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Personal Growth for a Stronger Business
I am honored to be the guest expert inside of this month’s Sparkle Hustle Grow box. If you’ve never heard of Sparkle Hustle Grow, it is THE subscription box for female entrepreneurs.
(Seriously. Past guest educators include Shonda Rhimes, Amy Porterfield, Susie Moore, Jenna Kutcher, Jen Sincero, Nicole Walters and more … )Every month the box is filled with education, personal development, office supplies, and a training. And for the October box, you’ll find my book – Chasing Simple Marketing – inside as well as a special training from me on how to Break Up with the Algorithm in Order to Make More Sales with your Marketing.
And today I am thrilled to bring you an interview with Carol Gavhane, the co-owner and chief sparkler Sparkle Hustle Grow.
After spending 13+ years in corporate America, she had always dreamt about going into entrepreneurship but never took that leap until a life event changed the way she looked at the world. She believes you never stop learning and growing!
And today we dive deeper into what exactly that growth looks like, and how important it is to always be growing on the personal side – not just growing through your business.
Links and Resources Mentioned in This Episode:
- Join me on Monday evenings at 4:00 pm Pacific time/7:00 pm Eastern time for my weekly YouTube Lives!
- Snag the 2025 Chasing Simple Marketing Planner!
- This week’s action step: Check out Sparkle Hustle Grow and their latest box!
- This week’s book recommendation: The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas
- Find us on Instagram and tell us you completed this week’s action step: @mrsamandawarfield and @sparklehustlegrow
Carol Gavhane is co-owner and chief sparkler of Sparkle Hustle Grow, an award-winning subscription box and online community for female entrepreneurs. After spending 13+ years in corporate America, she had always dreamt about going into entrepreneurship but never took that leap until a life event changed the way she looked at the world. She believes you never stop learning and growing and would love to connect with you! Carol lives in the Seattle area with her husband and 2 children.
Social Links:
https://www.instagram.com/sparklehustlegrow
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Rather Read? – Here’s the Transcript!
*Just a heads up – the provided transcript is likely to not be 100% accurate
Amanda: I am so honored to be the guest expert inside of this month’s Sparkle Hustle Grow box. If you’ve never heard of Sparkle Hustle Grow, it is the subscription box for female entrepreneurs. Seriously, past guest experts include Shonda Rhimes, Amy Porterfield, Susie Moore, Jenna Kutcher, Jen Sincero, Nicole Walters, and so many more.
And every month the box is filled with education, personal development, office supplies, and a training. And for the October box, you’ll find my book, Chasing Simple Marketing, inside as well as a special training for me on how to break up with the algorithm in order to make more sales with your marketing.
And today I am thrilled to bring you an interview with Carol Gavhane the co owner and chief sparkler of Sparkle Hustle Grow. After spending more than 13 years in corporate America, she had always dreamed about going into entrepreneurship, but never took that leap until a life event changed the way she looked at the world.
She believes that you never stop learning and growing. And today we dive deeper into what exactly that growth looks like how important it is to. Always be growing on the personal side, not just growing through your business. You’re listening to episode 232 of the Chasing Simple podcast, and I’m your host, Amanda Warfield.
This episode was brought to you by the 2025 Chasing Simple content planner out now, and you can grab your own at amandawarfield. com slash planner.
How do I find time to create content without overwhelming myself? Where should I even be showing up in my marketing? How do I come up with fresh content ideas? Where should I be focusing my marketing efforts? What is lead generation anyways and how do I do it? Are launches still a thing? And most importantly, How do I put it all together to market my business strategically?
Can I really grow my business without spending all of my time marketing? These are some of the questions that float around in your head when you think of marketing. Welcome friend. This is Chasing Simple, where practical marketing strategy meets simplicity. I’m your host, Amanda Warfield, simplicity focused content marketing and launch strategist, speaker, educator, and author of Chasing Simple Marketing.
I traded in my classroom lesson plans for helping creative entrepreneurs sustainably fit marketing into their business without it taking over their business. so that they have time to grow their business, take time off, and live the life they dreamed about when they first decided to go out on their own.
When I’m working, you can find me working with one on one clients such as the Contract Shop and Rebecca Rice Photography on their marketing strategy and copywriting, or helping my students simplify their marketing and launches. And when I’m not, you can find me spending time outside with my husband, Russell, reading in our hammock, watching Gamecock Sports, traveling, or forcing our cats to snuggle me.
If you feel overwhelmed by marketing, you aren’t alone. Many entrepreneurs find marketing frustrating, overwhelming, and simply an obligation. They know they need it, but they don’t enjoy how easily it can suck up their time when what they really want to be doing is the thing that they started their business to do.
