BIRD WILLIAMS: You're listening to Bird Means Business Episode 86. 

My people, how's it going? Thank you so much for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast. I am your host, Bird Williams. And I just want to say you are pretty awesome for making space in your day to up your entrepreneurial game, just by tuning in. Because my friend, let me tell you, the first step in being a successful entrepreneur is having an entrepreneurial mindset. And one great way to do that is by listening to other entrepreneurial stories, like what worked and what didn't? What would they do differently if they could start over? And that is exactly what you're getting in this week's episode in this interview with Brandi Carson of Posh and Private Event Design. She's based out of Houston, Texas. I actually met Brandi years ago in a marriage life group through my church. And I remember my first impression being that she and her husband were strikingly wise. I just wanted to sit and soak up all of their wisdom. And I'm truly so grateful for our friendship and that it's grown as it has over the years because she really has been so crucial in my growth, I feel like, as a woman, as a business owner, as a mom. Y'all, when I got ready to launch Bird Williams, back in the fall of 2019, it was Brandi who I met with. We went to a coffee shop. And I was just kind of telling her sheepishly about my idea. And, you know, wasn't really super confident. I had a whole bunch of imposter syndrome that I was dealing with. And she was like, "Are you kidding me? You are the perfect person for this." She just totally hyped me up. And then she grilled me on my business model and talked to me about how I was charging way too little based on my worth and my value and my experience. And let me tell you, you need a friend like that in your life. 

And when it comes to events, this girl is magic. I have experienced firsthand the excellence she brings to every single event that she designs. I mean, just the special touches. Like, I would have never thought of that. And that is so perfect. Like she is just so good at what she does. And get this. Over the course of her career, Brandi has been a trusted event advisor for a number of private industry, government, and nonprofit clients. However, her most memorable experience was when she had the exciting opportunity to work in the White House social office. What? Let me say it again. She worked in the White House social office planning events that took place on the grounds of the White House like press briefings, bill signings, state dinners, and everything in between. Yeah, that's my friend. I am so honored to know her, to learn from her. And let me just say this, too. While she was there, she appeared in Glamour magazine with former First Lady Michelle Obama and some other staff members. And that is just so epic. And I am so glad to have her on the show. I'm telling you, you're going to be able to learn so much from her experience as an event planner, and really just as a businesswoman in general. 

Before we dive in, I want to make sure that you have subscribed to my weekly emails. Why? Because when you are, you're going to be the first to know of some really exciting things that we have coming up, actually next week. Next week, I'm going to be announcing something super special and exciting. And if you're on the email list, you're going to be the first to know. I'm super pumped about this. It's something that me and my team have been really, really working hard on. So again, my weekly emails are non-spammy. They're super short. I go into a lot more detail about like my personal experiences, more than I can here on the podcast or on social media. So if you're not subscribed, you want to make sure that you do that so that you can hear about what's coming next week. All right? it's super easy to sign up. You just go to birdwilliams.com/join. 

Alright, I won't make you wait any longer. Let's jump into the episode. 

Brandi, I'm so glad to have you on Bird Means Business podcast. Thank you for being here. 

BRANDI CARSON: Absolutely. I'm really, really happy to be here.

BIRD: I shared about who you were and how incredible you are and how grateful I am to have you in my life as a friend. And I really want to hear about your story. I want someone who is getting into entrepreneurship, who's considering it, to kind of really hear stories of what it looks like, right? So that's why I always have different entrepreneurs on the show. So tell us a little bit about your story. Tell me about how you got to where you are today. 

BRANDI: Yep. So what's funny is I always tell people don't do what I did. But I let people make that determination on their own. Because a lot of people have varying opinions on that. 

So how this kind of all started is my husband and I were on our honeymoon together. We said we wanted to start a business. And so we were trying to figure out what that was. And my background was in events. And he has a background loosely correlated to events. And so we were like, okay, that seems like a good, good thing to do. And that was probably, I would say, maybe three or four years before we actually started a business. Reason being, you know, we were east coasters at that point. And we did some small events here and there, which we were grateful to do. But we just kind of really didn't know the dynamics of it. 

