I am beyond excited for today's episode featuring the amazing Emily Merrell. As a business coach and founder of Six Degrees Society which focuses on the personal, professional, and lifestyle development of women, Emily has some incredible insights to share with us.

You know I've always emphasized the importance of making connections with new people, even if it may seem daunting. That's where Emily comes in – she'll show us how connection, no matter how big or small, has the potential to make a powerful impact.

During our conversation, Emily takes us on her journey from the fashion world, working with luxury brands like Tory Burch, to becoming an entrepreneur after a life-changing experience in Argentina. Her expertise in community building, networking, and business coaching has earned her recognition from top publications such as Refinery29, Girlboss, Forbes, and Huffington Post.

Emily has a wealth of experience as a mompreneur. She'll share how she set herself up for success in her business while taking maternity leave and how she supports other women on their entrepreneurial journeys! Emily's genuine warmth will make you feel like you've known her forever, it's no wonder she's surrounded by such an incredible circle of inspiring women.

What you'll hear in this episode:

[3:35] Connecting is one of her favorite things in the entire world, and she is a Gemini.

[8:10] Putting yourself out there with a beginner's mindset.

[12:15] How little decisions can make a big impact.

[17:55] How to be the connector.

[22:05] How to lift yourself up when someone is not your person.

[27:25] Giving yourself permission to delegate your role.

[32:05] Delegating tasks with her partner when the baby was born.

[39:20] Problems are not unique.

CONNECT WITH EMILY

Follow Emily: @emilyamerrell

Follow Ready, Set, Coach: @readysetcoachprogram

To learn more about Emily's amazing services, check out her website: https://www.emilymerrell.com/

CONNECT WITH KELSEY

Follow Kelsey: @thisiskelseysmith

Follow Momma Has Goals: @mommahasgoals

Download the app for Apple or Android

Learn more at https://thisiskelseysmith.com/

Use the code Kelsey for $50 off your ticket to EmpowerHER Live: https://www.kaciaghetmiri.com/empowerher-live

Join our text list. Text "Goals" to (707) 347-0319

Speaker 1 0:00

All of these places and people was just basically collecting individuals and collecting connections. And so my first job in fashion at Ralph Lauren, Matt boss who hired me again down the line at Tory Burch. When Tory Burch was like a startup, there weren't that many people there. And they were building their fence team and protocol. And so much of my life has been that it's been taking that connection and then pulling it to the next thing in which I went to be at the next company I worked for. And I really think that's what set me up for success. When I decided to start this little community of bringing people together, I started my business not as a business, but just as a destination of putting all the people I've collected in one space.

Kelsey Smith 0:47

Speaker 1 4:11

Kelsey Smith 5:34

that. And your life has transitioned over the years, right? You have a different background and a completely different world than what you're doing now. How has connecting and networking shown up for you in each section, and kind of bring us through how you got here today?

Speaker 1 5:54

Kelsey Smith 9:00

think that's exactly it. Because how would you know that that's where you would have ended up each time going to the Midwest, then going to Argentina, then ending up in fashion in New York. And so often, I think we can find ourselves looking for the path forward and expecting to see it all played out, when we're not going to in some of the best experiences and the best opportunities are going to come from just taking that one step forward, and seeing where it takes you. Rather than saying, well, I need the whole path mapped out. And that's totally played out in your life as well. How did that continue when you then went into entrepreneurship?

Speaker 1 9:40

Yes. Okay. So connections was the question also that you asked and all of these places and people was just basically collecting individuals and collecting connections. And so my first job in fashion at Ralph Lauren, Matt boss, who hired me again down the line at Tory Burch When Tory Burch was like a startup, there weren't that many people there. And they were building their fence team and protocol. And so much of my life has been that it's been taking that connection and then pulling it to the next thing in which I went to be at the next company I worked for. And I really think that's what set me up for success. When I decided to start this little community of bringing people together, I started my business, not as a business, but just as a destination of putting all the people I've collected in one space. And how do you facilitate connection? When it's not at a wedding or at a birthday party? Or how many dinner parties can you have, your friends get a little frustrated with you. And so creating this space that was just like, focused on connecting and learning from one another, also provided people with the space to become friends with each other and not be like, Oh, that's Chelsea's friend, I met her at her birthday. But I can't step on Chelsea's toes and reach out to her. And like, we've created this kind of neutral space of friendship and building. So all of my little moments in life have really paid respect to like the idea of flying the flag. And then also asking something of my connections, hey, I'm new to a city or I'm doing this thing. Can you help? Or can you do want to be a part of it, and it's extending the invitation to people to hop on?

