Together Digital Power Lounge, Women in Digital with Power to Share
Digital is a demanding and competitive field. And women are still grossly underpaid & underrepresented. But we are not powerless; we have each other. Together Digital Power Lounge is your place to hear authentic conversations from women in digital who have power to share. Listen and learn from our amazing guests along with host Amy Vaughan, Owner and Chief Empowerment Officer of Together Digital. Together Digital is a diverse and collaborative community of women who work in digital who choose to share their knowledge, power, and connections. To learn more, visit www.togetherindigital.com.
Together Digital Power Lounge, Women in Digital with Power to Share
Marriage, Marketing & Making It Work
Welcome to The Power Lounge! In this episode, "Marriage, Marketing & Making It Work," Amy Vaughan engages with Rhea Allen, the driving force behind Pepper Shock Media and host of the highly acclaimed Marketing Expedition podcast.
For over two decades, Rhea and her husband Drew have achieved what many couples only dream of: running a thriving business while nurturing their family and marriage. Join Amy as she uncovers the authentic stories behind their success—how Rhea and Drew balance work and home life, manage the pressures of entrepreneurship, and sustain creativity without losing sight of themselves.
Discover practical strategies for juggling business and family, candid insights into the realities of partnership, and valuable advice for those on the entrepreneurial path—especially those blending love with business. Rhea also shares her unique approach to preventing burnout, the significance of clear communication, and the impact of community and mentorship on achieving real success.
Prepare for an insightful conversation filled with practical wisdom and inspiration for both your professional and personal journey.
Chapters:
00:00 - Introduction
00:10 - "Power Lounge: Empowerment & Insights"
06:03 - Harmony Through Balance and Compromise
08:57 - "Balancing Life Through Connection"
12:23 - Living by the Calendar
15:38 - Co-Regulation for Stress Relief
18:55 - Podcasting Success and Networking Insights
22:47 - "Women's Health, Community, Vulnerability"
26:58 - Processing Leadership Challenges Together
28:47 - "Smart, Supportive CFO Friend"
33:41 - "Planning Goals and Future Vision"
34:40 - "Future Plans for Growth"
38:24 - First Scotch Experience
43:31 - Video Production and Advertising Insights
45:57 - "Behind the Scenes Insights"
47:24 - Authenticity in Business and Life
48:40 - Outro
Quotes:
"Rest isn’t just a reward—it’s the fuel that allows us to show up, build, and thrive. Take the breaks you need, because that's what leads to your best work and your best life."- Amy Vaughan
"You can't go at this alone—lean on your people, ask questions, and pay it forward. The real secret to thriving is building your support system both in business and in life."- Rhea Allen
Key Takeaways:
Building Together: The Power of Partnership
Intentional Boundaries & Real-World Balance
Continuous Growth: Learning, Leaning, and Leadership
Embracing Rest and “Me Time”
Navigating Disagreements with Respect and Love
The Magic of Community & Giving Back
Podcasting as a Door Opener
Connect with the guest Rhea Allen:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peppershock/
Website: https://peppershock.com/
Connect with the host Amy Vaughan:
LinkedIn: http://linkedin.com/in/amypvaughan
Podcast: https://www.togetherindigital.com/podcast/
Learn more about Together Digital and consider joining the movement by visiting Home - Together Digital
Hello everyone and welcome to your weekly Power Lounge. This is your place to hear authentic conversations from those who have power to share. My name is Amy Vaughn, and I am the owner and chief empowerment officer of Together Digital, a diverse and collaborative community of women who work in digital and choose to share their knowledge, power, and connections. You can join the movement at Togetherindigital.com. And today I am thrilled to welcome someone who has been living the entrepreneur dream and reality for over two decades. Ray Allen is the president and co-founder of PepperShock Media, and a certified women-owned business that has been building brands in bottom line since 2003. She's also the host of the Marketing Expedition Podcast. This has been a fun little podcast episode swap. I highly encourage you to go check out her podcast. I had a blast being on it a couple weeks ago. So we're excited to have her here with us. Her podcast, Marketing Expedition, is ranked in the top 5% most popular podcast globally. Go Ray. And as uh she's also an adjunct marketing professor. But here's what makes Ray's story so stand out. She has built all of this alongside her business partner and husband, Drew, while raising two kids, sons, so boy, mom, uh, and keeping their spark alive both professionally and personally. Today, Ray is sharing how she and Drew balances marriage, marketing, and making it all work without losing themselves in the process. We're diving into the entrepreneur, into entrepreneurship boundaries without losing yourself. Oh, no, I read that line again. We're diving. I'm I'm I'm trying to stay above the water. We're diving into entrepreneurship boundaries, burnout, creative collaboration, and real talk about what it actually takes to sustain both a thriving business and a thriving relationship. Ray, welcome to the Power Lounge. Well, thank you so much, Amy. Wow, that was a lot to read. You know, it is for Friday, but we did it. So I'm just gonna pat myself on the back. And yeah, that's the hard part. That's over. The conversation never, especially with you, Ray. Um, the two of you have been in business um partners and spouses, which I mean, I think a lot of us that are listening right now are like, well, that's not for everybody, and not everybody could do that for over two decades. And that is, you know, obviously remarkable and wonderful. What made you decide to build a company together? And what do you what did you think at the time would be the hardest part?