He worked for the government. I worked for the government as a contractor. And we just decided one day, like, "Hey, this is what we're going to do." Brandon literally came home and felt like he had a really good faith-filled conversation with the Lord. And the Lord told them, "Okay, quit your job." And so because Brandon is a very analytical thinker, that type of experience was, you know, for him was like, unheard of. 

So for me, knowing that having a business was kind of always in my heart to do, I said okay. So I quit my job, probably about six months later. I started working on the business first. And then we decided, about a year later, we were going to pick up and move to Houston. He was going to quit his job, and we were going to move. So we just kind of went in headfirst. Literally head first, which is why I say don't do what we did. 

But there was a lot of on-the-job training. And so we did that. Moved to Houston. Started establishing some networks and some connections and some key roots here. And we've been going ever since. We've been doing a lot of nonprofit work. We've done personal milestone celebrations. We've done galas. We haven't done as much corporate as we would like. But we have done some corporate events. And so we focus on a lot of social events and weddings and things like that as well. That kind of is the abridged version of how we got here today.

BIRD: Wow, that is amazing. And I know what you mean by kind of jumping in headfirst. I know with Terry and I, it was similar in the sense that I had moved back from New York. So I was a east coaster too for a bit. And I moved back to Houston. Thought I would have a job, would be running a business, actually with my mom. And she was like just kidding. I was like, what? I left my six-figure job for like what? And then I was basically like Terry, you know that gym you want to start one day? We need to do it right now. Cause I don't have a job and am about to lose my mind. So that's kind of how we did it, too. Wow. 

So when you say you don't recommend others go that route, why? What were some of the challenges? Or if you could do it differently, what would you do?

BRANDI: Yeah, so I think, in my particular story, I think my youth got the best of me in that scenario. So I tend to be more spontaneous than I think I'm willing to admit to myself. And so that was a spontaneous move, which means I didn't really do any prep work. I didn't really understand. I understood the landscape. So basically, it was like, oh, yeah, people in Houston love to have events. And that's true. But there was just so much work that needed to be done from a business side that we were not prepared for. So we had somewhat of a business plan, I will say that. But actually, about two or three years in, we went through a business course, which was like, you know, six or seven classes. And it talked about business management, financial management, all these different things that we should have taken before we started. 

And so we had a business and we beefed it up more, right? And so that experience let me know some of the major major gaps we had even starting our business. And so if I could do it all over again, I would have done a lot more groundwork and said, okay, here's this really, quote-unquote robust business plan that is going to better service and better serve as a roadmap to what we're going to do next. Because when I say we were flying by the seat of our pants. I mean, it was like if you were looking for a good time, you could join the Posh and Private team because we, you know, we were making it work. And we were going off of things that we thought we knew or thought we had been exposed to. But if I could do it again, I would do more training and do more classes than we did.

BIRD: That's really great advice. And I'm not saying this to promo my services. Obviously, I am a business strategist. And I have a course called Prove It Plan. It's an online course about developing those strategic business plans. But it's for exactly what you're talking about. I see it a lot with creatives, in particular. Photographers, artists who come in and they love what they do. Their craft. Their talent. But they don't really understand the business side of things. And it can get pretty hairy, real real quick when it comes to you know, business formation, and like you said, financial management. So I love that you brought that up. That is really important advice. 

And I think a lot of people feel like, well, like they feel some kind of resistance toward having a plan. Because what if the plan doesn't work out? What if something like 2020 happens and it derails your plans? But I try to explain that having a framework, it's kind of like you know, building a house. You don't just start building a house. You have plans literally to go off of so that if there is a surprise, it's much easier to pivot. It's much easier to be proactive instead of reactive because you have an idea of what you're doing. And you've thought through it strategically. 

