375 The Career Detours That Led to a Business I Love
Podcast Feature: The Unexpected Career Podcast
with Megan Dunford
This week I am sitting down with the host of The Unexpected Career Podcast on her show where we talk about non-linear paths, redefining success and building a business and life that aligns with your values.
From teaching fitness classes and selling essential oils to building a thriving solo consulting business and teaching at the very college she once graduated from, Kelsey shares how she followed her curiosity and created a life that feels meaningful in every season.
In this conversation, Megan and Kelsey also talk about:
What it really looks like to go from full-time employment to freelance work
Why “leap and the net will appear” isn’t always the best advice
How working part-time can support a more grounded, joyful start to entrepreneurship
Building a business that fits your life and not the other way around
Using your natural strengths to guide your next move
Timestamps
[02:00] – Kelsey shares her earliest career dreams and why she pursued HR in university
[08:30] – How a personal interest in wellness led her to holistic nutrition
[11:40] – Navigating career pivots and early business experiments
[19:55] – The unglamorous (and very real) start of her freelance career
[22:21] – Saying yes to a full-time role… and realizing it was a mistake
[25:01] – The problem with “leap and the net will appear” advice
[27:50] – What Kelsey’s consulting work looks like now and why she ditched online courses
[31:39] – Connecting the dots: the thread that ties all her career chapters together
[34:45] – The advice she’d give her younger self (and why travel and curiosity matter)
[38:16] – Life after becoming a mom : choosing a slower, more intentional season
[42:00] – Why “seasonal thinking” helps make better, more aligned decisions
To connect with Kelsey:
Access the transcript for this episode:
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Speaker A [00:00:00]:
Welcome to the Unexpected Career Podcast, where we share stories of real people and the twists and turns they have taken.
Speaker B [00:00:07]:
Along their career journey.
Speaker A [00:00:09]:
I'm Megan Dunford, and as someone who found myself in the payments industry largely by accident, I'm fascinated by how people's careers unfold and how they've gotten to.
Speaker B [00:00:19]:
Where they are today.
Speaker A [00:00:21]:
It's also why I'm passionate about reducing the pressure on young people, about going to university, what to take in school.
Speaker B [00:00:29]:
And on getting that right first job.
Speaker A [00:00:32]:
Today I'm speaking with Kelsey Rydle, entrepreneur, marketing consultant, coach, and teacher and podcast host.
Speaker C [00:00:41]:
Thanks for having me. I'm so excited to chat today.
Speaker B [00:00:44]:
Thank you. Thank you for being on. I'm excited to jump in and hear more about your journey.
Speaker C [00:00:51]:
Yeah, no, I'm super stoked. And I loved our initial chat.
Speaker B [00:00:55]:
I'm looking forward to it. I always like to start right from the beginning of the journey, and I think it's really interesting to see, like, how it progressed from the earliest days. So what did you think you wanted to be when you grew up, when you were a little girl?
Speaker C [00:01:11]:
I'm so excited to share a little bit about the Unexpected journey I've been on. Rewinding to one of my earlier memories. It was actually back in grade 10, and here in Ontario, Canada, where I live, we take a course called Careers and Civics. And back in that day, we took this quiz, and it was like a very simple quiz. And I remember always being a very energetic child. My mom always said I had ants in my pants and I couldn't sit still. And it's true even to this day. And so I remember filling out that survey in careers class, and anytime there was a question about having a job where you were active or not, sitting at a desk, like, I was choosing that option.
Speaker C [00:01:59]:
Yes, that's me. No, that's not me. And I pressed submit, and the career that was suggested to me was a chimney sweep. And I literally died. Like, even grade 10, I was like, do people still do this? Like, of course, yes, it's still a profession. But I remember at that moment having this thought of, I don't know, that is the career where I am going to use all my talents and excel in life. However, what I did glean from that survey, after all my friends laughed at me and were like, oh, my God, Kelsey the chimney sweep. I did glean that I wanted a profession where I could be active, where I could be on my feet, where I could be making a quick difference in people's lives.
Speaker C [00:02:49]:
And so that was my One of my earliest memories of the career that not necessarily that I wanted, but that was suggested to me.
Speaker B [00:02:59]:
Yeah, that's so funny. Like I wonder. They clearly needed to update their database of careers because although it is still a career, it's not as in high demand.
Speaker C [00:03:13]:
No, I don't think that necessarily. That is like for the person who's ambitious and go getter, perhaps if you build a company around it and hire a team. But yes, they definitely need to update their database. That's true.