Yeah. And having that kind of more than merrier mindset and mentality, and always having like, a good intention so that you're not just receiving benefit, but you're providing benefit as well. And I bet those people that connected you, they were so excited, they got to be a part of your journey, and in even more impactful way, by being like, oh, gosh, I moved Emily to this place and got to do this. Now, some of those positions, you were a beginner, right, you said going into the first job at Ralph Lauren, you didn't have the experience. And then you were at the beginning of Tory Burch, which is such an amazing opportunity. You'd never been an entrepreneur before when you opened up your first business. So how did you allow yourself to stay in the vision of going forward while understanding that you were a beginner? And you had to kind of own that sometimes, and then also be like, No, I got this and move forward. Yeah,

this time, I also, I didn't have much currency, let's just say that I wasn't starting my business with, you know, 100k, in my bank account with the VC funding behind me, I can't dance, but I can connect. And that literally was my currency that really transcended everything. So I think people saw that I had spunk, and that I also had this value. If I was asking a favor of someone, I wanted to make it so worth their time to ask the favor. So they did something for me, they donated alcohol to a space, maybe I had a friend who is an influencer, and I connected them. And it was a win win for both of them. And so I think, again, my currency was just generous connections. So at this point in my life, I think of it a lot like a bank, where I was putting these like tiny deposits into things. And then when the time comes that I go to take money out of the bank, I have this money, because everyone is remembering the positive things that I did for them. So I'll give an example nowadays, like if I am doing a panel, or if I'm doing a podcast, or if I'm doing I'm a coach at self made Britain Coast company, and I'm their head coach, and we do these fireside chats. And I'm like, oh, for some people I can reach out to. And one of my girlfriends has 50,000 followers on Instagram, she has a cookie company called tiny kitchen treats. And I was her first order. I was her first corporate order. I was the first person that said you got this so you can do the damn thing. And I didn't think I was making a difference, then I just genuinely appreciated her and her cookies. Now she will do. She's like, of course, tell me where you want me where you need me, I will be there for you. Because she remembers that feeling of being like, before she was on. Before she made Megan Merkel's cookies. There was that first order. And that was me. And so all of these little moments are so powerful. And I think it's always it's healthy for people just to take inventory of how these little decisions, these micro decisions can really play significant and big impact in the grand scheme of life. Yeah, you bring up

two thoughts for me. I think sometimes there's maybe someone listening and they're like, I don't have those opportunities. I don't even have those friends to support those deposits to me. And that's potentially true. And I think we'll come back to that. But more than often, I think that we're just not present or awake enough to see the opportunities and I think that this kind of how but it's even more with motherhood, right? You get really busy, you're trying to be present, even with your kids, you're trying to be present with your partner with yourself. And then you're trying to find friends outside of that and be awake to opportunities to love on yourself and support others. And it can feel like a lot. What are some ways that you balance all of that and stay present to the opportunities?

