The Un-sexy Side of Entrepreneurship w/ Chelsea Riffe

Welcome to the Makeshift Happen podcast. I'm your host, Samantha Daly, entrepreneur, life coach, and your no BS bestie, here to bring you all things mindset, manifestation, and personal development. This podcast is designed to help you expand your mind and uplevel your life. So turn the volume up and roll the windows down if you're coming along for the ride. Let's go make shit happen. What's up guys, welcome back to the podcast. Today I've got a special guest here with me, Chelsea Rife. She's a mindset and podcast host. She is the host of a top-rated show, In My Non-Expert Opinion, which I personally love. I love listening to your hot takes and your opinions on things on your podcast. So if you guys haven't tuned in, definitely go and have a listen to her podcast. She's also a digital nomad. She loves to travel. She's into all things entrepreneurship, spirituality, mindset, manifestation, money. So it's really just like a match made in heaven for the Makeshift Happen people and for me. I'm super excited to dive into this conversation. So welcome to the show, Chelsea. We're so excited to have you.

Thank you. I'm so excited to chat. And like you said, I, I feel like we have very similar lives, so this is going to be an interesting conversation.

Yeah, we do. I know, I was saying to her before we started recording, I was like, I feel like we're gonna be friends because we have so many things in common and there's so many similarities in our path and everything. So speaking of that, I first want to talk about Europe a little bit because you're someone who also loves Europe. You obviously caught the travel bug, you'd love to move around, you've been a digital nomad, you've worked from a lot of places. So my question is, what initially drew you to Europe and what is your kind like love affair with falling in love with travel and like that European kind of hopping from country to country lifestyle?

Yeah, absolutely. So I kind of like the people that usually catch travel bugs caught it from studying abroad. So I went to Florida State. I did a, a whole summer in Valencia, Spain, and I was like, whoa, I feel like this is another planet. Like why do people not prioritize travel? This is crazy. The fact that we could every weekend go to Paris, then Amsterdam, then London, and have such different cultures and food within a matter of an hour for like $40 blew my mind. Um, I grew up in Florida and so the, you know, not a lot of culture in Florida. Florida's like the laughingstock of America anyways. So it's just like, it was just interesting to go to Spain and be like, oh wow, again, this feels like another planet. So that's where I definitely caught the travel bug. Um, but I started working in corporate America. And everyone that works corporate America knows you get capped vacation days. And I started, you know, trying to bank my vacation days to take 7 to 10 day trips to international trips like Europe. And it just never was enough time. I feel like we were always sprinting around trying to get all these cities in and see everything. And eventually I was just like, wait, this is gonna be the rest of my life. Like this is gonna be how I plan my vacations is banking these 7 to maybe 14 days running around these international trips and like that's gonna happen until I I retire. So essentially I was like, I need to figure out how to work for myself and travel. And I knew I wanted to get back to Europe. And I think you asked like, what's my love affair with it? I love the lifestyle where I always get this quote wrong, but I think they work to live, not live to work.

Yes. That's such a thing in Spain.

I know what I was thinking.

Yes.

I was, I was obsessed with that. Every podcast I'm like, okay, I fucked it up. Sorry. Um, but yeah, I. Every time I go there, I'm like, wow, no one's in a rush to get things done. No one is. I never hear people talking about their weight or their looks or their jobs or anything. They're genuinely talking about life and love and relationships, and it's such a different lifestyle. And yeah, even in Spain, the nap time and how slow everything moves, I actually love that. But in other places too, just how they prioritize mealtime, like it's so, um, ceremonial to sit sit down and have a meal with people and genuinely connect and not just be like, okay, I gotta rush and eat, I need to track my macros, I need to go weigh myself. Like, I feel like that does not happen in Europe at all. And that's what I love about it, is everybody is just so tuned into relationships. I feel like that's what my favorite thing about Europe is.

Yeah, I love so much about that. Also, I didn't know that you studied abroad in Valencia. So I studied abroad in Madrid And that's like how I started. And the same thing happened to me, you know, every weekend I was traveling around and I was like, holy fuck, there's a whole new world out here, what the fuck!

I know.

And then I went back and I was finishing my degree at Ohio State and I was doing— that summer I was doing an internship in Chicago and I was like, far out, like I'm so obsessed with my weight, I'm so obsessed with how I look, like I don't even like this job, like I'm in a cubicle. And I had the same realization of like this is going to be the rest of my life. Like, this is an eternity that I'm committing to. And it was like, whoa, I cannot do that. So I was like, yeah, turning down these corporate job offers, I'm moving to— I'm moving back to Spain. Um, so yeah, I— there's so many similarities there, and I feel, I feel the exact same way. And even, yeah, the piece about like body image and just like the obsessions with image and also the obsession with like work and success and status. And I think that's really rampant, at least in the US. And I think people can feel that. I mean, I know I've had clients tell me that it's similar in the UK and Australia, depending on where you are. But like, you can just feel a different energy of like, everyone is like on a hamster wheel. Everybody is racing and racing and racing to get somewhere. And I even have to bring myself out of that conditioning sometimes working for myself because it's so strong and so ingrained in us. Yes, we escape the cage that we feel like we were put in, but then we build a whole nother cage for ourselves as entrepreneurs. And we're like, oh, because I took this long lunch break, now I need to work later, or I need to make up for this, or this, this isn't going to get done, so I have to do it on the weekend. And yeah, I don't know how you feel about that, but it's been an interesting transition of working for yourself and feeling like, okay, how do I actually get all of the benefits out of this? That was the whole reason why I did this anyway.