BRANDI: Yes. And our other problem too was not only did we not have blueprints to build our house. We kind of thought we know what we're doing. But we were like, oh, we got this. So completely unaware. Like no self-awareness about like, what was actually missing. Didn't want to get it. And so that's where it's kind of like, well, maybe you should ask someone. And so we did it until I don't even know what the kind of the critical point was. Where we said, hey, maybe we should take a look at this. But long story short, we ended up doing it and it was great. It was a great exercise. So do it beforehand before you clients.

BIRD: Before you get clients, right? 

BRANDI: Yeah. 

BIRD: That's awesome. Okay, so I want to speak to like event planning, specifically, and this industry. Like, for someone who is looking to get into event planning, what is something that you wish you would have known when you got into it? Or some advice you would have given Brandi way back then when you were just kind of really starting in event planning?

BRANDI: Yeah, I think being this far in, when I've done events, I would say since about professionally, since about 2007. So for 14 years. And so the advice I would give myself is learning to establish kind of my own personal and business boundaries. With events, in particular, they can be very demanding. People think that they can have access to you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. And if that's the life that you want to live, do that. If you feel like your personal boundaries and limits can handle that, you should do that. 

I realized recently that I cannot. And so I've had to be better, not only about establishing my personal boundaries, and my business boundaries as well. Not only establishing them but being able to communicate them to people in a way that lets them know, like, "Hey, you are important to me. But we have to do these things." Here's my guidelines in terms of how I operate with them. And especially still letting clients know, like, "Yes, your event is important to me. You are valuable to me. I'm still going to do my best work. But for my own kind of mental health and sanity, let's structure it this way. You know, my boundaries can fit within your boundaries, and we can make it all work. And you'll still have a great successful executed event. 

So I would say mental health, personal boundaries, professional boundaries. Because I think it works out better for everyone involved if people kind of know what those boundaries are.

BIRD: Brandi, that is so huge. And I love how you said I've just figured that out recently. Me too, right? I feel like the conversation around boundaries has been huge. We actually have a mutual friend Christine. Remember she was talking about that book on boundaries? Yeah, it was like from that moment. It's like I hear the word boundaries all the time. It's so important. 

I know that everyone has different boundaries like you said different things that they feel comfortable with. For me for whatever reason, texting. When someone texts me, it feels like they're jumping right into the moment that "I need it right then." And it gives me a little bit of anxiety. 

I also don't like to have the red bubble, you have notifications. So I can't just read the text. And then once I read the text, and I now know there's issues. You know, and there's all this pressure. So for me, I don't like texting with clients or even with my team. So that's something we actually talk about in Prove It Plan. Because in the foundation pillar, it's all about your team and communication. How you communicate with your team. I have a digital marketing assistant. And unless it's like, I tell her like, of course, if you need to get to me quick, or I'm not responding in Asana or an email, and you have something urgent, of course, text me. But regularly, that stresses me out. 

So that's just like an example. I tried to make it a real practical example of boundary setting. And I can imagine working with brides and weddings or people of the event. I cannot imagine what it must be like to have to make those boundaries.

BRANDI: Yeah. And you know, to the texting point. I've been that person where I've had to wipe my phone. So that's why I prefer people don't text me, because we will have no record of it. And then that's going to stress me out even more. And that literally helps no one. But yes, I agree. I'm the same way. I can't do notification bubbles. And it's like pressure. But that's one of those things, I actually have to very intentionally turn off. And so I feel you. 

Boundary setting is the thing that is going to help me be a better event planner because it's forcing me to communicate with you. And if our communication is good, then we're on the same page about the majority of things. And that makes everyone not experience any surprises on event day. It makes everyone happy. We all know what we're walking into because we've talked about it in advance. And so I do not think for me, at least there's a downside to setting boundaries, and then communicating those boundaries in a professional manner.

