Authenticity Over Algorithms: Building a Business, Managing an Inheritance & Creating a Wealthy Life with Caitlin Durning

Welcome back to the podcast. Today's episode is a total gem. I got to sit down with Caitlin Durning, the founder behind Meraki Media Management, and we had one of the realest conversations about what it actually takes to grow a successful online business, be seen as an authority without putting yourself on a pedestal, and how your personal development journey is the real CEO of your brand. Caitlin also opens up about inheriting a large sum of money at 15 after losing her father and she shares what the experience taught her about wealth, responsibility and how it completely shaped her entrepreneurial path. Her story is raw, real, vulnerable, and definitely an inspiring one. If you have ever struggled with imposter syndrome as a business owner, finding the confidence to show up online as your authentic self, or navigating money guilt or how to manage an inheritance, this episode is going to be your permission slip to do things your way. We talk business boundaries, building wealth, and why authenticity is your best sales strategy in 2025. You are going to want to listen all the way to the end. To hear Caitlin's mic drop advice on creating a wealthy life on your own terms. Let's go ahead and dive in. This is Busy Getting Better, the podcast for women who are committed to prioritizing their own personal growth. I'm your host, Madison J. A mindset and money coach, a first generation wealth builder and a woman on a mission to help you master your finances and live your best life. Money is not all we are covering though because in order to live your best life you have to become your best self. So we are diving deep into all things personal development and bringing you the mindset shifts, money, tips and inspiration. You need to go out there, be bold and build the life you can't stop daydreaming about. It's time to get busy babe. Busy Getting Better Caitlin welcome to Busy Getting Better. I am so excited to have you on the podcast today. I was recently on Caitlin's podcast and we had such a wonderful conversation. She shared experiences that she has had in her life as it relates to money and she is also in the online business space and all about personal development and just helping women reach their fullest potential. So we had so many similarities. I knew I instantly needed to have you on my podcast so we could just expand on some of the things we talked about. I'm just so excited you're here. Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much for having me. I can't wait to continue our conversation. I feel like it's always a vibe so it's so nice to share it. With your listeners too.

Such a vibe. Okay, give everyone a quick introduction. I want you to just kind of pimp yourself and your business out because I love what you do and I love how you help supporting women. So let the people know what it is that you do in your online business space.

Yeah. So I am the owner of Meraki Media and Management. We are a full marketing agency. We do everything from social media, newsletters, anything when it comes to marketing, marketing consulting, that's our specialty. So I have a team of about 10 people now this year that run the agency. They're fantastic. Know everything there is to know about social media and yeah, that's just a little quick overview of what we do at Meraki.

And you have been in business for a while, correct?

Yes, this is actually going to be my seventh year in business 2025.

My goodness. You have seen some shit then, I'm sure.

Yes, especially in the marketing industry. I mean, massive changes. You know, every industry is changing right now, but especially marketing online.

And I have come to realize, I always say this right, but marketing and sales is what makes your business. So if you are not dialed in on those two components, you really do not have a business. If you're not able to bring in the lead flow, if you're not able to close them, if you're not able to get in your client's head and really speak to them in a way that makes it feel like they are seen, they are heard, and that the solution that you have is the one that's going to help move the needle for them. Like that is everything when it comes to a business. You could be the best at what you do, but if you can't speak to that person, if you can't reach them, then it's going to be really hard to make money.

I actually see that a lot with our clients. There's most of the time a disconnect when it comes to their zone of genius and positioning themselves, you know, as a salesperson or as someone that can provide help for their potential clients, even though they have so much knowledge, sometimes it's difficult for them to put it into the rhetoric that they need in order to convert sales?

Okay, I love that because one of the questions I wanted to ask you is, is there something like, is there a consistent thing that you notice that your clients are doing that are holding themselves back from reaching their fullest potential in their online business from making the biggest impact with their clients? Like, I'm sure there's gotta be some common themes that you see so I'd love to hear, like, what, what is it that you're just like, oh my God, if you would just stop doing this or if you would start doing this, like, everything would be so much smoother and easier for you.

Yeah. This is such a great question. Of course it differs person to person, but across the board, I find clients make excuses and I'm guilty of this as well. Like, don't get me wrong, make excuses for recording content or putting their face out there, or, you know, so and so on. My team isn't prepped enough for a video and I think that that's the biggest difficulty is just getting in the groove of constantly creating content, realizing every time you leave the house, literally every time you open your eyes, it's an opportunity for you to think about creating content or think about your ideal client, because you really are just a further along version of your ideal client. So that's definitely the biggest piece is like, how can they integrate creating content into their everyday life where it's not so structured?

