February 10, 2024 • 35 mins
Get excited! This is the second of our Meet the Authors series just ahead of the publication of Women Excelling Everywhere book, launching digitally on February 23rd and in paperback on International Women's Day, March 8th.
Meet Michelle Erskine, mompreneur extraordinaire, artist, and community leader and entertainment booker, bringing women together and helping them define their own meaning of the word...Success.
Order your copy of the WEE book on February 23rd HERE
Connect with Michelle:
Like the show? Be sure to Like, Subscribe, and Share! Interested in being a part of WEE? Reach out to our group liaison, Kelli@WomenExcellingEverywhere.com
Meet Michelle Erskine, mompreneur extraordinaire, artist, and community leader and entertainment booker, bringing women together and helping them define their own meaning of the word...Success.
Order your copy of the WEE book on February 23rd HERE
Connect with Michelle:
- MichelleErskineEntertainment.com
- BookingTahoe@gmail.com
Like the show? Be sure to Like, Subscribe, and Share! Interested in being a part of WEE? Reach out to our group liaison, Kelli@WomenExcellingEverywhere.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:09):
Welcome everyone to another episode of WomenExcelling Everywhere. I am Julie Anderson aka
Brain Lady Julie, your host forthis program, and I am again so
excited for this special edition. We'rerolling out some special interviews this month as
we get ready and we come closeto the launch of the Women Excelling Everywhere
(00:29):
co authored book. I am soexcited to be here with another one of
my co authors and my friend,Michelle erkskin Erstein. Michelle, Welcome to
the Women Entrepreneur Women Excelling Everywhere Show. Thanks for having me. I am
so excited and I'm even more excitedthat you are in the book. But
(00:52):
before we get to some of thecontent and some of the messaging, let
me just read for the listeners alittle bit about your background, a little
of your bio. So Michelle isa mom, artist, entrepreneur, and
an athlete. Michelle lives a vibrantlife, balancing all of the elements that
make her wonderfully unique. She knewfrom an early age that she loved both
(01:18):
fine the fine arts and performing arts. She moved to Trucky, California in
two thousand and three, where sheraised two children, started multiple businesses which
we'll hear a little bit about today, and joined community focused organizations. She
owns Art Trucky Gallery along with ArtTrucky nonprofit. The Art Trucky Gallery showcases
(01:38):
multiple artists, including Michelle's own fineart, fine art, landscape photography.
She manages local musicians and performs inthe Trucky Tahoe Reno area. Her love
for the arts and grew into apassion for supporting live performances, and she
raises scholarships for students about the arts. Michelle runs a community of women on
(02:00):
entrepreneurs called E Women Network Reno Tahoe. Michelle is also a Trucky rotarian and
ambassador for Trucky Chamber of Commerce anda Trucky Downtown Merchants Association board member.
So again, welcome Michelle to theWomen Excelling Everywhere Podcast. I am so
(02:22):
excited. I just read I'll telleverybody I just read her chapter earlier and
it is so yummy. I absolutelylove it. She has a beauty in
her writing skill as well as theend messaging is so powerful, so powerful.
But let's just kind of walk peoplethrough, like who is Michelle?
(02:43):
Like, tell me a little bityou don't have to go into lots of
detail, but tell me a littlebit about who you were, Like,
where were you raised and who's Michelle? I don't even know. Well.
I was born in Hollister and it'sabout an hour two hours south of San
Francisco and a farm town where everybodyknows everyone. And I had the same
(03:07):
grade school teachers as my dad andhigh school math teacher, so it was
just a really great place. Itwas really beautiful in the springtime, and
the town was just getting too bigfor me, so I had to move
somewhere. I moved to Trucky,which is about a five hour drive from
(03:28):
Hollister, and it just felt Imoved there and it just instantly felt like
home. I love that. Andfor those of you who don't know the
Reno Tahoe area, that is thebeautiful Lake Tahoe in the background at my
Cheltz picture it is and Trucky.I visited Trucky many times. It is
such a point little town. Whatwere some of the things that drew you,
(03:52):
because you said Pollister got too bigfor you, What were some of
the things about or what are someof the things about that small town feel
that drew you to Trucky and thatyou really like. My family would vacation
here multiple times a year, soI was familiar with the area. It
(04:12):
was far enough from my parents,but not too far in case I needed
them, but not too close thatthey could just stop in unannounced. And
it was just all about us.I just love everything Trucky and Lake Tahoe.
This area is about the community.It's all about outdoors. Everybody's super
(04:34):
health conscious. It's just all aboutquality of life here, and that's what
I was really drawn to. Andit felt like home because I grew up
in a small town. I wasrelated to half the town. Not literally,
but I felt like I was,and everybody knew me as someone's younger
(04:55):
sister or somebody's daughter, or somebody'sniece or somebody's granddaughter. So I wanted
that feel, in that vibe ofa small town, but starting fresh in
my twenties. Actually I was nineteenwhen I moved to Treky, and I
wanted that same small town feel butstarting over fresh. I love that.
(05:16):
I love that there is something beautifulabout going where everybody knows your name and
can sometimes get overwhelming, but thatis fun. That is fun. Now
you are and you share this inyour chapter in the book. You are
very, very connected to the arts, the performing arts and the literal arts,
(05:40):
and painting and photography and musicians.You do a lot with musicians through
booking Tahoe, And like, whatdo you love about that? Like what
drew you into or was that justsomething you always had had a longing for
or a natural gift? In surethe right way to describe this, But
(06:03):
I feel like when you have ageneral vision and you're moving forward, the
universe kind of chooses you. Soif you are open and not so narrow
minded on what specifically you need todo, you can you'll find that you'll
(06:26):
stumble across things that are even greaterand even better than what you specifically had
envisioned for yourself. So I wasvery open, and I brought with me
a background of entertainment and art andthat's just kind of who I was.
So when I moved here, Iwas very open, and doors just kept
(06:46):
opening and they kept closing, butthen they kept opening again. Yeah,
So tell us about that, becauseyou the where you're at now, like
you went through you've opened several businesseslike literally storefronts and not had them.