SPEAKER_01:Well, I guess it all started back when um I was working at a TV station here locally in the Boise market, and in comes walking this guy, I'm like, who is that? And anyway, he got hired, and uh it turns out I at the time was his boss. Um we didn't date or anything, and I at the time was already dating somebody else, and you know, that didn't work out. But um, yeah, so we were friends and hung out and um you know got to know each other for quite a while just as friends. And you know, they always say like friends first, so that kind of worked out and fast forward, and he actually quit working in the TV station and um worked for Micron, but then they laid people off and he decided I want to move to Seattle, and I decided, well, I do too. I want to get out of Dodge, right? I want to go explore the world. And uh, so I had to finish my undergrad at Boise State, and then we both moved to Seattle, and I worked at Northwest uh Cable News and then Fox Station. He got a degree at the Art Institute, and so we lived there for a little while until he got his degree, and then I worked on my master's degree at the same time. And um, while I was in Seattle, got a whole bunch of big city experience working at the Fox Station and did promotions in the afternoon, did news at night, and um really just um after working news, it's a kind of a love-hate relationship, right? You you you work Easter and Christmas and New Year's Eve and all the things, all the holidays. And um at the time, my the main newscast director had been there for years and years, and he's still there to this day. So I really had no forward movement up. And uh there was one point where he took some time off for his wife who had twins, and I ended up working 52 days straight, um, filling in for him and for uh, you know, and and I was like, this is not what I want to do for the rest of my life. And my um undergrad was in mass comm and marketing. I kind of combined two degrees into one, and then my master's degree was entrepreneurship and marketing. And so I've always had the entrepreneurial bug in me growing up with my grandparents. They both had farm, a farm and a motel and just um had that kind of work ethic. So fast forward, we moved back, we boomeranged back to Boise uh in and got married in August of 2003 and started the business in October of 2003. So we've not known any other way.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah. Yeah. That's so fantastic. And you've obviously successfully grown Pepper Shock Media. Now it is a certified woman-owned small business. Um, you work on a lot of different industries. Looking back, what moment made you realize that you needed to establish stronger boundaries between work and home to actually sustain growth? Because I can only imagine you work together, you live together, it would be so easy to just work nonstop, which is what you were leaving for, right? That's why you went and did your own thing.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah. I think um, and we're also growing babies together a couple of years later, our our oldest son was born. But um, I think the the I guess the I don't know, the secret sauce or whatever it is is just that we really balance each other out. So if I have a networking event to go to in the evening, you know, he would take care of the boys, or vice versa. He's a morning person, I'm not. I'm a night owl because working news you in in Seattle got I got off at, you know, the news goes on at 11 o'clock at night, and so I wouldn't get out and you know, so I was just always a night owl and he's a morning person, which again balances each other out. And honestly, there's a lot of things that are yin and yang about us, and I think that that is really the the key that helped us make it work. Um, because we could really, I mean, I'm a little more, I can take risks, he's a little more risk adverse, so then we kind of you know compromise and balance and and talk things through. And um, and that's been I think the the pattern for us is being able to just understand what we're doing and how we're doing it and and scheduling everything that we can as much as we can. I mean, gonna we kind of live and die by our calendars these days, but yeah, um, you know, and some flexibility too, like when the when one of the boys was sick or when you know something happened, we just you know maneuvered the things that we needed to and and worked it out. And um, yeah, sure, there's times that could be stressful or or you know, heated moments, I will say, um, in in multiple different ways. But I think that we have a an understanding, a mutual understanding of you know how he can help me and how I can support him. And and it has been um, yeah, after 22 years of of just really understanding each other's needs, and and he's he's actually really a good guy too. I mean, he brings me coffee in the morning and um he cooks and cleans, which is amazing. So there's that uh that is also very helpful. He's he's a really um, you know, just uh giving and thoughtful person that can, you know, help around the house and in the business.
SPEAKER_00:So having that balance and and that intentionality, I think, is really good. And then able to also feel like you can have those conversations that might feel like I don't know what your old style is, but like, you know, if one's confrontational, one's non-confrontational. Or if you're both non-confrontational, it can get really challenging when you're kind of dealing with not just like household decisions and money decisions and family decisions, but business decisions. Do you feel like you guys do anything extra out of just like kind of being in sync from a personality standpoint? Are there other intentional efforts you guys make in order to make sure that each one of you feels seen and heard, not just as a partner partner in your marriage, but also is business partners?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah. So we follow um, well, I mean, not not necessarily religiously follow the EOS system, but I mean we do incorporate quite a bit and um yeah, same page meetings. And um I am the person who is ideation is one of my top strengths, and I come up with so many different ideas now. It's awesome to have the team to help implement some of those ideas. Um and he's sort of the sounding board that I will come up with in sometimes fast and furious ideas, and he's gonna be like one that's pulling the reins and saying, whoa, Ray, let's let's like slow down a little bit and like let's finish what we started and and you know the execution part of it. So uh the same page meetings are really helpful. Um, and it used to be when the boys were little, my grandma and his grandma would make it a point to watch the boys just so that we would have date night at least once a month. Um, and that was that was helpful and meaningful. And then they the boys could go see their grandparents and and be a part of that. Um so there's different things that we would do and places we would go, and sometimes we would just um you know take weekends off or day trips or road trips or something. A lot of what happens in decisions that get made is when we're driving on long road trips somewhere because we have that dedicated time that we're in the car together, and and now my oldest son he um goes to school and it takes about 10 hours to get to where he's at.
