformation that
led her to come out, thrive, and build a life
(00:23):
filled with purpose and authenticity. With courage and resilience.
Heather transition from corporate burnout to creating Glowgettero, a business
rooted in sustainable health and real change. Expect a conversation
full of heart, vulnerability, and actionable advice to help you
start your own journey of transformation.
(00:47):
I have been so looking forward to sitting down with
today's guests ever since we met in November last year,
her life and work embody everything that the buzz is
all about passion, purpose, and growth. Without further ado, Heather,
welcome to the bus. It's so wonderful to have you here.
Thank you. I'm very excited
Speaker 2 (01:08):
to be here. Let's
Speaker 1 (01:08):
chat. Yeah.
Looking forward to it. So you've had quite the journey
that saw a massive self-transformation, right? So can you take
us back to, you know, where it all began? You
left school? What career piqued your interest? Where, where were
you at?
Speaker 2 (01:26):
Um, so, my degree is actually in primary education.
Um, and I knew probably about halfway through that degree
that it wasn't for me, um, because I had already, um,
got some work at the Home Shopping Network. So, um,
you know, back before we were buying everything on the internet,
(01:48):
we were buying it off of TV and, um, I
had a job there and I absolutely loved it and
I got a real taste for
Um, product and adventure and um that kind of more
fast-paced life. Um, and I also at a very young
age went through a divorce, so that kind of all
(02:08):
happened while I was finishing up my degree. Yeah, and, um,
kind of finished that degree and decided to go back
to the home shopping network, um, after having some time
off to finish that degree, so.
Um, when I was there, I got to start traveling.
I just got, you know, a real taste for that. Um,
(02:29):
and yeah, I guess that faster life.
Speaker 1 (02:30):
And what were you doing
in the, on the shopping network?
Speaker 2 (02:33):
I
was a, a buyer there, so, um, I started off buying, uh,
collectible Barbies.
Speaker 1 (02:40):
Oh,
hello.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (02:43):
Um, and then at one point I was doing the toys, um,
that was on Beanie Babies or really pal care, um,
And eventually moved on to kind of a wellness category, um,
got a little promotion, was working more directly under the
head buyer, and moved into that wellness section, um, and
I think that change of category, things really slowed down
(03:06):
and I got bored really easily and um there was
a supplier to the Home Shopping Network that was looking
um to bring some more people on staff and I
decided to go over there, um, and they had their
head office, uh, two head offices in Taipei, Taiwan and
in Hong Kong. OK, um, so kind of went to
(03:27):
that supplier side, um, got, um,
a real feel for creating things. I really found, um,
really got excited about the creativity I used and I
could have in that job. It was more of a
sales position. I was an account manager, um, working with
big retailers in the US, but where I really found
my groove was kind of looking at the products that
(03:50):
the Hong Kong and the Taiwan office are finding, and then,
you know, changing them to have the right flair for
my clients in the US, um, and that ended up
Completely changing the trajectory of my life, um, because at
certain points they needed someone to move to Hong Kong.
They wanted to start a product development department, um, and
(04:13):
the job was between me and one other girl. I
was quite young, um, she was a bit older than
me and her degree was actually in that area, but
mine obviously wasn't, um.
And I ended up getting it. Shan. One of the
reasons I got it, um, I always tell this story because,
you know, I think part of it was, um, obviously
(04:35):
I had a natural flair for doing it. I was
seeing a lot of success, um, but also the wife
of the owner of the business was, um, a Taiwan
socialite and she was very into Chinese astrology.
And I'm a fire dragon, Chinese astrology, which, um, to
(04:55):
them is a born leader, and when she knew that
I was a fire dragon, um, I was born the
same year as her brother, who was also a leader
in the business, and she was like, she's the one
that I need, we need someone that's just going to
come in and just do what
We need to do. OK. Um, and I think, thank you,
Speaker 1 (05:13):
birth, birthing time.
Love it.
Yeah, yeah. Um,
Speaker 2 (05:18):
but I think that's kind of been me throughout my
life personally and in business. It has always been that, um,
I find my own way with things. Um,
I haven't been taught how to do things, quote unquote,
the correct way. So I've always found my own way
with it. Um, and I think that's how I've got
to experience so many different things in my life because
(05:41):
I just kind of see something I want to do
and I just go, Well, I'll just go after that.
I don't actually know what to do, but I'm just
gonna do it.
Speaker 1 (05:47):
Which, yeah, is that real sense of inner confidence too,
you know, I think, um, there's a lot of, a
lot of people that just, yeah, that's
That's not gonna happen. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So good on you.
Good on you. And has that always been like that? Like,
even when you were in school and when you were young?
Speaker 2 (06:06):
Um
I think it's always lived within me, um, but, uh,
growing up, we moved around all the time. I lived
in 10 states by the time I was
I think 13 or 14, yeah, um, because my dad
was just climbing the corporate ladder and we were constantly
moving and moving to completely different areas of the US, um.
(06:29):
And if you spend any time in different areas of
the US it's like moving country.
And, um, so I think, I think what I learned
through that, you know, constantly having to go to new
schools and adapt, I think I learned really good skills
and how to just kind of get on with it. Um,
I also picked up a not so great skill of I,
(06:50):
at least I don't consider it a great skill. I
was a really good chameleon. I could
Adapt and fit in quite quickly. So I would learn,
you know, I'd have to change my accent quite quickly.
Like when we moved from Georgia up to the Northeast
and I had this real southern draw, um, I had
to quickly learn to talk quicker, to change my accents.
(07:10):
Everyone dressed very differently. Um, the things that were popular
were different, and I would, I would learn to adjust
really quickly.
And I think that was a survival thing, a survival skill,
but I think it actually has worked. It worked against
me at a certain point in my life, um, because
it was like, who am I? Yeah, because I was
just really good at kind of going, Oh, I want
(07:32):
to fit in with that group, or I want this,
and I would just kind of
Become what they were, but it was like, but who,
who am I?
Speaker 1 (07:39):
Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So, yeah, so what, OK,
so going back then to, um, you know, the new
gig in Hong Kong, um, what were your measures of
success in those early days in a new space that,
you know, you weren't that familiar with, you were in
(07:59):
a new country. What were your measures of success?
Speaker 2 (08:03):
Um, I think just to survive. I was so scared.
I remember getting there and, um, Colleen, um, this lady
that I worked with in Florida, where I had lived, um,
in absolute tears going, I don't know what I've done. I, like,
what am I doing? Like, I'm in the middle of
Hong Kong. Like I'd been traveling there for work.
(08:26):
But, um, I was like, I don't have any friends
and nobody looks like me because when I first got there,
they just put me in a service department around the
corner from the office, um, and it wasn't an expat
area at all. So, um,
I had to deal with so many things, including just
feeling quite large, to be honest, I was taller and
(08:48):
bigger than everyone, and I, yeah, he stood out with
my blonde head. Um, and, you know, for someone who
was really used to finding a way to fit in, like,
that like, you know, there was no way of that
half of
Speaker 1 (08:58):
the
Speaker 2 (08:59):
ultimate test.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And did
you speak the language?
Speaker 2 (09:02):
No. Yeah, no, I knew like bits and pieces, but no.