Speaker B [00:03:28]:
Obviously chimney sweep wasn't for you. Did you then go on to university? And if you did, like, how did you make that decision and decide what you wanted to take at school?
Speaker C [00:03:42]:
Yeah, so I did regress back to following what I thought I should do versus what my heart may have wanted, but honestly don't think I knew. So when I applied to university, I decided to apply to the school and to the town that I wanted to go to and just get into any program. So I ended up studying human resources for four years. When I finished my degree, I remember all of my peers were going to pursue their HR professional designations or they were going immediately to work in the corporate world. And as soon as I thought about applying to a job like that, where I'd be doing hiring and firing and culture and all the different things that HR does, which is very important, I just thought, oh no, no, no, no, this is not for me. However, throughout my university years, I became a fitness instructor and I spent hours at the gym every day. I barely studied and instead I just wanted to make money teaching fitness so people would post like, hey, I need a sub for the 7am spin class. I need a sub for the noon stability ball class.
Speaker C [00:04:55]:
And I would just take all these classes. I lived at the gym and I had so much fun building community, teaching fitness, making playlists. So I feel like even though I went to university to study human resources, what I really got out of it was the ability to connect with people, to create programming, to reconnect people with their health and wellness. And so after university, even though I didn't apply to an HR job, I did decide to follow my heart in the sense that I loved being active, I loved being outdoors. And so I moved to Switzerland and became a camp counselor for two years. So. Oh wow. Yeah.
Speaker C [00:05:33]:
Just decided to gift myself two years.
Speaker B [00:05:37]:
Yeah.
Speaker C [00:05:37]:
To not jump right in, quote unquote, settling down, but instead to go do something fun where I could re energize my life and buy myself some time to figure out what was next. So yeah, that was the next stage of the journey.
Speaker B [00:05:53]:
That's so cool and brave as well, because it's hard sometimes, especially at that age, to step out of the herd and do something a little bit different and create that space for ourselves. That's really amazing. How did you find out about being a camp counselor in Switzerland?
Speaker C [00:06:12]:
Yeah, that's a really good question. So my sister had actually done it. She was very well versed in the French language and she's older than me. And I remember she went to a job fair at some point and they were recruiting French speaking Canadians to come teach French in Switzerland. So I saw my sister do this for a summer and I was like, whoa. Like I can do that in four years when I graduate. And I actually had met my boyfriend, now husband at the time, right before we graduated. So him and I actually applied together.
Speaker C [00:06:49]:
He got the job, I didn't. So he was going to go to Switzerland. Luckily, at the very last second, someone didn't take the job. I ended up getting an offer. And what was really interesting was that it was all people from Canada. So it is something that a lot of European countries are recruiting native English speaking Canadians or Americans to come over and teach English to kids from. We had kids from Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Sri Lanka, all over Europe, from the us so it was like a global school. Call it camp, but it was almost more school.
Speaker C [00:07:29]:
But yeah, these opportunities are out there. So if anyone is interested in that, show up at job fairs, look for international camps and start getting on their radar.
Speaker B [00:07:39]:
That's really cool. That's not something I knew existed. So it was wild and yeah, such a unique experience. So what did you do when you came back from Switzerland? So you'd had this space. Did you have an idea of what you wanted to do when you came back or how did you make those decisions when you came back to Canada?
Speaker C [00:08:00]:
Yeah, I knew that as I was in Switzerland for two years that it was going to come to an end. And I knew I needed to figure my shit out when I got home because my parents were like, casey, you're coming home to do what? Work at the golf course again? And I was like, yes, I'm going to work at the golf course as a bartender. So I did. But while I was in Switzerland, I remember chatting with my sister. We were like on Skype or wherever we communicated back then and she was pursuing her certificate in naturopathic medicine. And I remember talking to her and she was so happy and she felt so aligned on her path. And I was like, I really want that But I knew that I wasn't the most gifted student, so becoming a doctor was not on my radar. And I saw her, she, like, studied her brains out for four years to get her naturopathic doctor certificate.
Speaker C [00:08:56]:
And I was like, okay, I love what you're doing. Love that you found something that's good for you, but there's no way in hell I could ever do that. And so I decided to look for something in the health field. And I was flipping through a magazine and I saw that there was this new profession or new it called holistic nutrition. And so as soon as I saw that, I was like, okay, I love nutrition. I love cooking. I love spending time in the kitchen eating healthy. All my friends usually come to me for, like, healthy lifestyle stuff.
Speaker C [00:09:25]:
So I ended up just going on Google and searching, like, how do I become a nutritionist? And there was actually a school in Toronto that was enrolling for September. So I came back, visited the school, the college downtown Toronto, and ended up enrolling myself in a one year accelerated program to become holistic nutritionist. So that was the next step of the journey where I spent a year back in school.