Oh yeah. I felt, I remember starting my business where, yeah, I would take Fridays off or a 2-hour lunch break and I was like, I feel like I'm gonna get caught. Like someone is gonna find out that I'm not working for 8 hours in a row, or someone's gonna find out that I slept in until 10:00 AM. And that guilt actually stuck with me for the first 6 months where I was like, I need to clock 40+ hours a week. I can't take lunch breaks. I can't take vacation until this takes off. And that was, like you said, very ingrained in me. Funny enough, another similarity we have, I worked in corporate America in Chicago, so that's where I was for like 6 years. And I remember we worked in a tiny office and people would actually like monitor your lunch breaks and be like, oh, it's, you know, 1:30. I thought you were supposed to get back at 1:00. And oh, you're leaving at 5:00. And you're like, oh wow, I guess I should be sitting down and really, you know, chained to the desk. And so when I left, yeah, it did feel weird to all of a sudden be like, wait, I can work whatever hours I want whenever I want. And to be honest, I'm still working on that, being like, it's okay if I don't wanna work today and maybe I work on a Sunday, but I'm so trained to work that 40 hours a week, Monday through Friday, short lunch breaks. And I think that's why I love Europe because it kind of does force you to get out of that because people are like, what are you doing? Like, stop working, close your laptop, come to the beach. You're like, okay, yeah, people actually do live like this.

Yeah, yeah, that's so true. It is helpful when you have people around you that are in that mindset of like, life is more important than work, you know, and, and being in your life is the whole reason that we work anyway, right? Yes. So yeah, that's been such a journey for me on my like entrepreneurial path as well, like learning how to like let go, slow down, set stronger boundaries with myself like I can set boundaries with other people, no problem. But like if I'm setting a hard and fast boundary for myself of like, this is when I clock out, like fuck if I'm gonna stick to that. Like that's— yeah, a lot more, a lot more challenging. So yeah, I'd love to know a little bit about like you actually starting your business. So you started it while you were abroad, right? You started it while you're in Europe, is that correct?

In Australia, actually, during the pandemic.

Okay, so you were in Australia during the pandemic. First of all, miracle that you got out of there.

I, I know, like everyone's like trapped there right now. I'm like, I really did escape. I know people that have not left in like 2 years. It's nuts. Yeah.

Okay. So tell us about that journey. Like how, how did you decide like, this is the moment where I'm gonna start my business and like go from there?

Yeah. Well, I went to grad school for digital media and storytelling, which is a real degree. It sounds fake, but it's real from Loyola Chicago. And I remember that's where I learned about content creation, like podcasting, video, telling stories through writing, telling stories through photography. And I remember being like, this is really cool, but I don't understand how to make it a career. Like, would I have to just be a photographer? Would I have to be a video editor? And I didn't like any of those things. So I went to a career fair at my school, found this job that was actually influencer and content marketing. And I was like, oh my God, this is perfect. This is exactly what I need to be doing. But I was on the sales side, so I was not the person influencing or content creating. I was just selling a platform that housed these people. And it was fun in the beginning cuz I really understood the industry, so it was really easy for me to be good at it. But about 3 years in, I was like, what are you doing, Chelsea? Like, this is what you went to school to learn how to do. You could be the one taking photos, you could be the one speaking on a podcast. Like, why are you not on that side of things? So it started to click of like, I need to figure out how to get out of here and do something a bit different. I tried blogging, I hated it. I tried video editing, hated it. Podcasting eventually clicked and I was like, oh my God, I love talking. I can talk about whatever I want uncensored, speak as long as I want. I can babble whatever I can, like you can do anything with your podcast. So it started to click, like maybe podcasting is my thing. And I was like, I need to I'm going to quit my job and see how I can make this a thing. So I quit with no real plan. I just knew I wanted to do something with podcasting, whether that was working at a network or with podcast editing or producing or something. Um, that wasn't the best plan because I went to Australia and I had no idea what I was doing. I had no connections. I didn't know anybody. I did not plan it thoroughly at all. And so I ended up working a bunch of hospitality jobs just to make ends meet and pay rent. And eventually after, you know, 6 months of traveling and partying, I was like, okay, you need to figure out what you're really doing over here because the whole reason you left your job was to work for yourself and you're working at a gelato shop. Like that's not what the plan was. So I was like, let's get your shit together and regroup. Um, and then the pandemic happened. So we went into, we kind of got the news a little bit later and I was in a really tiny town at this point cuz I was supposed to be working at this restaurant. And they were like, um, yeah, don't even worry. The town is so small. We don't even think coronavirus will hit us. The next day they're like, oh yeah, we're shut down until further notice. And I'm like, wait, I just flew all the way out here to work at this restaurant. Cause it was like this whole summer job. And the owners of the restaurant were like, well, we need a nanny. If you want a nanny for accommodation while you're here, you can do that until this thing is over. Cause remember everyone thought the virus was going to be like 2 weeks long. Yeah. So we're like, yeah, I'll nanny for 2 weeks and then get outta here. Um, and the thing was they actually lived in a gorgeous like mansion by the beach. So I was like, this isn't the worst place to be stuck in a lockdown. I'm staying here for free. I have all this downtime. And they hired another nanny. And so there were 2 of us, so we actually split the days. So I had 3 or 4 days off a week and that's when it started clicking of, you know, that whole phrase, like be careful what you wish for because I always was like, I'll start my business when I have no bills and all this downtime and I have nothing else to focus on. And it was like, here you go, you have 4 days off, you're literally not paying anything in rent, they're paying for your groceries. Like, this is the time that you need to be working on whatever it is that you wanted to work on. So I actually started out— I actually, I forgot this part— I got my yoga and meditation certification from Bali earlier in Australia. Um, and this is— remember at one point in the pandemic, all these fitness influencers were going live on Instagram to teach, and people were sending them Venmos and PayPal? And I was like, I'm gonna do that. So I started teaching yoga on Zoom and online, and I was like, I, I was delusional. I was like, I'm gonna make a yoga app. I was trying to hire a PR agency to like help me with this yoga brand. I had a whole thing called Yoga Girl Next Door, like that was going to be my thing. Um, and then a month later I was like, I really do not like teaching as much as I thought. I need to figure something else out. And it kind of actually hit me during a meditation while I was journaling, which is— we can talk about the importance of like setting aside time to think. I was sitting there and it all just kind of clicked of like, wait a second, Chelsea, you've been traveling, you quit your job, you've been through breakups. There was a lot of shit that happened while I was in Australia too, like my grandfather passed away, my dad had a stroke, I went through a breakup, but I kept pushing through and like being really optimistic. And I was like, this could be something that you could teach people about, is like the importance of choosing your thoughts and being intentional and like really cultivating a positive mindset. And then I don't know why this is so interesting. I've had a bunch of coaches on my podcast, but it didn't click until that moment that coaching was a thing. I was like, what even is this called? Like, I don't understand what I would be doing. Am I a teacher? And then it was like, whoa, what are you talking about? You could be a mindset coach or a manifestation coach. And that's when I was like, oh, this is what you need to be doing. So then the ball got rolling where I was like, I need to invest in understanding how to run a business. I don't even know how to make a course. I don't really understand how to market this. But once it did click, I was like, okay, I understand what I'm doing now. So that's how I started. It was literally during the pandemic while I was nannying, using any free time I had to learn the ins and outs of coaching and business. And then I launched a course and then I got one-on-one clients. And then from there it's been an ongoing game of experimentation and shifting, but it has, has been a wild ride and really fast, rapid growth for you.

