September 10, 2025 • 27 mins
🚀 Dive into the world of serial starting with Danielle Mead from Duck Soup E-Commerce! Discover the joy of starting new ventures with no strings attached & learn how to embrace creativity! Listen to our latest episode of #TheWaterTroughPodcast #Entrepreneurship
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Ed Drozda (00:10):
Welcome to The Water Trough where we can't make you
drink, but we will make youthink.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
(00:45):
Welcome back to The Water Troughfolks this is Ed Drozda, The
Small Business Doctor.
Today I'm joined by DanielleMead.
Danielle is the founder of DuckSoup E-Commerce, and a
professional web designer andconsultant.
When she's not working she'swhat she calls a serial starter,
exploring new personal,creative, and business ideas, to
(01:06):
see where they might take her.
Danielle, how you doing?
Danielle Mead (01:10):
I'm doing great.
How are you doing today?
Ed Drozda (01:12):
I'm doing well, and I'm glad that your serial start
brought you to us.
Danielle Mead (01:17):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I'm excited.
Ed Drozda (01:20):
So tell me more about a serial starter.
What is this?
Who are you?
Danielle Mead (01:27):
You know it's funny, I kind of came up with
this term.
People talk about serialentrepreneurs, people who just
keep starting one business afteranother, and while I'd love to
say that I'm a serial finisher,I tend to be the kind of person;
I get really excited about anidea, whether it's a potential
business, a hobby, or some sortof creative endeavor that I
(01:47):
might wanna do.
And, I'm great at startingthings.
I get very excited about them.
Some of them I do take throughto the end, and some of them I
discover, hey it's not for me orit doesn't hold my interest.
But, you know, I'm great atstarting new things, and
sometimes that leads tosomething really successful.
Sometimes it doesn't, but Ialways enjoy the process.
(02:07):
I get really revved up by divinginto something.
I get very excited about it,really passionate about it, and
I really enjoy that experience,whether or not it ends up with
something that I can point to asa finished product or some sort
of material success.
Ed Drozda (02:25):
I refer to my entrepreneurial clients, those
who are, quote unquote, trueentrepreneurs; I call them shiny
penny people.
Mm.
I call'em shiny penny peoplebecause they are always
attracted to the next best orthe next new thing.
I don't see you in that sense tobe vastly different than the
(02:48):
day-to-day entrepreneur.
So how would you distinguishyourself from my definition of
entrepreneur and the serialstarter?
Danielle Mead (02:57):
A lot of times I'm starting something because I
think it could be a good sidebusiness or a good side hustle,
or potentially a way to grow myexisting business.
Mm-hmm.
But a lot of times I'm justdoing things because I find them
interesting.
I'll read an article or I'll seesomeone else doing something, or
I'll hear a story about somebodywho's involved in some sort of
hobby or whatever, and I go, ohthat seems like it could be fun.
You know?
(03:18):
And then I'll just decide thatI'm gonna throw myself into that
for a short period of time.
The end goal is not always tomake money or to create a
business out of it.
Sometimes it works the other waywhere I just get into something
because I'm interested in it,and then it does become a little
side business and I didn'tintend for that to happen.
I'm kind of open to it bothways.
(03:38):
When I think of serialentrepreneurs I think of this
mindset of, I'm gonna startsomething, I'm gonna grow it,
scale it, sell it, then startover, right?
That's kind of the process, thischurning process, and I'm not
really looking at things thatway, I guess.
Ed Drozda (03:54):
I think that's a really great distinction, and
thank you for sharing that.
I have to admit, I wassimplifying it when I said it
sounded like there weresimilarities.
You appear to be untethered tothe notion that it has to be
something of a certain size, acertain level of accomplishment
or what have you.
(04:15):
You're really in it for whatsatisfies you.
Danielle Mead (04:19):
Exactly.
Exactly.
And what I'm gonna learn alongthe way, or just to be able to
have, you know, I was saying tomy husband the other day, I
think part of it I get from myfather, because growing up he
always had a new hobby.
And my mom used to joke aboutlike, but you already have a
kayak that you've bought, nowyou're getting into boxing.
He would just get interested insomething and he would try it.
(04:40):
Some of the things he stuckwith; he still does cycling.
He still does weightlifting, hestill fishes.
But other things he just did forshort periods of time.
He enjoyed it, and then when hestopped enjoying it, he moved
on.
I think that a lot of peoplefeel if they're gonna start
something, they either have tocommit to it really long term
and then it keeps them fromstarting something, or that they
(05:01):
need to become the best at it,and they need to achieve some
sort of, oh I ran a six minutemile or something if I'm gonna
get into running.
You can enjoy doing things andwhen you're finished with them,
it's okay to let them go too andnot see that as a failure.
Ed Drozda (05:15):
I think a lot of people would like to be able to
do precisely that.
They'd like to be able toacknowledge the value of
something for the time that ithas value.
Right.
And then be able to move on.
But I don't think a lot ofpeople, I imagine a lot of
people, certainly the clientsthat I've worked with, they
don't seem to have either theforesight or the courage to
(05:38):
think that way.
Danielle Mead (05:41):
Yeah it almost seems like in the world we live
in now, people have limitedtime.
And maybe some of it is afeeling that if they're not
making the most of every minuteof every day in a way that they
can point to as beingproductive.
And I am definitely guilty ofthat.
I've really had to work onmyself as I've gotten older that
(06:02):
weekends are for relaxing.
At least for a few hours.
That every Saturday I don't needto be like, what can I do for my
business when I'm not working?
Maybe I should write some newblog posts or, spin up some new
side thing or set up a new Etsystore.
Because I do have that drive,where if I'm not doing something
productive, I'm wasting time.
But I've had to teach myselfthat it's also okay to do things
(06:25):
that are fun and things that arerewarding in ways that are not
designed to be financiallysuccessful.
And you can learn stuff fromthose activities or hobbies or
whatever you might wanna callthem, that do impact your
business and make you moresuccessful in your business.
But that's not their purpose.