SPEAKER_02:Wow.
SPEAKER_01:And you know, recently we um we have a production van and we needed to go take him some furniture because he we just bought a townhouse with him together and um has he had no furniture, so we we took a road trip and um yeah, I mean it just those are the moments that we make decisions and talk things through, or we'll listen to audio um audiobooks, or we'll uh listen to podcasts and you know just get ideas and things that we can do to continuously improve. We're we definitely practice, you know, continuous improvements a lot, um, and just you know, processes and those types of things. And the big news is we just bought another agency. Oh, congrats, that's huge. And now we have new employee and new 25 new clients all overnight, right? Um, as of December 1st. So we um there's a a um a guy that showed up to one of my networking events, and I'm like, Tom, what are you doing here? You're you're my competitor. He's like, I come in peace. I want to take you to lunch. And um he's you know, going to eventually retire. He's in the business now with us. And um, so we got to talking and um he wanted to find somebody that would take care of his clients just as he's he's taken care of his clients, you know. And so anyway, that's that's uh a whole nother, you know, a whole nother ball game to put together and and put to in into motion. But um I think fantastic, we can do it.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, absolutely. Well, I guess on that note, burnout is kind of a real thing, right? Within digital marketing advertising, the clients, the demands, especially when you're gaining 25. Um, how have you worked? Like, what are some actionable things you've done to help manage the pressure of running a business, teaching, hosting a podcast, and then also being present for your family without burning out completely because there's a lot right there that you're doing.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, yeah. Well, there's always a lot. Um, I think that I've always had high energy anyway. And so slowing down is I mean, it's it's a good part of what I do occasionally. Like I'll specifically schedule time away, or like um a friend of mine, we we there's a mountain town here called McCall. It's a couple hours away. Just take a weekend and get away, right? Um do kind of a spot a sort of thing. Um, I do intentionally put time in to just just just slow down, take a break. Um, but while I'm in the midst of it, while I'm teaching, um, while I'm you know doing podcasts and running the business and family and all those things, I really do live and die by the calendar. And if I have it in the calendar, it's gonna happen more likely than not. And um, unless I get sick, which does happen every once in a while, but um and still, you know, the nice thing is you can work from home when you have have to. Uh, but I think the the aspect of just making sure that you spend time doing doing your nails. Like I'm showing my nails. Like I every every once in a while a friend of mine and I get together to do that and just slowing down to do the things that can give you some of that me time and um let allow your brain to relax. I do um sometimes I'll binge watch some Netflix, I'll admit, uh, just because I want to turn my brain off and just watch some dumb show, you know? Um, and those things kind of help, you know, to to just unwind and um not have my brain going 24-7 like it otherwise could.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. It's yeah, it's all about pacing yourself, right? It's not a sprint, it's a marathon. And if you're not pacing yourself and taking the breaks that you need, like you're not going to go farther faster. You are gonna collapse, right? At mile 22. Yeah, I agree. I think a rest is a great way to actually perform better. I think sometimes we fool ourselves into thinking that a rest is actually going to slow me down, but no, what you get from that rest is going to help you perform better. Um better.
SPEAKER_01:The other day, you need to rest so that you can do all of the rest.
SPEAKER_00:Yes, yes, that's a great one. I love that. Rest so you can do the rest 100%. I am right there with you on that. So we kind of touched on this a little bit earlier. Um, you know, both of you, you and Drew are co-founders. How do you navigate the creative differences or when you disagree on a business decision? How do you keep that from spilling like into the family life and the family dynamic?
SPEAKER_01:Um, yeah, I mean, I won't lie, there's definitely, you know, discussions that come up when we're home and you know, our our boys know the business just in just as much as we do because they've been around it and seen it and been a part of it. And I when they were little, I would take them to networking functions so they knew lots of things too. So it's really um, you know, we're integrated. I mean, the the whole work-life balance thing is is I think somewhat of a farce that you can't necessarily do that a hundred percent. That's right. Um, but now, you know, I think that we we do take time away and like let's just not talk about that right now and let's just relax, or you know what, my brain's done for today. Let's just, you know, um focus on something else or do something else. And we play games a lot and do um some gameplay things, and I love trivia. Um I love trivia. And uh my dad is like this walking, I don't know, encyclopedia, you know, and so we and it's fun because we can go to Trivia Night and have the different generations and there's something there for everyone. So it's a really fun thing to do. Um, so yeah, sometimes we'll just do some things that are just for fun, you know, and and that helps a lot.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, no, that's good. Well, because I've also been learning lately um about like co-regulation, you know, when you get dysregulated because of stress and burnout, which we were just talking about, or if you're in a state of conflict over something with a in a business, in a close relationship, your nervous system's like, what? Um and you can be qualified or flight. So this is a great tip for anybody, whether you're in a romantic relationship or in a work relationship that gets kind of contentious, um, going for a walk together, playing cards together, anything like that can help you like co-regulate. Um, anything like that that kind of takes you out of that moment of like fear and flight and brings you back into kind of calm and logic and left side of the brain stuff. Yeah. Um, and I've even started doing that kind of things with my kids just as well to kind of like give us both time and space to kind of chill out for a minute and maybe pause the conversation and discussion and give us it's not a again, like the rest, right? So you can do the rest, it's it's not a distraction to permanently detract, it's to help bring yourself back into regulation. So then you can kind of come at the problem one more time, maybe a little less hot.