(07:09):
Well, you had to close thedoors on the first couple. What made
you continue to want to go downthat path? Tell us a little bit
about that in a nutshell. Soyou opened your first art gallery wind two
thousand and four. It was Decemberof two thousand and four. I purchased
(07:29):
an existing business. It was areally cute picture framing custom picture framing store
with a nice little art gallery inthe front, and it was showcasing a
lot of local artists historical photos ofthe area. And that was kind of
my introduction into being a new businessowner in Trucky. And on top of
(07:51):
that, I was learning a wholenew trade, so the business owner as
part of the deal was I hadtraining on the trade, the custom picture
framing, and so I learned awhole new skill, learned how to be
a business owner. And it waspretty much just I dove right in and
the economy just the whole world wentupside down two thousand and eight. Everybody
(08:16):
was losing everything. And if Ididn't have a small child, I probably
would have fought harder to keep thatbusiness. But because I had a small
child and I had some health issuesI was going through, I decided to
pivot and as entrepreneurs. We areprofessional pivoters. It's you know, we're
(08:39):
like basketball players, right, AndI said that to my kids last night,
and they said, mom, oh, don't say that. But really,
we're professional pivoters and the challenges comeat us and we're bobbing and weaving
and dodging and figuring out how tomake adjustments. Yeah, you know,
(09:00):
it's interesting. That's that's a story. And you're gonna have to read her
chapter because she talks about the birthof her son, and girl, you
didn't wait hardly anytime before you wentright back to work after he was born,
Like it was under a week,two days, two days, and
(09:22):
that was your first goes. Iwas like, I just yeah, kudos,
Like that's just amazing, an amazingwoman. And part of that probably
had to do with your your physicalfitness. You were physically fit so you
could could bounce back. That's notnecessarily the topic of your chapters, but
it was so interesting when I readthat, I'm like, Wow, that's
impressive, and that shows the desireand the drive too that you put.
(09:46):
So everybody will have to read thechapter to find out more on that.
Over the years, you definitely didhave challenges like that challenge, what was
one of the most challenging things thatyou experienced and how did you navigate your
way through it the most challenging orjust one not necessarily the most, just
(10:07):
one of the most. Right,you don't have to you don't going to
go into the most challenging. They'regoing to have to wait for book two
for that, but just a challengingLike we all have different challenges, and
we we address them in different ways. We approach them in different ways,
and some of us, we youknow, may let it knock us down
a little bit, and some ofus we hit it head on, Like,
(10:30):
what was just one of the challengingone of the challenges that you faced.
It could have been your closing ofyour shops or or your health challenge,
Like, just what's one of themand what was the way that you
navigated your way through it. Therewere really quite a few challenges in the
last twenty years. I mean,on both hands, you know, there
were there were quite a few.I would say, jumping right into a
(10:56):
business, having everything just all happeningat once. When I first moved to
trucky, you know, I metthe man that I pretty quick thereafter ended
up marrying, bought a house,bought an existing business, had a baby,
had some health complications, all withintwo years, which really set a
(11:16):
foundation of instability right away. AndI didn't have I had a drop out
of school. I was I wasvery sick for eight months. I didn't
I did not go into detail intothat in that in the book, but
I was very, very very sickfor the entire pregnancy, and so I
(11:37):
had to drop out of college.I was going to also enrolled in school
at that time, very sick foreight months. My son was three weeks
early, and I had to dropout of school. And so I think
maybe not being able to finish myeducation and really understanding how to run a
(12:00):
business probably set me up for atougher road than if I had finished schooling.
And really, I mean, doesthat make sense? If I had
that on the education foundation, itwould have set me up a little bit
better on how to take these challengesas they came right And yet you managed
(12:22):
to navigate your way through them.What do you think was the key in
helping you navigate your way through them? So you know, you, like
we said, you were there backin the store a couple of days after
your child was born. And evenonce you had to shut down the first
due to the economy and everything thathappened in the two thousand and eight two
(12:46):
thousand and nine time period, youmanaged to get right back in the saddle
and open another shop. So whatdo you think was helpful to you?
Was it mindset? Was it justlooking for the opportunities, keeping your eyes
open, like what's going on uphere? That helped Michelle continue to move
forward and not just go, oh, I'm going to go get a ninety
(13:07):
five and I'm just gonna I'm justgoing to live my little life like what
kept Michelle going through all that?Absolutely, I've always said I'm a big
picture girl. It's always about thebig picture for me. What am I
doing today that's going to get meto where I want to be tomorrow?
And too many people at that timewere very woe is me? But I
(13:30):
think just having so much gratitude everyday and looking at Okay, how can
we make this work? How canwe make the best of the situation.
We can't do this, but lookat all these things over here that we
can do. So that's kind ofa model of how I tried to raise
(13:52):
my children, you know, Insteadof telling them no, no, no,
I told them, Okay, well, look at all these things we
can do, Look at all getall this opportunity, even though you can't
do that, instead of telling themno, saying okay, well, let's
redirect our focus over here, andlet's concentrate on what we do have and
what we are able to accomplish,and so just always moving ahead, always
(14:16):
moving forward. Understanding and I didn'teven realize it at the time that being
an entrepreneur, you are it's partof the job to be constantly reinventing yourself
and as the world is changing andshifting, and you need to be right
there and you need to be reinventingyourself right along with it. And that
(14:39):
was something that I didn't know inmy twenties that that was an essential part
of being an entrepreneur. Now obviouslyI've lived it, so yeah, you
know, there's one of the thingsthat and I highlighted this in the chapter
when I was had the privilege ofbeing able to read it earlier, and
you said that the closure of yourfirst gallery wasn't defeat, it was a
(15:01):
pivoting point, a shift in myfocus to be able to homeschool your son,
share irreplaceable time with your children,and you were given other opportunities during
this time period to learn about photography, develop new skills and perspectives, revealing
a new layer in your journey.I love that because you didn't take the
(15:22):
woe as me track. You werelike, Okay, all right, this
was a setback, but hey,it wasn't really a setback. What It's
just a different direction, and youembraced the moments and the time that that
gave you to to do more.And I just I found that just brilliant,
(15:46):
A brilliant piece of advice for womennow when you are and you it
also in line with the title ofthe book, women excelling everywhere. You
were able to excel where you wereat at different points in your life,
(16:06):
which is beautiful. Now, whatwere some of the Were there any like
role models along the way, anyonethat you looked to that was like and
even well for somebody back up beforeI asked that question. So now you've
got the first the first shops shutdown, you have another one it shut
down, and you share that storyin the in your chapter, and now
(16:32):
you have opened a third and you'rethis one's you're making a go of this.