Yeah, I think a lot of us can probably relate to this feeling of like, but everything I do is so boring. Right. And it's like remembering that the way that you live your life is boring to you because it's what you do every single day. But we are nosy people. Like, we want to see the behind the scenes. We want to see how you live your life. We want to see if the way that you make your breakfast or the strolls that you take your dog on, like, those simplest things are similar or different. And those are such a good way to start connecting with people. Because when people do things similarly, you're like, oh my gosh, like, that's how I, you know, approach the same thing. Or oh my God, you do it so differently than me. Like, how interesting is that? So even though it feels so mundane and boring, those little things, it can actually be really interesting in a really great way for your clients and your audience just to get a good scope into the way that you live life.

Totally. You said it perfectly. It's like the best icebreaker, just being authentic, like being yourself. Because that's how you build trust on when people can look at you. And again, like you said, either you have something that they don't have or they feel extremely connected to you on this level. Like, it's way easier to make sales versus someone seeing you up on this pedestal, which is an old way of doing marketing. I believe that way is outdated. It's not about being up on top of this mountain and all of your clients kind of lower down in the vortex, right? Like, almost like praising you. That's not how modern day business is going to work. It's going to be like, this is what you're great at. That's why I would consult with you. Then next I'll move on to the next consultant where their zone of genius is more lead generation. Right. Versus marketing. So I think that we're seeing this change in society as well, where they don't want to really be educated by people that have this almost like boosted view of themselves, you know?

What is your advice? Like, how can you show up authentically? How can you lead without being so far ahead from that person? How can you like portray that? Hey, I'm just figuring it out as well. I'm just a little bit farther ahead of you in this one space. But that doesn't make me higher up than you. This doesn't make me better than you because I do think there is. It is a tough. It sounds so simple, right? But it is tough to find that balance of how to show up as the authority without putting yourself in that position of the pedestal and also showing up authentically with also listening to everybody's, here's all the tips on how to make the best piece of content and you've got to grab them right at the first second. You got to have this hook and you've got to have no spaces between your content. Like there's all these like, how tos. So it's like that muddying the water of showing up authentically with also leading by example being the authority but not showing up in that. Like, I have it all figured out. I feel like that is the reality that you find yourself in when you're trying to create content online, that so many people kind of get lost in that sauce. So I would just love to hear tips, tricks, thoughts, anything you have on that.

Yeah, absolutely. This is like my favorite thing to talk about because I think again, it's so based off of the individual and the business that they're running. So for me, it's more about getting in touch with my intuition. Like, does this resonate what this person's sharing on social media? I honestly will not work with someone if I don't resonate with their posts on social or if I don't enjoy consuming their content. We're going to see this happen through the younger generations as well. Think about the educated buyer and that person is following their intuition, right? They're feeling into whether you're falling into their category of that specialty with the knowledge that you can provide them with, or if they're like, okay, this person's way too much, not like me, like, I wouldn't consume their education to the best ability. So I'm going to find the next person, maybe I'll follow them because I still enjoy some of the information that they share and that still is technically a lead because down the line, as more as they learn, they could definitely come back. Right. And end up purchasing. So that's where I think a lot of business owners need to start to ask themselves, is what I'm consuming online or the podcasts I'm consuming or the YouTube videos that I'm getting, is that actually in alignment for who I am, what I believe I should be doing in my company? That's where I find business owners end up actually succeeding so much more through their marketing because they're no longer listening to the noise. Of course, everyone needs education to get started. If you don't know anything about Instagram, it's probably in your best interest to figure out what, what the app is, how it operates, and then how can your business kind of build that void or that spot in the market that isn't totally taken up yet or isn't super saturated? That's what's going to help you stand out. And of course, by being yourself, you will naturally fill that space.

Yeah, I love that you said that. It's the whole, like, magnetism, like the polarity thing, right? You're not going to be for everyone, and your goal should not be to be for everybody. And I think it can be really easy to fall into making content. Like, even I think about my approach to content and how I'm trying to shift it and it's. It goes from, okay, I want to make something that you know is going to land with everyone. And then you realize that's actually not how you make connections. That's actually how you make the biggest impact with your people. Your goal should be to find your people, and your people are not going to be everybody. And it's okay for some people to find you and be like, this girl is just too much onto the next. And then there is going to be someone that lands there and is like, man, I just really like you for you and all of the things that is involved in that. And that's okay that it's not going to land with everybody?

