Scottie Rae Lawrence, Proud owner and operator of Magnolia Soap Tulsa & Broken Arrow, OK

Welcome to A New Life podcast with Pamela Jean, where it's all about empowering women to empower more women. Get ready, friends, to create a new life. And here is your host, Pamela Jean.

Hello, my friends, and welcome to this week's episode of A New Life podcast. I'm Pamela Jean, your host of A New Life podcast. Thank you so much for being here. I realize that your time is very valuable. Time is the one commodity that we just don't seem to have enough of and is so absolutely valuable. Today I'm interviewing a very, very interesting woman. She has just opened her third store. She's a business owner and entrepreneur. I can't wait to get to know more about her and I know you will enjoy her story as well. I'm interviewing Scotty Lawrence. She's the owner of Magnolia Soaps here in Tuls and Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Scotty, I'm thrilled to have you here. Welcome to the podcast.

Thank you so much for having me. It's truly an honor.

Tell us a little bit about yourself, Scotty. Where did you grow up? Where did you. Where are you formally educated? Just kind of give us a backstory of what led you to be the business owner and entrepreneur that you are today.

Yes. So I am a small town Kansas farm girl. I grew up on a dairy farm. I grew up milking cows, showing cows 4H FFA everything. My parents instilled to me that education was very important. So I pursued the career of doctor of chiropractic. So I graduated from chiropractic School in 98, of which I met my husband there who is also a chiropractor. And we opened up our first clinic and practiced together for 20 plus years. During the time, I would have to say I was very unfulfilled. And instantly after graduating from chiropractic school, my brain started moving around and churning and I started creating businesses. And my husband's like, well, we just opened this practice and I was like, well, I wanted. I want to open a wedding business. So I did that and then I was like, I want to open Curves for Women. This is back when Curves for Women was a big deal.

I remember Curves for Women. Yes, yes.

So early 2000, I bought my first business. So, like, that's when I. I guess I knew I was. I thought I would be. I just know that I'm not a 9 to 5 kind of person and that wasn't something that was fulfilling to me. And so I bought my first Curves, which was a failing facility, and I quickly turned that around into a Very successful Curves. And then I opened my second location within a year of that. And so I opened two stores essentially right away, within a year. And then two years after that, I sold them for triple of what I invested them in. So that was my first taste of being an entrepreneur. And that's when I really changed my life and to see what I could do. And ever since then, I haven't ever stopped creating businesses. It's been a constant flux between one or another.

Sure. So. So you grew up in Kansas. How did you. What brought you to Tulsa? How did you land here in Tulsa? Were the Curves businesses in Tulsa, or were they somewhere in Kansas?

Oh, sorry. Yes. So my parents were actually born and raised in the Tulsa area in a small town. So as a little girl from Kansas, the. We would always come and visit Tulsa, and I thought, wow, that's a big city. I want to live here one day.

When you live in Kansas, it is a big city.

And, like, things stuck in my head. Like the oru praying hands. I remembered that vividly since I was a little girl. And I'm like, I want to live right there. And I end up, you know, fast forwarding. I live, like, within a few blocks of that praying hands. So it was like I manifested it, and my husband, I said, hey, I want to move to Oklahoma when we were in chiropractic school in Dallas, Texas. And he goes, oh, I'll never be an Okie. And so. And he's Canadian. And it ended up. So what I didn't share is our practice. We. We moved to Arizona, and we practiced there and had our children. We have two kids. They're both adults now. One's 23 and one's 21. And so a life change occurred while I was in Arizona. And in 2017, in January, we moved back. 2007. Sorry. We moved back to Tulsa, and I just told my husband, you can stay here. You can go, but the kids and I are going to Oklahoma. And he's like, well, home is where you are, so I'll be an Okie, so.

Oh, I love it. And it's not such a bad place to be.

No, I know. Oklahoma is not that bad. That's actually a T shirt, so.