Why did you continue to go inthat direction? What was your drive?
Was it your love for the arts? Was it? I might just
be crazy, but I it's justI don't know. I don't know any
(16:59):
other world. This is my world. This is who I am. I've
attempted to get other jobs, andI was a snowmobile tour guide for eight
years, backcountry tour guide for eightyears, which was great. I love
working with people, I love beingoutdoors, so that was great. But
my real my passion is creating,being artistic, really bringing people together,
(17:25):
collaboration, it is, It's trulya calling. It's something that I also
didn't realize in my earlier years.Is one of I think one a gift
that I have is connecting and bringingpeople together, especially women, young women,
women, artists, women entrepreneurs.I showcase and I features mostly women
(17:49):
in my store, not all,but I I feel drawn to connect people
and so my gallery, my secondart gallery, our Trekie, from day
one, was all about collaboration,bringing people together. And that's how my
entertainment company got started. Is Iwas doing so many things supporting the arts
(18:15):
that another company was born from that. I love that. I love that
and you know, something that Iread in your in your bio as well
that I find very interesting is thatyou're very active in the community, not
just in your business, but inthe local community, in the in the
board of directors, in the rotaryand these different organizations that are all about
(18:37):
that community feel. And that's allsomething that I think. Do you think
it helps you to stay just connectedand invigorated when you need that extra something
something. Does that make sense?Well, I've always since great school,
(19:00):
I've always ran for student government.I've always been in the community service clubs
high school. Pretty sure it waswith Key Club and an Interact were the
two, and that was like ahigh school version of Rotary. So it's
always just been a way of lifefor me. It's been really natural for
(19:23):
me to be involved in these organizations. I guess in my mind when I
was younger, I just thought thisis what people did, and you know,
you go to your rotary club,and it's always just been a way
of life for me and I never, I don't think twice about it.
It feels really good. And thenwhen you're in a room full of people
(19:48):
who are like that, it's themost incredible feeling. It's life changing to
be in a room full of peoplelike that and be surrounded by that energy.
And that's such a good point.That's such a good point because that
energy is contagious and if it's apositive, which you have to be cautious
because the negative energy can be contagiousas well. But that putting yourself in
(20:12):
situations where you are with other peoplewho are excelling wherever they're at right and
you're sharing those stories and you're sharingand I know that certain clubs that you're
part of are very big and givingback to the community and supporting the community
and things like that. So theyhave the you know, the networking and
the support piece, but they alsohave a lot of philanthropy connected to it
(20:37):
as well. Now, when youlook at your life and you look at
the different the different people that you'veconnected with, can you think of someone
who's been a really positive influence thathas helped you to open up new avenues
or new ideas for businesses, newideas for connecting people. Is there anyone
(21:03):
that was an inspiration to you?Gosh, I think there were quite a
few. I would I would hate, you know, I would hate to
leave anyone out there There's been quitea few people that at different times in
my life have helped me along theway. And when I was struggling with
(21:27):
the first gallery, you know,there were a number of people that were
there, and then the second gallery, and then now today I have a
number of people that I look to, people from my past. It's yeah,
it's really just different people at differenttimes. Now you are currently doing.
(21:51):
In addition to so, you haveseveral things, as as was brought
out in your bio, right,you have several different avenues that you are
are several different things that you're doing, and one of them is working to
help support female entrepreneurs and help themconnect and help them learn what drew you
(22:11):
into that role because it's a littledifferent than your role as a business owner
or your role as a mom,which we haven't even touched on that yet,
but like what drew you into wantingto do that. E Women is
an organization I let's see two thousandand six. Two thousand and seven was
(22:33):
right around the time when I becamea member, so I was very familiar
with organization. It was an organizationthat really aligned with my values and I
met so many incredible women being apart of this group. All of a
sudden they needed a leader, andthe timing was perfect. I had just
(22:55):
closed my second gallery, I hadthe time, I was able to fly
to Dallas the few times I neededto fly to Dallas, do the trainings,
go to conference, meet other managingdirectors, and really learn the role.
It took me a solid year toreally grasp what it was that I
(23:15):
was doing. And when I firsttook the role, I didn't really see
it as a business or a businessopportunity. I saw it as how can
I build community? How can Ikeep connecting these women together? And I
just thought the group needed a leader. Might as well be me, you
know, why not? Right,I'd been a part of the group for
(23:37):
so long, I thought, Okay, why not me? Not that I
had a whole bunch of experience tolead with. I just knew that,
like being a CEO of your owncompany, you don't always have to have
all of the answers. You justhave to surround yourself with the right people,
ask the right questions, and youknow, learn as you go.
(23:59):
So I took this took this role. Took me about a solid year to
really grasp what it was I wasdoing, and really found that this is
just like running my business. It'sjust like being the CEO of your company.
Is running this organization of women entrepreneurs, finding speakers from all over the
country, running networking events. Itwas a lot more than just connecting women.
(24:25):
What it is really like running runninga company? You know, it's
so it's you can see this threador I can see this thread throughout your
entire life of being very involved inhelping other people. Whether it is so
Michelle obviously has a big heart,whether it was being a part of groups
(24:48):
or running groups. Wanting to seeother people succeed, seems to be this
beautiful thread that is in or shouldI say, this beautiful brushstroke that through
the painting of your life. Oh, I just did an art, an
artsylogy. Before we we wrap thisup, I want to touch on what
(25:11):
an amazing mother you are because theroad has not always been easy for you
in that and that's book two,right, there's something there's another thing out
in the future, but it's nowyou're a single parent. You are having
to navigate the co parenting situation.You are having to you know, help
(25:33):
your kids as they grow into adults. Uh, your daughter, you talk
about the the very gifts, theartsy type gifts, the the the skills
that she has in her life inembracing her. And when you talk about
your kids, you're so passionate aboutit. What what do you love about
(25:59):
being a mother and having kids?And what is what are some of the
just you know, like, what'syour biggest challenge in that arena and what
helps you to overcome it? Sothat's kind of a three part question.
