Consider the Wildflowers
Consider the Wildflowers
085. Rhiannon Bosse: Follow the *Joy* in Your Business
Despite the online noise telling her that 7-figures is the goal to aim for, Rhiannon is taking things at her own pace. “Once I understood taxes, net profit, pricing…it was easy to decide that the operations it would require to make a 7-figure salary didn’t align with the kind of life I wanted to live.”
Rhiannon Bosse is a wedding florist and designer with nearly 15 years of experience in the luxury and destination event industry. Her work has been recognized by BRIDES, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Vogue Magazine.
In this episode, we talked about everything from niching down to financial goal setting, including why Rhiannon has chosen not to pursue a 7-figure business (chup, you heard that right!) and how she’s allowed herself to pursue what brings her joy in business—even if that means less revenue.
WILDFLOWER SHOWNOTES : shannaskidmore.com/rhiannon-bosse
📌 RESOURCES MENTIONED:
Floret Flower
Martha Stewart Feature
RB Soap Co
Be Sage Consulting
Amber Housley
Stoffer Homes Custom Soap
Rhiannon (00:00:00):
If somebody is selling the six, seven figure business, well why? First of all, what is it bringing that person to the point where they feel like they need to sell it? And if you are to then chase that same model and achieve it, well one why. And for two, are you going to be more fulfilled on the flip side than you are where you started? And everyone's got different overhead, different circumstances. There's women who are married, not married. There's women who have multiple kids, no kids. There's women who have kids with disabilities. There's women who live in places where rent is three times higher than women in other places, there's people who have generational privilege and family members involved making the need for childcare null. There are people who have storefronts, studios, warehouses, vans, staff. There's people that have 10 90 nines and work out of their home like me. There's just so many layers to what a person needs to make to comfortably live. And no one can answer that except you.
Shanna (00:01:05):
You're listening to Consider the Wildflowers, the podcast, episode 85. Anyone who knows me knows that I have a soft spot for floral design. Ever since my work with Amy Saba where we quickly learned I didn't have a future in florals, but I did have one helping entrepreneurs with their finances. I've loved this industry, which is why it was such a treat to have riann and Boey on the show. Rhiannon is a wedding florist and designer with nearly 15 years of experience in the luxury and destination event industry. Her work has been recognized by brides, Martha Stewart Weddings and Vogue Magazine. In this episode, we talked about everything from niching down to financial goal setting, including why Rhiannon has chosen not to pursue a seven figure business. Yep, you heard that right? And how she's allowed herself to pursue what brings her joy in business over more revenue instead.
(00:01:50):
Hey, it's Shanna, and this is consider the wildflowers, the podcast. For the past 15 plus years, I've had the honor to hear thousands of stories from entrepreneurs around the world. As a former Fortune 100 financial advisor turned business consultant, I have a unique opportunity to see the real behind the highlight reel. I'm talking profit and loss statements, unpaid taxes, moments of burnout, and those of utter victory. Or as my husband says, the content everyone is wondering but not many are talking about. And now I'm bringing these private conversations to you. Here are the untold stories of how industry leaders, founders, and up and coming entrepreneurs got their start, the experiences that shaped them and the journey to building the brands they have to today. Stories that will inspire and reignite encourage to redefine success and build a life and business on your own terms. Welcome Wildflower. I'm so glad you're here. Hi, Rhiannon. Welcome to the
Rhiannon (00:02:40):
Show. Hi. Thanks for having me.
Shanna (00:02:43):
I feel like this is such a tree because I mean, we haven't got to chat, chat in, I mean, has it been five years? Surely not, but I think it
Rhiannon (00:02:58):
Might've been more, but that's okay. We don't need to count.
Shanna (00:03:01):
I know. Let's not count. We have lots to catch up on. We do. So I'm really pumped. You're here. And selfishly, just so much to catch up on. How's the last five years been? What's up? What's new? I
Rhiannon (00:03:12):
Feel like the last five years have felt like longer. There's been a decade of life in five years. There's just so much to catch up on. Where do we start? I
Shanna (00:03:23):
Know. How old are your kiddos
Rhiannon (00:03:24):
Now? Yeah, so my oldest just turned eight. Stop it. I know. He still holds my hand. So that's the good news. And then my youngest is five, and it's just a different bracket of parenting right now with those ages. There's just different rhythms and cadences in our home and in our life and our schedule. And there's a lot of overlap with my perspective on that specifically and things we'll talk about as they relate to business, I'm sure. But yeah, we're in a really good groove right now. And
Shanna (00:03:57):
Are they in school? They
Rhiannon (00:03:58):
Are. So our oldest is in second grade, and then our youngest is in, it's called dk, which is developmental kindergarten. And it's almost like a precursor to kindergarten, which here in Michigan where we live, it's not at every district and every school, but our district has it. And the nice thing about DK is it's free air quote free considering how you look at public schools, what they cost. But we didn't do it with our oldest because we didn't know. We didn't know, and we sent them to private childcare and paid an arm and a leg for that. And in hindsight, I wish we would've just done DK with our oldest because it's been such a great, highly educational social opportunity. Whereas I feel like in hindsight, the private childcare that we paid for was more of supervising our kids for the day. So anyways, they both take the bus to school and we're in a neighborhood with about 24 houses and probably 15 kids that ride the bus. And all of us neighbors know each other and have garage codes for each other and watch each other's kids, and they run the neighborhood and get on the bus. And it's just a really sweet season right now with them. So
Shanna (00:05:09):
I love that. And tell me business wise, how are you spending your days? Has that changed since they're both in school now? Give me a business quick business update.
Rhiannon (00:05:21):
Quick business update. So that feels impossible. Let's see, quick business update. So my days feel really, really busy because in the morning we've got a pretty good rhythm with how my husband and I handle our workouts, our mornings, making lunches, getting them to the bus. We're pretty good at tag teaming with that. So my day starts about nine and then they get off the bus at three 15. So I have to try and fit in all things that I want to do without them home at my feet or just in the house even between those. And what's hard about my line of work in the wedding industry is that I have almost a reverse teacher schedule. So the wedding season predominantly are here in Michigan with relevance to weather that we have here in the Midwest is May to October if you're lucky, but summer months are really peak wedding season here, and that's when the kids are home.
(00:06:19):
So as they've gotten older, we've really had to assess, okay, do we find different camp options for them in the summer? Do we keep them home? And then I figure out how to execute these high level weddings and my garage studio with them running around on their scooters. So there's a lot of juggling there. And again, I'm sure we'll touch on that as our conversation progresses here. But we're in a good rhythm. We've learned to be really flexible. I've learned to be flexible. I've learned to really rely on my husband to ask for help, but also just to know where my limits are. It's a big theme. I'm sure we'll touch on here as we chat, but it's good. I feel like I know what I'm good at with my business. We've gotten rid of a lot of services over the years, so we could hone in on the ones that, I don't want to say bring me joy because that's such a catchphrase these days, but days.
