June 13, 2024 • 14 mins
How did this highly successful news anchor navigate the shift to entrepreneurship? Join us for a behind-the-scenes conversation with Lynn Smith, former anchor at NBC, MSNBC, CNN, and HLN, as she shares her inspiring journey of leaving the news industry to launch Rylan Media. Lynn's candid discussion about intentional planning, balancing motherhood with business, and setting boundaries will resonate with anyone juggling multiple roles. Her reflections on overcoming challenges as a young woman in a male-dominated field and the invaluable guidance of her mentors offer insightful lessons for aspiring entrepreneurs.
In this episode, we also tackle the ever-present issue of managing overwhelm. Lynn provides actionable strategies for prioritizing tasks and maintaining productivity without losing sanity. Listen as she emphasizes the importance of saying no and creating specific buckets for tasks to keep your schedule clear and focused. With a positive outlook on the unpredictable road of entrepreneurship, Lynn encourages you to see setbacks as setups for future success. This episode offers a wealth of practical advice and motivation for female entrepreneurs at any stage of their journey.
Thank you for tuning in to The Female Founder Show with host and entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick. If you like what you heard, please give us a review and let us know what you think?
Want to hear and see more great content to help you run your business more profitably? Go to ASBN.com.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:07):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of the
Female Founder Show, whereyou'll hear inspiring stories
and advice from femaleentrepreneurs to help you build
and grow your business.
You may recognize today's guest,former news anchor Lynn Smith,
since she has worked in thebiggest newsrooms across the
country.
Lynn has worked for NBC News,msnbc, cnn and HLN, both behind
(00:39):
and in front of the camera.
During her long career injournalism, lynn has interviewed
some of the biggest names innews and entertainment and
hosted shows like WeekendExpress and On the Story.
She recently took a huge leapand said goodbye to the TV world
to help others with her companyRylan Media, serving as a media
consultant, advising CEOs andbusiness leaders on how to get
(01:00):
their message out clearly andconcisely on camera.
She recently said in aninterview with Us Weekly I've
watched clients go from fearfuland unsure of themselves on
camera to crushing an appearanceon the biggest news outlets in
the world.
I'm excited to talk with Lynntoday about her recent change,
her company Rylan Media and howshe does it all.
Lynn, thank you so much forjoining us.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
It's so good to be here, Bridget, Thanks for having
me.
Yes, Now I would love to jumpright into it.
Now you left the TV world tobecome an entrepreneur.
Talk to us about that changeand how you came up with that or
how you do it.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Well, everyone who's an entrepreneur knows it's the
scariest thing that you'll everdo, but it's the most fulfilling
thing of growth for myself,separate from the business just
learning how to overcomefailures and how to fight for
your successes, how to earn youryeses rather than taking no's
(01:53):
for an answer, and I've beenable to be the mom that I want
to be in the process, and Ithink a lot of women in the
pandemic realized if theyweren't doing what really made
an impact in their work.
They wanted to make a change,and that's what I decided to do
Great.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Now, when you were telling your friends and family
about your change, did theythink you were crazy, crazy, or
how did they take that?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Are you sure you want to do that?
Have you planned for that?
And I will say, becoming anentrepreneur is not something
that one day you wake up I'mgoing to start my own company.
It's about as hard work thatyou're ever going to put in in
your career, and I've workedhard as an anchor.
I worked an overnight shift,I've worked holidays.
I go into work at 4 o'clock inthe morning.
But becoming an entrepreneur,you have to really intentionally
plan your business to set it upfor success, and so I spent a
(02:44):
lot of time developing RylandMedia and practicing this new
life for myself before I evenmade the change, and that's
something that I think is reallyimportant for a lot of female
founders out there.
Don't just jump in headfirst.
Really make a plan.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes, I love that advice, great advice.
Now let's talk about you.
Have two beautiful boys.
How do you balance the juggleof entrepreneurship and business
life?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And they were the reason I wanted to make the
switch.
I wanted to be able to be themom I wanted to be and then also
still have a career, and so Ireally set limits in my business
.
I made sure that no one couldschedule anything on my calendar
before 10 am and no one canschedule anything after 3 pm.
Now, do I make exceptions?
Of course I do.
Do I travel for work?