Speaker B [00:09:49]:
So that's. Yeah, again, making that decision to go back to school again, but with more information of what you think you want to do and what that looks like and what is interesting to you and what you're passionate about. So that's really cool. What happened after you finished that degree.
Speaker C [00:10:06]:
Leaving you on cliffhangers here? And more than anything, like I will say, I think my journey is messy and all over the place, but really, when you talk to anyone, a lot of people have these crazy, random phases of life where it's. Yeah, I worked at this store and then I met this person who gave me a job. And it's. Let's just normalize the fact that, like, it's okay to be all over the. In your 20s, in your 30s, in your 40s, it doesn't matter. Like, this is just normal.
Speaker B [00:10:36]:
100% agree. I mean, that's kind of why I wanted to do the podcast is like, we put so much pressure on ourselves to make these decisions and have the perfect thing. And what if I make a mistake and it's like, it's all okay? None of this is life or death. You learn so much and you can't even know all the possible journeys. So just take a step forward and see what happens.
Speaker C [00:10:58]:
Yeah, yeah. And like, fast forward today, I am not a holistic nutritionist, but I never look back on that chapter and regret it. I truly believe that every step, it leads you one step closer to finding that thing that you will do. And yeah, instead of looking at your past careers and experiences and saying, oh, I should have known sooner, or oh, like, that was a waste of time, I always try to reframe it and think, what did I learn from that? And, like, how did that actually propel me into the role I'm in today? And even in the nutrition field, as I started building my own business after I graduated, I actually fell in love more with a digital marketing aspect. Building a website and launching programs and the social media and building an email list. And all my friends were like, oh, my gosh, can you help me with my website? And can you do this for me? And so it was almost like this nudge of, oh, maybe you should transition into more of helping nutritionists to build their online presence and say goodbye to the actual talking about food. Food with various clients. So that was the trajectory when I graduated, is that I did start seeing people, but I did notice that talking about food all day with people was not my passion.
Speaker C [00:12:21]:
But I really leaned into what was lighting me up, which was the marketing aspect and just the general business acumen that nutrition school didn't teach us.
Speaker B [00:12:31]:
That's really cool in terms of what you said about leaning into the things that were interesting and you were enjoying and just going that way rather than being stuck in that. I took this course, I'm setting up this business. This is what I have to do. And you did give it a go. So it's not like you. You learn, but you got to learn all that kind of at the same time. Like, I think those are. Experiment's the wrong word because it's a real life thing.
Speaker B [00:13:04]:
It's not just like a trial. You're actually doing it. But the learning experience of all of that is really amazing.
Speaker C [00:13:13]:
Yeah. Yeah, you're right. It's not experiments, but maybe just stepping stones, right? Like, we're all just walking a path, hoping that it continues to lead us forward. But sometimes we take a step and the path kind of crumbles beneath us and we're like, oh, okay. And in that moment you say, well, am I going to take a step forward and figure out the next opportunity, or am I just going to lay on my couch and cry forever? And usually after a day or so, you're like, okay, I'm going to figure this out and try to take the next step. But there's no guarantees, right? There's no guarantees you're going to be happy. There's no Guarantees it's going to work out, that the job is going to keep you forever, that you're going to love it for the rest of your life. You just have to continue to be open to what's available to you.
Speaker B [00:14:01]:
Yeah. A hundred percent. And I think, as you said, it's taking that step, but you don't know what that's going to be like until you take the step. When we're in high school and we're picking what degree we want to take, it's like a lot of times they're making that decision of, oh, what did I like in high school? What am I good at in high school? Those courses are often quite different in university than the level you're doing in high school as an example. So you don't know until you get there. And then same with your first job. First of all, you don't know all the jobs out in the world, so.
Speaker C [00:14:33]:
You just have no idea.
Speaker B [00:14:34]:
You might have an idea of what you think you want to do, but you don't know until you do it whether it's a fit for you, if you're going to like it. And your experience with going into holistic nutrition is a great example of that, of you, like, health care and supporting people. But then actually when you did it, and that was your full day, maybe not as interesting.
Speaker C [00:14:57]:
Exactly. Yep, yep. And you don't know until you do it. Right.
Speaker B [00:15:01]:
Exactly. So then you were leaning more into digital marketing and all of that. So is that something you pursued more formally as a kind of next career step?