SPEAKER_01:Right.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah.
SPEAKER_01:No, I know it's definitely um helpful to to take a pause. You know, one thing I also do is I have a ladies poker group and I love it. And it's nice to go and see the ladies and hang out with them. Because I mean, I'm I'm a boy mom, right? I at home I have all a bunch of boys, so it's kind of fun to go to do that. And um, it's it's fun to get away and do those things. And then Drew, you know, also has his friends and he does, you know, the hunting, fishing, hiking, biking things. And so it's also good for us because we work and live and sleep together, that we you know, sometimes have time apart from each other too, and and that's okay. And whenever he's gone hunting for, you know, a couple weeks at a time, it's like, uh, I miss him.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that makes sense. I love that. That's good advice. All right, let's talk about your podcast, The Marketing Expedition. It is in the top five percent of most popular podcasts globally again. Preach way to go, awesome. What is it like building that alongside everything else? And what does it add to your life and business? Because I know I could speak on this, so I'm kind of curious on from your standpoint because it was such a delightful experience being on your show as well.
SPEAKER_01:Well, thank you. Um, so the cool thing about the Marketing Expedition podcast, I mean, we I've been podcasting for years and years and years. Before podcasting was such a cool thing to do. I've just did it whenever I wanted to, or whenever I had somebody cool in the studio already that we were interviewing, I'd just say, hey, let's record a podcast. Are you cool with that? And then we would. And then pandemic happened, and we started seeing the numbers like explode of people downloading. And I thought the opposite. I was like, oh, no one's gonna listen because they're not commuting anywhere. They're commuting from the couch to the kitchen, right? They're not they're not gonna listen, but boy was I wrong. And suddenly it just imploded, and we started getting, you know, 60,000 downloads and all over the world. And I loved that. And so we did it every week. We now do it bi-weekly just because it's like I you know, during during COVID, you had time, right? Now it's like okay. Um, and so we we do pre-record and and put them out there, and I have people um come to the studio too, this the studio that I'm recording at now. And it's been great because a couple things happen. One, I learned from industry experts from all over the world and very um interesting uh cutting edge, bleeding edge things that people are talking about. And that is that is so critical to our business because now I can implement things that I've learned. And I've also gained new vendors because of people that we've talked to and interviewed, and partners from all over that we've worked with. Then second, thirdly, I guess I would say is um it's it's great for our clients too, and it's just that thought leadership and authority that I get to interview them and and have them, you know, develop that relationship. And I've developed clients over um you know podcast guesting with and guests, it's great. Um, and then I guess the the final thing really is um it gives some uh whenever I speak on a stage or um whenever I'm asked to do things, it it gives some of that like thought leadership and authority of of you know um reputation building and things like that. So when you say it's a Top 5% podcast globally, you know, it's it's it's like, wow, that's so cool to hear. I mean, I want 1%, right? I'm I'm a little competitive too. That's a little bit in my strengths. But I think um, and definitely building it up over time and and having some really amazing, cool people like you on the podcast, you know, it's been it's been such a journey and and and growing that show and then monetizing it, right? Monetizing the mic. So it's been fun. Yeah. I love it.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, congrats. It is no small feat. Podcasting, like you said, when you started, there was nothing like in the space and happening. And now there's a lot out there. And I do think people um do miss or do underestimate the power of like looking at networking as a way or not, looking at podcasting as a way to network and build relationships. And I don't mean networking in like the slimy transactional way, but in like the true relationship building kind of way that can ended up being transformative, like you said, finding vendors, finding clients. Yeah. You know, just finding new professional friends. Like that's just really, I think what I enjoy best about it for sure. And I think that that's what makes it easy to give it time, right? When you're already so busy, is because you know the value of that. So you're like, oh, one hour every other week, yeah. If it leads to new business, oh, why wouldn't I? If it gets me a great vendor, why wouldn't I?
SPEAKER_01:If I make a new BFF, let's get it. That's a fun thing too. Like, and sometimes I have people come back, or they'll have me come back too, because like what we're doing is pod swapping, right? And it and it's nice because now we can both promote each other's show. Um, and it also builds and the the other cool thing, I guess the bonus thing is now we have all this amazing content that we can pull from and do. And I I think that um being able to have snippets of all of these things that we can put out there, little quotable moments and things, helps with social media, helps with the recognition and and you know, just having that visibility online and in person. And and when I speak um uh on stages, you know, I'll have them download the the QR code or look at the QR code to do the podcast and always see a spike of it. And it's nice to hear back when people hear the show and have wonderful comments to say. It makes me feel good.
