August 29, 2022 • 46 mins
The path to your happily ever after isn't always...ok rarely ever...is a straight one. There's lots of exploring and discovery of what you want, what lights you up and how you can share what you love doing. Kristen and I catch up on her exit from corporate, what's on the ice cream bucket list and how she plans on building her fairytale...after she figures out what it is!
Kristen Lettini is the creator and host of the Build Your Own Fairytale podcast. She's a brand new corporate escapee and a personal friend in my pod squad! Listen up as we talk early stages of what it looks like to step away from corporate to follow your dreams...whatever they are!
In this episode, we chat about:
1. Using past corporate skills as an entrepreneur
2. Feedback from a peer group versus your family
3. The kiddos are watching
Go here for full show notes and links!
Resources: Want to know 7 things you can do today to make leaving corporate easier? Grab it here!
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Episode Transcript
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Jamie Stephens (00:00):
It's almost like this group, your podcasting
(00:02):
group or your peer group,whatever it is that you're doing
kind of becomes that mirror oflike, oh, here I am telling her
how easy it can be and I'm notdoing a damn thing.
Kristen Lettini (00:12):
It is that it really is, it makes such a huge
difference in having thatsupport group because I even
recently just did an interview.
I haven't put it out yet forseason two, but with a woman who
owns her own small business, andwe were talking like, oh, it'd
be good to stay connected likethis just to keep each other
going. You know, aside from herepisode recording, and I'm
thinking, yeah, it's just notthe same. When you talk to your
spouse or your friends like theywant you to succeed. They're
(00:33):
supportive, but their feedbackor responses you're getting may
not be at the same level as whatyou're getting from that support
group of people sort of in thesame boat.
Jamie Stephens (00:46):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of
Breaking up with corporate eachweek I chat with everyday women
that ditch their nine to five tobet on themselves. We break down
their journey intoentrepreneurship, unpack the
lessons learned and create thevision of how this life gets to
be if you're willing to getuncomfortable and step into your
potential. I'm your host, JamieRenee, to time corporate escapee
(01:10):
and coach to burnout womenlooking to plan their escape.
Let's go.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode of Breaking up
with corporate today. I haveKristen Latini on the show. And
Kristen is a fellow podcaster ofthe build your own fairy tale
(01:31):
podcast. Welcome, Kristin.
Kristen Lettini (01:33):
Thank you, Jamie. Excited to be here. Yeah.
So
Jamie Stephens (01:35):
if you guys have listened for a while been around
for a while, I was actually onKristen's podcast a while back.
And so we actually met through apodcasting group. So it's
exciting to get to reciprocatehere now that you have taken a
break from your corporate joband exploring kind of what's
available for you. So do youwant to tell us a little bit
(01:57):
about kind of what you're doingnow? And what that looks like?
Kristen Lettini (02:03):
Yes. And thank you. Yes. Thanks for the
reminder. It was so fun meetingyou in class and then getting to
be on each other show. So happyto, to return the favor here.
But yeah, so I just recently,I'm about a month ago, decided
to take a break from corporate Ihad been with the same company
and a variety of different rolesfor the past 13 years, a global
(02:24):
large company, I've worked inprocurement, Marketing and
Communications, and really justdecided, You know what, now it's
my time to take a chance on me,right? I've really enjoyed and
learned a lot working incorporate but at the same time,
a little bit, you know,overwhelming approaching that
burnout with everything duringCOVID. And I thought, okay, I
had the opportunity, we'refortunate enough financially, we
(02:46):
can take this break without, youknow, losing the roof on our
hands and going hungry. So ittook it took a few months off to
say, Okay, I'm gonna spend thesummer with my kids. There, I
have 28 year olds, so I thoughtthey still love me a little bit
like being around me that now'sa good time to spend the summer
with them. And couple, I'm gonnaexplore the entrepreneurial
roots. So I am still in thisphase of like, I'm not sure what
(03:08):
I'm going to do next. But I'mdefinitely enjoying the
podcasting. That was something Iwanted to have, regardless of
what I decide to pursue outsideof this. I just, I love talking
to people like making theseconnections, like with you,
Jamie and meeting new peoplelearning from them. And I figure
if I'm gonna have thoseconversations, I may as well
share them with other peopleand, you know, see if other
people want to come along forthe ride. So I guess it's a long
(03:31):
way of saying it's a little bitof an I'm not sure what I'm
doing next. But I felt like I'mgonna take this chance on
myself, now's the right time.
And we'll see what comes next.
Jamie Stephens (03:39):
Yeah. And, you know, I talked to such a variety
of people, for the most part,they're not like me, like they
have it all figured out. So it'snice to have. I don't think
anyone can Well, that's true.
That's true. But it's nice to beable to you know, have these
conversations with people whoare in kind of that messy
beginning stages as well becausewe can commiserate together and
(04:01):
and kind of learn and do all thethings. So tell me what drew you
to podcasting while you werestill incorporate? Like how did
you know that that was somethingthat she wanted to explore?
Kristen Lettini (04:15):
Yeah, and it's funny because probably two years
ago you said podcast mainlywho's got time to listen to a
podcast? I really wasn't into itbut it was during the pandemic I
don't know an hour why but Istumbled upon listening to your
podcast and really enjoyed itlike it got me excited and I
don't know if you ever hear likethe stories of people being so
stressed and overwhelmed thatthey decided to do another new
(04:37):
thing but that new thing wasgiving them the energy and I
don't know the energy theyneeded to keep going and that to
me was listening to thispodcast. So I was like, Okay, I
am a podcast girl. didn't thinkI was before but now that I
found that I love how I feelwhen I'm listening and inspired
and finding new people to tofollow and learn from so that to
(04:59):
me was like oh I would love tobe that person at one, I'd love
to keep learning and keepmeeting people and discovering
new things. But I would love toalso then be able to share it
and build a community alongsideto do this together. So I mean,
it sounds very dreamy, like afairy tale. It's so perfect. But
I know it's not that easy. Butit was it was like, Oh, I can do
(05:19):
this too. And this is fun. And Ilike the idea of, there's no,
there's no like, hard pressure.
This is my product combined.
It's like, this is my buildingout of the community. Yeah. And
someday, hopefully, when I havea product or thing or that I'm
working on like, that can besomething we talked about as
well. But for now, it's justreally that community. And
that's what I love so much.
Yeah,
Jamie Stephens (05:37):
I discovered podcasts several years ago, but
it's always been like, just thisfriend and your ear, you know, I
mean, it's just, it's nice to beable to because you feel like
you get to know somebody, andyou really just start to
appreciate the stories. And thenif you listen a long time, you
kind of learn all the littlebehind the scenes stories and
kind of quirks and stuff. It'sjust, it's an interesting way
(05:59):
that we have available now tolike, really build in that
intimacy whenever we're alsoseparated, you know, but I like
it that you can really connectwith people that share very
similar interests all over theworld, which I think is just an
amazing technology and a placethat we live in today. So that's
really cool. 100% agree. So didyou struggle whenever you were
(06:24):
trying to figure out like, whatyour podcast would be about? Or
did it come about, like, prettyorganically.
Kristen Lettini (06:31):
I struggled a little bit in the beginning,
because it was like, I signed upfor this course. And I thought
what the heck, I'm the podcast,but I think I should learn how
to do it. Um, so I thoughtthrough an idea or two, but then
ultimately, I don't know whattonight is I'm trying to
brainstorm came up was like,Listen, I'm just really kind of
looking for people like me,right? They feel like they're
doing all the right things. Yougot the degree you met your
(06:55):
partner, you got married, youhad kids, you've got a great job
like, but it still feels likeyou want more like it's it's
really all there. Yeah, like,don't get me wrong. I'm
grateful. Thankful. But the sametime like, huh, feels like there
could be more. So that's what Icame up with the it's talking to
people like me. Yeah, we're onwant more, I want to build my
(07:16):
own various I may not know how,but I know there's something
else out there. And that's whatI want to explore, learn about
and ultimately start takingsmall steps to to build that
fairytale. So it was a littlebit of a brainstorm process, but
more so organically like,Listen, this is the problem I'm
trying to solve for me. Andthat's what I want to share.
Yeah, I'm just curious about
Jamie Stephens (07:36):
your process.
Have you had a fairly easy time,like getting guests and all of
this? Because those are all thequestions that people ask me
when they're like, oh, my gosh,it's so hard, you know. So it's
nice to be able to kind ofcompare other people's how they
do stuff?
Kristen Lettini (07:49):
Yes, I would say, so far, it's been
relatively easy. I mean, there'swork and then I have to do a
little research and find it. Oh,this person looks interesting. I
think they're, I can tell theirstory online or on Stellar web
page, or if somebody's told meabout them. They look
interesting, but then I have tolook into it to make sure Okay,
yeah, I think it's interestingand good fit for the show. And
(08:10):
then there's oftentimes a coldreach out, and I have not large
success with that reach out.
Largely, we've had one seasonabout 30 episodes. So far. I'm
getting ready for season two. Soit's been relatively up. Have
they all returned? No, noteveryone's answered the
outreach. But I would say themajority cups, I feel like if
you put in that little bit ofhomework upfront, and you're not
(08:31):
reaching out to someone who'slike not a total fit for you at
all, the chances are relativelygood that they'll respond to
you. So yeah, I mean, I haven'tsay it's been, quote, easy, but
it's also taken a little bit oflegwork to make sure that can be
easy. And I'm not sure ifyou've, it's been similar for
you, it actually
Jamie Stephens (08:50):
has a lot easier than I thought it would be like
whenever I first came up withthe podcast, my initial thought
was that I would do a bunch ofsolo episodes because the idea
of like reaching out and talkingto other people as an introvert,
like just sounded reallyterrible to me, but it was, it
was actually been one way easierthan I thought. And I think
(09:13):
that's because, as humans, weall kind of like talking about
ourselves, you know, I mean,that's just common nature, like,
ooh, somebody wants to hear mystory. Okay, too. We're not
selling anything on a podcast.
So like, I It's like, I'm hereto promote you and like your
ideas. And so I feel like thathas been really easy. I'm to the
point now, which is reallyexciting that I have people
(09:36):
reaching out to me, which Inever like, I thought I was too
little for that. But it's veryexciting. Kind of the people
that are reaching out. It'slike, wow, okay, so yeah, that
part has been easier than Ithought. What was what was
something that was harder foryou than you actually expected?
The podcasting thing
Kristen Lettini (09:59):
Yeah, I Um, one more thing I wanted to ask you.
Because you and your guests havecome from corporate right? I
feel like it was also a familiarexercise. Because if you've ever
scheduled a networkingconversation within your company
before, it's very similar like,Hey, I just want to get to know
you learn about your careerpath. Let's get coffee. It's
kind of like the same thing. Soin this respect, I feel like
(10:20):
coming from corporate is a hugeadvantage if you've done that
before,
Jamie Stephens (10:22):
except that I never did that incorporate. Like
one of those I am like, extremeintrovert. And so it was, like,
even just the thought ofnetworking in general, like I'm,
I've grown so much over the lastyear, like, it's not even funny.
But a year ago, the thought ofnetworking would make my skin
(10:45):
crawl like my stomach hurt. AndI'm just like, I just want to do
my job. Can we just, everybodyleave me alone? I don't want to
talk to
Kristen Lettini (10:52):
them. And I'm gonna sit here. Yeah. All right.