BIRD: Yeah. And too communicating the boundaries. Okay, so you have this boundary about, you know, only texting if it's an emergency. Then maybe you have that in the contract that you have with your clients or with your team. But then for me, I found that a lot of times people don't read the contract, so they don't even know. And so then, what is the next step in terms of communication? For me, it's been when they text me, and I read it, assuming it's an emergency, and it's not. I wait to text them back the next day, like when it's business hours. Or I don't text back, and I email them and I say, hey, I got your text. I prefer email. And then I answer their question. So yeah, again, you want to do it professionally. You want people to know that they matter and they care. But it just again goes back to mental health. Like, how do we make this whole situation work? It's with those boundaries. 

BRANDI: Yeah, yeah, agreed. And it's outlined in our contract, you know. You have access to me between normal business hours. Anything that I decide to do outside of those normal business hours, is a bonus for everyone involved. But please understand and know, if I'm having kind of a mental health day, you will be bound to those business hours as needed. 

Because of the nature of events, and most people who are hosting events, obviously, work nine to five. So their nine to five is gonna look different than my nine to five. And I understand that they're working. And I understand. We just have different schedules and that's okay too. But I try to do what we can to be accommodating, but also, just setting those goals and boundaries to what works for everybody.

BIRD: I love that so much. So another question I have for you is just really related to how you've navigated knowing if a client is the right fit or not. And so again, I imagine this being particularly concerning in this industry. But really, so many businesses run into this. Like, you know, you start off and you're just like, I want all the clients because I need all the money. Like, actually, no. There are definitely clients that I do not want to have and I do not want to work with. And one part of it is knowing your ideal client, the kind of client you really want to work with, and like marketing to that person. Getting where they are so that you can make sure you're in front of them. And you're getting the right kind of clients in the first place. 

And another part of it is just as you learn and you start going through the process of just running your business and working with people. You'll be able to learn this is not the kind of client I want to work with. How do I need to structure my prices and packages? And so on and so forth So how have you navigated that?

BRANDI: So it's basically exactly what you said, right? So initially, it was like, okay, we're here because I told you, we left. We just left DC. We were like we're gonna start a business. And so we just left. 

BIRD: That's amazing, by the way. 

BRANDI: It wasn't an amazing thing. But that's okay. So we just left and we needed clients. And so, you know, we were like, "Oh, you're having an event? Perfect! We plan events." So that's how that goes. 

And so then, as we kind of went through this planning process with them, we said, okay, wait a minute. We have to put some guardrails in place about who we want to work with, what's going to keep the stress and anxiety level down, to make it a good fit. Because the thing about event planning, and this is really, for anyone who hires an event planner. Whether it be a wedding, whether it be for a brand event, whether it be for a corporate event, a meeting, a conference. You will spend a lot of time with that person. So we run into the situation a lot, where at the end of planning, for example, a wedding, people are always like, Oh, my gosh, what do we do? Because we've talked to you enormously over the past year. And so we're like, well it's okay. We'll keep in touch, you know.

So I say all of that to say like, it is a very intimate space. And so for us, we had to learn to ask kind of clarifying questions. Asking people, you know, just different things about their personality. And we can usually get a good read on people when we were meeting face to face. When you get a good read on people about whether we kind of mesh well. And so for us, that was just really, really critical. 

We have never actually had to fire a client, which I am proud to say. But what you should know is, a couple of them were close to the line. They were close. But we didn't. Because at the end of it all, we were like, listen. If we walk away now, what's going to happen to their event? And essentially, we're talking about things like wedding days or milestone celebrations. You don't want to leave people hanging. So we've never had to fire any of them. 

But I say that to say in terms of finding the ideal client, for us specifically. We get a lot of referrals. And so people who know us, who have used us for their event. They will know if the people they refer to us are a good fit for us. And so that to us is really, really important. Because they know. They know our style. They know how we work. And they understand the intimacy level that comes with it. And so for us, thankfully, we've never done a consultation with anyone and said, okay, this is not gonna be a good fit. But it depends. So I don't know if I can fully answer that question. Or if even if I fully answered it.

