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Welcome to Easy money. I’m Jill the Money Coach. I know what it’s like to push through to white knuckle it to put in the time and get no results. I know what it’s like to wonder what’s the right way, and to constantly worry about doing it all wrong. I’ve learned a whole lot from doing things the hard way. That’s why I help coaches go from doing everything the hard way to making money easy. You want to create your dream life and dream business that’s all about being free to do what you want. Spend what you want, and build the future you want and do it all with ease. In this podcast, I bring you Simple Strategies for Success for your business that make money easy. So it’s time for Easy Money. Are you ready? Well then let’s go 

 

Hey there I’m Jill the Money Coach and I am so happy to be here today on Easy Money Podcast you are going to love this episode. I am having a conversation with Sari Kimball. Sari is the coach and founder of Sari Kimball, coaching and creator of Food Business Success. Sari has held just about every position in the CPG food industry from grocery buyer to selling local produce wholesale into stores running a Commissary Kitchen to starting her own food business, and in store marketing director and buyer for Whole Foods Market. Since going on her own in 2015. Sari has made it her mission to help packaged food entrepreneurs start and scale profitable businesses with Sari Kimball coaching and Food Business Success. As a business coach for food founders, Sari helps her clients go after a big goal to get them to the next level of success in their CPG business, whether it’s to launch a new product, go into manufacturing pitch to major retailers or expand their online sales. Her system of accountability, support and expertise combined with life coach training, get her clients results every time. Sari Kimball coaching helps entrepreneurs take their business to the next level of success. She helps founders take their business from a hobby and step into being the CEO of their business, whether that’s to get on store shelves, Amazon, bring on employees or go into co-packing or build out their own manufacturing space. Oh my gosh, you are going to love this conversation with Sari. It was such a gift to me. And I am so glad that it was recorded so that you could share in all of this goodness, she is so transparent and so generous. She loves helping other entrepreneurs win in their business. And this podcast is such a great example of her generosity. She’s just so open and vulnerable. She’s willing to talk about her struggles so that other entrepreneurs don’t have to feel like they’re alone in their own struggles in their business. So often, we only see the good parts of people’s businesses, how successful they are, how much money they make. And so that makes it sometimes feel like we’re all alone. Like we’re the only ones who aren’t getting it like we’re the only ones that aren’t, haven’t figured out how to make it work. So it’s so refreshing to hear talk about her struggles, and also to talk about the success that came from her being willing to keep betting on herself to keep doubling down to keep honoring her word to herself, essentially, just to keep going and keep trying and keep giving yourself grace. As she shares, it doesn’t have to be perfect. You don’t have to do everything perfectly in order for it to work out perfectly and to become successful. It will happen. This was such an amazing conversation that you get to listen in on Sari Kimball. So I hope you enjoy. 

Hey, Sari, it’s so good to have you here on the podcast. It hardly seems like it was a year since I showed up as a guest on your podcast. I can’t believe it seems like you know, just a couple of months ago, but it’s been an entire year. So it’s so good to have you here.

Yes, thank you, Jill. It’s so fun to be on your podcast now. 

Yeah, and I guess For a long time, I wasn’t, you know, I wanted to have a conversation with you. But our niches, our audiences are so different, or it seems like they are, you know, with yours being food products and mine being coaches. With limited money mindset, I just didn’t see the connection. And so when I finally did see the connection, I was like, yes, let’s do it. So I would love to hear more about I’d love to, for you to share with my audience, you’re probably your audience probably knows a lot about you already. But maybe not so much for my audience. But so I would like to talk about your background, your story, you know, some of the struggles that brought you where you are today, because, you know, I love where you are today. And I love sort of that flavor that you give your business of, you know, doing, having generosity as a business strategy, which is what a lot of what we’re going to talk about today, and I would love for you to share kind of the things that led up to that.

Yeah, thanks. Well, everything in its perfect time, right. It all came together at the right time. So yeah, I’m really excited to be here today and talk about this topic. I think this is a game changer for a lot of coaches and working through your money mindset and making money easy, right? Yeah. It’s definitely helped me in my journey. But yeah, I did go back. So I work with packaged food businesses. That’s my niche. It’s kind of an unusual niche. There’s not a whole lot of us out there. But people, the way I describe it is you make something delicious in your home kitchen, and then everybody tells you, you should start a business. And a lot of people don’t. But there are people that are like, Yeah, I think I want to do that. I’m called to entrepreneurship. And then they start Googling, and they realize it’s a lot harder than they thought. And so hopefully, they find me and I help them on their journey. I have an online course. And then a program. And then I also do 1 on 1 Coaching, which I just added last fall, as after I got certified to the Life Coach School, as a coach. So, you know, life is business, business is life. You can’t, the two need to go hand in hand, right? Yeah, exactly. And how, and everything flows over between the two. It’s like, if you have a problem in life, chances are showing up in your business, even if you’re not conscious of and vice versa.