Yeah, definitely. I love that it's releasing the outcome. Right. Like, with my business, I had to do so much personal development work where I wasn't Putting my identity up as this CEO of like, oh, my gosh, if this business fails, what am I going to do? Right? Like, this was my whole world. I started this company when I was so young, and I actually started it based off of a campaign that I launched for a local nonprofit when I was working full time for them that went viral. We went from 18,000 followers to half a million followers in 30 days. And that was how my name got out there. Like, people just started hearing about me, what I was able to do. So I had to create an LLC in order to provide them with the service. So that part of my story, I think, also helped me realize exactly what you're describing. Even though we grew to 500,000 followers, not all of those people stayed. People raised money, really made impact on the community. So it's also about, like you said, weeding out the people that are right for you, who's going to be on your trajectory of your business for years to come. A lot of the leads that I got even at the middle of my business were direct messages that I sent, like the first year I started my company, and they just followed me for three years. So social media is a long game.

Yeah.

And you know, when you're getting into.

It, I love that. Okay, this might be the answer to this question, and it might be something different, but if you could boil it down to what is one thing that online business owners can do to make more money in their business right now? What is it? What's the piece of advice that you would give anyone?

Yeah, so this advice is everywhere right now, but I do think it's the most critical, and that's being authentic. Like, seriously, no one wants to buy from anyone that salesy. They're honestly not going to buy from you. I would say pure authenticity. Like, how can you be really raw on your sales calls, Honest upfront? That is what is converting me 10 times the amount of leads that I have in years prior of my business. Because people want to know that I'm trustworthy, that I'm honest, that I'm not going to take all of their internal business information and blast it across my podcast and my social media. There's a lot of backend work that can happen or, you know, talking bad on businesses that have happened over the years. So if you can be authentic, honest and real, that's where I'm seeing people choose. Us versus our competitor.

Love that. Okay, so just backing it up. More authenticity in 2025. That is the goal. That is how the girlies are going to make the most money in their businesses this year.

Definitely. Yeah.

Love it.

And if aren't posting on social media, that would be something, obviously that's going to help get your name out there. That's going to help the ripple effect. And if you're wondering to yourself, like, how can I be authentic? To me, I think that starts with doing some of that internal work, like, who am I? What are my values? Spend the day writing out your values, thinking about what's important to you, and then also linking that back to your clients.

I know that you are so into personal development. There is this saying that has stuck with me for a while now. And it's entrepreneurship is just a personal development journey wrapped in a business model. Right. Like it is. There is just so much there. So I'm curious, what's your perspective? Like, what are the parallels that you see between building a business, personal development, and even managing your finances? Right. Cause I know that that's something that you're very into as well. So I'm curious, like, what is your perspective on the parallels between all three of those things?

Oh, my gosh, I love this question. I believe that if a person should do one thing in their life, it should be trying to build a business. Because like you said, it's the fast track to finding your highest self. You know, like, I've only been doing this for almost seven years, and I feel like I've gained so much knowledge about myself through having my clients mirror it to me, my team members mirror back to me, and becoming very humble around my own emotions. Right. And being able to manage them again, creating that separation into identity. So for me, the more I learned about myself, the more my wealth grew, the more my extension of my network grew. And naturally, the business has just come along right along behind me. I have to be the guiding light for my team. If I expect my clients to have better mental health or mental health practices, I have to be leading. I think they all have just fallen in so much alignment for me over the years, and I'm very grateful for that. How fast I was able to change in year three, we thought about shutting down the company. So overwhelming. And we had just gotten out of the pandemic, and I had no clue what was coming next. So there were a lot of lulls in business that Meranki's faced, for sure.

And you think that the personal development work supports you through the highs and the lows?

Definitely. Like, you know, the bathroom floor moments started to come less and less and less. And I think that that was just because I'm no longer positioning my entire identity, my entire being on my business or on a client having a bad year in business and needing to let us go. Right. A lot of the times we don't know what's going on behind the scenes and then we internalize it, we make it our fault. At least that was my experience in business and I definitely had to make that separation.