Which is why I’m here. To help make marketing simple and less time consuming, so that you can spend less time on your marketing, and more time growing your business and doing what you love. Each week I’ll bring you transparent conversations, actionable steps, and judgment free community to encourage and equip you.
So grab yourself a cup of coffee or whatever your drink of choice is, and meet me here each week for love, support, practical tips, and advice on uncomplicating your marketing and business. Let’s do this entrepreneurship thing together, shall we?
When it comes to creating your monthly content calendar and sitting down to create your content because you’re batching it, right? The first step is not writing in the monthly calendar. It’s not even writing your categories and important dates on the calendar. If that’s where you’re starting with your content planning, well, all you’re creating is a plan, but what you need is a strategy.
What’s the difference? A strategy is like the inner structure of a building, while the plan is the decor. A strategy is what helps you achieve your goals, and your plan is how you achieve them. Your strategy is where you’re leading your audience, and your plan is what you’re talking about and when.
Without having a strategy first, putting together a plan will simply mean pulling ideas out of thin air. So, how do you start with a strategy? By starting with your goals and working backwards to ensure that you’re moving your audience toward them. What are your yearly goals, quarterly goals, monthly goals, and weekly goals, and how can you translate them into content your audience wants to ingest?
You’ve got to consider those questions before you even begin deciding what it is that you’ll post about. And if you want a simple way to create both your strategy and your plan, grab your Chasing Simple content planner. The planner is my number one bestseller, and for good reason too, because this massive, more than 130 page planner was designed with strategy in mind.
It’s not merely a place to write down what you’re going to post and when. Yes, that’s true. That’s part of it. But first you’ll walk through intentional pages full of strategic questions to get your brain moving in the right direction before you even start writing down your topic ideas. In addition to the traditional calendar pages, you’ll find yearly planning pages, monthly prep work, monthly reflection questions, repurposing worksheets, and so much more.
If taking your content to the next level is a goal of yours, the Chase and Simple Content Planner was created for you. Grab yours for just 27 at amandawarfield. com slash planner. I’m so excited to be joined today by Carol Gavani, Who is the co owner of the number one subscription box for entrepreneurs, specifically female entrepreneurs, which I love Sparkle Hustle Grow.
So Carol, tell everyone a little bit about yourself, who you are, and also tell us about Sparkle Hustle Grow. Yes. Yes. Thank you so much, Amanda, for having me. I’m so excited to be here. So Sparkle Hustle Grow, you know what, before I go into the actual, um, Company and product. I’m going to give you a little bit of a lowdown on me.
Carol: So, uh, I’m Carol. Um, I am located just outside of Seattle. I’ve got two little kids and I am kind of, um, I’m not going to say an accidental entrepreneur. I’d always dreamt about it when I was young, but I, that just wasn’t the path that I followed. So I, After high school, you know, I went to college, um, majored in journalism and spent over a decade in the advertising industry.
So I’ve worked both client side and agency side, and I did that and kind of just worked my way up, but it, it never truly felt like it was me. Um, I always felt like there was something more and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it, but I just knew that probably wasn’t the place that I was ultimately going to land.
And, um, I had baby one, took some time off, and in trying to have baby two, I just had a lot of difficulty with that, and so, um, That difficulty actually culminated, uh, resulted in the formation of my first entrepreneurial experience, which was an intentional jewelry business. So because of all of the struggles and the heartache of just trying to complete my family, um, I, I just went all in and thought, you know, I’m not going to go back to corporate life and I’m just going to see what happens here.
And the idea of doing jewelry kept coming back to me, um, because I had a really significant special piece that I had gifted myself throughout this whole journey. And this whole journey was years. It wasn’t just like, oh, you know, two months or six months. It was a year’s long, um, Journey. And so anyway, um, I started that and that really called me.
And, um, I felt really connected to that. And eventually my husband left too, and joined me in that venture. And we did that for a few years and fast forward, fast forward. And, um, together we still work together. Uh, but now we run something totally different. So what we run now is Sparkle Hustle Grow. Okay.
So, um, it is a subscription box and it is for amazing female entrepreneurs. Hashtag best business expense ever. Yes, you can totally write this off. This is what I want people to know. This is a business write off. Um, and actually most of our. A good portion of our subscribers do. So talk to your business or your tax person so you can get the lowdown on that.
But we’re education at our core. Um, you know, you get the box delivered to your, your house every month. There’s always a book in the box, other amazing products that support the theme. We have amazing guest experts like yourself, um, who will be featured in. You will be featured in our next month’s box. Um, and then there’s also private community too.