So what do you love about beingmom? Oh, it's the best.
It's it's the best and the worst. I mean, it's the hardest,
(26:21):
it's insanity being a parent. It'sit's everything that is challenging and magical all
wrapped up. And so looking backat being able to homeschool my son,
who is so smart, so incrediblysmart, it was like it was a
(26:45):
gift that I was given to beable to spend that, like I said,
irreplaceable time with him that you justdon't know. You just don't know
when you're in the moment and you'restruggling and you just don't know the gifts
that you're given and homeschooling him inparticular, he thrives in that environment.
(27:07):
When COVID happened and he had tohomeschool. His grades went up. I
mean, he was a kid thatreally loved that environment, and I was
able to go with him and showhim all the real world applications of his
curriculum. You know, we didthe field trips and we were climbing mountains
and making messes in the kitchen andreally it was a beautiful time that I
(27:32):
got to spend with him. Andreally he got it. He could have
those almost adult conversations with me asa young child pertaining to his school work
and making those videos on historical figures. You know, he really really got
it. So it was super coolto be able to homeschool him in particular.
(27:55):
Yeah, you know, my daughteris a totally different creature. She
is an artist, grew and throughand needs that group energy. She needs
to be among other students. Soshe didn't really thrive so much in the
COVID time, but she was there. She was there watching her brother be
homeschooled, getting that foundation of mathand you know, as an infant,
(28:19):
really just watching. And I couldgive her a shoebox, like an old
shoebox, tape, glue, scissors, glitter, rocks, leaves, and
for hours she would create this masterpiece. While I was homeschooling my son.
She would create these masterpieces in thisold shoebox and then you'd lift the shoebox
(28:41):
and it would have, you know, like this whole scene that she's created.
They're just incredible. They're incredible humans, and it has been a really
long challenging road over their life,especially with COVID. And to see I'm
gonna get emotional to see my son, he's student body president this year,
(29:07):
so so proud, so amazing.I love as you can hear your energy
when you talk about that experience ofbeing a parent, and that is so
amazing because you've embraced the challenges withan open brain, right with an open
eyes, and you've been able tomake some amazing memories. And that's an
(29:30):
excellent message for the readers or forthe end. She does share some of
this information in her chapter to andthis is the whole point of excelling everywhere,
right, no matter what situation you'rein or what circumstances are handed you
embracing those moments and being able tolook back and just smile and get them
(29:55):
get happy, emotional about where thosemoments have led to this this time,
So I love that. I lovethat story. Sorry for making your emotional.
I'm talking about grin, I know, you know, yeah, yeah,
yeah, I agree. I hearyou, I hear you. So
in the as we wrap this up, Michelle, if there's one message that
(30:19):
you really want the readers of yourchapter when the book comes out, hint,
hint, mark the date February twentyfourth, that's when you can download
it as kindle and on March eighthyou can order the paperback. What's the
one big message that you want forwomen to take away from what they read
(30:41):
in your chapter, or just whatmessage you want women to hear? Now?
I really had to reevaluate my definitionof success and what does it look
like to thrive? What does itlook like to have a thriving mindset and
(31:07):
you know, not be not beingin survival mode? You know, what
does it really look like to besuccessful? And so I just touch It's
just a chapter, so I justtouch on. I guess I never really
even stopped to think about what itmeans to be successful until I started writing
(31:30):
this chapter. Didn't know what thetitle was going to be until I was
finished writing it. And it reallyfor me is all about defining success and
for me, which my son now, who is in high school graduating eighteen,
he thinks I'm crazy that dollar signsare not in the definition of success
(31:52):
for me personally yet Yet, Well, what is your definition of success and
how you can create a life thatyou want for yourself, not just going
through the motions having that thriving mindset, which is all something that can be
(32:13):
achieved in your younger years. ButI really believe that for me, I
had to go through everything I wentthrough to have much stronger grasp on what
that means or for me at least, Yeah, I love that. I
love that, and I like Ilike the message that define your own success,
(32:36):
you know, define your own successbecause, like you said, your
son's success has the dollar signs attachedto it at this point in his life,
right. But for sometimes we getthat societal pressure of this dollar signs
equal success. So the fewer dollarsigns, the less success. The more
dollar signs, the more success,And that that's not the case. Success
(32:58):
is what you define, what youmake it, what you want. And
you are a successful parent. Youare certainly a successful business owner because you
have been able to reinvent so manytimes, and you're thriving. You're definitely
successful support in the community. Imean, there's just so many wonderful things
that scream success when you hear Michelle'sname. So I want to thank you
(33:22):
so much. This has been sucha fun interview. I cannot wait for
the entire book to come out,and I can't wait for the readers to
read your chapter because I know they'llbe inspired by it and it will help
women to excel where they're at,which is such a beautiful sentiment. So
thank you Michelle for being a partof the book. Thank you for this
(33:43):
interview, and I look forward togreat things to come. Yeah, thank
you so much for inviting me.I mean, I wouldn't have been a
part of it if it wasn't foryou. Oh, I am honored that
you are here. All right,So we'll go ahead and wrap up.
Like I said, mark your calendarsFebruary twenty fourth for the digital for the
(34:04):
Kindle version, and March eighth forthe paperback. Be sure to stay connected
with women excelling everywhere. We haveso much to offer you as a community.
We have a private membership community thatyou can be a part of We've
got all of the inspirational stories thatare coming out in the book, and
so many things, a summit comingin March, so many wonderful things.