I always say whenever I hear, you know how you do one thing is how you do most things, or everything. I always think of you. So that is so true. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I mean, I can touch a little bit on my, you know, my struggles for sure. I don’t know how far you want me to go back. Like, there’s me.

At my retreat. One thing you had talked about was sort of that that gap. I don’t know if you would call it a gap year, but it was like a gap year, where you were, you had left Whole Foods. And I might get some of these details wrong. So correct me if you had left Whole Foods, and you wanted to strike out on your own? Yeah. And you had some struggles there. And I think like take us through that journey where you were like you got to this point where it was, you know, quit or die trying and kind of thing. Right? Yeah. Take us through that journey, if you will.

So yeah, how I got involved in this industry is through Whole Foods Market. I’ve had a lot of other food industry jobs as well. So I was laid off in fall of 2015. And in addition, I call that year the year I blew up my life where I got a divorce. I was no longer a homeowner or a dog owner. I had a diagnosed gluten allergy. I moved into my mom’s basement, it was a year and it kept it all off with getting laid off from Whole Foods. And I really looked at that. Even though it was a tough year as a gift of like how do I want to reinvent myself? You remove all the labels. Okay, now what? And I had this like, I wonder maybe I could do something on my own, I have a story that I do not come from a family of entrepreneurs, right. But I’m not an entrepreneur. So it was, it was not something that I stepped into easily. And it’s definitely been a struggle for, you know, high achieving perfectionist leaning on and  an anxious personality. Yeah, so I knew I wanted to go in that direction. And I kind of like you said, it’s a gap year is a good way to describe it. Like, I gave myself the freedom. You know, I was living in my mom’s basement not paying rent, I had my divorce settlement and my severance. So I said, you know, let’s just take a little time and kind of see what, you know, see what, let’s just experiment a little and see what comes up. And so I helped a friend open a restaurant and created some of her programs, I worked in a Commissary Kitchen, which is really where this whole idea developed of helping packaged food business entrepreneurs. And yeah, just kind of gave myself some time to experiment and explore. And, and then I decided, yes, I started an LLC and said, I’m, you know, I’m in business for myself. And I got a couple of clients, some of them were sort of in the food industry. And then I was, you know, just going out there and trying things, making offers. And I did do some very low, low paid consulting, or small business development center. And that gave me some good experience. So things were kind of like, I was like, okay, figuring this out. It wasn’t exactly like I was paying my bills with it. But it was like it’s working. I’m, you know, I’m giving myself some patience and grace here. And then, about a year, I guess, year and a half into it, everything fell apart. My two big clients that were really paying the bills, they both imploded in the same month. And I had one client that was like, had taken a chance on me in the food industry. And then I had my consulting with the Small Business Development Center. And I really did, I fell, I fell apart. That was, I was having panic attacks. I was like, it is time to get a real job. This, what am I doing? So crazy.

 

It was a rough, rough time. You know, I was learning lots of hard lessons. I had put so much into those two clients, like they were, you know, like, I didn’t spread my basket. Enough. They were like the main ones. And then, and then I got a cease and desist letter on my business name. And yeah, I don’t do that. Yeah, I got like, a very formal like letter through FedEx. You could we have thoughts. Yes, this is not happening for me. I know. I was like, this is a sign for the universe. Yeah. it’s time to get a real job, like, like, that was fun way to play. And, you know, my runway had was really running out. And I was like, I gotta make, I either got to make this work or not. And I, I actually found a job. That was exactly what I wanted to be doing through the state of Colorado. And it was like, it was made for me, right? And then they offered it to me, of course, and it they paid like $40,000. And I was like, huh, all right, this is a moment, right? Am I gonna? Am I going to change my business name, start fresh? Am I going to, you know, what am I going to do here, I’m going to take this job and be in a government job, that’s exactly what I want to be doing. But it is, you know, not enough for me to even live live in Denver. And so I, you know, after a lot of soul searching, and some lots of time spent in the fetal position in the kitchen. I love your honesty, or a lot of vulnerability, transparency, I mean, and that’s the thing, right? Because if you were not the only ones that suffer from these crazy things happening to us and just ending up feeling like we are not supposed to be doing this or I am not. I don’t have what it takes or you know, any You have the millions of thoughts that we tend to think, as entrepreneur was like, that’s kind of like that was cute Sari, way to try it no way to God or entrepreneurship.