Ed Drozda (06:46):
You have to be open to accepting, to learning those
lessons.
Yes?
Danielle Mead (06:51):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Depending on what you're doing,it opens you up to new people.
It opens you up to newcommunities.
You can learn from those people.
An example, I started makinghomemade bath and body stuff for
my husband and I.
Shampoos, conditioners, bodybombs, things like that, not
with an intention to sell them.
(07:12):
Although many years ago Ithought it would be fun to have
a little homemade soap business,and I tried it and it did not go
well.
I found it very difficult andthis time around I wasn't
thinking that way.
I was thinking I would just liketo be able to control what we're
putting on our bodies.
So I'm gonna make the formulasmyself.
And I made some conditioner gavesome to my husband and he came
down and after a shower I waslike, oh my God, this is the
(07:35):
best conditioner I've ever used.
Like it is amazing, and I feltso proud and happy, like that
was a success, right?
That day I had a win and it hadnothing to do with my work or
anything else.
And I think the more people openthemselves up to situations
where you feel proud ofsomething you've accomplished
(07:55):
instead of dividing your lifeinto work stuff is where I
achieve things and home stuff isnot, you can kind of...
one, you're not always gonnahave a great day at work.
So if you can have something athome that makes you feel good
about yourself, it offsets it,right?
Mm-hmm.
I look at it as looking at mywhole life a little bit more
holistically and seeing how canI feel like I'm achieving,
(08:17):
accomplishing, even if it hasnothing to do with money.
I felt a tremendous sense ofpride and accomplishment when he
said that.
Ed Drozda (08:24):
I think you should.
Let me ask you this.
In that moment when you realizedhow satisfying the product was
for your husband and howgratified you were to be able to
do that, did you have anyinkling at that moment, like, I
should go out there with thisthing, or, of course you know
that's, yes, a natural tendency,not that we have to act on it,
(08:47):
but did you feel something atthat moment or...?
Danielle Mead (08:50):
Yeah, I think after I had made a few products
and I felt like I liked them allI was like, ah, maybe you know,
this is something I could sell.
But I also know from workingwith clients who sell bath and
body stuff, it is a toughindustry.
It's a lot of going to craftfairs, farmers markets, events,
selling, building a brand, and Iknow in my mind I'm not really
(09:13):
interested in doing that rightnow.
So even though I had that idea,and that's not to say it won't
happen in the future, I alsokind of tempered it.
I said let's just do this forme, because as soon as I have
that mind shift of maybe thisshould be a business, then I get
caught up in, oh, let's whip upan Excel spreadsheet.
What would I have to...
what are the ingredients costs?
What would I have to charge forit?
(09:35):
And then that takes all the funout of it, right?
On some level now I'm thinkingof it like a business.
I don't get the enjoyment andthe actual pure gratification of
it because I'm thinking, wellthen how come I haven't made
this a business?
I'm losing out on money, and itjust shifts my whole mindset
into something that's not what Iintended it to be.
Ed Drozda (09:55):
On a path you had no intention of going.
Right.
That's a really important thing.
One of the things that I stresswith my clientele and with my
students as well, is the notionof first be aware.
That can relate to anything butin this case, in most cases it's
about be aware of those thingsboth within and outside of
(10:16):
yourself and where you fit in.
If you aren't aware of thesethings, first, then you're not
in a position to either takeadvantage of them, avoid them,
whatever the case might be.
We package this up to somedegree in emotional
intelligence.
I'm sure you're familiar withthat.
Mm-hmm.
Or self-awareness is a majorcomponent.
First be aware is reallycritical, and that's what I'm
(10:38):
hearing you say.
You are very much in tune towhat you could do with something
and how you would be able towork with it or not.
That's a great starting place.
Danielle Mead (10:51):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think it's just knowing
yourself too, like what you'regood at, what you actually enjoy
doing.
Yeah.
I think over time as I've aged,I've kind of just become more,
like you said, self-aware like,this is who I am, these are the
things I like doing.
I can say, oh I should startthis business doing X, and I can
(11:11):
look at a piece of paper andknow that this is what would be
required to make it successfuland convince myself...
right...
I'm gonna go do all those thingsto make it work, but at this
point in my life you know what,I have to be honest, I know I'm
not gonna do those things.
That's just not something thatI'm gonna enjoy.
I can force myself to do it fora little while.
I'm not gonna see it through,whatever that might be, it's
different for different people.
(11:32):
But I think you have to behonest with yourself, and not
force yourself to do something,and set yourself up for failure
because you thought, I can makemyself do that.
I can change my entirepersonality and what I do.
You really can't, let's just behonest.
Not to that extent.
No.
Yeah, we're all good at certainthings.
(11:52):
We all have strengths, we allhave weaknesses.
And if we can recognize that,then we can figure out which
things are gonna be beneficialto see through to some sort of
financially successful endeavorand which things are gonna be
more like hobbies or things wejust enjoy doing.
Ed Drozda (12:08):
You know, when we were younger, and some of us as
we've grown older and may neverget over it, the old adage
keeping up with the Jonesescomes to mind.
And in business those of us,especially starting a business,
we often look at the variousJoneses.
They're not our neighbors, butthey are business people.
(12:29):
They may not even be related tous in any way, shape or form,
but we look to them and say Ineed to be like them, I want to
be like them, I should be likethem.
In my mind, it all comes down tothis concept of success and what
is it?
And I want to pose this questionto you carefully'cause I don't
want to ask you what yourdefinition of success is per se.
(12:52):
I'd like to know what you thinkof the concept of success in
business.
Danielle Mead (12:59):
That is a hard question to answer.
I'm glad you didn't ask me forthe definition.
That's even harder.
But...
Ed Drozda (13:05):
Well, it could be your definition for yourself.
Yeah.
But that's so unique to everyindividual it's not really fair
to ask that question, is it?
Not that your definition for youis unimportant, but it's yours
and it shouldn't be meant toinfluence myself or somebody
else.
But the concept overall, whatdoes that mean, what is it?
How do you see this?