So it’s, it’s kind of a three pronged program. So you’ve got the products, you’ve got the training, and then you also have, um, the community. So, um, I like to say we are where business or entrepreneurship and personal growth and development kind of meet. I really feel like you can’t have, you really can’t have a thriving business and unless you’re doing and you’ve done a lot of the personal development work yourself.
Amanda: That’s so, such an important, uh, philosophy and one that I think. You know,
I feel like it’s not talked about much, but then I also think, I know you said that you wouldn’t use the word accidental entrepreneur, but those of us that, you know, kind of, we, we, maybe we thought about it as kids, but then took a different path. And then we ended up here anyways. Um, I know that I personally got really into that personal development and that is essentially what led into the entrepreneurship journey for myself.
And so that just feels so full circle of, you really do need both. And as I’m thinking about it, the times that I feel most creative and in touch with my business are the times when I’m, I’m actually spending less time reading business books and more time reading other personal development books. And I don’t think that I’ve really thought about that.
In all these years,
Carol: no, there, there is, I really feel like there’s, there’s a tie in, um, and interesting that you kind of went the other route, like digging and probably, um, unlayering, if that’s even a word, uncovering all of the bits and pieces for growing yourself. And then that ultimately led you to your business, right?
So you could, you could, you could approach it. Either way, but however you end up here,
Amanda: right? And I felt very much like you did, where I chose, you know, when I was a kid, I thought about it, even in college, I changed my major to business. And then I went back to education and I kind of went back and forth between the two.
Um, but I got to a place where I loved teaching, but there was that part of me, like you felt was like, there’s something more here. Something else I feel like I should be doing. Um, and that’s so interesting, yeah. And, Shanie, hi! Thanks for saying hi in the chat. Also, for everyone watching live, I did link the sneak peek of the October box in the chat for everyone.
I’ll also put it in the description afterwards, later. They’re only, as of going live, there’s seven days left, right? To snag your October box. So. Running out of time, if you would like to do that, which we’ll get to more later. We just want to put that out there now. Um, man, what an interesting journey that you had.
And I’m so curious, what do you think? Like you went, you were like, I’m just going to do this. I’m just going to go full time with this business. And then your husband was able to hop in and now you’re still working together. Like, what do you tie your success back to?
Carol: That is a really good question. It’s.
Probably a combination of things. It’s probably, um,
so a couple of things that in no particular order, it’s, it’s really believing in the end product. So that’s what really drew me to, to this business, this subscription box business. It’s, I loved the idea of Yourself, bettering yourself, like going, you know, you have a personal goal. Um, you don’t have to shout it to the world, but just to yourself and just keep going, like keep moving towards that goal incrementally.
And I think, um, that is really the foundation it’s like growth, I think is one of our core values. It’s one of mine anyway. So it’s like. How are we growing? How are we learning? How are we evolving? The person I am today is so different than the person I was five years ago. And I, you know, and it’s so silly because we ask kids because they are kids to declare their major at like 17.
It’s too soon, but I understand that’s like the way the system is set up. But, um, so anyway, I think, um, it’s really, um, The belief that this is such a good product at the end of the day. It’s, it’s a really good thing that we’re producing and giving out into the world. So we have that coupled with the fact that it took us a while to kind of learn each other’s work languages, but we really do work well together.
We have different strengths, totally different things that we do in the business. Um, We also have different like work spaces. So we’re not like coworkers, like sitting right next to each other. Um, and I think it’s just. the shared mission of like really wanting this to work. Um, I love to volunteer at my kid’s school.
Um, and I want to be able to have that, like that freedom. And he, my husband has his own reasons for wanting to, um, have this kind of lifestyle, if you will. It’s not easy. I mean, we work out of our homes. So like, and we do all the fulfillment fulfillment ourselves. So it’s like we are. Yeah. So we are, um, packing boxes and, you know, inventory operations.
That’s a whole thing. And we do it all. The whole operation is run out of the home. And so it’s, it’s, it’s a lot of different moving pieces that we’ve got going on.
Amanda: Wow. So every box is packed with love from the two of you.
Carol: Correct.
Correct. So I, and oh my gosh, I am so like, is there enough, is there enough like sparkly things that are going in because we have crinkle cut that goes inside and I want it to look a certain way.
