Grateful Connections Malinda Leonard Interview: Empowering and Providing Community For Women in Business
The episode delves into the formation of Grateful Connections, a community initiative led by Melinda Leonard, aimed at empowering women in their entrepreneurial pursuits. Melinda reflects on her journey from a corporate environment that often felt isolating to creating a vibrant community that fosters genuine connections among women. The discussion provides insight into her motivations, stemming from a desire to cultivate an inclusive space where women can thrive together, share resources, and support each other’s business endeavors.
At the core of this initiative is the belief that traditional networking often lacks depth, and Melinda seeks to address this by encouraging meaningful interactions that extend beyond mere professional exchanges. She articulates her vision for Grateful Connections, which includes not only local gatherings but also the potential for virtual expansions that can reach women across various geographical locations. The episode emphasizes the significance of educational workshops and collaborative events, reinforcing the notion that mutual support can propel women towards achieving their goals.
Moreover, the conversation touches upon the emotional aspects of entrepreneurship and the importance of community in mitigating feelings of loneliness and isolation. Melinda candidly shares her personal experiences, illustrating how cultivating gratitude can enhance one’s business journey and overall satisfaction. The episode serves as both an invitation and an encouragement for women to join Grateful Connections, highlighting the invaluable support that such a community can provide, ultimately aiming to empower women to transform their aspirations into tangible successes.
Takeaways:
- In this episode, we delve into the significance of cultivating meaningful connections among women in business.
- Melinda Leonard discusses her journey of establishing Grateful Connections to foster community support.
- The conversation highlights the importance of embracing gratitude as a transformative tool in professional and personal development.
- Listeners are encouraged to pursue entrepreneurship with passion, emphasizing the necessity of supportive networks.
- The episode illustrates how intentional networking can lead to genuine relationships that enhance business growth and satisfaction.
- Grateful Connections aims to expand beyond local boundaries, aspiring to create a national and international network for women entrepreneurs.
About Malinda and Grateful Connections:
Grateful Connections is a professional development community for women who are ready to grow in their work, in their confidence, and in their relationships with other women who get it.
This isn’t about handing out business cards or showing up just to be seen. It’s about building something together. Whether you work for yourself or within another organization, whether you’re just starting out or have been doing your thing for years — if you’re looking to grow with purpose and connection, this is your space.
FOUNDER
MALINDA LEONARD
Hi, I’m Malinda — founder of Grateful Connections, lifelong connector, and professional cheerleader for women in business and beyond.
After 25 years in corporate sales, I started my own entrepreneurial journey — and I quickly saw how many women are building incredible things without the support, confidence, or business knowledge they truly deserve.
What I kept hearing — and personally experiencing — was that so many women felt stuck or unsure, not because they lacked talent or heart, but because they were trying to do it all alone.
I created Grateful Connections to change that.
This community is built on the belief that growth happens through gratitude, guidance, and genuine relationships. It’s where you’ll find honest conversations, helpful connections, and a circle of women who want to see you succeed.
I’m here to make sure you never have to wonder, “Am I the only one who feels this way?” again.
Transcript
Hello, everyone, and welcome to the courageous destiny build your business and life, you love podcast.
Speaker A:And I gotta tell you, today is one special edition.
Speaker A:I have my dear friend, colleague, and client Melinda Leonard with us to talk about.
Speaker A:Hello, Melinda.
Speaker A:To talk about her wonderful community that she is launching here just on.
Speaker A:What is it?
Speaker A:July 17 at the boardroom in Libertyville.
Speaker A:And even if you hear this, well, after July 17th, let me tell you, you're going to want to find grateful connections, and you're going to want to find out what Melinda's doing, and you're going to want to join her.
Speaker A:She is the founder, of course, of Grateful connections and a cheerleader of so many women and somebody I'm so honored to have to call.
Speaker A:My friend Melinda.
Speaker A:Welcome to my show.
Speaker B:You're so sweet.
Speaker B:Thank you, my friend.
Speaker B:I appreciate it.
Speaker B:My first official podcast interview, too.
Speaker B:So I feel very honored to be here.
Speaker B:So thank you.
Speaker A:Hey, they don't call this courageous destiny for nothing, right?
Speaker B:The courageous step of hopping on a podcast.
Speaker B:Yeah, definitely.
Speaker B:Courageous.
Speaker B:That's great.
Speaker A:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And remember, courageous to be always means.
Speaker A:And this is for my listeners, too.