Oh, gosh, I feel like people are gonna say, well, Emily is like an emotional support extrovert. So bring me on the playground, I will make you friends and find those opportunities. But in all seriousness, I think so often we're caught up in our own shit, and our own story and our own, like traumas or our own challenges that we forget to, to ask questions. And as someone and you are such a great example of a good listener, and active listener and an active question, asker, it's not the norm. If you look at your relationships with your girlfriends, and you really take inventory. Are you complaining about things together? Or are you genuinely asking them? How are they How can I support you? And sometimes you need to ask that question. How can I support you to let them know that you're a safe place where they can fly that flag, and then you can carry that flag and you can support them beyond this one conversation. But so often, we get caught up in our own stuff and our own junk that we are in our own Trump Truman shows and we're not looking outwardly up, like, how can I support Kelsey? Like, before the show started it, it Jazz's me up so much to be like, oh, I want you to meet these people. And I don't know what's gonna happen when you meet these people. Except you're amazing. They're amazing. And what happens with two amazing people? So is there something simple that you can do even with your own friend groups where maybe they're going through a divorce, or one of their kids is struggling in school? Can you take inventory of your worlds as a whole? Could it be an Instagram account that you look for inspiration that you can send them like these tiny moments, it doesn't have to be something that changes their life, it could be knowing that other people like them exist. And I'll give one quick example. One of my girlfriend's had a miscarriage at eight weeks. And she came to me and she was like, I've never met anyone else that's had a miscarriage before. I don't know even where to go. I sent her like six people. I was like, tell me which one you want to talk to you. They've all had miscarriages. I've asked them all, they all want to talk to you, if you want to talk to them. And it changed her outlook on feeling so lonely. And so dark and sad during this time, through realizing that so much happiness can be on the other side of things. If you just ask for help.

Yeah, in such a big takeaway from you with what you said, is also you being that safe place and you asking questions, invited her to even ask you, right? So it didn't mean that you had to solve the problem, or be the one that could connect and relate with her. But because you've asked her the question she knew to go to you to share what she was going through. And then you were able to provide a resource or perspective or an outlet for her without actually delivering fully yourself, you more just said, Hey, here's a path, which I think is so important to remember is you don't always have to be the problem solver. You can just be the connector, which is exactly what we're talking about.

Yeah, yeah, that's a great way of summing it up.

So you know, your son is only 17 months old. So he's not quite making the exact same connections himself. But how do you expect this to show up for how you parent? How do you recommend connections for kids? And how do you help moms? Or how do you hope to show up as a mom to help create positive connections between your son and his friends as they get older?

I think having a kid and a dog Yeah, kid and the dog are both such catalysts for connections. Yeah. Where you're able to utilize the kids as a collected tool. So I don't know if you've had this experience before but you've been on the playground and you see a kid that's around your kid's age and you're like How old are they? And then you can find out if they like go to the kids daycare or in any any share or you could present a challenge. My kid just pooped himself in the bathtub the other night. Have you ever had that happen? Like you can freak down the wall? Read the room. I think there's a lot of there's so many people that are scared to be talked to you and so you have to find ways to to humanize those yourself and but I love using my kid as a connective tool. And it might feel like filler conversation but being like I'm new to this neighborhood. He's in a daycare right now. But do you even know anything about The school systems here I'm trying to like, get a sense of them. And then if they've been there longer, they will then be like, oh, yeah, I have a really good resource, let me send it to you. And then you get their information. And then you facilitate BNI, you can continue this relationship, which started off helpful, but then you can invite them to your son's birthday or a playdate. And I've loved utilizing him as a connective tool. And it's also granted me access to so many communities that I don't think I would have been a part of, if I wasn't, I know I wouldn't be a part of because I'm not that creepy, though, at least mom Facebook gaps, or, Hey, Mama, or being on this podcast, and it's like leaning into that part of your identity to open up the bigger door. But to your point, about, like my expectation for him to the way that my husband and I have been parenting and has been very much like, raised by community. So like, we went on his first flight at four weeks old, he goes to Taco Tuesday, every week, he's gotten to concerts, but it's really exposing him that like, we are not his whole room. And I want him to be comfortable being held by my friends and extended family just as much as he has held. You know, he feels comforted being held by me. And it scares me because I like want him to be a sucky baby who's obsessed with his mom. But I also think that in the long run, he's gonna be that much more competent to like, spread his wings and meet people and spy and have permission to talk to strangers, which is the opposite most parents say, that really feel comfortable, like owning himself and who he is.