And so, um, that is still under our jurisdiction for the moment. But I think it’s just that common, that shared value of what do we want out of our lives? You know, you have one shot at this. What is it that you want to create? What do you want to, what do you want to do? And I think for so long, I had, I had a lot of fear just In general, , you know, fear that like, I was gonna go off course, or, you know, you kind of just like, that’s how I was raised anyway.
Like, this is the thing that you do, then you do the next step and then you follow this like path. And that works great for many people. Um, but I think that fear, I felt a little, uh, what’s the word? Just like I could, I, I, you know, I wanted to break free of that fear. Mm-Hmm. . And so there came a point where it was like, what is gonna drive me the fear?
Or me doing what I really want to do and just trying it out to see what happens, you know, and many, many falling down, falling down, down along the way, you know, just, but you pick yourself back up and, um, you just keep going. So here we are.
Amanda: I love it. Okay. So that, um, resilience. As an entrepreneur, holding on to that ultimate goal that you have for yourself.
And then the first thing you said, I’d love to dive a little bit deeper into, was loving and believing in that end product of yours. I’m so curious because I see this happen time and time again with other small business owners where There are so many different things that they could do, right? Like that’s like the crux of being an entrepreneur is you can, you can do anything and you know that.
And so then you get stuck in this, like, okay, but I could do this or I could do this, or I could do this. And then sometimes we fall into the trap of. I should do this because I see other people doing it and it seems to be working well, so on and so forth. And sometimes we can create products. That maybe we don’t feel as confident in as we should and I’m so curious to hear your thoughts on this because This was a business that you bought into, correct?
This wasn’t? Yes. So, how did you become, or how do you know, I guess, when it’s the right product for you, the right offer for you? How did you know, like, this was the one I want to call in on? I’m so passionate about this, I’m so confident in this, and do you have any advice for small business owners that may be unsure about what their next offer should be?
Carol: Yeah, that’s a really good question. Cause you bring up such a, a very valid point in this world of entrepreneurship, which is I could do all the things and I see everyone else doing all the things. So where do I, where do I fit and how is my place or yeah, where’s my place? How does my offer resonate with others?
And I think, um, you know, I think it’s really, Getting still, this is what I did. So I’m going to share with you a little bit of kind of getting still and being just very honest and frank with yourself. So, you know, there’s that saying, know thyself. And for so many years, I, I knew myself, but I put on kind of a different mask, if you will, going to work, um, almost performing in a way, you know, and I get it.
Sometimes you just have to, if you work in a corporate environment, you have to do things. I totally understand. Um, but this gave me the opportunity to really not do that anymore. And this also took a little bit of time. So it’s like, I just really believed in the first sparkle hustle grow. Anyway, I really believed in the education that was being brought forth.
The training, just like this all encompassing package for not thousands of dollars. Business coaching can be really expensive and that has a place as well. Um, but I just thought this is something accessible for people or people who are just kind of business curious, or maybe they have like a side hustle or they’re just still growing and they don’t maybe have the means to invest in.
A 10, 000 program or whatever it is. This is a good taste for them to figure it out along the way. It’s almost a journey of like self discovery as you, um, Really finalize and pivot your business because it’s going to pivot along the way. And so to answer your question, I think it was just, um, getting still.
And this is something that I learned from, um, I’m sure many people have said this, but the one who really resonated with me, who said this is Marie Forleo, fellow entrepreneur, wildly successful. Um, she did this On one of her podcasts, she was like, just get still close your eyes. And when the thought or the offer or the thing comes to your mind, are you physically leaning in?
Mm-Hmm. ? Or are you kind of going back, you know? Yeah. And I think that was such a good indicator like your, your body will really. Show you the direction of which way to go. And so I just kept leaning back into this. It was like, this is, this feels right. It just, it was the feeling it felt right. Um, yeah.
Amanda: Yeah. I love that. Really listening to your body. Um, and you know, as we’re talking, Obviously, everyone here who’s watching is an entrepreneur. You know how these things work. You have the guests fill out a form and tell you things. Um, and of course, you do your own research and, let’s be real, I have been following Sparkle Hustle Grow since I started my business, like, way back in 2018, I think.
Um, and so this, being part of this is totally a dream come true, which is just incredible and kind of overwhelming. Um, but one thing that I’m, I’m connecting the dots here as you’re talking is your level of personal development. And then the way that that shows up in these boxes, because I’ll let you talk more to what people can expect and what the box is, but what I love about Sparkle Hustle Grow, I’m a minimalist at heart.
Like I, um, clearly, um, I, I like. Not a lot of stuff in clutter and I love the idea of subscription boxes But I can never get behind them because I’m like, I don’t want a bunch of stuff But Sparkle Hustle Grow isn’t just a box full of stuff. It truly is. The focus is on that education and that incremental growth that you mentioned earlier and taking our business and ourselves just that one next step each month.
