011. Interview with My Daughter

Welcome.

I am marketing expert and business coach, Melissa Kellogg Lueck.

And this is the Doing Business Like.

A Woman podcast where we are exploring and teaching you how women are reinventing the way business is done and money is made to help you create greater impact and financial freedom one business at a time. Well, hello my friends and welcome to episode nine. And I have a very special treat for you today. So when I started this podcast, one of my dreams was to start doing interviews and to interview amazing women, inspirational women that can also teach us. And so today is the very first interview that I will be doing and it just so happens to be with my 12 year old daughter. And this is the first time she's ever been interviewed on a podcast before. But I am so excited to have her with us. And let's jump right in.

Yay.

Okay, so I am so excited.

To.

Bring to you today a very special interview. This is the first interview ever on this podcast. It's the first of many, many to come, but it is with my daughter Courtney. She's 12 years old and she is in middle school and I want to do a quick introduction and then we're going to dive into questions. But I was telling her the other day that I was going to record a podcast and she said, well, I want to be on the podcast. And I thought it was such a brilliant idea to have her as the very first interview because we're going to be interviewing so many fabulous women on this podcast. And to have her as the first one I think is so relevant because she is an amazing young woman and as you will get to see when you get to know her during the course of this interview, that we have nothing to worry about about this next generation. They are amazing people. And if she is a representation of any of them, I know that our, our world is in good hands. So without further ado, I'm going to introduce my wonderful daughter, Courtney. She's the eldest and she is the baby that rocked our world, making my husband and I parents. And she came into the world as a small baby. She was undersized, but with a big heart and very, very brave. And she has gone on to be one of the most kind hearted, gentle, loving, caring people that I know. She's also, she's very brave and creative and athletic and funny and she's a wonderful friend and a wonderful student. She's curious as well as creative. And she's the person that if you have something that needs to be figured out, she can figure it out. And she doesn't stop until she does. And so, yes. I give to you, Courtney. Say hello.

Hi.

I know, it's kind of a big introduction. Right. So as a middle schooler starting middle school in. During a pandemic, that was quite an interesting experience. I mean, you've never started middle school in any other context. But tell me what you think is your favorite part of middle school, of your middle school experience so far.

Well, you get to walk to classes. I don't know.

Yeah.

Well, there's less grades than elementary school, but there's, like, more people, so it's kind of confusing like that.

Yeah. You've been to four different schools in. In your seven within seven grades. Right. Like, you started out in one school in kindergarten, and then we moved, and you went to that same school from first grade to fourth grade, and then you went to fifth grade here in our new neighborhood. And then the pandemic hit, and you had at home school, so I don't even know if we've counted. Luick elementary here at the house, and.

Then.

Now you're in middle school. So how has that been changing schools? What do you think you learn from. From changing schools like that?

It's not the end of the world. I don't know. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Cause it could be scary, right? I mean, it probably is to start out. Yes. You have to walk into a new, big new school with new people and. Yeah.

It's easier in, like, middle school to be new because every year there's gonna be, like, a whole bunch of new kids no matter what grade it is. So.

That's true. Like, when you started middle school, the entire grade was new. Like, everybody hadn't gone there before.

Yeah, yeah.

And the next year, even though you're still in middle school, you get to start at another new school. I think that's so funny. Funny, not funny. I didn't move much. We only moved once when I was a kid, and so I stayed in most of the places, but when we moved, I was just going into junior high, which is like, middle school. So I know that feeling, and that was really hard for me, and I only had to go to a new school in a new neighborhood once. So what's the most recent thing that you can think of that made you laugh out loud.

Falling on the floor a few minutes ago? Yeah.

So if we were to get into a time machine and travel to the future and visit you as a grown up, what do you imagine your life would look like?

I don't know.

Where would you be living?

On Earth.

On Earth. Okay, good. Where on earth. You know, maybe not your exact address, but do you think you would be living in, like, a house or an apartment or, like a ranch or. What kind of where do you imagine you might live?

These are housing. Apartments? Yeah.

In what kind of a location? Like city or country or beach or foreign land?

I don't know. How would you describe this area?

More like in a suburban area, so that. A suburb. Okay. So you are living in a house or an apartment in a suburb. And who's there with you? Do you have animals?

Maybe?

Yeah.

Yeah. I mean it. Like, what if the apartment doesn't allow animals?

Well, this is the. This is your imagination and the world according to you, so everything is allowed. How about that?

In the imaginary world, like small animal or two.

Yeah. What kind of animals?

Maybe like frog.

Frog, okay.

Or like a toad or something. Yeah.

An amphibian. What are some things that you think people in your generation would like people in my generation to understand or to know?

You want privacy?

Yeah.

Something that you're looking.

Privacy.

Yeah.

Okay. Do you have a favorite color?

