From TV Industry to Home Staging: Shay Kent's Journey of Resilience and Empowerment

After years of relentless work in the TV industry, I found myself at a crossroads, yearning for a life that aligned with my personal values. This episode unravels my journey from a demanding role in television to discovering a passion for home staging, building a thriving business that transformed my life. Joining me is the inspirational Shay Kent, a dynamic author and speaker who turned her own life's challenges into a mission to empower women and encourage them to pursue their dreams.

Shay Kent shares her fascinating story, from a tumultuous financial upbringing to breaking into the entertainment industry and flipping houses. Her narrative highlights the power of resilience and following one's passion, even when the path isn't clear. Together, we explore how Shay's experiences, including overcoming domestic violence and personal loss, fueled her dedication to helping women realize their potential. Her book, "She is You: Unleash the Confident, Successful Woman," serves as a beacon of hope for those looking to reshape their lives.

We take a closer look at how setbacks and shifts in direction can lead to unexpected opportunities, with a focus on harnessing confidence and creativity. Whether it's through Shay's empowering workshops or my story of career evolution, this episode is packed with insights on overcoming imposter syndrome, taking inspired action, and embracing community support. Discover the Abby method's three-pillar approach that invites you to confront limiting beliefs and take charge of your journey towards a dream life.

Get ready to break free from obstacles and live life on your terms!

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Chapters

• 0:00 Living Your Dream
• 10:37 From TV to Staging
• 22:36 Unleashing Your Dream Life
• 32:42 Taking Inspired Action Towards Success

Transcript

Cassandra: 0:25

Good day out there to all my listeners and I'd like to welcome you to Is your Way In your Way podcast and I'm your host, cassandra Crawley-Mayo, and for those new listeners out there, let me kind of share with you what this podcast is all about. It's for those listeners who are stuck. They know that there's something else that they should be doing, but they can't seem to get out of their way in doing it. You know, perhaps you want to be an entrepreneur, you want to be a coach, you want to write a book I mean, it's a number of things. That's your dream and you're not able to fulfill it at the moment.

Cassandra: 1:01

So I will talk about topics related to personal business development and also enable you to do some self-reflection, and I'm always hopeful and prayerful that one of these podcasts will enable you to like I got it. I got it. So it's now time for me to pivot and do what it was. Do what I do, do what I want to do, live my best life on my terms. So today, our topic is about you can live your dream life right now, and here's how. Who better to talk about that is my special guest, shay Kent, who is an author. Hi, shay hello, so good to have you here today on this your Way and your Way podcast.

Shay Kent: 1:50

I'm so excited to be here, thank you.

Cassandra: 1:52

I know Me too. I'm excited you're here, but what I'm going to do first is I'm going to read Shay's bio, just so you can get to know her a little bit before we delve into the questions. Shay, she, is a passionate author and speaker dedicated to empowering women to live their best lives. Sounds like we did this together. She has a background in entertainment and entrepreneurship. She's had to learn to exude confidence even when she didn't feel it. Because of that, she's worked on feature films, spoken on stages, started a few businesses. She flipped six houses in two years. She owns multiple homes.

Cassandra: 2:33

She moved across the country to the beach on a minute notice, became a mom at the age of 41 and penned a book and a month. Oh, I can't wait to hear about that. And her mission? Just check her mission out. Her mission is to inspire one million women to stop settling and start living their dream lives. She aims to start a movement. Even her mission, guys, is somewhat like mine. Like my thing is. My mission is to empower a generation of women to, to, to mitigate those roadblocks that is preventing them from living their best life on their terms. So we definitely have a lot of similarities, so I know she's going to speak to your heart. Hey, shay, let me ask you what's your first job? Waiting tables. Was that your first job?

Shay Kent: 3:27

Yeah, I believe it. What? Well, technically, my very first job was working for my dad as like a secretary, and I only showed up when I wanted to, and I think it lasted like two weeks or something. So my actual first job was definitely waiting tables.

Cassandra: 3:39

OK, ok, so tell us about what your life was like before you started working a real job .

Shay Kent: 3:55

Growing up was really up and down. So I grew up kind of different from the majority of people out there. I grew up very wealthy and then we went completely broke and then had wealth and then weren't completely broke and then landed in the middle class. So a lot of people have the story of rags to riches. I was like riches to rags. A lot of people have the story of rags to riches.

Cassandra: 4:08

I was like riches to rags.