I think that's so important. It is because your business is you. Especially when you're in a service based business. There is that voice of like, oh my gosh, was it me? Could I have done something differently? You know, could I have landed better? Whatever your services, could you have provided something that got them a better result? And you do have to realize that there is only so much you can do and you have to be able to draw that line and be able to step away. I'm curious. Year three and you're deciding, am I burning this business to the ground or am I going to keep going? What was that pivotal moment where you were making that decision and what led you to keep going forward?

I think it had a lot to do with clients that I had had since the beginning. So these clients were expecting me to show up as this people pleaser, right? This person that I was three years prior to. And as I mentioned, as an entrepreneur, you're growing every single day. You wake up in the morning and you think about how am I going to be a better leader today? How am I going to drive my business and my life? Because our, our business and our lives are almost right, exactly in alignment. So it's a much deeper connection, I believe, at least for me, to my life and to what I wanted. So my biggest thing was that my clients were amazing people, but they were expecting me to overachieve, go the extra mile. And Meraki's always doing that, don't get me wrong. But there is a certain level of healthy boundaries that had to come into play. And a lot of my clients didn't like that at the time and they wanted me to stay the way that I was when I first sold them, which was, I'm constantly available, call me any time of the day. As I grew and I knew that I needed to create this separation in order to sustain the business, there was a lot of backlash. So I had to again release those clients, tell them, I hope that you can find what you're looking for. My business is changing. We're adapting to this next level. And fallout comes as you grow. My coach always calls it burning off Bad habits. It's the same type of thing. Honestly, I just took a few months to try and gather my thoughts and the clients came right back. So that was how I knew that the marketing was still working, even when I wasn't physically working on the business every day.

Which is like the goal, right? Trying to bring people into your world without having to navigate things 24 7. Yeah, I think that's great. And such a good reminder that, you know, your business can go through different changes and areas as you evolve as a person. And it's kind of on you to figure out what those new boundaries are and what you want it to look like. And also having trust and faith that as you pivot, as you make changes, things will work out, they will fall into alignment. You just have to trust and continue to listen to that intuition, listen to your gut, and figure out what makes sense for you. And that just because a business model worked really well for you or a job that you have or whatever it is works well in one season, doesn't necessarily mean it's going to continue to support the life that you want to live. And it's okay to walk away from that. It's okay to make those changes. And yeah, just being able to develop that self trust that everything's going to be okay. Even if I do make these pivots, even if I do start saying no to money, that I was really relying on clients, that I was relying on salary, income, that, you know, created that original stability, it will be okay. On the other side, you will find a way to create a new stability, a new source of income, new clients will come your way.

Absolutely. I've seen that. I've tested the theory. Right. I had to in order to prove to myself if this was worth it or not. And when the void comes, almost always better clients flow in, meaning more in alignment. Right? More in alignment for where I'm going. The more voids that came, the more was filled over time. But it did take a lot of patience, which I think a lot of business owners forget that this is not going to be an overnight success. Just now I reached my favorite ideal clients of luxury businesses. So it took six years to get here. I had to have a lot of empathy for myself along the way, for my clients, for my team. Right. Trying things, realizing it didn't work, going back to the original plan, just constantly adapting to the next thing. And yeah, the patience was the biggest piece for me that I lacked a.

Very key skill to have. Yeah, we always see all these, like, overnight successes, especially with people's really great marketing, right? Like, oh, do this business and you can make 10, I don't know, $10 million in the next three years if you just do this one thing. It's much harder than people make it out to be. But it's also obviously so worth it, right? You get to live life on your own terms. You get to become, like you said, that highest version of you being able to build something that you love. So it might take longer than you think, but it also is so worth it. I would love to hear what is a go to personal development tip, A trick, a hill. You will die on something that just has worked so well for you that you will try and convince anybody that will listen to give it a shot. Like, what is that go to tip for you?

This for me, which. This might be a strange answer, but as you were even asking the question, I love internal talk. Like, I will literally have straight up conversations with myself and I will position it. I think this also has to do with my human design. So you may want to adapt this to, like, your human design or whatever feels intuitively best for you. I give myself this or that questions like, if I want to burn my business down, would I be happier? And I'm like, absolutely not. Like, what else would I do? Right? It's like an immediate, almost gut reaction. Those are the questions that I kept asking myself over and over and over, okay, if I don't do this, what would be that? What would be my next thing that I would do? And that's how I found a lot of clarity in the chaos that I was experiencing in my business. So you can do that for relationships. You know, like, relationships doesn't have to be with your fiance or husbands or boyfriends. Can also be with your parents or team member relationships. How can I help my clients or my team members reach their highest level of service? There's always solutions to every problem that you're facing in life. And I think as a business owner, we always feel like there's a lot of urgency which comes back to that patience piece and like, giving yourself space to find a solution versus lighting the match. Because that was. That would have not been in my best interest, but it was very tempting at the time.