Yes. Listening to this, just know that you are not alone. This is normal.

 

I now, I was like that that was rough. So I did decide to double down, I bought $1,000 course on how to make an online course. And I just said alright, I’m gonna go all in. And I’m going to start this online program. And I’m going to give it my all. And we’re just going to, let’s just, I turned off all the job notifications, I said no to the safe job. And I said, I’m going to, I’m going to try this. And that was I went and did a corporate retreat of one at a hotel, hotel room in Denver, over Thanksgiving, like that weekend of after Thanksgiving, and I mapped it all out. And I just said, Okay, I’m gonna try this 2019 launch launched this program. And yeah, it was, and then I actually found the Life Coach School at that point. So this is all like, pre model, right? So to me, yeah. 

Yeah. And you still, like made it to where you are. I think that’s important to note. And one other thing that I picked up on that, as you were talking is that you not only had to decide what to say yes to you also had to decide what to say no to, you had to decide, okay, I’m turning off the job notifications. I’m saying no to a job so I can say yes to betting on myself. Right. Yeah. So I guess I went through in my own way, like, well, the worst thing that can happen is I fail, and I go get another job, right? Like, I can always get a job. But what if I just bet on myself and went all in, you know, double down, didn’t look back? And then if it fails, it fails. And at least I was kind of half in and half out. Right? Yeah. At least you know that you gave it your role. Exactly what if later on, right.

But I will say I was doing it the hardest way I was I am very resilient. I always have been there’s been a lot of hardships in my life. And I’m good at grinding it and grinding it. And like, I will get through this right. But it’s not fun. Or easy. Or easy. It was definitely yeah, easy is not been a word I would normally use I would have used in my life. Yeah.

So fast forward to today, and give us a sense of like, where you are right now. How you feel about your business? How far you’ve come and, and what your business looks like now?

 

Yeah. So I just want to clear up the record of it’s not like I went from like, I’m gonna, I’m gonna go all in and like, go do this. And then it’s like, snap your fingers. And it magically all works like No, no, yeah, there was only fast forwarding in the story, not in, not in, not in the dirty. I tried a lot of things. Other things that didn’t work, but I was learning, I joined scholars, and I was learning how to manage my mind. I did have a coach at that point who was helping me just a few hours a week just to kind of see the forest from the trees. But so I was getting it out there. And then yeah, things, you know, I was taking action. And so things did start to happen. And anybody who says oh, just start an online course. You know, it’ll be easy. They are wrong. Not easy. I was literally like recording modules as people were going, you know, I had a couple of people going through the program, but if it keeps you keeps you accountable when people are watching this. Been there done that. Yeah. So yeah, just over the years, so that was 2019. And then I was getting more lots of I was getting more 1 on 1 clients, honestly than then the online program. But I was a consultant so I was building people’s businesses for them and there was a lot of just saying yes to things like, I just I just had a motto of like, I’m just gonna say yes. And then I’ll figure. And so I did a lot of the entrepreneurial pieces of like, getting over obstacles and problem solving and resilience and, and so it was working and that I had, I started to get good clients, I was charging more money. I was getting some people in my program over time. And then 2020 happened. And I, I just made a decision as we went into lockdown. I was dating a guy, and I was like, oh, I don’t, I don’t want you in my bubble. And I realized, I was like, you’re not good for me. I don’t want you in my bubble. So I broke up with him. I just decided to like, double down and go all in on my business. Like it was scary, of course, when everything was shutting down, but I thought I’m gonna just stop drinking, I’m going to work on my health. And I’m just going to, like, what can I create in my business? And how can I help people as they navigate this? And honestly, you know, the pandemic was good for me in a way because, well, in a lot of ways, but people were open to entrepreneurship in a new way. Either they were at home, playing around in the kitchen experimenting, right? Everybody was making sourdough bread. Getting into Julia Child cooking again, right? So there was a lot of experimenting in the kitchen. And then people who had had this idea, you know, for 10 years I’ve been wanting to do this. It’s like, people were realizing like life is short. What do I really want to be doing? Maybe my job isn’t so safe and secure. So I was in a fortunate position in a weird way that I already had an online program. I already had a YouTube channel, I had a presence. And so I just was like, I’m going to really double down on this and show up for people and show up for myself and my business. And that’s when I met Dave Murano and joined his first ever little mastermind that he had, and yeah, paid $1,800, which was or yeah, $1,800 at that time, which felt like a really a lot of money for me. invested that in my business. And yeah, fast forward. So now things are really cruising along. I mean, it’s not that there’s not struggles and hardship by any means. But it’s like I’ve done it’s like the flywheel is moving and there’s momentum there. Oh, yeah. Last year, I created over $300,000. And my business was mind blowing my own mind. Yeah, and a million is next. Right? Yeah, that’s the goal. That’s what I’m working on this. Yeah. Yeah, that’s one of the goals you wrote down. When you were at my retreat last year. I think you probably had that goal before. But that was like one of the first ones in your list when we talked about, you know, reaching all of your financial goals. Yeah, that was one of them. And so that’s what you’re working on this year. So I mean, last year, when I was on your podcast, you April was the month that you did on your podcast, the series you did on money. And one of those things was the Generosity Challenge. And you did that again, this year. So where did the generosity come in the journey? Is that just the way that you’ve always been? Or did that show up as a result of some of the struggles that you described? 