Shay Kent: 4:16

So my dad had a construction company and he did a lot of work in Denver and just was able to build it up, build it up, build it up, but had no idea how to manage money, Didn't teach me anything about entrepreneurship, running a business, managing money at all, Like none of that stuff. I had to learn all of that the hard way, as I'm sure a lot of people do, and that that came through. You know working hard, and I had to actually file bankruptcy at one point and you know, figure it out, yeah, along the way. But I grown up it was. It was kind of a roller coaster, if you will. Okay, okay, Okay.

Cassandra: 4:44

So so it sounds like the apple didn't fall too far from the tree.

Cassandra: 4:51

Yeah yeah, in the beginning, anyway, right, so I get that. That's how I am Now. You know, you mentioned in your bio that you didn't have a lot of confidence and confidence didn't really come natural for you. But yet you worked a lot in television, including the Walking Dead and quite a, quite a few things. So how? So well, let me go back when you had the, the waitress job, I think. If I'm not mistaken, they offered you a management job and you said I don't think this is for me.

Shay Kent: 5:31

Is that right? That is yeah. So they called me up and offered me this job. Well, they didn't call me. I was at work and I was like, oh, let me think about it, Because at the time I would make anywhere from $30 a shift to maybe 80 at the most.

Cassandra: 5:48

Wow, yeah, it was like real, real broke.

Shay Kent: 5:51

I was like, oh, management job like a salary and guaranteed money, and like I'd be making way more than I ever thought possible, and at the time. I had dropped out of college. I didn't know what I wanted to do with my life. I had given up my dream of ever working in film and doing any of that because I thought, well, that's a pipe dream, you know other people can do that. That's really not how I could actually make a living. I need to find what I'm going to actually make a living at.

Shay Kent: 6:15

Um and so I I gave it some thought and I was like you know what, if I do this, if I say yes, I'm going to be working in a restaurant with these 20 somethings. That would drive me absolutely crazy now, when, when I'm like old and gray and not have any enjoyment, like along the way. And so I called them up the next day and I said thank you, no, thank you. I also quit my job. I said I'm not coming back. And then I got in the car and I drove to the film school and I enrolled. Now, granted, I didn't know how I was going to pay for it, no idea. I didn't know if that was going to lead me to any sort of a paying job or career.

Shay Kent: 6:52

that would be sustainable at all. But I knew that I did not want to be in restaurant business my entire life and I knew that I wanted to follow my dreams, and so I did.

Cassandra: 7:03

Wow. So what was your dream? Initially? You said, but you didn't think you could do that.

Shay Kent: 7:10

To actually work in film and television and like make a living and doing it right, because it's like we think of hollywood, the big stars, and it's like so many people don't make it and blah blah. Um, now, I never wanted to be an actress yeah, but I did want to work, you know, behind the scenes.

Shay Kent: 7:25

um, yeah, so being able to go and enroll in film school and again figure out how I was going to actually fund that. And you know, I took 22 credit hours every semester. I was on a dean's list when I graduated and then my very first job was the Walking Dead.

Cassandra: 7:43

Wow. So were you on an internship program? I'm trying to picture this because that's your dream. Were you on an internship program? I'm trying to picture this because that's your dream and my listeners have that dream and, like you said, hey, you can live your dream life right now. So, so, because that was your dream, did you get an internship? How did you? Because you went to film school a natural for individuals in film school to start working in TV.

Shay Kent: 8:09

Is that a natural for individuals in film school to start working in TV? Yes and no. A lot of people who actually go to school don't ever, like most of the people I graduated with, are not working in film and television ever. They never went anywhere besides just getting a BFA For myself. I did do an internship on the Walking Dead. That's how I got my foot in the door right after I graduated and then I was hired on. So you can't get hired on somewhere if people don't know who you are, so you have to put yourself in those right spaces wherever you can put that foot in the door and get in like do it.

Shay Kent: 8:46

So there was internship opportunities available to all of us. My graduating class was like 25 people. I was the only one who applied, because everybody else had this mindset of I graduated, I should get paid, and I had the mindset of I'm ready to go work, I need to get in wherever I can get in.

Cassandra: 9:03

And I did and then, I.

Shay Kent: 9:05

Then I did start getting paid. So it's switching up that mindset to like I don't think that we should all work for free for like ever. But if you're making a career change or you want to like, start a business that you've never done before, who can you rub shoulders with to get in those rooms or who can you add value to in a way that maybe they don't know they need or they don't know how to do that, then in exchange you can start to learn and grow. You know, I opened up after that. I opened up a home staging business and I got that going pretty well and I would take on new people who wanted to start their own but didn't know what to do or didn't know how to stage, and I would have them come work with me and I paid them.