Speaker C [00:15:14]:
Yeah, so I started doing it very informally for my friends and my peers at school. And then I decided to start applying for jobs. So this is when I started to really think, okay, I like this marketing thing. I should probably go get some experience in the real world. So I got my first job for a big grocery store chain here in Canada, and I actually worked on their marketing team. That was my foray into more of a corporate role. I absolutely loved it, though. It was more of a fun corporate job.
Speaker B [00:15:46]:
Yeah.
Speaker C [00:15:46]:
Living downtown Toronto. Yeah. Enjoying my twenties. Making a good friend group. So that lasted for six months. And then the corporation that I worked for, they actually canceled the whole project that we were working on. So that was my first time getting let go unexpectedly. So from that moment I was like, whoa.
Speaker C [00:16:08]:
I guess if you work for other people, nothing's guaranteed. One minute I had a job that I loved and I was telling everyone about it. The next minute they were like, don't come back tomorrow. This is it. So that was a little bit shocking and. But I still wanted to work and to work for other people and gain experience. So I ended up applying to another company to work in the experiential marketing department, which was really just a fancy word for driving all around our province and setting up activations in grocery stores to give samples of the product, Going to marathon races and giving out samples at the end, walking around town and showing up at Spin studios and really building this brand from the ground up and relying on community and connections and really grassroots marketing to grow the brand and the business. So that was my next leap into corporate, and I ended up staying at that job for almost three years until, once again, our team got unexpectedly let go.
Speaker C [00:17:16]:
The whole team from across North America at the same time.
Speaker B [00:17:19]:
Wow, that's a. Yeah, a massive reorganization.
Speaker C [00:17:24]:
Yep, exactly. The company had actually gotten bought out by an American company for $500 million. It was an incredible success story here in Canada, where the founders, they started from nothing and then of course, grew this thing to be quite large. So we were really happy for them. But of course, with new management, they looked at everybody and a lot of us got wiped in that moment. So, yeah, that was like the second nudge of, oh, you cannot rely on a job, because at the drop of a pin, they can decide to restructure. And so it left me feeling a little bit vulnerable.
Speaker B [00:18:04]:
It's such a hard being let go or laid off or made redundant, depending like where you are in the world and what term you use. It is such a hard experience because you have no control. And the merger and acquisition situation, it is quite common because obviously you're starting.
Speaker A [00:18:22]:
To have, like, more than one team.
Speaker B [00:18:24]:
Who'S doing a function or a different strategy. But that doesn't make it easier on an individual level. Yeah, for sure. So did you stay in corporate after having experienced that a couple of times, or did you go in a different direction? And either way, how did you make that choice and, like, use that time to evaluate that choice?
Speaker C [00:18:50]:
Yeah, that's a good question. So when I got let go from that second job, I remember telling myself, like, take a week or two, which I know is not that long, but instead of waking up and going to hand out resumes, I thought to myself, it's okay to just sit. Sit here and to be sad, but also to think about what you want. And so I did that, and I kind of made a decision at that moment to go freelance. I had a lot of experience in the digital marketing world, and this was 10, almost 10 years ago when People still felt overwhelmed with like, what is Instagram? And how do you put a lead magnet online and have an automation? And so I remember feeling like, okay, I'm on the pulse of something and perhaps I could do this on my own. So I put together my very first freelance package or proposal. And I remember thinking, yeah, like this is gonna work. And I know there's demand in the marketplace because I'm seeing it.
Speaker C [00:19:55]:
I've worked for companies where they've hired these people, so it didn't feel like I was taking a risk because it's proven that companies need marketing, especially digital marketing support at the time. So I still wasn't certain and feeling super confident. So I went out and got a lot of part time jobs, which again, I think we need to normalize. Like when you start your business, you don't necessarily just go full time right away. So I had three part time jobs, which was crazy, but that's a lot. Yeah, that was going to be my safety net and I wanted to meet my basic income needs through all my part time jobs, which actually relieved all of the pressure from my freelance business because I wasn't depending on it to make money and instead I was just having so much fun with it. And so I started booking meetings with a lot of my contacts, telling them what I was up to. I remember changing my LinkedIn profile to say I'm a social media marketing consultant.
Speaker C [00:20:54]:
I was like, oh, that makes me sound professional. And as I started connecting with people, I got a bunch of, hey, let's meet for coffee. Hey, let's meet and hear more about what you're doing. And so I just started biking around Toronto and connecting with people and sharing what I could do, sharing my very basic package that I hacked together with a price that was probably way too low, but that's really how I started to get my first few retainer clients as a freelancer. And yeah, I mean, to kind of further the story, I'm working now four jobs and then one of my clients says, we'd like to hire you full time. And this is always dangerous if you're working for multiple clients and one decides to poach you. And because I was still junior to this entrepreneurship thing, I was like, I would like to go back to safety and security. So I did say yes to that.