But yet when you go and you look through the shop and you look through the past boxes, it’s not just business stuff in there. There’s a lot of personal growth stuff as well. And so I’m just like seeing these like connections as we’re talking of, Oh, wow. You can really see. The way that your personal beliefs truly show up and connect with this author.
Um, but, I’m kind of jumping ahead of myself a little bit there, so could you kind of tell everyone what you can expect inside of Sparkle Hustle Grow? What, what, I know we can’t, the October box is still a surprise, but maybe you could show us the September box, or um, yeah, just kind of walk us through, like, what is inside the box?
Carol: Yeah, I would love, love, love to share. So, um, as I mentioned, there’s always, always, always a book in every box and every box is themed and it’s usually based off of the book. Um, so we read a book a month for some people that’s too much and that’s okay. And for other people who are just, you know, book lovers, that’s like not enough.
And so I think, um, the book is like the foundation of the whole box, even if you don’t read the book. This is what I always tell myself anyway, and what I, what I tell other folks too. It’s like, imagine if you got Sparkle Hustle Grow for 12 months. And so there, there’s 12 books on your bookshelf, like there is on mine, right?
But what if, and you didn’t read every, every book because life happens and it’s busy and we get it, all the things. But what if you had one takeaway from let’s say nine books? of the books. So nine months of the year, that is nine little things for you to build off of the next year. And like, how cool is that to be able to say that?
I don’t know. So, so there’s a, there’s a fantastic book. Like yours is going to be included in our October box. Um, I loved your, I love your book. Your book is so easy to read, easy to consume and very doable. Um, we get a lot of, um, books pitched our way. And so my hat’s off to you for, for bringing this.
birthing it and putting it out into the world. So, um, just a sidebar there, but so a book in every box. So this is your book. This will be in the October box. Amazing, amazing, really chock full of great information. Um, so there’s a book. I’m going to actually revert to September, just so you kind of have an idea.
There’s a book, there’s always a workbook, and the workbook has a welcome message, um, a box packing list, so people know what’s in the box, all about the guest expert and the training. And so, um, Because every month we also have someone phenomenal to train our group. There’s always a bookmark as well. And we always do a TLDR.
You don’t have time to read the book, we got you. These are, you know, the four or five chapters to read or to look through. So this is the September box. We had the family first entrepreneur. Written by a very successful entrepreneur. Um, he started a business also with his wife and I feel like they’ve crossed the million dollar mark.
I’m not quite, uh, I don’t recall, but just wildly successful. Um, very easy to read. So we, we have the book we have, um, we had this really handy habit tracker, a notepad. We had to keep you hydrated, some awesome water droplets. So you just drop them into water and it’s tea. To go with a notebook, this really cool pen, it’s a felt pen by Sugarpaper, they are women founded, um, and women led, we try to put a woman owned business in every box, and then these really cool affirmation cards.
So you take one out, put them on your desk, you know, shuffle them, and then, um, pull out a card. And this one says, my eyes are open to everyday miracles. So just something, you know, fun, um, but a daily reminder of just keep on moving forward. So there’s. Um, about five products. Did I count that right? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Yeah, five products. Sometimes we have six. And they’re really intended, um, for you to, you know, move your day forward, move your business forward, move your life forward. Maybe at the same time. But things that you would actually use.
Amanda: Yeah. How do you choose what goes into each month’s box? How do you choose the theme?
How do you choose what goes along with each box? What does that process look like for you?
Carol: Yeah, it’s, it’s quite, um, it’s quite a process and it can be, it’s usually fun. Sometimes it’s a little overwhelming, but, um, we always, it’s based off the book first and from the book, we go to a theme, an overarching theme, and then we just find supporting products that actually fit.
So we, um, We like to pay, uh, folks wholesale, um, for their goods. You know, we, we are not asking people to donate, you know, for exposure or anything like that. So it’s, it’s truly a curated box, um, for people, for things that are. You know that they would that they would consume that they would use over time.
Um, or something that’s just fun and inspirational. I feel like we don’t have enough fun in our lives, especially as entrepreneurs. It’s like sometimes the fun just leaks out of us because doing this can be hard. Um, and so we try to put a little bit of the fun and uplifting spirit back in.
Amanda: Yeah, that’s so exciting.
I love it. I can’t wait to see the October box. I’m so excited.