(34:27):
So stay connected with us. Weare Women Excelling Everywhere dot com. You
can shoot up an email at infoat Women Excelling Everywhere dot com. You
can follow us on Instagram and allof the like. You can also stay
connected with Michelle. Oh you goahead and tell us while I'm looking for
it. The links well our Trekidot com, Michelle Erskine Entertainment dot com,
(34:52):
EWN Reno Tahoe dot com if youwould like to join the I'm an
entrepreneurs group that I lead on theReno Tahoe area. I'm on LinkedIn,
Facebook, Instagram, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. We won't make sure that
we put all those links in theshow notes as well, so people can
(35:14):
stay connected and yes, go networkwith the wonderful me E Women Network members
in the Reno Tahoe area. Allright, I want everyone now thank you
for spending the time with us.And as I close up all of my
all of our podcasts, I wantyou to roll your shoulders back, take
a nice deep breath, go outthere and simply enjoy every moment. See
(35:38):
you next time.
Welcome everyone to another episode of WomenExcelling Everywhere. I am Julie Anderson aka
Brain Lady Julie, your host forthis program, and I am again so
excited for this special edition. We'rerolling out some special interviews this month as
we get ready and we come closeto the launch of the Women Excelling Everywhere
(00:29):
co authored book. I am soexcited to be here with another one of
my co authors and my friend,Michelle erkskin Erstein. Michelle, Welcome to
the Women Entrepreneur Women Excelling Everywhere Show. Thanks for having me. I am
so excited and I'm even more excitedthat you are in the book. But
(00:52):
before we get to some of thecontent and some of the messaging, let
me just read for the listeners alittle bit about your background, a little
of your bio. So Michelle isa mom, artist, entrepreneur, and
an athlete. Michelle lives a vibrantlife, balancing all of the elements that
make her wonderfully unique. She knewfrom an early age that she loved both
(01:18):
fine the fine arts and performing arts. She moved to Trucky, California in
two thousand and three, where sheraised two children, started multiple businesses which
we'll hear a little bit about today, and joined community focused organizations. She
owns Art Trucky Gallery along with ArtTrucky nonprofit. The Art Trucky Gallery showcases
(01:38):
multiple artists, including Michelle's own fineart, fine art, landscape photography.
She manages local musicians and performs inthe Trucky Tahoe Reno area. Her love
for the arts and grew into apassion for supporting live performances, and she
raises scholarships for students about the arts. Michelle runs a community of women on
(02:00):
entrepreneurs called E Women Network Reno Tahoe. Michelle is also a Trucky rotarian and
ambassador for Trucky Chamber of Commerce anda Trucky Downtown Merchants Association board member.
So again, welcome Michelle to theWomen Excelling Everywhere Podcast. I am so
(02:22):
excited. I just read I'll telleverybody I just read her chapter earlier and
it is so yummy. I absolutelylove it. She has a beauty in
her writing skill as well as theend messaging is so powerful, so powerful.
But let's just kind of walk peoplethrough, like who is Michelle?
(02:43):
Like, tell me a little bityou don't have to go into lots of
detail, but tell me a littlebit about who you were, Like,
where were you raised and who's Michelle? I don't even know. Well.
I was born in Hollister and it'sabout an hour two hours south of San
Francisco and a farm town where everybodyknows everyone. And I had the same
(03:07):
grade school teachers as my dad andhigh school math teacher, so it was
just a really great place. Itwas really beautiful in the springtime, and
the town was just getting too bigfor me, so I had to move
somewhere. I moved to Trucky,which is about a five hour drive from
(03:28):
Hollister, and it just felt Imoved there and it just instantly felt like
home. I love that. Andfor those of you who don't know the
Reno Tahoe area, that is thebeautiful Lake Tahoe in the background at my
Cheltz picture it is and Trucky.I visited Trucky many times. It is
such a point little town. Whatwere some of the things that drew you,
(03:52):
because you said Pollister got too bigfor you, What were some of
the things about or what are someof the things about that small town feel
that drew you to Trucky and thatyou really like. My family would vacation
here multiple times a year, soI was familiar with the area. It
(04:12):
was far enough from my parents,but not too far in case I needed
them, but not too close thatthey could just stop in unannounced. And
it was just all about us.I just love everything Trucky and Lake Tahoe.
This area is about the community.It's all about outdoors. Everybody's super
(04:34):
health conscious. It's just all aboutquality of life here, and that's what
I was really drawn to. Andit felt like home because I grew up
in a small town. I wasrelated to half the town. Not literally,
but I felt like I was,and everybody knew me as someone's younger
(04:55):
sister or somebody's daughter, or somebody'sniece or somebody's granddaughter. So I wanted
that feel, in that vibe ofa small town, but starting fresh in
my twenties. Actually I was nineteenwhen I moved to Treky, and I
wanted that same small town feel butstarting over fresh. I love that.
(05:16):
I love that there is something beautifulabout going where everybody knows your name and
can sometimes get overwhelming, but thatis fun. That is fun. Now
you are and you share this inyour chapter in the book. You are
very, very connected to the arts, the performing arts and the literal arts,
(05:40):
and painting and photography and musicians.You do a lot with musicians through
booking Tahoe, And like, whatdo you love about that? Like what
drew you into or was that justsomething you always had had a longing for
or a natural gift? In surethe right way to describe this, But
(06:03):
I feel like when you have ageneral vision and you're moving forward, the
universe kind of chooses you. Soif you are open and not so narrow
minded on what specifically you need todo, you can you'll find that you'll
(06:26):
stumble across things that are even greaterand even better than what you specifically had
envisioned for yourself. So I wasvery open, and I brought with me
a background of entertainment and art andthat's just kind of who I was.
So when I moved here, Iwas very open, and doors just kept
(06:46):
opening and they kept closing, butthen they kept opening again. Yeah,
So tell us about that, becauseyou the where you're at now, like
you went through you've opened several businesseslike literally storefronts and not had them.