Of course I do.
(03:25):
But I set limits and I try andreally stick to them so I can
give them what they need.
Now, does that mean I work a 20hour week?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
That means that I work when they're going to sleep
, I work after you know, in themiddle of the night, or I work
before they wake up, andtherefore I'm able to have the
business and the motherhoodexperience that I wanted.
That's great, great way tobalance that Now.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
do you have a mentor or somebody that you look up to,
and, if so, how have theyencouraged you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
I've had many.
I've been lucky enough to havemany mentors over my career.
One in particular I have calledupon throughout my career to
say you know, can I just pingthis off of you and just get
some feedback?
And so when I was making thischange, I got a lot of.
Are you sure you've thoughtthis through?
(04:10):
Because you can't walk awayfrom television and say, oops,
let me switch that decision back.
And you know, now that I havegone through with it and that
the company has thankfully beensuccessful, I get a lot of way
to go.
Way to take that leap of faith,you have to be able to bet on
(04:32):
yourself, and when you do andbelieve in yourself, you really
can do anything Absolutely.
That's the thing that I reallytook away from becoming an
entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I love that.
Now let's go back to the newsdays.
Once again, it was heavilydominated by men.
Do you recall any times thatyou feel like you may have been
treated unfairly because you'rea woman?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I think just not taken seriously, especially when
I was younger.
So I started, you know, when Iwas 26, and I always was just
never old enough.
And you know it's funny aboutbeing a woman in the news
business you're never old enoughand then you're too old.
There's never that sweet spot inbetween of oh okay, now I'm
just right.
I had people put glasses on mefor a broadcast because they
(05:15):
thought that it made me lookolder and more respected, and so
the way I handled that, justwatch.
You know, just watch, I'll justdo what I do.
I don't care what anybodythinks, just watch.
And if I fail, I'll pick myselfback up and I'll dust myself
off and I'll keep going.
Good for you.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That is great.
Now there are challenging daysbeing an entrepreneur, of course
.
How do you manage thosechallenging days?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Sometimes I say I have this conversation with
friends a lot.
Sometimes it's day by day andsometimes it's hour by hour and
sometimes it's minute by minute,and I've had days where it's
complete chaos with the children.
I don't have full-time childcare, I'm juggling a million
different things and then I'm inmy car trying to upload a
client appearance to pitch themsomewhere else and I'm just
(06:04):
thinking minute to minute,minute to minute, and that gives
me a bit of an inner peace whenit comes to it and, I think,
also a lifestyle change that Imade.
I moved out of a big city, Imoved into a small town to live
this quieter life, so when workand motherhood is really chaotic
, I'm able to say I have alittle bit of peace in my
(06:26):
surroundings.
That is great.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Now you coach people every day on overcoming their
fears.
What is your biggest fear andhow do you overcome?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
it.
I talk all the time about whatmy biggest fear was.
It was public speaking, whicheverybody assumed I would be
good at, and I was terrible atit because the camera is my
crutch.
I look into a camera like hereand I'm like, hey, this is so
much more comfortable for me.
But then when I'm standing infront of a group of a thousand
people, it's completelydifferent.
(06:55):
You're staring into people'sfaces.
So how I overcame it is I saidit out loud and I have all of my
clients do this what do youthink your perceived weakness is
?
What are your fears?
And let's talk them through,because you'll find that once
you actually say it out loud, itgives it so much less power.
I worked on my public speaking.
It's turned into a superpowerthat I'm able to use in my
(07:17):
business now by being a keynotespeaker, but not without
overcoming the fact that Iwasn't good at it, but admitting
it helped change that.
Well, thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
What characteristics do you think it takes to be an
entrepreneur?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I think it's grit and tenacity and resiliency.
I have a motto that I try andlive by, that's just keep going,
and a friend of mine sent it tome in a text message during a
really hard time in my life inmy 30s, and it just clicked Just
keep going when things seemchallenging and it's not going
to turn around.
(07:50):
What's this month going to be?
Is this month going to be likelast month?
Is this going to work out theway that I'm expecting it to
work out?
Just keep going, just keepgoing, and I use this in my
media training as well.
Somebody asks you a questionthat you don't know.