Speaker C [00:21:52]:
I still kept all my clients on the side. So I was working about 80 hours a week. Wow. So full time job. And then three months into that, I knew I had made a horrible, horrible mistake. I. I really just couldn't be Back in the corporate world, I really loved working for myself. And yeah, even though I signed the contract three months in, I had to have that tough conversation with my manager and I said, I can't do this, I'm so sorry.
Speaker C [00:22:21]:
I should have stuck with my guns and stayed freelance with you. Yeah, I'll pause there. But that was like the last time that I ever set foot in a full time corporate role.
Speaker B [00:22:32]:
It's another example of sometimes you don't know until you do it and obviously there's a lot of safety in a corporate job. Again, not everyone likes being freelance or having their own business. And so sometimes you don't know until you step your foot back in and it's oh wait, no, there was a reason that wasn't for me. So yeah, it's always hard to have that conversation, but it is still an important learning and it just solidifies. No, wait, I was on the right path. I also, also love that while you were getting it set up and what you were saying about normalizing, you might have to have or want to have a bunch of part time jobs while you're getting this other thing set up. Of course we have basic needs to meet, but also the ability to take some of that pressure off of my basic needs are met through these other part time roles. And this gives you some space which sometimes it just ends up being more like head space to be able to create that whether it's a company or whatever it might be for yourself and in your case it was building up your freelance business.
Speaker B [00:23:44]:
That's really amazing. Can I ask what any of those part time jobs were while you were getting your freelance set up?
Speaker C [00:23:51]:
Yeah, the story gets pretty juicy here. I decided to start my first network marketing business and learned so much from that. I was selling essential oils and I took a chance on it. I'm glad I did it. Now I'm not necessarily so keen on the business model, but that was one. But I actually made decent money doing it. I started teaching at two different gyms. So I taught at Orange Theory Fitness, which is a really popular chain across the world actually and I taught at a spin studio and then actually I took on another part time job which was to be a personal assistant to an entrepreneur that I knew.
Speaker C [00:24:31]:
So I would book her, travel, get her kids into the daycare, send off emails to clients or people she didn't want to talk to and I loved it. I loved it so much. Like I think I would go back to being a personal assistant because I just liked like being in that energy of she's just out there like with millions of dollars and like, hey Kelsey, can you find me a resort in Mexico?
Speaker B [00:24:54]:
The challenge of sorting all those things out.
Speaker C [00:24:57]:
Yep, exactly. So those are the part time gigs that I worked.
Speaker B [00:25:01]:
I love that. And that goes back to some of the fitness instructing you were doing before and like things you were interested in. Yeah. So that's amazing. And I think as you said, people need to talk about that more. Creating your own business isn't an immediate jump, all in glamorous thing. It's like there are other things you might have to do to support. For some people that means they're still doing their corporate job and doing this on the side.
Speaker B [00:25:22]:
Or I think that's a really great option of you can, you know, pick up part time jobs in various ways to have that financial stability as well as in a way like keeps you out in the world and not to just head down in the overwhelm of starting a business from scratch.
Speaker C [00:25:48]:
Yeah, yeah, I think that's such a good point because you can become very isolated if you just leave the world behind and stay on your laptop for 40 hours trying to build a business. You need to be out connecting, talking to people. And honestly, something that I'm very passionate about is that the phrase leap and the net will appear is thrown around in the startup entrepreneurship space. And honestly, like, I don't condone that theory for most people because when you start a business, the net doesn't just appear. You don't just make $20,000 in reoccurring revenue right away. Some people, yes. Like I have interviewed people on my podcast who said I was an overnight success. Like we launched the thing, there was high demand.
Speaker C [00:26:35]:
But they're well connected people, right? Yeah. For most people it's going to take months or years to build up to the salary or the revenue that you want. And I think that the biggest mistake we can make is coming to our business with a desperate energy of need clients. I need them yesterday. And it's whoa, that's frantic. And that can't be the reason why you get out of bed every day.
Speaker B [00:27:04]:
Yeah, for sure. And I think that, I mean that applies for so many aspects of life. It's similar when you're looking for a job if you're in corporate. But I can imagine when you're setting up your business, that type of energy ends up inadvertently narrowing your vision instead of expanding it. So you miss opportunities or you're not focused enough on the strategy because you're too focused on the details or the sales or just stressing out?
Speaker C [00:27:31]:
Yes. Yep, all of that. Yeah. So I think it's just an important conversation of am I being realistic or am I kind of. Yeah, like seeing the glass half full when I should actually just cover the bases and make sure that I don't put too much pressure on the business from day one.