Um, so, yeah, I think just
Learning to adapt and survive, um, was a lot of that.
But when it came to, um, that role, um, it
was really just figuring out how the team there worked.
(09:25):
I hadn't obviously managed a team with from a different
culture before and always lived in America. Um, and so
there was a real learning curve with that, um, but
I have to say, like,
The people of Hong Kong I love more than anyone else. Like,
their culture is so beautiful and, um, and, you know,
(09:45):
it was, it was hard to, I don't know the
right word, I don't want to say break them, but
not break them, but it was like hard to like
get past that wall, that brick wall that they have
around themselves. But once you do, they're the most beautiful
loyal people ever. And once I built that team and
got it down to the people that really wanted to
be there and had the same vision as me and
(10:06):
were OK.
Not doing things as they had always been done, that's
when we really succeeded and, um, and that department, um,
really grew and had a really, um, positive impact on
the business.
Speaker 1 (10:20):
That's, that's a massive, that's a massive task. That's an
absolutely massive.
Task. So, um, how do you get through to a
team like that and get that as, and, and, and,
and that then becomes the outcome? Like, what, what do
you personally do? How do you lead to get that
kind of outcome?
Speaker 2 (10:42):
Um, I think, first of all, I've always been one
that gets into the trenches with everyone else. Um, and
I show my own vulnerabilities and
I think I'm really good at identifying other people's strengths
and using that. So, um, you know, building the team
from that, not going, OK, you're here and this is
(11:04):
your job title, and that, therefore, these are the things
you're going to do, kind of recognizing, actually, they're really
good at this other thing, and our team needs that.
So let's, let's have them doing that. Um, and I think,
you know,
People feel good when they get to do things that
they're good at. And when they get acknowledged for that.
Speaker 1 (11:24):
Yeah, absolutely, absolutely. So, in Hong Kong, you're saying you, you,
you know, you don't have a lot of friends. You've
just got the work, you know, work colleagues and obviously
no relationship at that, at that stage. I first got there. Yeah, yeah.
So how long were you there for?
Speaker 2 (11:42):
I was there, oh, I think it was around 2.5
years in the end, um, the last 6 months, I
was in between there in London. I didn't meet a
partner in Hong Kong and um they got a job
back in London where they're from, um, and the company
they got a job with was willing to work out
all my visas and everything. So um.
(12:06):
I had the option of extending my contract in Hong
Kong or choosing this new adventure in London. Um, and
I chose London. Um, I won't lie, I regretted it. Um, however,
I think there are so many things I learned from
my time in London. Um, I think I could have
(12:27):
really done a lot more in Hong Kong.
Speaker 1 (12:29):
Um,
Speaker 2 (12:30):
But, you know, everything happens for every 100%,
Speaker 1 (12:34):
it
does. So what, um, yeah, so, you know, you said you,
you regret it, but not really because of all the
lessons that you, that you learned from that time. What
were the lessons?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I think that's where I first started to really meet myself.
Not completely. I didn't completely get there until I was
in Australia.
But I think I had no choice when I was there. Um, I,
London and I did not get along. OK, why did
(13:05):
not get along. I think London's a beautiful place to visit. Um,
living there as an expat, after having this beautiful expat
experience in Hong Kong, um,
Where, um, well, I suppose when you're an expat there,
it's visually very obvious. So it is quite easy to
connect with other expats, plus I did end up getting
an apartment in an expat area. Um, and I had
(13:27):
this amazing experience where I really connected with people from
around the world and built some great friendships, but, um,
in London,
That didn't happen. Um, eventually I made some good friendships, but, um,
It's like that inner circle that they never quite let
you into. And you always feel like you're on the
(13:48):
outskirts of it, um,
Speaker 1 (13:50):
which would have brought up a bit of childhood stuff, right?
Because you're used to being the chameleon and being accepted,
changing and accepted wherever you go. Yeah, right. Oh, that
was sent to test you, wasn't it?
Speaker 2 (14:05):
It was hard. It was so hard, um.
And
Speaker 1 (14:11):
did Japan or the time, were they from London?
Speaker 2 (14:14):
They were from London and they, um, obviously introduced me
to all their friends and partners, um.
I just didn't click, didn't work, you know, I remember
when we when we moved there and I was trying
to find work, um, so the company I worked for
in Hong Kong was letting me do a little bit
(14:36):
of freelance stuff for them.
Um, but I needed a full-time job. I needed to work, um,
and the amount of recruiters that told me my experience
was irrelevant because my experience was with American businesses. America,
like they really don't like Americans, at least they didn't
back then, and this is quite a few years ago. Um,
(14:57):
but I had, you know, amazing experience, but because it
was with America and they were just like, uh.
Yeah, we don't want, don't want Americans. And I kind
of feel like a lot of the people I met
maybe felt the same. Um, yeah. So, yeah, I, um,
Speaker 1 (15:14):
I think you weren't
expecting. That's for
sure.
Speaker 2 (15:16):
No. No, I wasn't.
Speaker 1 (15:19):
Um, so how long were you in London for?
Speaker 2 (15:21):
I was in London just over 5 years.
Speaker 1 (15:23):
Oh jeez, you really stopped.
Speaker 2 (15:26):
I had the most amazing job. Um, I ended up
getting a job with a small supplier.
Um, it was a very small team of us. I
was a product developer, um, and account manager. I worked
directly with a lot of the high street retailers like Debenhams,
Marks and Spencer's. I was like, yeah, and we did homewares,
(15:46):
so I got to finally do what I really wanted
was like beautiful homewares, vases and cushions and home fragrance.
Um, got to work with some designers at certain points, um,
like well known designers, that sort of thing, um, and
I traveled constantly, which I think is how I ended
up being able to stay in London for so long
is because I was traveling around Europe to find the trends, um,
(16:11):
but then spending time in India, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Hong
Kong to actually develop the products and then take the
buyers to those factories and work, you know, on their ranges, so.
Um, yeah, I traveled all the time and I loved it.
Speaker 1 (16:27):
Yeah, so that would have made up for, you know,
the discomfort that you had in, in London there. Um,
you know, for the listener who, you know, might be
struggling to fit in or find their, their place, given
your experience, whether, whether that's personally or professionally, given your experience,
(16:48):
what would you suggest they do?
Speaker 2 (16:52):
Um, in all honesty, it's taken me so long to
get comfortable with myself, but
That has been the ultimate answer for me is to
really accept myself for who I am. I am a
black sheep and I like being one now, um, where
I used to try to hide that and camouflage myself
as being a white sheep, you know, I really wanting
(17:14):
to fit in. So, um, I think, you know, how
I survived during those times is I did find a
couple of my people and, you know, I think on
social media, um,
And on TV and all of that, there's this kind
of like, you know, you always see people they have
these big groups of friends. Um, and what I've really
(17:35):
found in my life and I still find is, um,
you don't need a big group of friends, it's quality
over quantity. The quality of the friendships, um, that I
ended up creating then, and then, you know, I have now, um,
I don't have a lot of them, but the ones
I have, like they're solid and, um,
You know, you don't need to chase being a part
(17:57):
of a group. It's not it's cracked up to be,
you know? Like,
Speaker 1 (18:00):
yeah, I love that. Yeah, good advice. Yeah, yeah, yeah, absolutely. OK,
so how does your time at London come to an end?