Just keep going.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's okay to pivot Pivot to something else.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
But that has carried me through.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Now let's talk about your training.
Can you talk to us about RylandMedia and how you're helping
small business owners,entrepreneurs and CEOs?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It's really been so much fun, as you said, it's so
exciting for me to see a clientwho wasn't sure about what to
say, what to do, and then all ofa sudden they're appearing.
I had a client this morning onCNBC and I was watching and I
was just like, yes, yes.
And then I picked up the phoneto call him and he's like, was
that okay?
I was like, was that okay?
That was amazing, you justkilled it on Squawk Box.
(08:38):
So I work with experts,entrepreneurs, ceos, to help
them to really talk insoundbites, say something that
matters, have valuable takeaways, and then know how to do that
through a lens of a camera.
It's not comfortable, right?
And so we live in a time where,yes, this is for media
appearances, but it's turnedinto.
Many of my clients are usingthis to sell to potential
(09:02):
customers, because right nowwe're doing a Zoom call and they
have to pitch their client ortheir potential client on why
they should buy this.
But you have to do it into thattiny lens.
It's just not natural.
It's a skill set that needs tobe learned.
So we work on pillars ofconfidence how to grow that
confidence and how to connect tothe lens.
That's the key.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
So much of our life is geared towards the camera.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Now, everything, everything I mean we're even job
interviews or when you have topresent to your managers.
We're not going into theboardroom, right, and I say,
video is the new boardroom.
And then, on top of that, it'scontent.
We need to be able, as businessowners, to create content to
give people value.
You have to have people reallytrust you before they invest in
you, and we're doing thatsocially.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Now, you were recently featured in Us Weekly,
which is so exciting.
Congratulations, Thank you.
Now you mentioned the GreenRoom, a new project you're
working on.
Can you talk to us about that?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
So I started the Green Room newsletter on
LinkedIn and it was kind of myinsider tips on media training
and what makes someone a greatguest and I do.
Linkedin Lives and myone-on-one clients just wanted
to continue to work together andcontinue to do more growth
opportunities.
So the green room was born fromthe idea of if I can train 15
(10:14):
to 20 people at once and thenget them to a place where they
have a pitch in hand that hastheir expertise is applicable,
and then we can put them infront of bookers, then we would
look to get them a nationalmedia appearance by the end of
what the green room is going tobe 12 weeks, so they get all of
my media training and then alsothe opportunity to potentially
be booked.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So exciting.
Yeah, yes, congrats on that.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Thank you, we're so excited.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Now you're doing so much, you have the kids, the
businesses.
How do you keep from becomingoverwhelmed?
Or, if you do, how do youmanage?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
that that is something that I was warned
about in becoming anentrepreneur If you do too much,
then everything will fail.
You focus on what is important,and I have a podcast with
Munchkin.
I have to be able to deliverwith them.
I have to be able to deliverwith my clients, and I also and
I know a lot of entrepreneursstruggle with this we need to be
(11:04):
able to say no.
So I set up this needs, wantsand can'ts bucket.
I have the needs.
I need to deliver for my familyand my clients.
I need to be able to get mywork done, and here's what the
work is.
I am a list person.
Then I have my wants.
I want to be able to go out todinner with girlfriends, or I
want to be able to take on a newclient.
I might not be able to untilfall or winter.
(11:27):
We will work that out.
I want to do that.
And then there are my can'ts,and that's where I say a hard no
.
I can't be room mom.
I wish I could be room mom.
It's not the stage in my careeryet I am able to say no because
I've set up that can'ts bucket,and so that's given me sort of
the framework for how I can tryand get it all done even though
(11:49):
it doesn't all get done.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Now, if there was one piece of advice you could give
yourself five years ago, lookingto now, what would that be?
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I think it would be that you are believing in
yourself the way others believein you, and I say this because
my husband I always used to sayto him I mean, I don't have any
other skill set.
You know, I'm an anchor I don'thave.
And he's like, are you kiddingme?
You can take this and do this.
And I started to believe inmyself the way he believed in me
(12:16):
and that helped me to gain theconfidence myself.
And I talk about this in mybook.
I have a book Confidence Potionthat I'm a confident person in
progress.
Like I'm struggling witheverything, like everybody else
is.