(00:07:06):
But things that really, A, make money because that's important, that's what we're doing. But B, make me money while I'm having fun and enjoying myself and serving others. And then at the end of the day, the rest of the time after that is where I can serve my family and spend time with them and do things I like that aren't defined by work. I like to bake. I like to decorate my house. I like to work out. I like to be outside. I want to find time to fit all the pieces in without being too exhausted at the end of the day. So I think we've hit a sweet spot right now, and that feels really good.
Shanna (00:07:40):
I'm excited to dig into this because I feel like that's such a theme that from an outsider's perspective, me watching your journey, you really have gone through and what brings me joy, what excites me, what am I great at? What fits in this season? I think you're so good at almost like pruning the business and continually pruning as things change.
Rhiannon (00:08:04):
Yeah, I appreciate that. I'm not old by any means. I'm close to 40, which is weird to say out loud. So I'm not old, I'm not 25, 35, but I just feel like in the last, I don't know, 8, 5, 8 years really in tandem with becoming a mom, there's been so much emotional maturity and almost like a spiritual maturity. And a lot of it's come out of hard things. We all have hard things and some people share them and some people don't. So there's definitely been some obstacles and personal grievances in my life that I've kind of refined who I am, but there's been a lot of good stuff that's refined who I am and how I spend my time as well. And it's really nice to get to a point in your journey where there's enough life lived that you can look back on and say, okay, here's what worked.
(00:08:56):
Here's here's how I want to spend my days moving forward, important to me. And that's always changing too. The thing is, the minute you get comfortable, I always think if I'm getting too comfortable with my life, it's a sign something is about to be flipped upside down because that's just how it goes. Not that the shoe has to always drop, but we're always changing. Time is always passing us, people around us are always changing in relation to how we're changing. And that's just the fun part of life is we're always evolving and growing and moving forward. And you kind of got to stay on top of your game and be aware and cognizant of all those changes around you. So that's a good stuff.
Shanna (00:09:36):
Yeah. Okay. So what year is this of business for you? When did you start doing Florals weddings
Rhiannon (00:09:43):
Event? Okay, so 2009 is when I started my blog, and this was like blogger.com, if you remember those days. And I had been out of school for a minute and I went to school for journalism. So I wanted to be a reporter and couldn't find a job because this was, I graduated in December of 2008 from college. So I mean, that was
Shanna (00:10:10):
Good
Rhiannon (00:10:11):
Times. I mean awful times for finding job for everybody. And also always, whenever I tell my story to anybody, this is, I feel like a broken record, but I'm Canadian, so I had a Canadian visa at the time. That was sort of the only thing I could apply for without going to the courthouse and marrying my now husband. And the stipulations of the visa were I could work legally in the United States, but it had to be within my field of study, which was journalism. And that meant I could not go get a job and receive money legally from any other place. So I couldn't just go be a barista or work at Target or wait tables or whatever. I had to literally receive money only from a journalism related job. And I could certainly find exceptions to that and stretch the rules. But again, it's 2009, journalism industries is sort of organized by market.
(00:11:08):
So New York is number one. Chicago is either two or three, at least at the time it was. And we were living in Chicago. So the reality of me at 21 or 22, however old I was with a journalism degree along with thousands of others in Chicago in 2008, getting a reporting on air job, I mean, was slim to nothing, right? And I just think it's funny in hindsight too, the confidence you have when you graduate college. I've got these accolades and I've got this training that these skills I've been given by my professors and these workshops I've taken and who wouldn't want to hire me? And it's like, well, there's just so much you don't know. So I started a blog thinking, I have a classmate who had started a blog and she was writing about almost city level council topics, really boring, dry stuff that did not excite me, but I saw her getting excitement from it and thought, okay, here's a way to take what she's good at writing and to take something she's passionate about, whatever the topics were and kind of where those two things collide create an opportunity for herself.
(00:12:13):
And I thought maybe I could do the same thing, find something that I really like. I had never really even asked myself or gotten curious about things that I like beyond just doing what I thought I had to do, which is be good at sports, get good grades, work hard, follow the rules. So I decided, let's figure out what that is. And at the time it was really a lot of aesthetically pleasing things like decor and interiors and weddings and crafts, and I hate to say lifestyle, but that was very much at the time what interested me. And I was engaged at the time. So there was a lot of lifestyle things that overlapped with that season of life. And I started a blog, and I always credit that blog being kind of the spark that lit the flame, if you will. There was so much that just came as a result of that.
(00:12:57):
And once we got married, quickly saw a need for what was lacking in our experience, which is having someone to be a point throughout the planning of a wedding and to be a liaison throughout the process in between vendors. And started my business as an extension of the blog, offering coordination, impartial planning services to clients. But then realized very quickly that without serving as a client's designer for their wedding, I was a lot of times not involved in how the wedding looked. And it never ended up being what I wanted it to look like when the day came. I almost felt like I was picking up people's messes and trying to make sense of them. And I thought, okay, if I need to have control over what their wedding looks like, I need to create that as a service and figure out how to market that and how to charge for that.
(00:13:44):
So we quickly changed, and when I say we, me added design services and shifted from partial planning to full planning, and then had another epiphany the next year that when people would walk into a wedding that I spent hundreds of hours planning. The first thing, usually the first thing that was noticed or commented on was the flowers. And I always tell this story, it was a wedding, and if this bride ever listened, she always laughs when I tell this story because it's always an ant. It's always the bride's ant that comes in and says something. And it was this bride's ant and she walked into the tent and she gasped out loud. And I was standing there thinking, okay, she's going to compliment us on the linens, or it's going to be the backdrop I made, or it's going to be the heart checkered dance floor, the dessert table.
(00:14:30):
And of course, her first response was the flowers. And I thought, you know what? I want to be the one to say thank you because it's my work that's being complimented. And as ego centered as that is now, whatever. But I thought, I want to be in charge of the flowers. I want to be the one to have my hands in them be responsible for, because it is such an important part of a celebration. And there is something about flowers really special because they don't last and they die, and it makes them a little more coveted, I think, and a little more sacred. And I don't think I realized at the time that this maybe ego driven decision to want to do the flowers would ultimately lead me down a path of falling in love with something that now is my business. But I took about a year after that to really learn what flowers took.
(00:15:20):
Where do you buy flowers? How much do they cost? I'm not going to the grocery store and buying roses and rearranging those. There's a whole floral industry out there that I needed to learn, and how do I charge for it? And where do I keep them? Do I need a cooler? How long does a rose last versus an anatomy and what is that greenery type called? And where do I get VAs and what's floral foam? And I mean, this is all before the sustainability movement and before farming for flowers became a whole thing thanks to Erin at Floret. And I'm still learning all these years in, but it took about a year to really figure out, okay, how am I going to be a florist? Because now also I need help. I can't plan a wedding, execute a wedding and play florist and do it all myself.