Like how has that felt? 'Cause it's, it's been. Well, how long has it been since you like officially kind of like started or launched your business? Would you consider it to be—

I would say probably a year and a half because I did the whole yoga thing in May of 2020 and then I launched my first course in like June or July. So yeah, it's probably been a year and a half.

Yeah. Oh my God, that is wild. That's when I launched my podcast. I launched my podcast in July of 2020, so it's been a year and a half of the podcast. Um, but yeah. So much has changed in the last 18 months. It's wild. Um, and your growth has obviously been so rapid and yeah. Do you feel like you, like when it finally clicked, it was like, this is the thing that I've been searching for, waiting for. I just didn't know what it was called or what it looked like, but now you kind of feel like you're in your groove with it.

Um, I have a two-part answer to this. It's yes and no. So. It, when it clicked, it did click. And I remember being like, you know exactly what you're talking about. You know how to teach this to people. You can actually speak on it and give practical applications and tips. And so my first course launch, which went really well because of my podcast, I had already had my podcast for 3 or 4 years. So when I launched my course, I had all these people that were already listening that were like, oh my God, I, there's a way to work with you. I wasn't expecting that. So I— no one really talks about this. Again, be careful what you wish for. I had such a big launch, I freaked out. I was like, I don't know how to handle this many students. I don't have the infrastructure to onboard people. I don't understand how to get in touch with all these different people. You know, all of them— there were some people on payment plans and some weren't. I didn't have software set up for that, so I was just tracking people down, being like, hey, you're payments due in the next 5 days. It was crazy. And I remember being like, this is freaking me out. If I keep going like this, I'm gonna like completely ruin my business. So I remember after that course launch, I was like, okay, well, you know what you're doing because people are signing up and they are seeing transformations, but I don't want to work with this many people. So then I started working one-on-one with people, and then that went really well too, where people were paying me in full, signing up, And again, I freaked out. I was like, I was not expecting this to happen. You kind of just think it's gonna be harder than it is. And I know this sounds like, um, like, oh wow, what a hard problem to have. But no one talks about like the nervous system regulation. When I go from working at a gelato shop and nannying to all of a sudden clients paying me, you know, $3,000 in full on the spot, I was like, this doesn't feel right. Like something is wrong. And actually what happened is after I signed those one-on-one clients, I kind of freaked out and I didn't do anything for 3 months. I just worked those with those one-on-one clients. I didn't launch a program, I didn't do workshops, masterclasses. Like you wouldn't have even known I was in business for like winter of 2020 because I was like, I'm going offline. My clients know where to find me. That's what I'm gonna do. And I learned that's the importance of money management and nervous system regulation. You can manifest all the money you want, but when it comes, if you're not prepared to receive it or understand what to do with it, you will sabotage it. And I remember that first course launch, couldn't even tell you what I did with the money. I could have paid off so much debt and invested in my business, and I just was like spending it. I didn't know what to do with it, and it was a really big learning lesson. So after that, I was like, okay, time to get your shit together, learn money management, make a business that works for you. Don't try to do everything at once. Um, but eventually, because you asked, you know, did things align and click, there was a point where I was just feeling a bit disconnected from what I was teaching. And I don't know if that's because I just evolved as a person, or I had like kind of— I was just picking up new beliefs and ways of being. And eventually I realized, Chelsea, you've always loved podcasting, you've had your podcast for 4 years, and that's again what I went to school for, was doing this type of stuff. So in the last 6 months, I started podcast coaching and that's really felt aligned because I'm like, I'm helping people put themselves out there. You probably know from starting a podcast, it's so much fun. I feel like you build confidence, you build incredible connections and community. It helps your business. So in the last 6 months, I really evolved into mindset and podcast coaching, and that's felt really good.

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Yeah.

Talk to cool people or just like share my ideas. Like, if you're a person who likes to talk, right, it's thriving.

No-brainer. Yeah, it's crazy how much fun it is. And the fact that, again, you're not censored, you're not filtered, you can talk to about whatever you want, and you can reach out to people and, and pick their brain instead of going for coffee. It's, you know what I mean? And what other planet can you sit down with people for an hour and just interview them for free. It's like the craziest thing to me. So I absolutely love podcasting. Um, there was something that you just said too. Oh, and I wanted to ask you this with life and mindset coaching, because that's what I started as. I also noticed, because it's kind of vague, the people I was attracting were all over the place. It was like some people wanted business help, some people wanted to work on stress management, some people had anxiety, and I was like this is too much of a mismatch where I feel like I need to niche down or be very clear who I'm helping. And yeah, I'm just curious if you experience that at all with life and mindset coaching.

