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Building a business shouldn't mean losing your mind.
Strategy, Solutions, & Sanity is the real-world business podcast for owners and leaders who are serious about scaling — but don't want to drown in chaos while doing it.
Host Samantha C. Prestidge cuts through the noise with practical insights on hiring, delegation, team building, operations, and leadership for family businesses and second-stage entrepreneurs.
(No vague "10x your mindset" fluff here — just the strategies, systems, and sanity moves you actually need.)
Each week, you'll get short, actionable episodes that help you untangle the bottlenecks, lead with more confidence, and build a company that runs smoother — without losing the heart, hustle, and humanity that made you successful in the first place.
Whether you're navigating early team growth or getting ready to finally step out of the daily grind, this podcast gives you the tactical tools and real-world advice to build your business the smart, sustainable way.
👉 Follow Strategy, Solutions, & Sanity for practical strategies to help you lead, grow, and actually enjoy your business again.
📍 📍 Welcome to Strategy Solutions and Sanity, the show for owners who are done with chaos running the show. If you're trying to lead with confidence, build something that lasts and not lose your damn mind in the process, then you're in the right place. I'm Sam, your host and a business and team strategist. I help make the messy parts of business feel manageable from hiring people who actually get things done to building systems that won't blow up.
The second you take a vacation. We're gonna figure it all out together. So let's bring the strategy, the solutions, and most importantly, the sanity to your business.
All right. Hi everyone. I am so excited for our guest today and I feel like I just kind of like I need to hype everyone up on talking to Colleen today. 'cause we just met, I mean like we've kind of been connected on LinkedIn for a while, but we just met at Megan Shapiro's conference in Sedona, which, , shout out to Megan.
I am awaiting the 2026. Details and everyone that did not go this past June should have major fomo. But we just met like six, seven weeks ago really. And I remember like we were sitting by the pool and I was like, wow, this person has such like. Like awesome energy, but also resolve. And I was just like, how do I learn her wisdom?
I just, is that like, have you always kind of had that or a essence from your personality or has that developed over time for you?
I think both are true. I think I'm super leaning into the Yes. And since, you know, I took a, a, improv course, last year. But all that to say, I think it's, I think it's both.
I think it is a part of who I've always been my husband to this day. He's like, there's just something that you carry. I don't think it, you can put it into words, it's just who you are. Yeah, but then also, I mean. We talked a little bit about this right before you hit live. I mean, it's an ongoing discovery of like who the FR rate,
so what is happening?
Yes. To that point, I think there's, and this will I think also tie into some of, of the work that you do and some things we'll touch on later, but there's this new like therapist that has been popping up on my social media and also, so everyone knows I'm a grandma, so I watch my reels on Facebook. I don't download TikTok.
Okay. I ignore Instagram 'cause everyone's too pretty on Instagram, so I just scroll on Facebook when I wanna zone out, you know, like, but anyway, there's this awesome therapist that's like, let's talk real about like, like mental health and like the therapy industry. Right? And like, you know. Talk therapy's awesome.
But most people stop when they are aware of the problem. Right. And that was me for a while as well. Like I never really went to talk therapy, but I was always like in these cycles of self-reflection, and then I'd be like, oh, okay. Like I have the answer. Like I'm aware of why I do this. Cool. And then it would totally stop there and like then the learning the strategies and actually applying the self-improvement so that like, that should follow, like that didn't happen for me anyway.
She talks about how most people are missing that and like they get stuck in the awareness and like that creates this level of like resentment and cynicism in their day-to-day lives. And you have to just kind of. Enjoy the journey, but also put the action into it. Right? Yeah. Yeah. So what have been, some of, it's been a part of your personality a little bit, but also this journey.
What have been some, some of like the major habits or actions that you've built over time?
So, I think so I would say I, I, my dad, he's still alive. My dad to this day, like one, one of the things he used to say to us. When we were younger, and when I'm saying younger, like, you know, high school, college, that type of thing, he would say you have to look in the mirror every day at the end of the day at yourself in the reflection and ask yourself like, am I proud of putting my head on my pillow?
Am I proud of what I did today? Could I have been better? Could I have done more? You know, like I only answered a meat period. And so anytime. So I always think about that because then ultimately, and I say this now, and I say this even when I'm speaking, the biggest kind of takeaway, the biggest thing that I do, 'cause it's the biggest thing that I do, is to turn the finger in at myself before I turn it out.