Speaker B [00:27:50]:
Yeah. And so you took that three month step back into corporate, realized that wasn't for you and came back to your business. And so what are you doing now? Is that still what you're doing? Have you expanded on it? You mentioned a podcast. Yeah. What are you doing now?
Speaker C [00:28:11]:
Yeah. So for the last seven years I have been running my consulting company. It's just me and I take on clients. I used to do more group programs and I went through more of online course phase. But what I really saw to be the most successful thing that I ever offered was one on one consulting where I would sit down one on one with someone for either three months or six months, meeting every single week and really giving them like structured customized marketing advice. So that's what I do today. I work with solo entrepreneurs. I work with small teams who come to me and say we have no marketing plan or we do Instagram, but we have no idea if it's working.
Speaker C [00:28:54]:
And we have a website, but we don't actually show up in Google. Or we have this email list but we never talk to them. And so there's just a lot of things set up, but there's no marketing strategy, there's no rhyme or reason. So that's when people come to me to really get their whole marketing plan cleaned up. So that's the main thing that I offer. I would call it consulting, but it is a little bit of coaching. And I am also getting my hands dirty and doing work with people. So that's the main piece.
Speaker C [00:29:25]:
I also have a community for female entrepreneurs. Along my journey, I realized that it's a lonely ride out there. We spend a lot of time by ourselves in our office and I was actually joining a lot of masterminds at the time just to be among other entrepreneurs. That was something that was always on my mind of wanting to start my own mastermind bringing together female entrepreneurs. So that's a piece of the puzzle. Also have the podcast, which is something I've been doing for about seven years. And it just started as a genuine desire to connect, to have conversations. I myself am a huge podcast fan.
Speaker C [00:30:03]:
I love listening. So I started that to really just add to the mix and I thought I could share some really Fun conversations. And now I also do a lot of speaking and workshops and I teach at private colleges. So a full circle moment for me is now I am a teacher at my holistic nutrition school that I graduated from 10 years ago and I teach their business and marketing program. So the very course I wish I had when I was a student there, I'm now a teacher. So, yeah, it's like many pieces kind of all circulating. Every day is different, every week is different. If I'm known for one thing, it's marketing.
Speaker C [00:30:42]:
Whether that's teaching, educating, strategizing, creating plans. But it all boils down to marketing, which is getting more visible, getting more eyeballs on your business.
Speaker B [00:30:52]:
That's amazing. And I love how multifaceted it is. But as you said, it all comes back to marketing.
Speaker C [00:30:59]:
Yep.
Speaker B [00:31:00]:
That's really cool. So just thinking back on your journey from all the way from, you know, taking HR in university, corporate consultancy, the full journey. When you look back, I skipped nutrition, even in that. But when you look back, are there common threads or things that you see that kind of connect the dots throughout? Because on paper it looks quite diverse and as you were saying before, maybe it looks messy, but there is always connections. So what are those kind of connections when you look back and common threads that you see?
Speaker C [00:31:39]:
Yeah, such a great question. I really see a common thread on generally just helping people to enhance their well being and me acting as almost like a pillar of inspiration or as a guide. So when I think back to teaching fitness classes, it's showing up for people even when they're not motivated and helping them to feel better, feel stronger in their body. As a camp counselor, it's waking kids up in the morning and even when they're like, oh, Ms. Kelsey, we don't want to get up, it's saying, we're gonna have a great day. Let's go, let's get your tennis shoes on. Let's go play some basketball, let's get breakfast and then go run around the field. So there was that in experiential marketing, it's standing in a grocery store handing out a sample of protein powder to somebody who's maybe new on the fitness journey, who wants to feel better, but is still eating fast food three times a day and saying, hey, would you like to try a sample of something that you've never tried before, but being that person that can tell them why they're going to feel a difference, how this is going to impact their body? Going forward to today, I think a lot of people would say, now you Talk about digital marketing all day.
Speaker C [00:32:57]:
But I truly believe that when people feel confident with their marketing plan, it changes the way that they show up for their business. It changes the excitement level if they have strategies that they love doing. Like maybe they love recording a podcast, or they love sitting down and writing blogs and emails. That completely changes the energy that is felt throughout the business. And when clients interact with their marketing, the client is like, whoa, this is really good information. Or oh my gosh, Megan is so passionate when she's on the microphone and all of a sudden I've made a deep connection with you and I might hire you as a service provider, I might buy your products because I feel like I like the story behind it. So even with what I do today, it's helping people feel more empowered. When they sit down to work, they know what to work on.