No, I know it is. That's why I said it. That's so funny. And, you know, I'm not from Oklahoma. I wasn't born and raised here, but I've lived here for the better part of 25 years, I would say. 20 years, something like that. I've kind of lost track. But I Will tell you, Tulsa is a beautiful place to live. It has to me, anyway, the best of so many worlds that I'm grateful. It's easy to live here. I agree, yes. It's just very easy to live here, and we have a lot to do. If you seek things out to do, some people just complain. There's nothing to do where I live. Okay. Really? So I just feel like our little neck of the woods has a great offering of restaurants and activities and arts and sports, and there's just a lot of goodness here. And I'm, you know, personally grateful to be living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, because I love it and I love hot summers. So there you go. So I'm in my happy place. So, because you grew up on a farm, and I grew up actually in northwest Iowa, so I understand that farming mentality. And when you were telling that little bit about you grew up as a dairy farmer at your parents dairy farmers, I'm like, oh, my gosh. That's why she massively goes after business, because she has a work ethic like no other, because that's just instilled when you grow up on a farm, as a farm kid. So what was your first paying job? I have to know, because I'll tell you what mine is, but I just want to know what your first paying job is.

My parents, I made them pay me to milk cows.

Yes.

So I was like, I'm not doing this for free. And so I used to. I would write. They would, you know, make me milk cows. And so I'd write on the calendar at the dairy barn what days I worked. And then I got paid. I think it was. It was a dollar per day or something. And I mean, I think there's labor.

There's labor laws against that these days. But maybe back then, there was.

In the 80s, it was totally fine. And then so it was. I demanded payment. And so unless I was being punished and then I didn't get payment if.

I was punished, I fully understand that. My first job was walking beans, which is literally walking through fields and fields, miles and miles of a bean field, pulling weeds. We. I mean, that's what I did. And you know what? Here's the really silly thing. I loved it. I absolutely loved it. I know I'm sick. I loved it. It's like you are up at the crack of dawn. There is still dew on the leaves of the bean plants. It was so serene and beautiful. So I know I'm a sick, sick person, but I loved that job. And I felt so proud at the End of the summer, when the farmer would come over and I would turn in my hours, because we self, you know, tracked our hours, and he would pay me, and. Oh, my gosh, that was, like, the best day of my life.

So.

And I was, like, 12. I was 12. I couldn't wait to start working. Oh, that's so funny. So you said, did you start your businesses after your children were grown, or did your businesses start when your children were still small and at home?

They started when my children were small.

Okay. So that leads me to this question, because I think this is such an important question. There's a lot of mamas out there that might be working a 9 to 5 job right now, or they are working in the home, maintaining the home and caring for the kids and doing all of those things. It's just a different type of work to me. What. What advice do you have for them? How can you share with them how you created a balance with raising little kids and starting your Curves business and then later starting your Magnolia soaps business?

I would say, for me, it was. I have a very supportive spouse. And that was. That was key, additionally, because I was able to take and create the systems and the processes, able to have managers that can run that and take that off of me. I also instilled a lot of confidence in the people that I hire. I think that's very key. If you don't have enough or the right systems and foundation in your business, then you're always gonna be in your business. And my goal is always to work on my business, not in it. But I understand the very beginning. It can be hard. So balancing it. It was hard. I'm not gonna lie. But I took my kids with me a lot of the times. So that was. And then, you know, our customers or our patients love seeing the kids because they're a part of this family business, and that's really how I promoted it.

So.

So at our practice, our kids were there all the time. At My Curves, when I was working, I'd bring my baby with me. My kids were in preschool, so I just had to balance it that way and then set my hours that I could work around. And if not, then I did suffer in the way of quality of life, But I am a workaholic, so I would say I worked a lot, too much, and I didn't know any other way. My brain just didn't ever stop in that way.

Well, and I think that goes back to your roots, Scotty. That goes back to your roots, because as a child, that Grew up. My parents weren't full blown farmers, but we lived on a farm in a farming community. We lived out on an acreage. And that's just what you did? That's. My parents both worked, not on the farm 100%, but they worked in town. And then my dad would come home and go work for other farmers as a ranch hand or whatever. He would continue working. He left the house at 4 in the morning and came home at 3 in the afternoon just to hop on a tractor and go work for a farmer. So I think I know I was really just shown incredible, incredible work ethics and also that creative freedom to know that there is nothing that I could not do. If I wanted to start a business, I could start a business. If I wanted to, you know, become a brain surgeon, I could become a brain surgeon. I just was never of that belief that I can't do something. Would that be true for you as well?