Because when, I mean, I don't, and you have to learn that, and then you have to own it right to the reflection in the mirror. And that's not easy. I mean, it wasn't easy. I'd be lying if I say that. I at one point and sometimes have to catch myself still today to be like, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa. Rather than looking externally, what, what role am I playing in this first?
And
maybe I'm not playing a role in it, that's fine. But I still have to like pause and ask that question. Mm-hmm. So that to me is the biggest thing is always remembering. Turn the finger in before you turn it out.
Yeah. Oh, wow. And
if I can good in that, then I can, that can always be my, okay.
Yeah. That's great advice from your dad though, which is tough.
Like I would prefer he just say, can you wake up? And like, what are you gonna do today that you're gonna be proud about? Right. Because at the end of the day, I'm like, Ugh. F this, can I just have my bowl of cookie dough, ice cream and just like chill out and go to sleep or whatever. But it's like, no, like let's evaluate the day.
Like are you proud of yourself today? Yeah. And sometimes it's absolutely like kicked ass today, and sometimes it's like, absolutely not. I totally sucked today and tomorrow's gonna have to be a brand new day.
Yeah, because I mean, even so, it's not even like, well, I guess maybe it is, it's like sometimes it's maybe not even the action.
It's like, did I, did I own up? Did I. That I own up to my own principles or what I stand for, like integrity and just being a good person and you know, that those little things rather than it being something so big. Yeah. And then you can still have your bowl of ice cream as a celebration or as a comfort?
Either one.
Yeah. Sometimes it's like week one today, ice cream. Other times it's like, here's my sad ice cream. Right. Yeah. Okay, so. Does any of this kind of relate to moments that you have lost your sanity in business, or have the moments that have completely driven you crazy in business, been totally different and kind of unrelated to self-reflection and really coming back to your values?
I,
I think that's also a yes. And so, so I mean, again, like there is no, there is no. There's no perfect way to do business. There's no playbook. There's, I mean, it's just constant learning and pivoting and struggling and screaming and questioning yourself and all those things, right? And then having that one tiny moment that you're like, okay, like all of that.
Everything that I just worried about or just. Couldn't figure out it, it, it, it came to fruition. Whatever the it is. And definitely like when I answer this, please tell me if I'm answering it or if you feel like I, I hadn't quite gotten to it yet. So all that to say, I mean the, as I, as I continue to learn how to be a business owner.
And trust me, I've been able to watch, I mean, my parents were business owners. They started, they opened their business when I was five, so I've been able to watch, I grew up in that world. It's not a, it's not a foreign world to me. My husband's a business owner. I've always been the support resource. I've always been the person with the water bottle or the NASCAR team, you know, changing the wheels.
But all that to say it is. It's a, it's just a constant learning, a constant struggle. But I always know to the, to your comment about the, the values. Thankfully I've done that work on my values.
Hmm.
I wish I would've done it sooner to un to be able to put words to things like, oh. That's my integrity.
That's why that feels icky, or I'm not using my voice. That's me needing to lean more into like a, I'm all about advocacy, not just for myself, but for others. So it's just super messy.
So's it, it's, is it? Yeah. And so what's interesting about how you kind of kicked off your answer there was to, to me, kind of what you were describing.
I was like, we could have just really interchanged business for parenting. Right. On that of like, there's no playbook for parenting. We don't know what you are doing. There's different values here and there. Right. And it's, it's learning, it's improving and it's kind of figuring your own way. And so it's also interesting there is that you, you called out the idea of like, there is no playbook.
And I think a lot of people would argue like, oh, there's plenty of like playbooks and structures. Things to do, right? Whether it's EOS or like 10 x is easier than two x and stuff. And so I'm also curious with those comments, it makes me think, maybe I'm assuming I'm making an asset of myself, but it makes me think that there were moments either in your business or as like a manager and leader in, in a previous kind of employee role that you wish that there was just a simple.
Playbook. There was like a step by step on how to do something. Is that true?
Oh girl, I am. I'm like a recovering type A. So, yes, hundred percent. And every day you learn more and more. It's just gray. It's gray. There is no black and white. It's scenario driven. It's so kind of to your point, like yes, some would argue no, there is a way to do business.