BIRD: That was a great answer. And I think that'll be super helpful, even just for people to kind of think about. And, the questions you ask in your questionnaire online, or your consultation form. I've seen people say things like this, actually, I'm hiring someone for one of my businesses for email marketing. They were like, are you willing to pay like this minimum amount of money for my services? They're basically saying, look just heads up, before we even get on the phone or anything. This is gonna cost. So that we don't waste any of our time. I really like that too again, to just keep things very clear. And no one wants to waste their time. So yeah, the questions you ask, I think can also kind of help.

BRANDI: Yeah. Because if there are any of our former clients listening to this, we tell them upfront. Do you like to do to-do lists? Do you like emails? These are very specific questions. Because if you say you don't like these things, and we are in the thick of the process, and you don't do it. That's where we're having a conversation that's like, hey, is this a good fit? And we give them one chance to be like, okay. We've got to kind of get it together, or else this is not gonna work. And so if it's not gonna work, we try to give people adjustments. 

But I say all that to say we ask those clarifying questions upfront because we just need to know, in order for our process, specifically to work for you. To help you reach your end goal, this is the way that we do it. That does not mean we are not open to other ways of doing it. But right now, this is how our business is structured, to help you get what you stated that you want. 

BIRD: Love that. Now to kind of zoom out a little bit. What would you say are some of your bigger entrepreneurial lessons learned? Just like as an entrepreneur or a business owner. I know we've talked about a few as you kind of transitioned from kind of running full steam ahead into Houston as these newbie entrepreneurs thinking you knew exactly what you were doing and all of that. But if anyone's out there listening and considering getting into entrepreneurship period, what are some of the lessons that you've learned that could help them on their journey?

BRANDI: Again, being prepared. And we were not. I can't say that enough. And I am not saying that negatively against us. I'm saying it like the amount of information I have learned, post, claiming I'm an entrepreneur, has expanded a thousand times. And if I even had a quarter of that information, prior to becoming an entrepreneur, I feel like we would be in a much different and better place. And so that to me is so key and so critical because you cannot just undervalue that at all. 

So again, back to your example. If I was building a house, I wouldn't just go buy the wood, and just start nailing stuff together. I would at least read. I would at least find a YouTube video that was showing me how to do it. And so that, to me, was the biggest lesson. I feel like the importance of education and the significance of knowing what you're walking into is most important. And I'm not saying read encyclopedias full of how to do business plans. Literally, listen to any podcast. Go to wikiHow. Anything. Just do something to kind of get plugged into where you need to be, especially in the industry and space that you're trying to be in.

BIRD: Yes.  That last part, especially. I know from when we launched The League. One thing I did know is that we needed a business plan. You know, my background, I was on Wall Street working as an investment banker. I knew we needed a business plan. I think I kind of Googled what a business plan was supposed to have in it. But then I created it. And I actually sent it to my director on Wall Street in New York. I was living in Texas, but I was like, "Hey! Miss you! Also, can you look at this business plan?" Because I knew she had had so much great experience. And she would also like, drill me, you know? It wasn't just that I created a business plan. It's that I got really hard eyes on it. And that was great. I mean, that was so helpful. And so she just marked it all up and made it better. 

But another thing I did was I actually went to another gym owner that we were friends with and asked him, how do you do it? What do you use? What software? What do your waivers say? What are some of your biggest issues? And that is so key. If you could find somebody that doesn't feel threatened. He was a close enough friend. I'm so grateful for him for doing it because he had a CrossFit gym. We weren't CrossFit, but we are a warehouse gym. It could have been seen as his competition. But he was so gracious and generous. But if you can find someone who will help you kind of see behind the scenes of the actual business, the kind of business that you're trying to start. That is golden.