Completely the same. There wasn't a time when my parents didn't instill that anything is possible. Like, and that's kind of what I tell, you know, people now that ask me things. It's when I go into something, I never think about failure. Like, it never crosses my mind. It isn't something that like, oh gosh, what if I fail at opening this business? It just never even is a thought process. If I do quote, unquote fail, I feel, I feel like it's more of a learning and I just modify it and I change it and I start again there. So the same thing, you know, when I was showing cows or when I was doing anything, it was just like failure just wasn't something that I ever thought about. I knew I was going to win or I went at whatever I did. So that's, that's how I am now, you know, and looking back on my parents and my parents now, it makes sense what you're saying because they continue to work. Every time we go to their house, there is something that we do. And I don't think like my husband and other people, like, why don't your parents ever rest? You know, I don't think they know how and nor do I. You know, it's just constant work for me. That's just how my brain is.

But I think that a person like that, that is the workaholic type. Because I would definitely say my father in particular, my mother was a very hard worker too, but my father in particular, he was 1000% a workaholic. But to be honest with you, he had the most joyful Moments in his life was when he was working. He loved working. And if he were still alive today, he would still be working because he loved it so much. He loved the feeling of accomplishment. He loved the community of people that he met and that community he built around himself because of work. The contacts he made, the connections that were born, the relationships that were birthed out of his work. He loved working. Like, for him to sit around and watch a TV show that was so foreign, he would probably fall asleep in, like, five seconds because he stopped moving.

Yes.

And I'm a lot that way, too. And, like, I can. I move constantly. And then the second I stop and sit for five minutes, I'm like, I hit a wall really quickly and I'm like, I better keep moving or I will fall asleep in five seconds. Awesome. Well, tell me about Magnolia Soaps. First, I have to tell you this. A couple of years ago, my stepdaughters gave me this lovely gift. It was for my birthday or Christmas, I can't remember which, but it was from Magnolia Soaps. And I'm like, oh, my gosh. I heard about this place. It was down on Cherry street, and I was so excited to receive a gift from your store. So tell me about Magnolia Soaps and the philosophy that this company has and why you felt it necessary to bring it to life in the Tulsa. Tulsa area.

Yes. Thank you. So I. At the time, whenever I was. Before I opened Magnolia, I had a wedding business again. I created a whole thing with that, some mobile photo booths and other. And then the pandemic hit. Right. So this is in 2020.

That was.

Yeah. And I lost all my weddings. And so I was like. And who would have thought a wedding would ever not happen?

And.

And so when you're opening a business, you think, I mean, I get. I didn't think failure. So it's like, oh, my gosh, everyone's gonna get married always. So that went down. And so in the midst of that going down, I found out about kind of a retail theater type store where you can come in and participate and see how products are made. I love going to restaurants where. Where you can see the kitchen, you know, And I like going to restaurants where they make food in front of you. So. And as a result, I found out about this business, the Magnolia, and I loved that it was founded by a woman, and I loved that it was clean ingredients. And it kind of went with my philosophy of being a chiropractor also, and just how I felt about clean ingredients. And I think at that time in the year everyone was home and they were spending. Spending time looking at a lot more social media and seeing what was in things, it became more apparent as to what we were putting into our bodies just because we had more time on our hands. I think that's true.

That's a really good point. And, you know, I think that goes to the conversation that there's a silver lining in everything. And I mean, if that's the one silver lining that someone got out of COVID was, you know what? I learned more about the products around me, the toxicities that I'm putting on my body and in my body. That's a huge, huge thing to learn. And that's a beautiful gift and silver lining, in my opinion.

Yeah, I was pretty shocked. Like, you know, I think we all had a lot of time on our hands and then just being a part of the pandemic and all. But, you know, like, what is going on? What can we clean with? You know, all the things that were occurring and then learning. Some stores or some. Some professions were essential. Non essential. Like that was a term that none of us had ever heard before, you know, and, you know, some businesses were working and some were not. And so as I was in that. And In September of 2020, I was like, okay, so I need to think of an essential business that will never be shut down. And what is that? I'm like, oh, it's soap. They can't shut down a soap store because of our cleaning ingredients. And so that's pretty much why I went for it. And again, I had never made soap. I made candle once in college and it burn up and cost a bit.

