[TRANSCRIPT]

0:00:00 - (SAM): Hey, everyone, and welcome back to another episode of building the abundant woman. I'm your host, Samantha Cook. And today we are just going to talk about how I got started in this entrepreneurial journey and what that can look like for you. So I'm going to have to take you back all the way to. I believe it was. It was 2016 because me and Chandler had just gotten engaged. And here I am in this job I'm not totally in love with, but I'm just trying to learn. Because he's in chiropractic school. I was working for a chiropractor, doing marketing for them.

0:00:38 - (SAM): And much like any other business owner, people always think that marketing equates to sales. And that's not the case. Marketing is the means by which you get sales. And so, for me, I always struggled in those types of positions because most people were looking for a sales type person as where I was looking more of how to market your business more effectively. And so for me, I needed a skill. I needed an outlet that could help people generate and build on their marketing versus just trying to get sales.

0:01:24 - (SAM): Now, I'm not saying there's anything wrong with sales, and I'm not saying that I don't do sales myself, but the important part of this is what I want to talk about here is why I got started. So I'm scrolling on Instagram one day, just like any other millennial in her early 20s does, and I see a girl I went to college with, and she posts how she went to Bali to learn to code websites. That's really cool. Like, props to her. That's amazing.

0:01:57 - (SAM): It was a really cool thing for her. And come to find out, she had shared they were having another class in Mexico in, like, a week. And I was like, oh, my gosh, am I crazy or what? And I just felt this really strong urge. And if I've learned anything in the last few years of my life, especially as an adult, is those strong urges are my gut. That's the Holy Spirit saying, you need to do that. And so even though I wasn't following God the way that I am now, it's like, I look back on that and I'm like, that was such a turning point in my life.

0:02:38 - (SAM): That was where God just really started saying, I need you to be really obedient to some really hard things. So I'm like, okay, God, I'll go. So I called my mom, and I'm like, hey, this is what I want to do. She's like, well, when is it? And I'm like next week. And so I used all her flight points that I had and paid the difference. And then I was like, hey, I got 5000 savings, this class, $3,500. I got this.

0:03:14 - (SAM): So I just remember that part of the story because when I say I got this, I did not have this. But that's okay. So I booked my flights. You could pay it in like chunks. I got on a call with one of their representatives and was just like, yeah, I got to do this. And so I went a week later, my boss said, hey, what can we cover? Who can do your job while you're gone? And I was like, this is the list. So I generated that list, gave it to him, said, okay, see, you literally used all my time off. It was unpaid time off.

0:03:56 - (SAM): So I went down there, I went to Mexico, and I had never been out of the country before. That was my first time to ever go out of the country. So when I did that, I got down there was being picked up at an airport in a country that I did not speak the language by someone who also was not from that country. The man picking me up was from Australia, and he had my name written on a piece of paper with a pen.

0:04:20 - (SAM): It was so funny because I remember, yep, that's who I'm going with. And I didn't know that person. He's like, hey, we're waiting on one more girl. And I was like, okay, cool. And she was from Texas too. So it ended up being really, I felt a lot safer. That was just God's protection and provision in that situation. That, one, that I was doing the right thing, but two, that I was protected and that I was safe.

0:04:45 - (SAM): And in what he calls us to do, he's going to provide safety for us in that measure. And so when we got there, it was like an hour drive out to where this villa was in Sayulita, Mexico. So I landed in Puerto Vallarta. We drove out there, I got there and I was like, I have ten days to learn and get as good as I possibly can. Everyone else is just like, oh, this is fun. And I'm like, I've got ten days to learn as much as I can. Like, they're chilling by the pool. I'm up in our room, like trying to figure out how to do all these things and practicing and trying to get my site up and all that good stuff, because that was where I was.

0:05:31 - (SAM): I had this feeling that I needed to know as much as I possibly can know. And so I took every ounce of that course. I asked all the questions. I probably drove people crazy. I probably drove those people crazy. But I needed to know as much as I could in ten days. And I just learned so much, not just coding, but about myself and other people. And it was a great experience. So all that to say, I came home.

0:05:58 - (SAM): I left even a little bit early because I knew I had to get back to work. So I took the latest flight I possibly could. I got up at 06:00 a.m. The next morning, left for work at 620 like I always did. And I worked that morning. And at lunch, they were like, hey, you can leave. We're done. And I was like, wow. And so from that moment, I realized, okay, this was not on. Like, this is for my good. So I started building websites, got connected with a fellow website developer, and we worked together for a while until Chandler was ready to start looking into opening our own practice and things like that. And I had to shadow.

