140: What Horse Whispering and Entrepreneurship Have in Common with Eileen Kenney

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What's next? This is a question we're all having to ask and answer more frequently. I'm Jenny Blake, your host of the Pivot Podcast and author of Pivot. The only move that matters is your next one.

For show notes from this episode, visit pivotmethod.com podcast if Change is the only constant, then let's get better at it. Here we go.

This week's episode is a little different than the usual. It is part of a series that I did at the inaugural Podcast Row held at Stand Up New York with James Altucher and the fantastic Podcast Row team. This was a pilot it had never been done before. They invited a bunch of business podcasters and guests to come together and do a crazy packed day of interviews. I had back to back 30 minute interviews and was wondering how on earth I could possibly meet the guest, dive into the questions and close out the interview all within 30 minutes. But somehow we made it happen and then we did that over and over again. I was thrown into these rooms with brand new people that I didn't know much about. I got their bios maybe one or two days prior and of course I had some say in who I was going to interview as well so I could make sure that they were a fit for this show. I had a total blast. It actually challenged me to think about how can I be even punchier with my questions when I have more time. I hope you enjoy this episode and I look forward to your feedback.

Hi everyone, I'm here at Podcast Row in New York City with my guest, Eileen Kenny. Eileen was born and raised in a small coal mining town in Pennsylvania and is the youngest of six children. She developed her two greatest passions, art and horses, by studying art at the Moore College of Art and Equine Studies at Harcombe College, both in Philadelphia. To support her lifelong passion for horses, she's held many diverse jobs and modeled for the Ford and Wilhelmina modeling agencies across many places in the US and Canada. She has a background in film and television in LA with many credits to her name and she even became a nationally Accomplished and licensed trainer and Competitor in the U.S. eventing Association Horse world. Most exciting and part of the topic of today's show is in 2016, she partnered with two other horse enthusiasts to create hoofits and launched it to the public in spring 2018. You cannot see them, but there are these delightful children's boots up on our podcasting desk. They're so wonderful. They have a hoof print on the bottom and just this really playful coloring and a little horsetail out the back, and they're just amazing. So, Eileen, welcome to the show.

Thank you. I'm so grateful to be here. Thank you. Jenny.

One of the things that jumped out to me in reading your story was that you wanted to be a horse when you were a child.

Well, this all happened when I was a little kid growing up on mountain like the Waltons. We didn't have a lot of money and we got outside a lot. There was no Internet or smartphones or anything. So we'd gather outside with a bunch of kids and we'd gallop around and make little horse stick jumps and stuff and jump over them and pretend we were horses. And, you know, we'd have little, you know, little pieces of twigs we thought were whips, and we'd gallop and jump and have these courses and all that. And it was fun because it was very freeing and we could use our imaginations. And it was just. I've always had a passion for horses, and it. It made sense to me, so. Which is ironic, fast forward all these years later that I came up with a product that inspires these kids to go out and jump around and pretend they're horses and leave hoof prints full circle.

I think it's so incredible seeing how people's childhood passions really do continue to be a thread.

Who wants to grow up? Nobody. Adulting is hard.

Adulting is hard. I know, and you put it so well. One should get involved with something that you like, because statistically, socially, and globally, the answer is always better. When you do something that you love, doesn't matter whether you're a bus driver or a CEO.

That is true. That is true as an entrepreneur, and I'm sure you've heard on all of the other podcasts you've done with entrepreneurs, it's really freaking hard. You will go up against walls and you will spend time and anxiety worrying about everything to get this product or whatever it is you have to market. And so if you don't start with something that you like or are passionate about, to quote, unquote, passion it's kind of cliche, but you really do have to like what you do and have that sort of.