Speaker A:From the heart, rage, destiny, do what you love to do.
Speaker A:Life is too short to be stuck doing things that you don't want to do.
Speaker A:So I want to.
Speaker A:I want to take my hat and I want to lift it off to you, Melinda, because I know what it takes to, you know, to stand in what you want to do.
Speaker A:So why don't you tell us a little bit about grateful connections and what you're creating?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So I have always been a cheerleader of women.
Speaker B:Just literally seeing women succeed in their goals, whether it's personal, professional, corporate, not corporate.
Speaker B:I just always want to be somebody's positive cheerleader, to see them reach their goals.
Speaker B:And as a, you know, as a person who's just always wanted to see women succeed, I really found.
Speaker B:And the other thing I just love to do is I love business.
Speaker B:I love learning.
Speaker B:I love entrepreneurship.
Speaker B:I love seeing what people are creating and how they're doing it.
Speaker B:And I could research and listen to, you know, business stuff all day long.
Speaker B:So I wanted to combine this, Those two passions basically, into a community of supporting women in business.
Speaker B:And when I started, I was a photographer trying to get into different networking groups and found that there's so many networking groups that have one person that does a thing right.
Speaker B:So there's only one photographer in many, you know, many of the networking groups.
Speaker B:And when I started to realize that I'm going to have a challenge trying to find my own Networking groups.
Speaker B:I decided to start my own.
Speaker B:And I found that there were a lot of different nuances to the different networking groups that weren't for me.
Speaker B:One is I really want to build a real connection with people.
Speaker B:Like, I am an extrovert.
Speaker B:I love meeting new people.
Speaker B:I don't want to just talk about the weather.
Speaker B:I really want to get to know them at their core.
Speaker B:I love seeing women succeed.
Speaker B:So being in a typical networking group, you're kind of just handing out business cards.
Speaker B:And then also they're usually very quick.
Speaker B:You know, they're in the morning or at lunchtime, and you're in and out and where people are just pitching their business.
Speaker B:So to me, I just started thinking about what could make me feel fulfilled and being able to work with people at a deeper level.
Speaker B:And so creating a community of women, supporting women, to me, made the most sense.
Speaker B:So it's literally just this.
Speaker B:I want it to be more than networking and creating bigger, deeper relationships while really supporting people in their business.
Speaker B:So education, sharing, professional development sources, workshops, just things that are really going to elevate women's businesses so they can reach their goals.
Speaker A:That's wonderful.
Speaker A:What are some.
Speaker A:What are some.
Speaker A:I know you've had some events already and you've.
Speaker A:What are some of the events that you had and some of the success stories that have come from the events?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:So prior to this, we had a brand called Empowering Women of Lake County.
Speaker B:And so I had multiple panel discussions of women entrepreneurs.
Speaker B:And so my concept was, you know, knowledge is power.
Speaker B:And so let's elevate women business owners because they are an expert in their field.
Speaker B:They're a reason that they own their business.
Speaker B:So I had women on a panel and we would talk about.
Speaker B:For one of the examples was a healthcare panel where I had Rachel from the Pilates pt, we had Ashley from my acupuncturist, and we had a Megan who is a mental health expert.
Speaker B:And they all actually connect with each other.
Speaker B:They all refer amongst each other.
Speaker B:And in that conversation, we were talking about things that were very.
Speaker B:We were talking about, for example, pelvic floor.
Speaker B:And so it was a topic that was not pretty much mainstream.
Speaker B:And a lot of women were curious and a lot of women were asking a lot of questions and became very vulnerable in the conversation.
Speaker B:And what was amazing about it is I've heard many times I how many women got business from that presentation.
Speaker B:So my acupuncturist earned, you know, at least three or four clients from that call.
Speaker B:Rachel from the Pilates pt She absolutely gained people who wanted to learn more about pelvic floor or go in to actually get a pelvic floor exam and go through the physical therapy.
Speaker B:So to me, the success really did light me up to see that the education and the support went both ways.
Speaker B:So women that were presenting did get business from it.
Speaker B:And the women in the community really loved that we were talking about something that wasn't so mainstream and they learned a lot from it.
Speaker A:Wonderful, wonderful.
Speaker A:And when you first started going out there to find a network, what was that like for you?
Speaker A:What, what were you, what were you trying to, to accomplish?
Speaker A:I remember you had said, and I'll, I'll.
Speaker A:I'll guide you a little bit.