Speaker 2 (18:09):
Um, so my, my, um, relationship had broken down, um.
Pretty early on, to be honest, but I kept trying, um.
We had bought a house together. I put my life
savings into this gorgeous Victorian home, um, in London.
And because of that, I kept trying to make it work.
Speaker 1 (18:32):
Yeah, of course,
Speaker 2 (18:33):
because it was like, oh my money's there.
Speaker 1 (18:35):
Yeah,
yeah,
Speaker 2 (18:37):
um, and I literally had like nothing left. I put
everything into this house, um, and I loved that house
and I filled it with um products that I created
from around the world and it was, it was so beautiful.
Um, and we were living in separate rooms, all of that. And, um, anyways,
I had a couple of friends in Australia. I had
(18:58):
one friend that was traveling to Australia on a working
holiday visa. He was, um, much younger than me. And
so I started, decided to go to Australia for, um,
a month at the holidays, and I fell in love
with it here. Um, it was kind of like,
It felt like it had the best bits of different
(19:19):
areas I've lived. Uh, definitely had that British influence, has
a lot of American influence here, um, and also that
Asian influence because we're so close to Asia and it just,
just really felt like home to me. Amazing. I, and
I loved it and I, so I was here for
a month, had the time of my life and flew
(19:39):
back to London in early January and it was snowing.
And I went back to this house that, you know,
I no longer really wanted to be in because the
energy just wasn't right for me.
Speaker 1 (19:49):
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (19:49):
and I just thought, what am I doing? Like, really,
what am I doing? What is keeping me here? It's
um something quite material.
Speaker 1 (19:56):
Yes, yeah,
Speaker 2 (19:57):
um, and
So I just packed my bag. Yeah, I came to Australia.
Speaker 1 (20:05):
So you sell
the house
or anything?
Speaker 2 (20:07):
No, I've been trying, I'd been trying desperately with my
partner to sell that house for quite a while. Um,
the market wasn't great at that time, but I believed
if we put it on the market, we would just
get our money back, and that's all I wanted. I
was like, I don't need to make money. Um, but
Yeah, he wasn't, um, he wasn't, um, agreeing to that.
(20:30):
He was from there and was going to stay there.
The house is close to where his family was and
he was, um, pretty insistent that the relationship would eventually
be fine, um, and
I did seek some legal advice and I didn't have
a leg to stand on. Um, we had bought the
house together and
(20:50):
Either he had to buy me out or we had
to sell it or I just had to walk away, um.
I don't have a good track record with this, so
when I got divorced, I gave my ex-husband everything. So, um,
I have lost everything before and started over. That was
when I was in my twenties.
Um, and that worked out OK, yeah, you know. So
(21:12):
I came to Australia, I was still trying to convince him,
and in the end, I couldn't. So, um, I, again,
lost everything for the second time in my life. I
signed the house over to him because I couldn't, couldn't
be on the mortgage, I couldn't afford to pay it. Yeah, um,
I didn't at that point have any work. I'd come
to Australia, I didn't have a visa, I was just
here on holiday, yeah, desperately looking for someone to hire me.
(21:35):
And knowing that I could always go back to Hong
Kong or America. Yeah. So, um, yeah, I think it
was about 2 months into my time in Australia that
I'd found, um, I'd found a role, they were going
to sponsor me, um, and I decided that this was
a fresh start.
And I didn't want to fight anymore. Um, I didn't
(21:56):
want to hold on to that, so I literally signed
it over and lost everything. All of my belongings were
still in the house. Um, all my money was put
into that house, so, um, yeah, I think I had
probably a couple $1000 on a credit card. Yeah, you know,
and I'd gone from having, um, a pretty, you know,
(22:17):
good life. It's a lifestyle, um, good money, so.
Um, yeah, so I just started over again. I just, oh, well,
I did it before I can do it again. Um,
and what is more important to me. And at that point,
my happiness and my my mental health was more important. And, um, yeah,
it wasn't worth it.
Speaker 1 (22:37):
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Wow. OK. So that's incredible. So then
you come to Australia, you've got your job, you're living
the dream or not yet?
Speaker 2 (22:49):
I was having a lot of fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (22:51):
yeah, yeah,
Speaker 2 (22:52):
a lot of fun, um.
I, I'd obviously worked kind of more in retail, um,
on supplier side, most of my career at that point, um,
to get sponsored for a visa in Australia, I couldn't
work in retail anymore. That was an an option at
least at that time, um, this is probably.
Uh, like 14 years ago. Um, so I kind of
(23:15):
met with an immigration lawyer and she told me I
could still kind of do my product development, but I
needed to do it more in the marketing area. So
she was like, you know, just seek out a marketing agency.
And so I found a really great one to work
for in Sydney. Um, they worked, um, with like corporate businesses, um,
so the product development wasn't as creative and pretty probably
(23:36):
as I was used to, um,
But that was OK. I was meeting people and I
was trying new things, um, and yeah, I really, it
was a small business, but I really enjoyed it, um,
made some great friends, um,
And, um, in this time, um, I did finally decide
(23:57):
to accept myself fully, meaning it also, um, came out, um,
so I had been with men of my life, um,
but that wasn't really who I was. Yes. So, um,
this was literally a rebirth of
Speaker 1 (24:11):
yes
and well and truly,
Speaker 2 (24:13):
yeah, my
Speaker 1 (24:14):
mid-30 racing
behind.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (24:17):
So, um,
It was like I was a teenager again because I
I finally came out and um.
And was living this different life and um.
Learning so many things about myself, um, which was really
fun and really scary, um, but I was in a
new place and so, um, I've always found I've obviously
(24:37):
moved a lot in my life. Yes, um, it's a
lot easier, um, in those transition times to do those
sort of things, so.
Um, I was, yes, enjoying the job, but, um, I
was also having a lot of fun. I lived on
a house just off Oxford Street. I know that's kind
of the party central. Um yeah, I, I definitely, um,
(25:00):
slid probably a little too far into that party lifestyle.
Speaker 1 (25:03):
OK. Yeah. And what did that look
like?
Speaker 2 (25:05):
Um, it looks like a lot of alcohol, drugs, and smoking, um,
late nights. Um, it didn't affect my work. Um, well,
I shouldn't say that. Of course, it affected my work,
but I was still succeeding. I was still, um, doing
well in my career.
Uh, but it definitely wasn't a focus of mine. I
was just, just kind of wanted to have fun, but
(25:28):
that tipped over, I think, again into that fitting in thing. Um,
so the queer scene, um.
Definitely involves a lot of partying and drugs and alcohol, and, um,
I should have known better. I come from, um, a
very long line of addicts. Um, and so it definitely
(25:50):
wasn't the right thing for me, but in that moment,
I don't think that ever crossed my mind. Um, so yeah,
and I, um,
started dating someone and she wanted to move back to
Melbourne and um I convinced the business I was working
for to let me move to Melbourne and just continue
working for them, the working from home, um, and that
(26:12):
was how I ended up in Melbourne
Speaker 1 (26:15):
1212
Speaker 2 (26:16):
years ago, something
Speaker 1 (26:17):
like that. Yeah, yeah, yep, yep.
