Kelly Walker ​​​​​​​Choosing Brave

Welcome to Exit the Matrix Stories of Success with your host Jane Slack-Smith, where we celebrate the incredible journeys of individuals who've transcended their limitations and achieved extraordinary success.

Hello, it's Jane Slack-Smith here, and I'm your host of Exit the Matrix Stories of Success. And this podcast is to inspire you to find those sliding door moments in your own life take some inspiration and maybe look at a way that you can do something different and exit the matrix yourself. Now today I have a fabulous guest and I'd like to say I've got a formal introduction for Kel Walker, but I don't. She's one of my nearest and dearest friends. And so with so much love, all I can say is that she is an absolute dynamo. I have known Kel for nearly 30 years. And we have been on so many journeys and adventures together. And when we first met each other, we came together with the love of property investing. We had mutual friends who said, you guys are so mad. You're going to love each other. All you both do and your husbands is talk about property. And, uh, Grant and Todd and, uh, Kel and I got together and it was so true. We formed a very, very special relationship. And over the years, I have seen Kel absolute blossom in so many of the companies and the businesses that she has put her energy behind. And I knew that this would be a very, very special story to share. But one of the things I admire the most about Kel is that she is always family first. She has the most amazing family. She has 3 beautiful children, which I'm sure we'll hear a little bit about, and an incredible husband who also is in the mining industry. And so we had a lot of synergies, but It's, it's taken a little bit to get Kel on the podcast because she's a dynamo. She's traveling the world and she is making big moves. I can't wait to introduce you to her and to her incredible company and products, ClipStar. Hey, Kel.

Hey, Jane, how are you? What a beautiful intro.

Oh, well, you know, I did that all by myself. Hey, babe, thank you so much for joining today. And I know just before we started, we were talking about all of these sliding door moments in your life and, you know, the ones that I've had the privilege of witnessing over the last decades with you. But I'd love to bring you down to, to one of those moments that really kind of, I guess, orientated you and set you up for the success that you are today.

Sure. So I was thinking about talking to today. What I would share with you is that I Well, I really, really— I had young kids and I— one of the things that happened to me was I just kept thinking about, um, product ideas. And I had originally just young kids, 3 kids under 4, right? 3 kids under 4. I did have 3 kids under 4, and so I didn't have much time, but I knew— but, but my brain kept ticking over, as you well know it does. And, um, I just kept coming up with product ideas of things that could be done better, or things that would help busy families. So originally I had thought that I would create these products and I would license them out to, to companies. And there were loads of baby companies. I'd go into Baby Kingdom and all of those places and see all the big names. And, um, so I started creating products, I got some protection, and I thought, I'm going to license to these companies. And lo and behold, they— these companies would actually respond to me, which was wonderful. And I would take meetings and it was all very exciting. I thought, this is going to be great.

The biggest names in the world, right? Biggest names.

Yes, exactly. And I won't mention some of them because of where I'm going to take this to, but if you went into Baby Kingdom, Baby School, or any of those stores and have a look around, I'm talking about those people. Um, so anyway, so I thought, this is fantastic. I took all these meetings, I was showing them my products, we'd signed NDAs, I'd got protection. Anyway, about 9 months into this journey, I discovered that one of the companies that I'd taken a meeting with had actually launched my, one of my products. And first of all, it was like absolute shock, like what? And yeah, my husband was furious. He wanted to sue. It was like all this hard work. And I reacted completely differently because for me, I suddenly had this realization that hang on a tick, I can create a product that a huge organization that sells all over the world would sell. So for me, it was— I was like, hang on, I'm not going to spend my life savings suing a big name. Um, I'm going to do something different. I'm not going to license products. I'm actually going to bring them out myself. I did take a different path, and I decided to back myself. Um, and so from then I thought, okay, I'm going to whatever whatever product I come up with next, I'm gonna bring it to market myself. And the next problem that I— so all of these products had been trying to solve problems. And then the next product that I thought of was I had a son who kept losing his school hat. And when I went to have a look at the lost property, I mean, the mound of hats was just utterly ridiculous. I was like, how can this be happening? Like, all over at least Australia. Um, so I, I went about trying to solve this problem of— and I knew that kids needed a place to store their hat on the outside of their bag, one, so it was really easy, um, and also that you knew that if the hat wasn't there, then you need to go and look for it there and then. Um, so I got an industrial designer, and between the two of us, we worked it out, and we launched the Clipster Hat Clip. and it went nuts. So, um, Clive, my industrial designer, thought it was so fabulous we should enter the Good Design Australia Awards, which we did. We won. 3 months into the journey, I got contacted by a CUPRA, the general manager of a CUPRA, and I nearly fell off my chair. I was like, what?