(00:16:02):
There's no way. And when I finally got to a point where I felt like I could pitch that as a service to a client, I did. And that wedding ended up being feature on Martha Stewart. So I felt like, okay, the first one, yeah, my first floral wedding. And I thought, you know what? This is a good move. We're going to kind of roll with this. We're going to be a full service planning design floral company. And we did that for years and that was really great. And then once we started having kids and our family was growing, it started to really feel like a lot. And then finally in 2019, I thought, you know, why am I not suffering? That's not the right word, but why am I putting myself through the emotional toll that it takes to be a wedding planner, especially with how the industry has evolved when the part that really just brings me the most joy is the flowers and how the wedding looks, and how can I create a business model, especially in a really unique industry where, or market, I should say here in Michigan where people have money but they're buying decisions are a little bit particular and where the trends and the resources are a little bit behind the rest of the country.
(00:17:08):
But how do I tailor these services and make some tweaks and pivot so I can continue to make money and not sort of leave all my experience and accolades at the curb, but how do we move forward from here and pivot successfully? And I decided at the end of 2019, let's just take a whole transitional year. Let's not book any weddings. Let's take some time to pump the brakes and just figure out where we need to go and really just have a heart check. How will you be as the florist instead of the florist planner designer chief in charge? And I made that announcement in January of 2020 and I had a couple months to come to grips with my ego and get over it, and then covid happened, and what I hate to say a gift because that year was not a gift for a lot of people and had tragic outcomes for hundreds of thousands of people.
(00:18:05):
But professionally speaking, to have had that slow time and to have had that planned in my heart already and then to have that physically happening around me for everybody and to not be in a constant state of feeling like I had pumped the brakes while everyone was light years ahead of me, just kind of put me in a great spot where I feel like I could make that transition a little more easy than maybe I would've. So I spent most of 2020 doing what I could with my family, learning to make bread like everybody else, gardening. I mean, we had so many great adventures that year, and we did a lot of road trips and we went outside a lot and we went to the beach a lot and it's probably one of my favorite years just in personal memories. And I did a lot of back work and figured out, okay, how do we take all this experience from planning luxury weddings in 12 different states, three different countries?
(00:18:57):
How do we take what we've done and use that as, what's the word, an edge if you will, to what we're going to become as a company? And how do I sell myself as more than just a florist because I am. And that was what I spent most of 2020 doing. So as we booked 2021 weddings, I felt really secure in having something that would be a benefit for people and that would give me a leg up. And 2021 was very full, 2022 was my highest profit year I've ever had. And then last year was an absolute complete whirlwind. And this year's a little bit slower, which is kind of nice because I think there's got to be ebbs and flows and peaks and valleys. But it was hands down, one of the best decisions to get rid of the planning. And there's days where I think, oh, I should go back.
(00:19:44):
A lot of people that need this service or I could be making more money, but I'm not at the risk of losing my mind. I'm not in a position where I can be holding hands the way I used to. That's just not me in this season of life. And that's okay, maybe in a future season it'll come back around and be a good fit for me again, and maybe not. There's lots of other wonderful planners who can do the job better than I could, and that's okay too. So that's where we're at. And it feels good. And I always say that I'm at the top rung of my professional ladder and that to go to the next ladder would require a complete shift of life. So I have to be okay at this top rung for now unless I want to completely reconsider jumping ship.
(00:20:35):
And what I mean by that is to go to the next tier, whether that be in profit, whether that be opening a floral shop, whether that be hiring a full-time employee will require more than I'm willing to give right now. And I have to be okay with that trade off. And sometimes I get a little salty when I'm like, oh, I like Valentine's Day, I just want to shop, right? I have a cute display and everyone comes in their red and pink and I have a cool little wall that everyone's sharing on Instagram with r Bossy floral shop, hashtag. I want all those things because cute and they feel good and they're fun and creative. But again, at what cost? Not being able to go out for dinner with my husband on that day, not being able to go decorate my kids' classrooms because I'm their room parent not being able.
(00:21:20):
And those things come with cost, and for some the tradeoff is worth it. But for me right now, sitting where I'm at is my peak and my top rung, and until I'm ready to jump to the next ladder, I have to be okay with this being my ceiling. And that's been just a big heart check and not a bad one, but I constantly have to be like, Nope, this is the choice I made for now. And a no, now isn't a no forever, but right now in the present, this is where I chose to be and it's okay,
Shanna (00:21:51):
How do you sit down and determine that enough point for you? So because I love what you said, there is a point where you have to change your business model, change your offers, or give more time to go to the next level. And I think so often as somebody I know who has a competitive spirit, you have competitions in your background. It's like to not be able to make more money or not give more time to your business, I feel this way too with a toddler at home, another one on the way, it's like I just can't push harder right now or I'm not willing to. How do you gut check in with yourself when you're like, but I want to, how do you keep it balanced, aligned?
Rhiannon (00:22:40):
Yeah, that's a great question. I mean, I think it's different for everybody. I think some people have a higher threshold, some people, I don't want to say, I never want to say anything that can be taken, not that this is within my control, but I never want to say anything that gives the illusion that I am more righteous as a mother or a woman than the next person. It's a big reason why I would love to get off social media because the righteousness of people's choices as it pertains to anything, right? Marriage, innocence, birthing choices, just like choices, personal choices and the righteousness of how those choices are made. I never want to just be on my own high horse and say like, well, my way is the right way. And it's like, no, my way is the best way for me, and your way is the best way for you.
(00:23:34):
It's not about being right or wrong, it's about finding a way that works for you. So balance is just such a tricky word. So different for everybody. But I think keeping perspective and being present has been really helpful. I used to really struggle, especially when my oldest was younger with parent guilt, mom guilt when I was working, watching the clock and thinking, oh my gosh, it's another hour that I'm not with him. Or Oh my gosh, it's another hour that he's with somebody else, blah, blah, blah. And I especially felt that we were paying for childcare. Who am I to be paying for someone to watch my child so I can make money to pay for someone to watch my child? And then I would really miss them too. I genuinely liked them when they were in the baby phase and it was cute and fun and we could go walk around the mall and do slow things that maybe didn't feel super meaningful, but were just really sweet regardless.
(00:24:23):
But then on the flip side, when I was with my kids, especially in more so on hard days or mundane days where things just felt like they were never ending, I would really struggle with feeling uninspired or unfulfilled professionally and creatively too. Like, oh my gosh, I have to wipe another butt and sit here and pump for 60 more minutes or negotiate with a toddler on something I shouldn't be negotiating on, and I just want to go build a flower arrangement or have an adult conversation about linens or whatever it is. And I was like, I got to stop living my days in moments wishing for the other side only to get to the other side and want to ping pong back. And I thought, what a crappy way to live my days and live my life. So I think being present has become an exercise in patience and discipline, which has been really helpful.