0:06:44 - (SAM): And so as much as I wanted it to be the career and the growth of my life, it was not the time for that. And so when I had to sit there and take a step back and be like, okay, this is the most important thing right now. And the most important thing is not my thing. And so I had a lot of people tell me they were like, that's his practice. It's not yours. Blah, blah. Just tell us that it wouldn't work out together, all these things.

0:07:10 - (SAM): And what's funny is, God closed that door of us opening a practice and actually moved us to Atlanta, Georgia. So we got the call. Chandler got the text message that was like, hey, I'm looking for an associate. Can you come out or not? Can you come out here? Can you get on a call? And so through that, he ended up getting the job out here. They were like, hey, we'll pay you to two be in the office. Because I was like, hey, we're going to do this. We're going to learn, and then we can go open our own practice.

0:07:41 - (SAM): And so I built my last website. When we moved out here, I had just moved, and somebody from back in Dallas had reached out to me and, hey, like, I need a website. Can you give me a bid? I gave them a bid. They took it. I built that website. I finished everything off. Like, I think I want to say, like, two or three weeks after I had Quinn. And so from there, I was like, okay, God, if that's what I'm supposed to do, like, I had made my money back from doing it, but I was like, please, in the future, can you give me websites back, because I knew deep down, I enjoy it so much.

0:08:22 - (SAM): But I also understood that right now, like, chiropractic, and that practice was paying our bills. It was paying our livelihood. Chandler had $200,000 in student loans, and we had a baby at a later time. I'll walk you through that part of my story, too. But really, the reality of it was that we ended up buying into that practice, ended up seeing some really interesting parts of myself. I wouldn't say, like, good or bad, but just interesting things that I had come up, some things I felt like I needed to handle and take care of. And that's where I really started getting into the coaching sphere. Just wanted to be a better version of myself.

0:09:01 - (SAM): And through that, I was able to learn a lot about myself, work through a lot of things, start to get better, start to do better. And honestly, that's where my website business started. Back was a couple of ladies in the mastermind were like, I need some help. And I said, I can help you. And they're like, really? And I was like, yeah, I used to build websites for a living. And it's funny, because my coach will say this now. She was like, I listened to the recording of that call and was like, why the heck is that girl not doing this?

0:09:32 - (SAM): And, yes, she calls me that girl because she always thinks I'm, like, so much younger, because I look so much younger than her, but I'm only, like, five years younger than her. But it's okay, because that's the kind of relationship that we have with each other. And so, through that, I was able to not only get back into it, but God just blessed it at the perfect time. My kids were in the stage of life where Kellen's potty trained, like, they can go to the bathroom on their own all that good, you know? It just got me to this place where I was like, hey, all of these things can coexist with each other.

0:10:09 - (SAM): I can be a wife. I can be a mother. I can help run a chiropractic office, and I can be an owner of a business that does five figures a month. And I do all of those things. And now I'm getting in the process where I'm scaling my business. So I brought on another designer, but also I have learned to delegate better in other areas. It has built up my leadership, my ability to develop people in such a greater fashion. And I've even watched that one of the gals that's been at the office, she's been there for ten plus years. I want to say it's closer to 15, but anyways is like just watching her transform over the last nine months, because I've been working with her has just been incredible.

0:10:55 - (SAM): And she just has this wonderful spirit about her know, going through her annual review and her being like, thank you so much, Sam, for working with me and being able to do so much more in the practice, bring so much more value to the practice. So, one, I knew that I can develop people. And so through the websites, I've been able to now grow and I've had to bring on team and so grateful for that. So I tell you my story for this.

0:11:25 - (SAM): These are the main points. Is that one, just because it stops doesn't mean it's not going to come back. When we talk about what do you really want? If that's what you really want, then pray fervently for God to bring that back in a time that suits your needs. Because really, the thing was, if I had tried to build websites through all the stuff we went through with Quinn, through buying into the practice, through all the struggles that I went through with the practice, oh, my gosh, I could not have done it all and I would have quit and I would have gave up.

0:11:59 - (SAM): So just know that there's a time and a place for everything. But those things that I needed to walk through, I needed to do those because they created a better version of me. And so when I got into that better version of me, the difference has been night and day from the time I did websites the first time to when I brought it back now. And honestly, it's just like the drive, the passion never left.