Ironic. Australian brand, right? Yeah, it's right up there.

Yeah. And so they had heard about our clips. How on earth had they heard about our clips? This is, by the way, this in lockdown. This is COVID. And, um, so anyway, so I sent them some clips so that they could test with their beautiful felt expensive Akubra hats, and they got back to me a few months later and said, we love them, we want them in all our stores. To this day, we're the only non-Akubra branded product on their website. They were just phenomenal. So that went from school kids to Acubra. And then, and it was so funny because with Acubra, of course, we got their customers then contacting us. So I literally had one day I had a farmer call me up and tell me that he just absolutely loved our clips because he used them in the car. So his Acubra was no longer rattling around the back of his truck. Um, exactly. Um, I had a blind woman call me and tell me how amazing it was that, um, she was no longer leaving her hat at bus stops. It was just phenomenal. And then we started getting gift stores wanting the product, and then we started getting women's fashion stores.

So, and then we went overseas and featured in like, was it one of the big travel magazines? Is like the product to have to travel.

Like, now we've been in lots of, um, lots of magazines. And so we, we sell in 12 different countries now. We sell 40,000 clips a month.

Uh, we've got some other products as well, but my point is, is that, oh, Jane's wearing favorite products because I lose glasses all the time and I can walk the house with this, right?

Jane, can I just tell you, I had to visit someone in emergency on New Year's Eve, um, and I walked into that hospital like, you know, trying to find the person. Like, I was like, oh my God, where are they? Where are they? Nurses were wearing the Specs Clips. Literally, I was like are you kidding me? And I was just playing dumb. And Grant, my husband, was there with me and he was like, she invented that product, that's hers. And I was just like, oh my God.

So yeah, so, and I think the thing, the thing that I love about your story is that often we come up with an idea, right? We have, and, you know, I remember sitting down at the kitchen table with you having like the one-on-one marketing over the Clips to Hat thing and how to get into more schools. And, and, but prior to that, you'd had these incredible other ideas that, you know, you, you'd created, um, what do you call them, demonstrations, products, prototypes, prototypes. And like, Kel would just turn up with this, check this out, I'm like, this is genius, why hasn't anyone thought of this before? And she was, she's always like, she's got these kids in tow, and, and, you know, her husband's, you know, flying out and doing things, and I'm like, how is she doing all of this? And, and she's coming up with amazing ideas this after hours, I'm sure, where the kids are asleep. But, um, with this product, it seems so simple, right?

Yeah, it did seem so simple. Oh, sorry, Jane, you finish.

Oh, thanks. But I was gonna say, it seems so simple, but the fact is it may never have come to pass because a lot of us get that— this is my idea and this is amazing— and someone steals it, someone else has done it. And, and I know exactly how that can feel. And you had that choice then to go you know, like your husband said, I'm so angry, let's fight this to the dying breath. And you've gone, oh my God, they validated my idea, they thought I was so good. Like, that, that is, that's so inspiring to me. I've got little tears in my eyes. So inspiring.