Yeah, and finding that confidence within himself. And on the confidence piece, let's go back to the being in the park situation, I would say nine times out of 10. When you raise your hand first and you go and talk to someone, it ends up being an amazing connection and conversation and relationship. But even though it's nine times out of 10, you might not get that majority right away. Or you might not get that first one, you're gonna be like, I'm never talking to a mom at the park again. What are some ways that you lift yourself up? When you have had a connection, whether it's with another mom or in business for yourself or in your career? They're like, that just wasn't my person? How do you remind yourself that just wasn't your person? And it's not you and there's going to be somebody else?

Well, I'll share two stories. One, I was in Costco and I started talking to a mom, and we walked away and she like sprinted up to me, she's like, can I get her number? I'm looking for mom friends. And it felt so nice to be asked because I feel like I'm always the asker. And I was like, it's so true. Like people are so desiring connection. And they're just scared to make the ask. So whether I make it or they make it, it's so appreciated. Second, I was just in Mexico for my mom's 70th birthday if my sister and we did a margarita makings class. And it was just the three of us. And then there was two other girls there who I later found out were like big influencers. And one was from New York. One was from Austin, I was just playing that, like, you know, the name game, like you have a city, there's certain people that are known in that city. And they literally wanted nothing to do. Like, they'd be like one word answers and turn away. And my mom and sister were dying, laughing. And they're like, I don't think I've ever seen this happen to you before. Where it literally like, didn't even entertain me. And so it was It was humbling, but it was also like, yeah, not everyone is for you. Not everyone is going to be your person. I have had so many people I've met before that I'm just like, you're not. You don't fill my cup. But But I do feel like there's something to be said about energetics where when you're with someone you get kind of like the seems thrill you get when you date. You feel that excitement to see that person again, or you feel that desire to tell them things. And I went to mam 2.0 summit. I'm actually curious, were you there? I was not. No, that'd be funny. Near that, okay, that would have been mirrored for Worlds had collided, and we hadn't met by going there and you met like a spectrum of moms. And some of them. I just felt like I had known them forever. And some of them I was like, when is this moment gonna pass because I can't be in their presence anymore. And you kind of like bless and release it a little bit. Where you know, not everyone's for you. Just like you might not love every type of pizza out there every type of food, and then just keep going and build that tribe that that does get you excited. Yeah. And so one of

the things we were talking about was when people don't feel like they have that person to pour into or connect with. And while we're talking about using your children or your animals as a catalyst to connect, you've done such a good job about Cree. gaining those spaces to cultivate the safe place for the women to come to? How would you recommend someone finding something like that you have been to so many in other different cities, you've created them in different cities. If someone's listening, and they're like, I just don't understand how to find that near me. How would you recommend that they get started trying to find something, even if it's like three women, or it's 3000? Yeah.

So Well, besides joining six degrees, which offers virtual events, that's definitely one opportunity. But I think that as an extrovert, and I've told you a lot of extroverted things that I've done, there is a big introverted part of me that I want to be the connector, but I want to connect to you and walk away, I don't want to be the one being like Kelsey likes this. And Emily likes this and find this in common. You guys are both grownups, you should be able to figure out those commonalities on your own. Being the host or hostess, I find is the best way to facilitate connections and to fill facilitate, like that desire for more. So I'll give an example is my sister She's like the exact opposite of me. In terms of introvert she loves hosting, but she doesn't like small talk. And she doesn't like really just like being asked questions. So she scratches her itch of bringing people together by seen Taco Tuesdays, which will like busy herself making the tacos or whatnot, but she's in community. But she's not the one like having to ask questions that people are be asked questions of. And so like, is there a way in which you could be the catalyst for that connection, you can start that book club, I started a separate club before I started six degrees, like I created a spreadsheet of all the things that I wanted to be fed during me. And then people could pick like which separate club they wanted to host. And it was really empowering for people. But it also was awesome, because then we had plans, and we have a community where then I would bring my own new work friend, and then you'd bring your new work friend, and we would grow, but we'd grow in this safe place. together. And that was really like a cool way without having to make it formal networking event or something outside. And also like a low cost way to bring people into your world where you trust these original three, and you'd ask them each of bringing one guest, you know, they're kind of pre approved already.