BRANDI: Yeah. Because the whole thing about it is there's so many things you don't know. And I think when you're a fresh entrepreneur, not only do you not know it. You may be the type of person where you don't want to see it, either. Right? So, that's like a really bad combination. And I can say that because I was there to a certain extent. So I get it.

BIRD: Ignorance is bliss kind of thing. 

BRANDI: Yes. And so the reality of the situation, to your point. He was willing to share like software tools and all of that, right. If everyone's in their entrepreneurial mindset, you to a certain extent, should be about not reinventing the wheel. Things that are basic stuff that is not your core competency. Things you don't want to focus on. Things that are not necessarily making you money. Find out who did it, in your industry. How they did it. How it works for them. And then that part is done. So you can focus on revenues, and profits and all of that, and how you can fix your product or service to increase those. 

BIRD: That is so key. I talk a lot about core competencies. I want to give this example. I met with someone on a strategy session. And she was basically like, "I'm super stressed, I have this business. It's actually doing really well. And it's growing almost too fast. I'm stressed out by the growth. I'm trying to figure out how to manage it all and what to do next and how to scale but not be overwhelmed." She had two kids at home and all this stuff. And she just happened to mention, "And this weekend, I'm going to this tax conference to learn about like how to do my taxes."

Like, girl! This was a business in the food and beverage industry. You are not a tax professional. Why are you going to a conference about that? You need to hire a CPA and completely outsource that. So that's completely off your plate. So that you'll then being able to pour into what you're actually really good at. So again, when you first launch your business, you might not have the funds to do that. You are kind of doing all the things. But the goal is that over time you're not doing all the things. And you're outsourcing as much as you can, so you can really focus on where the business needs you most. I love that you brought that up.

BRANDI: Yeah. And I think for us, because I think they're, it's different too when you're talking about product based businesses versus service based businesses. And I know you and I've talked about this a lot, and we'll still come up with our product, whatever said product is. And we will sell it and be billionaires. Everyone can remember this podcast conversation.  

Anyway! With service based industries, and I'll speak specifically for event planning, and this business. For a very long time, I was like, no one can do it the way we can do it, period, the end. And so that contributes to porous boundaries, and not having boundaries. And having to answer emails at all hours of the night, but still being available to people during the day. And doing this and doing that. And bla bla bla bla bla. So I feel like that is another lesson that I just wish I had learned very early on. And again, there is that piece managing how to pay for delegation. But if you have the means, if you have the resources, figure out what is not that important, like for you specifically to be doing. I've been trying to get our QuickBooks outsourced for a really long time. But Brandon said, he was like, no. And in his defense, he is a math minor. So it made sense. But, to that point. Just because he has a math minor does not make him a QuickBooks expert. He just happens to be good at it. And so what if there's somebody we can pay to do that? That makes more sense for us to do that. And so that's another lesson. If you don't have to, pay for it. 

BIRD: That is huge. I love that.

BRANDI: Or honestly, find somebody who you know, who you trust is good at it and be like, "Hey, can you like hook me up this one or two times, so I can focus on said things?" And whenever you're freeing yourself up to do, may be the moment that you're able to find the money to actually pay a professional to do it. So we can't forget about that either.

BIRD: Yes, that is huge. So true. This is just gold. I hope y'all are listening out there. This is what it is. Now, I want to talk a little bit about what's kind of changed now that you're a mom. So you were in business as an event planning, like guru, for all this time. And you're in your rhythm. And then now you add baby into the mix. So how are you kind of managing the rhythm of all of that? Baby and business?

BRANDI: I am managing the rhythm of all of that with lots and lots of grace. That literally is the only answer. And you know what? This conversation around boundaries, right? So understand it literally, as soon as the baby arrives, it was like, uh, I cannot do all of said things all hours of the night. Because even pregnant, which I feel like you understand this struggle. Even pregnant, you know, I'm just like, oh, this will be fun. I'll just add a baby into this. She'll just be here sleeping. It's fine. It was not fine. So it was not fine at all. 