So going back to that, um, time in Sydney, uh, the,
you know, all of the partying and, and, and was
that something you think came from, um, you know, you
trying to fit in, or were you, you would have been,
you know, grappling with some pretty big, big things too,
(26:40):
right?
Speaker 2 (26:41):
There was a lot going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um.
As much as, like, you know, um, obviously signing away
the house and all that, as, as much as that,
I felt very clear on that, it still was, um,
very scary. Um, and coming out was very scary, and I,
you know, I had people questioning, questioning me on
Speaker 1 (27:04):
that.
Speaker 2 (27:05):
Um, and
Speaker 1 (27:06):
how do you stay in your resolve when you've got
people questioning you on things like that?
Speaker 2 (27:13):
Well, I think for me I did a lot of
drugs and alcohol. Yeah, yeah, I think I, I wasn't,
I don't think I was probably coping as well as, um,
I thought I was and I mean, um, and I
think
I think I was just so desperate to be, to
belong and to be a part of something.
(27:34):
Um
Which means I, I made a really bad choice of
partner at that point too, um.
Somebody who was quite, I guess maybe controlling, um, and
really directing me on how maybe I should look, um, yeah,
and that sort of thing. And, um, I did it
(27:56):
because I just really, I really wanted to be loved
in this new way, and I wanted to belong to
this new community, um.
And
The group of people I was hanging around at a
certain point in Sydney, um,
I didn't feel I could belong if I, if I
looked the way I liked to look.
Speaker 1 (28:20):
And in hindsight,
You know, what, what would you have told your Heather,
Sydney Heather self?
Speaker 2 (28:29):
I would have just said, you know, you just need
to keep being yourself and the right people. You'll meet
the right people, you know, you don't, what's the point
of being with somebody who only likes you when you're
a certain way and you're not being yourself, um,
Yeah, I wish, I just wasn't, I think I gained
so much confidence through my career and my life, but
(28:52):
then suddenly,
I'd changed something really big and I was really desperate, um,
Speaker 1 (29:00):
to make those connections again. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (29:03):
yeah, yeah, um.
I mean, you know, I can look, I look back
on everything now and go, oh my God,
Speaker 1 (29:09):
Heather, you
know, you can't do they? No
Speaker 2 (29:12):
I know. It was just, it was just a lot. Um, yeah.
And yeah, and so many people questioning me, including new
people that I'd met, you know, I, oh, you're just,
you know, playing around with this lifestyle and da da da.
And I kept saying, but this is just only a
piece of me. Um.
But, you know, I had to, again, you have to
(29:34):
go through those journeys and yeah,
Speaker 1 (29:36):
absolutely, to get, yeah, to get you where you are today. Um, yeah,
so we've moved back to Melbourne with the new partner. Yes, yes, yes, yes.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
So
I was, um, got to Melbourne, um, got a beautiful
house in Richmond Hill, um, and, um, didn't know anybody here,
so starting over again, um,
My partner had lived here for a while and had
some friends and introduced me to them, um.
But I didn't feel that they could become like my
(30:08):
personal friends. It was like friends via her. Um, and
so at a certain point, um, somebody that I had
known in Sydney was working for a marketing agency that
had a head office in Melbourne and they were looking
for someone like me, so she reached out to me
and said, you know, would you consider this? And I said,
absolutely I would. I need to meet some people here. Yeah,
(30:31):
I was working at home, so I didn't know anybody.
I was feeling really isolated.
Um, so yes, I got a job at a marketing
agency in South Yarra, um, and that was a journey
in itself, but um I got made redundant at one point,
then brought back in less than a year into a
different position, um.
(30:51):
I would do such a journey while I was there
both personally and professionally. Um, as far as the role,
the role that I ended up in was an amazing role.
I worked in the entertainment marketing, um, uh, department, um,
and we worked with all the movie houses, so, um,
the Marvels, Universal Studios, Disney, all of that, um, and
(31:12):
so I developed product to help promote their movies. Um,
so it was, it was fun working with character stuff, um.
And yeah, it was, well, it was fun to start with,
and it became really stressful.
Speaker 1 (31:24):
Yeah, yeah,
yeah. OK. Yeah. And what brought that stress on? Like, what,
what?
Speaker 2 (31:29):
Um, well, we grew quite a bit, um, and the,
the team grew quite a bit, um, but it grew
with
Designers and salespeople, but not with product developers.
Speaker 1 (31:44):
Yeah, right. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (31:45):
I was I was managing a lot. I managed, I
wasn't just a product developer, um, I managed all the production.
I managed quality assurance. Basically, um, anything that wasn't client facing,
I did, um, and, um, it was a lot, um,
but I am a very passionate person and I really
(32:07):
took it on and, um,
I, I, I didn't have much of a team myself,
but I made those factories part of my team too
and really built those relationships, um, and grew those loyalties. Um,
and that part of it was great. I think just
the pressure that, um, that I felt from the business, um,
(32:31):
And the pressure to not do the right thing quite often, um,
and I think
Speaker 1 (32:36):
To not do the right thing. Yeah, OK.
Speaker 2 (32:39):
I
think just, um,
Yeah, we didn't, we didn't align, um, and at a
certain point, it was just I was really hitting burnout. Um,
I have been bullied a few times, um,
Twice by the same person, um, salesperson there, and it
was never being resolved to a point, um.
(33:02):
That there was lasting change and that I felt comfortable, um,
that I felt comfortable to express my opinion, um,
I continued to do so, but continuing to do so
became such a drain on me. Um.
I was just feeling beat up,
Speaker 1 (33:19):
yeah, going against the tide,
Speaker 2 (33:22):
yeah, um.
And yeah, so it reached, it reached a point where
they did um finally hire a couple more people and
unfortunately one of the people they hired um became kind
of the final bully that um I dealt with, um,
and
When I took very hard evidence to them, I didn't
(33:44):
appreciate how it was handled and in the end, just said,
I can't do this. Um, unfortunately, I did have a
little bit of, um, I guess what you would call
an emotional breakdown. Um, it became too much for me. Um,
I'm very, um,
I can be quite stubborn in doing the right thing.
Doing the right thing is really important to me and
(34:05):
honesty is really important to me. Um.
And when I had proof of somebody doing something so wrong, um,
and so against my values and what I believed were
the business values also, and
It kind of being swept under the carpet. I just,
(34:25):
it was like I just couldn't handle it anymore, um,
and I actually left the house one morning, um, at
this point I was living in Geelong, um, to drive
and I, I hadn't lived in America for, I mean,
over two decades.
And I turned out of our street onto a main street,
and I drove onto the wrong side of the road,
(34:45):
like I was in America. It was just like I
couldn't I just I was broken. I was so broken. Um,
so the doctor gave me a month off. I was like,
you just need to do nothing. Like, this isn't OK. Um,
and when I went back, I thought, well, I'll give
it a chance, we'll see what happens. And, uh.