Sure. You file X and then you need to have Y in place. You know, there are, I, I think about like leases. Leases have, like, this is the way the lease is going to be. That seems very black and white, but that's not all business, right?
Mm-hmm.
And so. So yes, there are things that we can use to help guide us, but those are just guardrails and then it gets into situational.
So yes, as a leader, as a manager in like former roles, did I wish there was a playbook. Sure. But I also kind of appreciated when I had the ability to then. Go in the gray because the net allows me to be me and pull from those values, right?
Yeah. And it becomes very defining moments, right? Of like, one, I'm now like reinstating that these are my values.
This is how I will show up as a leader for my team or for my network, like whoever's in my community, right? Mm-hmm. But then it also kind of reinforces like, oh. You can do this. Mm-hmm. You can figure this out. Like there's a, there, there's that self-esteem booster. Again, coming back to parenting, if I solved every problem for my kids, they would never figure out how to solve anything.
Right? Like they come up and like, this thing is broken. I'm like, cool. What are you gonna like, do you wanna throw it away? Do you wanna fix it? How are you gonna fix it? Right. So what was one of those like defining moments where your values really came into play of like, okay, I could go down this route. Or I could have integrity, I could be a good person and go down this path.
So I'll speak from, I'll speak from current. So the last couple of years that I've been doing this on my own, it has been a very, I feel like you hear this a lot, but you know, you gotta learn this one on your own is. When you're, when you're hungry in the sense of like, I need dollars coming in, you're grasping and you're considering, and maybe you say yes to the work or the clients that really just don't suit you.
It's just not, the work really isn't your work. The client personality really isn't your jam. And remembering, okay. That's why I walked away from whatever it was in the past so that I could serve not just myself better, but those that I worked with better. It's leaning into those moments of, again, like the silent whisper, like, why does this feel off?
It's because I am making a choice. That's based on do I feed my household or do I stay true to my values? And neither. Those are not. That's not easy. That's really hard. And so that, I would say present day, it's more so anytime an opportunity comes across my desk, I have to really pause because the financial scarcity brain that I have is the first thing that's gonna show up is like, take it, take it, take it.
And then I have to say, no, that's not, that's not who you are today. That's not the work you do today.
Yeah.
But yeah.
I had to learn also like how to, when I was first starting my business, how do I show up in sales calls and not wreak desperation for that to like close, right? But what I'm hearing is we have to like redefine hunger and Patrick Lencioni does this really well when he breaks down the ideal team player.
Right. And he has one of the, have you, have you read or like seen any of the, of his stuff with the ideal team player? No. Okay. Well he breaks down like the, this, these are the type of people that you wanna hire. And one of the things is hungry. It's like hungry, humble, and smart or something. And hungry is more, it's not about like always trying to get to the next thing or trying to like kick ass as goals, right?
Because, you know, then you could kind of build a very arrogant two type a team that way. But he defines hungry. And I haven't read this book for years, so I might be getting this wrong, but I'm almost sure this is right. But he defines hungry as like always wanting to learn, always wanting to improve.
And then in the entrepreneurial sense, we have to define hunger. Like, okay, I'm hungry for this type of of work. I'm hungry for my business to look. Like this and not for it to just be any and all clients. Mm-hmm. And I feel like the peta, the pain in the ass clients has been a theme for several of my guests so far.
Whether it's like, Hey, we didn't have the structure for this, or we didn't really pitch the right kind of value driven proposal here is to deliverables focused or out of alignment. And so it sounds like you've had to do a lot of work as well of like. I might want this proposal to get to close. I might want this deal to, to close 'cause that invoice would be nice, but it wouldn't feel good delivering on that proposal.
Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I just, like, just the other day I said, you know, that's, that's not what I do. I'm happy to refer you and did that, did I, I mean, that felt better than it did. You know, the times I had to do it before because I've been strengthening that muscle. Right. But yeah, you're like, mm-hmm. Okay. This is not, I was hoping this would go in one direction, but it's just not the work I do.
I'm happy to, I'm happy to refer you unless you wanna try to like, tweak it or, or, you know, make it different or whatever the case may be.
Yeah. Well, let's dive into what that work actually is like. What give us, for the guests that don't know you, I mean, like I've cyber stalked you enough. I feel I can read your, your, your taglines and everything from art, but break down for us, like really what is your focus and why is that your focus?