Knowledge and education. And, you know, I did horses for most of my adult life, so I knew everything about horses. And so it was easy for me to create this product because I would transfer everything I knew about horses and. And put it into a design and a fun character boot for kids. And what. What I like about kids. What would kids like? And what does a horse look like on a boot? How do you make that? And then how. How does the print work on the bottom? And so they're interactive and fun. And. And when these kids see these boots and they put them on and run around and make little prints, I'm telling fireflies. And it brings so much joy because, oh, my gosh, it reminds me when I was little and it was just so much fun, and it. It's not hurting anybody. And they're having fun and they're moving around. And, you know, with obesity and kids today and all that stuff, it's. It's good thing to get them jumping around and having fun.

There's a certain childlike delight and wonder that it seems you're cultivating with this business. And that also somehow relates to working with animals. There's like, a pure essence that the two have in common. It's just very interesting. You mentioned persevering as an entrepreneur, and I know that you were a single mom, like, building. This isn't your first rodeo business building. And you mentioned even the. The movie and the character, real life character, Joy, the movie where Jennifer Lawrence played this badass entrepreneur woman.

Yes.

What. What did allow you to persevere in those lowest moments when you're building your business and being a single mom?

I guess the one direct answer would be faith. Like, I knew this was a good product. I knew it. I just knew it. No one's ever done it, which I couldn't figure that out. Why? And why me? You know, how come no one's ever done this? Because it's such a great idea and proof of concept. Everyone we talked to, and they just loved it. So I just knew that it was gonna work. I knew it. And then I came up across all these problems, like, how do you figure out how to do a PVC injection mold? And how do you figure out how to get the money for that? And I had to go to China, and we got robbed, like, three times. And there's no rules in China, you know, you got robbed? Well, they. Oh, God. How much time do we have on this podcast, they, they, they are. There's no rules there. You know, they will take your money and disappear. So. And yeah, that happens. And so that's a whole nother podcast in itself, but. And like getting kidnapped out in the rice paddy fields and things. But we'll talk about that another time. Oh, yeah. So anyway, it's been quite the adventure, but as far as, like with the movie Joy, you know, you just do it. I look back and I go, what the hell was I thinking? But you don't get a vote. And I just persevered. And every time I got a roadblock, I made a left or a right in a U turn and just figured it out. Because you have to be a good problem solver. You have to, because how else are you going to get the end result? And it's not going to be easy. So you just got to either quit or keep going. That's it. It's pretty simple.

You mentioned in their faith and what sounds to me like a real gut knowing, are they one in the same for you or how do you cultivate or practice faith as it relates to your entire life? Doesn't have to just be business. And then on the flip side, how do you know when you have a capital T truth resting in your gut versus things that you are more uncertain about?

Well, I'm Irish, so I get pissed off when things don't work out, and I think they should. So that's a great motivator. To be pissed off is a great motivator. But as far as, as far as the answer to that question, this process, as any other good entrepreneur will tell you, will teach you how to get rid of your ego and be authentic. It will teach you a lot about who you are, what you're made of, and what you can possibly accomplish when you yourself don't believe it.

How does that happen? Because some entrepreneurs do not get rid of their ego. And much to my chagrin, because I'm certainly not attracted to those that are just riding their ego all the way to the bank.

Karma, baby. Yeah, karma. Just wait. Give them. What do they say? Give them a rope long enough and they'll hang themselves. But I just really think that if you're doing the right thing for the right reasons and you're bringing joy and not hurting anybody, that's in itself success. You know, money comes, money goes. It will, it will always come and go. More is great, but, you know, in the end it's. You can't take it with you. And in the end, what relationships did you develop? Were they good or were they not? And when they say people remember you from how you made them feel. Right. So that's kind of important. And you don't learn that until you've been through hell and back. They say religion is for people who are afraid to go to hell. They say spirituality is for people who have been there.

Some kind of spiritual.

Wow. Yeah, well, me too. That's a big undercurrent of the podcast.

Good.

What was a moment that strengthened your spiritual resolve in recent years?