Speaker A:Because I remember one of our first conversations.
Speaker A:You're like, what are you talking about?
Speaker A:But I remember one of our first conversations and you had said that you were lonely.
Speaker A:You're extroverted and you were a little lonely out there.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Explain to me like that.
Speaker A:That first spark, that first seed that had you start to grow these communities and what is now leading up to grateful connections.
Speaker B:Yeah, it was weird because I am always, almost always, I should say, you know, a happy, positive, fulfilled person.
Speaker B:And there was a period of time where I started to question, like, why am I in this funk?
Speaker B:What is wrong with me?
Speaker B:Or why do I feel this way?
Speaker B:Because normally I'm just, you know, always happy.
Speaker B:Go lucky.
Speaker B:And so after really doing some soul searching, I mean, it was literally driving in the car for about three hours.
Speaker B:I didn't have a podcast, I didn't have a book.
Speaker B:I didn't have anything on, you know, for me to listen to.
Speaker B:And I literally just sat there and drove and contemplated and thought and felt and tried to figure out what was really kind of causing me this angst of not feeling fulfilled.
Speaker B:And when I met with a colleague of mine, we were talking about a book called the Power of One More.
Speaker B:And we were talking about all the different nooks and crannies in this book.
Speaker B:And one of the things that he had said was, there is a membership or being part of a community.
Speaker B:And it literally stabbed me in the heart.
Speaker B:Like, I knew at that moment that that was the thing that was missing in my life.
Speaker B:And I do work from home, even in my corporate job.
Speaker B:And, you know, being in this space where I was not connecting with like minded women, where I was just kind of churning and burning and doing my job, I really felt like I was missing something.
Speaker B:And so the need to connect and the need to not feel so al was really, really key to me.
Speaker B:And that's when I started to go into looking for some opportunities to network and discovered, of course, that, you know, many of them already had a photographer, so I wasn't able to participate.
Speaker B:And, you know, that was a, definitely a roadblock that I wanted to overcome.
Speaker A:Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker A:And one of the things that I hear as a coach and I want to just interject here real quick, and it's been coming up more and more is when we're increasing in the world and how much technology there is out there and how many zooms there is out there and how many, how many, you know, all these different chat bots and chats and different ways to communicate people are missing friendship.
Speaker A:People, you know, and it's not just, it's like real friendship.
Speaker A:And there's also this unique opportunity with more and more people being business owners, being self employed or even just wanting to be self employed and wanting to be a business owner is to have this kind of real connection with people when it comes to building their business.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:And I do feel, you know, that we've, I think this is very common for us women especially to notice, but I mean, it's not obviously 100%.
Speaker B:But I do find that more women crave that growth together mindset or not doing things alone and in counting on a community to support each other, where I think a lot of male solopreneurs or men entrepreneurs, they don't, they just go, you know, and they just keep going and they don't have the same needs that we do.
Speaker B:And so just really kind of searching for that inner part that will make us all fulfilled, which is supporting each other.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:Women love to cheer each other.
Speaker B:Most women love to cheer each other on and really be there for each other and help, support.
Speaker B:I mean, even just seeing the amount of people who are signing up for the current launch event coming up, it's a lot of people who are really there to support me.
Speaker B:And that just makes my heart so happy.
Speaker B:And I know that there's a lot of other women who want to do.
Speaker A:That for everybody else and for those women who are showing up to support you.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker A:You know, and to, you know, to support.
Speaker A:What do you want them to get?
Speaker A:What do you want them to get at this launch?
Speaker A:Because it'll be cool that they're there to support you.
Speaker A:But what, what do you want them to get?
Speaker B:Yeah, well, I'm partnering with you, Kristen, for a primary reason, because you've obviously seen me go through this whole journey and really bring this to Life myself.
Speaker B:So what I really want from this community is for them to absolutely gain their own knowledge and support about sales, really and truly finding that the sense of community isn't just about me and supporting me, that there's other women in this community that are going to support them and cheer them on as well.
Speaker B:You know, the big thing that I intend to bring forth at these meetings or that these events is really intentional networking.
Speaker B:So bringing in different topics or setting people up to talk together so that they can find other people in their own network as well.
Speaker B:But really, the focus of these events and meetings is not just, hey, let's exchange some business cards.
Speaker B:I want them to walk away with real value on the presentation that we're sharing.
Speaker B:And so in this case, Kristin is going to be able to talk about sales.
Speaker B:And obviously, I have, you know, very strong background in that as well.