Speaker C [00:33:47]:
And then they can get back to their life and not feel so overwhelmed all the time with what they could be doing or should be doing, but instead just know what to do to achieve their business goals and then get back to living.
Speaker B [00:34:00]:
So really there's that element of kind of coaching throughout and being almost like a safe place to explore new things, new information, ask different questions, and also get that instruction and be able to ask questions as well. That's really cool.
Speaker C [00:34:21]:
Good point. Yeah, that's a really good recognition of like a safe place to explore. Explore. Yeah. I never really called myself a coach until people started calling me a coach.
Speaker B [00:34:31]:
Yeah.
Speaker C [00:34:32]:
And I was like, is that what I'm doing for you? But yeah, I think that would be an accurate word to describe it as well.
Speaker B [00:34:38]:
Cool. Is there any piece of advice that you would love to go back in time and give yourself?
Speaker C [00:34:45]:
If I could go back in time and give myself advice, it would really be to get to know yourself and what lights you up. Because when we're young, we're so impressionable by our parents, by our peers, and I think we just start following a trajectory because, oh, dad did this, so I'm gonna do that. Or it's a good thing if I become an accountant, because that's what a successful career looks like. Instead of actually asking like, what am I good at? And where is a situation where I can expect. Explore that. Right. Like traveling is a great example of that. When you're traveling, you get to know yourself in a different way.
Speaker C [00:35:27]:
And I actually think that can help you to decide what a better career path option would be. Even working part time jobs. Like for me, when I worked at the golf course as a bartender, this was a Private members club. So I would stand behind the bar and I was interacting with all these people who made enough money to be private members. And I would just ask them, like, what do you do? Oh, how did you start your business? Great. What are you up to now? How big's your team? And it really expanded the world for me. I was like, well, I didn't even know all these professions existed. But how cool that these people are doing really well in these different paths.
Speaker C [00:36:06]:
So talk to people, be open, get to know yourself and don't rush into thinking that you're life's career has to start at 25 years old. It can start at 35, it can start at 45. And that's okay.
Speaker B [00:36:23]:
That's such good advice. And that idea of getting out there and creating space so that you can learn about yourself and what interests you and learn to hear your gut a little bit, but also being like a sponge in the way it sounds like you were when you were a bartender of learning more about, well, what do other people do? How did they start? How did they get into it? Because you're right, we're all in a little bubble of I know what my parents do, maybe I know what my parents friends do.
Speaker C [00:36:59]:
Yep.
Speaker B [00:37:00]:
And that's kind of it. So I don't have a lot of information of what options or opportunities or things are out there. And then on top of it, you have outdated databases that are like, you should be a chimney sweep. So it's. You just don't have enough information.
Speaker C [00:37:16]:
Yeah.
Speaker B [00:37:17]:
And you never going to have all the information. But like having more to not feel boxed into. Oh, there's these five traditional jobs I know about actually. What are the other things? And take that time to explore and figure it out. And as we were talking about before, take that step and see do you like it? Do you not? Are there pieces of it that you like that you can lean into more and just keep Every step is an opportunity to learn.
Speaker C [00:37:45]:
Yep. Yeah. Couldn't have said it better myself. I think that's the exact mindset to keep in mind.
Speaker B [00:37:51]:
Yeah. Yeah. I think that's amazing. And yeah, great advice. I would love to go back and give that advice to myself. But it's so useful at every part of the journey as well of just remembering that it doesn't matter where you are in your journey. That's really good advice.
Speaker C [00:38:07]:
Yeah.
Speaker B [00:38:10]:
Looking forward, what's your vision or hope for the future?
Speaker C [00:38:16]:
So I'm in this really interesting season right now where after running my business for almost nine years, I became a mom last year, and that really turned everything around because my business was my baby, and then my baby became my baby. And it really forced me to think about, what do I want in this season of life? And I would say, first off, I'm just so grateful that I took the leap on myself eight years ago to create a business that has allowed me a lot of freedom to be at home with him and to decide how much childcare I want to bring in and how much I don't want to bring in. So. So I'm in this season where I'm now working two days a week instead of five, and instead of chasing more, more, more growth, growth, growth, which I always have done, I'm actually content. And that is, like, such a weird thing to say as an entrepreneur sometimes that I'm not in a season of trying to push, but instead I'm just, like, holding space for my two full days of clients and everything above and beyond that is a choice. It's do I want to take time away in these critical young years, or do I know that I have decades and decades to keep on building and the business isn't going anywhere? So, yeah, I guess to answer your question, like, what's next? What's the vision? It is to stay in tune with prioritizing motherhood and adventures with my little guy and still showing up for me, which means pouring into work two days a week, but also, like, doing other things, like taking care of myself, getting out on adventures, doing lots of biking in the summer, and making sure that is also a priority because that keeps me so motivated in all other areas of my life.