Well, so maybe we had anexperience with
Jamie Stephens (10:56):
that. Yeah, you were in communications and
marketing. And we like I'm ananalytics, like, give me the
numbers. Give me my computer,leave me alone.
Kristen Lettini (11:07):
All right, well, but in terms of its
challenges, too. So I think theoutreach and having the
conversations themselves to mewere the, quote, easy part. They
were fun, I really get excited,energized by having them. The
more challenging part, honestly,was the technical piece, like
learning to edit. Even justlearning how to share
information on social mediaapps, so lots to learn. But just
(11:28):
those beginning steps, they canfeel so overwhelming, like, Oh,
my God, Chick never ended apodcast and pop music bear and
feed it out. And all the littlethings that you don't think
about, yeah, those were the mainchallenges I had. And I think
once I actually sat down to tryto overcome them, they weren't
that scary. But it was theanxiety and fear of like, oh, my
(11:48):
gosh, let's figure out how to dothat. That was hard.
Jamie Stephens (11:51):
Yeah. Yeah, the tech pieces always and mine
wasn't necessarily the techpiece, because I had a
background with like YouTubevideos. So that part was
actually easy for me. But themarketing, which I never did
when I was I mean, like, I did avery, very, very poor job. When
I was doing my youtube channelof any sort of marketing or
(12:12):
social media, that was not mything. And that's definitely one
of the areas I have grown inover the last year is really
understanding that marketingisn't so scary. That it's like,
Oh, I'm just talking, I'm justbeing me. I don't you know, it's
like we put on this professionalsuit when we go to, you know,
(12:34):
promote something. And it'slike, okay, it doesn't have to
be that way. Like, they hear howI am on the podcast They Hear
You know, it's like, this isjust another extension of me,
but it's definitely a process toget to that point to where you
have that just like, oh, this isfine, you know, without like,
just think you're gonna die whenyou put something out. That's
like,
Kristen Lettini (12:53):
it is it is.
And I remember texting anotherfriend from our podcast, that's
when I first made my first postto say, I'm going to have a
podcast and I texted her. I'mlike, I didn't die. I'm still
breathing. Outstanding. That'sit. Okay. Okay. It seems so
overwhelming. And I can come upwith ideas all day about you or
other people like what you coulddo to promote it. When it comes
(13:16):
to myself or yourself. You'relike, oh, yeah, I don't know, I
know that process for sure. inovercoming, like, No, this is
just me and I had a funconversation, I want to share
it, if somebody's want to seeit, they can keep scrolling,
man, keep on moving, you know,
Jamie Stephens (13:31):
something you said, I think it's important.
It's easier to look at somebodyelse's stuff and see what they
could do or how they could dosomething. And having that
that's something that I didn'treally realize one of the
benefits of having like a peergroup, you know, people that
you're learning a craft withlearning how to do something,
(13:53):
learning something new pushingbeyond your limits, because it
is easier to see somebody else,like where their gaps are. But
you don't have that for yourselfnecessarily, or know how to like
how to address them. Like maybeyou can acknowledge them, but
you don't know. And so it'salmost like this group, your
podcasting group or your peergroup, whatever it is that
(14:16):
you're doing kind of becomesthat mirror of like, oh, here I
am telling her how easy it canbe and I'm not doing a damn
thing. So let me just again,take some of my own medicine and
really just do this because it'sso much easier to see when it's
somebody else, right?
Kristen Lettini (14:34):
It is that it really is it makes such a huge
difference in having that group,that support group because I
even recently just did aninterview. I haven't put it out
yet for season two, but with awoman who's who owns her own
small business, and we weretalking like, oh, it'd be good
to stay connected like this justto keep each other going. You
know, aside from her episoderecording, and I'm thinking
yeah, it's just not the samewhen you talk to your spouse or
(14:56):
your friends like they want youto succeed. They're supportive.
But the As feedback or responsesyou're getting may not be at the
same level as what you'regetting from that support group
of people sort of in the sameboat. You know,
Jamie Stephens (15:08):
it's, yeah, it's like, Oh, honey, it's great.
We're like, your peers might belike, yeah, no, it's really
good. But you could do this, youknow, like, if you just tweak
that I think it would comeacross. But you know, like one
of those things where you canreally just have that sounding
board, which is so important.
And really the first time I'veever I mean, I think we're a
little bit the same as alifelong learner and likes to
(15:29):
learn all the things, but I'venever actually taken advantage
of any of the communities whereI've learned things and courses
and all of that. And so this hasbeen a real change maker, like
as far as having that communityand staying in touch with people
and keeping each otheraccountable, I think has been
really great. Yeah.
Kristen Lettini (15:51):
And I was gonna add something to it. The
lifelong learner, I think weboth come with a supply chain
background, right? Yeah. Youever did the Lean Six Sigma
stuff? It was like that, alwayslooking for incremental
improvements? And I feel likeI'm seeing why with, okay,
hadn't even just plan out thepodcast, or how to organize the
files like that. Those arethings that I get excited about.
Jamie Stephens (16:11):
Yes, yeah. We've actually talked about that
before. I'm like Kristin, comeorganize my file.
Kristen Lettini (16:18):
What makes me excited doesn't have to make you
excited. That's how we can allcoexist. Yeah, here's
Jamie Stephens (16:22):
your zone of genius. And my zone of genius
are not the same. But it'sreally something whenever you, I
don't know if I heard it on apodcast, or like where I heard
it. But that concept of lettingother people handle what's not
in your zone of genius, andreally just kind of focusing
there. And, you know, it's like,well, if you're smart, you can
(16:45):
do a lot of things. But do youwant to? Are they bringing you
joy? Are you happy doing them?
Yeah, I could probably sit downand figure out a system for my
files. That's a little bitbetter than what I have now.
And, you know, do all thethings, but it's actually a
pretty good one for thispodcast. It's all the other
files. Like, what am I do it?
(17:06):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's itjust makes life so rich,
whenever you can just focus onthe things that you really
enjoy, and that light you up,and then let other people focus
on the things that you don'tenjoy. By it lights them up. So
it's like a win win.
Kristen Lettini (17:23):
It isn't. I never had this thought. But as
you were speaking, I wasthinking, okay, the whole
reason, the people you'retalking to you have left
corporate, right, it's to pursuetheir passion. Right, right. And
I'm thinking, Okay, if you leftto pursue your passion, and then
you find yourself bogged downwith details that you're not
passionate about, like youshould be applying the same
principle. I'm not doing thatbecause I want to do this thing.
(17:44):
So I've never thought about itthat like, instead of like
trying to be the hero, like, No,I can do it all. I don't need to
spend money to get XYZ done.
Right? Hey, if you spend alittle bit of investment and you
can get those things done thatmuch more efficiently, then you
have, how much more time to doyour sternum genius work, and
then hopefully put even more outthere.
Jamie Stephens (18:01):
Yeah, which is exactly what we were talking
about before we hit record isthat even though I did my own
editing in the beginning of thepodcast, and all of that thing,
and I know how to do it. It isnot fun for me, it is not
something I enjoy. It is notlike it takes an overwhelming
amount of time because I justget too nitpicky and like think
(18:24):
that it has to perfect. And I'mnot like quoting you know, it's
like it's all YouTube learnings.
You know, it's not like I've gota very skilled system that I can
just go through and do all thisaudio editing. So it's just like
to be able to pass that on tosomebody else. So I can get,
like five hours of my life backevery week. I mean, that's just
(18:44):
priceless. You know. I do wantto ask you, because I think it's
so fun. Tell me about you havetwin girls with you. And you're
doing a summer ice cream tour.
Yeah, and I'm a big fan of icecream. Tell me kind of what
sparked that. And just tell me alittle bit about that. Because I
(19:07):
think it's so fun. Yeah, no,
Kristen Lettini (19:09):
thank you. I think it's fun to actually as I
was preparing to leavecorporate. I've you know, was
talking to all my friends andcolleagues had a woman who I
worked with said, Oh, she wastalking about I was going to do
because I told her I'm trying totake the summer with my kids and
make sure I just really kind ofyou know, live in that moment
before I worry about what'snext. And she mentioned she had
(19:30):
done this ice cream challenge orice cream tour last summer the
summer before with her boys. Andthey were keeping scorecards and
they were trying to find thebest ice cream in the state. And
so she shared that with me. Iwas like I love that. Like I
think it's probably not good formy waistline but I love it.
Nice. It's just a little bit icecream once in a while like Okay,
fine. So yeah, I mean, we're notas hardcore with keeping score
(19:53):
or anything but it's just reallygiving us a fun excuse to get
ice cream when we're out in ouryou know, not our neck of the
woods. We did it a lot. And wewent for a swim meets, if they
were at home, we would say,Okay, what's the closest lights
came around here? Try it out.
And my kids love it. It's way.
But yeah, they get a notch.
Like, what song law are yougoing to use when you use these
pictures that you took a vice?
(20:15):
Fighting over, which was to getsto pick the song? I'm like,
listen, I control I wouldn't usethe song that I think I'm just
asking for your input.
Jamie Stephens (20:23):
I'm just letting you think you get an input.
Kristen Lettini (20:26):
But it's not because I was picking up the
kids to like, it's fun. Becausethey're watching me. Right?
Right. I figure something outand live out my dreams, which I
hope and I think most parentswould hope if you say your kid
comes to you, like, I've gotthis dream to do XYZ I want to
dance on this stage. You as theparent, even a bad dream seems
far off. Like you're going towant to help them right, right?
(20:48):
And say, yeah, go after it. Atleast try if you fail, you
could, you could try anotherway, which is often when I've
had to tell myself like look,I'm going to try. He can this
chance taking this break. And ifit doesn't work, I'll go back.
But for now, I want to try it.
So I feel like I was also animportant factor in my decisions
to take this break because insome new future someday they
cook to me I want to be able tosay Yeah, go for it. Let's let's
(21:09):
do we can are you to make thatdream come true. And if it's not
the right dream, we'll findsomething else better. But I'm
going to be here to support you.
So I feel like they know aboutthe podcast, they get on the
podcast, they help me promotethe fun. They'll come up with
ideas to to talk about thepodcast. It's funny. They're
teachers at school, like oh, Iguess they were asking what
parents do. One of my girls islike, she's got a podcast. Had a
(21:32):
detox you at the time I wasstill working. She's like, No,
just told her you had a podcast,
Jamie Stephens (21:36):
because that's what's cool, mom. Everybody's
got a job, but
Kristen Lettini (21:42):
on a tangent there from ice cream, but I just
I do love the fact that it'sshowing my children like this.
Competence and desire you canhave with it yourself. And it
may or may not work. It's kindof scary, but they're sort of
along for the ride or have afront seat view for this ride.
Jamie Stephens (22:00):
Yeah, and what important life skills they're
learning to. I mean, that isjust so huge. And I know you
have daughters, I have fourdaughters, I I've never had
boys. So I don't know. So I'mgoing to make a generalization
here. But as a mother of girls,I know for me, it is very
(22:20):
important that whatever lifeadvice or whatever I want to
teach my children, it's like,it's really hard to really just
kind of tell your kids and givethem life advice and things like
that. If you're not living thatyourself.