Yeah, that is such a fun idea, being able to put the list together. And again, I think so much of this comes back to you do kind of have to go first, right? But you can figure out what your piece is, where you're saying, like you and your sister are different hosts, right. So you may be like, Okay, I'm providing the space and the concept. But everyone else is in charge a conversation and bringing a friend and facilitating beyond that. And I think just giving yourself permission to only have one piece of that puzzle, and still kind of kick it off. But not thinking you have to do it all. I think that's so important and really relatable to motherhood too, right? Like you may be facilitating the overall what's happening, but you don't have to do at all.

I was gonna say one of my favorite hacks on like a bachelorette party or a girls weekend or a ski weekend, or whatever it is, is creating a meal together, where everyone feels like they're part of building dinner. And so my go to and tacos are like a theme of life. If you look at Instagram, it's like a lot of tacos. But make your tacos because everyone has a role. Like you make cut the onions, you cut the tomatoes, you cut the lettuce, you make the meat, you make the margaritas, you heat up the tortillas, and everyone feels like they made dinner. Yeah. And it brings people together. It's an equalizer, I think. Yeah. And I mean, everyone loves tacos. Also, tacos are a really great thing because you can kind of make them your own. So like if someone doesn't eat me or someone wants, you know, no cheese or whatever you

don't have to worry about like facilitating in different way. We also do tacos for a lot of gatherings because of that everyone can kind of do their own thing. So I absolutely love that. A lot of what you're talking about is you organizing and facilitating spaces, opportunities, things for your own life things for others. And I know organization is something that you really focus on and you also help guide others to learn how to live their version of an organized life. Talk to me a little bit about what that means for you and how you support the women in your world in that way.

I feel like my sister would probably say otherwise she'd be like you're not organized. I'm definitely and this is something that I've made a lot of peace with over the years is I am a B plus person. I'm not an eight plus perfectionist. I'm not an overachiever. I'm have really high achieving individuals but b plus is like exactly where I want to be living my life. B plus you get into a good college, you get good jobs, get good people, but I'm not killing myself. And that's one The things that I really love spreading to my clients is like how can they set up systems or opportunities in their world that are that much more streamlined and a lot more turnkey versus reinventing the wheel. When I was more of an A plus person, for example, at my very first events, I would like make ricotta, add depth and bake all of the Cristina's and everything had to be perfect. And then I was like, I'm eating all these at the end of the event, I feel like things could be streamlined. And so now I have a very straightforward, that's three cheeses that I buy at Trader Joe's, and you know, get a quick romance. And I still end up eating all the cheese. But it just, again, taking in something that was so convoluted and over the top, in simplifying it. And so oftentimes, with our businesses, we can do that same thing you were making that Christine is when we could just be by interviews. And so helping people put those particular systems into place via an email flow or templatized things or they realize they're doing the same thing 1000 times and they want to pull their hair out if they ever do it again, and learning how to delegate it to someone else, even if they hire that person just for that one still each house, giving them that permission and that hand holding to continue evolving in their business. And because you have a business doesn't mean you have to do it all. Yeah. And

that is exactly what I was going to ask next. You say just because you have this, you don't have to do at all, what are some ways in your business and life personal life that you outsource and receive help?