Speaker B [00:40:13]:
That's amazing. And it touches on something that people talk about it in a work life balance kind of way. But I think it's more than that in terms of. And even going back to what we were just talking about, the advice piece of knowing yourself and what you need so that you can pull on those threads and make that space. Because it's not just about creating a career and a career journey. It's what kind of life do you want to create? And the other thing I love is that term seasons. I think it's such a good term because it's. All of these things are like phases in our life, and they evolve and our priorities evolve.
Speaker B [00:40:54]:
And so we make decisions based on those priorities. And I think that's really important. And as we make some of these decisions, sometimes it's like this is maybe like a seasonal decision. And for this period of time, maybe it's a year or it's five years or whatever. This is what I'm going to need from life. But I know it's going to evolve rather than again, every decision feeling like this big permanent thing of, oh, if I step out of this path or step into this other path, I'm in that forever. So I love that term seasons. I'm definitely going to borrow that going forward.
Speaker C [00:41:35]:
Yeah, yeah. It's so important. Like, anytime you're about to say yes to a project or you feel guilty around something, you have to ask, like, what's season am I in right now and am I honoring that? Right. And it's okay to go through different seasons, whether the season lasts for one month or two years. But yeah, I think that is like the number one question before you chase what everybody else is telling you to chase.
Speaker B [00:42:00]:
Yeah. Yeah, A hundred percent. I love that there is so much that we've covered in this that on a personal level, I'm going to step away and probably get my journal out this evening and think through because there are some things that are going to help me think through some of the things I'm just happen to be working through right now. So thank you for that on a personal level, but I also think are going to be really helpful and inspiring to others. So I really appreciate you sharing your journey and sharing some of the really big insights that you learned along the way as well. I think it's really amazing.
Speaker C [00:42:39]:
Thank you so much for having me and for being such a great interviewer on the other side. Yeah, it's a crazy ride, but I think above all, it's just nice to know that no matter what we've all been through, we're not the only ones. And even things that feel so devastating in the moment, find somebody else who's been through it. Just to know that, like, you will get through it too. These career changes, they're just part of life then. Yeah. And it's all good in the end.
Speaker B [00:43:07]:
A hundred percent. And your career is only one part of your life. It's not.
Speaker C [00:43:11]:
Good reminder.
Speaker B [00:43:12]:
It's not your entire life and identity, which sometimes we need to be reminded of.
Speaker C [00:43:17]:
We all do. Yes. Yeah. It is definitely not the only pillar that needs attention.
Speaker B [00:43:23]:
100%. Amazing. Thank you so much, Kelsey. This was a great conversation. And as I said, there is so much on a personal level that I'm going to take away from this and I know others will too. So again, thank you and I really appreciate it.
Speaker C [00:43:38]:
Awesome. Thanks so much.
Speaker A [00:43:41]:
My conversation with Kelsey really sparked some reflection and brainstorming. About my own career journey. Some of the things that I took.
Speaker B [00:43:49]:
Away from our conversation were 1.
Speaker A [00:43:52]:
The power of just taking that step forward. You can never have all the answers or know for sure. So make the best decision with what you know right now and keep leaning into the things that you find interesting or you enjoy. And that's something Kelsey did throughout her career. 2. The idea of thinking of your life in seasons. Things are always moving forward and evolving just like the seasons, and this includes your priorities, your values, and maybe even what you enjoy. So you don't need to evaluate every decision like it's for the rest of your life, but what's the right decision for this season of your life? 3.
Speaker A [00:44:35]:
I love how Kelsey talked about the three part time jobs she had while launching her business. Being an entrepreneur can be really hard and lonely, and while stories of starting something as a side hustle are maybe more common, this is another option that also gives you some of that financial stability and maybe a little bit more flexibility while you pursue your dreams. And her advice about taking the time to get to know yourself and what lights you up is so important, no matter your age or how far you are on your journey. And she shared some great examples of how to do that, whether it's travel or being curious about things that spark your interest, or just talking to people and learning from their experiences.
Speaker B [00:45:26]:
Thank you for listening to the Unexpected Career Podcast. Please follow, share and rate on your favorite podcast provider. The Unexpected Career Podcast is produced, edited and hosted by me, Megan Dunford. See you next week.
Speaker C [00:45:43]:
SA.
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