Halfway through the first day back, I thought, nah, I
(35:08):
don't know what I'm going to do, I just know
that
I can't be here. I care so much and, um,
I mean, I don't know, they always kind of say that, like,
you know, you can cares, but the business doesn't always
care back in the way, you know, yeah, yeah.
(35:29):
And that was just the hard reality, and it hurt
so bad because the business, because I had started when
we were so small in that department, it really felt
like my business.
Speaker 1 (35:40):
Yeah, 100%. And you have this expectation that there's, there's appreciation. Yeah, yeah, yeah,
the loyalty and the
Respect and the appreciation has returned. So, yeah, um,
Speaker 2 (35:52):
disappointing. Oh God, it hurts so bad. I, the amount
of tears, I, I gave away too many tears to them.
Speaker 1 (36:00):
But
yeah. But what did you learn about, what did you
learn about life and, um, you know, you personally and
you professionally?
Speaker 2 (36:10):
Well, I definitely learned how important it was to me, um,
to do the right thing and, um, that kind of honesty, um.
Yeah, I guess that was probably the biggest thing is
I understood how important that was to me. I knew
that was important to me, but I reached a real
breaking point where it was like, this is intrinsic to
(36:32):
who I am. Yeah, yeah, um, and
If I truly want to live in that way, then
I'm just gonna have to work for myself.
Speaker 1 (36:41):
Yeah. And had you thought of working for yourself ever before?
Had that ever crossed your mind?
Speaker 2 (36:46):
Um, I'd had little side gigs kind of here and there.
I had a little, um, t-shirt brand for a while. Um,
I was already doing a bit of wellness coaching on
the side. OK.
My family, my dad was very high up in the
corporate world, but when I was about 1516, um,
(37:08):
The, he purchased a business and we had a family business.
So there was kind of that, you know, I'd seen that,
I guess, an example of that. But, um, I'd always
just had a paycheck. I'd always, yeah, stability.
Speaker 1 (37:21):
Yeah. And I think that's, you know, a lot of our, um,
we've got a combination of listeners here. Obviously, we've got
the ones who are, you know, in their business and
they're starting up, but we've also got the ones transitioning
from that, you know, corporate space into
Working for yourself. And that's really quite scary.
Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2 (37:39):
Um, I, I would say towards probably the last 6
months that I was in the corporate role, I was
trying to come up with this plan of how I
was going to transition eventually, um, to my own thing.
Did you know what it was gonna be? Well, I
was teaching Pilates on the side at this point also
so just working for studios, um, and really, really enjoying it, um.
(38:04):
I think it was, yeah, it was definitely before I
left the corporate role that, um, I got voted best
Pilates instructor in Geelong, where I lived at that point,
which is, which is a lovely, I mean, you know,
it's a lovely acknowledgement. Um, and so I was kind
of like, Oh, I think maybe I'm kind of good
at this. Like, you know, people seem to like, um,
my vibe. So I was thinking, oh, well, maybe I'll
(38:27):
just kind of like gradually go down, like, to 4
days and then maybe 3 days. It just, you know,
Really slowly, um,
Wasn't looking to like dive straight in, but actually, I mean,
I should have known myself. I'm, I'm a complete risk taker.
I mean, you know, I moved to Australia without anything.
So
Speaker 1 (38:45):
yeah, yeah,
yeah. But I think those kind of things can chip
away at you too, even though you are a risk taker,
those kind of things you do, not that you want to,
but you can't help but second guess yourself.
Speaker 2 (38:58):
100%. Yes. Um, and also, so like my partner and
I bought a house, um, I reckon.
We moved into the house.
At the end of October, and I resigned from my role.
In early mid-January, um, I gave them 2 months' notice,
(39:19):
so I worked there until March. Um, so we hadn't
had this house for very very big mortgage.
Speaker 1 (39:27):
Yes.
Um, so how do you do that? How do you
take that?
Speaker 2 (39:32):
So scary. Um, I, I mean, I just have the
most beautiful partner in the world. She's so supportive of me. Um,
And although we didn't really know how we were going
to do it.
She saw that my mental health was not OK, and
she could see it was all coming from the workplace, like,
you know, I was OK outside of that, um, and
(39:56):
she just said, we'll figure it out. And I just said,
I promise, I don't know how I'm going to do it,
but I promise I'm going to continue paying my part
of the mortgage, like you, like this isn't going to
be a financial burden, not that that was a concern
of hers, like, you know, my health was her concern, um.
And so yeah, I just said to her like, listen,
I don't know what to do yet, but
(40:19):
I know I can get a lot more work as
a Pilates instructor, and if I work enough, I can
make some decent money.
Speaker 1 (40:25):
Yeah.
But you had the backup, you know, you had the skills,
and you had another area of expertise, and you knew
that you could make money. So you could meet your
financial
obligations.
Speaker 2 (40:37):
I like, you know, I could, I was already working
at a couple of studios around Geelong area. And so
I just reached out to more. Um, I reached out
to quite a few and it's just like, you know,
I'm
in the corporate world, I'm looking for more work. And
I very quickly filled up. And
Speaker 1 (40:51):
I'm the best voted
Pilates in Glo, just in case you don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
So it would have been easy to
build. It was quite
Speaker 2 (41:01):
easy
Speaker 1 (41:01):
to get
Speaker 2 (41:01):
the work.
Speaker 1 (41:02):
Yeah. Yeah. And then, so you were sort of freelancing,
if you like, to the different studios. Was the intention
to get your own studio, or were you just quite happy, um,
in that?
Speaker 2 (41:16):
I wasn't really sure what to do, but we had
bought this house and it had a little single car
garage at the back, a little tin one, and it
was kind of falling apart. And I thought, I wonder
if we could change that into a little studio, but, um,
I didn't know, like, if we'd have if I have
enough money to do that. And, um, so we did
(41:37):
have a friend that kind of looked at the frame
and said, the frame of the building looks fine. You
can like, you know, re-wrap it and all of that.
Um, and so then I got really excited because, you know,
my creativity and my, um, my love of aesthetics and development.
I was like, oh, so, um, yeah, so I started
(41:58):
working at the Pilates studios, but at the same time,
we started working on the garage to turn it into
a studio. And, um, I never thought I would really
do that full time. I just kind of thought,
Um, it'd be great to have this space to be
able to work more one on one with people, um,
because what I really wanted is to create a space
(42:19):
where everyone would feel really comfortable to come into. I personally,
and I'm not saying this is everyone, but even as
a Pilates instructor, when I walk into a new studio,
it is really, really intimidating.
Um, and especially, you know, if it's a big studio, and,
you know, if, if you don't maybe fit into the stereotype, um,
(42:40):
of a Pilates girl, which I don't, I'm way too
old to fit that stereotype. Um, and yeah, so my
idea was, you know, I know so many people can
benefit from Pilates.
Um, and I'd love to create a space where more
people would feel comfortable, um, to learn.
(43:01):
You know, this practice, um.
To take a little step back because it is just
such an important part of my journey and why Pilates
became so important to me is when I was at
that corporate job in Melbourne, um, they did have a
great wellness program. And one of the things they did
is they would bring in a Pilates instructor a couple of, um,
(43:23):
days a week, um, and we just roll out our
mats and at lunchtime, we would do some Pilates. And
that was the first time I'd experienced Pilates and I really,
really loved it.