Yeah. I think I think I have always been a generous person in my, like, formative years. But I think as I as I look back, I really shut that part down in my 20s. It’s like, as I went through more hardships, and you know, getting hurt, and on and on and on, I think I really, like stuffed that part down where I was like, I’m not gonna give until somebody else gives and I really, there was a lot I had really like, hardened my heart to, mechanist.  Yeah, I get it. Yeah. And I mean, it really coincided nicely with our conversation you and I had last year because it was really not that, like, just before that I kind of challenged myself to this generosity. So my, sorry, it’s really windy here, my umbrella just flew by but my grandmother had passed away the year prior in 2020. And she left us all the grandkids a little bit of money. And so it was about $4,000. And she was a hard woman, but she was also very generous in her way, like generous with her time. And so I was thinking about her, and I was thinking about, my own money situation. And I mean, even just listening to some of your work and working with Dave and like, like, it still feels really hard. I remember thinking, like, I’m just taking my clients money, you know, and that we’re taking, right and it just didn’t feel like money was very easy. And so somehow I got it in my brain, I don’t know how, but I decided to get the money, all the money from my grandma into $100 bills, and I started kind of putting $100 bills around the house. And so that I could see it like, Oh, look at how abundant I am. And look at how much money there is. And then somehow I got the idea. I’m like, I’m gonna take $1,000 of that money, and I’m just gonna go and have fun spending it. And I guess actually, I have a friend Mark who’s like, super, super generous, and so may he may be sparked the idea. He always like over tips, like ridiculously over tips. And then we went to a restaurant and he’s like, choose somebody. And I was like, what, and he’s like, pick somebody. And then we he picked up their meal, you know, and we were like, how cool giggling the corner. And you know, we don’t tell them. And it was just so fun. And so I kind of got a little taste of that. And I said, I’m gonna go take this $1,000 and just see how much I can do with it, how much fun I can have. And the first one I did was with my hairstylist, and I was like, it was not fun. It was actually really uncomfortable. I was like, it was me being vulnerable. And like, she, I know, it’s like I’m giving her $100 But like as a tip, you know, but I thought, What if she’s like, thinks I’m super weird, or she’s like, what are you doing? And I didn’t really want her to see. And I was like kind of excited, but also really uncomfortable. It was, I know, used to be just like, that was amazing. But it was incredibly uncomfortable for me. That’s interesting. Yeah. And so I was noticing that and then I decided to do I, you know, I work with people who do farmers markets. And so I went to a farmers market and I just thought I’m going to spend this money and really love the process and buy stuff I wouldn’t normally buy. And I ended up paying it forward with a lot of people, you know, because I don’t eat gluten. So I was like, just, you know, the next person that comes up, like, buy them their bread, you know, and so just this paying it forward. And it’s like it unlocked something in me I was giddy. I mean, it was uncomfortable. But then at the end, I was just like, I could not stop smiling. I just it was like the biggest high, I had experienced in most of my life and and I just thought like, what is that about? You know? And then I think I even taught shared that on when you and I were talking on the podcast. So it was just starting then and over time I you know, you’re like how hard is it to spend $1,000 But even just carrying money like having ones or fives and like giving it to somebody on the street, right? It’s uncomfortable to walk up to a stranger and like give them money. It really is. Yeah, it’s so it really helps to break me open and and just give without expectation. See how much fun I could have how much I could brighten up somebody’s day like just wow them and try to stay as anonymous as possible. Right? That’s even the more fun of it. And then the you know the bonus of all of that is I was having so much more fun. And I was seeing money in a new way. as like a tool, and, and I feel like, ultimately, as a gift. Yeah. And it was coming back to me in ways right now. So it really changed my philosophy about money, my relationship and that using it as a strategy, right that the more I can give without expectation and give with fun and knowing that more money is always coming, and that it always comes back to me like it does, it always comes back to me.  