Danielle Mead (13:25):
It's a great question.
Obviously I think it's gonna bedifferent for everyone.
When I started my career, it wasthe early like.com boom, and I
really thought my trajectoryprofessionally was gonna be, I
was gonna work at a bunch of dotcoms.
I was gonna get equity, I wasgonna move up, I was gonna
eventually sell that equity.
Something would go public.
(13:46):
I'd be a millionaire, and youknow, this very familiar concept
of what those kind of.com peopleare, right?
And then I would flit around todifferent companies.
I mean this is a dream, right?
I mean, this happens for veryfew people, but I thought that
that was a trajectory that Icould potentially follow, right?
Mm-hmm.
Because of circumstances thatwere outside of my control I
(14:10):
ended up being self-employed.
And that has been a challenge.
But to be honest, when therehave been challenging times or
when I felt like am I gonna beable to keep this company going
financially, my parents wouldalways say, well you could go
back to work full-time.
And at that point I would alwaysstop and be like, but then I'd
have to give up controlling myschedule.
(14:32):
I would have to have a commute.
I would think about all thethings that I'd be giving up.
Mm.
And even though there waspotentially a financial benefit
to going back to work full-time,I really enjoyed owning my own
business, being able to controlhow I branded it, what kind of
clients I worked with.
(14:53):
I also took a lot of pride inbeing able to brand myself and
grow myself personally, and notjust being part of a company
where the company is the brand,the company as a stock price,
and that's how it's measuredfinancially.
I was able to feel that sense ofaccomplishment, me personally,
because when I worked with aclient and I got good feedback,
(15:15):
that made me feel good because Iknew they liked working with me.
I think that over time hasbecome more my feeling of what
successful is.
When I know that someone hasreally appreciated working with
me, I've been able to bringvalue to them.
That I appreciate more thanmaybe whatever they paid me,
(15:35):
because that's like a feelingthat I can take with me.
The money you spend over time,right?
But that feeling you can alwayslook to if you're having a bad
day or if you're working with aclient that maybe isn't a great
fit for you.
Those little wins, that feelingof I can make a difference in
someone's business, and I'm sureyou have that same experience,
(15:56):
that to me is more important Iguess.
So I would say that's how Idefine success is that feeling.
It's hard to define it reallytightly, but that's what I would
say.
Ed Drozda (16:06):
In terms of success, would your younger self
recognize you today?
Danielle Mead (16:12):
Probably not.
Okay.
I can tell you that especiallywhen I was younger, I hated
making decisions.
I would make these pro and conlists and assign them values to
make decisions.
I considered myself to be anintrovert.
I did not like talking to peopleI didn't know.
I was terrible at small talk.
Both of those things I think Ihave significantly moved away
(16:35):
from, and some of that's becauseof the job I do.
Some of it's because of pastexperiences I've had, but I
don't think if I had told myteenage or even college self
that you're going to run yourown business where you make all
the decisions yourself and thata good part of what you do is
gonna be talking to people youdon't know and having to, within
(16:58):
a few minutes understand whothey are, what their needs are,
talk about yourself, have acasual conversation, I don't
think I would've thought I coulddo that.
I probably don't think aboutthat enough that I have really
moved away from the person who Iwas decades ago, I could say.
Ed Drozda (17:15):
We all do.
Of course it is a progressionand things do change over the
course of time.
I think it's fascinating thelessons that we learn about
ourselves, because hey I have toknow who I am.
And I'm not saying that wedon't, but all the same, we
learn so much along the way thatwe do evolve, and the one that
(17:37):
we were when we were anadolescent is not the one we are
in our late twenties, thirties,forties, fifties, and so on and
so forth.
Yes, of course they physicallychange, but they've changed in
so many other ways too, and Ithink that's a really important
lesson to share with businesspeople, because in my world, in
(18:00):
my estimation in business, thereis a certain amount of
acceleration of the rate ofemotional and personal growth.
Mm.
It's imposed upon you as abusiness owner.
I believe the typical timelineof uh, going from 25 to 45 in 20
years, but if that person was inbusiness they might accomplish
(18:24):
those 20 years in the firstfive.
Right.
And I think you know what I'msaying here.
So the question that I have iswhat lessons have you learned
from allowing yourself to evolveas you have?
What lessons have you learnedthat you could share with the
young business person or youngerbusiness person who is going
(18:48):
through this, if you will, rapidgrowth spurt, now.
And you're looking back on this,you've been through this, okay?
Mm-hmm.
What could you share with themabout your own experience?
What have you learned that couldbe a value to them?
It's a long-winded question,isn't it?
It is, and I'm not quite surethe best way to answer.
(19:08):
One of the things I learned wasto bet on myself, and that was a
huge risk for me.
Danielle Mead (19:14):
I still appreciate outside pressure as a
motivator, so I never thoughtthat I'd be able to be in
business for myself.
And what's funny is we aretalking about being a serial
starter on some level, and thefact that I have learned over
time that I actually can be aself-starter.
I can chase things and motivatemyself to do things without
(19:35):
outside pressure.
Mm-hmm.
I think a lot of that is becauseyou have wins and you build on
them and you get more confidencein yourself, in whatever it
might be.
And so I would say don'tshortchange yourself.
Don't be afraid of actuallydoing something that you don't
know.
I remember reading a quote froma woman who said that if you're
gonna take a new job, you shouldfeel like 60% of the stuff
(19:59):
they're asking you to do you cando with your eyes closed.
You're super comfortable withit.
20% should be things that you'repretty sure you can do based on
your past experience, and 20%can be things that you have
absolutely no idea how to do.
But that's okay because thatkind of a role is how you're
going to learn, right?
And how you're gonna grow as abusiness person.
(20:20):
And I think a lot of times,especially when I was younger, I
felt part of me was afraid tosay I don't know anything about
that, but it sounds reallyinteresting and I'd like to
learn it and I'm happy to learnit on the job.
I did volunteer to do a lot ofthings and that's how I ended up
moving up in my career, becauseI would raise my hand, but I
think a lot of people are scaredto do that'cause they're scared
to fail, right?