And so it takes some really good boundary setting and communication of said boundaries, and grace. That's all I have. I would be the type of person it's like, oh, I have this to do list. And there are things on this to-do list I could be doing. But should I be sleeping instead? Or should I be spending time with my baby instead? Should I be spending time with my husband instead? And so it's really for me more about prioritizing, managing, setting boundaries, and extending myself some grace. Because it's like, okay, Brandi, you could do these things. But maybe you just don't have mental capacity for it today. Maybe you don't have the physical capacity for it today. And if it's not something that's immediately urgent, and I can kind of tell myself, okay, I know that if I dedicate one hour to this thing, I know, I can knock it out. So let me do that, when I know it's the best time for me to do that. Which may be different than when I'm looking at my computer screen at two of the morning.

BIRD: Yeah. What I hear you saying is something that I had to learn kind of the hard way with my first baby, which was redefining productivity. So I'm the kind of person I thrive on being productive meaning I need to get things done, period. I will sacrifice eating, sleeping. I need to get stuff done. And what baby did for me was say, you know, maybe it's productive to lay here with my baby. Like you said, I could do these things. That's what I used to deem as productive. But is it also productive to bond with my child so that they don't grow up being a crazy person? That's also productive. And so it's been like a journey with that. 

And I love what you said about like your naivety around what it would be like working as a mom. I remember with my first I was like, so on maternity leave, I'll be working on this project and I'll do this and I'll be updating this. And I had like literal projects for maternity leave. And I'm not the best with maternity leave. I mean, I do my best, but I never actually just don't work at all. I remember with the first time really thinking like, I'm gonna be chillin. I'm gonna have like a break. And it's like, no.

BRANDI: Yeah, and the thing about maternity leave is, and this is for all of those who are considering pregnancy, and being an entrepreneur. Take your maternity leave, and do it. If it's a month, do it. Because I took quote-unquote maternity leave, and it was like a month. But of course, I was still doing work. And that was sad for me, because now looking back on it, I will never get that type of maternity leave, ever again. So should we decide to have another baby, it's not going to be the same level of rest. And I say rest meaning, you know, you're just you don't have to do all the things in your timeframe. It's different when you obviously have another kid to worry about. Two babies, right? So two babies, the business, kind of all these things. And so if I could go back and redo it, I would literally close my computer the entire time. Which I don't know. Maybe that's realistic, maybe because I maybe I can communicate that now. Because it can't happen. I feel like I would. And so I feel like I missed out. So if you have the opportunity to do it, take your maternity leave, is my point. 

BIRD: And you know, that's good thing to talk about just real quick, because I just had a quote-unquote maternity leave. And it was like what you just said. It was a month. But I definitely worked. I wanted to have my computer shut the whole time. But I kind of knew in the back of my head that wasn't gonna actually really happen. When you own a gym business, things are happening. We're in the middle of this pandemic. Like, you know, it's like the toilet's stopped up. But it was a lot less work than I had typically done. But I'll say this, it depends on the season of business that you're in. If you just launched a business and you're having a baby. It's unlikely that you're going to be able to take a maternity leave unless you stop or pause your business. But if you are in a more seasoned business, then it's more likely right. Or if you have an online business versus a brick and mortar. Like I said with my brick and mortar gym business, it's much harder to just not work and not be available to my twelve employees. Right? 

But, with my online business I was able to schedule out social media posts. Scheduled emails. So all of that was happening. I wasn't having to do anything. So it really depends on the type of business. But it all goes back to what you started with, which is giving yourself grace. I think that is the biggest lesson in business and motherhood. It's just to give yourself grace for the season you're in, for that day. You might wake up with this grand plan, and you just don't get to it. 

BRANDI: And it's ruined. And that's okay. Like, that's okay. Because there will be another day where you can do it again. Even if you only accomplished parts of it. If the only thing you accomplished with your grand plan for the day, is you read it and write it. That is an accomplishment. You need to calibrate that. 