 

So it got easier. And now, how easy is it? Like? How do you ever have discomfort when you give money, or give anything? Um, I would say don’t have as much just comfort with giving it, I still have little thoughts that creep in like, Ooh, that’s a lot, you know, even like, I, when my clients launch their product, for instance, I always try to be the first one to buy it or you know, and sometimes I’m like, Oh, that’s a lot of money, or I don’t want to pay that for shipping. And then I’m like, Oh, my gosh, this is part of generosity. Just get it out. Just bite the bullet. It’s fine. More money’s always coming. So you know, I still have my little Yeah, the way I was raised and how you, you know, you don’t splurge or save money and all of that. But it’s, it’s definitely a lot easier.

Yeah. And it’s interesting how the more you were able to use, I guess, generosity just as a strategy or a tool or a technique for developing your relationship with money. Yeah. And then it became, it sounds like it became just a strategy sort of just became the way you do business, in your life and in your business. Just yeah, a part of who you are. And I tried to do it in other ways, too, besides money, you know, because sometimes people are like, Oh, money, all you talk about is money. It’s like, No, we can also it’s also really uncomfortable to offer a stranger a compliment, right? And so, just for, you know, getting myself out of myself, and not making it all about me, but like looking around and being like, Okay, I’m gonna go to an event and I’m gonna compliment ten women on something, you know, notice, notice that, or I’m gonna, I was doing a some challenges for myself, where I would text somebody every day, you know, somebody I care about, and just say something nice to them and thinking about them. And so just how can I be generous in lots of ways, and I, you know, I give a lot away, I really just have a philosophy in my business, that I’m just going to give it all away. And then some people are going to want to work with me and, you know, in different capacities, and, and that’s going to be really attractive. And so yeah, it does, it has become a strategy. And it’s a strategy to create money, but it’s also a strategy just to have fun. Yeah, I’m gonna do this, like, let’s make it fun. Yeah, and I’ve never been like a super playful person, I consider myself up probably all more on the serious side. So this is one way that I can have fun, like, it feels true and authentic for me.

 

Yeah. And just because, you know, we’re in a lot of the same groups. Just watching, I have been extremely impressed at just how much you really do for other people. Just in encouraging them and supporting them in different ways. Like, you’ll go and listen to people’s podcasts. And you’ll, you know, say, hey, this is a really great podcast, you guys should go listen to it. And that’s just, to me, that’s like, I want to be more like that. So, I mean, to me, it’s been such an example of what, you know, just just thinking outside the box of all of the things that you can do. When it comes to being generous. It’s like, pretty much anything you can think or imagine, is some way that you can use in, you know, to advance your strategy of generosity, and I just love that so much.

Yeah, I think about you know, for people listening here and what I did with my audience was challenged generosity challenge, and now I’ve done it two years in a row, but you know, I encourage my people to physically go out and spend you know, take a little money and go out to a farmers market and enjoy the process of being sold to and pay it forward. Because I know my clients, a lot of them are like, I would never pay $12 for my granola, but like, they think they want other people to buy it. Right? Yeah, we need to like, yeah, train them into the habit of, you know, being willing to open to spend any money and, and it’s value, right, we’re still getting an exchange of value. And then I also encourage, like, instead of, and this is where coaching, you know, for coaches, it’s like, instead of just posting something on social media or your podcast, and then sitting around and waiting for other people to like, and comment or listen, like, be the first one, go first and post your stuff, and then go comment on 10 other people’s posts or go listen to other people’s podcasts and share it like, you can lead you can go first. And instead of it making it about you go out and like go give first give, and then it will come back. I promise.