(20:41):
And they're scared to maybe notdo as good of a job as was
expected, but that is the onlyway that you push yourself to
grow is by that extra 20% thatyou really have no idea what
you're doing, but you're gonnalearn it.
Yeah.
I think that's where doing stuffin your free time, having
hobbies, things you don't knowanything about gives you the
(21:03):
opportunity to gain thatconfidence too, because no one
cares.
If you start a new hobby andyou're not good at it, who
cares.
There's nothing on the line.
But if you discover you're goodat it or you have a propensity
to do something, or you start anew running routine, and then
you meet your goals, it givesyou the confidence that then
does translate over into yourwork environment too.
Ed Drozda (21:26):
All right, I have a very important question for you.
I think I already have theanswer, but I'm gonna go ahead
and throw it out there.
You named your business, DuckSoup E-Commerce.
Is that correct?
Yes.
Yes.
Hmm.
All right, so you know what mynext question is, why Duck Soup?
Why yes.
Danielle Mead (21:44):
So duck soup means something that's easy to
do, and for older listeners orpeople who are into old movies,
the Marx Brothers had a moviecalled Duck Soup.
Oh yeah.
Which I saw when I was a child.
My dad and my grandfather weresuper into.
Marx Brothers and Laurel andHardy and whatnot.
And in the movie, just as aquick overview, they end up in a
(22:05):
foreign country, and withouttrying at all one of them ends
up being the leader of thecountry, and they're all running
the country together without anyeffort at all.
So, when I first started mybusiness it was geared towards
people who were startups, whodidn't know anything about
e-commerce, and my whole goalwas to try to make it easy.
Not talk in tech-speak, explainthings to people, give people
(22:26):
advice, and just super basicstuff about how to sell online
that a lot of companies weren'tdoing because they assumed that
you had this knowledge.
So that's where Duck Soup camefrom and I've really stuck with
that.
I think it's one of the thingsthat when I get feedback from
clients, they're always like,she made the process so easy.
It was, you know, easier than Ithought.
I've been putting this off foryears and if only had known it
(22:48):
was gonna be this easy, and I'mnot saying e-commerce is easy,
but my goal is to try to takeaway some of that text speak and
talking over your head kind ofthing that you might get with
someone else.
Took away the mystique and makeit real.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Make it accessible for morepeople.
Ed Drozda (23:06):
Accessible.
That is essential.
Danielle, I can't tell you howimportant that is.
And so many people don'tappreciate the fact that it does
need to be brought down to alevel that's suitable for your
client.
No matter what they might bedoing, you need to make it
relatable and something thatthey can act upon.
So that is fantastic.
Danielle Mead (23:26):
One thing that I try to do, anytime there are
acronyms I will always say theacronym and then tell people
what the acronym stands for.
And I find this is supervaluable, not just in business,
but in other situations.
I'm on the local planningcommission for my city, and
anytime people just starttalking using acronyms, anyone
who's listening, who's not anexpert feels like now they don't
(23:49):
have anything to contribute.
They don't know what thoseacronyms mean, they feel stupid.
Mm-hmm.
It's a way to bring in morepeople, whatever the situation
is, and just make it moreaccessible and build more of a
community.
Ed Drozda (23:59):
Absolutely.
Acronyms and jargon, theyisolate us from the
conversation.
I'm not sure that was theintent, but I do believe that's
what they do.
It is unfortunate becausethere's a good chance that they
who are isolated have somethingimportant to offer.
Absolutely.
And we're missing out.
So listen, our time is justabout coming to an end here, but
(24:21):
before we go I'd like to askyou, the serial starter, is
there any things you'd like toleave us with?
Danielle Mead (24:28):
Don't be afraid to try something new, is what I
would say and even if you end upinvesting in a lot of gear you
can always sell it on eBay.
People are always looking forused equipment and used gear of
whatever.
I got into wine making a fewyears ago, and I bought a lot of
my equipment from people who hadtried it and then decided it
wasn't for them and great forme, I got some used equipment.
Ed Drozda (24:51):
If you don't have the expectation that I've got to get
this or I've got to get that,but rather I'm going to do this
for that, mm-hmm, at the veryleast then we didn't miss out on
something.
Exactly.
But when you start applyingthese expectations and things, I
(25:11):
think that's where ourcreativity is kind of shrunk.
The boundaries turn into fences,and doors get locked.
So I think that what you'veprovided here, your own way, is
very inspirational.
I think it's really importantfor people to hear.
It's almost like givingpermission yes to be a child
(25:32):
again in a way, if that makesany sense.
Danielle Mead (25:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
When you are a child a lot ofpeople's parents encourage them
to try lots of new things untilyou find one that you like.
I think we just have to be ourown parents in that way and just
encourage ourselves to try newthings, and not be so concerned
about whether or not we're gonnastick with it long term, or
whether or not we're gonna begood at it.
Ed Drozda (25:55):
Well, I have been given permission now, as long as
I can avoid the tantrums I'll beokay.
I'll try my best and if I shouldhappen to have one I will find
you.
Danielle Mead (26:07):
I'll be here.
Ed Drozda (26:09):
I know you will.
Danielle, I want to thank youonce again for being here with
me today.
Danielle Mead (26:14):
Thanks for having me.
This has been a lot of fun totalk about.
Ed Drozda (26:17):
Likewise.
Folks, this is Ed Drozda, TheSmall Business Doctor, and again
I'd like to thank my guest,Danielle Mead, the Duck Soup
E-Commerce founder and theserial starter who has given us
all reason to believe in ourchildhood wonder and the
potential, the possibility ofopening ourselves up to things
(26:39):
that don't have to have aparticular outcome.
This is really great stuff.
Thank you so much.
Danielle Mead (26:47):
Thank you.
Ed Drozda (26:49):
Folks, this is Ed Drozda and here at The Water
Trough, as always I wanna wishyou a healthy business.
Welcome to The Water Trough where we can't make you
drink, but we will make youthink.