I like maroon.

Oh, maroon. That's. I like maroon. What about maroon? Do you like.

I don't know, it's a shade of red. Not too, like, saturated or anything.

Yeah.

Leaning towards, like, a neutral color, but it's not a neutral color.

Cool. Yeah. It's always interesting to me as an artist how you see, like, colors and stuff. Like, I don't think of color in the same way, so that's just really.

That's so cool how you think of color.

Well, I don't know. I don't know if I've ever really thought of color, like, why I like a certain color or not. I mean.

Okay, well, what's your favorite color?

My favorite color is purple.

Why?

Just because it's always been purple.

That's a really bad reason.

I know, totally.

What about purple strikes you? Like, why not, like, bright green instead of purple?

That's a good question. I think bright green is very. It's like, a little too much, too intrusive. It's like too in your face. Purple. I think maybe purple, maybe. I see purple is, like, calming and pretty, but not too pretty.

Yeah.

Do you think someone's favorite color says something about them?

Probably.

What do you think my favorite color purple, says about me?

Well, I think purple is, like, more under. Or is more like on the feminine side, if it were to be categorized. Because pink and purple are kind of just, like, stereotyped. It's more feminine than most of the other colors, so. Yeah.

And yeah, that's interesting. And maybe that's why I chose purple, because it's been my favorite color since I was a kid. And maybe that's why I chose it, because it was, like, a girly color. So if you had to start a business and earn money today and, like, you could make money doing pretty much anything, what do you think you would do?

Well, I would probably, like, babysit for some of the kids in the neighborhood or something. I mean, I did that last year a little bit. Yeah. But, yeah, it was fun.

Yeah. Yeah, you are. You've always been very good at being able to earn money and create money and, like, figure out ways to generate money. Right. Like, even when you were younger in our old neighborhood, when you would have, like, stuffed animal sales and stuff. Oh, you had a stuffed animal sale here, too?

Yeah, I think I had a garage sale with some of the neighbors over there.

Yeah, that's true. And remember, you and your friend had a bake sale?

Yeah, we saw the sign from that. We have not erased it yet.

That's funny. Do you enjoy that kind of stuff?

Yeah, it was fun to do that.

Yeah. So what is important to you when you are considering buying something? Like, what do you think that businesses or people that create products need to know to make products that are something you would want to buy?

Well, wait, are we talking about, like, in store or not in store?

Either.

Any. Any of it.

Whatever comes to mind.

Okay. Well, when I'm looking on Amazon. Let's see. I'll probably look at the reviews first to see how it is, and then I'll see if there's, like, any pictures that people have sent in from the reviews, because those are normally really helpful. Because sometimes or most of the time, the pictures that, like, the company shows you on the picture isn't what it actually looks like. And then I guess I'll go to, like, the sizing of the item, if it's like a clothing item or something, and see if they have good sizes. I don't know. And it also, like, kind of matters to me if it'll ship soon or, like, not for a while, because if it's not for a while, then I probably won't get that one. And then the price, of course.

Yeah.

Yeah.

So speaking of that, what's the number one most favorite thing on your Christmas list?

I want, like, an apple pen or pencil or whatever you call it for, like, digital art. So that's probably the most important. It's a little more expensive, but.

Yeah.

I don't know how expensive it is, though.

Yeah. What do you want that for?

Digital art. Because that's what it's for.

Yeah.

Well, sunshine.

So I know you do a lot of drawing on the iPad. What are your kind of preferred ways of creating art?

Do you mean like programs or something?

Well, just all the different modalities. Like, I know you have a painting class at school, but then you also do, like, a lot of drawing on the iPad. You know, like, what's your favorite way of creating?

Probably sometimes when I'm, like, drawing on the iPad, I don't think it'll look good. But then if I draw something like, really similar on, like, pencil and paper, then I think it looks better for some reason.

That's interesting. I wonder why that is. Why do you think that is?

I don't know.

So maybe just different things look different on different mediums, right? Like, yeah, if you saw a. They're like animation drawings on paper, it wouldn't look as cool as it does, like, when it's put into an animation digital program, you know?

Yeah.

So it's just different things look different. Different applications. Yeah. What is your favorite thing to draw?

I like to draw, like, characters or humans. But animals are fun sometimes, too.

Yeah. And why do you love drawing people and animals?

Well, I think anatomy is really fun to do for, like, humans because there's, like, all these abstract poses that you can do, like, fun stuff, I guess. And then you can, like, learn how to draw characters from shows that you like or something. And animals are fun because you can experiment with, like, different expressions and, like, muzzles and stuff. I mean, it really depends on the animals. Some don't have muzzles, but. Yeah. Yeah.

I love that fox that you drew. Paint. Painted. Yeah, sorry. That you painted on wood. That was really pretty. How do you think as you grow up, what kind of role do you think art will play in your life?