Boy, that’s good. Now a lot of my clients have stories about time. Like, there’s not like, because I can see, I mean, even myself when you said that I’m like, Oh my gosh, that sounds like it takes so much time. So I know that, you know, my clients listening are going to be like, Oh, my gosh, but I don’t have time. So yeah. How would you respond to that?

Well, I think if you make it part of the strategy, like you just find, it doesn’t take very long. I mean, are you listening to the podcasts kind of in the background, or you know, sometimes I don’t listen to the whole thing. But I listen to a little bit of it and just pull one nugget out. I think it’s just, when it’s a strategy, you figure out a way to squeeze it in, and you change your mindset that oh my gosh, this is gonna take so much time. And instead it’s like, alright, I have 20 minutes to do my post. And that’s going to include going and cheering on some other people. And so you create constraint, right? Like, I’m not going to spend 20 minutes on my pose, but I’m going to spend 20 minutes on it as a whole. And so that’s part of the whole post of your social media is also going to other people.

Yeah. Okay, that’s good. That’s good. Yeah. And when it’s a strategy, yeah, when it’s a strategy, you make it possible. You make the time. And oh, and you also make it when you make it a strategy, you also make it easy and you make it fun. Yeah. Yeah. Because oftentimes,

once you’re in, you know, just social media as an example, once you’re in it, you’re like, Oh, you start scrolling through, or, you know, you see stuff and it’s like, how much longer it takes like, an extra 10 seconds to do an emoji and say, Great job, or, yeah, it takes, like, almost no more time than what you’re scrolling through. And if you find yourself saying, Why is nobody posting? Why is nobody listening? Why is nobody responding? Instead of using the brain space to be in a pity party? Use the brain space to go out and do it for somebody else? What you’re asking people to do for you?

 

Yeah, that’s good. Yeah, kinda like yeah, if you want somebody to pay $12 for your granola, then go pay $12 for somebody else’s stuff. Yeah, yeah. I love it. So yeah, this generosity thing is made you sort of a badass when it comes to being generous. Right? And, and that’s also part of your strategy right? Being a badass?

Yeah, I you know, I definitely for me, being a badass is really about honoring my word first and foremost. Because I didn’t do a good job of that for most of my life and then I would beat myself up and then so lots of starts and stops and I think when I finally using like the Badass 30 Challenge and and coaching tools now I, you know, I get so much more done and I you know, have the podcasts and the YouTube channel and the groups and my 1 on 1 coaching and social media and all of it, and it’s like, I plan it out. I put it on my calendar, and I do it no matter what, right?

Like that, no matter that’s where it starts for me. Yeah, so you’ve made it non negotiable? Yeah, so being a badass, being a badass is just being you. No matter what making that non negotiable. Like who you truly are at your core, is who you’re showing up as now, not necessarily who you were showing up as in the past. Right? Right.

Yeah, I mean, this is more authentically me and feels more real. And when I, you know, it’s, I don’t get it right 100% of the time, but I trust myself, so much, so much more than I ever did. Where I would make commitments and then break them. And, and I don’t know, you know, mostly to myself, right? We’re really good at keeping commitments to others. And so you always, you know, you always coach and teach on the things you had to learn most, but I find a lot of my clients don’t. They show up for everybody else, and their job and their family and everything. And then when it comes to their business, they don’t show up in the same way. And so everything goes a lot slower. So I would say everything just picked up for me when I was having more fun, which was through generosity. And then as I developed and practiced, and built the muscle of honoring my word and showing up no matter what.

Yeah, yeah. So generosity doesn’t just apply to other people, it applies to yourself. And that’s what you just, I mean, that’s what leads to trusting yourself. That’s what leads to showing up for yourself, just like you would somebody else is being generous to yourself, just like you would someone else. So generous, being generous when it comes to investing in yourself and betting on yourself and giving yourself grace. Yeah, even just those compliments, and I listened to, I heard something about like, the high five habit where you like high five yourself in the mirror, at the beginning and end of the day, like, do it while you’re brushing your teeth. And you literally like, you can’t help but like high fives have such a good connotation and are in our society. You can’t help but like, be a little uplifted. You know, so you’re supposed to like look at yourself in the mirror and just be like, Hi fives Sari, you know. Yeah. And so being more generous with compliments to myself, and those kind of, you know, those things that help help you move forward, those little mind. Mind hacks are, you know, I’ll finish something I’ll just be at my desk and give myself I thought it was awesome. Or even just telling somebody that like, I’m so proud of myself. I you know, I did this hard thing. And I’m really love it and yeah, so yeah, we’re not very kind with ourselves.