Yeah, for sure. I've worked with clients on so many different things. Like you said, there's people that want to, yeah, manifest things in their life. They just wanna learn more about the spirituality piece or they want to— I've done like career help, people that wanna like quit their 9-to-5s or they want to get a raise or move into a new industry or they feel super stuck in their career and uninspired, and they, they don't know what to do, so they come to you for help. And other people with relationship problems, they, you know, are struggling after a breakup, or they can't get over someone, or they really want to call in a partner but they're feeling lost and hopeless because it's not happening. Um, other people that, yeah, like struggle more with anxiety and controlling their— the chatter in their mind. Like, it's really— yeah, when you put that kind of generalized label on it, you will attract people of all kind of categories of what they want to work on. And in the beginning, for me, that was— it was fun, and I think it was good for gaining experience because I was able to work through a lot of those different areas and issues with so many clients. And then I was like, wow, I can really do so much and like help people with so many different areas of their life. But then as I kind of started to grow in my business and really hit important milestones as a business owner, I just, I felt more lit up by what I was learning and doing in that space. And so it's not that the other stuff was not important or not relevant, it's just now I'm like so much more excited and expanded when I'm like, okay, yeah, let's dig into your business.

What's going on?

What do you want to create? What are we doing next? Like, and I'm sure you feel the same about the podcast stuff. That's where you're like you look forward to those sessions so much more than the other ones. And that's when you know, like, okay, just move in that direction.

Just follow. Yeah.

What your desires are telling you.

Absolutely. And I feel like when something comes easy and you're excited about it, that's even better. Like, I don't know if you feel that way with your business mentorship now where you're— you probably don't even need to prep that much with clients because you're like, I'm ready to go. I'm so excited. I know exactly what I'm doing. That's something I've learned in the last year is, yes, both of us were probably talented and great at life and mindset coaching, but when something comes easy to us and we feel expert in it, it's like a no-brainer to go down that path.

Yeah, well, and I think a lot of people in this industry are worried about switching gears or pivoting or, you know, adopting a new niche or something because they think, you know, oh, my audience expected this thing from me, but I'm really feeling passionate or lit up about this other thing, and what's going to happen if pivot or change. And I think I've heard you speak about this too on your show, but yeah, for me it's just like that authenticity piece. The more that you can remain in integrity with who you are and what you are naturally good at and excited about, the more that the right people are gonna be in your space. And I think if you keep trying to fit into a box because you think it's what other people want from you, then yeah, people might stick around, but they're gonna be the wrong people. You know, so when, when you do what you actually love and what's actually calling on your heart, that's when you like magnetize the people that are right for you because they're like, oh, I really want to learn that thing, or I want to be in this space with you, or yeah, let's talk about that. And that just feels so much better. I don't know how you feel about that, or if you have clients that are worried about like, you know, what if I do this, will I lose followers, or You know, what will happen? Or even like, like people making transitions in their lives even are worried like, oh, like my friends won't get it or my family won't get it. What has that been like for you and your experience?

Yeah, I think the truth is, yeah, people might not get it. My brother, when I come home, is like, I don't get what you do. I try to tell my friends, I don't understand. I don't think my dad has a clue what I'm doing. Um, I have lost followers when I've pivoted. Like actually even the last 6 months, I, I continually keep losing followers, but I'm like, that's actually a kind of a good sign because it's showing me that the way I think about losing followers is like, it's having people at the party that didn't wanna be invited. It's like, great, then please leave. Like, I don't want you at my party if you weren't invited or you don't even wanna be there. So the way I look at, if you think about it too, from a very technical standpoint, losing followers and people that aren't gonna engage with you actually helps your engagement rate. Because the more people you have engaging with your content and the less followers actually boost your engagement rate. So I would reframe that to anybody that's, uh, worried about losing followers. This is totally like Instagram 101 right now, but only 5 to 10% of your audience sees your content anyway. So think of it that way. That's something that's really helped me is like, I have lost followers because I have changed my message. People that used to come to me for strictly mindset manifestation stuff are seeing more podcasting stuff now, and so they're probably like, well, that's not for me. Well, great, I don't want you to be forced to look at my content about podcasting if you're not interested in starting a podcast, just the way I don't like looking at people's content if I'm not interested in it. Thank God we have the option to unfollow. So that's the way I think of unfollows and, um, you know, shifting gears and stuff. But the way I think about it from a spiritual perspective of like, oh, my parents won't get it, or my boyfriend or whatever. It's like, this is— we're gonna get a little woo for a second. The way I think about it is like, if you were to pass away and you could watch a movie of your life, would you want to look at that movie and be like, wow, I had this dream on my heart for my whole life and I wanted to do this thing, but like this guy I was dating didn't understand it, so I just stayed at my office job? Like, that would be a horrible movie to watch, you know what I mean? You'd be like, wait, what happened to that movie? Or You know, you, you know, if you believe in a higher power, that they were like, hey, I gave you all these gifts of speaking, of writing, of dancing, of teaching, and for some reason you didn't use them. Like, can you explain what happened here? Like, I gave you all these talents. That's the way I think of things, is like, why would I throw all these in the— it's like getting a gift and throwing it in the trash. Like, you would never do that if someone gave you a gift. So that's what I think of when I'm like, oh, you know, pivoting to podcast coaching or who— actually, just recently I did a mastermind that had nothing to do with podcasting. It was about self-expression and creativity. And that felt a bit edgy for me because I was talking about, you know, expressing yourself in a different way. And so I was expressing myself a different way online. Again, I did lose followers. I'm sure people were like, what is she doing? But I was like, this is who I am right now. And again, I think of it as like, this is a gift I have to be able to show this side of me. Why would I throw it in the trash? And that's what motivates me. But I won't lie, it's not easy. Like, you know, you do have to develop kind of a failure tolerance and thicker skin, but that's the name of entrepreneurship, I feel like. Like if you don't have thick skin and, uh, the ability to fail and get back up, entrepreneurship is gonna be really hard.