Speaker B:So I know that we'll be able to provide some value for these attendees to take tips and actually implement them to grow their business as well.
Speaker A:Well, one of my favorite things.
Speaker A:So I am very excited about this.
Speaker A:I am so one of the things that I'm bringing forward, and I was so excited I'm going to tell this story, and I hope you don't mind, but I remember the day that you had been working toward naming your community.
Speaker A:You're like, I want to have a name.
Speaker A:You know, you had all these different papers.
Speaker A:I had it given you.
Speaker A:I love to give people.
Speaker A:When you're trying to name something that is your business.
Speaker A:To me, it's very helpful to have an intention associated with that name, because then you can live into that intention.
Speaker A:And it's more than just a name.
Speaker A:It represents who you fundamentally are in your heart and what you want to bring into the world.
Speaker A:And I'll never forget.
Speaker A:And I have this thing where when I feel it, I feel it and like, that's it.
Speaker A:And I'll have tears that come down my eyes, and I'll have, like, these little.
Speaker A:I call them my wings.
Speaker A:My angel wings will, like, stand my neck.
Speaker A:And I'm like, that's it.
Speaker A:That's it.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker A:And I'll never forget the day that you called me because you had been going back and forth, and you're like, I've got it, you know, and there was like a little drum roll.
Speaker A:At least in my mind, there was a drum roll like it's grateful connections.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And I was so excited.
Speaker A:And I had all the things.
Speaker A:I had the tears coming down my face.
Speaker A:I had the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:The little.
Speaker A:The little wing the little wings, which is really the hairs on the back of my neck.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And I heard that.
Speaker A:And I heard most of all, I felt you and I felt your energy saying that, that it was important to you.
Speaker A:And gratitude.
Speaker A:It's so funny, because I was talking to some.
Speaker A:I was actually talking to a gentleman the other day, and he was kind of inferring that gratitude was maybe just a little airy fairy, you know, when it comes in business.
Speaker A:And I said, and if you don't do it, what's it costing you?
Speaker A:Right, right.
Speaker A:If you don't have a habit of gratitude in your business, if you're not purposefully infusing gratitude into your business in multiple different ways, how do you know that your clients are feeling appreciated?
Speaker A:When you start.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker A:When you start talking about your blessings, when you start talking about the difference and the impact that you make for your clients in the world, how does that feel?
Speaker A:It feels amazing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker A:And when you came to me and you said that, I'm like, she is going to be able to be thinking about gratitude.
Speaker A:She's going to be able to be living in that energy, and she is going to bring so many people with her to feel that way.
Speaker A:So when we kind of look at.
Speaker A:Yes, there's lots of different communities out there.
Speaker A:How do the communities that you're involved in make you feel?
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:And that's such a huge, huge differentiator that you have.
Speaker A:You have.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And you have this ability to.
Speaker A:To host people.
Speaker A:You have this ability to make them feel at home, to be their cheerleader and now to introduce them to how they can bring this energy into their business, into their life, into this community, and how they can commune with other business owners to help them grow with this energy.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker B:That's so.
Speaker B:Thank you for that.
Speaker B:It's so true.
Speaker B:You're just me.
Speaker B:I mean, even just, you know, from the different networking that I have done or the events that I had before, literally seeing every face walk through the door just makes my heart just go crazy every single time someone comes in and I have met because, you know, I set myself up to go to as many networking groups as I can, even if, again, some of them are exclusive.
Speaker B:But I have found that I have met literally the most the impactful women in my life from being out talking to other people.
Speaker B:And I am so genuinely grateful for all of those connections that I made that the name, just as soon as it hit it just was so real.
Speaker B:Because every single person that I have met through this process has lit me up and has changed my life.
Speaker B:And so I am a much happier person.
Speaker B:I'm a much more satisfied person.
Speaker B:I feel so much more fulfilled now that I'm surrounded by, you know, all of the women around me.
Speaker B:And I am by far not the first person to say this right.
Speaker B:But we all know that we are most like the people that we are surrounded by.
Speaker B:And so to me, it's so important to be surrounded by and filling your time in your surroundings with women who are going to uplift you and cheer you on and who are also in the same.
Speaker B:I don't necessarily mean the exact same stage of business, but similar stages of life where we can all relate and we can all be there together.
Speaker B:And it does create such a different feel about the momentum and the support.