Not your forte. You learned that was not your gift.

Yeah, I thought I was crafty, but I'm not. And so. And I never forget, I put too many flowers in my candle. My flat. My flower is caught fire, you know, and so super funny. But people are, that's. Oh, you said do this in your, you know, in your kitchen. I was like, no, never. I just love. I just love businesses. And I loved the model of a retail theater. And I loved being able to think, okay, in the middle of a pandemic. What, this store is going to bring people together. And Tulsa. And that's exactly what it did. And people like, oh, my gosh, you opened in the December 2020. It was still masks. Everything was still very strict social distancing, all of it. And we thrived and we grew. I mean, we grew fast because it was something very different that allowed people to come in and have joy and being able to create things.

Also, I love the term that you used and I've not heard it before, maybe I've been living under a rock, but retail theater, I've never heard that terminology before and so I'm understanding it correctly. It's where you gather in a retail space and you what you visually watch the process of the soaps being made. You make your own soaps. What does that look like? Can you expand on retail theater just a little bit more?

Yes. So exactly what you just said. So you can come in at any time of the day. We, we're making something. We make it right there at our bar right in front of you. You can sit there and watch us from beginning to end pour soap or make a body butter or sugar scrub. The theater part of it is most people don't know what's in their bath products. They never think about it. You don't even have ingredients on your laundry detergent because if you did, you would be terrified. You would never use it. So like everything is out in the open with us and that's a theater part and we're almost on display. We have a giant bar that we want to be the focal point of our store. I made the decor and the atmosphere in my store so that the bar is the focal point. Because I want you to walk up there and look and see what we're doing and talk to us and ask us and then find out how you can create something too. So that's the magic of it. And the beauty.

That's fantastic. I love that. So who would your, if you were to define your ideal customer, who is that person?

So it is of course, women, I would say. I mean 95% of our customers are women and it's in between the ages of 25 and 60. That is, that is our ideal customer. A little more affluent. And those that are conscious of what they put into their bodies or on their bodies. The skin is the largest organ and that is what is often we think about our face, but not the rest of our body. And so a lot of the eczema, a lot of the psoriasis, a lot of the scratch skin conditions are all usually attributed also the detergents that you use. So the person that comes in is usually open minded or curious about what the clean ingredients can be for their bodies and not just what they ingest, but what they put on it.

Excellent. That's fantastic. I just love that. So is Magnolia Soap, is that a franchise or is that your local company just here in the Oklahoma Tulsa area.

It is a franchise. And it's. When I, when I started, it was brand new. I think I was the number four or number five franchisee to come in. So I was in them in the OG Group. So it's been quite fun to see the change and the expansion occur within our company. You know, I own my territories here, and, you know, that's why I rapidly expanded. I committed to multiple stores because that's how my brain works. And I knew I wanted to offer multiple locations in the places that I live.

Well, I commend you and I commend the creator of Magnolia soap to be so bold and to start this type of company in the midst of a pandemic when so many small businesses were closing and so many stores were just disheveled and not sure what their futures are. I just think that's such a bold, confident mindset that failure is not an option. You know, Scotty, I've been interviewing some of the most amazing entrepreneurial women in the last month and a half, and it's a common theme we come back to. I don't really see anything as failure to. Failure is actually education. Failure is freedom. Failure is no one's afraid of failure. So I guess, you know, if anyone listening is struggling with, oh, I'm afraid to fail, you have to expect failure. Lean into failure. Failure is where. And I'm using that in air quotes because failure is where the biggest educational nuggets are found, is when you try something and it doesn't work, and then you get to remodify it, re engineer it, and try it again.

Yes, exactly. 100%. That's really how I think.

Awesome. I love that. So outside of your business, what is your. What's the mission? And maybe not outside of your business, but what is the mission of your business? I know your business feeds your soul because you are that entrepreneurial person who just thrives on being a visionary and creation of companies. But what is the mission behind your business?