My name is Ed Drozda, The SmallBusiness Doctor, and I'm really
excited you chose to join mehere as we discuss topics that
are important for small businessfolks just like you.
If you're looking for ideas,inspiration, and possibility,
you've come to the right place.
Join us as we take steps to helpyou create the healthy business
that you've all.
Always wanted.
(00:45):
Welcome back to The Water Troughfolks this is Ed Drozda, The
Small Business Doctor.
Today I'm joined by DanielleMead.
Danielle is the founder of DuckSoup E-Commerce, and a
professional web designer andconsultant.
When she's not working she'swhat she calls a serial starter,
exploring new personal,creative, and business ideas, to
(01:06):
see where they might take her.
Danielle, how you doing?
Danielle Mead (01:10):
I'm doing great.
How are you doing today?
Ed Drozda (01:12):
I'm doing well, and I'm glad that your serial start
brought you to us.
Danielle Mead (01:17):
Absolutely.
Yeah, I'm excited.
Ed Drozda (01:20):
So tell me more about a serial starter.
What is this?
Who are you?
Danielle Mead (01:27):
You know it's funny, I kind of came up with
this term.
People talk about serialentrepreneurs, people who just
keep starting one business afteranother, and while I'd love to
say that I'm a serial finisher,I tend to be the kind of person;
I get really excited about anidea, whether it's a potential
business, a hobby, or some sortof creative endeavor that I
(01:47):
might wanna do.
And, I'm great at startingthings.
I get very excited about them.
Some of them I do take throughto the end, and some of them I
discover, hey it's not for me orit doesn't hold my interest.
But, you know, I'm great atstarting new things, and
sometimes that leads tosomething really successful.
Sometimes it doesn't, but Ialways enjoy the process.
(02:07):
I get really revved up by divinginto something.
I get very excited about it,really passionate about it, and
I really enjoy that experience,whether or not it ends up with
something that I can point to asa finished product or some sort
of material success.
Ed Drozda (02:25):
I refer to my entrepreneurial clients, those
who are, quote unquote, trueentrepreneurs; I call them shiny
penny people.
Mm.
I call'em shiny penny peoplebecause they are always
attracted to the next best orthe next new thing.
I don't see you in that sense tobe vastly different than the
(02:48):
day-to-day entrepreneur.
So how would you distinguishyourself from my definition of
entrepreneur and the serialstarter?
Danielle Mead (02:57):
A lot of times I'm starting something because I
think it could be a good sidebusiness or a good side hustle,
or potentially a way to grow myexisting business.
Mm-hmm.
But a lot of times I'm justdoing things because I find them
interesting.
I'll read an article or I'll seesomeone else doing something, or
I'll hear a story about somebodywho's involved in some sort of
hobby or whatever, and I go, ohthat seems like it could be fun.
You know?
(03:18):
And then I'll just decide thatI'm gonna throw myself into that
for a short period of time.
The end goal is not always tomake money or to create a
business out of it.
Sometimes it works the other waywhere I just get into something
because I'm interested in it,and then it does become a little
side business and I didn'tintend for that to happen.
I'm kind of open to it bothways.
(03:38):
When I think of serialentrepreneurs I think of this
mindset of, I'm gonna startsomething, I'm gonna grow it,
scale it, sell it, then startover, right?
That's kind of the process, thischurning process, and I'm not
really looking at things thatway, I guess.
Ed Drozda (03:54):
I think that's a really great distinction, and
thank you for sharing that.
I have to admit, I wassimplifying it when I said it
sounded like there weresimilarities.
You appear to be untethered tothe notion that it has to be
something of a certain size, acertain level of accomplishment
or what have you.
(04:15):
You're really in it for whatsatisfies you.
Danielle Mead (04:19):
Exactly.
Exactly.
And what I'm gonna learn alongthe way, or just to be able to
have, you know, I was saying tomy husband the other day, I
think part of it I get from myfather, because growing up he
always had a new hobby.
And my mom used to joke aboutlike, but you already have a
kayak that you've bought, nowyou're getting into boxing.
He would just get interested insomething and he would try it.
(04:40):
Some of the things he stuckwith; he still does cycling.
He still does weightlifting, hestill fishes.
But other things he just did forshort periods of time.
He enjoyed it, and then when hestopped enjoying it, he moved
on.
I think that a lot of peoplefeel if they're gonna start
something, they either have tocommit to it really long term
and then it keeps them fromstarting something, or that they
(05:01):
need to become the best at it,and they need to achieve some
sort of, oh I ran a six minutemile or something if I'm gonna
get into running.
You can enjoy doing things andwhen you're finished with them,
it's okay to let them go too andnot see that as a failure.
Ed Drozda (05:15):
I think a lot of people would like to be able to
do precisely that.
They'd like to be able toacknowledge the value of
something for the time that ithas value.
Right.
And then be able to move on.
But I don't think a lot ofpeople, I imagine a lot of
people, certainly the clientsthat I've worked with, they
don't seem to have either theforesight or the courage to
(05:38):
think that way.
Danielle Mead (05:41):
Yeah it almost seems like in the world we live
in now, people have limitedtime.
And maybe some of it is afeeling that if they're not
making the most of every minuteof every day in a way that they
can point to as beingproductive.
And I am definitely guilty ofthat.
I've really had to work onmyself as I've gotten older that
(06:02):
weekends are for relaxing.
At least for a few hours.
That every Saturday I don't needto be like, what can I do for my
business when I'm not working?
Maybe I should write some newblog posts or, spin up some new
side thing or set up a new Etsystore.
Because I do have that drive,where if I'm not doing something
productive, I'm wasting time.
But I've had to teach myselfthat it's also okay to do things
(06:25):
that are fun and things that arerewarding in ways that are not
designed to be financiallysuccessful.
And you can learn stuff fromthose activities or hobbies or
whatever you might wanna callthem, that do impact your
business and make you moresuccessful in your business.
But that's not their purpose.
Ed Drozda (06:46):
You have to be open to accepting, to learning those
lessons.