Speaker B:And I, especially as an entrepreneur or solopreneur, everybody feels isolated.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:We all know that doing business alone is lonely.
Speaker B:And being out to connect with other people that are in the same space really do does make me so insanely grateful and so excited to see where this journey is going to take us.
Speaker A:Well, and one of the things, having coached, I've coached people at all different levels in business.
Speaker A:I've coached people who are presidents of companies who are CEOs, and I've coached people who are just starting out.
Speaker A:I've coached sculptors.
Speaker A:I've coached, you know, all different people from all different walks of life.
Speaker A:And the one thing that is, you know, some people say, well, how can you coach all these different people?
Speaker A:You know, you don't specialize.
Speaker A:You know, you're, you know, you don't specialize in that or.
Speaker A:And I'm like, I could coach a golfer if I wanted to.
Speaker A:And the one thing that they're always going to have in common is that they all are going to do better with support, and they're all going to do better with more and more maximizing gratitude in their life.
Speaker B:Absolutely.
Speaker A:You know, when I look at, when I look at, there's a Stephen Hawking's energetic scale that I think I'm gonna go ahead and add to this.
Speaker A:This the show notes here.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker A:To give people some awareness.
Speaker A:At the very low bottom of the energetic scales, we've got things like guilt and shame.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:By the way, this was in the book Power vs Force, so I believe it was.
Speaker A:If not, don't quote me on my own show.
Speaker A:Right.
Speaker B:You get some leeway on there, Kristen.
Speaker B:It's okay.
Speaker A:I'll deny it.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:But I'm like, so on the bottom is guilt and shame, and on the very top are things like peace and enlightenment.
Speaker A:And gratitude is right up there with it as one of the highest frequency emotions on the planet.
Speaker A:So if you want, if you are a business owner and you are having a bad month or you're having, you know, maybe something just happened with a colleague or something, you know, something is going on that is making you feel a little bit down in the dumps, maybe in that shame or guilt or just disappointment or sadness or whatever it is.
Speaker A:The second you start infusing a habit of gratitude into that, you can climb right back up and feel your power again.
Speaker A:Feel like yourself again, Feel like you're on top of the world again.
Speaker A:You can motivate yourself with gratitude.
Speaker B:That happened to me today.
Speaker B:As a matter of fact, we were talking a little bit before the show just about how I had a very rough day with my corporate job and I was feeling a lot of pressure and a lot of guilt about a process that didn't go as planned.
Speaker B:And this morning I.
Speaker B:One of my favorites is in the Calm app there is a gratitude meditation.
Speaker B:And that was what I did this morning.
Speaker B:It was, they have a seven days of gratitude.
Speaker B:And I went, I've already done the seven days, but I went back to the first one.
Speaker B:And this morning that was one of the first things after I did my walk, I'm like, I'm literally going to sit down and listen to this guided meditation about gratitude.
Speaker B:And it really did help reset me and reground me back to really thinking about how I have to move forward and not just build on myself about feeling like crap of everything that I've done.
Speaker B:So it really, really does help.
Speaker B:When you think about even the fact that this challenge happened at my corporate job, it just made me really think about being grateful for that opportunity because it is what's carrying me through to be able to launch this business.
Speaker B:So it does really, really help just to reset and reground and look at the thing that you can be grateful for.
Speaker B:Even in the thing that makes you upset or stressed or feeling guilty or shameful.
Speaker B:It didn't really help.
Speaker A:And I'll share this to add to it.
Speaker A:You know, there is, you know, I've been doing, I've been a coach now for 12 years, over 12 years and there's been lots of ups and downs.
Speaker A:And you can imagine when I left my corporate job to become a coach and an entrepreneur and I had triplets in tow that, you know, it did, it did not lend itself to a smooth, unchaotic, I'm not going to learn anything kind of journey Right.
Speaker A:I decided I was going to be a coach and I had about a year worth of a launching pad.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And we were going to go through ups and downs in a self employment journey.
Speaker A:We're going to go in ups and downs in, you know, in, in our corporate jobs, in our self employment, all of those things.
Speaker A:Like, depending on where you're at in life, you're always going to go through ups and downs.
Speaker A:But finding different ways to create a habit of gratitude, to bring you back to center, to bring you back into good spirits, has been how I've had the tenacity not to quit, you know, despite, you know, circumstances, despite whatever's happening.
Speaker A:I'm like, I can't quit.
Speaker A:I know I'm not gonna quit because if I quit, who's gonna bring courageous destiny out to the world?