So we believe very strongly in charity. And one of our slogans is we are much more than soap. And so every month we use our product, our skills, our craft to benefit a local charity. And so every month we call it Hope and Soap. So it's. Yeah, it's beyond an honor for me to be able to choose a charity for all three of my stores and during the month give back to that charity by a sale of their particular soap. The charity comes in and there are some of their volunteers or directors will come in and actually make the soap. So They're a part of it. And then we sell that soap. Soap for that month, and we donate 50% of the sale back to them. In addition, I think I'm one of the only stores that does this, but we do a week of giving. So during the week of that sponsorship for that charity, we donate 20% of the sales for anyone that comes in and mentions that charity during that week.

Oh, that's awesome.

So it's just for me, knowing that this also allows me the ability to give back to my community, it really does impact and changes how my business runs. Because if you can think outside yourself and just your bottom line, and how can a business impact those that are less fortunate? That's where true difference occurs. And I've found that in my life, not only is it, you know, financially good, but it's also rewarding on my end and also on my team members ends to see what they're doing, how it changes.

And I believe too, build your community, build those connections, relationships, the business will follow.

Yes. I've been able to find organizations I didn't even know existed, and I think most people don't either. And so being able to highlight a new charity every month into our stores, it brings awareness to that charity that our customers may not know about.

Fantastic. So if there is a charity that's listening, someone in our audience that heads up a charity or has something that is really close to their heart, how would they go about being part of the hope? What did you call it? Hope and Soap. Yes, Hope and Soap. If you would like to be part of that charity, how would they go about doing that?

Yes, they can just go on any of our social media pages and they can if they send a direct message or an email from our Facebook pages that goes directly to me. And then we look at our calendar. Each month is a different theme, and usually it goes along with what the national calendar is. You know, March is Down syndrome, you know, April is autism. You know, that kind of thing.

Yes, that makes sense.

Yeah. So we kind of go with the theme of the calendar of whatever their, you know, national awareness month is, and then we plug them into our calendar and see how we can help them.

Excellent, Excellent. So they don't really have to be. Have any certain qualifications or anything like that. Just really apply and your u will vet who ends up getting chosen. Is that correct?

Yes. And if we. And if our calendar is full, we put them on our list for next year. And then like that happened with us last year, we had several contact us about different charities. Like our some pet shelters and some childhood cancer initiatives. And so we put them on our calendar and they're on it this year.

So. So that's good. That's great to know. I love that. And I know philanthropies are always looking for ways of additional fundraising and awareness. And it sounds like you would be a perfect opportunity to partner with. That's fantastic. So tell me about the parties that you have at your store. Let's say I have a girls night planned or I want to bring in my girl Scouts or whatever. What does that look like having a event at your store?

Yeah, so we offer different types of parties and so it's. There are a lot of fun. I helped create it for the company. And so we do bath bomb parties. Each person makes their own individual bath bomb bowls so they can choose their color, their scent, their toppings, and they get to take them with them. We also do shower steamers, which are a lot of fun. Soap making and pour their own soap and then also a candle parties. So we do all that. So we allow the people to choose what best fits their age group or kind of what they're there for. With Girl Scouts, which is a lot of fun. They can actually earn badges with us and we love being a part of that. They have a soap making badge and they also have an entrepreneur badge that they can earn when they come into our store and help create things or just kind of shadow us. So yeah, that is a lot of fun to be able to be a part of Brownie troop or Girl Scout troop to make their soap making classes.

What a great learning experience.

I know.

Oh, my gosh.

Yep. We also work with about four or five beauty colleges here in the area and they come in while they're on their aesthetics portion and their clean ingredient portion of their of their teaching. And then they learn about alternatives to skin care and body care at our store and they. And they help participate in what we're doing. So that's always a fun to have adults come in and learn about our products. And so we do the workshops outside of just parties. A lot of education that we do. And that makes. Yeah, that's a lot of fun.