My husband, literally is phenomenal. And sometimes I'm like, he's gonna divorce me just because I don't do anything. But he's an amazing chef. And he's also I don't know, he doesn't eat carbs, who his lot pickier about what he eats. So I'm like, You know what you cook, I don't want to upset you, I'll give that to you. And it's like, if he finds it enjoyable, I don't find it enjoyable. Same thing with laundry. I lived in New York City for eight years. And I had a nice little person that picked up my laundry and then sometimes brought me back my underwear and sometimes many reasons. Like I was not really great at the domestic things. And he's really great at the domestic things. The other thing that I think has been a game changer is if we both clean, we should probably clean better if we hire someone to help clean and investing in a cleaning person. Also, I love the fact that we like divvy up our tests like I do the mornings with my son, he does the evenings with my son. But it's not like a tit for tat type of thing. He really loves being with him. And something that was super important to him, which I appreciate because it like helped me reflect a bit more about the load that women carry, was going back from maternity leave, he was like, I know you're obsessed with the morning. I know you love working out in the mornings. And I know you have events in the evenings. So I'm ending my day at this time. So you can always host your events. And so it's like navigating our schedules and to make sure that we're both halfway half in compromise, and like getting what we wanted out of each other. So I am a better person when I travel, and he loves or hanging out with our son may travel a lot more because I love traveling and have events and friends to see. And people literally will be like, I can't believe you are leaving your son with your husband. Is your husband like going to kill you when you get home? That's really scary. That's like the question that I've been asked. Yeah. But also, that's a conversation that we've had. I would love if he traveled more. Go be free. But yeah, it's understanding. And then in terms of business, for me, I was a terrible delegator. I was a delegate, a fixer delegate a fixer, where I delegate and I'd see that mistake they did, and then fix it and not tell them and then just like, perpetuate, and it wasn't till my maternity leave that I like, really got good at being like, Okay, this is what needs to be fixed. And this is how you fix it. And I would kill me because it was slower. Yeah. But I was actually paying someone to do the thing. And they were doing the thing. And they were learning and growing and feeling more empowered, versus me just slipping in there and fixing it. Yeah. And

how does that show up for like the short term versus the long term, right? Because there's certain things like let's say, to doing your laundry or cleaning your house, or fixing that email copy, or whatever it is that you're like, yeah, it would be faster for me to do it this time. But when I think about a year from now, all the times that I'm going to fix it and should have just had someone help me or support me, then it looks totally different, right? How has that shown up in the times that you've kind of caught yourself? And you're like, Okay, wait, I need to not do this because of what it means for the future.

I think he just said it so beautifully for I would then be doing both the things that I said I didn't want to be doing. But it also has made me a clear communicator of like, what my expectations are, and being comfortable articulating frustrations. That really annoyed me when I had to resend out the email in the future. Let's do this, why don't you send me the email. So I can have you a second set of eyes on things. And then we sent it out, we can update our procedures as we go through different learnings. And I think of anything having these. I had a boss who said this, oops, I don't know if I can curse, but effing oops, is what he called them soups. And I think that those foods teach you how to be a better manager, and also a better employee, and be able to communicate that much more of like, maybe we need to have daily check ins, to make sure we're on the same page about things versus you feeling like you're not supported or held by me because a lot of times, I want to give my people space, but also, you have to remember, as a manager, they also want to be told that they're doing awesome. And to be given feedback and check in and responsibilities. Yeah, that's

all makes sense. And so one of the things you brought up, is maternity leave, right. And some women listening to podcasts are past that part of their life. But I think that like you were just saying delegating in organization are really important in that time, and so many others, and you had two different versions of thoughts around maternity leave, right, like as the employee and then when you stepped into the entrepreneur life. So talk to me about the findings that you had and what your planning looked like with your son as an entrepreneur for maternity leave.