Hey, don't forget that every month we are picking a Listener of the Month to win $50 in cash just for showing love to the show. All you have to do is leave an epic review of the podcast on Apple Podcasts, screenshot the review before you hit submit, and DM that screenshot to us on Instagram @makeshifthappenpodcast. And that's it. I want to thank you for being such a loyal listener and show my appreciation by putting a little extra cash in your pocket. I know it's super easy not to do it, but every single rating and review seriously helps the show rank to hire and reach new people, so we appreciate them more than you know. We'll announce the next winner at the end of the month and slide into your DMs if it's you, so keep an eye out and good luck. Love you guys and thanks for supporting Makeshift Happen. Yeah, for sure. Something that I teach my clients is polarize to magnetize, and I know that you talk a lot about like Yeah, being able to share your authentic opinion and being a little bit edgy or having hot takes on something and, but knowing what the consequence of that is going to be, the consequence and the benefit, right? And so for me, this idea of like polarize to magnetize is you have to be polar in the way that you show up and what you speak about and what you share in the, in your opinions in order to be magnetic to the right people, right? A magnet is only magnetic. Because it has polar ends. And so if you're not being polar in terms of like owning exactly who you are and what you care about and what you want to say, then you may have people around you, but you're not going to have that intense magnetism for the right people. And so yeah, you kind of have to be willing to let those other people fall off so that the right people can be like really, really magnetized to you. So I love that idea. I want to go back just a little bit to the conversation about money because I know you've had your own journey with like money management, and I think it's a really important conversation whether you're a business owner or not. And it's one of my favorite topics. I have courses around money, I teach a lot around money, so I feel like we can jam on this. Yes. But yeah, what do you, what do you think? I think it's so interesting too that your experience was, oh my gosh, I'm being flooded with abundance and I don't know what to do with it. I don't know how to hold it. So of course it's going to flow back out. And so something that I talk about is like having a place and a purpose for your money. Like you have to know if you're— because a lot of people will be like, I really want to manifest $100,000, let's say. But it's like if you got $100,000 tomorrow, let's say by some miracle, right? The universe delivers and it's like, bam, $100,000 in your bank account. Like, would you actually be the person or have the infrastructure to know what the heck to do with that? Like, do you have auto things set up to like go into your savings or to go into your investments? And do you know how much of that you need to set aside for an emergency fund and how much of that goes towards your business? And like, so it's about doing that work before the money arrives, I think is a really important thing. So yeah, I feel like you can speak to what happens if you don't do that stuff before the money arrives.

Yeah, it's, it's like the lotto winners that end up homeless. That's kind of what happened to me where I got this big chunk of money and I was doing an enrollment where all of it pretty much came within 2 weeks. And like I said, I had never seen that amount of money in that quick of time. So first and foremost, just nervous system overload. I was like, whoa, I don't even understand how to manage this. So that kind of freaked me out. And then what you said of not having a purpose or place for it— I didn't understand how much to put away for taxes. I didn't understand what my actual business expenses were. And, you know, could I actually build a business account and put all my expenses there? So when it came, I thought— and everyone thinks this when they start— I know what I would do. I would pay off my debt and I would save it. That's what I thought. I was like, Chelsea, you have credit card debt, you're going to put the massive chunk to it and then you're just going to save some. That's not what happens. You're like, ooh, I could get a new this, I could get a new MacBook, I could get a massage. Oh, wait, but $500, I could do something, I could hire a coach or whatever the case is. And then that was the other thing, because I was starting my business, I started looking at it as, oh my God, I could use all this money to hire a really high-end coach or invest in a really high-ticket course or mastermind. And because I had all these ideas it, it showed in how I spent my money. It was like, someone to a coach, someone to this, someone to that. And then before you know it, it was gone and I didn't have a plan. And that very much, that whole thing of like, what is it? Fail to plan? No, plan to fail, fail to plan. That's what it was. I didn't have a plan and I completely bombed that money, like when it came in. So that's exactly what you said. When you have a purpose it's almost a system that you don't even have to think about. Now, that's what I do. It's like X% to taxes, X% to savings, X% to business expenses. I don't even think of it. As soon as the payment comes in, this system is ready to go. So now every dollar has intention. And I know people are thinking, I can't do that if I'm only making $200 a month or $300 a month. Start managing it now so that when it comes, this system is a habit. So when you do make the $10,000, $50,000, $100,000, the system is set up and it's running like a well-oiled machine.

Yeah, I think that's really great advice. It's so, so powerful to have purpose and structure around your money, especially if you're trying to manifest more of it. Because like you said, everybody thinks they know what they would do if they had a bunch of money. But, you know, even for myself, I'm like, if I got— let's say I got like a million dollars tomorrow, like, I would be overwhelmed by that. I would be like, I would be unsteady with that, of like, holy fuck, that's a lot of money. Should that just be in my account? Like, where am I gonna put that? Like, what investments is that gonna go towards, you know? So yeah, even so, like, you continue on that journey as you grow to new energetic levels of what you're able to hold and keep asking yourself those questions moving forward, you know. You can learn money management, but but as you move up and as you create new normals for yourself, it's also important that you keep like pushing that envelope and being like, okay, but you know, I feel good where I am and I know what's happening right now, but if I were to receive— what's an amount that feels scary to me? How would that impact me? Or what would I want to do with that? And like getting ahead of it in that way. So that's definitely something that I'm working on at the moment is like, yeah, yeah, what do I want to be investing in. And I feel like I need to hire, like, someone to manage all of my investments now. Like, I'm not going to be, like, fiddling around with, like, Bitcoin.