It’s gonna be really exciting. So, okay, inside of the box, the focus is really it’s education, right? It’s education, it’s personal growth, but then you also, you build in accountability, which is something that I think Other subscription boxes don’t do as well, um, and don’t do it all. It’s just often, here’s the box, here’s the stuff, which is great, right?
Like that’s, that’s the offer. But I love that you guys are intentional about that accountability. Tell us more about how that’s built into the system.
Carol: Yeah, so we, um, We have had, and I think it’s been iterations over time of kind of what that looks like, but we do have, you know, the training it’s evergreen.
Sometimes people, um, some guest experts will come on and they’ll host live workshops just for our group. So what a wonderful ecosystem that is to have a trainer like yourself come in and just, Teach us. Um, I just feel like that there’s so much magic to be had in that, you know, sacred 45 minutes to hour.
Um, so there are opportunities like that. There are, um, you know, in the past we’ve had actual, um, goal setting workshops where we meet every month. We, um, in our private community, um, there’s places to share and connect. Um, What I’m really excited about, though, is A program will be unveiled, um, shortly, um, where it is just actually accountability.
Um, and so we are super excited and super pumped for that to officially be announced. But, um, I find that when you know someone else is on the other side, Like waiting for you, you know, like a friend at the gym or I’ve got to go to class because I don’t want to be late because I’m going to walk in and everyone’s going to look at me when you kind of have that a little bit over your shoulder.
It’s like good, good stress. And so, um, I think that’s going to be another sort of program that we’re going to be offering. And I’m super, super pumped for that. And that yes, yes, yes. And that actually, can I share a personal story?
Amanda: Yeah, absolutely. Please.
Carol: So that kind of grew out of, um, just this personal challenge that I had been doing myself.
So I think it was just a couple of weeks ago, I completed a 21 mile hike and hike is. a very loose term. It was like there were some technical aspects to this very long, um, journey like through, through the mountains, essentially. And, um, to train for this, it’s called the enchantments. It’s in Leavenworth.
So this is in, um, Washington state. And, um, And to train for this, I started meeting a girlfriend of mine, like back in March. And we had a whole thing, you know, every weekend when we were free, we would meet, we would meet at whatever trail head. And we slowly worked our way up to, I think our longest hike was 16 and a half miles.
The actual enchantments was like over 5, 000 feet of elevation gain. I mean, it was so steep. so hard. I started in the morning and I ended in the morning. Like it was, this thing kicked, kicked me to the curb and back. And I think the big, I had just a big aha moment, like when I was training for this, it was like, if my friend Elaine wasn’t waiting for me at the trailhead at 7 a.
m. in the morning, I just don’t know if I would have gone myself.
Amanda: Did you hike this all by yourself and she met you at the trailhead?
Carol: No, we hiked it together.
Amanda: Okay.
Carol: So we went together and we hiked it together.
Amanda: Okay.
Carol: So she was my, my training partner. but. If she, if she did not meet me like during these training hikes there, I just don’t think I would have a trained as much and B I just don’t think there’s any way I could have honestly finished this.
I don’t know what I would have done like out on the mountain in the middle of the night, you know, but I just found that to have someone waiting for me and knowing I had to show up, whether it was for me or something else, like it, it was kind of that extra oomph to get me over, over. To the next level.
And so I just, I feel like there is so much beauty in accountability. Right. Um, and it’s not this like hardcore, if you don’t do it, you’re going to get in trouble. It’s like, it really does come from a place of love boundaries. You know, you have kind of a program around it. And I think there’s so much value to that in entrepreneurship.
If people are waiting for you, they’re going to see if you did the three things you said you were going to do, like, why didn’t you do them? What, what is happening? How can we help you meet your goal? You know? So anyway, that was my big, my big aha moment.
Amanda: I’m just in awe that you hiked the enchantments. Um, that’s like, I’m just like stuck on that.
Living in the Seattle area, but not from here. You hear people talk about it all the time, but it’s like, everyone around here hikes all the time, and that’s like, you know, I’m just in awe. Um, that’s amazing. Okay, so, I’m Just like, wow, that’s crazy. That’s so impressive. And then you hide basically 24 hours.
Carol: Yeah, it took us 20 hours. It took us 20. I mean, we, we braked, you know, we had food, we got water, filtered water. We had like bathroom breaks along the way, but It just, it took us so long. Um, it just took us a long time, even with all the training. Um, it just took us forever. So that’s amazing.
Amanda: Wow. Okay. So training and accountability is what got you there though, to this huge, amazing goal.