I go onto stage and I have totalk myself out of my own head,
like everybody does.
But if you use these strategies, it is possible to overcome
(12:39):
that and increase yourself-confidence and so being
able to have those people aroundyou that do believe in you.
Listen to them Great advice.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Great advice.
I need to do that myself.
I need to do it myself too.
I need to them.
Great advice, great advice.
I need to do that myself.
I need to do it myself too.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
I need to take my own advice on those days.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Now let's look ahead five years.
Where do you see Lynn Smith andall that you're doing?
Speaker 3 (12:57):
I wish that I had a good answer for that, because I
would have never, even in amillion years, predicted that
I'd be doing what I'm doingright now.
Had it not been for COVID andreally reassessing everything, I
would not be sitting here today.
I'd be sitting on a set, likely, and so I almost am more
excited about not knowing what'sgoing to happen in five years,
(13:18):
even in the last year.
So I launched Rylan Media ayear ago in June.
I had no idea of what was goingto transpire.
I didn't even know that I wasgoing to be doing a podcast with
Munchkin, which is my favorite.
You, I didn't even know that Iwas going to be doing a podcast
with Munchkin, which is myfavorite.
You know I use their sippy cupsand now I get to work with them
.
I would have never imagined therelationship that I have with
the client that just appeared onCNBC.
That came on a year ago.
It was just this month, a yearago, that we started working
(13:42):
together, and so I'm excited tonot know, because everything in
every single year, I can't waitto see what the ups and the
downs are.
We know as entrepreneurs, thereare downs.
They're almost as important asthe ups, because when you come
through that down, the up is somuch better and it's so much
more well-informed.
Yeah, they're not a setback,they're a setup, that's right,
(14:04):
I'm stealing that.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Can I steal that?
I stole it from somebody so whynot?
Well, thank you so much forjoining us today.
I loved talking with you and Ihope I can have you on again for
an update, maybe sooner thanfive years.
I would love it.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Thank you for having me.
It was a lot of fun.
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder inthe Atlanta market and would
like to help other femalefounders with your inspiring
story, we would love to hearfrom you.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
This has been a JBF Business Media production.
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
Speaker 2 (00:18):
Hello everyone and welcome to this episode of the
Female Founder Show, whereyou'll hear inspiring stories
and advice from femaleentrepreneurs to help you build
and grow your business.
You may recognize today's guest,former news anchor Lynn Smith,
since she has worked in thebiggest newsrooms across the
country.
Lynn has worked for NBC News,msnbc, cnn and HLN, both behind
(00:39):
and in front of the camera.
During her long career injournalism, lynn has interviewed
some of the biggest names innews and entertainment and
hosted shows like WeekendExpress and On the Story.
She recently took a huge leapand said goodbye to the TV world
to help others with her companyRylan Media, serving as a media
consultant, advising CEOs andbusiness leaders on how to get
(01:00):
their message out clearly andconcisely on camera.
She recently said in aninterview with Us Weekly I've
watched clients go from fearfuland unsure of themselves on
camera to crushing an appearanceon the biggest news outlets in
the world.
I'm excited to talk with Lynntoday about her recent change,
her company Rylan Media and howshe does it all.
Lynn, thank you so much forjoining us.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
We really appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (01:22):
It's so good to be here, Bridget, Thanks for having
me.
Yes, Now I would love to jumpright into it.
Now you left the TV world tobecome an entrepreneur.
Talk to us about that changeand how you came up with that or
how you do it.
Speaker 3 (01:32):
Well, everyone who's an entrepreneur knows it's the
scariest thing that you'll everdo, but it's the most fulfilling
thing of growth for myself,separate from the business just
learning how to overcomefailures and how to fight for
your successes, how to earn youryeses rather than taking no's
(01:53):
for an answer, and I've beenable to be the mom that I want
to be in the process, and Ithink a lot of women in the
pandemic realized if theyweren't doing what really made
an impact in their work.
They wanted to make a change,and that's what I decided to do
Great.
Speaker 2 (02:07):
Now, when you were telling your friends and family
about your change, did theythink you were crazy, crazy, or
how did they take that?
Speaker 3 (02:13):
Are you sure you want to do that?
Have you planned for that?
And I will say, becoming anentrepreneur is not something
that one day you wake up I'mgoing to start my own company.
