3 Lessons From Two Years of Podcasting

Melanie Knights (00:02):

Hey, beautiful souls. Welcome to Entrepreneurial Outlaws. As promised, we have a different episode today, a slightly different episode, a special episode because entrepreneurial outlaws has turned to this month. Now, this episode is very different to what I had originally planned many weeks and months ago. Things change and that's absolutely okay as part of entrepreneurship, as part of life, and it's part of listening to your intuition and digging into what works for you. Since starting Entrepreneurial Outlaws back in 2020, a lot has changed and in some ways nothing has changed. <Laugh> Covid is still a very somewhat present and constant reminder that things can change so quickly. Capitalism, the patriarchy and hustle culture are still in full of fact. And online business gurus or celebrity entrepreneurs as Nike Patterson calls them, still make millions of dollars regurgitating the same, unethical, and one size fits all business advice.

Melanie Knights (01:19):

But we are really different. You me, our businesses, the way we choose to market, the way we choose to plan and sell has changed the way we talk about our businesses, our schedules, and our goals. And whilst my business seems entirely different to 2020, it is so much closer to my heart and soul. It is exactly what it was always supposed to be because back in college when I studied fashion and textiles and arts, which I think I've discussed here on the show before, I wanted to be an artist. I wanted to run my own business, and I wanted to curate artwork and paper goods for others. But I was 17. I was grieving the death of my father and at the internet and social media were really, really new. Like Facebook had only been in existence short time. And at the time I was really angry.

Melanie Knights (02:18):

Now I am still very much an angry feminist, but I'm older and hopefully a little bit wiser. And so whilst I was angry, I also had no idea how to channel what I was feeling into something beautiful. I felt completely misunderstood and completely unheard. And I think that's the biggest difference. Now. My art has a place I feel seen, I feel heard, and I feel understood. And I am not the only angry fa feminist who gives away too many folks and also want to poison the patriarchy with empathy and intuition and self-trust and some crystals. <Laugh>, I found my people. I found my community, the badass outlaws that I always wanted to know.

Melanie Knights (03:09):

We grow up and we are told that we are supposed to have all these incredible friendships. And I know that some people do. I know that some people go through life having enormous amounts of friendships, enormous amounts of people in their life. And I never did. I never had those strong friendships. My friendships always seemed to be rooted in the wrong thing. My friendships were rooted in so often, which is really scary. My friendships got often rooted in diet culture. One of my strongest friendships in high school was completely rooted in diet culture and stayed that way for over a decade. Who was losing weight, what diet will be on?

Melanie Knights (03:56):

And I always knew that I, or I always hoped, I guess, that I wasn't alone. I always hoped there were other people out there like me, people who had similar values, people who had that same excited passion for the thing that they love. A community who I could feel connected with, even if we were thousands of miles away, even if we didn't like exactly the same things. And you, dear and listener, are part of that community. You have helped me shape my business in the last two years. You have kept me going when times have felt heavy, when I have wondered what is next. And I've asked that question a lot, and it has been a absolutely wild journey from the very beginning of my business. But these last two years, to say the very least, <laugh>, and in the late summer, I made a really heavy and emotionally filled decision. And that is that this season of entrepreneurial outlaws will be the last.

Melanie Knights (05:08):

It was an incredibly hard decision to make. And in fact, I think that it has been sitting there tugging at my attention for some time and I've just ignored it. I love podcasting. I love entrepreneurial outlaws. And I also know that right now simplifying my business, stepping away from podcasting is the right decision for me. It's the right decision for my business. It's the right decision for my future and my career. And as well, And Jenning said, there is always one more way to do things and that's your way. And you have a right to try it at least once. I remember the first time I read this quote when

Speaker 2 (05:57):

Entrepreneurial outlaws was just an idea, but did I feel those words. And as Welln was such an inspiration for this very show, I know that I'm on the right track. So now that I've laid that very heavy news on you, I wanna talk about what's next. Well, Fastly, we're not going anywhere just yet. <Laugh>, we still have five more episodes, four in incredible guests. And of course my final solo episode, which will air in mid-November. My Patreon community, the Outlaw collective, will continue. We are gonna be, we are growing month by month and we are gonna continue to grow. And it's so amazing to stay connected with other entrepreneurs and creatives there. I'm also planning on expanding my Patreon tears. So if you wanna stay updated, make sure you join my email list. We will link to that in the show notes. And in addition to Patreon, I will be focused on my art, my stickers, and expanding my paper goods.

Speaker 2 (07:05):

As I mentioned, this is something that I have wanted for many years, but it never seemed possible and I never felt like my art was good enough. And so each time someone buys my stickers, I really do a happy dance. I remember that 17 year old version of me who wanted this so badly, but had no idea how to get started. Had no idea whether it was even possible because as I said, back then there wasn't really online business. We didn't have online business in the same way. I barely just had an iPod <laugh>. So it's wild to, for me to look back and and feel like that was just a moment ago. But to also remember, it's half my life ago. And so much has changed since then. And right now I am working on challenging myself artistically. I'm dipping my toes out of my comfort zone, which means testing different color palettes, drawing fat bodies, doing all sorts of exciting things like baking and hiking and yoga.