BIRD: I feel seen and I feel so much better because you just said that. 

BRANDI: Because it's so much. Like, it's too much pressure. And I think the pressure of raising humans, that's pressure. Like that is a lot of pressure for both mom and dad. Or if it's a single mom situation. Whoever. It's too much pressure. And let me say, when I say too much pressure, I mean for me, right? So it's, it's too much pressure. If your employees can survive without you, let them. Set yourself up for success and let them. Schedule everything. Do what you can to just make it easy on yourself. Because it's pressure. It's pressure on these streets. It's a lot going on.

BIRD: It's pressure from the babies. It's pressure from your husband. It's pressure from your business. It's pressure from your community…

BRANDI: And pressure from yourself, too, right? Because we all have expectations of ourselves. And so I think, obviously, I mean certain things like if you quote-unquote disappoint the baby, they'll be okay. If you disappoint your husband, they'll be okay too. But like, I feel like if we don't meet our own expectations, that's the part where we can struggle because it's like, ah. Because it can go down a really dark path very quickly. And you need every ounce of you, especially being an entrepreneur, especially being a mother. You need every ounce of you to help others, to maintain your business, to help your husband, to help your kids, to help your community. And so it doesn't make sense for you to just suffocate from all the pressure. And that's one of the lessons I had to teach myself about entrepreneurship and motherhood specifically, and those things combined. 

BIRD: Yes. It's not selfish to pour into your cup, to get mental health, to go get your nails done, to go and just walk around, go shopping. To pour to yourself, however that looks for you. Get in exercise, because you can't pour from an empty cup. Right? You've heard that? And in a real way, a practical way, you can't jump on a reel and exude joy and fun and laughter if you don't have it. So you have to really be able to pour into yourself, however that looks. 

That's beautiful. Beautiful, important message. And I'm glad you said that. 

Well, Brandi, this has been amazing. I am so happy that I had you on. Honestly, I'm just really so grateful to have you as a friend. Thank you so much for all of your encouragement and wisdom over the years. You are one of the people that like makes me laugh so hard that I cry actual tears. And I really, really believe that we all need someone in our life like you. Like our sarcasm and our jokes and our just craziness is everything to me. So I'm so glad to have you as a friend and to have you on the show. So thank you. 

BRANDI: Well, thanks for inviting me! This was fun. 

BIRD: Of course. And I want to make sure that those who are listening, who have fallen in love with you, like I love you so much, are able to connect with you and Posh and Private online. So where are  the best places that they can connect with you?

BRANDI: Yep, so on Instagram, we're at @poshandprivate. p-o-s-h-a-n-d private. And same on LinkedIn. Same on Facebook. If you want to follow me personally, which feel free. I don't know. It's @brandincarson. So b-r-a-n-d-i-n carson.

BIRD: Awesome. I'll be sure to link both of those in the show notes. So if you're listening to this episode, you can really just stroll right on down and click the links to connect with Brandi and with Posh and Private online. Thank you. Thank you. 

BRANDI: Thanks for having me!

BIRD: Yes, I appreciate you so much and hope you have a great rest of your day. 

BRANDI: Thanks! You too! 

BIRD: Such a fun conversation, right? And just full of gold. I love that girl so much. And I really hope that what we've talked about today has kind of sparked your interest. Has motivated you. Has made you ask some interesting questions about where you are in your journey and where you're going. 

Remember, you want to make sure to go to birdwilliams.com/join to sign up for my weekly emails so that you could be in the know about what is poppin next week. I'm so super excited about it and I think you will be too. 

As always, thank you so much for tuning into Bird Means Business podcast. Make sure you subscribe on Apple Podcasts. And follow us on Spotify. And also make sure that you tell every entrepreneur you know about this episode so that they can get some of this gold too. 

Alright, talk to y'all next week.