SPEAKER_00:It does. I agree. Yeah, it's and it's always kind of trippy when people are like, I heard you on this show. I listened to the whole episode. It was so good. I'm like, ah it's very real, but also very nice because again, it's like you, you know, I think in your show, like I feel like the whole conversation, everything was so easy and relatable, you know, it makes people feel hopefully a little less alone in what they might be facing in or dealing with. Because we talk about just about everything on on the digital power lounge. Like I don't know that there's many topics of between mental health and women's health and what we do as marketers that we haven't really touched on at leadership in ways that have been really truly vulnerable. And I just I appreciate it so much because a lot of women are kind of working, living on an island and don't always have the partners that they need, you know, to kind of muddle through or get through or figure it out, you know. They feel like they have to do it all in on their own. Um, and so I think that's where like community and podcasting and being a part of podcasting community is a really great thing. Um, so yeah, shout out to all of you that are listening, live listeners, by the way. You can drop questions into the chat if you have any for Ray. Um, but I would say like I encourage you, like step out there. If you're looking at public speaking, I think podcast guesting is a great way to just get your chops, like to build your chops, get your muscle built up on like doing interviewing, answering questions, finding your talking points. And it to me, because it's more conversational, I think it all comes out more naturally once you start doing actual public speaking, in my opinion. Because no offense, all my live listeners, but I have the time I just forget. I get so consumed by the conversation with my person, I just am like, oh yeah, y'all are here listening. Just kidding. I know y'all are here. And I love you and appreciate you. But do recommend you considering it. So don't be shy. Look around. Um, was it PodMatch? That's a good one to look at um for podcasting. You don't have to start your own podcast right away. That is an endeavor of its own. But guesting alone, great way to build relationships.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, no, definitely. And we get a lot of people who want to be on the show. And I always say, listen, if you come on the show and you're there just to promote yourself for you know an hour and just be, you know, kind of salesy the whole time, nobody wants that. And that's not either for our audience, right? And so I always want to make sure that people give value and have something of value to give and and share. And then yeah, okay, we'll we'll drop the the stuff at the end. But I think um if if people understand that people want to listen to stories, people want to hear things that are gonna be relatable to them. And and so when people are thinking about being on a podcast or being a podcast host, right? Uh think about your audience and who it is that you want to hear and have resonate with you. Yeah, absolutely.
SPEAKER_00:I agree. That's such good advice. Yeah, 100%. I think that making it useful, making it relatable, making it real, you know, is is so very, very important. You're gonna see a lot more um come out of that, otherwise. But yeah, no, great call. All right. When you look at couples in business together, what is one thing that separates those who thrive from those who maybe struggle, would you say?
SPEAKER_01:Ooh, um, I mean, I I would say that we've struggled and thrived uh up and down all around too. So we've got to in either way. Um, I think those that thrive have a support staff and and team to build them and and the and not just the support staff that they might hire, but maybe the support around them. So one of the things that we did early on was I made a pepper shock advisory board of people who wanted to help see us succeed. And I had former executives that have retired, I had a lawyer, I had a financial planner, uh, I had a client sit on our advisory board. I love it. And I think that was really helpful, uh, especially since we were kind of young at the time when we started the business. I mean, I was 25. Um didn't know what I was doing, right? And I I I mean, I had to fake it till I made it, right? I mean, that's that's part of it. But I feel like asking questions and having a mentor, mentors is super critical in being able to thrive. The other thing I did is um we did a ladies' mastermind group and um worked with or and just had other leaders in in that ladies' mastermind group. And and there's about 10 of us, not everybody could always show up every time, but once a month we'd get together for a couple hours over lunch. You know, we paid for lunch. That's the we didn't charge or anything, you know, because it was just uh all of us coming together. And I think we process a lot of issues that leaders go through. Yeah. Um, we had like the CEO of a credit union, um, another um a person that had worked in healthcare that got burnt out on healthcare and then started her business and was, you know, coming from healthcare being a nurse to now starting a business is completely different. So we processed a lot of things. Another gal was like she was a vet an event um planner and wanted to go big. And so we just we processed so many things for each other and we learned from other people what they were going through and how we can incorporate that. I mean, I I you know, I have everything from employee issues to um, you know, I wanna when we moved um building spaces years ago, I needed to process do we want to move? Is this the right decision? Sure. You know, what am I not thinking about that I should? And maybe some of the people had already been through a move before. And oh, Ray, you gotta think about this, and oh, you gotta spend money on this, and oh, you gotta think about that, and you didn't think about this. I'm like, oh my gosh, right? So it was just a really good thing to lean on other people's expertise and experiences. And um, you know, you do have to be careful about who you take advice from, right? Sure. Sometimes they their advice may not necessarily be 100% applicable to yours or your situation. Um, so obviously you have to discern what advice you're getting and how you are going to incorporate it, but having those people around you and having the support is definitely you can't go at this alone. You really have to have other and lean on other people's expertise. I have to do one more shout out to a really dear friend of mine. Um we went through an emerging leaders program together through the SBA Small Business Administration, and um she's a she's a CFO, CPA, smart, smart person. And I was like, I really want to be in her group because she does numbers, and I'm not great at numbers. Like I have a little bit of dyslexia, so numbers and I like I know that I need that. Yeah, and she has been like such a great asset and person in my life, and just um, you know, lean on for a friendship, but also just she's so smart. Cheryl is her name. And I am so glad that we met because she has um just kind of acted as a pocket CFO, if you will. Uh, and and I think that having those support people around you who are smarter than you in certain areas has have been the secret to really um being, you know, thriving versus you know surviving. Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:No, that's great advice. No, a hundred percent. Like the never underestimate the power of your peers and peer mentorship. I think sometimes we think we have to go to people who have 10, 15 years on us, but there's something really amazing about people who are kind of can be in the thick of it with you because that's maybe where they were like a half step ago, you know, or maybe you're just a half step ahead of them. And so you kind of know exactly where they're at, what they're going through. You know, 10 years from now, it's kind of like giving birth, right? We just kind of like, well, you know, it was bad, but it wasn't that bad, right? Because then we have more kids, otherwise we wouldn't.