(00:25:09):
And also loosening my grip a little bit just to kind of ride out the ebbs and flows and not to not try and white knuckle everything and have everything perfectly within my control, because you're never going to have your life in perfect alignment. And the minute it is, like I said before, you got to keep your eyes open because things shake up really easy. So I think the broader perspective is really key. Being cognizant of time, the days just keep passing so you better enjoy them and make good decisions and think about, okay, where do I want to be in a year, five years, 10 years, and the reality of two specifically to motherhood? And I didn't know you had another on the way. That's very exciting. Congratulations. Thank you. The reality is these motherhood years specifically, they are really short. They do go by fast.
(00:25:58):
And if you had children, you probably had them because you want a relationship with them or you want to enjoy the dynamic they bring to your home, your marriage, your life. And if you're sitting there wishing them away or just complaining that they're so hard all the time, I don't know, that just seems like such a waste of life that just seems really sad. And I think regret is really awful. And I just would hate to get to a 50 years old, 60 years old and look back and think, man, I sure answered a lot of emails at Starbucks, but I missed walking around the block when my kid was trying to learn a scooter. And I hate to make it about kids because there's so many women that don't want them and all the power to them. But for me specifically, finding balance was a lot about being present and then making decisions and sticking with them and feeling okay with the things I'd be missing in making those decisions.
Shanna (00:26:50):
I love it. Thanks for sharing that. And you're right, the way that you live your life and parent or in your marriage or whatever it is, is so much about setting your own intentions and what do you value and how do you value spending your time? It's been such a learning curve, becoming a mom and figuring out all those things. I had my business for, what, eight or nine years before ever becoming a mom. And so just figuring it out in the last few years has been a reset of like, okay, how do we want to spend these days? So I do want to take it back to 2019. That was your 10th year working for yourself when you set, so did it all just become too much? Did you sit down and say, okay, where is my time best spent? What is the offers that are bringing us the best profit? How are you working through those decisions of what to keep and what to let go of? Will you walk me through that? I
Rhiannon (00:27:58):
Have just so many thoughts on this. So I feel like there was a really big push, maybe it's still out there and I just keep my eyes down and don't notice it as much, but I feel like there was a time where there was a huge push for six and seven figure businesses, buy this, enroll for that, come do this, sign up for that to get this magical six, seven figure business. And for years, I felt like if my business is not in that category of figures,
(00:28:30):
Placeholders, then my business is failing. And with the planning side, so lemme back up. So the planning, when we were doing planning, our services were a flat rate and the rate would change based on the conditions of the wedding, right? Location, guest list size, how many locations there might be, how many people I would need to execute the wedding, how far away it is, how many guests, et cetera, et cetera. And probably around 2017 there was a really big push for percentage based pricing. And what that means is planners take a percentage based payment from the client in relation to what the overall wedding budget is. So if you end up spending more on your money than you started out planning the wedding with, then guess what? Your planner's going to make more money. And I tried for a good 12 months to market that as a service to brides and never had one booking on it.
(00:29:24):
And again, I'm sure there was lots I needed to learn. I know there's lots I needed to learn about that. And it comes down to a lot of different things and being successful at that pricing model and selling it to people. But again, west Michigan is really a unique place and I just kind of came to terms with the demographic here that I serve and recognize that if I do want to go to the next level profit wise, my time, I only have so much time. So if I want to make more money, I need to book more weddings with relation to the market I'm in and how people spend money. And I'm only going to be able to do that by increasing my pricing, which at some point there's a threshold for what people are going to pay or not pay, and I don't have more time to give than I'm already giving to do more weddings.
(00:30:11):
So around and round we went, right? Whereas with floral, I can make a little bit more money, a lot more money, and I can take more weddings because the time commitment I'm giving to clients is a fraction of what I'm expected to give as a planner. So that was a really easy black and white shift that helped me figure out how I could be more profitable. But then it also was bringing me more joy, more happiness, what I wanted to be doing. I also have to add to, so in 2017 I was really sick and I had gone to my doctor and I mean I had a laundry list of things that were just not right. My intuition said, something's not right. So I went to my doctor and she said, it sounds like you're really sick. And I said, well, I think I'm more than sick.
(00:30:59):
I think there's just something happening. Or no, I'm sorry. She said, you sound really tired and stressed. I said, well, yeah, everyone's tired and stressed, but I think this is more than that. And she says, well, maybe you're pregnant. And I was like, girlfriend, I can tell you I'm so sick and miserable that there's no nookie happening to even get pregnant, so don't even waste my time making me pee in a cup because I guarantee you that's not what's happening. And she was like, well, let's do it anyways. And I'm like, this is a waste of hospital doctor resources, but cool, I'll do it. Shocker not pregnant. And I was like, you know what? I'm old enough to advocate for my health. I'm going to go to somebody different and went to a naturopath and she absolutely rocked my world and really uncovered what was wrong with me.
(00:31:40):
And that's just a long story. I had to relearn how to eat, relearn how to cook, relearn how to shop at the grocery store, and really almost give a second glance at the lifestyle choices I was making and the pace in which I was running. And through all of that, learned a lot about the beauty world and the products that were sold and how a lot of things in the eighties, nineties, early two thousands have really not done good things for women specifically. And I thought through all this, if I can learn to make healthier food that nourishes my body, maybe I can also make some of the products that go on it. And soap felt like the lowest hanging fruit at the time. So I being crafty and hands-on researched, how do you make cold processed soap and made a batch and loved it and thought, okay, well this isn't like a batch of cupcakes where I can just go hand these off to neighbors. I have 12 bars of soap now that are going to take me months to use myself. I might as well start handing these out to friends and family, which I did. And one thing led to another and I ended up with the soap business. And the soap business was such a blessing in 2020 because that was when I first started selling soap to strangers online through a Shopify store. And the soap business has been really nice for a lot of reasons. It one is so much less client interactive than my wedding job is,
(00:33:02):
Which I love because I am very much an introvert. I know it's a shocker, but I don't love groups. I don't like lots of people. And I can get very tired by conversations probably because I do go really in depth with things. I share that I almost need more breaks than the average person. So soap is really nice because again, I am making soap in my basement watching a podcast or a video or whatever, and I'm not having to constantly be on it fulfills the creative desire that I have. It's very scientific, it's a little subjective in terms of the aesthetics and how you enhance your soaps, but there's a very set scientific formula that if you mess that up, your soap's garbage. And I love challenging that because for so many years I was, I'm not a numbers girl, I'm not a math girl, I'm not a science girl.
(00:33:49):
You hear that a lot with what your skills are is, well, I just don't understand taxes or I just don't understand profit margin. And I loved the empowering nature that making soap brought to me like, no, I am a science girl. I'm doing this. And then on the flip side, it was a revenue stream and a pretty fulfilling one that I get to be in charge of because I do capsule launches. So what I do is I make as much soap as I can. I set a launch date and then I usually 99% of the time sell out within 24 hours. And then I set the next launch date based on whatever upcoming holiday is closest, and then I rinse, recycle, repeat. And that has been such a nice revenue stream to fill in the blanks when weddings get slow, because I don't pick wedding dates for my clients, they come to me with a date, I pick the soap launch dates, and that's been a nice little filler, almost like a moving puzzle piece to fit into the bigger picture when I need it to. And it wouldn't feel complete telling my story about like, oh yeah, the floral thing is going really well without adding that. I have the soap company that is almost like my security net when I need it to be.