Like, sorry, right? Yeah, it's like, that's the other thing too, is understanding what to invest in. That was a whole thing too, where when you start, you just think, I need to invest in a business coach or a VA. And it's like, sometimes you need to invest in a specialist or really good software or therapy. Like it doesn't always need to be a business investment. That's something I learned early on too, was everything that I made, I was just putting towards business coaching or a sales course or this and that, which was helpful. But looking back, I think I would have put a lot more of it to systems and structures and softwares versus all this money on business coaching. And there was something I was going to say too. Oh, about managing money. Like you said, having a plan, a good way to practice this I think there's two ways. Look at what you do when you get monetary gifts. You know, like for Christmas is coming up, I used to get $100 and be like, oh, I know what I would do. I would get a massage. And then somehow I would use it like on food and drinks and the movies. I'm like, wait, that's not what the plan was. But in my mind, as soon as I got it, I was just like, I wanna spend it. That was a really good indicator of like, I didn't know how to hold and manage money. So practice this holiday season, any gifts that you get. Write down, if I get $500, what am I going to put this towards? Because that's how you start managing money when you make it. And then like Sam said, even writing it out, like if I got $10,000 tomorrow, not even just, oh, I would pay off debt. Get specific. How much are you putting to debt? To what account? How much are you going to put to savings? Like drill down every single dollar because that's a habit that will help you for the rest of your life is managing money.

Yeah, and even just like the idea of being able to look at your money and know where you're at with things like that, I think that's something that a lot of people have to adopt. Like, at the bare minimum, please like stop avoiding knowing what's happening with your money.

Like, yes, the like, you know, don't look at your account and hope that it didn't overdraft is not a business move.

No, it is not a move, girlies. It is not a move. That is a toxic money trait. We're not doing that anymore. No. Okay, so something that I want to get your opinion on, because I know you're like— you share unapologetically your opinions, how you feel about stuff, especially in the coaching industry. So I'm excited to have this conversation with you. I've yet to talk about this at all on the podcast, but I felt like you were the person that would be able to expand on this with me. So, uh, yeah, I want to talk about the money transparency thing that happens in our industry because it's super unique and it's not really something that you see in any other industry really, right? So what I mean by money transparency is the idea that a lot of people in this space are openly sharing their income, their launch numbers, the amount of money that they've invested in courses, coaches, or programs. There's just a lot of transparency around this is how much I'm making. And you don't get that like in the corporate world, you know, like there, it's not like, it's almost like taboo to even ask your coworker or your friend or to even know, have the audacity to think that you should know what they're earning. Um, so yeah, how do you, I have like my opinions about this and my feelings about it and I do have some pros and cons, but I'd love to know how you feel about it. Like coaches really being open and sharing all of these numbers.

So I have so many thoughts on this, and I will start by saying context is everything. Context is key. If you do not have the whole story, I don't think you need to be making any judgments about what someone, uh, leading with their numbers means. So what I mean is, I know people that made— that had six-figure launches, and they're leading with that. What they're not telling you is their relationships are on the rocks. They're going through a breakup because they put so much time into their business that they forgot to tend to their partner. They are in mad credit card debt because they had a crazy launch, but they never learned how to manage their money. And so I'm not saying this to be negative and saying, oh well, you're just saying people that, you know, make a ton of money, um, don't know, can't have all the things. You can't have a great relationship and business and that. That's not what I'm saying. I just think there's so much context missing. Like, I have close friends that have had amazing launches, and they're My anxiety is through the roof. I literally can't sleep. I'm like, I think my boyfriend and I are breaking up. And I'm like, that's interesting because the way it looks on Instagram and the way you're leading with your numbers is that you have the most fairytale perfect life and nothing is going wrong and money solves everything. So that's my whole point of like, context is everything. The other thing that I, the reason I don't lead with numbers is two reasons. I'm still working on my money stuff. So for me to tell you guys, hey, I had a $10,000 launch, that's what happened with my first course launch. I could have taken that and made a whole money course out of it. But you know what was happening behind the scenes? I didn't know how to fucking manage it. So why would I go out and teach a course about money? Yeah, I manifested it and then I blew it. So that would be a horrible— I would be a horrible person to teach on that last year. Which is why I don't think you should be teaching if you're not embodying something. And that's the problem I have with people that are sharing numbers that aren't embodying financial wisdom. So if you're out there having $100,000 launches but you don't know how much credit card debt you're in, you don't even know what your business expenses are, you don't know how to manage money, I do not think you should be leading with numbers. That's not embodying financial wisdom. Um, and I think it's— my take on it is sharing numbers, I feel like works well for business and money coaches because that's kind of your social proof of like, look, I'm helping you. There's an amazing account called Her First $100K, and she talks all about negotiating and salaries and savings. Like, she really helps people with financial wisdom, and she shares her numbers often because that's what she's teaching is financial literacy. For me, that makes a lot of sense. Also business. A lot of, you know, your business runs on profit and how much revenue you generate. So I do think it's important if you're going to hire a business coach that they're not broke as hell and don't know how to, you know, manage their own money. For me as a podcast coach, why would it matter how much I make or share with that? Because I'm not teaching you about financial wisdom or literacy, I'm teaching you about podcasting. So to me, sometimes I think people use the money thing as to flex, to build credibility. Um, you know, people think if I share that I made $10,000 this month, I will look like a better coach, when in reality your skills and talents and the transformations you, you offer to people, that's most important in my opinion. So yeah, I have a lot of opinions, but yeah, those are my initial thoughts.