Yeah, when I worked in corporate everyone that Tory Burch, basically any boss I had got pregnant. So if you want to get pregnant, and just like, I'll be your subordinate, and she'll probably get pregnant. And it was seriously every single one, it was wild. And I still envied the fact that they were able to just pack it all up and turn it over to me or turn it over to their replacement and get that uninterrupted three months, not even checking the email not caring about the business because it wasn't theirs. And so when it came my time to do maternity leave, I really wanted to do a proper maternity leave. And so first and foremost was like getting my assistants so up to speed on everything. And it was hard in that we were working at least three months out. So we were writing social media captions, we were writing newsletters, we wrote a course, to sell like an evergreen course to sell during my maternity leave. We were selling Infirmary next cohort of Ready Set coach while I was on maternity leave, but like pre wrote all of the emails, so they could go out. And I think the other thing that was cool too, was I had been living in California, and I had been payroll and myself and paid into paid family leave. So I was able to not take money from my business when not much money was coming in. But I was already able to seek taking a salary from what I had paid. And it wasn't perfect. I think there was a lot of things that surprised me where I felt bored at the beginning of maternity leave where I was like, how much Netflix is too much? Should I respond to this email. And so I built my maternity leave where I did check in with my team still, but I wasn't in the day to day. And I think my expectation of maternity leave was I was going to be so checked out not open my inbox is off my phone. And the reality was, I didn't want that. But who knows what the second, when the time comes that we have a second, I might have a completely different expectation. The other thing too, that was fun, my co founder of ReadySet coach program, my other business Lexie, she was pregnant. And she was due right after my maternity leave. And we were selling this new cohort. So there were moments that I stepped into an event. And I felt guilty because I was like I talk a big talk about not working during maternity leave. But at the same time, I think it was also empowering to be like, Yeah, I can be a working mom and breastfeeding and present. What can you do? Yeah.

And I think just giving yourself permission to have it be wherever you want it to be when you do because it allowed you if you did have a different experience, because you don't know no one knows what their postpartum experience is going to be until they have a baby. No one has any idea and it's different for every baby. And so you set yourself up for success that if you had had a different experience, you were prepared, but because you were ready because you felt good. You're like you know what, I can do this in a way that I want to and if today, all I want to do is watch Netflix and stare at my baby I can. Yeah, and if I'm feeling like Oh my gosh, I need to do something that makes me feel more like me, and not just postpartum Mom, I have the opportunity to get in and check my email and show up for a call. And I don't have to be there. But I can be there. And I think that's super,

super powerful. Yeah, I think that's a great word to put it as permission. Also, my son came three weeks early. And some advice to anyone out there is like, prepare as much as you can prepare, but also know that you plan God laughs kind of thing. You know, you can have a plan of exactly how you think it's going to be, but you're gonna have to learn how to evolve and pivot and to adjust accordingly. Because as much as we can cope, there's a game plan. There's probably that, that is so true.

You can't control life. But you can just control some variables. Sometimes you help women specifically, become coaches and learn how to build a coaching business alone many other things that you do, but that is one of the things that your co program does. And often something that I hear with women are looking to start a business or step into really anything new, it could be a career as well, is why haven't done that before, or I don't have enough experience yet, or I'm still learning. And I think this shows up, even multiplied in the coaching industry, because typically what you're coaching on, you're never going to be done learning, you're going to always be growing on yourself. So you'll never be the biggest, strongest expert in that because the opportunity to grow is endless. And you should be growing and learning. How do you coach your clients to find that balance? To know that, you need to have a little bit of experience, and you need to make sure that you have the information at hand to provide a transformation or a product or learning or service to your client. But you're never done learning yourself? Yeah,

I think one of the biggest things that we see is a lot of people coming to us feeling like their problem that they're solving is very unique. And it's not, which sounds terrible. But like each problem that you're solving, there's probably another version of you out there. And a lot of times, people when they create something, they feel like they have to create it in my silo, like not tell anyone about it until it's all perfect. And yet, while building a business is a lot about iterating. And about learning and adjusting, and experimentation. It's kind of like this, like big science practice really is like you're putting spaghetti on the wall. And you're like what sticks? Okay, nothing. Let's stop. Let's do it again, let's change my messaging. And so oftentimes, I find, to your point, yeah, I think you always have to be learning and growing, and improving and asking questions and being curious of what else is out there without letting that be a distraction of like being true to yourself, of how you show up. And so it can be easy to copy someone else's exact model was ReadySet. Coach in particular, like we're not teaching you how to coach, you are the ones with that expertise. We're teaching you how to put those boundaries in place. We're teaching you how to attract your clients and set up an event to bring people in, we're teaching you how to do market research and hold the mirror out to the world to be like, what do you guys need? How can I best serve you. And oftentimes to I think there's this aspect of coaching, where it's like, I want to be a life coach, or I want to be a health coach, because I had this transformative thing happened to me, that sparked something that I want to now solve for x. And so people get certifications, but they'll be like muddled in their certifications. And so often, like where I love coaching, my area of expertise that I love coaching on is people who have expertise from like their corporate world, or from doing the damn thing for me with six degrees, I built six degrees, not knowing what the heck I was doing, I was taking some learnings from my events world, and putting together a scalable, business membership, community events, speakers, all of that. And so people are coming to me to learn that. And so I coach, I business coach on people, helping them launch events, partnerships, and community is within their own business. So it's so much easier when you've got that expertise that's proven, versus something that feels a little bit harder to experience an ROI on. Yeah. So you know, life coaching is great, but it's hard to measure, like your happiness, sometimes for people. And it's a harder tangible. So my favorite people to coach are the people who want to take what they've learned from their past and turn it into a coaching business. Yeah, gosh,