What do you, how do I want to phrase this? There’s a lot of education out there, right? And, um, A lot of times we will join a program, we’ll do this, we’ll buy this thing, and then we just, you know, it sits on the shelf and it gets dusty. What? What advice do you have for people who say they want accountability, but then struggle to follow through with being there for themselves and getting them to the point of even getting that accountability?
Carol: That is such a great question. You have to start small. I think some, so many people, it’s like the New Year’s resolution thing. We’re like, okay, I’m going to, I’m going to lose 25 pounds. I’m going to go vegan. I’m going to, Earn, you know, an extra 25, 000 in the next six months, like whatever the thing is. I, and yes, some people do that, of course, but I, I really think you have to set, you have to start small.
You don’t run a mile, like you don’t run a marathon just out it in a week. Like you build up to it. And I think. small goals that are like, not just about, I’m going to get more Instagram followers. Well, how many, what is realistic for you? And don’t, I don’t want people to feel shame for what they perceive to be a small goal.
Um, so if your goal is to get 15 new followers in three months, amen for that. Like, I feel like we don’t talk enough about I feel like so many goals are big and just in the sky. Let’s bring it down. Let’s, let’s be real. And let’s say, what can I do this month? Can I read the book this month? And if I can’t, can I read, like, can I read 65 percent of the book?
Not even 75%, like what is really doable. So being honest with yourself and going even setting, not setting the bar lower, but just being very realistic. I think that’s all, that’s what it comes down to.
Amanda: Yeah, I also love that you guys, you include the, okay, well if you can’t get to the book, these chapters are gonna really be great for you.
You know, like, I think that’s, it’s so helpful for setting that realistic goal because yeah, we can look at a book and we can go, okay, that’s, that’s a lot of pages and you know, okay, well it’s not tiny print. But still, it’s a lot of pages, and I have kids at home, or I’ve got this, or I’ve got that, and I, you know, I’m just so busy, when am I supposed to read a book, you know?
Um, I, I love that you guys have That built in, well, if this isn’t realistic, here’s something that might be. So I just, I love that. Um,
what advice, well, let me say this first. For anyone watching live and joining us live, if you have any questions for Carol about her journey, about Hiking the Enchantments, about Sparkle, Huzzle, Grow, go ahead and put those in the chat for me because I’ve got just so many. Two more questions for Carol right now, unless I think of more, which I might, but just last call for questions, if you’ve got any, pop them in the chat for me.
Um, what advice do you have for entrepreneurs hoping to achieve success, whatever their version of success looks like? If you could kind of sum up your top advice, what would it be?
Carol: I think my advice would be, um, to be clear on what your goal is for you, because success looks so different, wildly different for everyone. Write that down somewhere, like what, what do you value? What, what does success look like for you? Have it visible or really readily accessible so you can always refer back to it.
We get We can lose track a lot. Um, so to be ultra, ultra clear on what that is, and then knowing that you have to take action for things to change. You can read all the books. And you can listen to all the podcasts and watch all, all the, the YouTubes and take course after course. But if you don’t do anything, um, nothing will change because if nothing changes, then nothing changes.
And it may change in your mind, but if you don’t actually put forth that. Energy into the, like the world, nothing will change. So it’s like, um, I think Tony Robbins is the one who said this, like the 2 percent or the two millimeter shift I’ve heard. I think it’s him who says something like, you know, you’re golfing and you take the swing and it just didn’t, it didn’t quite get there.
So you shift, you shift two millimeters. It’s like, you’ve got the right vision. You’ve got kind of the right stance, but you just have to pivot a little bit. And I think it’s so it’s just a combination of it being ultra clear to you. What is it to you? Not outside noise, um, taking action and then always, always making those shifts.
It’s not, Instantaneous as much as I think we be looks like for other people, um, that has not been my experience like at all. Um, and it takes time because you’re building, you’re building and building and building. And, um, that would be my advice.
Amanda: You know, I haven’t heard the two millimeter rule before.
And what I love about that is that it’s, it’s a reminder that you’re not as far away as you think you are either.
Carol: Yeah, totally.
Amanda: Sometimes we think, oh, we’re never gonna get there. I just need to tear it all down. But in reality, that teeny tiny shift could make all the difference. For sure. Love that. Yeah.
Okay, so I know we can’t unveil the October box. It’s a secret. And I know we’ve already shared what the book is. Um, anything else you could tell us about it? Maybe the theme, or, I don’t know. If, if the answer is no, that’s okay too, but anything else you could tell us about it? Yeah.
Carol: Um, so your amazing book is in the box and your book is called chasing simple marketing.