Shay Kent: 9:51

I paid them for their time but they were learning under me as well, like as we were doing things. So if you can find somebody in whatever niche or space that you want to actually work in or maybe you think you want to start a business in, but you don't have a lot of experience in that field go shadow someone for a little while and see what you can learn, and it might be something you don't even really want to do, after you kind of learn the nitty gritty and then you save yourself a bunch of time.

Cassandra: 10:18

Excellent, excellent, oh, I love that. Yep, just get your foot in the door, cause I've spoken with guests that had to go back. They were up top but they had to go down in order to move up, you know. So you do what you have to do.

Shay Kent: 10:35

And that's what you did Now in the TV industry. What did you do? What was your job? So when I first started, I was a PA, which is a production assistant. That's like the lowest of the low. That's where you get in and then from there you can grow. So I went all the way up to associate producer.

Cassandra: 10:47

Oh, good for you. Now you talked about okay, you did that, but then you opened, had a staging company. Why did you leave that industry?

Shay Kent: 10:57

Because you end up working 12 to 14, 15, 16 hours a day, five to six to seven days a week. It's a lot, and my first year I was married, I only was with my husband for like three months out of the year. Yeah, because I was working, yeah, and I traveled for work. So our home base was in Denver but I worked in Atlanta. This is not why I got married, like.

Shay Kent: 11:26

I don't want to put in all of this time over here. And then we don't have a relationship. And then he we decided we were going to move to Atlanta and the weekend that we were there looking for an apartment or something, he actually got promoted for his job and we ended up in San Francisco three weeks later. Oh, yeah.

Shay Kent: 11:46

I got a job on Mythbusters for nine months over there and then decided I wanted to flip houses instead of work, you know, 70 hours a week for somebody else. And within flipping, the most fun part was staging it yeah, for myself. And then I ended up with a bunch of inventory and I was like man, all my inventory is just sitting here, not anything. I'm going to start renting it out and staging for other people. So then I was able to turn that into an asset.

Cassandra: 12:18

Wow, smart move, smart move. Now, um, you said that you didn't have a lot. The confidence didn't come natural. But when you walked into that TV industry and realized that you know, I'm gonna get my foot in the door, but I'm gonna have to make some moves in order for me to get to this position, how did what? What happened to that confidence? Then I mean what happened? You had to be, you had to show some confidence.

Shay Kent: 12:48

Yeah, and I was talking to another person recently and I said I said you know that old adage fake it till you make it.

Cassandra: 12:56

Yeah.

Shay Kent: 12:56

Fake the confidence until you make it so. It's really overwhelming. I was standing in the back lot. I think I was at Tyler Perry studios at this point and he's got like a 12 sound stages and so I'm standing in the back lot just like taking it in going. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I'm even here. Like it was so overwhelming and I felt like I don't, I don't know anything, I don't know what I'm doing, which was not true. Right, that was imposter syndrome. Yes, right, coming up, and you know, I just have to put on that happy face and be like, no, I got this, I got this, and kind of fake that confidence until you make it, and the thing with confidence is that it can be learned right, and the more competent you get at something, the more confidence you'll have at it.

Shay Kent: 13:52

So I just really worked diligently to do the best job I could do and, you know, show up every day with a happy face because nobody wants to be around somebody who's a downer. And then I gained my confidence. I was like, yeah, I'm really good. I'm really good at what I do, oh good.

Cassandra: 14:02

Excellent. Well, one of the things I want to highlight is your values, your core values. You know you got a job and you were doing well, you were working all these hours, but then you got married. Then you realized I want to spend more time with my husband. You know, and, and you did you, and then even the, the, the restaurant business. You was like that's not what I want to do.

Cassandra: 14:30

You know so that's something that you didn't want to do. So I'm going to take the risk and move on and see what happens. And it just so happened that you got into the film school. You had no money, but you had none. I'm sure you feared a little bit, but yet you did go to school. You got the TV job and then you did your staging and you left the TV job because you couldn't spend that time. So one of your values was I like to spend time with my family, with my husband. Yeah, so I have to get rid of this. Yeah, exactly, okay, great, now you had. Now, when you did that, when you left the TV industry, did you We re you a flipping house into your staging? or?