Oh, fantastic. I love how you're just reaching so many people. And I just think of the young girl learning to make her first soap that will serve her body well. Just. That'll never leave her. She'll take that with her for the rest of her life and learn to take much better care of herself and be aware of the toxins that are in absolutely everything that we pick up after the. When you go to a. Like a grocery store or, you know, Target or Walmart or wherever you shop, there's just toxins everywhere.

So much I love when moms and daughters come in. There's a lot more. I think whenever we were younger, I mean, I don't know, I used Mr. Bubble, you know, like, no one even. And like, biggest bubbles ever. Yes. But it probably, like ate your skin off, you know, like all this stuff. And I think about all of those things we did back in the 70s and 80s and. And then you. I see all these kids now coming in, these young girls, and they. Some of them are even more involved in it than their moms. And like all these little bougie little girls coming in, you know, wanting their skin care and their body care. I love it. It's. For me, it's just so cute to see young women and young girls knowing what's in their bodies now. And if that's one plus of social media, that's part of it is now these girls are aware. More so than we ever were.

Absolutely. I don't know how old you are, but I think we're probably fairly in the same ballpark anyway. But I don't ever remember just whatever was in the shower, that's what you used. I never thought that there could potentially be ingredients in the soaps and the shampoos and the hair products and the bathing products that were not good for me. I just. You trusted that you just spotted and it was good for you or you didn't think about it. And I love the awareness that your company has really brought to the forefront. And to see the young girls being an advocate for themselves at a young age for what is on their body and going in their body, that is. That's just phenomenal. That in itself is like a huge win with what your company is doing.

Yeah, it's pretty. Again, that's exactly how it was. I never thought about it. Even through college, I was like, oh, I like the smell. You know, whatever, you know, layering I can do with my bath and body stuff and.

Right.

And I want to have my children. You know, I think about the detergent that I use and why he had eczema, you know, as all this stuff, it all makes sense now. But the marketing is so powerful and you just don't even know. So it's. It's a beast that, you know, I'm trying to tackle here within our community, but it's just very rewarding. When I see People switch over to our products and get a great result.

Well, I commend what you're doing and I'm so excited for you and what you've brought to Tulsa and the area. So if someone wants to get a hold of you or shop your store, will you share with the audience your website, your store locations and your social media handles so they can connect with you?

Yeah. So our social media is magnoliasoapandbathco Tulsa and that's our Instagram and that's our main. I only have one Instagram. My other stores have a Facebook for each one. So if you search Magnolia Soap Tulsa or Magnolia Soap Broken Arrow, we will pop up and then you can like us and follow us on there. In addition, our little websites that we have are mymagnoliasoap.com Tulsa or forward/ Broken Arrow and that will get you to our individual shopping pages as well.

Excellent. So you still have the two stores in Tulsa, the one at the mall and the one on Cherry street, is that correct? Correct. And then your newest location just opened right before click Christmas out in Broken Arrow. Correct.

Yes, yes.

Okay, excellent. Excellent. And can people shop online and have their order shipped to them or is it a store visit only?

You can do either. That link will take you to the shipping option or if you want to pick up or also Door dash will deliver.

Oh, excellent. Didn't know that. Oh, I learned something new.

I love.

I know.

And if it's over $50, DoorDash is free. We learned that.

Okay, good. Yeah. Good to know. You never know what you don't know. I know, I love that. Okay, I'm going to wind us down just a little bit with some rapid fire questions. One question I have for you is what is one thing about Scotty Lawrence that no one knows about you?

Oh, gosh. Oh man.

I.

Okay, so I will say I, I am a native Osage and I'm a card carrying Osage. But I also have an Osage name and it's Huet Doyne and that means looking to the maiden.

So good. Oh my gosh, I'm so glad I asked you that question. That is absolutely beautiful. And I just have weird quirks that are things that people don't know about me. I don't have anything special like that. That's beautiful. Oh my gosh, that's beautiful. What advice would you give the younger you?

Oh gosh, I, I would say the younger me. Well, invest in Google. You know, like that should have been something I, I knew to do.

But.