SPEAKER_01:Well, paying it forward, right? And my students now that I mean that's what they do. They get to build an agency and pitch a real client. And I love being able to pay it forward and say, here's what I've done, here's what I know. You know, learn from me if you want, and and absorb, you're gonna get whatever you you know put into it, but uh definitely paying it forward and mentoring other people. I mean, I've done the B Wise program for the Boise Young Professionals and mentoring young people is it. I mean, I needed that, and now I absolutely want to give it to other people when I can, for sure. Love it.
SPEAKER_00:Love it. All right. For any of our listeners or members who are thinking about um starting a business with their partner, or they maybe they're already on that journey and maybe hitting a rough patch. What's the most important conversation would you say that they need to have?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, um, so many thoughts kind of go through my mind. And uh I think the number one thing that you have to understand is not everybody is entrepreneurial spirit. Not everybody has that entrepreneurial drive. And and so when you pick a partner that you're gonna go into business with, whether it's your your your husband or your spouse or your any partner, you have to understand where their skill sets are and where your skill sets are and how you can come together and understand how you're going to be able to, because there sometimes you won't agree. You just won't. No matter who you are, no matter what, not everybody agrees with everything, and that's okay. How are you gonna handle it? What's the reaction? What's the plan to get through something like that that you don't agree on? How are you gonna come through the other side? And maybe talk about the process that you're gonna go through when you have disagreements and what does that look like? Feedback is a gift, I say, right? Yeah. And we say, you know, don't deny defender blame, just say thank you when you have feedback. One of the things that I've learned is ask if you can give feedback before you give it. Because that gives a moment of like, okay, she's got something to say to me. Yeah. Let me get in the right headspace. And and that's helped a lot because I used to just be like, Go straight for it. Go straight for it, tell you what I think, when I think it, and how I think it. But that emotional intelligence to stop, pause, and be like, I have something I need to say, but I need to think about what they're at and how they're gonna receive this from me. And that is something I've I've worked on a lot. I mean, after the last 20 years, is like we don't want to we don't want to be like the wrath of Ray, right? We want to have the rewards, right? We want to be in a in a positive space. So I've definitely learned a lot over the years. And what I would say to those who are starting a new business in in a partnership relationship, whatever it is, um, have conversations around how you're gonna handle conflict and how you're gonna be able to get paid back to each other. And and sometimes you have to just take a pause and walk away. Yeah, and that's okay. And just notice like, okay, things are getting heated. I need to take a break. Let's just take a break. And and that's okay, you know?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, that's wonderful advice, Ray. Wonderful. Thanks. All right, got a couple. Oh, I've got one more question, and then we're gonna go into our fun little power round, um, which are like our lightning round questions. And then again, live listeners, if you have any questions for Ray that are a little more specific to maybe what you're dealing with or doing, um, we love having you here. So feel free to jump into the chat and let us know if you have questions. Looking ahead at the next chapter of your work in life, how are you thinking differently about success balance in what you're building together going forward, especially with this new news of this new agency?
SPEAKER_01:I know, I know. Well, right now it's kind of like moment by moment, day by day, just trying to, you know, meet all the new clients and everything. But fast forward from now, I think the the goal that we want to establish is um or you know, maintain, and actually we're we're gonna be doing goals at the beginning of the year um and and kind of really laying these out our vision of what we want. Um, but some of the kind of the thoughts behind what we want to do is um be in a part in a place where like Tom just sold his business to us, eventually either we're gonna be in that position where we will um sell our business and or our employees can, you know, we can go through that process if they, you know, are in a spot they want to uh carry forward with with having it being employee owned or not. Um, and or uh I don't think either one of our boys are gonna make, I don't know what they're I don't know. They're they're they're 20 and about to be 18. So they've got some time ahead to figure that out. But I think ultimately we're going to get into a spot where we're not in the day-to-day as much as we are right now. And I'm gonna focus more on the consulting speaking authorship kind of um area of of what I'm already doing, just maybe at a at a higher, you know, uh capacity. And I mean, I get to speak all over the world, they they fly me everywhere, but I I want to um maybe hone in a little more on being able to be that speaker that people need for me, the content expert speaker that I uh that I am, and um do more of that and also you know, finish another book and get that out in the world. And so those so those are some of the kind of the sites I see in in the future um where we have the staff and the team to fully take on more of the responsibilities that Drew and I are doing now on the operation side for Drew and for me, kind of the business development, managing, running the company kind of thing, and start to peel off some of those pieces and some of those duties that each of us do to others and have them um be able to be fully sustainable without just Drew and Ray doing the things that need to get done. So that's where I see us in you know the next five, 10 years. So that's what we're thinking.