(07:09):
Well, you had to close thedoors on the first couple. What made
you continue to want to go downthat path? Tell us a little bit
about that in a nutshell. Soyou opened your first art gallery wind two
thousand and four. It was Decemberof two thousand and four. I purchased
(07:29):
an existing business. It was areally cute picture framing custom picture framing store
with a nice little art gallery inthe front, and it was showcasing a
lot of local artists historical photos ofthe area. And that was kind of
my introduction into being a new businessowner in Trucky. And on top of
(07:51):
that, I was learning a wholenew trade, so the business owner as
part of the deal was I hadtraining on the trade, the custom picture
framing, and so I learned awhole new skill, learned how to be
a business owner. And it waspretty much just I dove right in and
the economy just the whole world wentupside down two thousand and eight. Everybody
(08:16):
was losing everything. And if Ididn't have a small child, I probably
would have fought harder to keep thatbusiness. But because I had a small
child and I had some health issuesI was going through, I decided to
pivot and as entrepreneurs. We areprofessional pivoters. It's you know, we're
(08:39):
like basketball players, right, AndI said that to my kids last night,
and they said, mom, oh, don't say that. But really,
we're professional pivoters and the challenges comeat us and we're bobbing and weaving
and dodging and figuring out how tomake adjustments. Yeah, you know,
(09:00):
it's interesting. That's that's a story. And you're gonna have to read her
chapter because she talks about the birthof her son, and girl, you
didn't wait hardly anytime before you wentright back to work after he was born,
Like it was under a week,two days, two days, and
(09:22):
that was your first goes. Iwas like, I just yeah, kudos,
Like that's just amazing, an amazingwoman. And part of that probably
had to do with your your physicalfitness. You were physically fit so you
could could bounce back. That's notnecessarily the topic of your chapters, but
it was so interesting when I readthat, I'm like, Wow, that's
impressive, and that shows the desireand the drive too that you put.
(09:46):
So everybody will have to read thechapter to find out more on that.
Over the years, you definitely didhave challenges like that challenge, what was
one of the most challenging things thatyou experienced and how did you navigate your
way through it the most challenging orjust one not necessarily the most, just
(10:07):
one of the most. Right,you don't have to you don't going to
go into the most challenging. They'regoing to have to wait for book two
for that, but just a challengingLike we all have different challenges, and
we we address them in different ways. We approach them in different ways,
and some of us, we youknow, may let it knock us down
a little bit, and some ofus we hit it head on, Like,
(10:30):
what was just one of the challengingone of the challenges that you faced.
It could have been your closing ofyour shops or or your health challenge,
Like, just what's one of themand what was the way that you
navigated your way through it. Therewere really quite a few challenges in the
last twenty years. I mean,on both hands, you know, there
were there were quite a few.I would say, jumping right into a
(10:56):
business, having everything just all happeningat once. When I first moved to
trucky, you know, I metthe man that I pretty quick thereafter ended
up marrying, bought a house,bought an existing business, had a baby,
had some health complications, all withintwo years, which really set a
(11:16):
foundation of instability right away. AndI didn't have I had a drop out
of school. I was I wasvery sick for eight months. I didn't
I did not go into detail intothat in that in the book, but
I was very, very very sickfor the entire pregnancy, and so I
(11:37):
had to drop out of college.I was going to also enrolled in school
at that time, very sick foreight months. My son was three weeks
early, and I had to dropout of school. And so I think
maybe not being able to finish myeducation and really understanding how to run a
(12:00):
business probably set me up for atougher road than if I had finished schooling.
And really, I mean, doesthat make sense? If I had
that on the education foundation, itwould have set me up a little bit
better on how to take these challengesas they came right And yet you managed
(12:22):
to navigate your way through them.What do you think was the key in
helping you navigate your way through them? So you know, you, like
we said, you were there backin the store a couple of days after
your child was born. And evenonce you had to shut down the first
due to the economy and everything thathappened in the two thousand and eight two
(12:46):
thousand and nine time period, youmanaged to get right back in the saddle
and open another shop. So whatdo you think was helpful to you?
Was it mindset? Was it justlooking for the opportunities, keeping your eyes
open, like what's going on uphere? That helped Michelle continue to move
forward and not just go, oh, I'm going to go get a ninety
(13:07):
five and I'm just gonna I'm justgoing to live my little life like what
kept Michelle going through all that?Absolutely, I've always said I'm a big
picture girl. It's always about thebig picture for me. What am I
doing today that's going to get meto where I want to be tomorrow?
And too many people at that timewere very woe is me? But I
(13:30):
think just having so much gratitude everyday and looking at Okay, how can
we make this work? How canwe make the best of the situation.
We can't do this, but lookat all these things over here that we
can do. So that's kind ofa model of how I tried to raise
(13:52):
my children, you know, Insteadof telling them no, no, no,
I told them, Okay, well, look at all these things we
can do, Look at all getall this opportunity, even though you can't
do that, instead of telling themno, saying okay, well, let's
redirect our focus over here, andlet's concentrate on what we do have and
what we are able to accomplish,and so just always moving ahead, always
(14:16):
moving forward. Understanding and I didn'teven realize it at the time that being
an entrepreneur, you are it's partof the job to be constantly reinventing yourself
and as the world is changing andshifting, and you need to be right
there and you need to be reinventingyourself right along with it. And that
(14:39):
was something that I didn't know inmy twenties that that was an essential part
of being an entrepreneur. Now obviouslyI've lived it, so yeah, you
know, there's one of the thingsthat and I highlighted this in the chapter
when I was had the privilege ofbeing able to read it earlier, and
you said that the closure of yourfirst gallery wasn't defeat, it was a
(15:01):
pivoting point, a shift in myfocus to be able to homeschool your son,
share irreplaceable time with your children,and you were given other opportunities during
this time period to learn about photography, develop new skills and perspectives, revealing
a new layer in your journey.I love that because you didn't take the
(15:22):
woe as me track. You werelike, Okay, all right, this
was a setback, but hey,it wasn't really a setback. What It's
just a different direction, and youembraced the moments and the time that that
gave you to to do more.And I just I found that just brilliant,
(15:46):
A brilliant piece of advice for womennow when you are and you it
also in line with the title ofthe book, women excelling everywhere. You
were able to excel where you wereat at different points in your life,
(16:06):
which is beautiful. Now, whatwere some of the Were there any like
role models along the way, anyonethat you looked to that was like and
even well for somebody back up beforeI asked that question. So now you've
got the first the first shops shutdown, you have another one it shut
down, and you share that storyin the in your chapter, and now
(16:32):
you have opened a third and you'rethis one's you're making a go of this.
Why did you continue to go inthat direction? What was your drive?