Shanna (00:34:59):
Well, that's interesting. I'm so glad you brought that up because I'm obsessed. You're soaps are gorgeous. I appreciate that. I'm obsessed, but I really wanted to say 2020 you took, which is funny enough because I took 2020 off as well.
Rhiannon (00:35:13):
Oh, I didn't know that. And when
Shanna (00:35:14):
You take that time and take that time off, that's a financial choice as much it is as it is a personal choice. Yes. And so I had written down how did you financially plan to take no weddings for a year transition the company? I'm sure there were still investments being made. I'm sure you had to let your team go, and it sounds like the soap stepped in that moment as well.
Rhiannon (00:35:46):
I also have to say too without, I don't want to say showing all my cards, so I always believe mo money, mo problems for sure rap the whole song if you need to, the desire to make more money or the actuality of making more money always comes with conditions. And I think a lot of people fail to recognize what more money means aside from the positive payoff. Of course more money obviously comes with a lot of positives and a lot of gifts. And you can do things, you can pay off debt, you can pay your bills, you can survive, you can travel, you can do IVF, you can do all these great things. Money is wonderful, but there's two sides to every coin, right? Once I understood more about profit margin, gross versus net profit, not selling myself short or undercharging just to get the rush of a client saying yes to me, charging clients properly for labor.
(00:36:46):
So I wasn't tapping into my profits to pay my freelancers saving for taxes. So every march you don't have an oh shit moment and burst into tears because you owed the IRS so much money, how taxes work, why we pay them. I'm still a little fuzzy on that, but here we are. But once I recognized all those things, it was really easy for me to make the decision that the operations it would require to make a seven figure salary didn't align with the kind of life I wanted to live. And when I was very honest about what kind of life I could live with, the kind of business I wanted to run and how those two things would work in tandem, it was really clear how to get there to
Shanna (00:37:27):
Set a number
Rhiannon (00:37:30):
And to be like with this number, and I have a husband, so we're a two income home. If I were a single parent, we'd have a different situation, but I'm not. So that's not something I'm not going to waste time beyond being prepared of course, but I'm not going to waste time being like, okay, if I were single today, how would I go about my day? And sort of an overarching guiding post I guess for all of these financial decisions and how I model my business has been I have to run a business based on the life I want to live. I have to run a business that fits into my life and not live a life that fits into my business because the minute I do it backwards is when I start making bad choices, I start spending money. I don't start operating from a place of fulfilling my ego and not serving others. My work gets sloppy. I'm looking for fulfillment in the wrong places. The people who need me the most get the worst of me and just everything goes a little kitty, right? So I don't know if that answers that question because there's a lot of layers there, but
Shanna (00:38:29):
No, I loved everything you just said. I have some follow up questions, Reed. Yeah, shoot. Okay. How did you learn the money stuff? Was it just time? Was it just learning as you go, you learning about profit margins and how much money your business makes? And was that just stuff you learned kind of in the trenches on the job?
Rhiannon (00:38:53):
I would say yes. I would also say, I mean all of your teachings are very wonderful. You have such a gentle nurturing way of talking about a topic that is just so treacherous sometimes. So I mean, you've always been a go-to for money, wisdom, simple or not. Michelle, Loretta was really great in the beginning phases of just having a no BS almost like corporate background on money, which I think has been helpful. But I also think too, and maybe this is why you love numbers, what I do in both of my businesses and just in my life is very subjective. I very much romanticize my life in a lot of the things I do. Money is not like that money is black and white for me, it's there or it's not. So you got to figure it out and you got to make sense of it.
(00:39:39):
And I've really tried to, this sounds really, really silly, but as someone who used to avoid looking at my bank statements and avoid knowing what I was making and avoid checking to see if I'm in the red, those things gave me a lot of anxiety. I really had to almost train myself almost like you're train yourself to get up at 5:00 AM to go work out. I had to train myself to be comfortable with looking at my statements regardless of what the statements were. Almost get your big girl panties on and look at your money and figure it out. It shouldn't be a scary thing. And if it is a scary thing, uncover why and fix that.
Shanna (00:40:11):
Yeah.
Rhiannon (00:40:11):
So yeah, I think just as I go learning the ropes and learning the trenches, the first big profitable year I had was a really big wake up call when tax season came, which allowed me to do things a little bit differently the next year. I also have to say it took me 13 years to open a business credit card. So my business for 13 years was run purely on money I was making. There was no credit cards, there was no debt owed. There was no loans. And I feel like that really gave me a lot of discipline to make good choices and not spend money I didn't have or make again, ego centered choices to make my business look flashier than it was.
(00:40:57):
And I feel like I've been very honest with that. I worked from my home, so last year we finished a big garage makeover. So our studios in the garage, we finished the floors, we drywalled and painted the whole thing. We've got a built-in Walk-in cooler now. And the whole goal was again, we're at that top rung of that ladder. The next rung is going off site to a studio, which some days when I've got lots of people in the garage, that sounds really nice. But again, I want to stay at home where my garage door is open and I can see my kids on their bike running the neighborhood where I can see my storage unit. Literally we share a private drive with the storage unit facility. I can walk a hundred feet or however far the walk is over to my unit and grab my inventory without keeping it all at my house. It's kind of working where we're at and it's all within my budget and I'm able to pay my overhead. I'm able to pay for my overhead and still have money left over in my bank account for taxes and then also still have money to contribute to my family. And if those needs are being met, then I don't really care what else I'm making beyond that. Yeah,
Shanna (00:41:59):
This is So will you speak to, and I'm putting you on the spot here, so you can take a second, you can take a second, but I just want, even if you're just speaking to Ree a few years ago or what you said about the six to seven figure business, I'm not on social very much either. You know this about me, which I love. I think it's like the seven to eight figure business now. There's so much pressure, but why make more money? I know, and I just will you speak to maybe how you have or what you wish the messaging was just like of what is the life you want? What does that cost you and how to let go of 6, 7, 8, whatever the number's going to be on social media to make money the tool that serves your family instead of you serving it?