Um, and I was living in Armidale and um a
reformer Pilates studio opened up just around the corner, and
I'd gone there a few times and become, um, really
friendly with the owner there, and so that kind of became, um,
(43:45):
a big
Part of what, um, uh, it was like the biggest
tool in my toolbox. Get through all the stress, I guess,
would be the thing. Um, and at one point, um,
I did go through, um, a pretty bad breakup, um,
and was in a really bad place. I really turned
(44:06):
to the alcohol and drugs, um, in a pretty major way, um,
to the point where I had to call Lifeline 11 night.
I couldn't
see myself in this world anymore at that point.
It was
It was yeah.
Bad. Um,
Speaker 1 (44:24):
so was this,
was this, so sorry, I, I've, I'm a bit lost
with timelines. So was this before you were with your current,
obviously before you're with your current partner, and was it still, uh,
you were in Armidale, yes.
You hadn't moved to
Speaker 2 (44:39):
Glo. I hadn't moved to Geelong. Yeah, sorry, I had
the job in Melbourne, um, the, the partner that I
moved down to Melbourne with that um that had ended
within a year of being in Melbourne, um, and this
was a partner I had after that, and we were
together for quite a while and I at that point
(45:01):
thought that maybe that was my future.
Um, and, you know, the, the job stress had gotten
pretty big, um, and unfortunately, our relationship came to an
end by her choice, um, and
I was kind of, I felt the sounds so dramatic,
(45:24):
but the way it felt for me at that moment,
I felt like I was blacklisted from the community I'd
been a part of. Um, yeah, she was from here
and I, most of the friends I was spending time
with were her friends and suddenly,
I was in that situation again where I felt outcast.
(45:44):
I felt like I didn't belong. Um, and then I
had kind of the stress of work, and it was just,
everything became too much for me. Um, and it all
kind of led to that moment, um, of calling Lifeline.
And to be honest, nothing major happened at that point
other than I knew like something has to change. Like,
he says, not OK. Um, and
(46:08):
Where Pilates really comes in as I was walking down
High Street and I ran into the owner of the
Pilates studio, and she could tell I wasn't OK. And
she was just like, You need to get in, you
need to move your body, really encouraged me and started
encouraging me that she really thought I should become an instructor.
Um, and, uh, so there was your angel. She is
(46:29):
my angel, and she knows that I've told her so
many times. Um I just, I don't know what would
have happened if I hadn't kind of had that to
go to, and, um,
And that became, yeah, that became my saving grace, and
I just would go there all the time and she
ended up sponsoring me to become an instructor. And so
that was the first studio that I instructed at. Um,
(46:51):
and that was really when my life started turning around. Um, it,
it all happened quite gradually, but eventually, um,
Eventually there was no more smoking or drinking or drugs, um.
I really,
Speaker 1 (47:08):
how do you do that? How do you do
that?
Speaker 2 (47:11):
Um, I, I coached myself, so I, um, I got
qualified as a wellness coach, um, and I literally just learned,
used what I had learned on myself. So this
Speaker 1 (47:26):
is the road back. This is the road
Speaker 2 (47:28):
back.
Speaker 1 (47:28):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (47:29):
Yeah. And it was just small steps, um, and, and
COVID happened during that time too. So I
Um, I was alone at that point. Um, so I
had moved into an apartment, just me and my cat, um,
through COVID, and, um, I like, literally kind of came
out the other end of COVID, a completely different person. Um, well,
(47:53):
A completely different person to everyone. It was like the
true me finally stepped out. Um, and it was just
like everyone I was seeing was like, Oh my God,
you're glowing. And I'm like, I just feel so good.
It was like, I finally had, I know COVID was
a really horrible time for some people, and I, um,
I sometimes get a little nervous talking about it, but
(48:13):
it was like, it was your cocoon. what I needed.
I just needed to like not to be around other
people that I could chameleon.
Speaker 1 (48:23):
You know,
Speaker 2 (48:23):
I just need at this time to go, like, what
do you like? What is important to you? What makes
you feel good? Um, and
Speaker 1 (48:30):
she started like
You know, so the discovering Pilates and, and the instruction
and all of that, so that happened just before COVID. Yeah, yeah.
So then, um, because I know that, you know, that's
a big thing. That was a big thing during COVID
as people, you know, on their own and not able to,
you know, continue those practices. And given that, that practice
(48:51):
was such an integral part of your road back.
Um, where, you know, where were you at with it? We,
Speaker 2 (49:00):
I was practicing online, um, so, um.
So, Tay, um, who was the play instructor that had
big beginnings for our corporate, her and I become friends
and she was doing it online, so I was going
here for online classes, um, and yoga's always been a
big part of, um, part of me too, um, and
(49:21):
Humming puppy, um, which is, I think their studio is
now closed down in Melbourne, but they still have this
beautiful online platform.
And so I would practice online with that. Um, yeah,
when I would go on the longest walks ever.
Speaker 1 (49:33):
Yeah,
Speaker 2 (49:34):
listening to audio book after audiobook after neighbors.
Speaker 1 (49:37):
Yeah.
Yeah. I think most of Melbourne, big books. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Um,
and then, so how long before you ended up, you know, um,
meeting your new partner and, and creating that life in Geelong?
Speaker 2 (49:52):
Um,
Speaker 1 (49:53):
so I've lived in
Speaker 2 (49:53):
Geelong now.
Uh, just under 3 years, I think.
Yeah, just under 3 years. So, um,
I moved in with my partner and moved to Geelong though.
Probably within 6 months of us being together, so pretty quickly, um, I,
(50:15):
I think when you know, you know, um, I feel 100%
myself when I'm with her, I feel supported, um, and
it was just, it was such
A different relationship than I'd ever experienced, um.
Which was really scary.
Speaker 1 (50:34):
Yeah, cause it's not your normal, right?
Speaker 2 (50:36):
Oh. And it's like, wow, this is like what a
healthy relationship is like, and I don't need to be, um,
anxious anymore and all that. So it was, um,
Speaker 1 (50:46):
And although it sounds, you know, it sounds silly, that's
actually really hard to let go of. Oh, so hard. Like,
even though it's this beautiful, nurturing, you know, shining light.
That everybody wants that you want, you want, you want,
really letting go those, um,
(51:07):
You know, behaviors and patterns of your normal,
it's really tough.
Speaker 2 (51:12):
Yeah, it was, um, it was really tough and things
come up still sometimes, um, but I think the difference
is is that.
Because I'm in such a safe and supportive relationship now,
I feel I can, I can actually express that. I
can say, Oh, this is making me feel like this.
And I actually think it's because of such and such
(51:33):
that happened before, and I could just name it and not, uh,
know that I'm not going to be ashamed for it or,
you know, um, that, you know, she'll listen and, um,
understand to the extent that she can.
Speaker 1 (51:45):
Yeah, yeah.