In the end, when you want to please everybody and make this work and you bang your head against the door a million, million times and it's not working out, you have to let go. You gotta let go and be like, you know what? Maybe it failed. Maybe I did everything I could to get it where it's gonna go.

But it didn't.

Yeah.

And it's hard to let go.

It really is.

Especially when you're bossy like type A, like me. And, you know, I want to be a good example for people. I want to be a good example for my daughter. And, you know, she's been through this whole process with me. And it sucks when people say at the beginning, you know, if you knew what you know now and how hard it would have been, would you have done it? I look at them, I say, hell to the no, absolutely not. But, you know, then I look back and it afforded me.

To come out of my box in my wheelhouse. Like, I've traveled to China now four times now. I'm like a pro at it. I've learned about manufacturing, overseas importing.

Gosh, legal entities, insurance, copywriting, patenting, trademarking, designing CAD models, molding, technology, stuff that I never would have done. I rode horses. That's what I did.

And that's such a beautiful example for your daughter that you can set out and learn anything and put your mind to anything.

And honestly, I think it's better than going to college.

Oh, yeah.

Hands on. You know, getting out there and doing it and learning it, and it's. Again, it's not easy. But you know what? It's worth it. It really is. Because when these kids put these boots on and these people see them, they're just like. It takes them out of their normal life. And they're like, oh, my gosh. And you see this little twinkle in their eye and this spark of childhood again, and it's just fun. It's really fun.

These boots are made for walking. That just came into my head.

Gallop on, baby. Yes.

I'M dying to ask you because I'm very passionate about animals, and specifically animal intelligence and intuition and love that's possible in communication. One of my favorite episodes that I mentioned to you before we hit record is with Sy Montgomery. I interviewed her on her book the Soul of an Octopus and the Good, Good Pig, both fantastic books. So I'm curious to know, what does horse training or communing communicating with horses. What have you applied from that knowledge that you've built your entire life to entrepreneurship?

That's a wonderful question. So horses, for me, I've always had a passion for them. And as you know, horse people once, they love horses. It's like a. It's like in their blood. You either love them or you hate them. So. And they're a lot of work, but they're amazing, sentient beings. They're very smart, they have a great memory and they're very communicative. Their body language is amazing. And I was sort of a pinhooker. I would, you know, take horses that were deemed dangerous and that were going to be euthanized and I would buy them for a dollar and I would do horse whispering. How do talents.

What was your.

You communicate with them. It's like the string that attaches you to them, that invisible string. When you learn to read them, they're very, very communicative with their body language. If they can feel a fly on them, why would we be beating them with whips and sticks? So they're amazing animals and they teach you about how to quiet yourself and how to listen and how to communicate back and forth with them. And what's great about horses is they. They learn from very simple right and wrong, pressure and release of pressure. They don't care about accolades and winning medals like human beings and, oh, you're so great, they could care less. They want comfort and safety and a leader. And so if you can do that with them, they will do anything in the world for you. And it's amazing to me, looking back, what they actually do for us. You know, they let us climb on their backs, they let us jump them over big things. They gallop around and, you know, over hill and dale they race the sport of kings and they break down young horses and it's all about the money. It just. There's a. They're an amazing creature. They really are. So how that applies to the business, like I, like I was telling everyone else before, they don't take a break, you don't get a vacation. They don't, you know, spend Christmas they're 24 7, 365. They have to be fed and taken care of and, and if it's sleeting and storming out, you're out there with them taking care of them. So. So it teaches you a lot of responsibility, it teaches you how to be hardy, it teaches you.

Grit and you know, no matter what happens, don't panic, take care of it, solve the problem, you know, so. And they're a big responsibility. It's like having, it's like they're your family, part of your family. So yeah, it's a hell of a lot of work and a hell of a lot of money. They're very expensive, kind of like a business. Right, right.