Rhiannon (00:42:52):
I mean, I think getting off social media is such a gift. I think so much about you and your decision to bid farewell to that or I think about Diana Kerr who I did some life coaching with at one point, and she was so life-giving for the season I was in, and just women who are so unapologetic about giving up something that 99% of the world is probably addicted to. And this podcast, you're interviewing me, so I won't interview you, but I have so many questions about, I have so many questions about your social media journey and just the discipline that that's required and mean, unapologetic nature of it is really the best way I can summarize it to just maybe there was some hard times and hard checks that you had to do in that process, but I feel like so much of what we see on social media, Instagram specifically, you have to take with a grain of salt. If you haven't figured that out by then, take some time to uncover that. Anyone who's listening, because it's really, I hate the word highlight reel because it's thrown around a lot, but it is in a lot of ways and rightfully so, right? We're all trying to market something and sell something for the most part. Sorry, that wasn't your question though,
Shanna (00:44:03):
But it was so good though. I'm glad you said it. I appreciate
Rhiannon (00:44:05):
That. The seven six figure. Yeah, I mean
Shanna (00:44:08):
To speaking truth over your own number,
Rhiannon (00:44:11):
And if somebody is selling the six seven figure business, well why, what is that? First of all, what does it bringing that person to the point where they feel like they need to sell it? And if you are to then chase that same model, accolade, whatever and achieve it, well one why, and for two, are you going to be more fulfilled on the flip side than you are where you started? And everyone's got different overhead, different circumstances. There's women who are married, not married, there's women who have multiple kids, no kids. There's women who have kids with disabilities. There's women who live in places where rent is three times higher than women in other places. There's people who have generational privilege and family members involved making the need for childcare null. There are people who have storefronts, studios, warehouses, vans, staff. There's people that have 10 90 nines and work out of their home like me.
(00:45:12):
There's just so many layers to what a person needs to make to comfortably live. And no one can answer that except you for yourself. So I've done the work of uncovering what I need and having conversations with my husband about what we need and what's important for us and where our line is. And this year has been notoriously slow for the wedding industry. There's a lot of odd things happening as there usually is in election years. And we've just had a lot of conversations about the things that we've had to let go of. And there's been a lot of things too in the past years. Our kids don't go to private school, not because we don't want to work to make more money to pay for it, but I went to public school and turned out great. And I think public school's awesome and there's one down the street that my kids ride the bus to that all their neighborhood friends go to.
(00:46:04):
And the teachers have been so life-giving and wonderful, and I volunteer there and I love it. So why would I that fits in with our values, why would I pay more to send them elsewhere? And for the parents that send their kids to private school, that's awesome too. There's values and payoffs that come for those families from private schools and all the power to them. It's so personal. Money is so personal. I said before it was black and white, but money is so personal and it's so emotional and I don't want to pretend it's not. But I think trying to sell some type of module course on how to make a six or seven figure business without any cognizance to how emotional and personal that is makes the whole educational part silly in my mind.
Shanna (00:46:58):
Yes, everything you just said is so good. And I think for me, I wanted to say the hardest from my perspective. I am so grateful and blessed and honored when people come and share their stories with me, but it is very emotional, money is very personal and it can be very emotional and a lot of people struggle. I think the hardest that I see, or maybe where I struggle, is when it's like I hear messaging of you can make this number if you just do it smart enough, you can make this amount of money and disregard the trade off of time. Because if you did it smarter, it wouldn't take so much time. And I think it's that messaging where it really is hard to watch people striving after more and then almost like, why can't I get it right? This person's making that much money and they still work.
(00:47:57):
And like you said, there's so many factors behind the scenes that we don't see. And so I really appreciate you sharing. Sharing money is a tool to serve your family and determining what you need to have the lifestyle you want and the business you want to run. Because you may, maybe you could go make seven figures, but it wouldn't be doing flowers in the summers. That model isn't scalable enough to do that. Or you would have to charge your clients maybe more than you feel comfortable. So there's just a lot. This has been so good. I feel like I could talk to you for another hour.
Rhiannon (00:48:38):
Well also too, on the topic of money, just real quick, I feel like anything taken out of its environment gives you a fresh perspective of the thing. So my example being money and profit in the wedding industry when taken out of its environment of the wedding industry and compared to a different industry is always really an interesting exercise. And my husband and I do this often, especially as of late because the wedding industry has been in a bit of a lull and there's an engagement gap from Covid and it's election year and recession fears and blah, blah blah. And I'll come to him with my fears of, oh my gosh, I'm going to have to make more soap, or we're going to have to cut a vacation this year, or we can't update this in our house, or whatever things we need to scale back on, which are again, small potatoes. But whenever I come to him with fears of what we're going to need to cut back on, if my work takes a little bit of a hit this year, he'll always sort of take a formula and apply it to maybe someone who's working an entry level office job and say, you made on X wedding what? So-and-so would make in an office job going to work Monday through Friday, nine to six for three months.
(00:49:53):
And I'm not just doing one day of work on the wedding. There's obviously different pieces that lead up to that, but as soon as that shift is applied, I'm like, oh, okay, well that's pretty good. We're making money and I'm taking my kids to the bus stop and I can go get a mammogram in the middle of my week without having to ask my boss for time off. And this isn't about, this isn't an argument that working for yourself is better because you call the shots than it is working for someone else. There's definitely payoffs and pros to working for someone else and having benefits and things like that. But again, relative my own journey, my own personal circumstances, being able to reframe money and just again, get a 30 foot view instead of being up so close to the numbers is always really enlightening. Then I can say, you know what we're actually doing and maybe I'm grossing six figures and bringing home five, but I'm happy and we're fed and we're warm and we get to see some cool things every year. And why would I want more than that right now? But again, that's just me.
Shanna (00:50:56):
That's so good. One of the exercises that we do in the blueprint model, which is my finance course, is looking at your hourly working wage if you were working in a more corporate environment. And I think it's so enlightening because I think so often we're comparing to whatever, some arbitrary number out there, somebody on the internet or whatever, and it's like, you made more than a fifth year engineer. You made more than, you know what I'm saying? And it is just an interesting perspective, and I think reaching for the stars and going for big goals is in some seasons is the right thing. And then in other seasons, like this is what we need and this is what serves our family. And that's great too. I also love, that was such a good point of comparing industries. I mean, even just with your floral design versus soap making, there's such different probably profit margins or how much you make per product. You see big numbers with each event and you see maybe big numbers with each launch, but each soap is not making a ton. It's so different. And so comparing a floral design business to digital product business that's so different, they take different time, they take different, for sure, investments. Yeah, I think that was such a good point you made,
Rhiannon (00:52:27):
It's apples and oranges. I see so much about passive revenue. That was a big push in 2020. Find a online resource you can create and push that and you'll just like a slot machine. The money just pumps in and you do no work. I was like, that
Shanna (00:52:42):
Sounds so good, doesn't
Rhiannon (00:52:43):
It? That sounds so good. I tried to do a bouquet designing module and of course tried to make it really lovely with a box and clippers and you got to bar soap in it, and I mailed it out to people and I'm like, I'm not cut out to be a teacher. I've tried my hand at that, but I am better at creating and blessing people once than I am sharing everything. I know everyone to better themselves. That's not where my gifts are. And as much as, yes, if that had kept selling thousands and thousands of copies, I could see how that could be a profitable model at the end of the day, I'm not just sitting drinking Starbucks, watching my Shopify add up. Amber Housley is a really great example of passive revenue, having different streams where it kind of runs itself at some point.