Shay Kent: 15:19

Um, I think I flipped for three houses worth, so maybe almost a year year okay before I had the aha. I should be staging for other people too moment, and then I did both things concurrently for a little while, and then the um, the buy-in. So you, with flipping, you make your money on the buy side.

Shay Kent: 15:41

You really don't make it like afterwards so you can buy it really low. You can make a lot of money. It was getting very difficult to find things low because at this point Denver was booming and everybody wanted top dollar for their house, even if it was not worth it, which is exactly what flippers look for is the not worth it houses? And it was getting really difficult to buy in. And we just kept thinking and my husband is an economics major and he was like it's gonna, the market's gonna go down, like we should not have properties when it does.

Shay Kent: 16:16

That never actually happened, so we we did get out of it and then the market did not crash. However, at that point I already had a large inventory and I had connections with realtors and I was doing all the networking and all the social media and everything to get more staging clients and kind of figuring out how to do that.

Cassandra: 16:37

Okay.

Shay Kent: 16:38

Which, in turn, I had to learn all about marketing, because my background was not in marketing.

Cassandra: 16:45

Right, exactly.

Shay Kent: 16:47

Yeah, or even entrepreneurship, or owning a business or anything. So the big question was how can I get clients, as I'm sure if you're, you know listening right now and entrepreneurship is one of the things and you're not hitting the go button because you're not sure how you're going to get clients yeah I highly suggest you know learning how to market and learning how to sell, and you can do that, for you know there's all the gurus that are selling the $10,000 packages or whatever, and that you don't really need to do like.

Shay Kent: 17:16

you can just read some books, listen to podcasts. You know like this. And then here's the toughest part Go do it.

Cassandra: 17:26

Go, do it right Go do it. Go do it. Yeah, you got. You got all this knowledge, yeah, and you got it for free, right?

Shay Kent: 17:35

that's amazing even flipping houses. I went to a three-day seminar. It was like 400 bucks. I had read a bunch of books, um, and I listened to some podcasts and done my due diligence of course, always do your due diligence, yeah. But they were selling their $50,000 packages at the back of the room and I was like I'm not going to give you $50,000. Let me use that and do a flip, exactly, and that's what I did. You learn as you do it. You don't learn, you don't get experienced by just learning. You know concept.

Cassandra: 18:13

Actually you have to get your feet wet. Exactly Got to take action, right, you can think about it all day but it doesn't matter whether you think about it. You got to do something. Well, how did the speaking gigs go that you talked about? You started speaking. How did? Okay, so you've done a lot of things the school, the TV business, the flipping houses, the staging houses. Now, how did speaking get into all of that?

Shay Kent: 18:35

I really love teaching. I love it, and so I decided I wanted to be a speaker at RESA. So RESA is the Real Estate Staging Association. It's the largest association of stagers and they have a huge conference they put on every year and I was like I'm going to get on that stage, I'm going to speak, and it took me a couple of years but I did it.

Shay Kent: 19:05

That was my first speaking gig at RESA. Com, and then I've done a couple of webinars with them as well, and then now I do like workshops and stuff.

Cassandra: 19:11

Yeah, oh, wow. That's amazing. But let me say, I read that you started speaking with your origin story.

Shay Kent: 19:22

Is that right? Uh, yeah, like in marketing stuff, yeah.

Cassandra: 19:26

Yeah, origin story started, just speaking it.

Shay Kent: 19:30

Okay, right, because when you can, when you put together your origin story and so if you don't know what that is, an origin story is sort of like the hero's journey. It's like how you came to do what it is you do, you have the character arc, because it's before you're struggling with, and then here you had the breakthrough, and then here's the happy ending for everybody, or like where you ended up. So I started crafting that, like for my marketing and then putting that out everywhere as well, and it's also really good.

Shay Kent: 20:04

I feel like it's a very good inspirational tool to show people if you're struggling like don't worry, that's just now, it's the season. You can make it to what it is you want to do, which is basically. My book is all about that as well.

Cassandra: 20:20

Right, right Now I want you to. Can you be a little more specific about the origin, because there are individuals on the phone that I mean I'm sorry, that are listening, that want to speak, and you started with your origin. So, in other words, you were kind of telling your backstory a little bit.

Shay Kent: 20:40

Yeah, I tell my backstory, but like really little bit. Yeah, I tell my backstory but like really when, when you get on stages or when you get publicity, yeah, so I, briefly, when I launched my book, I had to work on doing all my own PR and I was able to get on local stations and stuff. Um, you have to post it, position yourself as who is your audience and kind of tweak things to match that audience. So you're not, you know, you're in front of a bunch of I don't know restauranteurs and you're out real estate or something that doesn't really land. So where are the commonalities in your origin story that when you are pitching places to go speak, you can, you know, tweak and put more to the forefront? So they know that, like you know what you're talking about, you can easily relate to their audience and be something that they're going to like to hear from somebody who they want to listen to.