Yeah,
so my focus is suicide prevention network and. So some might say mental health at work, but suicide prevention in the sense that there are very specific factors that are present in our workplaces that are tied to anxiety. Heightening, exacerbating, whatever word you want. Use anxiety, depression, suicidal thoughts, and suicide.
But we don't talk about those enough when it comes to suicide prevention at work. We do a really Okay, nice ish job of talking about stigma, of talking about recognizing the signs, which is great. We need that, but we have to also remember, people aren't gonna always show signs. And then the other thing is, again.
There's this third leg of the stool, which is the workplace itself, the system that we report to that is part of the problem that we have to turn our finger in before we turn it out, right? And so, so all that to say. I have transitioned to, to strictly professionally speak. So I, so I also often say consult from the stage because I'm a former consultant I have worked in organ as an organizational health leader.
I was in that work for over 25 years and decided that I just was done. I wanted to work with organizations that really wanted to make change happen. I really wanted to be different. And as I went down that path, I realized that's still really tough to do if I continue to consult. So what's another way I can do it?
I can lean into being an educator, which is what I am, and I can educate and or consult from the stage. And at minimum, those that are in the audience hopefully wanna be there and they can take away at least one thing. So it's a different, it's a different way of, of, of getting to that. And, and honestly, at the end of the day, I believe that mental health is the foundation of every workplace.
I mean, if you, you don't have a workplace unless you have humans that are in it. And we all come with mind and body. And then in addition to that, I like many, I have a story, I have a story that comes from, you know, growing up and how I learned about mental health and then how that's impacted my story.
And so I, I. I've been there. I've also been around family members that have been there. So to me it just, when I, again, when I left the workplace in my workplace in 2023 to go out on my own, I really had to own that too
and say,
this is why.
Yeah. Okay. A couple things there. One, because I'm a cheerleader, I gotta hype you up a little bit here because you said educator and I was like, oh, teacher.
Like that's the going back to like, what is it about colleague that just feels like so graciously good. It's a, you have this tea, like what a teacher's supposed to be, right? Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Yeah. You seem really good at like knowing. How to educate with like space for compassion. Mm-hmm. And also how to like change your wording and communicate differently so someone else can actually receive whatever you're trying to to teach on.
Right. And so teacher Colleen. I know I love that, but I love that. So, okay, let me go back to you said one of the things is like the system and what that sparked for me was I learned very early on. How much some workplaces can absolutely suck. And so I remember working at a staffing agency and this was temp to hire.
And so it's fast paced. Like you, you know, you get someone calling at like 4:00 PM Hey, I need like 10 warehouse guys to show up, 7:00 AM tomorrow. And it's like, okay, cool. I'm gonna be working for the next three hours. And, and I remember like, wait. I'm also going to school full-time, like I'm working a full-time, nine to five or really at that time it was like a seven 30 to six kind of job.
Mm-hmm. I am, I'm going to school as well on top of that and trying to do it all without taking out student loans. And I was like, okay, I need to get a part-time job. 'cause I really didn't want student loans and this full-time job, it was so demanding it, I couldn't. Commit to my schedules for my part-time job.
Right. And I also just remember, like I'm looking around at like our bullpen and nobody is happy with their job. Like no one is happy with their life. The one person who tried to have some kind of like. Work-life boundary of like, okay, I'm leaving at 5, 5 30, 5 30 at the latest. Kind of got labeled as the troublemaker, the one that doesn't put in effort, the one that doesn't care about the team.
And I'm like, no, I think she just has a family that she wants to go home to. And that's so common and like in almost in every industry, every company has, its like there's always a bad company in the, in any industry, right? Mm-hmm. And, and I'm gonna kind of relate this back to, I told you before that I wanted to play devil's advocate a little bit with you 'cause you have this very long career focusing on workforce health.
Right. And I think for some, when their career has been solely focused on that, it can get a little tunnel visioned of like, this is the problem, right? We see that in nonprofits, like, this is the problem and like my solution is the Bible. So what? How has that not happened for you and why really? Can you say like, this really is a problem?
Oh, so many. Okay. So one, I have a total love hate relationship with this industry.