(00:53:37):
And I want to add, she's not sitting back drinking Starbucks, letting it run itself. But there's so many levels of marketing and sales funneling and the tech that's involved in that type of operation and the amount of community that you're in charge of cultivating and keeping up with, and the encouragement that you have to lend to really have that trust with your people, your customers that are buying these products from you and coming back for new installments of whatever. It's a whole business. And I'm like, where did we get into this place of tricking people into thinking, if you just create this really awesome resource and put it at $50 and you have a million people buy it, you're going to retire at 20. There's so much more to it. And again, this just circles back to what we've been saying this whole time, is that money is really personal. There's so many layers to these situations that involve money, and you just got to find what works for you because the things you see online, you're just seeing a sliver of it.
Shanna (00:54:35):
Reit. Oh, it's been so good to catch up. Oh man. We just need these talks. We so much more.
Rhiannon (00:54:42):
Okay, so wait, when are you due?
Shanna (00:54:44):
Well, at the time of this recording, I am due in like five
Rhiannon (00:54:49):
Weeks. Oh my gosh. Yeah. You're like there
Shanna (00:54:53):
We're really to the end. Exciting. I know. Are
Rhiannon (00:54:55):
You having a boy or girl or is it a surprise?
Shanna (00:54:57):
Surprise.
Rhiannon (00:54:58):
Okay. What are we thinking?
Shanna (00:55:00):
For the longest, I thought probably I was leaning more towards boy, and lately I've been kind of leaning more towards girl. I honestly have no idea. I honestly have no idea, which is great. I had a dream. It was a boy. Okay. But I also think I had a dream that my daughter was a boy. So yeah.
Rhiannon (00:55:20):
I mean, you have a 50 50 chance girl,
Shanna (00:55:21):
So yeah. We'll know soon.
Rhiannon (00:55:25):
Well, congratulations. It's very exciting and things that you miss out, not being on social media, but it was just a delight to hear that little tidbit slid in that conversation, so I
Shanna (00:55:36):
Know, I know. Okay, we're going to have a social media talk another time.
Rhiannon (00:55:40):
Let's do it. I would love that.
Shanna (00:55:42):
Hey, let's quick fire before we wrap up. These are just some fun questions, but let's do it. It has truly blessed my heart to catch up with you. I have missed you, and I'm just grateful for the way you speak truth and your journey and what you've learned. And I know so many people have probably received so much freedom through this conversation of we go into business, so many of us, I know this audience, the people who listen to this podcast, who hang out with us for the life we want, we make, it's a freedom decision, right? Yes. And to create something we enjoy creating. And then there's this pressure of do it this way, or you can make more money this way. And so I'm just thank you for sharing and it's been such a joy.
Rhiannon (00:56:32):
Thank you.
Shanna (00:56:32):
Let's quick fire. Okay. What is one thing you would be embarrassed if people knew?
Rhiannon (00:56:38):
Okay, I'm such an open book that I literally could not think of One thing. That's awesome. And I know that's really not juicy. I mean, I sleep naked, so that's maybe a little embarrassing if you were my 8-year-old. But because he wonders. But I will say he slept naked the other night and said it was pretty comfortable. So
Shanna (00:56:58):
That's awesome. That's
Rhiannon (00:56:59):
So funny. There you go.
Shanna (00:57:01):
When I was in high school, I dislocated my shoulder playing volleyball and I had to walk around. I had a rolly backpack for a long time, and then when my shoulder was healed, I could wear the backpack. And so I would walk around in my high school and people would practical joke me and pull the handle up.
Rhiannon (00:57:21):
Oh my.
Shanna (00:57:22):
And I would just walk around. I had no idea. So I would be walking around with this thing. And it's so funny because like there's not actually very much that embarrasses me, and I think it's because when you just learn, well, that
Rhiannon (00:57:33):
Is what it's, it is what it is. I, you're
Shanna (00:57:35):
Walking around with a rolly bag,
Rhiannon (00:57:37):
I had headgear and we're talking like the old school head. I mean, I don't know how else to explain it beyond explaining it. I'm
Shanna (00:57:46):
Visualizing that
Rhiannon (00:57:48):
Girlfriend, I had a headgear, I had a bowl cut. I had,
Shanna (00:57:52):
You're just like,
Rhiannon (00:57:53):
I mean all the things, resilience, whatever. We've just made it this far. Why be embarrassed?
Shanna (00:57:58):
Exactly. So it's so funny because people are like, what would you be embarrassed? And it's like, you know what? There's so many things I probably should be or could be embarrassed about, but I'm just like, whatever.
Rhiannon (00:58:09):
Yeah, no one and 99% of people are paying no attention to what you're doing. They're worried about themselves. So I just feel like whatever. Yeah.
Shanna (00:58:18):
I love it. Alright, any regrets or wish you could do over moments?
Rhiannon (00:58:23):
No way. Okay. Wait. No, because we wouldn't be where we're at today, right? Hindsight's 2020. And I'd rather look ahead than look back. However, if I had three free tokens to at any time I could snap my fingers and go back to laying on the operating table and being handed my babies, I would do it. So not a regret, but if I could do those moments over again, I would give a lot of anything for that.
Shanna (00:58:54):
Love that. Okay. Big win or pinch me moment.
Rhiannon (00:58:56):
Ooh, lots. When I was picked for Vogue or brides, the magazine's top professional list at different points, that was really cool. Having my own terms with maternity leaf for both my kids, especially coming from Canada where there's a year of mat leaf, and then in corporate America, having six weeks here, being able to find some version in the middle that fit to my standards was just a really great privilege and blessing. Having a debt-free business is a huge win, I think.
Shanna (00:59:29):
Huge win.
Rhiannon (00:59:30):
There's just been so many big and small wins along the way, and I just try to stay really aware of them because
Shanna (00:59:36):
Having your soap featured.
Rhiannon (00:59:38):
Oh yeah, that was a great one too. Yes. Thank you. That was a great one. I
Shanna (00:59:41):
Watched that and I was like, I know her.
Rhiannon (00:59:43):
Oh my gosh, that was a cool one too. And yeah, being on the Magnolia Network, there's just been a lot of great honors and big ones, little ones, personal ones, professional ones, and I just try to celebrate them as they come.
Shanna (00:59:57):
Yeah, I love it. That was so fun to be watching the Stouffer Home. Magnolia on the Magnolia Network. Isn't
Rhiannon (01:00:05):
It such a great network?
Shanna (01:00:06):
I love it. I love it so much. Me too. And I don't know Jean Soffer, but she seems lovely. She's very
Rhiannon (01:00:12):
Lovely. Yes.
Shanna (01:00:12):
You would adore her. And when I saw you on there making your soap, I was just so excited
Rhiannon (01:00:18):
For you. No, you're so sweet, so happy. That was really fun. Full circle moment as a journalism gal to have a whole TV crew in your house while you make soap and failed. Sixth grade science was just like a really cool like, huh, okay, here we are. You
Shanna (01:00:32):
Can do hard things. You
Rhiannon (01:00:33):
Can do hard things.