Speaker A:Who's gonna, who's gonna run my podcast?
Speaker A:Who's gonna Brilliant lions?
Speaker A:Who's gonna speak to the thousands of people I'm gonna speak to one day?
Speaker B:That's right.
Speaker A:So let's reset.
Speaker A:Yeah, let's talk about that for a second.
Speaker A:Melinda?
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:What is the, what is the wild vision of Grateful Connections?
Speaker A:Tell me.
Speaker A:We're gonna go out a little ways.
Speaker A:We'll say a five year plan.
Speaker A:What is the wild.
Speaker A:You are so incredibly thrilled this is coming.
Speaker A:This has came into the world.
Speaker A:This is helping this many people.
Speaker A:What's.
Speaker A:What's going on in Grateful Connections?
Speaker A:Tell me about that.
Speaker A:Tell me about the vision.
Speaker B:Well, in five years, I would absolutely love for Grateful Connections to have, you know, a thousand members or more.
Speaker B:I would love for it not to be just in my little region of Lake County, Illinois, although that's where we're starting.
Speaker B:But I want to be able to get things rolling so that I can help women, you know, everywhere.
Speaker B:Right.
Speaker B:So even just starting locally, I would say by, you know, in, in five years, I would love to have four different chapters running just here, like in the Illinois Chicago land area.
Speaker B:But, you know, also we're going to be doing virtual coaching and virtual trainings and virtual mastermind conversations and virtual workshops.
Speaker B:So even, you know, maybe in five years there'll be, you know, another thousand members that are literally just across, you know, the country or the world looking for resources and looking for additional help to build their business.
Speaker B:So to me, it's definitely not about staying small.
Speaker B:It's definitely about reaching out to and really helping so many women with their businesses.
Speaker B:Because, you know, from a photographer's perspective, which I can just speak to personally, there's a lot of people out there who say, you know, oh, I love taking pictures.
Speaker B:I want to do this full time for a job.
Speaker B:And they just don't have.
Speaker B:Either don't have business experience or they don't have the business knowledge to move forward.
Speaker B:And I want to be able to really, truly help those women find the resources that they need to go from this is a hobby and a fun thing to do to launching their business.
Speaker B:So as many people as I can help, whether it's virtually or locally, definitely I would love to have at least a couple thousand people, you know, ready to learn and ready to support.
Speaker A:Beautiful.
Speaker A:Beautiful.
Speaker A:Well, I for one am excited.
Speaker A:I can't wait to see the launch.
Speaker A:I can't wait to be at the launch.
Speaker B:I know your presentation is going to be amazing and lots of women figure out some tips on how to really reframe their, their minds for gratitude and sales.
Speaker B:I think it's going to be an amazing topic.
Speaker B:I'm excited to share.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And it's been.
Speaker A:When I look back at my, you know, gosh, this is like a 30 plus year sales career at this point.
Speaker A:When I look back at my sales career, the one thing that I would say I had over, I can't say I had a hundred percent client retention because, you know, sometimes businesses, you know, businesses depart, etc.
Speaker A:Etc.
Speaker A:You know, just from getting acquired and things like that.
Speaker A:But my business retention, you know, being able to, being able to find new business, all of it has always been elevated with a real core of gratitude at the center.
Speaker A:So I can't wait to share about that and I can't wait for people to be in the environment that you're creating and be thank you and be there to cheer you on and each other, you cheer everybody else on and it's just such a lovely, it's just going to be such a lovely exchange.
Speaker A:So if you're out there, no matter when you're listening to this podcast, I want to encourage you to find Melinda.
Speaker A:We're going to go ahead and have some links on the show Notes, find Grateful Connections, see what Grateful Connections is doing, see what Grateful Connections is all about.
Speaker A:And if you're looking to grow your business and you're looking to get some authentic, amazing relationships, this is going to be a really, really great opportunity for you.
Speaker B:So, so, you know, if the listeners are in that space of growth and, and have some ideas about where they need help or what direction we could support in, that's literally my mission.
Speaker B:This is not about me, you know, building this community for myself.
Speaker B:This is Literally about finding and providing resources for women to grow their business.
Speaker B:So I am open to any and all ideas of what you're looking for.
Speaker B:What is it that I can help you with?
Speaker B:Where can I find the resources?
Speaker B:I'm in love to connect with people and like Kristen, have a lot of years in sales, so I'm not afraid to reach out and interview and fine tune find the right person for you.
