Comparison is the thief of joy. We all know it, especially those of us that are entrepreneurs. Photographers compare themselves to other photographers and their abilities and vision. Business owners look at one person in their field and say that they wish that they had that person’s success. Social media tells us that if someone has 10,000 followers, they’ve made it. Our versions of success are different. The Anti Marketing Podcast was created out of a need to pause that moment of comparison and realize that entrepreneurship doesn’t have to be lonely. We don’t have to be just like everyone else to be successful. Because when we stop and listen to other business owners around us, we’ll find that we all do things a little bit differently – because that version of success is so incredibly different.
Who Are We?
We ask two questions on the podcast: why did you start in the first place, and what’s your version of success? The answers vary depending on the person. When it comes down to it, if you don’t know those two things – then what are you working towards?
If you haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast… well, we’ve got five awesome hosts including myself: Jonathan Melvin of OWN Real Estate, Valerie Demo of Volt & Vox and Valerie Demo, Najib Khan of Langley Federal Credit Union, Missy Christianson of Antonia Christianson Events, and you know me. People from all different walks of life with different perspectives to offer to each of our guests. And there’s something incredibly special about that. Most of the time, my co-hosts are learning about the businesses that we’re interviewing in real time. Real honest conversations about what it’s like to own a business and why it’s special to them.
Scroll through the pics and get some excerpts from some pretty incredible businesses that we’ve had on thus far – and make sure you go and listen yourself! You can find us on Spotify or click the link here.
Wanderful Boxes
“There are moments where I feel successful. I think part of being an entrepreneur is never being totally satisfied anyway. Wanting to celebrate those little wins, but I would guess all of us here don’t celebrate them enough because we’re always looking and saying, ‘I did this, yay, but I could’ve done this differently, I could’ve done this better.’ It’s always there talking.”
– Sara from Wanderful Boxes
Harper’s Table
“My first real grasp on what a million dollars is was after my first year in business – we did 5 nights of dinner. All those Friday nights getting your ass kicked, Tuesday unexpected group of 20 walks in. Being at the top, I’m seeing all the money fly to the employees, to the liquor store, to the food vendors, to the farmers, and we get to the end of the year, and we did not do a million dollars in revenue. And that was when something clicked in my head for how big a million dollars is – and still, even in today’s world – if you’ve got a million bucks in cash, plus your house and stuff- you’re still not super rich.” – Harper from Harper’s Table
Her Hike Collective
“It’s really empowering to be out in nature with other women. I created Her Hike Collective as a need for myself. My brother passed away in 2011, and I found his love for nature after the fact. I went to Big Sky Montana two years later in 2013 – one of his favorite places – and vowed on that mountain peak after a week of really starting to heal in nature that I was going to make it a part of my life and any women I could meet and introduce to nature and have that impact on them – even just a little bit – was going to be my purpose with the group.”
-Jessica Ryan with Her Hike Collective
Darling & Dapper
“It started in 2007 – whenever I realized that I was hating the insurance world. I think that was when it all started coming to a head. I was bored, that was not my world and I did not belong in it. Prior to that I was all over the place – I went to art school in Boston and studied photography and painting, and I still paint.
And my mother was like, ‘you hate this, you should go to hair school. You should be doing things with your hands and people and blah blah blah.’
Come to find out, 6 months later, I’m like, ‘OMG mom – I have the best idea. And she’s like, ‘cool – hair school? Right on.'”
-Liz Darling with Darling & Dapper
Roc Solid Foundation
“I asked her, I just felt in my heart, we’re missing something. We’re truly missing something. I asked her, ‘hey mom, what’s the one thing you remember on the day I was diagnosed?’ She shook her head no and kind of pushed me away.
A couple weeks later, she came and kind of tapped her fingers on the desk, and she said, ‘I remember your dad had to leave me on the worst day of my life and go back an overnight bag. He forgot half of the stuff that I needed because his world was flipped upside down.’ They just found out I had cancer, and my dad had to leave her.
In that moment, I believe if I can beat cancer, I can do anything in this world – as clear as I’m looking at you guys, there’s nothing that I can’t do. When my mom told me that, I said, ‘why don’t we eradicate that moment from this earth?'”
-Eric Newman, Roc Solid Foundation
The ViBe Creative District
“I like to call us a positive press engine. We’ve had over 640 news articles that we’ve found and counted in the last 5 years, and 99.98 of those are positive. We really are this positive press engine for the city, promoting things that are engaging for both residents and tourists.”
-Kate Pittman, The ViBe Creative District
Fruitive
“I think it’s that…you have to just jump in and do it. I mean, not everything is going to be perfect. I would be like ’No. Everything has to be totally 100% perfect in this store before I can move on to the next one.’ But it’s never going to be. Especially in the restaurant world. That’s not possible.” – Ryan, Fruitive
SlyClyde Ciderworks
“You know, I have to be honest, we’re at the backend of a pandemic – the fact that we’re still open, I’ll mark that as a success. The fact that we’ve been very fortunate to have so many very loyal customers who come back again and again and bring their kids, and their dogs, and a pot-bellied pig, oddly enough, from time to time – these are the marks of success is people who come back and see you. People who show you grace when sometimes the ciders are a little weird – that’s okay, too – we’re trying stuff all the time. Our number one success is knowing that we are lifting up the entire community by presence and by investment.” – Doug with SlyCylde Ciderworks
Cyclebar Hilltop
“We are grateful for and to our community for everything they bring to us, in the way of friendships and special moments we can share. Ultimately, that’s why we started this. So that whatever journey you are on – whether it be a fitness journey or a mental health journey – you can really experience something that can support you in that journey at Cyclebar.”
– April with Cyclebar Hilltop
Hummingbird Macarons
“I really like making things beautiful. And I get to do that through dessert. That really, at the end of the day, is what it is. And to be part of people’s stories and their lives through these little packages of sweetness. Or big. Whatever you choose to get.
It’s an art, and a gift, and a craft.
When people come into the store and they’re like ‘oh my gosh’ and they’re smiling or they’ve come from some experience where a loved one is the hospital, then we get to give them a love package full of dessert.”
-Kisha with Hummingbird Macarons
Lolly’s Creamery
“What Jaclyn and I knew as we processed that decision – and it was a big leap of faith – it was going to blow up our expenses by 3 or 4 fold every month – but we knew, 5 years down the road, if we don’t do this, there’s going to be a lot of regret there, and so – let’s just go for it and see.” – Joey with Lolly’s Creamery
These are just SOME of the awesome businesses that we’ve chatted to – and so many more are coming. Thank you to everyone for your support, for listening – and for helping us change the way that we talk about entrepreneurship. It means everything to hear the inspiration that others have gotten from the Anti Marketing Podcast – we’re super thankful.
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