SPEAKER_00:Super exciting. I love it. That's great. And I love that you guys are coming back to it on an annual basis. It's so important. All right, time for a lightning round. What is the best business decision that you and Drew have made together? What do you say?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, best business decision that we made together. Well, this is kind of a fun little, I'll keep it short. Um, we were in northern Idaho, which is about eight hours from where we are, six to eight hours where we are, on another project. And I took I got this random phone call uh on my phone, and it was PMS productions. So uh uh Peter Scott McGregor Productions that called and I'm like, who is this random person calling me? I somehow we were in the toy shop buying toys for the boys. There's a cute little locally owned toy shop up there, and I'm like, I'm looking at this, I'm like, okay, I'll answer it. Turns out it happened to be the production company that hired Mr. Harrison Ford himself. And we got to work on a documentary about flight and aviation because Mr. Ford is a backcountry air uh pilot, right? And um, so we got to spend a week with production, and there's um one of the toughest landing strips in North America is in Idaho called Wilson Bar. And um, so this this whole documentary it was for the Smithsonian Um Wings Over the Rocky Air Museum in Denver, Colorado. So the Rocky Mountains, right, through Idaho and and and Colorado, right? And um anyway, so we got to work on this amazing production that was so cool, and we had to keep it under wraps because we, you know, no one would know that Mr. Ford was in town and doing all this with us. And um the the fun little story is that we found out that he likes scotch. Okay. And I had never had it before. And and the liquor store's closed. So I'm calling all my friends who have vacation homes in McCall area, right? In the mountain town resort. And we found somebody that they and like, can we like borrow your bottle of like it was a 15-year-old bottle of McClellan, McClellan's uh scotch, I think it's called. And we get it. And um, one of the the evenings that we're doing the dinner, you know, doing the like night thing. Well, Mr. Ford decides to pass the bottle around and we all take a swig. And I had never really had scotch before. I know that you don't really, you don't just chug it, you just kind of it's like a sipping thing. And oh my gosh, I had to like keep my composure because when I when the scotch went down my throat, it like to me, it was like gasoline coming down my throat because it was too much and I, you know, took too much, whatever. And uh oh my gosh, I had to like keep calm and and he's like he's smiling with his little smirk, you know, and he's seeing what I'm going through and I'm like, oh my gosh.
SPEAKER_00:So that's my first experience with Mr. Ford and Spongebob and you know, at least you didn't spit it out in his face.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, I know, right? Drew was it quoted in the paper like it was like, holy shit, that's Han solo. And they actually put the word fit in the paper. Sorry if you so forgive it. But it was like it was so fun. It was so it was just an amazing fun experience. So I'm the the best decision that we made is taking that phone call. Right, ran into the phone. You know, I mean we we get spam calls all the time, but you never know what it's gonna be that call that comes up that you're like, wow, this was such a cool opportunity for us to get to do and work on this and you know, shoot the footage and audio. And and um we had a Cineflex helicopter um with uh because this is before drones, this is 2009. Um, and it had a camera on it, and the helicopter pilot was like a uh former helicopter pilot in Vietnam and He also is the pilot in Transformers. And so anyway, um it was just it was so cool. Such a cool experience.
SPEAKER_00:I was gonna say, sounds like it was pretty surreal. That's amazing. All right, finish the statement. Um the secret to our marriage surviving entrepreneurship is um, you know, I think the secret to surviving marriage and entrepreneurship is I think we just have a love for each other that will never go away.
SPEAKER_01:I love him, he loves me, and I know that, and and we love each other and our and our kids, right? And our family. And I think that sometimes, you know, when I do something stupid and dumb, he can forgive me. And when he does something stupid and dumb, I hate the way stupid. Maybe I should say ignorant, but it's okay. You know, we forgive each other to me. We forgive, forget, move on, and carry on. And I think that our secret is that you know, we love each other.
SPEAKER_00:Really. Yeah. When it sounds to it its core, and I think this is important for just any relationship, platonic or otherwise, right? Is that there's trust and respect for each other. You know, and once that's kind of that when that's broken, it's really hard to make it work, no matter what kind of relationship it is. So I love that. All right, what is what boundary that you've set that has surprised your family maybe in the best way?
SPEAKER_01:Oh, um gosh, boundaries are always like a I don't know. Do I have boundaries? Yeah, I do. Um I would say something that I I guess when it comes to how our kids were being raised or the things that we would, you know, want for our kids that maybe were something that you know some family member wouldn't agree to, or I don't know, whatever. Um like I don't know, I I that's kind of hard to say, but I think you know, we we our kids are good kids, and I think that um we kind of had to set some boundaries about what we wanted as far as for our kids' rules go and like how they would, you know, be able to to interact and behave and be around. So, you know, when they would go to grandparents or when they go to other people's, like we wanted them to be respectful and we wanted them to, you know, do all the things that we would do. And they were they're my oldest is an Eagle Scout, the youngest is about to get his Eagle Scout. He's in social side. Awesome. That's no small feat board of reviews and stuff. So um, yeah, that would be one thing. I think um that would, you know, surprise family. I don't know. Um I I don't know. I struggle with it because I probably need more boundaries to be honest. Yeah, it's okay.