I would say to be a lot more forgiving. I look back on things now and, you know, because of my work ethic and my work, I would just lock myself in my office and just plug away. And I wish I would have had more boundaries and more forgiveness to let work go and not worry about it and then be with my family more. And so that's. If I were to tell any young mom now is, and it's so hard to do, is to set that time limit and just walk away. It'll be there tomorrow. You don't have to figure it out tonight. And that's something that I just couldn't let go of. I'm like a dog with a bone. And I just had to stick with it until I figured it out and did that countless of years. And I regret that I'd have to.

Say, you know, I think I can lock arms with you on that, Scotty, because my first company also, I worked all the time. And I know that even if I was present with my children, I wasn't present with my children. My mind was not there. My body might have been, but I wasn't always plugged in with them as I should have been. And now that mine are all adults as well, it's you. You don't get to hit a rewind. There's no do overs. And I think there's a healthy balance. You know, if one of my coaching programs is balanced life, balanced business, to help create balance in both of those arenas for us to live the most productive and beautiful life that we can live, it takes work on both of those spheres. But what I learned is there are some things that, you know what, the house is not going to burn down if it waits till tomorrow. If you go to bed with dishes in your sink, it'll be okay. If you go to bed and you don't have, you know, every last I dotted and T crossed on something in your business, it will be okay. Now, there are times where it's high priority and you're not able to do that. But to be able to discern when to walk away and say, you know what? This will be tomorrow I'm going to plug in somewhere else in my life, that's a hard one. And I know I struggled with that as well. And I struggle with it. I mean, even today, because there's so much I know I want to do and so much I keep building and connecting with new people and new ideas and expanding and growing and more education and all of those things. I know I have to take a deep breath and say, you know what? This will wait till tomorrow. This too can wait till tomorrow.

Yes, that's. It's so true. I remember them telling you, my husband, like, okay, can you just put it away? And I put it away. And then I'd just be sitting there, you know, thinking about it and.

Right. Yeah, yeah. And staring at your upside down phone.

Yeah. You know, and. Yeah, so, yeah, that's. I wish I had that ability and wish I would have just again. Yeah, you don't. You can't rewind it, you know, And I showed my kids that you can have work ethic, but what I also showed them was that sometimes they get sacrificed. And I hated that. You know, Think about that now.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, gosh. Thanks for sharing that, because that's a very vulnerable, heartfelt thing to share. And thank you for letting us, you know, see that part of, of being an entrepreneur and a business owner, that little, that little wedge of your world. And, you know, honestly, I look back at my dad and his work life, I didn't see my dad much growing up. Very little, actually. If I wanted to see him, I would have to go out to where he was. I would go out to the shop, I would go out to the barn, I would go hop on the tractor with him. That's when I got to have time with him because he didn't come find me. Right. Tell you that, you know, he was busy. And I understand that. But I do appreciate the work ethic that I learned from him that is so valuable and no one can ever take that away from me. And I love having that attribute that my father had.

Yes, same. And I, I, like, we were on a vacation, my husband and I, and he was like, can you just, you know, not be on your phone or whatever? And I. And right now. And I said, well, do you recall when, you know, you also had a business and what that required? I said, right now, the trade off is that I can leave whenever I want, but I still have to be accountable to what my business. I can't just walk away from my paying job. I don't get paid vacation, you know. And I said, so I'm here because I can. But the trade off is that I also have to answer questions when something happens in my store. And that's okay with me. As long as that's okay with you.

Yes, yes. Oh, I think that's such good advice. And last, last spring, my husband and I took a trip together and we were gone, I don't know, six days or so. It was the first time in my whole business life that I did not bring my laptop with. Yeah. Oh, my gosh. I was just like, okay, you can do this.

I know. Payroll. While I was on vacation, I was just like, you know, done that. I was like, hey, next time, let's schedule a vacation when it doesn't fall on a payroll, not during payroll. Oh, my gosh, who else is gonna do it? So I was like, I have to do this, you know?