But Jane, I think we're both a bit like that, and I was talking about it to you before when we were off camera, is that I really see that a lot of negative things that have happened in my life, like exactly like that, like having, you know, I put blood sweat and tears into something and then it's, you know, taken away. Those moments have just really shaped my life in some amazing ways. Like, sure, I could have gone on licensing products and made sense in the dollar, and, you know, it would have been fine. But now I get to, um, you know, to really create my life, to create. I absolutely am so passionate— I don't know why, it's totally bonkers— about creating product. But now I get to do it on terms. And, you know, that's, that's really, really fantastic. But I will say too, it does sound, you know, from the outside it can often sound like, oh, she had a great idea and all these things, wonderful things happened. But as you're growing your business too, you know, there's some of the challenges that I've had. And I know you want to talk about challenges, Jane, um, are things like, you know, fear of failure, um, imposter syndrome. That, that's been quite hard. Like, I keep getting invited I'm invited to talk on stages, and actually I go to Vegas in March. The Travel Goods Association of America have invited me to talk on stage. I've got imposter syndrome about that, you know, all of that sort of stuff. Yeah, I think the, the way that I've done it is— so for example, the first couple of, um, podcasts I did, I was so nervous. I was just like, why on earth would they have invited me, and what if I stuff up? And, and I actually listened to some training that Simon Sinek does about, um, your why. And once I thought about why I was doing it, and, you know, I really do, you know, I guess number one, I want to show my kids that you can follow your passion and completely create a life that you love, um, And when I thought about that, and then I want to show other people, you know, like I started this business in my 40s, my late 40s. Um, I had no experience with manufacturing, marketing, sales, e-commerce. You know, now we're selling thousands of stores. We sell on off the website in masses of countries, but in stores in 12 different countries. Um, I had no experience whatsoever. And so now I think it's really important for me just a completely normal person to show that what's possible. And I'm not saying that I'm incredible by any means, but I most certainly am living a life that I absolutely love.

And for people who are listening to this and, and thinking, God, there's someone just like me who's got that imposter syndrome and she's done so much, how could she have, have be facing that, you Is it, is it like you said, coming back to your why? Like, why are you doing this? You're doing it to, you know, show your kids that you can do this. For people who are sitting there with an idea, what would be your words of inspiration to them when they're like, you know, how could I even do this? Like, what's the first step? Now, a quick word from our sponsor, Your Success Club. Your Success Club is a group of vibrant abundance seekers. If you subscribe to exitthematrix.io, we are going to drop you into the club room, which has lots of goodies, resources, and a free gift just for subscribing. Now back to the podcast.

Um, well, I think probably the first step which I had to get over was to stop worrying about failure, to, to really think that there's no right or wrong way to do things. There's your way. Um, and whether that works out or not, you know, if, if it doesn't work out, you'll find something else. But this fear of failure, I think, imprisons people. It certainly did for me for a large portion of my life where I didn't do things because I was worried about what people would say or what they would think or how I would look. Or— and maybe some of that is getting older too, where you literally think, you know what, I've got I've got, you know, hopefully 30 years left. Um, I want to make them awesome, really, really awesome. And to be scared of failure is just crazy. And a lot of people now are talking about that. A lot of really successful people are saying, if you're not failing, you're not trying hard enough. Um, the other thing that really helped me was discovering my values. And I think they've always been there, kind of like bubbling under the surface. And but I realized that I'm strongest I can be when I'm in alignment with my values. So I had to really, really think about what they are. And I know for me, being brave is one of my values. So I am not gonna let fear stop me from doing things. It's not gonna go away, but I am not gonna let it stop me. If I, if I think something's right, or I think that's the right way to move, or the right move in the business, you know, I'll get over being scared. Um, fear is not going to stop me. The other thing about me is curiosity, and you would know this, Jane. It's like whatever I'm doing, whether I'm investing or I'm parenting or whatever, I'm reading everything. I don't think that I'm, you know, top dog. I always think that I have so much to learn. And I think really what I've learned is that most of the things we do, there are people that have already done it. So go find them, go read the books, listen to the podcast, go reach out. I, you know, part of this role is becoming— my role is becoming an entrepreneur. So I joined Entrepreneurs Organization, finding your people, finding your community. And guess what? All the things that at one stage, um, were maybe I was embarrassed about or insecure about, like, um, I can, I can be really distracted and going after shiny objects, and, and then you discover on. All entrepreneurs are like this, you know, um, and that's, that's wonderful. Um, and, and then another thing for me, another one of my values is authenticity. So really being myself, and as much as that can be hard at times, it's a gift. It's a, it's a gift, um, yeah, to, to be myself and to give that to the world. There's nobody else like me. There's nobody else like you, and we don't have to hide who we are.