What is your human design type?

Oh, this is so good. So I'm a generator.

Okay.

I think I'm like a six, too. I have to reach out to my human design girl, but she and I actually lead a cohort together and we've been applying human design to marketing. So I should Know mine, but I'm like, horrible. I'm the marketing side, obviously. She's the human design side. And it's really fun. It's so great.

I feel like it helps.

It helps everyone tune into, like, their unique way of working.

Yeah, I love it. Are you. So are you sacral then? Like your response type?

Yes.

Okay. You and I are similar. So I'm a manifesting generator, six, two, but sacral response. And when I learned this, I was like, yes. Just give me two options. Give me a yes or a no. Give me a this way or that way. I use this with my husband, actually. Quick hack. When we're trying to figure out what to eat for a meal, it's like, what do you want? My mind blank. No idea. Can't think of a food type at all. Or I think of all of them, and I'm like, nothing sounds good now he's like, do you want this or this for dinner? And I'm like, that one. And so you can use this in life, you can use this in business. But when I learned that hack about myself, I love human design, and I agree it helps you just. I don't know, it helps you understand yourself better and your decision making better and why you are the way that you are. I'm like, oh, my gosh. This also makes sense why I love to do 100 things at one time. So I love the human design aspect of it.

I love human design, too. It's. It's that intuitive connection. Like, if you do feel like you're like, again, who. How can I be authentic to myself? And the value strategy is like, I've already done that. Give human design a try. I think it'll retweet.

Is retweeting still a thing? I don't know. Retweet that, though. Definitely. Check it out. Okay, I want to pivot. I want to talk with you about something that you had shared with me when I was on your podcast, and that was about you experiencing receiving a large inheritance when you were pretty young. You were 15 years old, and it was from your father passing away. I want to have a conversation about how that impacted you at such a young age, coming into such a large sum of money. What is your perspective on how that shifted your mindset around money and around wealth and around financial freedom? Like, what was going through your mind at 15 years old? And what are your thoughts on all of that now? So much further down the line.

Yeah. Oh, this is such a good topic. I think a lot of people should talk more about inheritance. I've actually been like, thinking about writing a book on this because I feel like it's so not spoken about. There's a lot of shame around inheritance. So my dad was sick. This came out of a life insurance policy. I lived a very blue collar life. Like, I just want to make that very clear. My parents literally were offered food stamps because my dad's cancer treatment was so expensive. So there was a lot of portion in my childhood where money was constantly a problem. And then at 15, to get literally one letter in the mail, that completely changes my life. After he had passed, he never told me this was coming. There was no preamble to this story. So that was pretty wild and an extremely shocking moment for me. I think at the time I didn't even understand how much money I was actually receiving. And I had a lot of questions around how I would sustain this money, what I should be using it for. Mind you, my parents were actually legally divorced at the time. There's something called the Hollywood law, which would not allow my mom to be a part of my trust at all. She was not able to be integrated into the money portion of my life. So my aunt actually had to be the overseer with me until I turned 18, and then it became fully in my jurisdiction. So for me, I was leaning on everyone that was in my wheelhouse. My investor at the time that my grandfather knew very well. Luckily, my grandfather was still around. I just started doing research, like, what is a stock? What are the stocks that I have? Why did my dad have stock? Like, what is the point of stock? How does this shit work? Sorry, I'm cursing. I think that's okay.

Period.