Speaker B:So do reach out with ideas of how we can help.
Speaker A:Awesome.
Speaker A:Well, everybody who attends my podcast or is a guest on my podcast will get two questions and I'm going to give you the first question.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker A:What is the most courageous thing you've ever done?
Speaker A:Oh, boy.
Speaker B:That is a good.
Speaker B:Oh, my gosh.
Speaker B:You should have prepared me for this one.
Speaker B:The most courageous thing I've ever done is.
Speaker B:Yeah, exactly.
Speaker B:The most courageous thing I have done.
Speaker B:I would say it was literally pulling, you know, empowering women of Lake county out of thin air.
Speaker B:You know, to me, it was, I mean, putting myself out there to try to build a community from absolutely nothing where I had no idea if anybody was gonna like it, appreciate it, want to participate in it.
Speaker B:I was very proud of myself for taking this, you know, dream that I had about being an entrepreneur and pulling it from a fantasy to reality.
Speaker B:That was terrifying because as soon as you start that process, there is an opportunity to fail, right?
Speaker B:So when you leave your dreams in fantasy land or your aspirations in fantasy land, it's easy.
Speaker B:You can't screw up.
Speaker B:You know, you could just dream and think and wish.
Speaker B:Pulling that from, you know, dream to reality, fantasy to reality was very courageous for me because I literally got up in front of groups of women and becoming a leader, which was not necessarily where I was expecting or where I thought it was going to go.
Speaker B:So I would say definitely.
Speaker A:Well, I'm so glad.
Speaker A:And I can't wait till you listen to this podcast five years from now.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker B:Yeah, right.
Speaker A:Like I'm a rock star.
Speaker A:I've helped so many people.
Speaker A:This is awesome.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:One more question.
Speaker A:What's the most courageous thing you have left to do?
Speaker B:Quit my job.
Speaker B:My corporate job.
Speaker B:That will take a.
Speaker B:That will take an act of courage for sure.
Speaker B:As I've never, you know, my entire adult life, I've wanted to work for myself.
Speaker B:So this has been 20 plus years in the making of working in a corporate world just because I felt like I had to.
Speaker B:And so I definitely think when the day turns in for me to actually tell my boss that I'm leaving this thing, that will take a Lot of courage and a lot of self confidence and in knowing that I'm going to be, that I'm going to be fine.
Speaker B:But that will be very scary.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:And remember that fear is the same emotion as excitement.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:So I remember skipping out of mine.
Speaker A:Now, I didn't have.
Speaker A:There's a little bit more to the story than that, but it was very, very, it was very, very freeing.
Speaker A:Very, very exhilarating.
Speaker A:And if you're out there and you're thinking about, you know, kind of living this entrepreneurial life and becoming self employed and you have a dream of it, I, I just want to highly recommend to you, start studying entrepreneurialism.
Speaker A:Is that a word?
Speaker A:Entrepreneurialism?
Speaker A:Right, but, but start studying it, started finding out about it and most of all, if you are going to pick to go through the irons of the fire of what it would take to, to transition a career, I'm going to just give the recommendation to make sure that you love it.
Speaker A:Because if you don't love it, you're not going to be willing to not quit.
Speaker A:You're not going to be willing to go through the things that you need to go through, go through the self doubt and all the things that we grow through in order to succeed.
Speaker A:So make sure you love it.
Speaker B:Love your passion.
Speaker A:Yes.
Speaker A:Is there anything else, Melinda, that you would like to share with my listeners before we exit this podcast today?
Speaker B:No, other than thank you so much for everything you've done.
Speaker B:Thank you for being an amazing coach, an amazing friend, for being ready to cheer me on for this launch and I really am grateful for everything you've done to help me and also grateful that you're going to help me literally be at the ground zero and launch this thing into something amazing.
Speaker B:So I'll always appreciate everything you've done.
Speaker B:Woohoo.
Speaker A:All right, Grateful connections, you guys.
Speaker A:Find it.
Speaker A:Find in the show notes.
Speaker A:You know, don't.
Speaker A:Don't try to build your business on your own.
Speaker B:Join us.
Speaker A:Networking, you're like, you know, this isn't for me.
Speaker A:There's so many different networking groups out there.
Speaker A:This is not a networking group.
Speaker A:This is a community.
Speaker A:Come learn and prosper here.
Speaker A:So thank you.
Speaker A:All right, and with that said, everyone live courageously until next time.