You know, it's so funny. I'm just going to share a recent memory. So Kel came to Melbourne in Australia, and, uh, just a couple of streets away from me, she was at this big trade fair. And, you know, she had this booth, and, you know, all these big companies from Asia and all Australia are coming to have a look at Clipster and look at the clips and look at the, the spec— what am I calling them?

Specs. Glasses. Yeah.

Specs. And, and, and I volunteered to come along and help man the booth and I'm there manning the booth and I'm talking to all these people about Klipster and how amazing. And it made me think of the time 20 years ago now. So back in like 2005, I was like, I want to teach everyone about property investing. And Kel's like, I'm all here for you. And so we got in the car, we drove into the Hunter Valley from Sydney up to Singleton, this little town that I used to live in. And I put an ad in the paper going, oh, let me teach you about property investing. And Kel's like, yes, this is amazing. And we had this table set up at the local library and Kel's there to, you know, take people's names. And there was my cousin turned up and one guy that I think felt sorry for us after the library closed and just stuck around. And then one other person who I knew was a dozer operator off the mine site. There was 3 people there. And so I started my talk. I'm like, "Kel, you can come over now." And she's like, "No, no, I'll stay here at the front desk just in case the rush comes." And I'm like, this positive expectation. I was like, that's a true friend. And I gave this great talk and I got a little claps at the end and Kel's like, "You're amazing." And I mean, that's, you know, So looking at, you know, the expectations of like hundreds of people going to turn up and how many, you know, should we put 50 or 60 seats out kind of thing and 3 people are there and, and just going through that. And that was one of those kind of moments. You're like, well, I'm here for the 3 people. And even if they didn't know that they wanted to be here, like they're going to get it all. And you there as a cheerleader all the time going, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I was thinking about when I was manning the booth. Book clips to it. The thing I was like, you know, that's having people believe in you sometimes when you don't believe in yourself is so powerful. And I know, you know, you and I both have incredible husbands and families that, that do that for us. But recognizing that and, you know, part of your morning kind of gratitude process of setting yourself up for the day, just being grateful for those little those people and those little moments that, you know, you think, if it wasn't for that, I probably would have given up on myself. So I really, I just want to acknowledge you completely for, for being there 20 years ago when I was like talking to my 3 people.

And look at you now, Jane. I mean, I think that, I think that's the difference. I mean, a lot of people would have given up. They would have gone, okay, I tried it, um, you know, that was embarrassing. But you kept at it and, you know, you've had this incredible business. You've had many incredible businesses. And that's why, because, you know, you're all in and it really doesn't matter about giving things a go and it not being perfect from the start. And I love that about you. And I think I'm a little bit the same. We— there's a lot of gratitude Yeah, we are so grateful for what we already have and we just keep going.

And I think also just the— I mean, you know, we hear about failing forward and failing fast and all of these kind of Silicon Valley terminologies. But, you know, we give our, you know, our kids this kind of, are you going to pass or are you going to fail? You know, they get that from school and there's this kind of black and white to it. And you and I and, you know, one of my other very dear friends, all of our sons are about to go into Year 12, like their final year of school. And I think it's, it's inspiring to be able to look at failure and have it through a lens of it's a learning opportunity. It's not like, it's not a closed door. It's an opportunity to say, well, that didn't quite work out. What didn't work out? And how am I going to now navigate, you know, looking to the future? And if we can set set that kind of example for our kids, our communities, our families, you know, humanity, you know, what a great, you know, change and impact that can be.