Well, I think it'll probably be like. Well, it hopefully will be a fun thing to do. I don't really know what's going to happen with it, but. Yeah.

What is a question you wish I would ask you?

It's a bad question.

What's a question you wish you could ask me?

Do you like a job?

Yes.

Why?

I love my job. Because. Well, first of all, I designed my job. I created it. I imagined it and created it kind of out of nowhere. And then I offered it to people and they said, yes, well, I will pay you for that. So, yeah, I do like it, but it's been a. It's been a journey. Like, I started my business 16 years ago, before I was even married to your dad. And it changed a lot over the years. And it changed as I discovered what I liked doing and what I wanted to do. And it changed as I grew in confidence and what I wanted to offer and what I wanted to get paid for. So now I finally feel like I've really dialed it in the way that I love it. And, you know, I love every single one of my clients and everybody I get to work with and all the different things I get to do. So. So, yeah, I do like it a lot.

That's cool. Yeah.

Yeah, it's possible for you to do have that, too. When I was your age, I think I wanted to be a lawyer.

Boss around people, hit a hammer, mallet thingy.

That's a judge.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. It's the same thing. Who would you defend if you were a lawyer and you were called to do lawyer things?

To defend somebody? Yeah, I always thought I would defend, like, people that, like, were misunderstood. Yeah. So I was. I did. I thought I would be a defense attorney and I would fight for justice for people that were misunderstood. But what I really was most interested in about being a lawyer was just, like, getting to read a lot and write a lot and, like, come up with opinions and arguments. That really was exciting to me. And I do that now, but in a very, very different way. Well, I mean, I still am, like, learning and reading, and I help people, but not in the way of being a lawyer. I think I really wanted to be a lawyer because I love writing, and that takes a lot of writing and studying, and I think that was what I was really interested in. I still love writing. So it's kind of funny how you have, like, things that you love now that you enjoy, you're going to enjoy for, like, your whole life.

Yes.

Do you want to talk about music?

How so?

Well, like, what is, like, popular music now? Like, what are kids your age really enjoying?

I don't know.

What do you enjoy? Who cares about all the other kids? What about you?

There's no really, like, specific genre that I like or if that's what you're asking, but I don't really know. What about you? What kind of music do you like?

Well, you know, I love country music and Christian music. Yeah, I do love some pop music. And what's your favorite movie right now?

I mean, I really like Coraline, but that's probably not my favorite. I don't really know. I can't think of any movies.

How about what's your favorite book right now.

I liked the manga called Orange. That was a good one.

Yeah. Do you still like the manga?

What do you mean?

And anime stuff?

Yeah.

What do you think is so interesting and attractive to you about anime?

Well, I guess it's like, it's basically just a regular cartoon or something like that from, like, another culture. And I think it's cool about, like, how they do stuff like that and how they come up with, like, really cool ideas for these shows because they're, like, all over the place.

Yeah.

Mm.

What do you mean by all over the place? Like different subjects?

Yeah, like different subjects. Like, some of them are really, really creative.

Yeah. Yeah.

And then the art styles are always cool.

Yeah. What is your favorite quality about yourself? What do you love most about yourself?

I don't know.

What is one thing that your friends love about you?

I don't know. I'm not my friends.

Well, I'm sure they tell you. No, they don't. Aren't they, like, oh, my gosh, Courtney, you're so funny, or you're such a good friend. You're such a good listener or anything like that. Not really, but I bet you're all those things.

Yeah, I mean, it depends who I'm talking to, I guess.

Yeah. I feel like you've always been such a good friend, especially during the pandemic. You really were or have been amazing at keeping in touch with your close friend group. And, like, do you remember when you guys would have zoom calls every single day throughout.

It wasn't every single day.

Well, just about every day when we were quarantined, when we couldn't leave the house. And so that was your. The four of you, your way to keep in touch with each other. But you were really good about, like, making the Google Slides and having fun things, you know, questions for them to answer and activities for you guys to do to have fun together even though you couldn't be together. Yeah. I think that's amazing. You're also an amazing celebrator. You've always loved all the celebrations and, like, made the most of them for our family. That's another thing I've always loved and admired about you. I think you're just an amazing person, and I'm so thankful and so honored that you would be my first interview on my podcast. Did you have fun?

Somewhat.

All right. Well, again, thank you for. For joining me, and I hope that you had fun and that you'll come back again sometime. Will you?

May.

If you like this podcast and want to take this work deeper. I invite you to coach with me one on one. It all starts with a conversation. Let's get on a call together and I'd love to learn more about you and your business and together we can identify what is standing in the way of creating the business and life you envision. And then we'll create a plan to get you there. So visit my way website@melissamkellog.com and find a spot on my calendar.

I look forward to seeing you.