Yes?
Danielle Mead (06:51):
Absolutely.
Absolutely.
Depending on what you're doing,it opens you up to new people.
It opens you up to newcommunities.
You can learn from those people.
An example, I started makinghomemade bath and body stuff for
my husband and I.
Shampoos, conditioners, bodybombs, things like that, not
with an intention to sell them.
(07:12):
Although many years ago Ithought it would be fun to have
a little homemade soap business,and I tried it and it did not go
well.
I found it very difficult andthis time around I wasn't
thinking that way.
I was thinking I would just liketo be able to control what we're
putting on our bodies.
So I'm gonna make the formulasmyself.
And I made some conditioner gavesome to my husband and he came
down and after a shower I waslike, oh my God, this is the
(07:35):
best conditioner I've ever used.
Like it is amazing, and I feltso proud and happy, like that
was a success, right?
That day I had a win and it hadnothing to do with my work or
anything else.
And I think the more people openthemselves up to situations
where you feel proud ofsomething you've accomplished
(07:55):
instead of dividing your lifeinto work stuff is where I
achieve things and home stuff isnot, you can kind of...
one, you're not always gonnahave a great day at work.
So if you can have something athome that makes you feel good
about yourself, it offsets it,right?
Mm-hmm.
I look at it as looking at mywhole life a little bit more
holistically and seeing how canI feel like I'm achieving,
(08:17):
accomplishing, even if it hasnothing to do with money.
I felt a tremendous sense ofpride and accomplishment when he
said that.
Ed Drozda (08:24):
I think you should.
Let me ask you this.
In that moment when you realizedhow satisfying the product was
for your husband and howgratified you were to be able to
do that, did you have anyinkling at that moment, like, I
should go out there with thisthing, or, of course you know
that's, yes, a natural tendency,not that we have to act on it,
(08:47):
but did you feel something atthat moment or...?
Danielle Mead (08:50):
Yeah, I think after I had made a few products
and I felt like I liked them allI was like, ah, maybe you know,
this is something I could sell.
But I also know from workingwith clients who sell bath and
body stuff, it is a toughindustry.
It's a lot of going to craftfairs, farmers markets, events,
selling, building a brand, and Iknow in my mind I'm not really
(09:13):
interested in doing that rightnow.
So even though I had that idea,and that's not to say it won't
happen in the future, I alsokind of tempered it.
I said let's just do this forme, because as soon as I have
that mind shift of maybe thisshould be a business, then I get
caught up in, oh, let's whip upan Excel spreadsheet.
What would I have to...
what are the ingredients costs?
What would I have to charge forit?
(09:35):
And then that takes all the funout of it, right?
On some level now I'm thinkingof it like a business.
I don't get the enjoyment andthe actual pure gratification of
it because I'm thinking, wellthen how come I haven't made
this a business?
I'm losing out on money, and itjust shifts my whole mindset
into something that's not what Iintended it to be.
Ed Drozda (09:55):
On a path you had no intention of going.
Right.
That's a really important thing.
One of the things that I stresswith my clientele and with my
students as well, is the notionof first be aware.
That can relate to anything butin this case, in most cases it's
about be aware of those thingsboth within and outside of
(10:16):
yourself and where you fit in.
If you aren't aware of thesethings, first, then you're not
in a position to either takeadvantage of them, avoid them,
whatever the case might be.
We package this up to somedegree in emotional
intelligence.
I'm sure you're familiar withthat.
Mm-hmm.
Or self-awareness is a majorcomponent.
First be aware is reallycritical, and that's what I'm
(10:38):
hearing you say.
You are very much in tune towhat you could do with something
and how you would be able towork with it or not.
That's a great starting place.
Danielle Mead (10:51):
Yeah, absolutely, and I think it's just knowing
yourself too, like what you'regood at, what you actually enjoy
doing.
Yeah.
I think over time as I've aged,I've kind of just become more,
like you said, self-aware like,this is who I am, these are the
things I like doing.
I can say, oh I should startthis business doing X, and I can
(11:11):
look at a piece of paper andknow that this is what would be
required to make it successfuland convince myself...
right...
I'm gonna go do all those thingsto make it work, but at this
point in my life you know what,I have to be honest, I know I'm
not gonna do those things.
That's just not something thatI'm gonna enjoy.
I can force myself to do it fora little while.
I'm not gonna see it through,whatever that might be, it's
different for different people.
(11:32):
But I think you have to behonest with yourself, and not
force yourself to do something,and set yourself up for failure
because you thought, I can makemyself do that.
I can change my entirepersonality and what I do.
You really can't, let's just behonest.
Not to that extent.
No.
Yeah, we're all good at certainthings.
(11:52):
We all have strengths, we allhave weaknesses.
And if we can recognize that,then we can figure out which
things are gonna be beneficialto see through to some sort of
financially successful endeavorand which things are gonna be
more like hobbies or things wejust enjoy doing.
Ed Drozda (12:08):
You know, when we were younger, and some of us as
we've grown older and may neverget over it, the old adage
keeping up with the Jonesescomes to mind.
And in business those of us,especially starting a business,
we often look at the variousJoneses.
They're not our neighbors, butthey are business people.
(12:29):
They may not even be related tous in any way, shape or form,
but we look to them and say Ineed to be like them, I want to
be like them, I should be likethem.
In my mind, it all comes down tothis concept of success and what
is it?
And I want to pose this questionto you carefully'cause I don't
want to ask you what yourdefinition of success is per se.
(12:52):
I'd like to know what you thinkof the concept of success in
business.
Danielle Mead (12:59):
That is a hard question to answer.
I'm glad you didn't ask me forthe definition.
That's even harder.
But...
Ed Drozda (13:05):
Well, it could be your definition for yourself.
Yeah.
But that's so unique to everyindividual it's not really fair
to ask that question, is it?
Not that your definition for youis unimportant, but it's yours
and it shouldn't be meant toinfluence myself or somebody
else.
But the concept overall, whatdoes that mean, what is it?
How do you see this?