Yay, Burbie. I was so confused. I was scared. Fifteen years old, grieving, right? So there was a lot of emotion. I'm also an only child, so I didn't have, like, siblings going through the same situation. I quite literally have never met anyone still to this day that have gone through something similar to myself around this. So it was pretty scary, honestly. I remember sitting with my aunt and my grandfather again. My mom was not legally allowed to be there and talking about what to do with the funds. And we would talk about college and maybe buying a house someday. And I needed a car eventually, when I turned 16 and being able to purchase that for myself at such a young age. We also put myself on, like a monthly stipend which would just go into my credit card or my. I should say my debit card. And I was able to start to manage money. Then I was Able to meet with my financial advisor and say, okay, how can we create and regenerate the money that I bought my car with and that I'm spending monthly? Is there a stock that offers that? All of these types of questions where you start to look at your input and your output. Right. Is basically what I'm talking about at 15 years old. So it was very unique. It also taught me a lot about business because I was quite literally studying the businesses. If I would like to redirect the stock that my dad had invested in, A lot of beliefs came up around that, like, was I disrespecting him by moving the money? This was what created so much financial wealth for me and hopefully my lineage should come. Am I making the wrong decision? And my accountant really helped me work through that. He just said, caitlin, there's no way you can look at money like this. Right? It's just an energy. It's just flowed to you. Now you can choose how you would like to reallocate funds. So again, creating some of that separation. And now in my life, this money is done. Exactly. Everything that I described, the entire plan played out. I was actually able to go to a college outside of my state, which would have. I didn't even know if I could afford college, like when my dad was still alive. But this helped me gain independency, see who I was outside of my family's shadow, and really learn how to manage money. Right. I'm paying rent, I'm buying groceries, and all my friends are getting money from their parents. And I am just going to my trust fund, right? And I have to be really strategic. It also helped me purchase my home. It allowed me to launch my business without a lot of scarcity. So I'm very grateful for it. And I think it just totally set me up to be an entrepreneur. There was like no other option.

I love that. And yeah, it is such a topic that doesn't get talked about. And having to learn how to navigate that at such a young age is a lot. And it could have gone in so many different directions. Right. I love that the way that you used it was so intentional. And it built this life that you love and that you're obsessed with and it allowed you to follow your passion. That's what I'm all about when it comes to finances is. Is how can you use it so intentionally to be able to explore these things. I'm curious, do you think you would have gone a totally different path in entrepreneurship if you didn't? This financial support at that Time in your life.

Absolutely. I don't even know if I would have had the guts to start a business, to be honest, you know, and also I think I would have had a lot of imposter syndrome because I would have been so afraid to make money because I wouldn't have known, like, what to do with it. And now it's so, like, of course. Right? I always have things to learn. Don't get me wrong. Like, there's still debt happening over here. Like, I don't want it to all be. Not. Not be super transparent. But I think there is a lot of alignment around money and knowing that money is easy to manage and accumulate because I've done it before versus thinking like, can I do this? Almost like, questioning myself. I was like, okay, no, I know I can do that. So that will just come with time, you know?

Yeah, yeah. Would you say learning to manage your money, the confidence that comes from that has bled into how you've managed your business and how you've gone after things in life. Like, do you feel like there's a strong parallel there?

Yeah. Especially being an only child, too. Like, my family always treated me as an equal. It was never like, oh, little Caitlyn, like, baby talk. They were just like, no, Kate's coming. You know, Like, I was always a part of the unit and always spoken to as an equal. And I think the money just reaffirmed that, like, my dad saw me as an equal. You know, of course he wanted to provide for his daughter after he died, but he literally worked every day to provide this lump sum for me. So there was also a lot of, like, sacrifice and respect that came from the lump sum, where it's like, you don't want to disrespect this, right, this money and blow it, because easily I could have. I was 15.

What I love about this is that it goes to show that, you know, I think there's this incorrect Persona of, like, you need to be a multimillionaire, a billionaire. You've got to be this, like, ultra wealthy, making a shit ton of money in order to be able to start to provide financial freedom or generational wealth for your kids and for the people that are coming before you or after you. And it, like you said, you guys were never making a lot of money, right? You never would say that. You were someone that was always having, like, an abundance of finances. Like, your father took the choice to put aside some of that money, which probably was a struggle at some times, but he understood the value of compound interest and he Understood the value of being able to focus on giving you something after he passed.

So.

So that you could have it just a little bit easier than he did, and that you could have a little bit more wiggle room and freedom. And so I'm curious, are you doing anything special now in your life, or do you have a vision of how you are going to kind of pass this baton down to your kids one day or your family? Like, how has this shifted what your vision is for finances and generational wealth building for your lineage?

Yeah, this is such a great question too. I actually feel like this is what drove me to becoming an entrepreneur because the opportunity for abundance is a lot faster and easier to see instead of, in my opinion. Again, I studied business, so it was like so clear. I definitely think about this every day. How am I going to continue to compound my current stock that I still have from him and my family stock that I've also inherited after the fact? And what makes sense, right? What's coming next in the market? How can I maneuver my stock so that my family will be able to have a cushion? It's really interesting because I was surrounded by death at such a young age too. Like, I think about what will happen after I die, or like I'm getting married in 2026. Like, what would happen if there was a freak accident and my husband needs something. Like, I don't want him to have to work during that period of grieving. So, yeah, it's definitely makes me think differently about life and my lineage. I believe that there can be ease to life because of what's happened to me and, like, how I've been able to curate my own life and my own reality. And I lived in a lot of struggle, as you mentioned. So this dichotomy that my father, I think, indirectly created at times was probably the foundational reason of why I am like, the person that I am today. Because I can see both sides. Because I.