Shanna (01:00:35):
Love it. Okay. Best advice or just really good advice that you have received.
Rhiannon (01:00:41):
Okay, so two. So one, you can care, but you don't have to carry. And that has been a really pivotal piece of advice that a friend gave me in a hard season of personal circumstances. I'm an oldest daughter and I am a thread in a very broken family that has tried to hold everyone together. And I just got to a point where I wasn't able to hold it all together for everybody. And that was something she told me, you can care, but you don't have to carry. And to have that separation between being an empathetic person and being walked over that you can have boundaries, but still be a good person, was really empowering. And I try to use that a lot with clients even. Yeah, just boundaries are really important and then done is better than perfect. Oh my gosh. Our industry is so perfection driven and I understand why, and I think the magazine industry, the social media push only exemplifies that, but I've just had to get to a point where the more I search for perfect and try to write the perfect email or the perfect caption of the perfect post or the perfect entrance or perfect whatever, the more I lose sight of what I'm trying to do.
(01:02:00):
So a lot of times I have to be like, you know what? Done is better than perfect. I did my best. I could do no more than that. We're good.
Shanna (01:02:06):
And as someone who has high aesthetic expectations, I don't know what word I'm looking for there, it's hard. It's done is better and perfect. It's hard to embrace. I'm the exact same way, but I've been challenging myself with this lately with writing actually. I'm always like, I'm such a bad writer. I'm such a bad writer. And it's like, well just start writing and it can be bad, and that's okay, but I'm such a perfectionist and have high standards for my own self. And when I put out that it's hard, but that's such a good one. Yeah.
Rhiannon (01:02:38):
What is your Enneagram?
Shanna (01:02:41):
That's funny. I don't actually know.
Rhiannon (01:02:44):
Come on.
Shanna (01:02:46):
I've gone back and forth so many times and then Kyle, my husband's like, Shana, you're not a number. You're just a person. But I'm like, but I need to know. I mean, as somebody who has a psychology degree, I love me a good psychology test. Yeah. I think I am a nine with a really strong one wing. I could
Rhiannon (01:03:02):
See
Shanna (01:03:03):
That. Yeah. Yeah. I test as a three, so that's why I think, but I'm not a three, I think I'm for sure not a three. I know that. But in strength, a nine goes a three. I mean a nine. Yeah. And so I'm pretty sure I'm a nine.
Rhiannon (01:03:17):
Got it. You're a peacekeeper.
Shanna (01:03:19):
What about you?
Rhiannon (01:03:20):
Well, I married a nine, so I'm a four.
Shanna (01:03:24):
Okay.
Rhiannon (01:03:25):
Yeah. Yes. Which is interesting because when I used to go to therapy and we did marriage counseling, that was the first thing we had to do. So me individually and then us together, and I tested as a three also, which threes are very notoriously accolade driven, competitive,
(01:03:46):
Good leaders, but your numbers obviously sway based on your mental state at time of testing, and I was not in a great place when we started counseling and therapy, so it's just funny to see as I became a healthier version of myself, the truer side of me came out, and now I test consistently as a four. And if I read to you what a four is all about, you'd be like, oh my gosh. Yeah. You're like, pitcher should be next to the Enneagrams four description. Really? You should be the textbook girl for four, but I could see you as a nine. I think that tracks.
Shanna (01:04:18):
Yeah. I think too, for so many years, I mean very similarly, I think to you, I played a lot of sports. I was always top of my class. I operated in life as an achiever. I mean, achiever's, one of my strengths on the StrengthFinder. And so three made sense, and so I think people saw me as a three, but in most of my life, peacemaking and peace Q, that's who I am at my core. At your core. Yeah. And so yeah, I love that. I love that. I love that. This is fun. Okay, last quick fire and then we'll send it off. What are you working on now or one resource that you would like to share?
Rhiannon (01:05:00):
Gosh, I always feel like I let people down. Again, back to this passive revenue thing, I don't have anything to share except my conversation, so I hope this was satisfactory for everyone to just hear our conversation and take what they need from it. I am just working on planning these events this year. We have a soap launch, hopefully, Lord willing, in April, so lots of soap making right now, and another restock at Stouffer Home will be coming up. We'd love to grow our family. That's been like a three year kind of journey at this point that I don't really talk a lot about, but I'm hoping maybe the universe is giving blessing of a slow year for us this year means that there's space for that to finally come to fruition. And I'm trying to be in a place where I've let go of the reigns, and not that I'm forgetting about responsibilities or commitments or having a lack of focus, but I'm just kind of being okay with going off path a little bit. So I don't have anything tangible to offer to your community beyond my
Shanna (01:06:06):
Conversation,
Rhiannon (01:06:07):
Them being here and listening.
Shanna (01:06:09):
We just had the best chat ever. Okay, Ree, let's send it off.
Rhiannon (01:06:14):
It makes me sad.
Shanna (01:06:16):
Looking back 2009, starting your blog, what would you tell yourself just about the journey? What would you tell yourself kind of just on day one?
Rhiannon (01:06:27):
I would say your blessings will be immeasurable. I don't think there's anything else. This whole, don't blink or soak it up when your babies are little, soak it up or on a wedding day, soak it up. You're like, I'm literally soaked in breast milk. I am soaking it up. I'm soaked in sweat. I am soaked in all sorts of different things and emotions. Or on a wedding day, soak it up like, okay, yeah, I'm thinking about thank you notes right now. I think having an air of gratitude and just recognizing your gratitude and being present is I think enough. And I would go back and tell myself those two things because it has been a really great journey. Highs and lows included. It's been a good one, and I look forward to the next 15.
Shanna (01:07:21):
I love it. This has been such a blessing. Thank you for your time, and getting to catch up has just been so fun. You have your journey. You've learned so much through your journey, and I feel like it's just a joy to get to see that come to life and how you live today. Does that make sense?
Rhiannon (01:07:39):
It does, and I appreciate that, and I have enjoyed having this journey unfold alongside, even if not closely with people in similar seasons age category, if you will, like yourself. And they might not be people that stay in contact closely with, and not that that's a malicious thing of course, but to know that other people are also catering to their families and their needs and their businesses, and finding the sweet spot of enjoying their life offline and knowing that at the same time I'm doing that over here is just really sweet to know that there is a way to pave your own way and enjoy the short time we have in front of us. So I appreciate you having me here and having this conversation and being such a great listener and creating a space where people like me can share stories and answer your questions, and hopefully inspire other people to uncover what they need and what they are after in life, and to unapologetically go after it. So thank you for having me.
Shanna (01:08:38):
I love it. Hey, wildflower, you just finished another episode of Consider the Wildflowers the podcast. Head over to consider the wildflowers podcast.com for show notes, resource links, and to learn how you can connect with Ree. One final thought for today from Alan Watts, stop measuring days by degree of productivity and start experiencing them by degree of presence. As always, thank you for listening. I'll see you next time.