0:12:25 - (SAM): And so because it never left, I was able to go and make this bigger than myself. So through all that is like, keep pursuing it just because your children are running around. I mean, granted, I know there's a lot of people that their kids are at school and they have the time during the day to get the work done. I still take care of my home. I don't have any in home help. I don't have any childcare. I home school. My daughter, she's in preschool, and I take care of them and I take them to all their activities and do all of these things. So just know that it is possible. You just have to realize what's the most important.

0:13:00 - (SAM): I literally don't care what my baseboards look like. And if they're dusty and you come over here and you tell me they're dusty, I'm going to tell you I don't care because that's not the most important thing. But my home is tidy, my clothes are clean, my needs are met, my children are happy, and I have the life that I really do want, that I'm going to continue to grow and scale, because that's the most important part out of all of this is like, if you're not living the life that you want, then why are you doing it?

0:13:28 - (SAM): Because at the end of the day, it's like, if you want to have a good relationship with your children, but you're over here trying to make the most money, then it's not worth it. And so for me, it was just like, these are the things I want to have plenty of time with my children because one day they will not be in my home anymore, and I don't have time to just, I mean, I will have time to disciple them later.

0:13:50 - (SAM): Hear me when I say that. But the foundation is created now. And so when we spend our day talking about scripture and learning scripture and memorizing it and talking through situations and talking through how our actions are of or are not of the fruit of the, like, I don't get that time back. And so that's one that's just a very important thing to me. Something I value more so than anything else is that my children have a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.

0:14:17 - (SAM): And that's the most important thing at the end of the day is that they do have so. And then the rest follows. Because when we have a loving relationship with Jesus Christ, then we can go and do abundant things. And I'm not saying it's just like God gives me all this money. It's just, no, I'm just obedient. And I'm very close to listening, to discerning that I'm yoked with people who are also of him.

0:14:40 - (SAM): And what he gives us can be multiplied. When you look at the parable of the talents and the servants who went out and put their talents to good use and multiplied them, he gave them more. And so that was something that I've always thought about. It's like I want to multiply who my children are, but I also want to be multiplied in the relationships that I'm in. And so when we do those things, we can sit there and say, hey, these are life giving relationships, and those are the things that I need to focus on.

0:15:16 - (SAM): Yeah, I have friends, and there's people I talk to on a regular basis, but the focus is more on the people that are giving me these life giving relationships. So three is out of all of that is you can make it happen. It doesn't have to look exactly how everyone else has it. You don't have to have an office to go sit and work away from everyone else. My kids, I am literally sitting in the living room.

0:15:40 - (SAM): I'm working on my computer. My kids are playing with toys. We get school done. I get ready for the day. I sit down and work and either give them food or let them sit down and watch a show. And that's how we do it. And then if they have needs, I'm like, hey, let me finish, XYz. Give me two or three more minutes to come to a stopping point, and then I'll get whatever it is you need. But I don't sit there and say, oh, my gosh, my kids are running around. I can't focus. It's like, I just have to know that they're okay and set aside that boundary with them.

0:16:14 - (SAM): Like, hey, we've done X, y, and Z, now it's time for mommy to work. So I'm going to need you guys to go get some toys out. Go get in the playroom, get some things out and play for a little bit so I can get some work done. If you need anything, don't hesitate to come ask me, but if it's not urgent, then go play. And I mean, they go to the bathroom on their own. They know what they need. I make sure their smoothies are filled up before I do any of those things. So don't feel like it has to look the way it looks for other people because so many people try to take advice from people who are not living their, like, I used to get so bogged down, and I'll tell you this, by women who were, like, doing it all, well, they weren't doing it all themselves. They had a va, their kids went to school, so it was a little easier for them to do those things. So my life looks a little bit different.

0:17:10 - (SAM): So when you are sitting here and you're like, I have children at home, then listen to a mom entrepreneur that also has children at home and take advice from somebody who's living the life that you want to live. If you want to have these five figure months in your business, but you have children at home and you have a skill or a desire of how to grow it, then you're the exact person who needs to be listening to this podcast right now because those are the people that you need to be taking advice from because they're living the life that you want.

0:17:42 - (SAM): And so I do the same. It's like, I take bits and pieces from different people, but I ultimately have to find what works for me, and so I encourage you to do that, too. Don't give up on your entrepreneurial dreams just because you're a mom or you feel like you have kids around, but go out and get done what you want to get done. Bye.