Yeah, I love that. Okay, so on that note then, what is your version of a wealthy life? How would you describe it?

I would say not having to work, wanting to work. And I always do this exercise, like, what does my perfect day in my life look like? I fantasize about buying a vineyard in Italy and being able to travel there with my family and spend Christmas there or holidays. I just think living life to the fullest because again, I saw how quickly life can be taken from us. That literally every minute is an opportunity to take advantage of how beautiful, you know, this world is. And I think in modern day, Society, it's easy to be jaded, right. By all the things that are happening. But that's really my most important thing, is how to enjoy the present moment.

And be able to just, like, provide that level of freedom for options to explore life, how you want to explore it and not have to take that conventional path.

Yeah, Like, I'm all about untraditional lifestyle. And, you know, God willing, like, if we have a child, I hope that that comes down through what my fiance and I have built. We both work from home. Like, we live a really untraditional lifestyle, but it works for us. We love it. We wouldn't change it for anything. Okay.

Obviously, inheriting that money from your dad, right there is you. I don't know, there's a couple ways, like, your mindset can go. So I'm curious, your mindset there, it sounds like it obviously forced you to grow up really quickly, learn to manage that money. Was there anything that ever came up for you of, you know, quote unquote, like, daddy's money? Like, that feeling of getting this money from my dad, did I earn it? Do I deserve it? I feel like that's a really common path that people's minds go down, which I think is so interesting, because if you're working towards creating a different life, I hope to be able to give that money to my kids one day. So, like, I hope that they would never take that in a bad way. But there is the stigma. There is this, like, negative narrative that goes around, which is terrible because I think we all want to give a better life to our kids than we had. But I'm curious, did that come up for you? How did you navigate that?

So much guilt. Like, he had so many heavy piles of guilt, like, did I kill my dad because he was working every day to provide this money for? Right. These were the internal talks that I had with myself since I was 15 years old. It created a really rough identity. You know, people looked at me differently because they saw that I could purchase a car right on my own. And my poor mom is, like, struggling, but, like, legally I can't give her money. Right. Because there's a legal binding issue there. So there was a lot of guilt that I carried into my adulthood. And I think some I still carry. I have to remind myself, like, for some reason I'm on this path. These are the cards that I've been dealt. And I think at the end of the day, when I really think about who he was as a person, he would just want me to make the most as I possibly could with balancing my health.

Right.

Because he wasn't able to find. So, yeah, a lot of guilt. If you have inheritance and you feel guilt, I think that this is something that everyone experiences. Even when I inherited my grandfather's stock as well, there was so much guilt. Like they worked their whole lives for this and I just get it overnight. Like, this is crazy, you know, that's absolutely insane. And I didn't want to be this trust fund kid. Like, I didn't want people to know me as this. So it was kind of like hush hush for a long time. A lot of people didn't talk about it until I started this business. Now everybody knows, you know.

Yeah. Well, I think that's awesome that you come out and are just so open about it because, yeah, we gotta destigmatize it. Your grandfather, your father worked so hard so that you could have this. And it's like hopefully shifting people's perspective of like, man, I'd love to be able to do that. I'd love to be able to provide that for my kids one day and allow them to just enjoy life to the absolute fullest. Is there anything that you would have seen said to that version of yourself or to anybody that's in that chapter of receiving it, working through that guilt, like any just words of wisdom or a piece of advice for them or that you wish you could have said to yourself?

Yeah, I think it really didn't hit me until I realized how money is, like, clearly just an energy. And some of that energy that came into my world where maybe my dad had some guilt. Right. I think he definitely did around his situation. So sometimes we pick up on other people's emotions. And I wish that I had someone in my life at a young age to describe it to me that way. Like, just to remind me like, I didn't do anything wrong.

Yeah. Sending kisses and hugs and all the love to anybody that goes through it. And I appreciate you sharing this part of your story and destigmatizing this whole perspective and helping shed a light on what the positive is of this and how you can start to think about making an impact for your kids and the way that you want to manage your money.