Yeah, we don’t celebrate wins nearly enough. Yeah. Yeah. The one of the groups that we’re in, there’s a Wins Channel. And there was one posted the other day where the outcome wasn’t necessarily didn’t sound like a win. But she counted it as a win anyway. And I was like, Yes, I mean, I, I, like, wanted to highfive her, I was like, That is so awesome that she sees that as a win. Because it is its growth, its resilience, it’s just, you know, showing up for yourself no matter what, and celebrating what you’ve done, no matter what the outcome is. And so I’ve really, really loved that. That’s one of the biggest things that I try to, to help people or to remind people to do. Because it’s so important, whenever you show up for yourself to give yourself grace and and give yourself credit for what you did do and stop beating yourself up for what you didn’t do, or the outcome you didn’t get.

Right. Yeah. 100% Yeah, I would say the other breakthrough that I really had last year, and that was right around your retreat and with Onga, and the RTT was that I was really like, I was really still motivated myself out of pain. And like that fear of self loathing and beating myself up, right. And so, I think working through a lot of that was really crucial to like, Okay, I’m just going to do this because I say I’m gonna do it. And I’m going to be kind to myself and generous to myself on the other side, no matter what. And instead of always, because I’m an achiever, right? I love it right? I am I go, go go. But it’s like if you’re always trying to get yourself motivated and get yourself going through pain and through fear and anxiety of if you don’t do it, then you know you’re gonna hate yourself on the other side. Like, it’s it doesn’t make it a very fun journey. And it’s it’s not going to help the money flow easily by any means.

Yeah, yeah, it is so much easier when you keep letting yourself off the hook, when you learn to that letting yourself off the hook is not a recipe for failure. It’s actually a recipe for success. That shift is unbelievable. I’ve made the same shift in the past year myself, it’s and, you know, I can definitely see like the shift in your energy. Since last year at this time, it just feels so it feels like it’s so much easier for you. Yeah, I mean, it is like, everybody tells me now it looks like you’re it’s so easy for you. And I think, Oh, y’all if you only knew how hard it’s been?

Yeah,  the story I have about how hard it’s been. But yes, it does. I’m showing up more as me and the more I lean into me, and being authentic. And the less I beat myself up and give myself generosity. And the more I lean into being generous with my time with my words with my money. Yeah, you’re not too much you’re just say, I am too much. That’s awesome. Yeah, I love it. Oh, I love it. Well, anything else that you have to share with anybody? Or? Well, I just want to really, you know, give you kudos. And if anybody is on the fence or thinking about working with you, or coming to your retreats. I mean, I felt like that was a really powerful retreat. Definitely, you know, we talked about before we start recording just that, what I want, what I want, and I know we work through some of my stuff, even just around like, is it okay to want the nice car and want, you know, the nice clothes and things like that, because, you know, I look back on my life, and like, I grew up in a very, very closed off household, like, in just that, like, women were supposed to stay at home and, and have children and, you know, go that traditional route. And it was never in my DNA or my, you know, history for me to make a lot of money. Right. And, and so kind of, it’s been uncomfortable, it’s been uncomfortable journey for me to step into success. And, and have success be safe. Yeah. Like, can it be successful for me? Or can it be safe for me to make money? Because it does start putting you more in front of people, right? Like, it’s more visible, you can’t hide? It gets harder to hide as you become more successful and make more money and, and so I did find you know, I love the retreat that you put on. Very valuable and just that it did help me to kind of ease into like, money is always coming and I can give it away. But I also it’s okay to spend it on me. Yeah, yeah. And to want what I want, right and want the want the nice car and want some of those nice things like, you know, I think when I got back, I bought a new couch, which will be that was like October and it’ll be here in a month. So thanks to COVID but I did buy it. It’s coming.