Cassandra: 21:41

Okay, okay. So when your first speech well, let me go maybe to your third speech and you was speaking with the realty organization right when you?

Shay Kent: 22:16

found the real estate station.

Cassandra: 22:18

Yeah, yeah, um, I know that was your first time. Um, I know that was your first time, so what did you speak about on your first one, in regards to your origin and how did that relate to your audience?

Shay Kent: 22:35

So my listeners yeah for them. Um, my story was about how I had to learn how to do marketing to have my home staging business. So that might not be my home staging business, so that might not be my core origin story. It doesn't have to be your core either, but it's a story from follow the arc the beginning, the middle, the end. Somewhere along the way you have to have the aha and the shift. So that was the origin story that prepaired my teaching. So, like I said, I like teaching, so whenever I present, I want them to have takeaways that they can run with and start to make their life better. And so then I taught them how to do specific things in their marketing for their home staging, business or realtors.

Cassandra: 23:20

Okay, okay, now. I want to know um about this book. Um author of she is you. Unleash the confident, successful woman. What is the story behind that book?

Shay Kent: 23:46

Why did you write that? This book has been on my mind or in my heart for a number of years and every year it went on my I want to write a book this year, and every year it didn't happen. And then I had my baby at 41 years old and she was six months old and I was like I'm going to write this book and I'm going to create like a guide map for her, for other women, like just get it, get it out and and into the world, because it was something that just wanted to come out of me.

Shay Kent: 24:17

You know, if you've ever had that spark of yes, yes right and it's like you have to get it out. So I sat down, I set my intention I'm going to write this book, I'm going to give myself a month and I did it.

Cassandra: 24:33

Wow, How'd you get the title? Like what? What derived you from getting that title? Because this is something you experienced yourself.

Shay Kent: 24:42

She is you, you know. I wish I remembered how I got that title. It was just, um, it's really what I want to put out into the world, right, like that confident, successful person like she is you, she's already within you. You just need to maybe figure out how to unlock her so she can, can come out and so, with the title she is you like, I really wanted them to know. Like this is you like you don't have to be searching and searching and searching. Just from within, let let her come out okay so yeah okay, okay.

Cassandra: 25:18

Um now, what triggered this bodacious mission of yours? A million?

Shay Kent: 25:26

I know right, Go big or go home.

Cassandra: 25:31

And then I think, sometimes I think, it's not enough.

Shay Kent: 25:34

Okay, not too many. So I grew up in a family that you know we had domestic violence. So I grew up in a domestic violent house and I didn't want anybody else to think that they had to stay in in their circumstances just because it was their circumstances. So my mom stayed forever, a number of years, because she didn't feel she could make it on her own, like she didn't have the money. Um, and then, as you know, I grew up and I was like no, women can do it on their own.

Cassandra: 26:10

You know blah blah, uh.

Shay Kent: 26:11

And then my sister was actually murdered by her spouse, in 2012. And you know, advocacy for women to be able to say, yeah, like I can do my life and I don't need to have somebody else. If I want to have somebody else in my life, you know it's one thing like I don't need to stay so spreading the word of like you got this. You can figure out whatever it is that you want to do in your life.

Shay Kent: 26:41

Like you can do it right you can do it, um, under certain circumstances, and so that's why that's always been a burning desire, like like in my heart, is to to share and just inspire people to be like. You know what I do? Have this, I can do this, I can make this work right.

Cassandra: 26:58

So what have you executed to start the ball rolling, to stop selling and start building? You have workshops, you have you actually have a lot of stuff. You have the videos. You have an awesome website. You know a lot in there. Yeah, you have a great website. And then you talk about start living your dream life now, tell us about that.

Shay Kent: 27:32

So I really dislike the idea of I'll do it when X, y, z happens and I know you talked about this on one of the last episodes I listened to I listened to, um, and it's like excuses, excuses, excuses, and then we push it and we push it, and we push it. Pretty soon, like all this time has gone by and maybe you completely forget about it or you think you can't do it or whatever it is um, and I'm like, yeah, let's just, let's go do the thing now.

Cassandra: 28:03

Whatever?