The industry industry of like workforce health or the industry of like doing the workforce health with construction, workforce
health. Okay. Because I think, I think it's, it's irrelevant of industry even though like construction is where my focus is.
So I think it's, it's industry agnostic, so I appreciate the tunnel vision. I think I've, I think for me, I've always seen things a little bit different again because I saw work different growing up, being the child of a business owners of two business owner parents. And then having my husband as a business owner, but then me being an employee, right?
So I just have always seen things a little bit differently. I think that, I think that at the end of the day, we do have a system problem. We have a system problem of hierarchy of it's my way or the highway. Ego and all those things can be good, but they're bad, right? Like so. So let me just kind of veer off for a second.
It can be good and like getting people excited, fueling, I mean, ego can be good, but it can also be bad, right? So when I think about some of the recent stuff that I'm reading online lately, it's the employer. The employers have the power again. Oh, the employee sh or the power shifted to the employee. What, so now we already have this divide.
We already have this. Like who? Who's holding the power when at the end of the day, things like job demand, like what you described. Yeah. Some jobs are just gonna be demanding. Mm. Right. Things like, unfortunately this work is customer service and it's gonna be extremely low in regards to how it's gonna make you feel.
You're answering phones, you're talking to people that maybe have just had a cancer diagnosis. I'm making this up, right. If we are not clarifying, hey, this is what this job is, there really is no way to go from point A to point B. The job is the job. But this is what you'll get from us in return. We will always thank you for your day's work.
We will appreciate you for showing up these little things, right? We are not, we as in the employers are not setting this is, they're, we're not saying the truth, right? We're probably not even seeing half of it. Tell the people that the work is hard. The, I mean, I think, again, can you tell, I'm getting like super heated up about this.
Let's do it. Let's get riled up. No, but I, okay. Yeah. Go. Let's, let me, let me pause it. A few things there. Yeah, please. 'Cause one, I, I really appreciate the realism here because, I think sometimes we get distracted from the idea of like, a business is a business like Yeah, business has. Yes. Yeah. It either makes money or there are no jobs available.
Right. Right. Now we can do that while trying to be good humans. Mm-hmm. We can do that while trying to like not be a total asshole authoritarian. Mm-hmm. Right. Authoritative is like the good kind of authority author. Yeah. Okay. I'm like trying to pull on all my vocabulary without being authoritarian leaders.
Right. So, but lemme take a step back. Let's break down some of these things because you said you, you said that you've always seen things differently because your parents were business owners and you, you kind of mentioned that a few times and I would really like to understand what, what looked different for you than you think the average person that maybe had both parents working or even like mom home, dad working scenario.
So, I'm gonna try to put this into words. So I think it's. There's a different level of, there's a different level of pressure when you are a business owner in the sense that not only are you. Not only are you the owner, you're also an employee. So it's like double pressure one, I'm, I am, I'm committed to keeping the lights on for my household, my own family, but also for the families of those that are working for me.
I've committed to these people and I actually saw that in that positive human, my people are the reason I'm here today, type of thing on that side of the house. Mm-hmm. So there's a whole different level of, it's like two layers of fear, two layers of stress. You know, it's, to me, everything is kind of doubled because not only are they the owner, they're also an employee.
For me, then as an employee, I know what it's like to be afraid to not perform because I wanna perform well to meet my goals. But at the end of the day, I could also just walk away. I don't have to because
you have the power. The power has shifted. Do you, do you feel like that kind of entrepreneurial stress came home with your parents then?
Like, did, did we feel that at the dinner table? Did we feel that on, on the weekends or like, I don't know what you did as a child, but like missed dance recitals or missed soccer games, et.
Oh girl. That's why my anxiety is like simple.
Why are we type A, let's bring it back to childhood. Live therapy session.
Everybody. Yes. I mean,
hearing, hearing, yes. I mean, it's just a, it's a strong guess. My, I mean, stuff that I was just hearing different conversations around. We don't have work. What are we gonna do with the guys or the gals? It was primarily men. 'cause my parents owned a sheet metal business. So at that time it was really all men.
How are we gonna keep the, how are we gonna keep the guys going? It was just, it was always, which is where that financial, the scarcity mindset of me comes from. It was always this, I always heard these conversations of how are we going to continue this? Or this is what happened, this injury occurred and this is gonna cost us X amount of dollars.