So true. So yeah, I've been really geeking out on dog training and specifically books that are about bond based training and not using punishment and even that rewards can be a form of control. Do as I say and I'll re towards you rather than the animal or the dog or the horse. Maybe I don't know if it applies to horses but they're, they're innate choice, they're innate problem solving that these animal, animals are highly intelligent and rather than just constantly telling them what to do and having them please us, that actually there's a, we can get them to think critically or problem solve.

Oh, they're very smart. Yeah, horses are very smart.

You mentioned that horse whispering is a talent of yours, like an innate gift.

How did you find that out and what allowed you? I mean you said that you can read a lot from a horse's body language. What turned the light on for you? I guess of just realizing that this was one of your gifts.

So I've always been a little not normal.

Tell me more. I love it. Music to my ears.

Yeah, so. So when I got into horses, you know, the normal is, you know, you get on your ride, you go into the hunter world or the jumper world or dressage or venting or whatever. And I always knew there was a different, like I didn't think they were happy. Like we made them do stuff, we made them do stuff and they did it for us.

Even their eyes, right when they're not.

Happy, they're not robots and they're not cars. So why are we treating them that way? So I stumbled upon natural horsemanship and I studied with some of the great trainers and it opened up my eyes and my whole world. And there was two things in my life that did that. That's one, and I'm going to tell the other one before we're done. And so I learned how to talk to them and how they could trust me and I could. They. They would do anything, Anything. And it's a beautiful thing because it's like they look at you and they go, oh, my God. Oh my God. She knows what I'm saying. She understands me. Oh my God, I love her, you know, and then they'll just be your best friend forever. And not only did I help them, but, you know, a lot of the horses that I would find that were going to be euthanized or deemed dangerous, it wasn't their fault. It was the humans that died always. So. So I would not only fix them, but I would fix the human about how to now deal with this horse. So I felt like it was very rewarding for me to find them and help them have a future where they weren't going to be put down or abused and help the people through whatever therapeutic stuff this was for them. So it was a win. Win.

What did you do in your first moments of working with a horse to build trust?

That's a good question. So when I first get a horse, you always want to be safe, first of all, and it depends, like, I've been attacked before and stuff. So you have to be, you have to know and really be quick to read. And you have to have some skills immediately that are almost secondary muscle memory and that just comes from practice and, you know, 100,000, 10,000 hours until you're an expert. And so I meet them and I let them come to me and meet me on their terms and then I respect them and they respect me and it's mutual. And there's a whole system I go through and, um, sometimes it's quick, sometimes it's not so quick. But all in all, I've never had any.

Failures with a horse. I. I have yet to meet a horse that I cannot turn around and give it a happy life and make it good for its human. And I, I take a long time to match up the horse with the right human.

So that is so incredible.

Yeah. And then, and still to this day, my goal when hopefully if I have this business and it goes well globally, which is why I'm here, I'm looking for an investment and partner to these horses and the other animals in the pipeline of these boots that we're bringing down the road. We're going to do a lion and like the Chinese zodiac, dogs and pigs and pandas, and we have a dragon boot. And these are all copyrighted and patented and trademarked. So I'm looking for a partner to make this a global distribution of this fun product. So anyone out there that's listening, get in touch with me. Yes. But. But the thing is, my goal would be then someday to have a little farm and find all my horses and bring them back to me. Because I do keep in touch with the owners.

Wow.

And they're like my kids. And I feel respons responsible for that. So when they've done their thing and they're ready to retire, and I don't want them to end up in some backyard or in on a slaughterhouse truck somewhere, I want to bring them all back to this farm and give them the life that they deserve at the end.

That is a beautiful vision. And I couldn't help but think when you said you've never worked with a horse, that you couldn't turn around, that this is your business. Well, I'd said there's no way you got this.

Well, I hope so. I tried.

Your business is a horse.

It is. Well, it's always been close to me and I've always been fascinated with them. They are very fascinating. All animals, really. They are.