Oh, absolutely. And, you know, failure, so-called failure, is, is part of life. It's, um, you know, and all you need to do is just to develop the, the muscle that says, okay, that didn't work. And, you know, I mean, it's funny, you know, we're both a bit like life coaches to our kids. Whether or not they listen is entirely Is it though? I must say, and one of my sons will kill me, but he did say the other day he did, uh, really awesome in a, in a test, and he looked at me and he said, Mom, I manifested that. I worked my— I decided what I wanted and I worked my butt off for it. And I was like, yeah, yeah, you did. And, you know, so it's, it's really realizing that, you know, absolutely there are things in life that you have no control over, but there's plenty that you do. And the most important important thing is attitude and mindset. And, you know, the thought that young people like our kids are just thinking, yeah, if, if this is what I want, then it's up to me. It's not about what life throws at me. I'm not a victim bobbing on the ocean. I can create an incredible life. I just need to, more than anything, really think about what I want, because I think most people think about what they don't I don't want to do this job. I don't want to. And the thing is to think about what you want and look out there and who's done it and learn from them and just keep going.

Yeah, it's interesting you say that because I interviewed someone yesterday who told me that she had this, you know, top 5% of podcasts on manifesting in the world. And I said, oh, give me the 3 tips for manifesting. And she said, know what you want. She said, I said, out of, you know, 8 out of 10 people, when I ask what they want, they tell me what they don't want.

Yeah, I've noticed that. I've truly, truly noticed that. And if you really take the time to think about what you want, then there's so much more of a chance that you'll get it.

Absolutely. And that positive expectation of, of what you're creating, which brings me to your amazing life now. So you made that decision, you, you pushed forward. Selling 40,000 Clips to Clips a month around the world. Everyone should have one of these clips. They're incredible. Are you handbag, travel, everything? I've got in the back of the seat so that the hat can hang up. Tell me, what's life like now? What are you doing now? What the big projects? What are the big things that are exciting you?

Um, well, kids obviously, and kids getting older. But the beautiful thing about that is that I've got more time to me. Like, now I'm really, really focusing on the business. And whilst I initially, I was really, it was all about product. And to be honest with you, that is my love, and I can't wait to do more of that. But I've had to learn how to be a CEO, um, and that's been challenging and rewarding and, um, and something new. Um, we're building a team, which is fantastic. I think you met Julie Oh, actually, did you meet Julie in Melbourne? No, you just missed each other. Um, but she was here just before. Julie is amazing. So she's my general manager. Um, so yeah, so I'm coming to work, I'm doing what I love, and I'm doing it with people that I love, uh, which is awesome. And, you know, if you want the details, I guess, you know, major expansion, um, into the US. Um, so we've got some shows coming up. We've got one in Vegas, and then we go to Paris But yeah, it's all about creating more products, helping more people because all of these products are about making life easier. So yeah, I love that. More of that.

More happy. Well, thank you so much for sharing that. And, you know, every time we come to the end of one of these podcasts, I do ask a special question, which is a just for fun question, something bizarre or unusual, something people may not know about you.

I'd love for you to share your just for fun Um, well, well, something that people find, um, quite unusual is that my mum is a Buddhist nun, so fully ordained. Um, yeah, so that's, that's quite unusual.

Yeah, it is. I would thought you were going to go with, you know, I was on a boat with Richard Branson and we won like a challenge and he still texts me with photos of how excited he was. But hey, you know, let's go Well, there is that as well.

I was very lucky to spend a week with Richard Branson, which actually helped me too. We were talking about imposter syndrome beforehand, so I was there to talk about impact because I'll come back another time, Jane, and we can talk about where I would love the business to go at another time. But, um, yeah, just realizing that people who are absolutely amazing and have changed the world and are just like you and me maybe with a bit more money. Um, that was super, super helpful for me.

Amazing. Well, Kel, I really appreciate you sharing your sliding door moment. I know you have others. And, uh, for those of you who are listening and would love to check out ClipStar, you can go straight to ClipStar, or you could just go to exitthematrix.io/s for short, /kel, K-E-L, and we'll have the links there for you. But Kel, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming on. It's such a— it makes my heart so warm to have you here.

Beautiful to be here, Jane.

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