This could shut us down. This could Right all these. So many big things compared to my performance review wasn't great today because I didn't do X, Y, and Z. So 100% it was, it was brought home. All
the time. Yeah. Oh man. I am, I definitely think my personality is, is more nurtured than nature. I'm trying to, like we, I mentioned earlier, I'm trying to go with the flow a little bit more, but I think that my, my childhood definitely influenced like type A.
Someone recently described me as type A minus. Because I was like, I'm not a total type B person, but yeah. You know, sometimes I forget water bottles for my kids and I'm like, we're all drinking out of the same water bottle today. Like I only brought mine. And other times I'm like, we're gonna plan this to the tea and if anything goes out of schedule and I don't know what is happening.
Right. And so I, but yeah, it is a different type of pressure and I was just talking to someone. The other day, and I'm like, okay, like what are some of the challenges that you're experiencing? And his response, and, and granted he's, well, he's coming from it from the solopreneur perspective, right? Mm-hmm. Not the employee or like even having to pay for employee salaries, but he's got a family.
And so he is like, I don't know how much longer I'm gonna be able to do this for. 'cause it is very demanding to go out there, make sales, go out there and, and deliver to clients. And you have your own, you have to set your own performance evaluations. And how do you do that in a way that. Feels fair to you, and you're not always people pleasing and all of those things.
Did you fall into any of those, like people pleasing traps early on in in your business?
That's the one thing that I think, I think, so. One thing that I think most will say is, I'm not a people pleaser.
Oh, okay. Sam has gone in a totally different direction then. Okay. So you have always been really good at just saying like n no.
That's the one I, I will say I, I, there's, I don't know, I don't know where it comes from, but I will always put myself first before anything else. Always. So,
so then I will challenge a bit on this. Yeah. Because coming back to the beginning of the episode of, you know, we have to. Have redefine hunger as an entrepreneur.
Mm-hmm. And there are some clients that are just not a fit for you. If you feel like you've always been good at saying no, then why is it sometimes hard to just say, okay, like that proposal is not right for me. Does it come back to financial scarcity or is there something else at play? There
always financial scarcity for me.
My brain is immediately. I'm always on high alert, like, think, 'cause I've, I've been working since I was 13 and not babysitting, like I actually had like a job at a bakery. All I know is to make a paycheck. And so immediately financial scarcity is what comes up for me. And then that was interesting though about the proposal.
I'm thinking about oftentimes. It's in the conversation that I'm hearing. So there isn't enough. There isn't enough advance for me to know that it's for me to turn it down. It's more so like, it's in the conversation that I'm like, I'm, I'm not here. I'm not the person for you.
Hmm. Okay. Okay. No, all, all that makes makes a whole lot of sense.
And I think, but going back to like the people pleasing thing, it's interesting 'cause I have people please. Quite often, but then in my own home, my husband is like, you are stubborn to a detriment. Sometimes he's just like, can you just say yes to this? Can you just trust that? Like, I know what I'm doing and I'm like, mm, I don't think so.
I think, I think I'll continue with my way, and then when my way messes up, then I'll come crawling back to you in tears and saying, okay, what did you suggest? Okay. So another big thing for you, not only saying no, but another phrase that you've used a few times and I'm curious about is the Yes. And, and it sounded like that was a new habit for you.
I'm a, I am a chronic yes but person, but you are, are shifting. So where does this Yes and come from and why does it even matter that you phrase it that way? So I finally
took a improv class last year and I. And I finally understood, I finally understood how people like how improv translates into the workplace, translates into conversations.
I just finally like had the aha moment of how it translates. Is that a yes? But is you're closed, you're not open for receiving. And for have, and for continuing the conversation in whatever direction it might go. A but somewhat shuts things down, whereas an and yes, doesn't mean I agree with you. I'm saying yes.
And this might be another way to think about it. So it's more so the yes is about welcoming and accepting your statement. And here's another thing I'd like to add to it. Again, it's more so just about opening rather than shutting it down.
Interesting. Okay. So then if we bring that into a practical place, how has that shifted how you show up in your business?
Right? And like has this changed, you know, how you close sales or how you then deliver whatever you've promised to deliver, et cetera? Like really, where is like that business shift for you with that?
So I would say when something comes across my plate. It is, it's not a, this kind of goes back even to what we were just saying about the right client or not.