It's about as hard work thatyou're ever going to put in in
your career, and I've workedhard as an anchor.
I worked an overnight shift,I've worked holidays.
I go into work at 4 o'clock inthe morning.
But becoming an entrepreneur,you have to really intentionally
plan your business to set it upfor success, and so I spent a
(02:44):
lot of time developing RylandMedia and practicing this new
life for myself before I evenmade the change, and that's
something that I think is reallyimportant for a lot of female
founders out there.
Don't just jump in headfirst.
Really make a plan.
Speaker 2 (02:51):
Yes, I love that advice, great advice.
Now let's talk about you.
Have two beautiful boys.
How do you balance the juggleof entrepreneurship and business
life?
Speaker 3 (03:01):
And they were the reason I wanted to make the
switch.
I wanted to be able to be themom I wanted to be and then also
still have a career, and so Ireally set limits in my business
.
I made sure that no one couldschedule anything on my calendar
before 10 am and no one canschedule anything after 3 pm.
Now, do I make exceptions?
Of course I do.
Do I travel for work?
Of course I do.
(03:25):
But I set limits and I try andreally stick to them so I can
give them what they need.
Now, does that mean I work a 20hour week?
Speaker 1 (03:29):
Absolutely not.
Speaker 3 (03:31):
That means that I work when they're going to sleep
, I work after you know, in themiddle of the night, or I work
before they wake up, andtherefore I'm able to have the
business and the motherhoodexperience that I wanted.
That's great, great way tobalance that Now.
Speaker 2 (03:45):
do you have a mentor or somebody that you look up to,
and, if so, how have theyencouraged you?
Speaker 3 (03:50):
I've had many.
I've been lucky enough to havemany mentors over my career.
One in particular I have calledupon throughout my career to
say you know, can I just pingthis off of you and just get
some feedback?
And so when I was making thischange, I got a lot of.
Are you sure you've thoughtthis through?
(04:10):
Because you can't walk awayfrom television and say, oops,
let me switch that decision back.
And you know, now that I havegone through with it and that
the company has thankfully beensuccessful, I get a lot of way
to go.
Way to take that leap of faith,you have to be able to bet on
(04:32):
yourself, and when you do andbelieve in yourself, you really
can do anything Absolutely.
That's the thing that I reallytook away from becoming an
entrepreneur.
Speaker 2 (04:41):
I love that.
Now let's go back to the newsdays.
Once again, it was heavilydominated by men.
Do you recall any times thatyou feel like you may have been
treated unfairly because you'rea woman?
Speaker 3 (04:51):
I think just not taken seriously, especially when
I was younger.
So I started, you know, when Iwas 26, and I always was just
never old enough.
And you know it's funny aboutbeing a woman in the news
business you're never old enoughand then you're too old.
There's never that sweet spot inbetween of oh okay, now I'm
just right.
I had people put glasses on mefor a broadcast because they
(05:15):
thought that it made me lookolder and more respected, and so
the way I handled that, justwatch.
You know, just watch, I'll justdo what I do.
I don't care what anybodythinks, just watch.
And if I fail, I'll pick myselfback up and I'll dust myself
off and I'll keep going.
Good for you.
Speaker 2 (05:35):
That is great.
Now there are challenging daysbeing an entrepreneur, of course
.
How do you manage thosechallenging days?
Speaker 3 (05:43):
Sometimes I say I have this conversation with
friends a lot.
Sometimes it's day by day andsometimes it's hour by hour and
sometimes it's minute by minute,and I've had days where it's
complete chaos with the children.
I don't have full-time childcare, I'm juggling a million
different things and then I'm inmy car trying to upload a
client appearance to pitch themsomewhere else and I'm just
(06:04):
thinking minute to minute,minute to minute, and that gives
me a bit of an inner peace whenit comes to it and, I think,
also a lifestyle change that Imade.
I moved out of a big city, Imoved into a small town to live
this quieter life, so when workand motherhood is really chaotic
, I'm able to say I have alittle bit of peace in my
(06:26):
surroundings.
That is great.
Speaker 2 (06:27):
Now you coach people every day on overcoming their
fears.
What is your biggest fear andhow do you overcome?