Danielle Mead (13:25):
It's a great question.
Obviously I think it's gonna bedifferent for everyone.
When I started my career, it wasthe early like.com boom, and I
really thought my trajectoryprofessionally was gonna be, I
was gonna work at a bunch of dotcoms.
I was gonna get equity, I wasgonna move up, I was gonna
eventually sell that equity.
Something would go public.
(13:46):
I'd be a millionaire, and youknow, this very familiar concept
of what those kind of.com peopleare, right?
And then I would flit around todifferent companies.
I mean this is a dream, right?
I mean, this happens for veryfew people, but I thought that
that was a trajectory that Icould potentially follow, right?
Mm-hmm.
Because of circumstances thatwere outside of my control I
(14:10):
ended up being self-employed.
And that has been a challenge.
But to be honest, when therehave been challenging times or
when I felt like am I gonna beable to keep this company going
financially, my parents wouldalways say, well you could go
back to work full-time.
And at that point I would alwaysstop and be like, but then I'd
have to give up controlling myschedule.
(14:32):
I would have to have a commute.
I would think about all thethings that I'd be giving up.
Mm.
And even though there waspotentially a financial benefit
to going back to work full-time,I really enjoyed owning my own
business, being able to controlhow I branded it, what kind of
clients I worked with.
(14:53):
I also took a lot of pride inbeing able to brand myself and
grow myself personally, and notjust being part of a company
where the company is the brand,the company as a stock price,
and that's how it's measuredfinancially.
I was able to feel that sense ofaccomplishment, me personally,
because when I worked with aclient and I got good feedback,
(15:15):
that made me feel good because Iknew they liked working with me.
I think that over time hasbecome more my feeling of what
successful is.
When I know that someone hasreally appreciated working with
me, I've been able to bringvalue to them.
That I appreciate more thanmaybe whatever they paid me,
(15:35):
because that's like a feelingthat I can take with me.
The money you spend over time,right?
But that feeling you can alwayslook to if you're having a bad
day or if you're working with aclient that maybe isn't a great
fit for you.
Those little wins, that feelingof I can make a difference in
someone's business, and I'm sureyou have that same experience,
(15:56):
that to me is more important Iguess.
So I would say that's how Idefine success is that feeling.
It's hard to define it reallytightly, but that's what I would
say.
Ed Drozda (16:06):
In terms of success, would your younger self
recognize you today?
Danielle Mead (16:12):
Probably not.
Okay.
I can tell you that especiallywhen I was younger, I hated
making decisions.
I would make these pro and conlists and assign them values to
make decisions.
I considered myself to be anintrovert.
I did not like talking to peopleI didn't know.
I was terrible at small talk.
Both of those things I think Ihave significantly moved away
(16:35):
from, and some of that's becauseof the job I do.
Some of it's because of pastexperiences I've had, but I
don't think if I had told myteenage or even college self
that you're going to run yourown business where you make all
the decisions yourself and thata good part of what you do is
gonna be talking to people youdon't know and having to, within
(16:58):
a few minutes understand whothey are, what their needs are,
talk about yourself, have acasual conversation, I don't
think I would've thought I coulddo that.
I probably don't think aboutthat enough that I have really
moved away from the person who Iwas decades ago, I could say.
Ed Drozda (17:15):
We all do.
Of course it is a progressionand things do change over the
course of time.
I think it's fascinating thelessons that we learn about
ourselves, because hey I have toknow who I am.
And I'm not saying that wedon't, but all the same, we
learn so much along the way thatwe do evolve, and the one that
(17:37):
we were when we were anadolescent is not the one we are
in our late twenties, thirties,forties, fifties, and so on and
so forth.
Yes, of course they physicallychange, but they've changed in
so many other ways too, and Ithink that's a really important
lesson to share with businesspeople, because in my world, in
(18:00):
my estimation in business, thereis a certain amount of
acceleration of the rate ofemotional and personal growth.
Mm.
It's imposed upon you as abusiness owner.
I believe the typical timelineof uh, going from 25 to 45 in 20
years, but if that person was inbusiness they might accomplish
(18:24):
those 20 years in the firstfive.
Right.
And I think you know what I'msaying here.
So the question that I have iswhat lessons have you learned
from allowing yourself to evolveas you have?
What lessons have you learnedthat you could share with the
young business person or youngerbusiness person who is going
(18:48):
through this, if you will, rapidgrowth spurt, now.
And you're looking back on this,you've been through this, okay?
Mm-hmm.
What could you share with themabout your own experience?
What have you learned that couldbe a value to them?
It's a long-winded question,isn't it?
It is, and I'm not quite surethe best way to answer.
(19:08):
One of the things I learned wasto bet on myself, and that was a
huge risk for me.
Danielle Mead (19:14):
I still appreciate outside pressure as a
motivator, so I never thoughtthat I'd be able to be in
business for myself.
And what's funny is we aretalking about being a serial
starter on some level, and thefact that I have learned over
time that I actually can be aself-starter.
I can chase things and motivatemyself to do things without
(19:35):
outside pressure.
Mm-hmm.
I think a lot of that is becauseyou have wins and you build on
them and you get more confidencein yourself, in whatever it
might be.
And so I would say don'tshortchange yourself.
Don't be afraid of actuallydoing something that you don't
know.
I remember reading a quote froma woman who said that if you're
gonna take a new job, you shouldfeel like 60% of the stuff
(19:59):
they're asking you to do you cando with your eyes closed.
You're super comfortable withit.
20% should be things that you'repretty sure you can do based on
your past experience, and 20%can be things that you have
absolutely no idea how to do.
But that's okay because thatkind of a role is how you're
going to learn, right?
And how you're gonna grow as abusiness person.
(20:20):
And I think a lot of times,especially when I was younger, I
felt part of me was afraid tosay I don't know anything about
that, but it sounds reallyinteresting and I'd like to
learn it and I'm happy to learnit on the job.
I did volunteer to do a lot ofthings and that's how I ended up
moving up in my career, becauseI would raise my hand, but I
think a lot of people are scaredto do that'cause they're scared
to fail, right?