OK. So then we're gonna just like, fast forward, fast
forward to, um, you know, what you were talking about
earlier is getting your own studio, you know, up and running. Um,
you've just left, you've got this mortgage, you're trying to
get as many, um, you know, Pilates gigs as you
(52:06):
can to make those financial obligations, but you're starting up
a business as well, right? And is it
Do you need equipment? Do you need performers? Do you
need all of this? How, how, how do you do that?
Speaker 2 (52:18):
Yeah, sorry. I mean, it all really started from, um,
getting the space ready. Yeah, so turning this garage into
something that, um, would be a beautiful studio. Um, and
then I just started speaking to the different people that
I knew in the industry that had studios themselves, you know,
where did you get your equipment from? Why do you,
why did you choose that one? You know, all those
(52:39):
basic questions. Um, I
I've never lived in a community like Geelong. I've, because
I've kind of been traveling around the world. I've lived
in major cities. So the one thing that I've really
loved about moving there is this sense of community that
I feel that I've never really felt as an adult,
I've never felt before. Um, and because of that, it
(53:02):
felt really important to me that everything I did, I
supported local as much as I could as much as
I could.
Yeah. Um, so the reformers I ended up buying from, um,
a business that was in Melbourne. There was nobody in Geelong,
but I bought Melbourne, um, and like, you know, every
little fitting and plants, and I've got crystals and all that,
and they it all from local, um, businesses.
Speaker 1 (53:24):
So
did it take, like, did it take a while though, like,
before you could open your doors to get all of
that going? I'm thinking from a financial perspective of, um,
You know, often startup funds is, is a hard one
to come across and it does take time. So what
was your time frame? Uh, inception and
thought.
Speaker 2 (53:45):
I think from the point that we actually started to
do a couple things on it, it took around 67 months. Yeah, OK. Um,
Yeah, and a lot of it we did ourselves, so
people helped us, um.
And yeah, just found local people to do, um, different
(54:05):
parts of the building. We had a friend that did, um,
a large bulk of it, um, but obviously paid for
all of that. Um, and it, you know, at the
point that I opened, it was definitely not where I
wanted it to be yet. But, you know, so that's
Speaker 1 (54:22):
that progress over perfection path, right? Yeah,
definitely.
Speaker 2 (54:26):
Um, and to be honest, I had no idea if
people would even come.
Because, you know, it's like, um, yeah, I was teaching
all these big beautiful studios, and my studio is very private,
very small, and I've got two reformers, and I had
a very different concept, um, of what Pilates is going
to be at my studio that is different than it
is at other studios. And, you know, will anybody want
(54:49):
that and will anybody pay the premium, um, that's required
to have that? Um.
But yeah, quickly, it turned out people wanted to.
Speaker 1 (55:00):
Beautiful, love that when it's all aligned, right? Yeah. So
it's one thing to make personal changes, but starting a business,
you know, to help others is a whole new level. Um,
you know, when you launched Glogetter in those early days,
what were your measures of success then?
Speaker 2 (55:19):
Um, I just wanted to get people through the
Speaker 1 (55:23):
door,
Speaker 2 (55:24):
um, and I wanted to make impact. That was it. Um,
I had no, um, financial measures at that point. Um,
it was really just
Who can I get through the door? Who are my
people going to be? Like, I'm really wanted to figure
out who it was that wanted this service, um.
(55:48):
And that was really it. I never, um, probably not
a great business person because I'd never had a plan.
I never had this strategy. I just had a really,
really clear vision on what I wanted to create, and
that was, I wanted a safe space that people felt
supported in, um, and I wanted to make Pilates accessible
(56:10):
to people that it was maybe not accessible to going
into a group class. So, um,
I'd say
I have a lot, I have a very diverse range
of clients, but particularly in the early days, what I
really noticed is that the people that stuck around were
the ones that, um, struggled a little bit with mental health. Um,
(56:34):
so it took that, that gym, that fitness anxiety out
of the picture, um, because it was like, hey, it's
just you and I. Yeah, you know, we'll just stay out, um, yeah,
and
Yeah, and people really, really loved that, um.
And I still get, you know, new people coming through
the doors. Um, a lot of times people just come
(56:55):
because they've never done reformer Pilates before and they, you know,
don't want to make a fool out of themselves going
to a big group class, so they just want to
come to me, learn the basics, and
Eventually they might go on to the big classes. I
have a lot of people that stick with me. Um,
it's the same as having a personal trainer. It's like,
do you like group fitness or do you like a
(57:15):
personal trainer? I have a lot of people that like
coming to me because I'm very, um, you know, results driven.
It's like, what are your goals? What do we want
to work on? Um, and, you know, it's
We're doing an exercise to the point that's creating growth
for them, not a group class where it's like, All right,
we're gonna do this exercise for a minute.
Speaker 1 (57:35):
Yeah. So
it's private studio experience based on their, yeah, goals, beautiful.
And then, you know, there's a mentor component of your
offering as well. Is that right? So you're a wellness,
you know, mentor. What does that look like in practice?
Speaker 2 (57:50):
Um, basically, it's helping guide people to create
What happy, healthy looks for them. Um, so it's guiding, um,
them to make changes. I, especially this time of year, um,
it being January, so many people make these, you know,
New Year's resolutions and they're usually like really, really big things,
(58:13):
you know, you go from
But we can use fitness as an example. You go
from not doing anything at all to like, I'm gonna
go to the gym every single day and, you know,
have these really big goals. Um, and the reason why
I think it's like 80% of people fail at them, um,
is because our brains don't like change. And when you
just like
Put this huge change in front of it. It's just
(58:34):
it's never gonna work out. Um, and
Speaker 1 (58:36):
there's this balance, right, between being what's, you know, realistic
and encouraging those big changes.
Speaker 2 (58:44):
Yeah. Yeah. So I really work with clients. It's like,
you know, right, where do we want to get to?
But we break that down into the, the smallest, smallest
actions you could possibly imagine so that we don't fight
against ourselves. Um, it doesn't, it's such a small change
that we can, we can introduce that and we can
make that feel normal before we add in another small
(59:06):
change on top of that. There we just stack, stacks.
And it's, you know, obviously I'm there to hold people accountable,
but I do it in a really soft and loving way. And,
and yeah, that just helps them to, to create that change.
Like I got my own life. Well, that's it.
Speaker 1 (59:26):
I mean, your own life is a testament to resilience and,
and transformation, right? And, and I guess looking back, what,
what
Is there a key thing or a couple of points
that have maybe been intrinsic to helping others hit their
measures of success?
Speaker 2 (59:45):
Um, I think
I think it's the small actions is the number one
thing is just making it so, so small, almost like
you feel ridiculous that you're making that like a mini goal, like,
of course I can do that, but it's like, but
you're not doing it right now, so let's just start
doing that and let's make them, let's make that noise.
Speaker 1 (01:00:04):
I love that, um, you're recognizing that. That's a big
thing I've, I've fall into all the time. It's like,
Of course I can do that. Make it bigger. Of course.
You know, just calendar blocking. What are you crazy? Of course.
But then, do I stick to my calendar?