Kristen Lettini (22:39):
Do as I say, not as I do.
Jamie Stephens (22:42):
It's like yeah, go follow your dreams. Well,
Mom, is your dream and supplychain. No, no, it's not. You
know, so it's like, okay, sowhat is that? Like? What kind of
example Am I being what? And I'mnot like shaming anybody who's
not in a position to go out anddo like, I don't want to get me
wrong, but it's like, just tohave that to where it's like,
(23:03):
No, I totally believe in you.
And it's okay, we were gonna tryand sometimes will fail. And
look, that is okay, we get backup, you know, just all of the
lessons because you don't gothrough entrepreneurship and be
like scratch free. It justdoesn't have it. So, I mean,
it's, it's a gift that you'regiving them, like all of it just
(23:23):
one year presents and you justbeing able to like focus on them
all summer long and have thesefun little things like ice cream
challenges and all this stuff.
But then I know your girls arereally active, like in sports
and swimming and basketball,other things and dance and 47
activities, but it's like, it'snice that they can see like,
(23:46):
Okay, well, we don't have togive up fun. Just because we're
an adult. Like we can still findways to incorporate what we
love. And here's this way thatwe can do it. And look what mom
is showing us. You know, I thinkit's so important.
Kristen Lettini (24:01):
One notes add just as you're saying that I
there's one memory from thesummer so far that definitely
sticks out as a highlight is forme. One day, our pool was
closed. Something was going on.
It was super hot and like whatare we going to do? And so we
woke up I said, Girls getdressed. We're gonna go to the
boardwalk. So we drove the hourto the beach, hung out in the
boardwalk, they get some arcadegames, they did some rope
climbing. They just had a goodtime. And as we're getting ready
(24:25):
my one daughter says Mom, I likethat you do fun things now
wasn't it? Yes. It wasn'textravagant. It wasn't like I
was taken when Disney it waspretty low budget day on
spending a couple dollars butlow budget, Nothing extravagant.
And I just that moment for mewas like, Okay, this is what I
had wanted to do with the summerand they appreciate it. They are
having fun and they recognizethe change. It's like mom
(24:49):
couldn't do this before when shewas working every day and yeah,
we didn't hear for it but itjust wasn't nearly as much fun.
So
Jamie Stephens (24:56):
I mean, that's it's such a sweet age. To You
know, they're eight years old. Imean, I've got my youngest is
now 15. So it's not the same.
Kristen Lettini (25:07):
I imagine not quite, but I don't want you to
think too hard about whathappens then.
Jamie Stephens (25:11):
Oh, yeah, no, it's really great that you could
do this now because it's like,they still want to hang out with
you. And they still want to bearound you. They still think
you're cool and doing all thethings now it's like, oh, yeah,
yeah, that's fun. So what hasbeen your favorite ice cream
flavor to date?
Kristen Lettini (25:28):
So I will tell you, I'm not super adventurous
with the flavors. Vanilla withheat bar. Okay. Okay. It all
standby. So I'll usually go withsome version of that. Like last
night, I did have a vanilla heatbar shake. I've never done a
shake. It was delicious. Yeah,we don't get too crazy. We're
(25:49):
not we don't always go out atthe same flavors to like, do an
apples to apples comparison. Soyou're a stickler for that we're
not following those rules. Buthonestly, one of our favorites,
we have to close by that we lovewe've done for now. We're like,
Oh, those still pretty tough onthe list. And so we're like, oh,
this is lucky that we have ourfavorites close by. Yeah.
Jamie Stephens (26:08):
I'm a fan of Heath Bar myself. It's so good.
Good. I make a really goodtoffee every year, like at
Christmas. And it has to be atChristmas because it doesn't set
up. Right. Like it has to becold and all of the things. I
only make it once a year becauseoh my gosh, it's like butter,
sugar. Chocolate. Like, bye.
Yeah,
Kristen Lettini (26:32):
I love a good excuse to bake. Because then
it's like a freebie. Like,
Jamie Stephens (26:35):
I get to eat this. Like, yeah,
Kristen Lettini (26:37):
I can't do too much of it.
Jamie Stephens (26:39):
So what is on season two for your podcast?
Kristen Lettini (26:42):
So let's good question. Thank you for asking.
So season one I started out withjust we're gonna look at all our
areas of life, work homepersonal, you know, hear what
other people are doing. See ifwe can make small adjustments to
make our lives more magical.
Season two, I'm really planningto narrow in on the workspace,
right. So traditionally, Ithought, or I think you either
have keypads, right. Once youhave kids, you can have your
(27:04):
stay at home mom, or you can youknow, continue or be part of the
workforce and a nine to size.
And I'm going to be speaking towomen who have done something in
between, right, and figure outhow they how and why they
decided to do that. what's beengreat about it, what maybe
hasn't been so great about it,but really tackling in on the
work aspect of it. Because likeI said, it just feels like
(27:27):
there's really two, two straightpaths. You either pick a branch
off, you pick one or the other,and then you go and then we're
all sitting there commiseratingif you're, you're home like, oh,
I would rather be making moneyor if you're working you feel
guilty or not with the kids,like there's a gazillion
reasons, just covered to foreither one of those branches.
But yeah, there's I've realized,and there's a whole lot more in
(27:47):
the middle or outside of thosetwo paths. And, you know, having
the technology and tools we havetoday, and especially with
COVID. Now bringing us evenmore, virtually, there are a lot
of opportunities. So if youdon't want to if you don't fit
well in one of those buckets,some people do, and they love
it, which is great. But it feelslike you're not sitting well in
one of those two buckets. Andmaybe there's something else out
(28:09):
there that you could be dealingwith, even though you have this
desire to start your own. Ormaybe it's with someone else. It
doesn't have to be your ownventure, but maybe it's just the
industry that you're in, right.
So that's the main day forseason two. And I'm super
excited. I'm just in the middleof lining up some guests now for
season two. And yeah, I'mpersonally excited about what
I'm going to learn from them,and then being able to share
(28:31):
that with my audience.
Jamie Stephens (28:33):
You know, that is one of the most underrated
things that for me anyway,underrated because I don't know
why. But I didn't account forthe vast amount of exposure and
knowledge I had to such amazingwomen and brains. Like during
(28:56):
this podcast, I've had just myeyes open to possibilities. So I
love that that's what you'reexploring, because you know, you
may find your thing. And thereit's just like somebody may say
something that sparks somethingthat goes something else. And
then you pair it with anotherpodcast and guests that you had
a while back. And then it's likeall comes together. And it's
like in a super exciting way.
It's something similar to likekind of where I'm exploring now.
(29:18):
You know, I've had this passionfor YouTube before and then it
just kind of waned and COVIDbecause it was on food and
cooking. And I was so sick ofthat during COVID. So it just
kind of dropped off. But I hadsome guests on my podcast last
week already and Joel fromSSDNow media, but they are now
(29:38):
doing YouTube or they'reYouTubers. And it's kind of like
the way that they've done it andthe things that they like I
learned from just thatinterview. It's just like it's
sparked so many things for methat it's like Oh, like this is
one of the best parts thatnobody talks about is all of the
just really brilliant women thatyou You get to talk to, and that
(29:59):
is super fun. I mean, I've madea lot of friends, like still,
like still keeping in touch withguests and stuff that I've
interviewed over the last year.
And so that's been really fun.
Do you still keep in touch withsome of your people? Yeah,
Kristen Lettini (30:15):
absolutely. I mean, I'm connected to all of
them on social media. So at aminimum, when they're posting,
I'm seeing what's going on, I'mcheering for them along the way.
But that feels like I'm buildinga whole new group of friends out
there, even if I've never metthem physically. Face like we've
had an hour long conversation.
And then you really get to knowa person in that time, right?
And then you can we continue tosee what's going on in their
(30:37):
lives. So it is pretty cool.
Jamie Stephens (30:39):
Yeah, because in an hour, you generally get past
like, the surface stuff. And youcan really just kind of talk to
people and find out like, okay,like, let's actually get to know
each other and some of thesethings. So that's, yeah, that's
really cool.
Kristen Lettini (30:53):
I was going to add to it even like you said,
even if it's not, okay, I wantto be a YouTuber from that
example. There could besomething that that you take and
apply to your day job orsomething else that that was
like the little spark or littleidea you needed to take
something to the next level. Sonot to be that same exact thing.
Yeah, that's it. I'm lookingforward to to OCR from people
who've done all sorts of like,you're like, I don't even know
(31:15):
that was a job, right? Like how?
Yeah, those are the types oftopics that I'm expecting to
uncover. Were like, I have nodesire to be a dance coach. But
cool. Let me hear how you didthat, and what it could spark
for me. So that's what I'mexcited about to you. That's
exciting.
Jamie Stephens (31:31):
So backing up a little bit. How did you know it
was time to kind of switch gearsand find something else outside
of your corporate career thatyou had been in for 13 years?
Kristen Lettini (31:44):
Ah, excellent question. I will say this
decision was something for memany years in the making. I've
had this desire for way backwhen I read Jack Canfield, these
success principles. And in thebook they sell, you'd write down
your goals and read them everyday. And one of my goals that I
wrote down many years ago was toown my own business with
(32:06):
positive cash flow, you have towrite down all the details.
Yeah. Well, that's it has comeand gone, but it was always in
the back of my mind, like maybeI could do my own thing. And
then in 2018, my job wasimpacted. So I was given six
months notice, which was a verylong lead time, right to say,
Okay, well, your jumps beeneliminated, but you've got six
months to find a new one withinthe company. If not, you're out
(32:26):
the door. And at that time, itwas a huge shock. I very much
appreciated the will vo runwayof six months. We're getting
ready to we were just literallylike days into our kitchen first
floor renovation that was like,oh, yeah, we cannot go without a
job right now. Okay. All right.
And so I started looking atobviously, I landed because I
(32:46):
stayed with the company foryears after that. But it was at
that time where I was like, Oh,maybe I should have just taken
the package and figured it out.
Like I knew I could figure Ihave the faith in myself, but
I'll figure something out. I'mnot going to be end up sitting
on the couch, eating bonbons andlike, miserable maybe for a
couple of days. But I'll pickmyself up and figure something
(33:09):
out find something. But I landedwithin the company, so I didn't
have to get to that. We gotthrough the the home
renovations. It was all great.
But then so that's really since2019. When I landed in that new
rule. I was like, Hmm, maybe Ishould have used that
opportunity. Right? And to say,Okay, I'll take a little break.
I'll see what's next. And sothen really 2019 2020 COVID hit.
Work got crazier for everyone. Idon't care what industry or role
(33:34):
you're in, I like everyone's jobgot a little harder, if not a
lot harder and stressful becausewe're all managing extra stuff.
Now, whether it's at home or atwork. At the time I was an
employee help make sure ouremployees were safe and taking
care of themselves. That time itjust got that much more
stressful, but wereoverwhelming. I felt like it was
really evident to me while I wasnot being with my children
(33:57):
during the day, like thank Godfor my husband, who was able to
flex a little more in terms ofthe homeschooling and like
keeping them they were inkindergarten when COVID first
hit. So there was no like jumpon your computer and do your own
stuff. He was very hands on.