Shay Kent: 28:04

that step is so I would love to give the example. Like if you want to take a Tahiti vacation and go swim with sharks yes but you don't have the money to go.

Shay Kent: 28:16

Do that Right. What can you do right now to live that dream? Because it's really not the act of doing. It's more about, like that sense of fulfillment and the um, the emotional state and the experience that you get to have when you're doing these things. So, okay, instead of going all the way to Tahiti days when we're time, you know, at the beach, whatever, like do you live where you can go to the beach and you know, and hang out there, but if you're landlocked, maybe it's something. And thinking outside the box, maybe I fill up my bathtub and, like put jaws on the projector screen or something and sit and watch the movie. So it's really being able to go.

Shay Kent: 28:55

Ok, this is my big giant dream that maybe right now I'm not able to do. How can I live my dream life now, in this moment, and finding those workarounds? You know another one. So I know like luxury lifestyle and maybe going and staying at like one of the most expensive hotels, like in town. Maybe You're not able to do that right now. However, you can go there and maybe grab a drink or grab lunch or just sit in the lobby with a cup of coffee and get the experience so you can start putting yourself in those situations where you are actually somewhat living your dream life. Yeah, before you're really living your dream life right exactly now.

Cassandra: 29:41

How do you? Do you have challenges in getting people to share what their dream life looks like. Do people, your clients do? They know already.

Shay Kent: 29:56

I have found that they specifically not really they have some sort of an idea of what it could maybe look like, but specifically there's no clue, and so being able to well for one, knowing what you don't want is just as important as knowing what you do.

Shay Kent: 30:17

And sometimes even more importantly, especially if we're like confused on what it is, you know. Then you can start asking the questions like okay, so you know, I want to have millions of dollars. Okay, great, you can have millions of dollars. If you go work 80 hours a week and have absolutely no time with your family, and you work in New York and you're doing finance, is that what you want? Oh no, okay, like. So now we can start to cut it down and have parameters, and then you can figure out how to move forward with that.

Cassandra: 30:48

Right, that's good, that kind of talks about the values, like yourself, like yeah, well, but I just got married and I'm not going to even see this guy, you know.

Shay Kent: 30:57

So I can't do this. I'm going to have to find something else to do?

Cassandra: 30:59

Wow, let's um, I'm gonna have to find something else to do. So you made a decision, you stopped doing the staging, right, Um, and then you started doing your business correct?

Shay Kent: 31:27

Yes, I closed my staging company when I moved to Florida, which was an intentional move because my dream life was living by the ocean. Okay, where I really wanted to move was Southern California. It's really expensive there, and so we were like, if we move there, we will be like we won't have any extra spending money. We won't be able to do the things we like like traveling and going out to eat and doing all those things Right. So, intentionally, where else can we won't be able to do the things we like like traveling and going out to eat, like doing all those things right. So, intentionally, where else can we move to be by the ocean?

Shay Kent: 31:49

right florida yeah, so that's how we ended up here okay, um but I think it's building it, building your life with intention as well, because nothing that you want say you do want to write a, write a book, have a million dollars, like whatever that is the actions that you want say you do want to write a book, have a million dollars, like whatever that is, the actions that you take must be intentional to get you one step closer.

Shay Kent: 32:13

I think a lot of times people will get in their head that like it has to be these really big, giant strides that get them really really far, but they discount the little baby steps in between that get you really really far. But they discount the little baby steps in between that get you really really far. You don't even notice it.

Cassandra: 32:28

Exactly exactly. We think big, we want it now. It just doesn't work like that unless you're illegal, ,immoral something , right, right, exactly exactly. So let me ask you when you moved to Florida, is that and I think it was you who was swimming with the sharks or something? That is me Yep, oh, my gosh, that's crazy, that's so funny. Wow, now let's talk about once you made that decision to move to Florida, your success started happening and that was your business.

Cassandra: 33:11

I mean, I feel like well, you were successful before, but I'm talking about what you wanted then.

Shay Kent: 33:18

Yeah Well, yeah, um. I think success is being able to say this is what I want to do, and then achieving that goal. You know which? Within the book, my book, she Is, you people, readers, have the opportunity to figure out what success looks like for them. I was talking to another podcaster. He was in another country and he told me that he wasn't successful and I was like what are you talking about? You have a, you have a podcast you know nationally like you're like reaching people like that is a success yeah um, so I think it that really has to happen.