Yeah, I love that. I think that's so— I mean, the piece about embodiment is so important in whatever it is that you teach, right? Being an embodiment of your message is so, so important. You know, I think there's a lot of people that look at the coaching industry and they're like, oh, I could do that. You know, I've read a couple of books, I know some things, like, I could do that. And it's just regurgitation, and it's not actually you living the message or being an embodiment of the practices and the tools and everything that you're teaching to your students. And that's— yeah, for me is, is out of integrity. And so I always have to check myself with that too, you know. I— yeah, I like at one point was feeling really inspired to create some sort of course or program or offer around relationships because it was something that I worked on with a lot of my clients. And I was getting more into it, and I was obsessed with the attachment styles, and I was reading so many relationship books about— yeah, about communication and getting the love you want and and all of that. And I was like, wow, like, I could really do something with this. But I never created it because I was like, I don't really feel like I'm the person for this, at least right now, you know. Like, my, my relationship story— not that I don't have a good relationship, I have an awesome relationship— but I don't necessarily have the story or the full embodiment of like, I'm deeply in the work of my own relationship. It's just kind of like my relationship is working. And of course there's work that we have to do on it, but it's not like something that I'm so invested in that makes me feel like, oh, I should be the one to give this to somebody else. You know, where there's lots of people that that is the case for them and they're out there helping people with relationships. And not to say that that'll never be something that I can do, but right now it's not a big part of my life. It's not a huge piece of, of me living it. So why would I, you know, stand up on a podium and be like, like, pick me to be the one to teach you this thing. So I love that, I love that you mentioned that. I think that's so important regardless of what you're teaching or sharing, is being an embodiment of the work that you do and the message that you share. And I agree, it makes a lot of sense when, you know, the results that you are sort of promising to your clients or the transformation that you provide does involve earning more money, then it makes sense to be able to show how it works and how it's working for you. In fact, that is sort of an embodiment piece, right? If you are the embodiment of, look, I use these strategies and this is what I do and it helps me make this much money, then I feel like that's a really genuine place to come from, to be like, here's what's possible, I know how this works, like, this is the results that it can get. So one of the pros that I think about this is it's just like, it's very cool that we can always kind of know the industry standards and we can have these expanders right in our face and be able to see what's possible. Because like I said, in corporate America or in lots of other jobs, it's kind of like you don't even know what like the dude down the hall is earning. And a lot of people struggle to be able to advocate for themselves or ask for a raise because because there's so much secrecy around what people are earning. And so I think that's a major pro of, of having this in our industry is like, well, we actually kind of all know what the rates are and what's possible and what people are charging and doing, which makes it feel— yeah, I don't know, it feels so much better. I think the influencer space went through, went through this a lot where it was like influencers wouldn't really share what they charged And it was such a new industry that nobody knew, like even companies, right? Brands at one point didn't even really know, like, how much should we be paying for this? And so you'd get one influencer making like $100K on a post, and then there'd be another influencer making like $1K on a post because they just— there's, there's no transparency of like what is the standard and what are other people doing. So I love that, that, that we have that. But yeah, my con would be that it's not it's not fully honest all the time.

Yeah.

Right. Sometimes it's smoke and mirrors of like $100K launch, but I didn't tell you that I spent $80,000 on my business coach that helped me do that. So what's the actual profit of that?

Right. That's the other thing. No one is actually gonna show you their spreadsheet like you just said and be like, well, actually based on taxes and expenses and this and that. I pocketed this amount. I used to have this myth that like someone had a $10K launch, they literally had $10,000 in their debit checking account. I'm like, that's not true. You usually pocket like maybe 40% of that, if that, based on your business expenses. So I agree. And I do agree with the expander thing because that's— I didn't know it was possible for people to make $100,000 a month until people started sharing they made $100,000 a month. And I'm like, what the fuck? Yeah. I'm like, what are you talking about? So now it is very motivating. I'm like, the fact that there are people that are doing that is so expansive. But yeah, I think this is the also the part about when you're hiring someone, being discerning and asking questions. Like I know a coach that, um, was probably on the way to hit a million dollars last year, but the way she was getting her sales was so icky and forceful, you know, forcing people to give deposits on the phone and take out credit cards and open a line of credit with PayPal. It was just very harmful. And I ended up blocking her because I was like, this energy is— I can't deal with it. And of course, what you see on social media, 7-figure year in 1 year. Oh my God, my first year of business, incredible. But what she didn't say is I basically forced out these people to sign up. My retention rate is low. I know half the people of the program dropped out and it's like, Again, smoke and mirrors. We didn't get all that context. All you see is the million dollar a year, and unfortunately, you know, money talks. So people were investing in her, but then not actually getting the results and feeling really icky about the way they were onboarded. And that's the part that I'm like, I, you need to be discerning when you're hiring people and understand the context of what's going on behind the scenes.

Yeah, I totally agree. I totally agree. I mean, it's such a bummer that there's like people in the space that are not actually like heart-centered coaches that are doing work because they really want to help people, and they're kind of just like, how can I get the most money out of this? Or, you know, what's the easiest, fastest, quickest way for me to make a million dollars? Like, yeah, it is, um, unfortunate because especially when you're in like life and mindset coaching or spirituality coaching or things like that, like it even happens in those cases. It's not just in business coaching. Like, there's a lot of people that are out of integrity with the way that they're presenting and what they're selling and how they're onboarding people or whatever. So for everybody that is listening that maybe wants to hire a coach or whatever, like, yeah, do your research and make sure— like, the biggest— I think, you know, energetically, like you said, you knew immediately with that girl that it was like, eh, this doesn't feel right, this doesn't feel like a match. Like, you know energetically when you consume someone's content for a long time, or you listen to their podcast, you hear their voice, you connect with them. If you've DM'd them before, like, you can get a gauge for how they respond to you and all that kind of stuff. Like, you know, so just be smart and be discerning when you're navigating who you want to hire. So the piece about context I think is so relevant and so important, and I know you have feelings about this as well in terms of manifestation. So I'd love to touch on like, what's your beef with manifestation? Because I know you have— I know you have some beef with manifestation.