Speaker 3 (06:34):
it.
I talk all the time about whatmy biggest fear was.
It was public speaking, whicheverybody assumed I would be
good at, and I was terrible atit because the camera is my
crutch.
I look into a camera like hereand I'm like, hey, this is so
much more comfortable for me.
But then when I'm standing infront of a group of a thousand
people, it's completelydifferent.
(06:55):
You're staring into people'sfaces.
So how I overcame it is I saidit out loud and I have all of my
clients do this what do youthink your perceived weakness is
?
What are your fears?
And let's talk them through,because you'll find that once
you actually say it out loud, itgives it so much less power.
I worked on my public speaking.
It's turned into a superpowerthat I'm able to use in my
(07:17):
business now by being a keynotespeaker, but not without
overcoming the fact that Iwasn't good at it, but admitting
it helped change that.
Well, thanks for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (07:26):
What characteristics do you think it takes to be an
entrepreneur?
Speaker 3 (07:30):
I think it's grit and tenacity and resiliency.
I have a motto that I try andlive by, that's just keep going,
and a friend of mine sent it tome in a text message during a
really hard time in my life inmy 30s, and it just clicked Just
keep going when things seemchallenging and it's not going
to turn around.
(07:50):
What's this month going to be?
Is this month going to be likelast month?
Is this going to work out theway that I'm expecting it to
work out?
Just keep going, just keepgoing, and I use this in my
media training as well.
Somebody asks you a questionthat you don't know.
Just keep going.
Speaker 2 (08:05):
It's okay to pivot Pivot to something else.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
But that has carried me through.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
Now let's talk about your training.
Can you talk to us about RylandMedia and how you're helping
small business owners,entrepreneurs and CEOs?
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It's really been so much fun, as you said, it's so
exciting for me to see a clientwho wasn't sure about what to
say, what to do, and then all ofa sudden they're appearing.
I had a client this morning onCNBC and I was watching and I
was just like, yes, yes.
And then I picked up the phoneto call him and he's like, was
that okay?
I was like, was that okay?
That was amazing, you justkilled it on Squawk Box.
(08:38):
So I work with experts,entrepreneurs, ceos, to help
them to really talk insoundbites, say something that
matters, have valuable takeaways, and then know how to do that
through a lens of a camera.
It's not comfortable, right?
And so we live in a time where,yes, this is for media
appearances, but it's turnedinto.
Many of my clients are usingthis to sell to potential
(09:02):
customers, because right nowwe're doing a Zoom call and they
have to pitch their client ortheir potential client on why
they should buy this.
But you have to do it into thattiny lens.
It's just not natural.
It's a skill set that needs tobe learned.
So we work on pillars ofconfidence how to grow that
confidence and how to connect tothe lens.
That's the key.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
So much of our life is geared towards the camera.
Speaker 3 (09:23):
Now, everything, everything I mean we're even job
interviews or when you have topresent to your managers.
We're not going into theboardroom, right, and I say,
video is the new boardroom.
And then, on top of that, it'scontent.
We need to be able, as businessowners, to create content to
give people value.
You have to have people reallytrust you before they invest in
you, and we're doing thatsocially.
Speaker 2 (09:45):
Now, you were recently featured in Us Weekly,
which is so exciting.
Congratulations, Thank you.
Now you mentioned the GreenRoom, a new project you're
working on.
Can you talk to us about that?
Speaker 3 (09:54):
So I started the Green Room newsletter on
LinkedIn and it was kind of myinsider tips on media training
and what makes someone a greatguest and I do.
Linkedin Lives and myone-on-one clients just wanted
to continue to work together andcontinue to do more growth
opportunities.
So the green room was born fromthe idea of if I can train 15
(10:14):
to 20 people at once and thenget them to a place where they
have a pitch in hand that hastheir expertise is applicable,
and then we can put them infront of bookers, then we would
look to get them a nationalmedia appearance by the end of
what the green room is going tobe 12 weeks, so they get all of
my media training and then alsothe opportunity to potentially
be booked.
Speaker 2 (10:35):
So exciting.
Yeah, yes, congrats on that.
Speaker 3 (10:37):
Thank you, we're so excited.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
Now you're doing so much, you have the kids, the
businesses.