I have to. I have to ask you one more question before we wrap up. And maybe you were going to add something, throw it in the mix, but this jumped out. The irony of entrepreneurialism, which is when you struggle and come up with the best ideas, inventions and cures when you're most down sometimes. And that. That's just how it goes. Yes, a little bit about that. And then anything else you were gonna.

So. So all the roadblocks, like any entrepreneur knows and for everybody list out there right now. You know, number one, be sure you do something that you like or are interested in, because you're going to have years and many failures and tons of money in debt and you're going to try to figure it out. And so you have to like what you're doing so you can get out of bed every day and keep continuing until it's figured out. And then sometimes when I was at my worst lows and things were not working out at all, instead, I'm very much a problem solver. Like, get it done. Get it done. Fix it. Fix it. Oh, my God. How do I. How do I fix it? Sometimes I just had to stop. Like, stop freaking. Just stop reassess. Worst case scenario, we lose everything. All right? Am I in jail? Am I alive? Okay. I'm good. Okay. That's the worst case scenario. Sometimes you have to step back for a minute and the answer isn't there right away. So just take a break and go eat a sandwich or go to the beach or something and just give yourself a few nights where you can sleep a little bit. And then something else will come, a window will open up and another idea like, oh my God, I never thought about that. Oh my gosh, what if we did this? Or what if we change this part? Or what if I called up so and so and this guy that they met 10 years ago? You know, there's always an answer. Just, just wait for it. Don't stop, but don't make yourself crazy. And then you'll get on this new bandwagon and it'll go that far moving the ball down the field. And so these are incrementally is what is going to happen to you. So. And that's just the reality.

So for any listeners that have an open loop in their brain like I do, you said two things. There were two stories. I think it was a question about what horse training has to do with entrepreneurship.

Right. So the pivotal points in my life, so one, natural horsemanship. And the other one was as I'm going through all this stuff and I've had some other inventions before this one and they're really fun and successful as my adult life. Part of why I am sitting here right now is because I was of course not normal and I was never a good nine to fiverr, you know, and hated working for people, as many entrepreneurs are. But I loved creating things and I loved to come up with great ideas and make things into reality and tangible products and useful things that are positive. So I found this book in I guess late 80s, I guess, or early 90s. And it was called Choose Yourself and it was by James Altucher. Oh, well. And I read that book and I was amazed at how it resonated with me and how on point he was about choosing yourself and doing something with your own life and you are worth it and how to do that and be healthy and keep going and how the trend of the world is that it used to be big corporations and you'd be in a cubicle and that was your career. And now how technology is taking over and those cubicles are going away. So you better pull yourself up by your bootstraps and go and do what it is you dream of.

Another great boot metaphor. Yep, the perfect giddy up, pull yourself up by your bootstraps. Eileen, this has been such a joy, Joy. What a beautiful last note to end on. Where can people find you and your beautiful boots if they want to Keep in touch.

Yes, absolutely. So we're on Amazon now and until my next platform, my next partner or investor or company comes and finds us to go global.

Hint, hint, hint, hint.

Everybody out there, pass the word around. You can go to hoofitz.com and it's H o o F as in fun, I T Z as in zebra. And we do have a new zebra coming out in our pipeline of all these animals. And so you can go to hoofits.com and check out the product. They're great, fun, interactive women and children's rain boots that leave hoof prints. And we have more animals coming down the pipeline. And if you want to find me, my name is Eileen Kenny and my email is kennysportmail.com so it's k E N N E Y S P O R T and you can reach out to me. I am happy to help you in any way you entrepreneurs out there. If you need some advice or connections or are at a standstill where you're trying to get an answer about something, I sure as heck will bend over backwards to help you in any way I can.

That's really amazing. Thank you so much Eileen. And let's everybody listening return the favor and check out the boots. They really are awesome. And we're happy to help you, the Pivot Podcast community, in any way that we can as well.

Thank you. I'm so grateful, Jenny. Thanks for having me on.

Take care.

Bye.

Bye By.

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