The Back Back Story

I am a Gary Vaynerchuk follower and discovered him relatively late in his rise to…well everything, I discovered him through a quote in a Ted Talks book in April 2018. I was doing continuing education to keep my registered dietitian status up to date and so I was reading 5 different business books. While reading Chapter 16 in The Storyteller’s Secrets book I thought, “Who is this Gary guy? I need to go look him up because he makes way too much sense to me!”  Then I see that me and at the time about 3 million other people were following him on IG.  What can I say…I am cutting edge!

That began months of me listening to Gary’s podcast pretty religiously for months…on runs, on walks, in the car (if my kids weren’t with me bc he cusses more than any human ever), road trips, gardening, etc.  Now that I think of it, the hours of me listening to Gary were preparing me for the conviction needed to try something new even while already juggling quite a bit.

Gary talks all the time about the importance of storytelling, building a personal brand, writing more, sharing more, documenting more, podcasting, etc.

So after months of listening to him and believing in his messages, I was racking my brain about how I could expand myself.  In a way, I think I wanted to pay Gary back, by executing on so much of the advice he freely gives.   I am not ready to write a book and I already run a company and don’t want a full-on side job.  I wanted something that pushes me in a new arena, serves people, and gives me a voice like never before.  I landed with the idea of podcasting.

Do I do a podcast about business because entrepreneurship has been in my blood forever and my sister, Sarah Nuse, and I have built this healthy brand in Tippi Toes?  Do I talk about mom life because after all at this point I still had one kiddo at home with me every day and I was still running my business? Do I go super personal and talk with my best friend about our lives for a podcast?

Through those months of thinking, I decided a few things I knew to be true…I didn’t want to be a self-proclaimed expert on anything because I am not! I didn’t want it to be anything that sparks controversy or would be too emotionally taxing.  I already had no time in my life for anything else so I had to love it or otherwise I would hate this whole thing.

Then, one day it just hit me…I talk to my mom all the time about what it was like raising us and I value her opinion because I can see the fruits of her work (me and my two sisters, Jennie & Sarah). What if I could interview moms of amazing people to get their real-life take? That’s it! Once I had this concept…I was ready! When I say ready I mean I would spend another 10 months thinking about it 😉

My first thought of this podcast was in October of 2018. Yes, it’s been that long. The idea was pretty much the same as it is today…interview awesome moms who raised people that turned into wonderful adults. It felt super logical.

Now I had to figure out how to make it happen. I still had a two-year-old at home every day, plus two big sisters and was running my company with my sister. It took me a minute to figure out how to navigate this.

Gary Vaynerchuck lit the spark in me to push myself differently, to build a personal brand, to be the one telling my own story, and to not apologize for any of it!  Thanks Gary!