Shay Kent: 33:55

But yes, it took a couple reiterations, so it's never just like a straight trajectory, right. I definitely went down and up, and down and up when I moved here. The first thing I started was an online coaching business with my husband, and the coaching part was phenomenal.

Cassandra: 34:23

Our clients were getting great results with the program.

Shay Kent: 34:24

The thing that we didn't know was how do we get clients online? Because we wanted to build an online only right um thing, and it's a lot harder than the gurus make it sound. I can tell you, at least my experience has been yeah right, um. And so my husband was like so over it, I don't want to do this anymore. I was like I'm with you. I'm like pretty burned out because I was on the computer, on Facebook, all day long yeah oh my gosh, um.

Shay Kent: 34:55

And then I got pregnant and. I had a really, really difficult pregnancy and so I was essentially on bed rest for like the whole thing. And then she came almost two months early and she was in that NICU for over a month and it was like a lot, yeah, um, and then I wrote the book, still not really knowing what I wanted to do for people like how I wanted to help people.

Shay Kent: 35:26

Um, and that's when and here's another big tip oh, you gotta get with community starting a business or being an entrepreneur, solopreneur, you, if you're doing it by yourself, like it's just going to be a big struggle.

Cassandra: 35:44

Yes.

Shay Kent: 35:44

So finding a community that you can meet up like, either virtually, or you can meet in person and have other people who are going through some of the same things or who are more advanced, is a really big thing. And so I found a community and it has been so helpful and really gaining insight on what I want to help and offer the world. You know, the book launch was a huge success. It was amazing. And now, now I'm able to offer what my real gifts and talents truly are, now that I'm finally getting over my imposter syndrome.

Shay Kent: 36:17

Even now you know I still go through it occasionally. That's right and owning the fact that, like I know film and video inside and out, I know marketing from all the past stuff I've done. So now I'm putting together and I have an offer that I can actually do. That for people is help them with their videos and put their messaging and everything together and get it out there into the world so they can have, you know, eyeballs everywhere, good visibility. That's's very important. People don't know who you are.

Cassandra: 36:46

They cannot buy from you exactly exactly, and so you do the videos, do you? Are you still coaching?

Shay Kent: 36:55

no, I do not coach. I'm more.

Cassandra: 36:57

I'm more of a consultant now oh, you're a consultant and you're showing individuals how they can live their dream life right now.

Shay Kent: 37:12

So I do that through helping them put together their businesses so we can create a good foundation, and then also through that marketing and video piece as well. Okay, and that's how you can build your dream life too.

Cassandra: 37:24

And then you have an online course?

Shay Kent: 37:26

actually, if you are more of a, you know you don't want to do a business Right, you want to work on your personal self. I have an online course that is watch the lessons as you see fit, as you go and step through it that way.

Cassandra: 37:41

Okay.

Shay Kent: 37:42

Is that I took?

Cassandra: 37:43

myself out of it. Okay, so is that an eight week course?

Shay Kent: 37:48

Okay, yeah it is it's eight weeks? You get one module a week to work through and then you have um replays and stuff like however long you want, once you buy, you always have access to it sure um tell me about those pillars.

Cassandra: 38:03

You have like three pillars um awareness breakthrough, yes, okay okay, an inspired action.

Shay Kent: 38:16

I call it the Abby method. Okay, abby, abby, yep, she's like your bestie.

Shay Kent: 38:22

You get really, really good with her. So my book also walks you through how to do this as well. So the first bit is awareness. I always say we cannot go where we want to go if we don't know where you are. That's how Abby works. Very simple, so you have the opportunity to look at yourself where you are now, how you got there. What are some of those limiting beliefs? I call them nurse ratchets actually, um, because nurse ratchet is like the worst villain ever, because she was, you know, seemingly there for her patients, but in reality she was just really evil so that's's what I like to call it A nurse, ratchet from the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, okay, and now they came out with a series on Netflix just called Ratchet.

Shay Kent: 39:08

So she's really evil. And that's what limiting beliefs are. They are set up to make you seem like you're keeping yourself safe, but in, in reality, they're keeping you stuck and holding you back. Okay, so you you get the opportunity to look at those and the awareness and then your breakthrough bit, which is my favorite. You can decide now that you know you can choose to continue the way that you're doing things or to change okay either. Either way is fine. It's up to you, it's your life. You know there's no right or wrong.

Cassandra: 39:37

Right.