But I will tell you, the first day or two, not having my laptop there just. Just to check in was hard. I mean, I had a lot of feelings about that. I don't have anxiety, but I had just a lot of feelings and emotions about that. But by the time our trip was done, it was the most relaxing vacation I have ever had in my whole life. And I'm grateful for that. But it's like, oh, my gosh, this is ridiculous. Just leave your laptop behind. But I've never done it before because I always. I mean, I'm an early riser, so I'd get up at, you know, 5:30 in the. Or 5:00am or 4:30, whatever, and just, you know, hop on and see what's going on and answer emails and fix the world, answer questions. But I never really unplugged. So I am. We're going on another vacation this spring, and I am unplugging because I know I can. Yeah, I know I could do it. So I'll prep and get everything ready ahead of time. But I'm still doing it. Yeah. Kidding. I'm unplugging. So I have one last question for you. What advice would you give someone, an entrepreneur or a future businesswoman? What advice would you give her that she's hesitating? She's holding herself back. She's hesitating on taking the leap. What advice would you give her to help her spread her wings, build that confidence, and start to fly?

So for me, I would say.

What.

Makes a difference with me now is I spend a lot of time creating and working on the business. So if you get the foundation, the systems and processes done at first, that will make your freedom a lot easier. That'll make you more confident, because most of us will open a business and just start marketing, and then you get flooded with people or it doesn't work, and then you don't know why, or it works, and then your business gets bad reviews because you weren't prepared. So I make a very conscious effort now that I make sure everything is set up. So whenever I am there, I Can scale it. So don't get ahead of yourself in the fact I'm going to get this place opened and then figured out in the end. I think the confidence lies in you when you have the proper foundation and then allows you to bring people in. And that's something that I just like. I'm working on another business right now. I have two more in my mind that I'm working on. And so right now I'm just creating the business so that then I can then plug it in. But I think if you also surround yourself with other people. Like I joined a networking group and I'm so shy and introverted and never did I think networking was anything for me. And I just started being me and talking about who I am and making friends, and that's changed me as well. So surround yourself with people that push you and that believe in you and are there to challenge you. That's what I do. And also get your foundation set up so you can build your house on the rock. Right. Like the word says, and not sand. Because otherwise, you know, you're bound to have a lot more stress and create anxiety for yourself if you're not ready and prepared and then let people look at it, you know, so, like, when I create these businesses, I'm letting people look, okay, does this make sense? Is this something that you, you know, that you could then run on your own if I gave this system to you, you know, so. And get help reading, Get a coach. You know, every player has a coach.

Absolutely. I could not agree more.

I believe in coaching. I believe, you know, like, someday I want to be a coach because people ask me all the time how to do something, and I know I have the ability to know how to help them, but I'm not there yet, you know, so. But every person, every successful person has a coach, a mentor, some guide to push them. So I think that's key to give them the confidence they need. If they're just on the fence, then go get a coach and then work through it and then launch it.

I love that advice, Scotty. I couldn't have said it better myself. I. Obviously, as a business coach and a life coach, I concur 100%. I think the problem is many people seek out a coach when their business is floundering and it's too late.

Too late.

You get your coach when you're on the uptick and your coach is what helps you bring it to the next levels and maintain your level. Coaching out of desperate aspiration can work, but it's not always ideal. Getting your coach. When you're on the uptick, that's when it's the sweetest time in the world to get your Coach and Mentor 100%.

Yep, I did that. And it, you know, I was like, okay, now I'm able to, like, it opened a new level for me. Right? It opened.

Yes. It opens your mind into a place where you did not know it needed to go. Right. And. And once you open it, you. You can't unopen it. It's like, that's the way I think now, and it's just different. Your mindset changes so much. And truly, at that point, I believe the sky's the limit.

Yes, I agree. And that's. That's 100% how I feel on that. And that's. I think if they're on the fence, if they're unsure, unconfident, scared, you just have to get someone there to push you. And it doesn't need to be your spouse. There is support, but it needs somebody on the outside that can really look at this with critical eye or empathy. And then also, how can this move forward? And that's, I think, through coaching.

Great advice. Great advice. Well, Scotty, my goodness, thank you so much for being here today and pouring into our audience and sharing more about your entrepreneurial journey, as well as Magnolia Soaps, your current business. I look forward to hearing about your new businesses, businesses that you're kicking around, so I'll be on the watch for those as well, because I love nothing more than hearing entrepreneurial stories. I just. I love it. I breathe it. I. I feed on it. It is one of my favorite topics.