It doesn't have to fit the box exactly. I can say, okay, yes, this is my path, and adding this may feel on paper, like it doesn't make sense as to what I'm trying to do. But it feels, it feels good. So, and I'm, I'm fueling the listening to like that silent whisper of this is who you are, I'm, this is like who I am.
This is my integrity and advocacy. Like, so it allows me to lean into advocacy work or something along that nature. So I, so to say it in a different way, I think it's more so, okay, yes, this fits and. Although again, this may not seem as black and white. It's gray, but the gray, the gray still aligns.
It's trying to define
things different.
Yeah. I wish there was a prettier color than gray though, because I think the gray can be quite bright and beautiful moments. And it's to that point, like there are some standard things that I do in business for sure. Like I wouldn't ha I, I could not talk about structure if there wasn't some standard and like the services that we provide and in our pricing and everything.
But to that point, if I only operated in our box of services, I would go. Just match it crazy. I would be so bored in business and it would get so monotonous, and so I'm always like, okay, here are my skill sets, here are my knowledge base, and then how can that apply to whatever problem they're experiencing?
Because sometimes people do come to me for different things than maybe are on my website or are in my social media content or, or even in my pricing guide, and I'm like, okay, like this is cool. Am I a fit for this? Like, does this at least fit into the box or the cradle of like my knowledge base and like, can I, you know, do I feel good invoicing for this at least?
Yes. And if so, then yes, let's do it. And sometimes it's like, no, I really don't feel good invoicing. Like it would be exciting to do this, but I can't justify. Someone paying me for this. 'cause I'm not confident in like the, the quality output that I might deliver here. But if I, if yeah. Anyway, if I was just in that box, oh, I think that would really suck for business.
And for some people, like that's, they, this is what they do. If you, if that's not that, they refer you out and that works for their personality and, you know. Good for them doesn't work
for me. Yeah. The other thing I would just add, as you were saying that, it's almost like it's that moment of, will this stretch me in a good way?
Mm-hmm. This is, I need, this is a gap in my learning. I have enough foundation and baseline, and this will allow me to stretch a bit. Right? Yeah. So it's like, yeah, the box is good to help. Keep the kind of the foundational components and there's this opportunity to potentially stretch as long as you're being true to yourself, which I love that.
I love that. Like, do I feel comfortable billing for this?
Yes. Right. Like I always say like, I'm not gonna invoice just to invoice. I've gotta feel good with like that number and like clicking send on it, right? Yeah. But oh yeah. Like I, I need to be stretched. I need to have more chaos. In my day. If there's too many of like, oh, I could do this in my sleep moments, I actually procrastinate more.
'cause I'm like okay. Like totally whatever, right? But if there's like a oh, oh shit, can I do this? You know? Then I'm like, oh, I'm really on my game for that. Have you ever experienced that for yourself?
Oh my gosh, I've been experiencing it this week.
There's so many. What the heck moments? We can't even pick one.
I've been working on this presentation. That, so my husband and I are co-presenting and I have foundational content, right? That I'm like, oh, it's there, but I'm, but I know it's, no, I need to add the new layer. Right? So some of it is. I finally had this moment as I wrote down my outline, I'm like, oh no girl, you need to get going.
Like there's, this is, there's, there's more to it than just what you like the foundation. And so that just really like lit a fire under me this week in a great way. But for a while there I was just like, yeah, we're good. And then I'm like, oh, hell no. We gotta work. And it, but it got me excited and it was only because I hadn't written anything out yet.
Yeah. Oh, I, I, I love that though. Like there's, that brings us back to a little bit of type A, right? Kind of type B. 'cause you, you didn't write it out, you procrastinated a little bit on it. Right. But there's and I've, I've talked about this in some of my content before of there is like this productive procrastinator personality.
We're actually the closer it is like. Like the 11th hour or like coming down to the wire, your brain kicks into a different gear, but it's really hard to kick into that gear if you like. Don't actually start like writing that outline. So I do the same thing with workshops and different things of like, here's a rough idea, here's the outline.
It'll sit on the sit on the shelf for like two weeks. I'm like, that's good enough. And then the day before or two days before, I'm like, okay, I gotta practice this. And then I blow up the whole thing. Yeah. And then it's like, here are all the new ideas. Right. And so, oh man. What is your presentation though?