Shay Kent: 39:38

And then inspired action is getting into action, doing the part, and that's taking those inspired actions from within. You know which pulls you forward, rather than like massive action, that is like overwhelming and you lead to burnout and you feel like I should be doing all these things Exactly, rather than having the shoulds all over yourself. Right? What's? What is it within you that's calling? You and telling you what you could be doing.

Cassandra: 40:06

Right, I'm calling those shoulds judging. You're kind of judging yourself. I should do this, I should do that.

Shay Kent: 40:12

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I like to say could, because they could Right.

Cassandra: 40:18

Exactly, exactly Good. That's good. Now let me talk about, as we wrap up, what I call the call to action. To my listeners that have this dream and they're stuck, any words of wisdom that you could give them to help them get moving and take action. Um, inspired action, inspired and action. Inspired action is not the same as action yeah, because anybody can take any action right, yeah, but what's inspiring for you.

Shay Kent: 40:53

um, and I think the biggest thing is to take any inspired action right, like if you're sitting here and you're, like you know, something resonated with me and I really feel called to write the blog that I've been wanting to write, like sit down and do it, do it now, while the inspiration is there, and then hit send, because you can always tweak it later Done is better than perfect, a hundred percent of the time.

Shay Kent: 41:18

Yeah, you got to get off the fence. If you're sitting on the fence and you know you're not going left, you're not going right, like what's happening, you're just sitting there, nothing's happening you have to take that inspired action in any way, and that's how you're going to make any of your dreams come true, whether it's business or whether it's personal life.

Cassandra: 41:32

Like you have to go love that, Like take little steps. You know, don't think you're going to get there right tomorrow and get flustered and forget the whole thing.

Shay Kent: 41:42

Just do something now I think a lot of that comes with. We give ourselves these timelines and if we're not hitting whatever goal we want by a certain timeline, then we feel like a failure and it's not really true. Like what is time? Like that you just like came up with this deadline for yourself.

Cassandra: 42:01

Exactly.

Shay Kent: 42:02

Move it out, keep going. If you stop now, you will never get the goal, but so just keep going.

Cassandra: 42:12

Exactly, and those are like I call self imposed barriers. You know I'm a procrastinator. I'll do it tomorrow. Oh, this isn't going to work, I can't do that, I don't have the money. You know, rather than sitting down and do it, do something, do something small and as you indicated. Community you know you can't do anything by yourself. You know you reach out there and get that support, get with somebody that can do what you can't do, you know, or vice versa. So I like that a lot. The community Well, shay, tell my listeners how can they get in touch with you.

Shay Kent: 42:47

They go to beasuccessfulwoman. com and hit me up there. I have all my links everywhere. You can find me on social as well. Just run on that page.

Cassandra: 42:58

I encourage listeners to do that. She has a great website. She's taken a lot of action on that website and I had mentioned to her that she had one time, but she did this before she had a baby. I think she did like 300 videos in 30 days and just like she did her book in 30 days. I'm like, how did you do a book in 30 days?

Shay Kent: 43:24

I committed. First of all, I made the decision that it was happening. So when we actually decide to do something, it happens right. And then, two, I committed myself to working on it every single day for 18 minutes. That was it. If I could sit down for 18 minutes and do it, that was my 18 minutes every day. Now, some days I only did 18 minutes and some days I sat there for two or three hours, but the commitment was 18 minutes. Carve that out and just let it go. So I was consistentt, right.

Shay Kent: 43:55

So that's a little step right, a lot of people think if I'm going to write a book, I have to sit down for hours upon hours. No 18 minutes.

Cassandra: 44:03

Okay, great advice. I love that. I think you know I'm getting ready to write another book and I think I will do that. You know 18 minutes, you know, and 18 minutes.

Cassandra: 44:13

I may not do anything, but hopefully the next 18 minutes I'll do an hour to make up for the 18 that I did not do Well sure, yeah, thank you so much for your wisdom, your little nuggets, how, even though you said you didn't have the money, like, okay, I can learn, I can read, I can look, youtube has everything on it. Yeah, youtube has everything on it. You know, youtube has everything it sure does excuse, and the only problem, So the only excuse perhaps, is you.

Shay Kent: 44:43

Right, I believe that to be true. For sure she is you.

Cassandra: 44:49

Wow, she is you, yeah, yeah. So thanks again, my listeners. If you found this podcast to be of value, which I know many of you have, please share it, and also just know it's going to be on all, all podcast platforms. So thanks again. Shea Kent, Is She author of Unleash the Confident, successful Woman Within? Thanks a lot, shay, to my listeners. Bye for now. God bless you and I love you. Thanks again.