Right? So yeah, we only survivedthen the next school year by
(34:18):
bringing in college students tohelp with that, which they were
amazing. But yeah, it just wasreally evident to me like how
little I was able to give thembecause of how much I was
putting into my day job. Andthen come 2021 Same thing. So by
2022 I was like listen, I'mstill feel I moved to a new
role, which was a really greatshift. I was enjoying it. But at
(34:40):
the same time like I think nowmight be my time like my kids
are still young enough that theywill they want to hang out in
them but for the most part, Icould take the summer I try to
figure out if not, if it's likeif I fail miserably multiple
times. Okay, I'm enough to goback and say, Alright, I made
this mistake I tried it didn'twork for me. But here I am
reapplying For a new role. Sothat's where I just it was yours
(35:03):
for me in the making of like, doI want to do those? I do want to
do it. But I know that soundscrazy. It's scary. Like I just I
went through that dialoguemultiple times. And it wasn't
until I started having theconversations with my husband,
with my mom with like goodbrands like I'm really have this
desire, and I would rationalizelike, why it would be okay.
They're like, Oh my god. So godo like, okay, and then it got
(35:25):
to the point where it's likesummers around the corner. I
think I need to do it. So I gavelike five weeks notice. I didn't
want to leave my team and alertshows. All right to make
something out. That was it. Itwas a really, it was a long
decision for me it was drawnout. I was never I didn't have
the clear what's next. It wasjust I have this whisper that
has now turned into yellow likeyou'll figure it out. Just go
(35:49):
try. Just go try.
Jamie Stephens (35:50):
Do you think that having the podcast and
having like building thatconfidence over the last nine
months or whatever, howeverlong? It's been six months? How
long has eight months? I don'tknow, what is time anymore?
Kristen Lettini (36:06):
What is nine?
Definitely having the podcasthelps. I mean, it's no overnight
success. Yes. Yep, there arepeople are like, Oh, you'd have
to listen to this amazing show,right. But it was something like
it just felt good to do it. Todo something consistently to put
it out there to see it growing,albeit slowly, right? In my
mind, if it gets one download aday, it's going in the right
direction, right? So yeah,having the podcast definitely
(36:29):
helped. It was like, Oh, you'redoing something, you're not
doing nothing. And it's not theend all be all, but it's
something that it feels done,
Jamie Stephens (36:38):
right? I think just that like, almost like a
confidence boost, like I've donesomething I've never done
before. And I'm beingconsistent. I'm learning in the
process. I'm growing. I'mstretching myself, I'm learning
these new skills, whether it'stech or marketing, or speaking
or recording, like whatever itis, it's all new stuff. And I
(37:00):
think it just builds thatcompetence of yeah, like I can
figure it out, like whatever itis, whatever it is, I can Google
it. I can ask somebody, I havecommunity, I have people, which
is not something that a lot ofpeople have whenever they first
leave, you know, it's likebuilding that kind of network
before you walk away, I think isis interesting. Yeah. Nice to
(37:23):
have. For sure.
Kristen Lettini (37:24):
Definitely helpful. I recommend that if
you're planning Yeah, you'replanning that sign. Find that
community at a time.
Jamie Stephens (37:30):
Exactly. Yeah, I've like I said, I've never
really done that. But this timehas been different. So that's
been it's been reallyinteresting. And I can say like,
Yeah, this is really somethingyou should invest your time in.
Because it's not just for afriendly chat. So it's like, no,
these people can really helphold you accountable to help
raise the bar help raise you,and you did the same for them,
(37:53):
you know,
Kristen Lettini (37:54):
exactly. And for the most part, I feel like
we all understand like, seeingyou succeed, doesn't mean I
won't succeed, right? We canboth exceed. And actually,
things are much better when weboth do instead of just one of
us. Right? So that would mean mehelping you makes me any worse
off.
Jamie Stephens (38:09):
Yeah, I guess all of the women I follow online
today, like they all seem tohave that abundance attitude.
But that's really something thatis cultivated, and not something
that I think is just natural forpeople. So how would you say
that you kind of got to thatpoint? Were you there before you
kind of took on this podcastingrole. And like were you saw
(38:31):
people as peers and helpful andnot as like competition, or I
don't even know what I'm tryingto say, but
Kristen Lettini (38:43):
I follow where you're going. And I would say
maybe not as I wasn't as mindfulabout it, or what it was called.
But I will say that, I feel likeI had some of it because being
in a large corporation. So I'veworked in both a 13 person
company. And then I worked for140,000 person global company,
worked at both extremes. Andeven that large company, I like
(39:03):
I mentioned at the top of this,and worked across different
functions. So I first went, Ispent five years in procurement
before I made the switch over tomarketing, and then ultimately
communication. So in that timetrying to switch from
procurement to something thatwas less related, like I wasn't
going straight into a supplychain. I was like, hey, I want
to go into marketing. The peoplearound me didn't necessarily
know how to help, even if theywanted to support me. They're
(39:25):
like, Yeah, I'm sorry, I don'tknow what the steps are for
that. So when I would find thepeople in my outreach to say,
tell me how you got into yourrole and tell me about your
paths. They were all willing toshare and it wasn't bringing
them down. So I feel like it wasalmost living through that
example of me finding thosepeople and it for the most part,
just like you said, with thepodcasts that reaching most
(39:45):
people were willing to chat withme and share their story with me
and there wasn't anything likethey were fearful I was going to
take their job when I wasn'teven in the function. Yeah. And
they were like, look, here's thethings you need to know here's
what you need to do and let meknow how I can help you. They
were all for the most part. arevery supportive. And I feel like
it was that mentality in actionwithout knowing, being mindful
(40:05):
of what it was. So I was alwayshappy to pay that forward. Once
I made it. I made that switch offunctions when others would
reach out whether or not theywere just starting in their
careers or a few years long tosay like, how did you do it? And
I was always happy to share withthem. Look, it wasn't easy. It
took a couple years. But here'swhat I did. So
Jamie Stephens (40:26):
that's great. So if you had to distill this is a
hard question. So feel free totake a minute, but if you had to
distill everything you'velearned in the last year since
starting your podcast, whatwould be one of the biggest
takeaways where you're like,Man, this is it.
Kristen Lettini (40:46):
Biggest thing for me one for myself, like to
like one, just just try it.
Failure is okay. When you havethat impostor syndrome or fear
of like, who am I to do this? Ihave learned and I try to,
sometimes I need reinforcement,but try to focus on like, who
might not to do this, right. AndI've heard these bots, other
people out there probably havethem. I owe it to them to share
(41:06):
it. Yeah. And like we saidearlier, it's they want to hear
it. If they're interested.
They'll stick around. They'lllisten, if they don't, they'll
keep scrolling. They might havea negative thought about me, but
that's okay. Yeah, they aregonna keep on going. It's not
gonna hurt me. And I at leasttried it. I can say I tried it.
So beloved.
Jamie Stephens (41:25):
I was listening to a book the other day, and I
don't know which one it is. ButI think that's chil printer from
Denise Duffield Thomas. But oneof the things she was saying
that struck me so hard, becauseI have, I've gotten better out
over the years, over the year.
But that imposter syndrome, thatwho am I? Like, who cares what I
(41:48):
have to say? Like that was justthe constant dialogue. For me.
It's like, yeah, I can post thisbut fine. Like, who cares what I
have to say, the thing that shesaid in the book, and it was
just kind of like, it wasn'tlike this grandiose thing, you
know, how sometimes just thisone sentence and slang, you
know, a slew of, you know, a bitmiddle of a paragraph, just,
(42:09):
that's the one that jumps outand gets you. But it was, I'm a
contributor, not a guru. And Ithought, wow, like, that just
really hit me. Because it'slike, I don't have to be
perfect. Like, I don't have toknow every single in and out, I
don't have like, I'm justcontributing to the
conversation. And that felt soeasy. You know, I've always been
(42:32):
a contributor. I've always beencontributing to the
conversation, whether it be likeI work or my family, or like,
what are the things it's like,this is no different. I'm
contributing to a differentconversation now. But it's still
like, I'm just a contributor. Idon't know all be all end all.
You know, it's like, why putthat pressure on yourself? And I
(42:52):
think that is, no, it was veryeye opening to be like, Yeah,
I'm a contributor, not a guru.
Like to put that on me.
Kristen Lettini (43:04):
I like that.
I'm gonna use that because I dohave it sometimes job. I'm
writing a post or you want anediting the podcast. I'm like,
oh, I want to get this. And Ithink you know, it's good
enough. Yeah, it's good enough.
I'm contributing. Here it is.
Maybe people will like it. Maybethey won't. But it's my effort.
So awesome. I'm a contributor. Ilike it. I
Jamie Stephens (43:22):
like it. All right. Well, do you want to tell
people where they can find you,Kristen, and all the things
listen to your podcast.
Kristen Lettini (43:29):
For now, the best place to find me is on
Instagram or Facebook. I'm atperson dot Latini. And the
podcast is build your own fairytale available on Apple podcasts
or Spotify or any of the otherplatforms, you may listen. But
those are the two main ones. Soyeah, I would love it. If you
head on over, you can follow meI share some behind the scenes
into me trying to build my ownfairy tale, some laughs some
(43:52):
funny pictures of my kids overeating ice cream, and then
things about the podcast. So Iwould love to see
Jamie Stephens (43:57):
you there.
Awesome. And I will link all ofthat in the show notes. So thank
you so much for coming on theshow today.
Kristen Lettini (44:02):
Thank you Jamie had so much fun. All right. Bye
bye.
Jamie Stephens (44:05):
Yay. I am so excited that I got to return the
offer and share Kristin story onthe show. There's so much to
learn on this entrepreneurialjourney. And I think hearing
some of these very beginningstages will really help you on
your path. Some of the keytakeaways from this episode are
number one, adopt the Come withme. Getting started in business
(44:26):
can be as simple as, hey, thisis the problem I'm trying to
solve for myself. I'm figuringit out. Come with me as I build
it. Number two, go with what youknow. Some things will be easier
than others when you're gettingstarted in your business. Let
your previous experience fuelthe parts of your business
you're comfortable with whileyou learn the other more
(44:47):
challenging aspects. Numberthree, respect the process.
Things can feel overwhelming anddaunting when you haven't done
them before. However, once yourealize that you're a human
dealing with other humans, youcan start to drop the fear and
just do the thing, and that isso scary anymore. Number four,
find your peer group. Whenyou're learning a new skill,
(45:08):
craft, business, whatever, it'sso much easier for our brains to
see how to help others. When youfind your peer group, you're
really finding a mirror toreflect back to you what you
could be doing as well. It's anawesome way to learn and grow.
Most times someone going throughthe process with you can provide
greater feedback than yourfriends and family. Number five,
(45:30):
recognize your own zone ofgenius. It's important to put
your energy into things that youenjoy and light you up and
handing off tasks to people thatthey actually like doing and are
good at it. It's a win win.
Number six, be the example yourkids are watching and are seeing
you as the example. Whether it'seating healthy or pursuing your
dreams or trying even if youmight fail or getting up if you
(45:52):
do fail, or when you fail. Yourexample is more powerful than
any advice. Number seven, be acontributor. Get your ideas into
the world without over analyzingand questioning your every
comment. You don't have to be anexpert. You're simply
contributing to theconversation. Okay, friends,
that is it. Thanks so much toKristen for being on the show.