Was it your love for the arts? Was it? I might just
be crazy, but I it's justI don't know. I don't know any
(16:59):
other world. This is my world. This is who I am. I've
attempted to get other jobs, andI was a snowmobile tour guide for eight
years, backcountry tour guide for eightyears, which was great. I love
working with people, I love beingoutdoors, so that was great. But
my real my passion is creating,being artistic, really bringing people together,
(17:25):
collaboration, it is, It's trulya calling. It's something that I also
didn't realize in my earlier years.Is one of I think one a gift
that I have is connecting and bringingpeople together, especially women, young women,
women, artists, women entrepreneurs.I showcase and I features mostly women
(17:49):
in my store, not all,but I I feel drawn to connect people
and so my gallery, my secondart gallery, our Trekie, from day
one, was all about collaboration,bringing people together. And that's how my
entertainment company got started. Is Iwas doing so many things supporting the arts
(18:15):
that another company was born from that. I love that. I love that
and you know, something that Iread in your in your bio as well
that I find very interesting is thatyou're very active in the community, not
just in your business, but inthe local community, in the in the
board of directors, in the rotaryand these different organizations that are all about
(18:37):
that community feel. And that's allsomething that I think. Do you think
it helps you to stay just connectedand invigorated when you need that extra something
something. Does that make sense?Well, I've always since great school,
(19:00):
I've always ran for student government.I've always been in the community service clubs
high school. Pretty sure it waswith Key Club and an Interact were the
two, and that was like ahigh school version of Rotary. So it's
always just been a way of lifefor me. It's been really natural for
(19:23):
me to be involved in these organizations. I guess in my mind when I
was younger, I just thought thisis what people did, and you know,
you go to your rotary club,and it's always just been a way
of life for me and I never, I don't think twice about it.
It feels really good. And thenwhen you're in a room full of people
(19:48):
who are like that, it's themost incredible feeling. It's life changing to
be in a room full of peoplelike that and be surrounded by that energy.
And that's such a good point.That's such a good point because that
energy is contagious and if it's apositive, which you have to be cautious
because the negative energy can be contagiousas well. But that putting yourself in
(20:12):
situations where you are with other peoplewho are excelling wherever they're at right and
you're sharing those stories and you're sharingand I know that certain clubs that you're
part of are very big and givingback to the community and supporting the community
and things like that. So theyhave the you know, the networking and
the support piece, but they alsohave a lot of philanthropy connected to it
(20:37):
as well. Now, when youlook at your life and you look at
the different the different people that you'veconnected with, can you think of someone
who's been a really positive influence thathas helped you to open up new avenues
or new ideas for businesses, newideas for connecting people. Is there anyone
(21:03):
that was an inspiration to you?Gosh, I think there were quite a
few. I would I would hate, you know, I would hate to
leave anyone out there There's been quitea few people that at different times in
my life have helped me along theway. And when I was struggling with
(21:27):
the first gallery, you know,there were a number of people that were
there, and then the second gallery, and then now today I have a
number of people that I look to, people from my past. It's yeah,
it's really just different people at differenttimes. Now you are currently doing.
(21:51):
In addition to so, you haveseveral things, as as was brought
out in your bio, right,you have several different avenues that you are
are several different things that you're doing, and one of them is working to
help support female entrepreneurs and help themconnect and help them learn what drew you
(22:11):
into that role because it's a littledifferent than your role as a business owner
or your role as a mom,which we haven't even touched on that yet,
but like what drew you into wantingto do that. E Women is
an organization I let's see two thousandand six. Two thousand and seven was
(22:33):
right around the time when I becamea member, so I was very familiar
with organization. It was an organizationthat really aligned with my values and I
met so many incredible women being apart of this group. All of a
sudden they needed a leader, andthe timing was perfect. I had just
(22:55):
closed my second gallery, I hadthe time, I was able to fly
to Dallas the few times I neededto fly to Dallas, do the trainings,
go to conference, meet other managingdirectors, and really learn the role.
It took me a solid year toreally grasp what it was that I
(23:15):
was doing. And when I firsttook the role, I didn't really see
it as a business or a businessopportunity. I saw it as how can
I build community? How can Ikeep connecting these women together? And I
just thought the group needed a leader. Might as well be me, you
know, why not? Right,I'd been a part of the group for
(23:37):
so long, I thought, Okay, why not me? Not that I
had a whole bunch of experience tolead with. I just knew that,
like being a CEO of your owncompany, you don't always have to have
all of the answers. You justhave to surround yourself with the right people,
ask the right questions, and youknow, learn as you go.
(23:59):
So I took this took this role. Took me about a solid year to
really grasp what it was I wasdoing, and really found that this is
just like running my business. It'sjust like being the CEO of your company.
Is running this organization of women entrepreneurs, finding speakers from all over the
country, running networking events. Itwas a lot more than just connecting women.
(24:25):
What it is really like running runninga company? You know, it's
so it's you can see this threador I can see this thread throughout your
entire life of being very involved inhelping other people. Whether it is so
Michelle obviously has a big heart,whether it was being a part of groups
(24:48):
or running groups. Wanting to seeother people succeed, seems to be this
beautiful thread that is in or shouldI say, this beautiful brushstroke that through
the painting of your life. Oh, I just did an art, an
artsylogy. Before we we wrap thisup, I want to touch on what
(25:11):
an amazing mother you are because theroad has not always been easy for you
in that and that's book two,right, there's something there's another thing out
in the future, but it's nowyou're a single parent. You are having
to navigate the co parenting situation.You are having to you know, help
(25:33):
your kids as they grow into adults. Uh, your daughter, you talk
about the the very gifts, theartsy type gifts, the the the skills
that she has in her life inembracing her. And when you talk about
your kids, you're so passionate aboutit. What what do you love about
(25:59):
being a mother and having kids?And what is what are some of the
just you know, like, what'syour biggest challenge in that arena and what
helps you to overcome it? Sothat's kind of a three part question.
So what do you love about beingmom? Oh, it's the best.
