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I met Colleen YEARS ago when I was first starting my photography business. She reached out to me to talk about adding me to her vendor list since she was starting a wedding coordinating company called The FairyGodmother! As I have had the opportunity to get to know Colleen over the years, I can confidently say that she truly is a real FairyGodmother. I have watched her build her business from the ground up - as she watched me build mine! - and now she has not only walked away from her 9-5 corporate job to run FairyGodmother full time, but she has easily become one of the most sought after wedding producers in our industry. Take a listen to hear how she paved her way.

Amy is SO gifted where do I even begin? An incredible singer, performer, teacher, and mentor, Amy has had her gifts and talents take her all over the world. From a finalist in American Idol, to shows galore, and now to investing back into her local community… this girl is involved in A LOT. Her story is so unique and interesting as the performing arts industry has introduced her to so many different people over the years and shaped her into the person she is today. 

Tabatha has a huge heart for our hometown of Bakersfield, CA. While most reporters are busy chasing down breaking stories, she honed in on very specific niche: feel good stories! Tabatha established herself as the feel good story reporter! I’ve actually ONLY known her as the feel good reporter! Not only is she a wonderful interviewer, but she genuinely cares about the person she is interviewing. She wants other people to know these stories and its safe to safe everyone looks forward to her interviews! Securing that feel good spot didn’t happen over night though… take a listen as I talk with Tabatha about what at took place to get her to where she is now.

How did one lanyard turn into a successful greek licensed t-shirt printing company? Allie is here to tell you how! I just adore this girl. Her story is hilarious in its own way (mainly because it involves some unexpected cease and desist letters from lawyers) as she started her business - in addition to moving multiple times across the US as her husband served in the military. She had to adapt and rebuild multiple times. Allie is so resilient and driven and take this from someone who has worked with her on projects multiple times over the last few years - she is FULL of ideas! She is very creative and continuously looking for ways to bring other businesses together and help one another. I love her heart and her honesty. 

Eric was a party animal, homeless, a fighter, a drug dealer, and likely… destined for prison. Until one man took him under his wing and mentored him and changed his life forever. I met Eric when he started dating one my good friends - I would have NEVER guessed his story. The man I know today is VERY different from the person he is about to share with you on this podcast. His testimony is powerful, emotional, and eye opening. Eric shares how teachers, peers, and one sweet couple shaped him into the person he is today. Please know, Eric laughs a bit here and there in the beginning of this interview when we begin to talk about his abuse and trauma growing up. Everyone handles trauma differently, and I want to acknowledge that this interview may be hard for some people to hear. If you have walked through abuse, please know that you are not alone… I hope by hearing Eric’s story you find hope and faith in your situation. Please take a listen to my friend Eric’s story…

Ashley Beaudin is one of the most encouraging women I know. I found Ashley on instagram as she was hosting a huge campaign called “The Imperfect Boss Campaign” where she took time to bring thousands of men and women together and honestly share about how imperfect they are as bosses of their businesses. I was so drawn to what this girl was doing. She is so real, raw, and bubbly. Ashley has an interesting journey that I honestly wasn’t expecting! She wasn’t always her number one fan, and she didn’t always think the best of herself. She shares candidly with me how she used to be a sex addict, and how that abuse damaged her mentally and physically. Ashley has broken free of so many lies over herself that now she is helping others break free of their mental prisons and lies they’ve partnered with as well. How did she get to this place and what is she doing about it now?

Morgan Bonn is a young woman I find very inspirational, a creative visionary, and VERY driven. Morgan is the owner and dreamer behind Cloud 9 Coffee Company - one of the first mobile coffee trailers in California here in my home town of Bakersfield, CA! Morgan shares how her journey in opening up Cloud 9 was anything but easy. She contacted so many people in the beginning to get them to believe in her dream… but Getting investors on board was like pulling teeth, she even shares how her trailer basically fell a part at one point and in turn, shuts down shop for almost a year. But her journey drastically changes when SHE is suddenly the one being approached by an investor. Morgan’s business journey is unlike any other story I’ve heard! 

Nick and Danee Edmundson are elopement photographers in the Pacific Northwest. They are both INSANELY talented humans that I just admire the snot out of. I have followed Nick on Instagram probably since Instagram first became an app! As a social media friend, I got to watch him meet his wife Danee (another incredible photographer!), and witness their relationship come together OVER SOCIAL MEDIA. They teamed up and offer unreal elopement experiences as wedding photographers in some of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen. These two have done a lot together, from starting an online community called Wandering Weddings, to taking their photography to just about every mountain top, and most recently, they welcomed a a sweet baby girl in to the world. These two are unstoppable and I’m excited for you to hear how they built such an incredible business for their lives! We talk a lot of shop, but we also talk about basic business principles and how they have decided the best way to serve their clients! Check out more of their work at: www.nickplusdanee.com and on Instagram: @nickplusdanee

A personal episode in time for Valentine's Day! My husband, William, and I sit down and talk about OUR love story! From how we first awkwardly met outside a bathroom, to how we decided to plan a surprise wedding together. YES. That means guests showed up to a party and shortly discovered it was a wedding instead! AH! We have had so many questions about how we pulled off a surprise wedding... it was time to sit down, record, and share our experience with you all! The good, the bad, and would we have a surprise wedding again? William and I answer a few other questions from listeners, specifically what marriage has been like for us the past four years. Enjoy!