Totally. And I love what you mentioned too, about the intentionality, like if you have had some sort of inheritance or you're struggling with money. Right. And that's why you're listening to this podcast. The more intentional you get, and I'm sure Madison says this all the time, but the more intentional I became, the easier it Was to clear up all of that guilt. And, you know, there was like, no, like, oh, my gosh, can't look at the bank account because I'm going to feel guilt. Right? What emotions coming up when you're feeling your money or feeling that energy and just talk to that version of yourself, you know, like you said, it's all cleared up now, luckily, for the most part. Where it's very rare that I feel guilty about money nowadays. Like, this is what the price is. This is what we're worth, you know, Completely different energy.

Yeah. Love that. So there is hope. If you are feeling any negative emotions, just know that doesn't have to be your reality for forever. You can do the work, you can work through it, and you absolutely can get to a place where money is neutral. Money is this energy that you are utilizing to build the things that you love. It doesn't always have to be scarcity, negative anxiety, shame, guilt. Like, that does not have to be your norm if it has been your norm up until this point. I hear you. I relate. I was you. I totally understand. But, yeah, just knowing that you can absolutely work through that and get to a place where abundance and peace is.

The normal peace, that's like, was my word last year. And it's so interesting. All the clients now that I have are, like, so peaceful. It's very nice. There's no, like, urgency, pressure.

Right.

There's a lot of, like, patience because they're also business owners. So there is a bright light on the other side of your experience. And know that for some reason you went through this. Right? Like, for some reason we're experiencing this. And maybe it is so that you can listen to this podcast and not feel alone. Like, it could be that small of a thing.

Yeah, absolutely. Oh, my gosh. Okay. I could talk to you about this for absolutely ever. But let's go ahead and wrap it up. I've got two questions that I ask everybody at the end of the episode. The first one is, what is something you are busy getting better at right now?

I feel like right now I'm just getting better at listening to myself, listening to what I need versus listening to what everyone else needs all the time definitely is still a work in progress. And then I would also say being a great dog mom, because I feel like it's training me to be a wife.

You know, I think getting my dog made me so maternal. I was like, do I want kids? Can I be a mom? Got my dog. And I was like, wow, I love him so much. Thank you for showing me that I do have maternal instincts. This is phenomenal.

Yes, I retweet that for sure.

Hold on. Okay, what is one book that we all need to read next?

Oh, this is a great question too. I'm, like, looking at my office. I do think the big. The big leap, I think it's called or Dare to Lead is also really good. Both of them are amazing. Also, Atomic habits. If you do feel like you're, like, in that pattern, Atomic habits will help you redirect the pattern and definitely help you with that intentionality versus sitting in the same guilt trap over and over again.

Okay, where can everybody find you? How can they work with you if they're just like, love this girl. Need you to be helping with my business. Inspiration. Pimp yourself out, please, so everybody can find you.

Hey, thank you. This has been so much fun today. So you can find me over on Instagram. That's my platform of choice at Meraki. M E R A K. I Underscore Media. Underscore Management. That's also my website, Meraki mediamanagement.

Com.

I have Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Actually, don't have Twitter. Scratch that. I have Pinterest.

Twitter's out.

Yeah, exactly. Twitter's out.

Sorry.

Yeah, YouTube. And then of course, my podcast, End In Mind too. If you're just looking for inspiration, it's on any major platform, love it.

And if anyone wants to work with you, just DM you, Shoot you a message on Instagram.

Yeah, DM is perfect. Check out the website before. Like, see if we would be a good fit. Of course, obviously, my Instagram content will also, so shed light on that too. And then feel free to DM me if you have questions. Comments about today's podcast. Like, I'm just a girl here to Vibe. I just love chatting with anyone, so don't even feel like if you DM me that it needs to be like a sales conversation. Let's just chat and have fun.

We're here, girls, for Vibes. That's all we're here for. Yes. If you have listened to this episode and got something out of it, if you are somebody who has inherited money and just really relates to Caitlin's story or anything that she has to say, shoot her a note. Obviously, sharing stories like this can be vulnerable, and so it's always nice to know that, you know it was for a purpose. It's making impact. It's making somebody move through something a lot easier. So feel free to shoot her a message. Share this episode with anybody that you think it would benefit. And thank you so much for being here, Caitlin. I am so excited that everybody gets to hear your story. And I will see you guys all on the next episode.

Sam.