that was so good. Emily, we could chat all day. I already know we're going to be chatting more and hopefully in person soon, truly why it's so important. Like where we started to make those connections to raise your hand to go first to ask the question, because you can't it expect these relationships to happen if you're not speaking up in some way somewhere. So let's start with people connecting with you where all the different places they can find you and be in your world. I know we have so many different accounts and multiple podcasts that we will link below. So go ahead and shout them out. And then if you guys are driving, come back to the show notes and click around.

Awesome. But you can follow me at Emily a Merrill, like the shoes, not the bank. And then also six degrees society, all spelled out with underscores in between each word. And then if you want to learn more about ReadySet, coach, we're at Ready Set coach program on Instagram and.com. And yeah, I am. So with you, Kelsey, I think this aspect of reaching out and making that ask and that connection, you never know where it's going to be. And I have to just share that one time, a friendship, like the one that we were just blossoming on and beginning led to a girl in Canada being like, hey, I

want to go to New York. Can I come to New York, and I was like, Absolutely, I live in a 600 square foot apartment with a roommate, if you want to share my bed, come on down. And she stayed with me for a week. And then when I go to Canada and meet her in Canada, and just, it's so cool that the world has become smaller thanks to things like social media. Yeah. And that's such a great example of if you don't have that conversation, you could lose out on that friendship that you didn't know was going to end up being such an important part of your life. And it's kind of truly just like how we started, right, you don't see the path, you're not gonna see the path, you just have to trust that there's gonna be one after you take the action. But you have to take the action first. And that connection not is truly just so important. What is something right now that you're excited about a goal that you have and something that you're actively pursuing? Or putting down the pipeline?

I'm always learning. So one thing that I started nerding out on this year was learning more about me figuring myself out, I've always felt like a Jill of all trades and master of none. And so I've been digging deeper into human design into any grams and to Jean teas. And it's been so fun as like a tool. Even my therapist, I've told her, I'm interested in all these things, and she'll use them until reflect back to me on things. So I find that kind of self development has been really cool. And then personally, I just started saying yes to going to a chiropractor, which I've never done before. He's like, so what are your goals? Like, I have no idea what should my goals be? And I was like, You know what I've missed running. After having my baby. I felt like, I don't know, everything felt out of whack. So I've been slowly started running again. And it's painful in Colorado, like altitude is no joke here. And my mile is slow. I should be walking it basically. But it's like starting something from scratch is also so invigorating, and just giving yourself permission to do it. Yeah.

And allowing yourself to just grow and evolve. I love that so much trying new things, chiropractor, different ways of learning by yourself. That's so important. Emily, thank you so so much for being here. Cannot wait to chat again soon. And make sure everyone you go tap into all the different worlds because who does not love a woman that is so multifaceted and so strong in every area? That is just such an inspiration. So Emily, thank you for pouring into us today. Thank you. Sometimes the smallest acts of love is all a mom needs to feel reinvigorated. If you can relate to that I'd feel so supported by your five star rating and written review. Take a moment and let me know what you thought about this episode.