It's it's the best and the worst. I mean, it's the hardest,
(26:21):
it's insanity being a parent. It'sit's everything that is challenging and magical all
wrapped up. And so looking backat being able to homeschool my son,
who is so smart, so incrediblysmart, it was like it was a
(26:45):
gift that I was given to beable to spend that, like I said,
irreplaceable time with him that you justdon't know. You just don't know
when you're in the moment and you'restruggling and you just don't know the gifts
that you're given and homeschooling him inparticular, he thrives in that environment.
(27:07):
When COVID happened and he had tohomeschool. His grades went up. I
mean, he was a kid thatreally loved that environment, and I was
able to go with him and showhim all the real world applications of his
curriculum. You know, we didthe field trips and we were climbing mountains
and making messes in the kitchen andreally it was a beautiful time that I
(27:32):
got to spend with him. Andreally he got it. He could have
those almost adult conversations with me asa young child pertaining to his school work
and making those videos on historical figures. You know, he really really got
it. So it was super coolto be able to homeschool him in particular.
(27:55):
Yeah, you know, my daughteris a totally different creature. She
is an artist, grew and throughand needs that group energy. She needs
to be among other students. Soshe didn't really thrive so much in the
COVID time, but she was there. She was there watching her brother be
homeschooled, getting that foundation of mathand you know, as an infant,
(28:19):
really just watching. And I couldgive her a shoebox, like an old
shoebox, tape, glue, scissors, glitter, rocks, leaves, and
for hours she would create this masterpiece. While I was homeschooling my son.
She would create these masterpieces in thisold shoebox and then you'd lift the shoebox
(28:41):
and it would have, you know, like this whole scene that she's created.
They're just incredible. They're incredible humans, and it has been a really
long challenging road over their life,especially with COVID. And to see I'm
gonna get emotional to see my son, he's student body president this year,
(29:07):
so so proud, so amazing.I love as you can hear your energy
when you talk about that experience ofbeing a parent, and that is so
amazing because you've embraced the challenges withan open brain, right with an open
eyes, and you've been able tomake some amazing memories. And that's an
(29:30):
excellent message for the readers or forthe end. She does share some of
this information in her chapter to andthis is the whole point of excelling everywhere,
right, no matter what situation you'rein or what circumstances are handed you
embracing those moments and being able tolook back and just smile and get them
(29:55):
get happy, emotional about where thosemoments have led to this this time,
So I love that. I lovethat story. Sorry for making your emotional.
I'm talking about grin, I know, you know, yeah, yeah,
yeah, I agree. I hearyou, I hear you. So
in the as we wrap this up, Michelle, if there's one message that
(30:19):
you really want the readers of yourchapter when the book comes out, hint,
hint, mark the date February twentyfourth, that's when you can download
it as kindle and on March eighthyou can order the paperback. What's the
one big message that you want forwomen to take away from what they read
(30:41):
in your chapter, or just whatmessage you want women to hear? Now?
I really had to reevaluate my definitionof success and what does it look
like to thrive? What does itlook like to have a thriving mindset and
(31:07):
you know, not be not beingin survival mode? You know, what
does it really look like to besuccessful? And so I just touch It's
just a chapter, so I justtouch on. I guess I never really
even stopped to think about what itmeans to be successful until I started writing
(31:30):
this chapter. Didn't know what thetitle was going to be until I was
finished writing it. And it reallyfor me is all about defining success and
for me, which my son now, who is in high school graduating eighteen,
he thinks I'm crazy that dollar signsare not in the definition of success
(31:52):
for me personally yet Yet, Well, what is your definition of success and
how you can create a life thatyou want for yourself, not just going
through the motions having that thriving mindset, which is all something that can be
(32:13):
achieved in your younger years. ButI really believe that for me, I
had to go through everything I wentthrough to have much stronger grasp on what
that means or for me at least, Yeah, I love that. I
love that, and I like Ilike the message that define your own success,
(32:36):
you know, define your own successbecause, like you said, your
son's success has the dollar signs attachedto it at this point in his life,
right. But for sometimes we getthat societal pressure of this dollar signs
equal success. So the fewer dollarsigns, the less success. The more
dollar signs, the more success,And that that's not the case. Success
(32:58):
is what you define, what youmake it, what you want. And
you are a successful parent. Youare certainly a successful business owner because you
have been able to reinvent so manytimes, and you're thriving. You're definitely
successful support in the community. Imean, there's just so many wonderful things
that scream success when you hear Michelle'sname. So I want to thank you
(33:22):
so much. This has been sucha fun interview. I cannot wait for
the entire book to come out,and I can't wait for the readers to
read your chapter because I know they'llbe inspired by it and it will help
women to excel where they're at,which is such a beautiful sentiment. So
thank you Michelle for being a partof the book. Thank you for this
(33:43):
interview, and I look forward togreat things to come. Yeah, thank
you so much for inviting me.I mean, I wouldn't have been a
part of it if it wasn't foryou. Oh, I am honored that
you are here. All right,So we'll go ahead and wrap up.
Like I said, mark your calendarsFebruary twenty fourth for the digital for the
(34:04):
Kindle version, and March eighth forthe paperback. Be sure to stay connected
with women excelling everywhere. We haveso much to offer you as a community.
We have a private membership community thatyou can be a part of We've
got all of the inspirational stories thatare coming out in the book, and
so many things, a summit comingin March, so many wonderful things.
(34:27):
So stay connected with us. Weare Women Excelling Everywhere dot com. You
can shoot up an email at infoat Women Excelling Everywhere dot com. You
can follow us on Instagram and allof the like. You can also stay
connected with Michelle. Oh you goahead and tell us while I'm looking for
it. The links well our Trekidot com, Michelle Erskine Entertainment dot com,
(34:52):
EWN Reno Tahoe dot com if youwould like to join the I'm an
entrepreneurs group that I lead on theReno Tahoe area. I'm on LinkedIn,
Facebook, Instagram, wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. We won't make sure that
we put all those links in theshow notes as well, so people can
(35:14):
stay connected and yes, go networkwith the wonderful me E Women Network members
in the Reno Tahoe area. Allright, I want everyone now thank you
for spending the time with us.And as I close up all of my
all of our podcasts, I wantyou to roll your shoulders back, take
a nice deep breath, go outthere and simply enjoy every moment. See
(35:38):
you next time.
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Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
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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.