Brynnlee is the definition of resilience. She is Lyme’s Disease fighter, a theatre kid, a world traveler, and she was one of my beloved Senior reps! Brynnlee and I talk about her medical journey of being diagnosed with Lyme… how no one believed her as she was having extreme episodes, losing friends, gaining friends, having tons and tons of medicine shoved at her, AND how she processed the question, “why is this happening?” If you or someone you know has a hidden illness, you’ll want to share this episode with them because Brynnlee tells it how it is… this girl is amazing and I admire her so much. Please enjoy Brynnlee’s story…

Ohhh my sweet friend Michalynn! Where do I even begin? Michalynn and I have known each other since junior high school! You know that friend that is friends with everyone, lights up a room with her smile, and is literally the sweetest human in the world?! Thats Michalynn. This girl is radiant. After high school she moved down to southern California to be with family and on a whim auditioned at Disneyland. She had NO idea what she was getting herself into! Because after a second audition, she was hired, and worked for Disney for FIVE years! Disney took her all over the world, including the opening of Shanghai’s new Disney resort. She had a LOT of happiness surrounding her at work, but while she had to put on a front at work, she wasn’t always happy outside of the happiest place on earth. Michalynn and I talk about the hard stuff that happened during her years at Disney and how she walked through tragic events like the Route 91 shooting. Theres a lot people… Also, side note, we totally recorded this in a car parked in a marina parking lot so hang in there with us and enjoy this fun episode with Michalynn Brown…

Oooooo man! Get ready... this episode is rich and full of hard conversation. Kelly shares how her interior design business took off like a rocket all while behind the scenes she was experiencing family losses left and right. Kelly found her self surrounded by multiple family deaths and even the sudden separation of her husband. Her clients had no idea what was going on in her personal life. Just when she thought she could come up for air, something else would catch her off guard. We talk about what she did to push through the darkest years of her life, how her and her husband are doing now, and how her business prevailed. You won't want to miss this one! 

Hawaii film photographer Ashley Goodwin shares what it’s like to be a photographer on the island of Oahu. How she honed in on her craft of offering film in a digital world and what she does for her clients when she can feel all the emotions in the room on a wedding day. Chatting with Ashley felt like catching up with a long time friend - she is SO bubbly and transparent about being an intentional business person and how to not make everything about YOU but instead make it all about your clients and those around you. We talk a lot about our faith, the holy spirit, and so much more! 

What happens when best friends from high school become business partners? Kristin and Alycia candidly share how their friendship has developed over the years as they each walked through different seasons in their lives. As Kristin was celebrating an engagement, Alycia was walking through a divorce. These girls openly talk about the very different aspects of their friendship in and outside of business and how they believe their business contract may be more difficult to get out of than a marriage! We dive into how opening a fragrance company proved to be more difficult than they expected and what they continue to do to give back to the community and women stuck in human trafficking.

This is a tough one. My brave friend Laura shares the story of her toddler experiencing multiple seizures, with no prior conditions. Laura and her husband had to relentlessly advocate for their daughter when doctors wouldn’t listen. After multiple hospitals, doctors, nurses, and tests, they discovered she has a 1-in-5-million autoimmune disease that could only be treated by an unusual surgery on her brain. Laura goes in-depth on how this journey with her daughter's health affected her faith, her relationships, her family, and her business.

Third-grade teacher Josh King shares how a hometown video of himself goes viral and in turn, leads him to an invitation to a major morning show on the east coast! In a matter of hours, he was on the red carpet interviewing celebrities. We talk about his unique approach to teaching, the environment in his classroom, and how being a teacher shapes not only your students but yourself.

Talk about an ARTIST! Christine is an incredible abstract painter on the east coast leaving her unique mark on canvases all over the world. Christine shares what it was like to grow up with a parent as an art historian, how her love for art became her profession, what it’s like being a female in a heavily dominated male industry, and how she utilizes her unique medical condition to improve her craft! Get ready, this episode is SUPER interesting!www.christineolmstead.com@christineolmstead

Makenzie explains why she's starting The Adoration Podcast, the why behind this new venture, the guests you can expect to hear on the show, and why she is so excited to get this new content out in to the world and why she wants you to OWN YOUR STORY! #TheAdorationPodcastwww.adorationpocast.com@theadorationpodcast