How do you keep from becomingoverwhelmed?
Or, if you do, how do youmanage?
Speaker 3 (10:44):
that that is something that I was warned
about in becoming anentrepreneur If you do too much,
then everything will fail.
You focus on what is important,and I have a podcast with
Munchkin.
I have to be able to deliverwith them.
I have to be able to deliverwith my clients, and I also and
I know a lot of entrepreneursstruggle with this we need to be
(11:04):
able to say no.
So I set up this needs, wantsand can'ts bucket.
I have the needs.
I need to deliver for my familyand my clients.
I need to be able to get mywork done, and here's what the
work is.
I am a list person.
Then I have my wants.
I want to be able to go out todinner with girlfriends, or I
want to be able to take on a newclient.
I might not be able to untilfall or winter.
(11:27):
We will work that out.
I want to do that.
And then there are my can'ts,and that's where I say a hard no
.
I can't be room mom.
I wish I could be room mom.
It's not the stage in my careeryet I am able to say no because
I've set up that can'ts bucket,and so that's given me sort of
the framework for how I can tryand get it all done even though
(11:49):
it doesn't all get done.
Speaker 2 (11:50):
Now, if there was one piece of advice you could give
yourself five years ago, lookingto now, what would that be?
Speaker 3 (11:55):
I think it would be that you are believing in
yourself the way others believein you, and I say this because
my husband I always used to sayto him I mean, I don't have any
other skill set.
You know, I'm an anchor I don'thave.
And he's like, are you kiddingme?
You can take this and do this.
And I started to believe inmyself the way he believed in me
(12:16):
and that helped me to gain theconfidence myself.
And I talk about this in mybook.
I have a book Confidence Potionthat I'm a confident person in
progress.
Like I'm struggling witheverything, like everybody else
is.
I go onto stage and I have totalk myself out of my own head,
like everybody does.
But if you use these strategies, it is possible to overcome
(12:39):
that and increase yourself-confidence and so being
able to have those people aroundyou that do believe in you.
Listen to them Great advice.
Speaker 2 (12:46):
Great advice.
I need to do that myself.
I need to do it myself too.
I need to them.
Great advice, great advice.
I need to do that myself.
I need to do it myself too.
Speaker 3 (12:51):
I need to take my own advice on those days.
Speaker 2 (12:53):
Now let's look ahead five years.
Where do you see Lynn Smith andall that you're doing?
Speaker 3 (12:57):
I wish that I had a good answer for that, because I
would have never, even in amillion years, predicted that
I'd be doing what I'm doingright now.
Had it not been for COVID andreally reassessing everything, I
would not be sitting here today.
I'd be sitting on a set, likely, and so I almost am more
excited about not knowing what'sgoing to happen in five years,
(13:18):
even in the last year.
So I launched Rylan Media ayear ago in June.
I had no idea of what was goingto transpire.
I didn't even know that I wasgoing to be doing a podcast with
Munchkin, which is my favorite.
You, I didn't even know that Iwas going to be doing a podcast
with Munchkin, which is myfavorite.
You know I use their sippy cupsand now I get to work with them
.
I would have never imagined therelationship that I have with
the client that just appeared onCNBC.
That came on a year ago.
It was just this month, a yearago, that we started working
(13:42):
together, and so I'm excited tonot know, because everything in
every single year, I can't waitto see what the ups and the
downs are.
We know as entrepreneurs, thereare downs.
They're almost as important asthe ups, because when you come
through that down, the up is somuch better and it's so much
more well-informed.
Yeah, they're not a setback,they're a setup, that's right,
(14:04):
I'm stealing that.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Can I steal that?
I stole it from somebody so whynot?
Well, thank you so much forjoining us today.
I loved talking with you and Ihope I can have you on again for
an update, maybe sooner thanfive years.
I would love it.
Speaker 3 (14:17):
Thank you for having me.
It was a lot of fun.
Yeah, thank you.
Speaker 1 (14:19):
This is the Female Founder Show with host and
entrepreneur Bridget Fitzpatrick, exclusively on ASBN.
If you're a female founder inthe Atlanta market and would
like to help other femalefounders with your inspiring
story, we would love to hearfrom you.
Speaker 2 (14:38):
This has been a JBF Business Media production.
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