(46:15):
Today. I've linked everything upin the show notes. And if you
feel like being a rock star, goahead and send this episode to a
friend or lever the or leave areview so more women can find
this show. We're all in thistogether girl. Until next week,
find me on Instagram at JamieRenee
It's almost like this group, your podcasting
(00:02):
group or your peer group,whatever it is that you're doing
kind of becomes that mirror oflike, oh, here I am telling her
how easy it can be and I'm notdoing a damn thing.
Kristen Lettini (00:12):
It is that it really is, it makes such a huge
difference in having thatsupport group because I even
recently just did an interview.
I haven't put it out yet forseason two, but with a woman who
owns her own small business, andwe were talking like, oh, it'd
be good to stay connected likethis just to keep each other
going. You know, aside from herepisode recording, and I'm
thinking, yeah, it's just notthe same. When you talk to your
spouse or your friends like theywant you to succeed. They're
(00:33):
supportive, but their feedbackor responses you're getting may
not be at the same level as whatyou're getting from that support
group of people sort of in thesame boat.
Jamie Stephens (00:46):
Thanks for tuning in to another episode of
Breaking up with corporate eachweek I chat with everyday women
that ditch their nine to five tobet on themselves. We break down
their journey intoentrepreneurship, unpack the
lessons learned and create thevision of how this life gets to
be if you're willing to getuncomfortable and step into your
potential. I'm your host, JamieRenee, to time corporate escapee
(01:10):
and coach to burnout womenlooking to plan their escape.
Let's go.
Hello, and welcome back toanother episode of Breaking up
with corporate today. I haveKristen Latini on the show. And
Kristen is a fellow podcaster ofthe build your own fairy tale
(01:31):
podcast. Welcome, Kristin.
Kristen Lettini (01:33):
Thank you, Jamie. Excited to be here. Yeah.
So
Jamie Stephens (01:35):
if you guys have listened for a while been around
for a while, I was actually onKristen's podcast a while back.
And so we actually met through apodcasting group. So it's
exciting to get to reciprocatehere now that you have taken a
break from your corporate joband exploring kind of what's
available for you. So do youwant to tell us a little bit
(01:57):
about kind of what you're doingnow? And what that looks like?
Kristen Lettini (02:03):
Yes. And thank you. Yes. Thanks for the
reminder. It was so fun meetingyou in class and then getting to
be on each other show. So happyto, to return the favor here.
But yeah, so I just recently,I'm about a month ago, decided
to take a break from corporate Ihad been with the same company
and a variety of different rolesfor the past 13 years, a global
(02:24):
large company, I've worked inprocurement, Marketing and
Communications, and really justdecided, You know what, now it's
my time to take a chance on me,right? I've really enjoyed and
learned a lot working incorporate but at the same time,
a little bit, you know,overwhelming approaching that
burnout with everything duringCOVID. And I thought, okay, I
had the opportunity, we'refortunate enough financially, we
(02:46):
can take this break without, youknow, losing the roof on our
hands and going hungry. So ittook it took a few months off to
say, Okay, I'm gonna spend thesummer with my kids. There, I
have 28 year olds, so I thoughtthey still love me a little bit
like being around me that now'sa good time to spend the summer
with them. And couple, I'm gonnaexplore the entrepreneurial
roots. So I am still in thisphase of like, I'm not sure what
(03:08):
I'm going to do next. But I'mdefinitely enjoying the
podcasting. That was something Iwanted to have, regardless of
what I decide to pursue outsideof this. I just, I love talking
to people like making theseconnections, like with you,
Jamie and meeting new peoplelearning from them. And I figure
if I'm gonna have thoseconversations, I may as well
share them with other peopleand, you know, see if other
people want to come along forthe ride. So I guess it's a long
(03:31):
way of saying it's a little bitof an I'm not sure what I'm
doing next. But I felt like I'mgonna take this chance on
myself, now's the right time.
And we'll see what comes next.
Jamie Stephens (03:39):
Yeah. And, you know, I talked to such a variety
of people, for the most part,they're not like me, like they
have it all figured out. So it'snice to have. I don't think
anyone can Well, that's true.
That's true. But it's nice to beable to you know, have these
conversations with people whoare in kind of that messy
beginning stages as well becausewe can commiserate together and
(04:01):
and kind of learn and do all thethings. So tell me what drew you
to podcasting while you werestill incorporate? Like how did
you know that that was somethingthat she wanted to explore?
Kristen Lettini (04:15):
Yeah, and it's funny because probably two years
ago you said podcast mainlywho's got time to listen to a
podcast? I really wasn't into itbut it was during the pandemic I
don't know an hour why but Istumbled upon listening to your
podcast and really enjoyed itlike it got me excited and I
don't know if you ever hear likethe stories of people being so
stressed and overwhelmed thatthey decided to do another new
(04:37):
thing but that new thing wasgiving them the energy and I
don't know the energy theyneeded to keep going and that to
me was listening to thispodcast. So I was like, Okay, I
am a podcast girl. didn't thinkI was before but now that I
found that I love how I feelwhen I'm listening and inspired
and finding new people to tofollow and learn from so that to
(04:59):
me was like oh I would love tobe that person at one, I'd love
to keep learning and keepmeeting people and discovering
new things. But I would love toalso then be able to share it
and build a community alongsideto do this together. So I mean,
it sounds very dreamy, like afairy tale. It's so perfect. But
I know it's not that easy. Butit was it was like, Oh, I can do
(05:19):
this too. And this is fun. And Ilike the idea of, there's no,
there's no like, hard pressure.
This is my product combined.
It's like, this is my buildingout of the community. Yeah. And
someday, hopefully, when I havea product or thing or that I'm
working on like, that can besomething we talked about as
well. But for now, it's justreally that community. And
that's what I love so much.
Yeah,
Jamie Stephens (05:37):
I discovered podcasts several years ago, but
it's always been like, just thisfriend and your ear, you know, I
mean, it's just, it's nice to beable to because you feel like
you get to know somebody, andyou really just start to
appreciate the stories. And thenif you listen a long time, you
kind of learn all the littlebehind the scenes stories and
kind of quirks and stuff. It'sjust, it's an interesting way
(05:59):
that we have available now tolike, really build in that
intimacy whenever we're alsoseparated, you know, but I like
it that you can really connectwith people that share very
similar interests all over theworld, which I think is just an
amazing technology and a placethat we live in today. So that's
really cool. 100% agree. So didyou struggle whenever you were
(06:24):
trying to figure out like, whatyour podcast would be about? Or
did it come about, like, prettyorganically.
Kristen Lettini (06:31):
I struggled a little bit in the beginning,
because it was like, I signed upfor this course. And I thought
what the heck, I'm the podcast,but I think I should learn how
to do it. Um, so I thoughtthrough an idea or two, but then
ultimately, I don't know whattonight is I'm trying to
brainstorm came up was like,Listen, I'm just really kind of
looking for people like me,right? They feel like they're
doing all the right things. Yougot the degree you met your
(06:55):
partner, you got married, youhad kids, you've got a great job
like, but it still feels likeyou want more like it's it's
really all there. Yeah, like,don't get me wrong. I'm
grateful. Thankful. But the sametime like, huh, feels like there
could be more. So that's what Icame up with the it's talking to
people like me. Yeah, we're onwant more, I want to build my
(07:16):
own various I may not know how,but I know there's something
else out there. And that's whatI want to explore, learn about
and ultimately start takingsmall steps to to build that
fairytale. So it was a littlebit of a brainstorm process, but
more so organically like,Listen, this is the problem I'm
trying to solve for me. Andthat's what I want to share.
Yeah, I'm just curious about
Jamie Stephens (07:36):
your process.
Have you had a fairly easy time,like getting guests and all of
this? Because those are all thequestions that people ask me
when they're like, oh, my gosh,it's so hard, you know. So it's
nice to be able to kind ofcompare other people's how they
do stuff?
Kristen Lettini (07:49):
Yes, I would say, so far, it's been
relatively easy. I mean, there'swork and then I have to do a
little research and find it. Oh,this person looks interesting. I
think they're, I can tell theirstory online or on Stellar web
page, or if somebody's told meabout them. They look
interesting, but then I have tolook into it to make sure Okay,
yeah, I think it's interestingand good fit for the show. And
(08:10):
then there's oftentimes a coldreach out, and I have not large
success with that reach out.
Largely, we've had one seasonabout 30 episodes. So far. I'm
getting ready for season two. Soit's been relatively up. Have
they all returned? No, noteveryone's answered the
outreach. But I would say themajority cups, I feel like if
you put in that little bit ofhomework upfront, and you're not
(08:31):
reaching out to someone who'slike not a total fit for you at
all, the chances are relativelygood that they'll respond to
you. So yeah, I mean, I haven'tsay it's been, quote, easy, but
it's also taken a little bit oflegwork to make sure that can be
easy. And I'm not sure ifyou've, it's been similar for
you, it actually
Jamie Stephens (08:50):
has a lot easier than I thought it would be like
whenever I first came up withthe podcast, my initial thought
was that I would do a bunch ofsolo episodes because the idea
of like reaching out and talkingto other people as an introvert,
like just sounded reallyterrible to me, but it was, it
was actually been one way easierthan I thought. And I think
(09:13):
that's because, as humans, weall kind of like talking about
ourselves, you know, I mean,that's just common nature, like,
ooh, somebody wants to hear mystory. Okay, too. We're not
selling anything on a podcast.
So like, I It's like, I'm hereto promote you and like your
ideas. And so I feel like thathas been really easy. I'm to the
point now, which is reallyexciting that I have people
(09:36):
reaching out to me, which Inever like, I thought I was too
little for that. But it's veryexciting. Kind of the people
that are reaching out. It'slike, wow, okay, so yeah, that
part has been easier than Ithought. What was what was
something that was harder foryou than you actually expected?
The podcasting thing
Kristen Lettini (09:59):
Yeah, I Um, one more thing I wanted to ask you.
Because you and your guests havecome from corporate right? I
feel like it was also a familiarexercise. Because if you've ever
scheduled a networkingconversation within your company
before, it's very similar like,Hey, I just want to get to know
you learn about your careerpath. Let's get coffee. It's
kind of like the same thing. Soin this respect, I feel like
(10:20):
coming from corporate is a hugeadvantage if you've done that
before,
Jamie Stephens (10:22):
except that I never did that incorporate. Like
one of those I am like, extremeintrovert. And so it was, like,
even just the thought ofnetworking in general, like I'm,
I've grown so much over the lastyear, like, it's not even funny.
But a year ago, the thought ofnetworking would make my skin
(10:45):
crawl like my stomach hurt. AndI'm just like, I just want to do
my job. Can we just, everybodyleave me alone? I don't want to
talk to
Kristen Lettini (10:52):
them. And I'm gonna sit here. Yeah. All right.
Well, so maybe we had anexperience with
Jamie Stephens (10:56):
that. Yeah, you were in communications and
marketing. And we like I'm ananalytics, like, give me the
numbers. Give me my computer,leave me alone.