SPEAKER_00:I think we all feel that. We all feel that. It is hard, it is hard. I feel you. Um, all right, this is a fun one because a lot of us here or that are listening are working parents, and you know, kids just kind of don't always get it. What I mean, I know your sons are older now. Um, but what do your sons think that your their their parents do for work? Or maybe when they were younger. Was there any fun interpretations of that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, I mean, so we do video production and uh advertising, you know, full service advertising, but I think that they were most seeing us doing video because the all the gear and the equipment they had to load out, you know, help us load up and load out gear. So I think that that's what they thought we did the most with cameras and and video, not necessarily seeing the other side of like the strategy and the planning and the you know, the marketing audits that we do, that was not as visible to them. So I think that they just thought that we, you know, mostly made commercials or or something like that. There was a time, so we kind of spoiled my my youngest son. Um, we did a commercial with Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus. Um it was the big Ford um Ford Pickup 150 red beautiful sleigh. We turned it into a sleigh, and it was a car commercial. And Mr. and Mrs. Claus were there, and it was a fundraiser or uh food drive. And so we were having my son load the truck up with food with Mr. and Mrs. Claus. Well, while we were busy getting the set, you know, the scene set up, Mr. and Mrs. Claus were kind of entertaining and keeping my kid, you know, pretty little. Um, you know, they were coloring with him and just keeping him entertained. Of course, it was Smither and Mrs. Santa Claus. Of course, he felt so special. And he was so convinced and so like just believed because they knew his name and they, you know, talked to him and knew all the things about him, right? And it took a really long time for him later in life to not, or just to let me, I don't want to spoil it this for anybody, but just to to get past that, you know what happens with parents and I just will never forget, you lied, you lied the betrayal. How fun is that? Oh my gosh, older brother told little brother, and you know, of course they do so upset. Oh my gosh, because like it it it it took it you know a few more years than like the older brother figured it out, but the younger brother was like so convinced, right? Yeah, but this is a shelf thing, right? Yeah, and so Charlie was the elf's name, so they they would like go up to Charlie and say, sorry, Charlie. I love it.
SPEAKER_00:Anyway, love it. Yeah, no, I think that is the fun part of what we do. I think because there's sometimes tangible things. I mean, my daughter's probably too young to remember, but I took her on set a couple times for you know photo shoots and commercials and just letting them see behind the scenes, you know, and kind of know like that's really cool. Because you're right, when it's intangible and it's like, oh, hey kids, look at this amazing PowerPoint slide and content strategy. They're like, What? You uh I mean, even adults are like, what the hell? I don't like my parents, they don't even know.
SPEAKER_01:Right. Yeah, yeah. So it's like it is you'd be surprised what you'd remember. My my mom in college used to, she worked at or she did stuff with the PBS station. And I remember Big Bird and I was really little. Um, but you know, Sesame Street was a big thing, and they had like this fundraiser thing. And I I was probably three, maybe. Um at least that's kind of the timing. But I remember Big Bird, like I remember that. And I remember switcher, and you know, fast forward, I worked in in news and I, you know, worked on a switcher. So I mean, you'd you'd be surprised, like what what kids days?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, what stays. I love that, dude. I just realized I had this moment. I was like, oh my god, big bird, I would be fangirling even as an adult. I'm like, oh, does that mean big birds might hear me out? I don't know. I think I just need to talk to my daughter about this.
SPEAKER_01:I know. Sesame Street was a big part of my life for sure.
SPEAKER_00:What a cool experience. Well, Ray, thank you so much for bringing such, you know, amazing, authentic energy as you always do. Oh, and some great wisdom to the conversation. Um, you've definitely given our community um permission to do something that we don't talk about enough, which is be honest about the challenges of having owning, sustaining a thriving business without sacrificing the relationship and the life that we're trying to build, because you're doing both of those simultaneously. So if any of you have been inspired by Ray's journey, I encourage you to check out the Marketing Expedition Podcast, uh fantastic resource. You can also connect with Ray on LinkedIn to stay in the loop with PepperShack Media's work. And for anyone who is watching and or listening to learn what Together Digital is all about, again, check out the website. Um, we're all about creating real conversations with women who are doing amazing things like Ray and are willing to be honest about them so that the rest of us can, you know, work together and figure it out. So, Ray, you're just like a shining light for exactly what like the Together Digital community is about. You're full of women who are supportive and encouraging and enthusiastic. We love what we do and we aren't gatekeepers about it. Um, so definitely loved having you on the show. I know lots of our members will be tuning in. Um, that's all we've got for you today, folks. We hope you enjoy the rest of your Friday. Until then, keep asking, keep giving, and keep growing. Take care, everyone.
SPEAKER_02:Produced by Heartcast Media.