And I, it’s, you know, it’s about how you can parse out content, um, without having it take so much of your time. Time is such a valuable resource, especially as we work on our business. Um, so our theme is, uh, creating content for sales success, because we want this to equate to something at the end. And we want that to equate to more money.
So that’s our theme. And one, um, sneak peek of it, of a product that we’re going to have in the box is it’s really fun, cute pen set. I love the colors, metal pens. It’s by a company called Heartfelt. So they’re a small. Like family owned business. Um, and so we love to support family owned as well. Um, and I love what it says on the back.
It says, hope your day is filled with cake and confetti. Have a happy day. So just, you know, that little something to uplift you along the way.
Amanda: I love that. Oh, I love a good pin. I’m excited. I can’t wait. Thank you for sharing that. Carol, thank you so much for coming on and joining me for this live today.
This was so fun. Um, I have loved, oh, you have, um, One comment. This has been so great to hear. I’ve been struggling with feeling like I’m so late to, sorry, to market and may have missed my opportunity to really grow. What would you say to that?
Carol: Oh, I would say it’s never too late. You know, Sarah Blakely, um, the founder of Spanx, and she just came out with this other brand, um, sneakers with a heel.
Which is very easy. And I, I want to look into that a little bit more, but, um, Spanx, like everyone knows Spanx, but I just saw a post, uh, the other day and her mug said it’s never too late. I’m a firm believer, like you can be any age, you can, what’s your goal? What do you want? You know, um, you can do this.
It’s, it’s not always going to be easy. In fact, it, it may be more difficult, you know. than other journeys or other ventures, but it is possible. So you’re not too late. It’s just, I think getting that kind of organization out of your head of like the overwhelm, putting it down on paper and figuring out what can I do?
That’s realistic. That will actually move me forward. It is possible. I believe in you. Um, other people believe in you like it is it’s doable. So you can do this and it is not too late.
Amanda: I also want to point this person back to your earlier comments about really believing in your own offer. Um, you’re not too late to market because your offer is your unique offer.
Don’t worry about what other people have done. Don’t lean into what other people have done. Lean into what you’re doing and what lights you up and what you feel really confident in. And I think that’s going to make all the difference. You’re not too late to market. You’re right on time for what people are going to need from you.
Carol: Love that.
Amanda: Carol, thank you so much. Truly, this has been, it’s been so nice to get to connect. Um, also, it just feels so fun to me that my first ever guest on the YouTube channel, um, is not that far away, which is just fun. So, uh, thank you for coming on. Thank you for having my back. book in the October box.
I’m so excited. And again, for everyone who’s watching this, the link to grab the October box is in the description. You only have a few days left to grab it though, so go snag yours fast, preserve your box, and they will be shipping out pretty soon, I think, right?
Carol: They will, in just a few days. So, yes. Thank you so much, Amanda, this is amazing.
Amanda: Thank you. And we will have all of the links to Sparkle Hustle Grow, Instagram website, all the places in the description as well for everyone to check out. Now, your action step for this week is to check out Sparkle Hustle Grow and their latest box. Depending on when you’re listening to this, you may or may not still be able to grab the October box that has my book inside of it, but every box is so incredible. So no matter when you’re listening, I highly recommend that you head over to sparklehustlegrow.
com and then look at this latest sneak peek, whatever that may be for when you’re listening, I guarantee it’s going to be an incredible box and we will link to that in the show notes so you can easily just Just head to that link if you’d like. Your book recommendation for this week is The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas.
And if you like the fake dating trope, you’re going to like this one. I feel like I’ve been in a big fake dating trope. I don’t want to say slump, that’s not the right word, but I’ve really been, I’ve been reading a lot of books with a fake dating trope and this one, four stars, so good. I loved every second of it and it was really nice that, um, It, it’s fake dating, but also it’s, um, it’s fake dating in front of family, which I feel like is a little, it’s different than some of the other fake dating tropes.
I, I mean, I guess there’s subsets, anyways, not super relevant. If you like the fake dating trope, you will like this book, The Spanish Love Deception by Elena Armas, and I will link to that in the show notes as well. And until next time, my friend, I hope that you’ll go out and uncomplicate your marketing and business. Thank you so much for joining me here today, friend. You can find this episode show notes, as well as all the resources you need to simplify your marketing over at amandawarfield. com. If you liked what you heard here today, be sure to subscribe to the podcast so that you never miss an episode. And if you could take a moment to leave a rating and review, it would truly mean the world to me.
Ratings and reviews are the number one way that you can support a podcast. And ensure that it sticks around for many more episodes to come. I’ll see you next time. Now go out and uncomplicate your marketing and business.
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