Kristen Lettini (11:07):
All right, well, but in terms of its
challenges, too. So I think theoutreach and having the
conversations themselves to mewere the, quote, easy part. They
were fun, I really get excited,energized by having them. The
more challenging part, honestly,was the technical piece, like
learning to edit. Even justlearning how to share
information on social mediaapps, so lots to learn. But just
(11:28):
those beginning steps, they canfeel so overwhelming, like, Oh,
my God, Chick never ended apodcast and pop music bear and
feed it out. And all the littlethings that you don't think
about, yeah, those were the mainchallenges I had. And I think
once I actually sat down to tryto overcome them, they weren't
that scary. But it was theanxiety and fear of like, oh, my
(11:48):
gosh, let's figure out how to dothat. That was hard.
Jamie Stephens (11:51):
Yeah. Yeah, the tech pieces always and mine
wasn't necessarily the techpiece, because I had a
background with like YouTubevideos. So that part was
actually easy for me. But themarketing, which I never did
when I was I mean, like, I did avery, very, very poor job. When
I was doing my youtube channelof any sort of marketing or
(12:12):
social media, that was not mything. And that's definitely one
of the areas I have grown inover the last year is really
understanding that marketingisn't so scary. That it's like,
Oh, I'm just talking, I'm justbeing me. I don't you know, it's
like we put on this professionalsuit when we go to, you know,
(12:34):
promote something. And it'slike, okay, it doesn't have to
be that way. Like, they hear howI am on the podcast They Hear
You know, it's like, this isjust another extension of me,
but it's definitely a process toget to that point to where you
have that just like, oh, this isfine, you know, without like,
just think you're gonna die whenyou put something out. That's
like,
Kristen Lettini (12:53):
it is it is.
And I remember texting anotherfriend from our podcast, that's
when I first made my first postto say, I'm going to have a
podcast and I texted her. I'mlike, I didn't die. I'm still
breathing. Outstanding. That'sit. Okay. Okay. It seems so
overwhelming. And I can come upwith ideas all day about you or
other people like what you coulddo to promote it. When it comes
(13:16):
to myself or yourself. You'relike, oh, yeah, I don't know, I
know that process for sure. inovercoming, like, No, this is
just me and I had a funconversation, I want to share
it, if somebody's want to seeit, they can keep scrolling,
man, keep on moving, you know,
Jamie Stephens (13:31):
something you said, I think it's important.
It's easier to look at somebodyelse's stuff and see what they
could do or how they could dosomething. And having that
that's something that I didn'treally realize one of the
benefits of having like a peergroup, you know, people that
you're learning a craft withlearning how to do something,
(13:53):
learning something new pushingbeyond your limits, because it
is easier to see somebody else,like where their gaps are. But
you don't have that for yourselfnecessarily, or know how to like
how to address them. Like maybeyou can acknowledge them, but
you don't know. And so it'salmost like this group, your
podcasting group or your peergroup, whatever it is that
(14:16):
you're doing kind of becomesthat mirror of like, oh, here I
am telling her how easy it canbe and I'm not doing a damn
thing. So let me just again,take some of my own medicine and
really just do this because it'sso much easier to see when it's
somebody else, right?
Kristen Lettini (14:34):
It is that it really is it makes such a huge
difference in having that group,that support group because I
even recently just did aninterview. I haven't put it out
yet for season two, but with awoman who's who owns her own
small business, and we weretalking like, oh, it'd be good
to stay connected like this justto keep each other going. You
know, aside from her episoderecording, and I'm thinking
yeah, it's just not the samewhen you talk to your spouse or
(14:56):
your friends like they want youto succeed. They're supportive.
But the As feedback or responsesyou're getting may not be at the
same level as what you'regetting from that support group
of people sort of in the sameboat. You know,
Jamie Stephens (15:08):
it's, yeah, it's like, Oh, honey, it's great.
We're like, your peers might belike, yeah, no, it's really
good. But you could do this, youknow, like, if you just tweak
that I think it would comeacross. But you know, like one
of those things where you canreally just have that sounding
board, which is so important.
And really the first time I'veever I mean, I think we're a
little bit the same as alifelong learner and likes to
(15:29):
learn all the things, but I'venever actually taken advantage
of any of the communities whereI've learned things and courses
and all of that. And so this hasbeen a real change maker, like
as far as having that communityand staying in touch with people
and keeping each otheraccountable, I think has been
really great. Yeah.
Kristen Lettini (15:51):
And I was gonna add something to it. The
lifelong learner, I think weboth come with a supply chain
background, right? Yeah. Youever did the Lean Six Sigma
stuff? It was like that, alwayslooking for incremental
improvements? And I feel likeI'm seeing why with, okay,
hadn't even just plan out thepodcast, or how to organize the
files like that. Those arethings that I get excited about.
Jamie Stephens (16:11):
Yes, yeah. We've actually talked about that
before. I'm like Kristin, comeorganize my file.
Kristen Lettini (16:18):
What makes me excited doesn't have to make you
excited. That's how we can allcoexist. Yeah, here's
Jamie Stephens (16:22):
your zone of genius. And my zone of genius
are not the same. But it'sreally something whenever you, I
don't know if I heard it on apodcast, or like where I heard
it. But that concept of lettingother people handle what's not
in your zone of genius, andreally just kind of focusing
there. And, you know, it's like,well, if you're smart, you can
(16:45):
do a lot of things. But do youwant to? Are they bringing you
joy? Are you happy doing them?
Yeah, I could probably sit downand figure out a system for my
files. That's a little bitbetter than what I have now.
And, you know, do all thethings, but it's actually a
pretty good one for thispodcast. It's all the other
files. Like, what am I do it?
(17:06):
Yeah, I mean, I think that's itjust makes life so rich,
whenever you can just focus onthe things that you really
enjoy, and that light you up,and then let other people focus
on the things that you don'tenjoy. By it lights them up. So
it's like a win win.
Kristen Lettini (17:23):
It isn't. I never had this thought. But as
you were speaking, I wasthinking, okay, the whole
reason, the people you'retalking to you have left
corporate, right, it's to pursuetheir passion. Right, right. And
I'm thinking, Okay, if you leftto pursue your passion, and then
you find yourself bogged downwith details that you're not
passionate about, like youshould be applying the same
principle. I'm not doing thatbecause I want to do this thing.
(17:44):
So I've never thought about itthat like, instead of like
trying to be the hero, like, No,I can do it all. I don't need to
spend money to get XYZ done.
Right? Hey, if you spend alittle bit of investment and you
can get those things done thatmuch more efficiently, then you
have, how much more time to doyour sternum genius work, and
then hopefully put even more outthere.
Jamie Stephens (18:01):
Yeah, which is exactly what we were talking
about before we hit record isthat even though I did my own
editing in the beginning of thepodcast, and all of that thing,
and I know how to do it. It isnot fun for me, it is not
something I enjoy. It is notlike it takes an overwhelming
amount of time because I justget too nitpicky and like think
(18:24):
that it has to perfect. And I'mnot like quoting you know, it's
like it's all YouTube learnings.
You know, it's not like I've gota very skilled system that I can
just go through and do all thisaudio editing. So it's just like
to be able to pass that on tosomebody else. So I can get,
like five hours of my life backevery week. I mean, that's just
(18:44):
priceless. You know. I do wantto ask you, because I think it's
so fun. Tell me about you havetwin girls with you. And you're
doing a summer ice cream tour.
Yeah, and I'm a big fan of icecream. Tell me kind of what
sparked that. And just tell me alittle bit about that. Because I
(19:07):
think it's so fun. Yeah, no,
Kristen Lettini (19:09):
thank you. I think it's fun to actually as I
was preparing to leavecorporate. I've you know, was
talking to all my friends andcolleagues had a woman who I
worked with said, Oh, she wastalking about I was going to do
because I told her I'm trying totake the summer with my kids and
make sure I just really kind ofyou know, live in that moment
before I worry about what'snext. And she mentioned she had
(19:30):
done this ice cream challenge orice cream tour last summer the
summer before with her boys. Andthey were keeping scorecards and
they were trying to find thebest ice cream in the state. And
so she shared that with me. Iwas like I love that. Like I
think it's probably not good formy waistline but I love it.
Nice. It's just a little bit icecream once in a while like Okay,
fine. So yeah, I mean, we're notas hardcore with keeping score
(19:53):
or anything but it's just reallygiving us a fun excuse to get
ice cream when we're out in ouryou know, not our neck of the
woods. We did it a lot. And wewent for a swim meets, if they
were at home, we would say,Okay, what's the closest lights
came around here? Try it out.
And my kids love it. It's way.
But yeah, they get a notch.
Like, what song law are yougoing to use when you use these
pictures that you took a vice?
(20:15):
Fighting over, which was to getsto pick the song? I'm like,
listen, I control I wouldn't usethe song that I think I'm just
asking for your input.
Jamie Stephens (20:23):
I'm just letting you think you get an input.
Kristen Lettini (20:26):
But it's not because I was picking up the
kids to like, it's fun. Becausethey're watching me. Right?
Right. I figure something outand live out my dreams, which I
hope and I think most parentswould hope if you say your kid
comes to you, like, I've gotthis dream to do XYZ I want to
dance on this stage. You as theparent, even a bad dream seems
far off. Like you're going towant to help them right, right?
(20:48):
And say, yeah, go after it. Atleast try if you fail, you
could, you could try anotherway, which is often when I've
had to tell myself like look,I'm going to try. He can this
chance taking this break. And ifit doesn't work, I'll go back.
But for now, I want to try it.
So I feel like I was also animportant factor in my decisions
to take this break because insome new future someday they
cook to me I want to be able tosay Yeah, go for it. Let's let's
(21:09):
do we can are you to make thatdream come true. And if it's not
the right dream, we'll findsomething else better. But I'm
going to be here to support you.
So I feel like they know aboutthe podcast, they get on the
podcast, they help me promotethe fun. They'll come up with
ideas to to talk about thepodcast. It's funny. They're
teachers at school, like oh, Iguess they were asking what
parents do. One of my girls islike, she's got a podcast. Had a
(21:32):
detox you at the time I wasstill working. She's like, No,
just told her you had a podcast,
Jamie Stephens (21:36):
because that's what's cool, mom. Everybody's
got a job, but
Kristen Lettini (21:42):
on a tangent there from ice cream, but I just
I do love the fact that it'sshowing my children like this.
Competence and desire you canhave with it yourself. And it
may or may not work. It's kindof scary, but they're sort of
along for the ride or have afront seat view for this ride.
Jamie Stephens (22:00):
Yeah, and what important life skills they're
learning to. I mean, that isjust so huge. And I know you
have daughters, I have fourdaughters, I I've never had
boys. So I don't know. So I'mgoing to make a generalization
here. But as a mother of girls,I know for me, it is very
(22:20):
important that whatever lifeadvice or whatever I want to
teach my children, it's like,it's really hard to really just
kind of tell your kids and givethem life advice and things like
that. If you're not living thatyourself.
Kristen Lettini (22:39):
Do as I say, not as I do.
Jamie Stephens (22:42):
It's like yeah, go follow your dreams. Well,
Mom, is your dream and supplychain. No, no, it's not. You
know, so it's like, okay, sowhat is that? Like? What kind of
example Am I being what? And I'mnot like shaming anybody who's
not in a position to go out anddo like, I don't want to get me
wrong, but it's like, just tohave that to where it's like,
(23:03):
No, I totally believe in you.