Yeah. My issue with the word manifestation, it started to become a synonymous word with materialism. So I would see people that were like, here's an example. I would make vision boards with clients and they would be like, my vision board is just not that good. I'm like, what do you mean not that good? And they're like, well, I don't know. I put like a dog on it because I want a dog and I put the sun because I want to be out in the sunshine more and it's just not that good. I'm like, what do you mean by that though? What do you mean not good? And they're like, well, I didn't put a mansion on it and a G-Wagon and I don't, I don't know that I— I'm like, oh, oh, oh, this is the issue. We got bombarded with manifestation content and vision boards just being G-Wagons and Bali and mansions. And that's why people started thinking that their vision boards were bad. I had multiple clients tell me this where they're like, I know it's not that great. It's— I know I need to work on it. And I'm like, oh my gosh, like the issue with manifestation, it got caught up in being, you know, do you have a Chanel bag? Are you going to Paris? And do you, you know, do you make $100,000 a month? So I feel like with the context thing, it's like we need to again understand behind the scenes of what's going on with everybody's story. But if you drill down manifestation to what it is, like, go Google the definition. It's like to bring something in your mind into reality. So people started, in my opinion, using manifestation as a almost like business strategy. And I'm like, it is something you do every day. We manifested this podcast interview. We thought about each other. We took the action to get the link set up and plug in our microphones. That's a manifestation. If you do laundry today, if you're thinking about doing laundry and you go do laundry, you just manifested doing laundry. But people turned it like into this conflated thing where it's like, oh, I'm not making $1 million and jet setting on a private jet. I'm not manifesting. And I'm like, I don't know where that got turned around. And that's been my beef lately is it's being confused with materialism and like maximalism versus what it genuinely is, is bringing something into reality with your thoughts.

Yeah, that's so good. You know what's funny is like, I, I have loved the idea of manifestation from the start. Like when I first learned about law of attraction, I was like, wow, this is so crazy. Like you can use your fucking mind to like make things real. Like it was one of those things where when you first learn about it, you're like, whoa, mind blown, insane, amazing, so exciting. And you go really deep into it and I loved it so much and it was like the foundation for why I started my whole business and coaching. And I think even to this day, it's probably the thing that I'm like most like maybe known for. Like when people think about me, they probably think about manifestation, but I've never used manifestation to attract or manifest like a physical like object or like a luxury item, right? Not because doing that is wrong. I think if you genuinely want those things, then and yeah, like, use the law of attraction and your principles around manifestation to attract the things you want in your life, whatever they are, even if it is a private jet or a G-Wagon or a trip to Bali or whatever. But if you don't want those things, if you don't have a genuine desire for that, then you don't need to be doing that in order to be manifesting, which I think is your main point, right? Right. People that, that want to feel more loving towards themselves, like you can manifest more self-love, like you can manifest a simple life that you wake up and you enjoy because there's— you have like a really white, bright space and like sun coming through your window, you know, like I totally agree. I think people think of manifesting is attracting a bag or a car or a partner or something really kind of like tangible and physical. When we actually can utilize it for so much more than that. I feel like I've attracted emotional elements of my life, of feeling more confident, and, you know, things in, in my business that isn't just like financial goals. But at the moment, I'm working on a really big manifestation that I mentioned to you before, which is like being able to move back to the US, and that has nothing to do with, you know, me needing to be flying in first class in order to go there, or having a certain amount— like, I, I can pay for the trip, that's not the issue. So it's like, yeah, like, you can use manifestation for so many things in your life, and if you're not using it for material items, it doesn't mean that you're not manifesting, right?

That's what people were thinking, like, I'm doing it wrong because I'm not on a private jet, and it's like, again, if you drill down what the word is, to me it's being mindful and intentional. Your move to the US, you know what you're doing, you're being mindful about it. Where are we living? How much does it cost? Why do we want to move to this city? That's being mindful and intentional, which is why you're saying this is a manifestation I'm working on. You could, you could change out the words to be this is what I'm being mindful and intentional with my time with. To me, that's what manifestation is, is like you're putting more focus focused concentration on that thing and then finding opportunities to make that happen. You're probably looking up flights, probably looking up apartments. Like, that's all a part of manifestation. But again, I think, I, I think what happened was during the pandemic, people were feeling hopeless and they wanted to feel better, started Googling manifestation, vision boards, feeling better, whatever the case was. And there was this overflow of content that I was also a part of. Like I said, I was in the that's how I started, was manifestation coaching as well. Like you said, I think a lot of people know me for that, but I realized that again, people were getting it confused with the luxury stuff and the tangible items, and I want a puppy and a Chanel bag and go to Paris. And that's when I was like, okay, I think people think I'm going to teach them to be rich, which is not what I'm teaching you. I'm like, I'm teaching you to be mindful and present and like grounded. That's That's to me how manifestations actually come through.

Yeah, for sure. Oh my God, I love that so much. That's so true. There's so much like— and also there's that, that trust aspect, that faith aspect, right, of the letting go, of the surrender, of knowing that you're— you'll be okay either way, whether it comes through or not. Like surrendering the timeline of when it has to happen and the how. Like all of that is really what you're teaching when you're helping guide someone through the process of manifestation, it's more so that kind of like energetic, mindful, intentional work than like, okay, so what is the most expensive thing that you're like desiring right now? And like, right, put it on a vision board and just like think about it until it comes into reality. I totally agree. Ah, this has been such an amazing conversation. I feel like we could talk forever. There's so many things. I know, so many things that I wanted to talk about with you that we didn't get to. Um, so we'll have to do it. We'll have to do another round.

Yeah, we need a part 2 for sure, because like you said, we have traveling, Europe, dating foreigners. Like, there's so many avenues we could go down.

Yes, for all the listeners, Chelsea dated a German guy. She moved to Germany. Like, we have a lot of— we have a lot of things in common. So we'll have to do a round 2. So keep an eye out. Um, but thank you so much, Chelsea, for coming on the show. Will you tell everybody where they they can find you and how they can work with you.

Yeah, absolutely. You can go to my website, chelsearife.com. My Instagram is Chelsea Rife. My, uh, podcast is In My Non-Expert Opinion, and then the Instagram for that is Non-Expert Opinion Pod. And then yeah, I do podcast coaching. So if you wanna start a podcast like me and Sam and talk about whatever you want and have fun with it, I am here to help you with all the technical stuff as well as the mindset stuff. So you can apply on my website or just DM me on Instagram and we can have chat and I can see how I can help you.

Yes, cheers to more epic podcasts being out in the world. Amen. Thank you so much for coming on, Chelsea. It's been such a pleasure, pleasure. We will talk to you guys next week. Make sure you click those links in the show notes if you want to find Chelsea on Instagram or go listen to her podcast. I'll see you guys soon. Bye!