 

Yeah, just be generous. To be generous with permission. Yeah, to do what you want. Be who you want. want what you want. Yeah, absolutely. So money is just a tool money is super fun. And for me it’s more fun with the generosity, right? If I was just holding it all in and like this is mine. And I think that would be really a very different feeling. It would still feel like I’m taking money from my clients instead of I’m delivering I’m giving amazing value and I’m giving way more than anybody’s getting and without expectations, but it just opens it up to possibility for me and my business. Yeah, yeah, so good. Well, thank you so much. Thanks for sharing some tough things and some awesome things. Yeah, it just goes to show you life is truly 50/50. It is. It is. But I do think when you open it up like now I think of like, the 50 on the good is like amazing. And there’s some amazing, huge things that I never thought would be possible. And then I feel like I can manage the harder stuff, right? It’s not as hard and negative. You know, it’s not like, for every amazing thing. There has to be some highly, highly terrible, right, right. But then the strength, courage and the resilience that you develop makes that negative 50. Not quite as hard. Right? 

Yeah, you allow it and you’re like, yep, that’s part of it. 

I’m here for it all. That’s one of my favorite things to believe I’m here for it  All. Right. Love it. Thank you for having me on. It’s been a pleasure. Well, thanks so much. I’d love this conversation. And I can’t wait to talk again. 

 

Wow. So what did you think so many great takeaways from this conversation? I don’t even know how to sum it all up. But here goes and I would love for you to share your favorites with me. So just email me at https://jillwrightcoaching.com/. And let me know what parts were your favorites. There are. There were so many great lessons as we listen to Sari’s story. And I mean, she was just doing wife the way she thought she was supposed to do it. But just because it looked perfect picture perfect doesn’t mean that it was picture perfect. She talked about the year her life blew up. I mean, that was tough. But her story didn’t stop there. She lost her job at Whole Foods. Again, her story didn’t end there. She got her business working. And then she said it all fell apart. And her still her story did not stop there. She could definitely have taken everything that was happening as signs that, you know, this just didn’t, you know, wasn’t meant for her. But she persevered. She kept going. She kept believing she went in, all in, she bet on herself, she doubled down on that bet many times, and eventually it paid off. And last year, she generated over $300,000 in revenue. And this year, her goal is a million. So I just love I love her story. And I love her grit and her determination. And I just think she’s amazing. But I loved her story about generosity being a tool to help her connect to a better relationship with money. It was uncomfortable for her at first, but now it makes her business fun. And I love that so much. And she’s not just generous with money. But she’s generous with time with energy with attention with compliments with support of fellow entrepreneurs. And of course, with her clients  Generosity has really just become a fun way of life for her. She just has fun doing that. And it’s incredible to hear her talk about how much that has enriched her life in ways that she never even knew where possible or never even knew she wanted even. So the lesson here is that you have to be willing to try things and you have to be open to them completely changing your life. And not usually I mean not always but not even not usually in the way that you expect or in the way that you want. But in a way that is above and beyond all that you have imagined for yourself. So when you make generosity a strategy, you make it easier you make it more fun life money, business all becomes easier all becomes more fun and I love how she talked about how she’s showing up now is the most authentic version of herself that she’s ever been and this is this is part of the journey that I’ve been on this last year as well is just becoming more and more me and as I become more and more me I can see how more doors, more opportunities are opening up for success and for that life vision and for that business vision that I have. So she’s such an amazing badass, such an inspiration. And just I’ll leave you with this. The most important thing is to keep going because the last thing you want to do is to quit when you are literally steps away from cresting that hill that changes everything for you. 

So I hope you enjoyed our conversation. And I just want to give you a heads up that there’s more where that came from. I’m having more fantastic conversations with coaches and entrepreneurs coming up in the month of June. So be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss a single one. You will love these conversations that I have just so many different topics that we get to cover and so many different thought leaders that I get to have these conversations with. And just so you know, you heard Sari talk a little bit about her amazing experience at 2021 Elevate Retreat. Well, I want to let you know that registration for 2022 Elevate Retreat opens soon it actually is opening June 15. And it will be open for a limited time so don’t miss your opportunity to come to Nashville and design your own customized selling process. 2020 Elevate Retreat is all about selling without rules. If you struggle with the rules of selling, if you struggle with feeling pushy, feeling needy, feeling raspy, or just feeling sleazy when you’re selling, then this retreat is for you. You can learn more by visiting https://jillwrightcoaching.com/elevate-retreat   So be sure to sign up before registration closes June 26th. 

I’ll see you next week.