And it's okay, we were gonna tryand sometimes will fail. And
look, that is okay, we get backup, you know, just all of the
lessons because you don't gothrough entrepreneurship and be
like scratch free. It justdoesn't have it. So, I mean,
it's, it's a gift that you'regiving them, like all of it just
(23:23):
one year presents and you justbeing able to like focus on them
all summer long and have thesefun little things like ice cream
challenges and all this stuff.
But then I know your girls arereally active, like in sports
and swimming and basketball,other things and dance and 47
activities, but it's like, it'snice that they can see like,
(23:46):
Okay, well, we don't have togive up fun. Just because we're
an adult. Like we can still findways to incorporate what we
love. And here's this way thatwe can do it. And look what mom
is showing us. You know, I thinkit's so important.
Kristen Lettini (24:01):
One notes add just as you're saying that I
there's one memory from thesummer so far that definitely
sticks out as a highlight is forme. One day, our pool was
closed. Something was going on.
It was super hot and like whatare we going to do? And so we
woke up I said, Girls getdressed. We're gonna go to the
boardwalk. So we drove the hourto the beach, hung out in the
boardwalk, they get some arcadegames, they did some rope
climbing. They just had a goodtime. And as we're getting ready
(24:25):
my one daughter says Mom, I likethat you do fun things now
wasn't it? Yes. It wasn'textravagant. It wasn't like I
was taken when Disney it waspretty low budget day on
spending a couple dollars butlow budget, Nothing extravagant.
And I just that moment for mewas like, Okay, this is what I
had wanted to do with the summerand they appreciate it. They are
having fun and they recognizethe change. It's like mom
(24:49):
couldn't do this before when shewas working every day and yeah,
we didn't hear for it but itjust wasn't nearly as much fun.
So
Jamie Stephens (24:56):
I mean, that's it's such a sweet age. To You
know, they're eight years old. Imean, I've got my youngest is
now 15. So it's not the same.
Kristen Lettini (25:07):
I imagine not quite, but I don't want you to
think too hard about whathappens then.
Jamie Stephens (25:11):
Oh, yeah, no, it's really great that you could
do this now because it's like,they still want to hang out with
you. And they still want to bearound you. They still think
you're cool and doing all thethings now it's like, oh, yeah,
yeah, that's fun. So what hasbeen your favorite ice cream
flavor to date?
Kristen Lettini (25:28):
So I will tell you, I'm not super adventurous
with the flavors. Vanilla withheat bar. Okay. Okay. It all
standby. So I'll usually go withsome version of that. Like last
night, I did have a vanilla heatbar shake. I've never done a
shake. It was delicious. Yeah,we don't get too crazy. We're
(25:49):
not we don't always go out atthe same flavors to like, do an
apples to apples comparison. Soyou're a stickler for that we're
not following those rules. Buthonestly, one of our favorites,
we have to close by that we lovewe've done for now. We're like,
Oh, those still pretty tough onthe list. And so we're like, oh,
this is lucky that we have ourfavorites close by. Yeah.
Jamie Stephens (26:08):
I'm a fan of Heath Bar myself. It's so good.
Good. I make a really goodtoffee every year, like at
Christmas. And it has to be atChristmas because it doesn't set
up. Right. Like it has to becold and all of the things. I
only make it once a year becauseoh my gosh, it's like butter,
sugar. Chocolate. Like, bye.
Yeah,
Kristen Lettini (26:32):
I love a good excuse to bake. Because then
it's like a freebie. Like,
Jamie Stephens (26:35):
I get to eat this. Like, yeah,
Kristen Lettini (26:37):
I can't do too much of it.
Jamie Stephens (26:39):
So what is on season two for your podcast?
Kristen Lettini (26:42):
So let's good question. Thank you for asking.
So season one I started out withjust we're gonna look at all our
areas of life, work homepersonal, you know, hear what
other people are doing. See ifwe can make small adjustments to
make our lives more magical.
Season two, I'm really planningto narrow in on the workspace,
right. So traditionally, Ithought, or I think you either
have keypads, right. Once youhave kids, you can have your
(27:04):
stay at home mom, or you can youknow, continue or be part of the
workforce and a nine to size.
And I'm going to be speaking towomen who have done something in
between, right, and figure outhow they how and why they
decided to do that. what's beengreat about it, what maybe
hasn't been so great about it,but really tackling in on the
work aspect of it. Because likeI said, it just feels like
(27:27):
there's really two, two straightpaths. You either pick a branch
off, you pick one or the other,and then you go and then we're
all sitting there commiseratingif you're, you're home like, oh,
I would rather be making moneyor if you're working you feel
guilty or not with the kids,like there's a gazillion
reasons, just covered to foreither one of those branches.
But yeah, there's I've realized,and there's a whole lot more in
(27:47):
the middle or outside of thosetwo paths. And, you know, having
the technology and tools we havetoday, and especially with
COVID. Now bringing us evenmore, virtually, there are a lot
of opportunities. So if youdon't want to if you don't fit
well in one of those buckets,some people do, and they love
it, which is great. But it feelslike you're not sitting well in
one of those two buckets. Andmaybe there's something else out
(28:09):
there that you could be dealingwith, even though you have this
desire to start your own. Ormaybe it's with someone else. It
doesn't have to be your ownventure, but maybe it's just the
industry that you're in, right.
So that's the main day forseason two. And I'm super
excited. I'm just in the middleof lining up some guests now for
season two. And yeah, I'mpersonally excited about what
I'm going to learn from them,and then being able to share
(28:31):
that with my audience.
Jamie Stephens (28:33):
You know, that is one of the most underrated
things that for me anyway,underrated because I don't know
why. But I didn't account forthe vast amount of exposure and
knowledge I had to such amazingwomen and brains. Like during
(28:56):
this podcast, I've had just myeyes open to possibilities. So I
love that that's what you'reexploring, because you know, you
may find your thing. And thereit's just like somebody may say
something that sparks somethingthat goes something else. And
then you pair it with anotherpodcast and guests that you had
a while back. And then it's likeall comes together. And it's
like in a super exciting way.
It's something similar to likekind of where I'm exploring now.
(29:18):
You know, I've had this passionfor YouTube before and then it
just kind of waned and COVIDbecause it was on food and
cooking. And I was so sick ofthat during COVID. So it just
kind of dropped off. But I hadsome guests on my podcast last
week already and Joel fromSSDNow media, but they are now
(29:38):
doing YouTube or they'reYouTubers. And it's kind of like
the way that they've done it andthe things that they like I
learned from just thatinterview. It's just like it's
sparked so many things for methat it's like Oh, like this is
one of the best parts thatnobody talks about is all of the
just really brilliant women thatyou You get to talk to, and that
(29:59):
is super fun. I mean, I've madea lot of friends, like still,
like still keeping in touch withguests and stuff that I've
interviewed over the last year.
And so that's been really fun.
Do you still keep in touch withsome of your people? Yeah,
Kristen Lettini (30:15):
absolutely. I mean, I'm connected to all of
them on social media. So at aminimum, when they're posting,
I'm seeing what's going on, I'mcheering for them along the way.
But that feels like I'm buildinga whole new group of friends out
there, even if I've never metthem physically. Face like we've
had an hour long conversation.
And then you really get to knowa person in that time, right?
And then you can we continue tosee what's going on in their
(30:37):
lives. So it is pretty cool.
Jamie Stephens (30:39):
Yeah, because in an hour, you generally get past
like, the surface stuff. And youcan really just kind of talk to
people and find out like, okay,like, let's actually get to know
each other and some of thesethings. So that's, yeah, that's
really cool.
Kristen Lettini (30:53):
I was going to add to it even like you said,
even if it's not, okay, I wantto be a YouTuber from that
example. There could besomething that that you take and
apply to your day job orsomething else that that was
like the little spark or littleidea you needed to take
something to the next level. Sonot to be that same exact thing.
Yeah, that's it. I'm lookingforward to to OCR from people
who've done all sorts of like,you're like, I don't even know
(31:15):
that was a job, right? Like how?
Yeah, those are the types oftopics that I'm expecting to
uncover. Were like, I have nodesire to be a dance coach. But
cool. Let me hear how you didthat, and what it could spark
for me. So that's what I'mexcited about to you. That's
exciting.
Jamie Stephens (31:31):
So backing up a little bit. How did you know it
was time to kind of switch gearsand find something else outside
of your corporate career thatyou had been in for 13 years?
Kristen Lettini (31:44):
Ah, excellent question. I will say this
decision was something for memany years in the making. I've
had this desire for way backwhen I read Jack Canfield, these
success principles. And in thebook they sell, you'd write down
your goals and read them everyday. And one of my goals that I
wrote down many years ago was toown my own business with
(32:06):
positive cash flow, you have towrite down all the details.
Yeah. Well, that's it has comeand gone, but it was always in
the back of my mind, like maybeI could do my own thing. And
then in 2018, my job wasimpacted. So I was given six
months notice, which was a verylong lead time, right to say,
Okay, well, your jumps beeneliminated, but you've got six
months to find a new one withinthe company. If not, you're out
(32:26):
the door. And at that time, itwas a huge shock. I very much
appreciated the will vo runwayof six months. We're getting
ready to we were just literallylike days into our kitchen first
floor renovation that was like,oh, yeah, we cannot go without a
job right now. Okay. All right.
And so I started looking atobviously, I landed because I
(32:46):
stayed with the company foryears after that. But it was at
that time where I was like, Oh,maybe I should have just taken
the package and figured it out.
Like I knew I could figure Ihave the faith in myself, but
I'll figure something out. I'mnot going to be end up sitting
on the couch, eating bonbons andlike, miserable maybe for a
couple of days. But I'll pickmyself up and figure something
(33:09):
out find something. But I landedwithin the company, so I didn't
have to get to that. We gotthrough the the home
renovations. It was all great.
But then so that's really since2019. When I landed in that new
rule. I was like, Hmm, maybe Ishould have used that
opportunity. Right? And to say,Okay, I'll take a little break.
I'll see what's next. And sothen really 2019 2020 COVID hit.
Work got crazier for everyone. Idon't care what industry or role
(33:34):
you're in, I like everyone's jobgot a little harder, if not a
lot harder and stressful becausewe're all managing extra stuff.
Now, whether it's at home or atwork. At the time I was an
employee help make sure ouremployees were safe and taking
care of themselves. That time itjust got that much more
stressful, but wereoverwhelming. I felt like it was
really evident to me while I wasnot being with my children
(33:57):
during the day, like thank Godfor my husband, who was able to
flex a little more in terms ofthe homeschooling and like
keeping them they were inkindergarten when COVID first
hit. So there was no like jumpon your computer and do your own
stuff. He was very hands on.