(20:41):
And they're scared to maybe notdo as good of a job as was
expected, but that is the onlyway that you push yourself to
grow is by that extra 20% thatyou really have no idea what
you're doing, but you're gonnalearn it.
Yeah.
I think that's where doing stuffin your free time, having
hobbies, things you don't knowanything about gives you the
(21:03):
opportunity to gain thatconfidence too, because no one
cares.
If you start a new hobby andyou're not good at it, who
cares.
There's nothing on the line.
But if you discover you're goodat it or you have a propensity
to do something, or you start anew running routine, and then
you meet your goals, it givesyou the confidence that then
does translate over into yourwork environment too.
Ed Drozda (21:26):
All right, I have a very important question for you.
I think I already have theanswer, but I'm gonna go ahead
and throw it out there.
You named your business, DuckSoup E-Commerce.
Is that correct?
Yes.
Yes.
Hmm.
All right, so you know what mynext question is, why Duck Soup?
Why yes.
Danielle Mead (21:44):
So duck soup means something that's easy to
do, and for older listeners orpeople who are into old movies,
the Marx Brothers had a moviecalled Duck Soup.
Oh yeah.
Which I saw when I was a child.
My dad and my grandfather weresuper into.
Marx Brothers and Laurel andHardy and whatnot.
And in the movie, just as aquick overview, they end up in a
(22:05):
foreign country, and withouttrying at all one of them ends
up being the leader of thecountry, and they're all running
the country together without anyeffort at all.
So, when I first started mybusiness it was geared towards
people who were startups, whodidn't know anything about
e-commerce, and my whole goalwas to try to make it easy.
Not talk in tech-speak, explainthings to people, give people
(22:26):
advice, and just super basicstuff about how to sell online
that a lot of companies weren'tdoing because they assumed that
you had this knowledge.
So that's where Duck Soup camefrom and I've really stuck with
that.
I think it's one of the thingsthat when I get feedback from
clients, they're always like,she made the process so easy.
It was, you know, easier than Ithought.
I've been putting this off foryears and if only had known it
(22:48):
was gonna be this easy, and I'mnot saying e-commerce is easy,
but my goal is to try to takeaway some of that text speak and
talking over your head kind ofthing that you might get with
someone else.
Took away the mystique and makeit real.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Make it accessible for morepeople.
Ed Drozda (23:06):
Accessible.
That is essential.
Danielle, I can't tell you howimportant that is.
And so many people don'tappreciate the fact that it does
need to be brought down to alevel that's suitable for your
client.
No matter what they might bedoing, you need to make it
relatable and something thatthey can act upon.
So that is fantastic.
Danielle Mead (23:26):
One thing that I try to do, anytime there are
acronyms I will always say theacronym and then tell people
what the acronym stands for.
And I find this is supervaluable, not just in business,
but in other situations.
I'm on the local planningcommission for my city, and
anytime people just starttalking using acronyms, anyone
who's listening, who's not anexpert feels like now they don't
(23:49):
have anything to contribute.
They don't know what thoseacronyms mean, they feel stupid.
Mm-hmm.
It's a way to bring in morepeople, whatever the situation
is, and just make it moreaccessible and build more of a
community.
Ed Drozda (23:59):
Absolutely.
Acronyms and jargon, theyisolate us from the
conversation.
I'm not sure that was theintent, but I do believe that's
what they do.
It is unfortunate becausethere's a good chance that they
who are isolated have somethingimportant to offer.
Absolutely.
And we're missing out.
So listen, our time is justabout coming to an end here, but
(24:21):
before we go I'd like to askyou, the serial starter, is
there any things you'd like toleave us with?
Danielle Mead (24:28):
Don't be afraid to try something new, is what I
would say and even if you end upinvesting in a lot of gear you
can always sell it on eBay.
People are always looking forused equipment and used gear of
whatever.
I got into wine making a fewyears ago, and I bought a lot of
my equipment from people who hadtried it and then decided it
wasn't for them and great forme, I got some used equipment.
Ed Drozda (24:51):
If you don't have the expectation that I've got to get
this or I've got to get that,but rather I'm going to do this
for that, mm-hmm, at the veryleast then we didn't miss out on
something.
Exactly.
But when you start applyingthese expectations and things, I
(25:11):
think that's where ourcreativity is kind of shrunk.
The boundaries turn into fences,and doors get locked.
So I think that what you'veprovided here, your own way, is
very inspirational.
I think it's really importantfor people to hear.
It's almost like givingpermission yes to be a child
(25:32):
again in a way, if that makesany sense.
Danielle Mead (25:34):
Yeah, absolutely.
When you are a child a lot ofpeople's parents encourage them
to try lots of new things untilyou find one that you like.
I think we just have to be ourown parents in that way and just
encourage ourselves to try newthings, and not be so concerned
about whether or not we're gonnastick with it long term, or
whether or not we're gonna begood at it.
Ed Drozda (25:55):
Well, I have been given permission now, as long as
I can avoid the tantrums I'll beokay.
I'll try my best and if I shouldhappen to have one I will find
you.
Danielle Mead (26:07):
I'll be here.
Ed Drozda (26:09):
I know you will.
Danielle, I want to thank youonce again for being here with
me today.
Danielle Mead (26:14):
Thanks for having me.
This has been a lot of fun totalk about.
Ed Drozda (26:17):
Likewise.
Folks, this is Ed Drozda, TheSmall Business Doctor, and again
I'd like to thank my guest,Danielle Mead, the Duck Soup
E-Commerce founder and theserial starter who has given us
all reason to believe in ourchildhood wonder and the
potential, the possibility ofopening ourselves up to things
(26:39):
that don't have to have aparticular outcome.
This is really great stuff.
Thank you so much.
Danielle Mead (26:47):
Thank you.
Ed Drozda (26:49):
Folks, this is Ed Drozda and here at The Water
Trough, as always I wanna wishyou a healthy business.
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If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, And Charlamagne Tha God!