Yeah, yeah. It's debatable. So you're so right. It's just
(01:00:26):
naming it. It
Speaker 2 (01:00:27):
is. Um, and, you know,
I think, um, one of the other things I always
say do the reps. So when we first start doing something,
we can't expect to be great at it. Um, and so,
you know, I always say to people, but have you
done the reps yet? Like, have you, have you done
it enough times, you know, like, to make that new road? Yeah, yeah, exactly,
(01:00:50):
you know, um, every time I, we do something new,
it's a bit clunky. It's, you know, does it make
me feel that great?
Um, but it's like, you know, consistency, you know, it's
another way of saying consistency, just, you know, keep going.
Right now, my big thing is I've always wanted to
do a pull-up. I've never been able to do a pull-up.
I've got a pull-up bar in my studio now.
(01:01:11):
And, you know, every week I put it up in
my stories and you know, you can barely see the difference.
I mean, you couldn't even really see me move for
the first time I put it up. Yeah, I'm not
even close to doing one yet, but I know if
I keep doing it every single day, eventually I'm going
to get there. I love that, you know.
Speaker 1 (01:01:27):
Yeah.
OK, so what about a listener who might be thinking
of starting a business in the wellness sector? What would
you say has been your secret to success so
far?
Speaker 2 (01:01:39):
Uh, definitely deciding.
What my vision is and sticking to that, I think
um
Well, I can speak to Pilates. It's a very saturated
area right now. It's very trendy. Yeah. So
Speaker 1 (01:01:55):
how do you
Speaker 2 (01:01:56):
cut through? Yeah, and that's, you know, I've just from
the start really decided what my way was, what my
vision was of it, and I've stuck to that, and
it is different and that's OK, and it's definitely not
for everyone, but there's a ton of studios for people
to choose from, uh.
So I think you have to be really, really clear
(01:02:16):
on what your vision is, um, and stick to it
as hard as it is sometimes, like, you know, when
you see everyone else, like, you know, January, everyone's doing
these big deals, like for studios, it's, you know, the
prices I don't, well, obviously they have more people coming
to them, but it's just ridiculously cheap and it's, you know,
it's hard to
(01:02:38):
To not do the same thing, to not discount, but I'm,
you know, I
I don't need to discount because I'm offering value. I
offer more than Pilates, you know, um, and, and I
just keep reminding myself of that. Yeah, I think it's,
I honestly think just not copying, not following everyone else, um,
(01:03:01):
because then you're just another one of them.
Speaker 1 (01:03:03):
Yeah,
exactly. Do you, in in all of that, like that,
you know, that makes sense and that feels so good.
But in amongst all of that, do you ever have self-doubt?
Speaker 2 (01:03:14):
Oh my God, yes.
Speaker 1 (01:03:15):
Yeah. So how do you navigate
that?
Speaker 2 (01:03:18):
Um, I mean, it's kind of, you know, it's coming
back to your why, um, but it's also having those
people around you, like my partner is very supportive, um.
She's always there, because I try different things and they
don't all work, um.
And you know, I've got different people, um, we've got
a mutual friend, Marin, and she's a real go to
(01:03:40):
for me. Absolutely, yeah, she's a darling, she is, Tim,
and I think, you know, having those people that, you know,
will cheer you on when, when you need it, because
you know you're, we're always gonna have self doubt, you know,
and I think
If you're constantly trying to grow and evolve, that means
you're trying new things that you haven't done before, and
(01:04:01):
that means that you're going to fail more than you succeed,
and you have to be OK with that, um, and
you have to, I mean, at least for me, different
things that I do.
I have to be willing to make a little bit
of a fool out of myself. Um, and I always say,
I'm like, I put myself in some situations where it's like,
oh my God, I don't know why I've done this, um,
(01:04:24):
and I'll feel a little bit ridiculous, but I also
like think my mom set me up for this. My
mom is the most beautiful lady ever, but, um, she's really, um,
Eccentric and
Really does not care what other people think. Yeah. And
I grew up with that. And so any embarrassment that
(01:04:45):
I might have had, my mom got me through. It's amazing.
Speaker 1 (01:04:49):
Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love it, love it, love it.
So you've accomplished so much already. You've been on one
heck of a journey, professionally and personally. I know there's
so much more to come. What have you got?
Happening for Glow-getter. What's next? Um,
Speaker 2 (01:05:08):
so
Speaker 1 (01:05:08):
for
Speaker 2 (01:05:09):
Glowgetter, we've just started offering um some circuit classes, so, um,
bringing in some small groups of 4 people, we usually
have only 1 or 2 people, um, and I started
doing events last year, um, so I'm looking to continue
doing some more events just where I get to be
out in the community a bit more, um, and bring
people together.
(01:05:29):
Um, what kind of events, um, so I did an
event on a farm. It was, um, wellness and nature,
I call it, um, and it was all around kind
of growth and nurturing and all that, all the things
that happen time, um, and that was a lot of fun,
and I've started doing some free community classes once a month, uh,
(01:05:51):
just offering it to people that maybe can't afford to
do Pilates, yes, um.
Just bringing our mats and having some movement, which is great,
you know, um, yeah, it was just that night jar festival,
offering some free Pilates, which was great. Um, and then
my wellness coaching and my wellness mentoring, I'm kind of
transitioning back over to where it started, which was under
(01:06:12):
my personal brand of Heather LA, um, so I've just, um,
just relaunched my website, Heather Lla.com, um.
And looking to do more speaking and mentoring, um, I'm
gonna be launching um a six week program called She Rises, uh,
helping others to, you know, to level up in their
(01:06:34):
own lives and whatever that looks like for them.
Speaker 1 (01:06:37):
Yeah, beautiful, wow, so much going on.
So, if there's a listener out there who might be
feeling a bit stuck or overwhelmed in in their life,
what words of encouragement would you share to help them
take that first step toward change?
Speaker 2 (01:06:54):
Um, I mean, it really is just thinking of what's
the smallest thing I could do right now that would
start taking me into the direction I want to be. Um,
So maybe it's just getting up and going for a
walk right now, like it doesn't need to be some
big thing, like it doesn't have to be quote unquote Instagramworthy,
(01:07:16):
and actually the real meaningful things aren't going to be Instagramworthy,
it's so small things, um, the small choices that we
make throughout the day, so you know, um, it's kind of,
it really is just what's one small thing I can
do right now, maybe it's just picking up the phone
and calling a friend.
Yeah, it really doesn't have to
(01:07:36):
Be big or be much, um, but it should hold
some meaning to you.
Speaker 1 (01:07:43):
Yeah, great advice. Yeah.
Heather, thank you so much for joining me on the buzz.
Your openness, your honesty, uh, your true salt of the earth.
I love your inspiration. I love your story. You're leading
by example, right? The work that you're doing is so impactful,
(01:08:04):
and I'm grateful for the insights you've, you've shared with
us today. So,
I'm excited to see what's next, and, um, I'll be
watching your journey with eager eyes. Congratulations on where you've
come so far. Um, I just know there's, there's so
many more amazing things coming your way. Thank you. Thank you.
(01:08:29):
Thank you for joining us here on the buzz. For
episode highlights and nuggets of inspiration to keep you motivated
in your business, head to Karen Heartbuzz on Instagram. This
podcast is available on all streaming platforms. I would love
it if you could subscribe, rate, comment, and of course,
(01:08:50):
share the buzz.