Right? So yeah, we only survivedthen the next school year by
(34:18):
bringing in college students tohelp with that, which they were
amazing. But yeah, it just wasreally evident to me like how
little I was able to give thembecause of how much I was
putting into my day job. Andthen come 2021 Same thing. So by
2022 I was like listen, I'mstill feel I moved to a new
role, which was a really greatshift. I was enjoying it. But at
(34:40):
the same time like I think nowmight be my time like my kids
are still young enough that theywill they want to hang out in
them but for the most part, Icould take the summer I try to
figure out if not, if it's likeif I fail miserably multiple
times. Okay, I'm enough to goback and say, Alright, I made
this mistake I tried it didn'twork for me. But here I am
reapplying For a new role. Sothat's where I just it was yours
(35:03):
for me in the making of like, doI want to do those? I do want to
do it. But I know that soundscrazy. It's scary. Like I just I
went through that dialoguemultiple times. And it wasn't
until I started having theconversations with my husband,
with my mom with like goodbrands like I'm really have this
desire, and I would rationalizelike, why it would be okay.
They're like, Oh my god. So godo like, okay, and then it got
(35:25):
to the point where it's likesummers around the corner. I
think I need to do it. So I gavelike five weeks notice. I didn't
want to leave my team and alertshows. All right to make
something out. That was it. Itwas a really, it was a long
decision for me it was drawnout. I was never I didn't have
the clear what's next. It wasjust I have this whisper that
has now turned into yellow likeyou'll figure it out. Just go
(35:49):
try. Just go try.
Jamie Stephens (35:50):
Do you think that having the podcast and
having like building thatconfidence over the last nine
months or whatever, howeverlong? It's been six months? How
long has eight months? I don'tknow, what is time anymore?
Kristen Lettini (36:06):
What is nine?
Definitely having the podcasthelps. I mean, it's no overnight
success. Yes. Yep, there arepeople are like, Oh, you'd have
to listen to this amazing show,right. But it was something like
it just felt good to do it. Todo something consistently to put
it out there to see it growing,albeit slowly, right? In my
mind, if it gets one download aday, it's going in the right
direction, right? So yeah,having the podcast definitely
(36:29):
helped. It was like, Oh, you'redoing something, you're not
doing nothing. And it's not theend all be all, but it's
something that it feels done,
Jamie Stephens (36:38):
right? I think just that like, almost like a
confidence boost, like I've donesomething I've never done
before. And I'm beingconsistent. I'm learning in the
process. I'm growing. I'mstretching myself, I'm learning
these new skills, whether it'stech or marketing, or speaking
or recording, like whatever itis, it's all new stuff. And I
(37:00):
think it just builds thatcompetence of yeah, like I can
figure it out, like whatever itis, whatever it is, I can Google
it. I can ask somebody, I havecommunity, I have people, which
is not something that a lot ofpeople have whenever they first
leave, you know, it's likebuilding that kind of network
before you walk away, I think isis interesting. Yeah. Nice to
(37:23):
have. For sure.
Kristen Lettini (37:24):
Definitely helpful. I recommend that if
you're planning Yeah, you'replanning that sign. Find that
community at a time.
Jamie Stephens (37:30):
Exactly. Yeah, I've like I said, I've never
really done that. But this timehas been different. So that's
been it's been reallyinteresting. And I can say like,
Yeah, this is really somethingyou should invest your time in.
Because it's not just for afriendly chat. So it's like, no,
these people can really helphold you accountable to help
raise the bar help raise you,and you did the same for them,
(37:53):
you know,
Kristen Lettini (37:54):
exactly. And for the most part, I feel like
we all understand like, seeingyou succeed, doesn't mean I
won't succeed, right? We canboth exceed. And actually,
things are much better when weboth do instead of just one of
us. Right? So that would mean mehelping you makes me any worse
off.
Jamie Stephens (38:09):
Yeah, I guess all of the women I follow online
today, like they all seem tohave that abundance attitude.
But that's really something thatis cultivated, and not something
that I think is just natural forpeople. So how would you say
that you kind of got to thatpoint? Were you there before you
kind of took on this podcastingrole. And like were you saw
(38:31):
people as peers and helpful andnot as like competition, or I
don't even know what I'm tryingto say, but
Kristen Lettini (38:43):
I follow where you're going. And I would say
maybe not as I wasn't as mindfulabout it, or what it was called.
But I will say that, I feel likeI had some of it because being
in a large corporation. So I'veworked in both a 13 person
company. And then I worked for140,000 person global company,
worked at both extremes. Andeven that large company, I like
(39:03):
I mentioned at the top of this,and worked across different
functions. So I first went, Ispent five years in procurement
before I made the switch over tomarketing, and then ultimately
communication. So in that timetrying to switch from
procurement to something thatwas less related, like I wasn't
going straight into a supplychain. I was like, hey, I want
to go into marketing. The peoplearound me didn't necessarily
know how to help, even if theywanted to support me. They're
(39:25):
like, Yeah, I'm sorry, I don'tknow what the steps are for
that. So when I would find thepeople in my outreach to say,
tell me how you got into yourrole and tell me about your
paths. They were all willing toshare and it wasn't bringing
them down. So I feel like it wasalmost living through that
example of me finding thosepeople and it for the most part,
just like you said, with thepodcasts that reaching most
(39:45):
people were willing to chat withme and share their story with me
and there wasn't anything likethey were fearful I was going to
take their job when I wasn'teven in the function. Yeah. And
they were like, look, here's thethings you need to know here's
what you need to do and let meknow how I can help you. They
were all for the most part. arevery supportive. And I feel like
it was that mentality in actionwithout knowing, being mindful
(40:05):
of what it was. So I was alwayshappy to pay that forward. Once
I made it. I made that switch offunctions when others would
reach out whether or not theywere just starting in their
careers or a few years long tosay like, how did you do it? And
I was always happy to share withthem. Look, it wasn't easy. It
took a couple years. But here'swhat I did. So
Jamie Stephens (40:26):
that's great. So if you had to distill this is a
hard question. So feel free totake a minute, but if you had to
distill everything you'velearned in the last year since
starting your podcast, whatwould be one of the biggest
takeaways where you're like,Man, this is it.
Kristen Lettini (40:46):
Biggest thing for me one for myself, like to
like one, just just try it.
Failure is okay. When you havethat impostor syndrome or fear
of like, who am I to do this? Ihave learned and I try to,
sometimes I need reinforcement,but try to focus on like, who
might not to do this, right. AndI've heard these bots, other
people out there probably havethem. I owe it to them to share
(41:06):
it. Yeah. And like we saidearlier, it's they want to hear
it. If they're interested.
They'll stick around. They'lllisten, if they don't, they'll
keep scrolling. They might havea negative thought about me, but
that's okay. Yeah, they aregonna keep on going. It's not
gonna hurt me. And I at leasttried it. I can say I tried it.
So beloved.
Jamie Stephens (41:25):
I was listening to a book the other day, and I
don't know which one it is. ButI think that's chil printer from
Denise Duffield Thomas. But oneof the things she was saying
that struck me so hard, becauseI have, I've gotten better out
over the years, over the year.
But that imposter syndrome, thatwho am I? Like, who cares what I
(41:48):
have to say? Like that was justthe constant dialogue. For me.
It's like, yeah, I can post thisbut fine. Like, who cares what I
have to say, the thing that shesaid in the book, and it was
just kind of like, it wasn'tlike this grandiose thing, you
know, how sometimes just thisone sentence and slang, you
know, a slew of, you know, a bitmiddle of a paragraph, just,
(42:09):
that's the one that jumps outand gets you. But it was, I'm a
contributor, not a guru. And Ithought, wow, like, that just
really hit me. Because it'slike, I don't have to be
perfect. Like, I don't have toknow every single in and out, I
don't have like, I'm justcontributing to the
conversation. And that felt soeasy. You know, I've always been
(42:32):
a contributor. I've always beencontributing to the
conversation, whether it be likeI work or my family, or like,
what are the things it's like,this is no different. I'm
contributing to a differentconversation now. But it's still
like, I'm just a contributor. Idon't know all be all end all.
You know, it's like, why putthat pressure on yourself? And I
(42:52):
think that is, no, it was veryeye opening to be like, Yeah,
I'm a contributor, not a guru.
Like to put that on me.
Kristen Lettini (43:04):
I like that.
I'm gonna use that because I dohave it sometimes job. I'm
writing a post or you want anediting the podcast. I'm like,
oh, I want to get this. And Ithink you know, it's good
enough. Yeah, it's good enough.
I'm contributing. Here it is.
Maybe people will like it. Maybethey won't. But it's my effort.
So awesome. I'm a contributor. Ilike it. I
Jamie Stephens (43:22):
like it. All right. Well, do you want to tell
people where they can find you,Kristen, and all the things
listen to your podcast.
Kristen Lettini (43:29):
For now, the best place to find me is on
Instagram or Facebook. I'm atperson dot Latini. And the
podcast is build your own fairytale available on Apple podcasts
or Spotify or any of the otherplatforms, you may listen. But
those are the two main ones. Soyeah, I would love it. If you
head on over, you can follow meI share some behind the scenes
into me trying to build my ownfairy tale, some laughs some
(43:52):
funny pictures of my kids overeating ice cream, and then
things about the podcast. So Iwould love to see
Jamie Stephens (43:57):
you there.
Awesome. And I will link all ofthat in the show notes. So thank
you so much for coming on theshow today.
Kristen Lettini (44:02):
Thank you Jamie had so much fun. All right. Bye
bye.
Jamie Stephens (44:05):
Yay. I am so excited that I got to return the
offer and share Kristin story onthe show. There's so much to
learn on this entrepreneurialjourney. And I think hearing
some of these very beginningstages will really help you on
your path. Some of the keytakeaways from this episode are
number one, adopt the Come withme. Getting started in business
(44:26):
can be as simple as, hey, thisis the problem I'm trying to
solve for myself. I'm figuringit out. Come with me as I build
it. Number two, go with what youknow. Some things will be easier
than others when you're gettingstarted in your business. Let
your previous experience fuelthe parts of your business
you're comfortable with whileyou learn the other more
(44:47):
challenging aspects. Numberthree, respect the process.
Things can feel overwhelming anddaunting when you haven't done
them before. However, once yourealize that you're a human
dealing with other humans, youcan start to drop the fear and
just do the thing, and that isso scary anymore. Number four,
find your peer group. Whenyou're learning a new skill,
(45:08):
craft, business, whatever, it'sso much easier for our brains to
see how to help others. When youfind your peer group, you're
really finding a mirror toreflect back to you what you
could be doing as well. It's anawesome way to learn and grow.
Most times someone going throughthe process with you can provide
greater feedback than yourfriends and family. Number five,
(45:30):
recognize your own zone ofgenius. It's important to put
your energy into things that youenjoy and light you up and
handing off tasks to people thatthey actually like doing and are
good at it. It's a win win.
Number six, be the example yourkids are watching and are seeing
you as the example. Whether it'seating healthy or pursuing your
dreams or trying even if youmight fail or getting up if you
(45:52):
do fail, or when you fail. Yourexample is more powerful than
any advice. Number seven, be acontributor. Get your ideas into
the world without over analyzingand questioning your every
comment. You don't have to be anexpert. You're simply
contributing to theconversation. Okay, friends,
that is it. Thanks so much toKristen for being on the show.
(46:15):
Today. I've linked everything upin the show notes. And if you
feel like being a rock star, goahead and send this episode to a
friend or lever the or leave areview so more women can find
this show. We're all in thistogether girl. Until next week,
find me on Instagram at JamieRenee
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