Like, how much more time do you have to really fluff it out?
So the presentation is in September. It's the end of September, but Okay. I want us to be, so I'm a very practiced mm-hmm. Speaker so that it feels supernatural. And then it just also helps me anticipate as the consultant in me, it allows me to work through, like, anticipation of questions or if, you know, whatever.
So I wanna have it written no later. 'cause I'll be, I'll script us. But again, it's not that we're gonna be up there like reading a script, it's just that we have the foundation there. I want it to be done by the end of, by the mm, by mid August. I want it to be written. So I'm, I'm about, I'm about 50%.
We've got some time. We've got some time. And then, you know, probably come September 1st, you're like, here are all these new ideas. How can we fit it in? Oh, 100%.
100. As we're practicing it and working through it, I'm gonna be like, no, scrap that. We're starting over because that's,
you know what we do.
Yeah.
Did your, and on that point, did your husband also take this improv class?
He took it 15 years ago.
Oh yeah. So he took it like 15 years ago. He's a big, like, he loves standup. And then he actually went on to do like a standup class and does so anyways, yes, he did do it a while ago, so now we get to like riff with each other a little bit, which is super fun.
Hmm. You know, on that note, I'm gonna totally digress with this there. You know, we have the phrase of like, nice guys finish last. And I feel like there just needs to like, I want to make it a phrase of like, funny guys finish first. Like, yeah, funny guys are like, where it's at. If you can make me laugh and I laugh at almost everything, so if you can't make me laugh, it's like, what is happening here?
You know,
I, I love that we do need to rewrite that.
Okay. Colleen, we've talked about a lot. We've talked about like, Hey, you've gotta stretch yourself. You can't always have a playbook. We've gotta stay true to our values. We've gotta be open, right? Say yes and and be open to where things might lead you.
Is there any, before we hop off, is there any other like little, hey, like this could really change your day to day, or this could maybe not do a whole transformational shift, but it does brighten your day a little bit more. Any strategies or solutions there that you'd recommend to our audience?
So the first one I'm gonna say is like, it's gonna just be like soup.
Not cheesy, but it's gonna feel cliche. I'm a big believer of, I mean, my, my background is also in like exercise science and things like that, and so I'm a big exerciser. And so that's the first thing I do when I wake up. And it's not negotiable that, that in itself has been a, has been a. A rollercoaster of like, oh, you're being selfish and things like that.
No, I'm just making sure that I can mentally show up for everyone and everyone doesn't wanna like throw me somewhere. So one, lean into the positive side of being selfish. Show up for you first so that you can show up for others. It, again, super cliche, but. It is so frigging important, especially if we're women because we're so used to putting ourselves, you know, last.
So that's one. The other thing, I said it in the beginning and I think it's a perfect way to bring it all the way back around. We've got to, we've got to call ourselves out. We have to own up to what role am I playing? What story am I telling myself? What questions have I not asked? Like we cannot continue to blame or try to be the victim.
We have got to own up for where, what did I learn? What did I, again, what stories am I telling myself? Go to therapy like this. It's like, work on yourself. It's so important because then it just makes the other, the other external things feel a little less hard. So that's, those are the two big things. I mean, lean into being positively selfish, not negatively selfish.
And then. You gotta, you gotta figure out like, what, where do these stories come from? What am I telling myself? Why am I so angry? Like. You gotta turn that finger in before you turn it out. And it just, it's life changing.
Oh. I mean, that goes back to can you look in the mirror and be proud of how you showed up that day.
Right. And we'll also do a little shout out here because we're talking about like positive selfishness. And so I'm gonna just do a shout out and I'll link this in the comments later that. If you are struggling with this, if you're a manager, if you're in the construction world, manager, owner, whoever you are, Jesse Hernandez and has an amazing like time management breakdown and workshop and it's all about like, okay, how can I put myself first so I could show up?
Better for my work or for my people, for these other goals that I have in life. And so big shout out to Jesse on that. Okay. Colleen, thank you so much for joining us today. This has been really fun. A little bit of therapy. I did cringe. I did not cringe at your piece of advice though when you said it might sound cliche and inside I was like, Ugh.
Get ready to hype up a cringe moment. Sam did it. It was all awesome. So thank you for joining us. Thank you. I appreciate it. Appreciate the opportunity.