Speaker 2 (08:13):

And I'll also be making some much needed updates to planning by the moon and adding new books to the shop using my art. Now, I want to be clear, I will be taking some time <laugh> to rest at the end of this year. These things are all not going to be happening immediately. I wanna take it slow, which is so, so hard for me. I wanna give myself some space to rest and enjoy the remainder of fall and start to get extra cozy for winter. There'll be lots of winter baking and some walks and reading by candles and fair lights.

Speaker 2 (08:51):

Now I have yet to decide if I'm going back to Instagram <laugh>, but I will be sharing what I've learned and the impact it's had on me and my business in that final episode that airs in November. So as we get up for this second season, our second birthday, I've been deep in reflection mode as you can probably tell. I've been thinking about where we were, where we are now, and all the things I've learned over these past two years. And I wanted today to share three lessons that I've learned since starting Entrepreneurial Outlaws. And I wanna call on you to take a moment to think about what you've really learned in these last couple of years as well as an entrepreneur. Maybe grab a journal and, and answer that question. You know, what is, what are three big lessons that you've learned about yourself as a business owner in these last two years?

Speaker 2 (09:48):

I think I've learned so many things as a human, as an entrepreneur, and I continue to learn and also unlearn. There's a lot of unlearning going on at this time as well. I think the first and most important lesson is that I'm not alone. You are not alone. We're in this together. Even as entrepreneur Outlaws as a podcast is coming to a natural end. We are still existing. We still run businesses. Our community is still here. And as a community, we live across the globe. We have various business models spanning many different industries. And just as we cross time zones, we cross decades. We have our own visions of success. We want and need different things. But the thing that connects us is our desire to run a business on our own terms. That is the simplest way of describing entrepreneurial outlaws. And it's something I hold very close to my heart because when I was sitting in my office back in late 2019, listening to Lu Buck Texas and writing a list of goals, I felt so incredibly alone.

Speaker 2 (10:56):

Not in life and not even in business, but amidst all of my overthinking, the unscrupulous coaches, and they're coaching and their rules, the way they told me I had to do things the way they told me things should be done, and my deep desire for success without all the I felt so alone. I did not know if it was possible to run and business on my own terms, but really show them, didn't we? Over the last couple of years, we've really, really showed them that it is possible, It is possible to step back, slow down, speed up grow. It's possible to measure success in so many different ways. It's possible to decide to market ethically and accept the fact that that might mean growing slow. It's, it's been an incredible journey.

Speaker 3 (11:53):

I think that the next thing I've learned is that making an impact on a small, and maybe even micro scale is a wondrous thing. Way back in episode five, I shared six reasons. A small audience is good for business. Now, that still is one of my most downloaded episodes, and there's a good reason for that. Many of us have small audiences, but as I said back then, and I still stand by it, small is subjective and no one really talks about it. Since that episode, I have learned that wor working in small communities and making a big impact on fewer people, it's not just the luck of the entrepreneurial cards, it's not the hand I was dealt, it's who I am. It's what I believe. It's my personal superpower. And there's a good chance, it's one of your superpowers too. I will happily sell my artwork, my stickers, and my books to as many people as possible. If people want to buy my work, I want them to be able to do that. But I won't budge on who I am or my values to do so I won't stop talking about the things that are incredibly important to me because that is who I am. It's always been who I am. That 17 year old girl, she was off. She was angry.

Speaker 3 (13:10):

In the last, well, previous two years, she had learned that the world was a place, both personally and collectively. She was grieving. I'm still grieving, and so I won't shy away from having the heavy conversations, which is something I've been told I tend to do. I know that I can be very <laugh> deep but that's who I am. Take me, leave me like that's how it is with me. And I will always be honest and I will always have those honest conversations and I will challenge you lovingly. It's something we do every month inside of the Outlaw Collective. We have those difficult conversations with ourselves.

Speaker 3 (14:01):

I'll also continue to work with my energy, with my needs in mind. And this typically means the fingers grow slow and maybe somebody out there will tell me that's not the case. But I think, again, it's subjective, right? For me, the meaning behind things will grow slowly is really things don't grow at the pace that we are told they should. They don't grow at the pace that things perceive to be growing at in the online space, the glossy sales pages, the testimonials, the feeds that only show the perfect side of entrepreneurship. And when they show a struggle, it's still glossy somehow, right? It's still glossy. To me, growing slow

Speaker 2 (14:50):

Just means that I'm growing on my own terms. It means that I'm growing in alignment with myself. I've grown quickly and I would not like to do that again. <Laugh>, it was, it was the perfect year for it to happen because I was able to avoid a lot of what was going on outside of my home. I was able to ignore my feelings for a really long time, but that came back to bite me in the. So, and here we are, <laugh>. So yeah, I'm gonna lean into my energy. Yes, I'm gonna work with my needs. And yes, I'm okay if it grows slowly because I'm not willing to compromise my creative integrity anymore to grow fast in my business.

Speaker 2 (15:38):

And the third thing I wanna, I dunno where this quote came from. I put it in my journal and it felt really appropriate. And that is sometimes the place you are used to is not the place you belong. So I don't know where this quote comes from. I apologize. I cannot give you the the source. I found it on Pinterest and wrote it in my journal. But I feel like this is a very appropriate quote for today's episode. It's, it's very appropriate for how I've been feeling. We've become very used to things. You know, let's be honest, I've made a lot of changes in my business in recent years. In fact, I've made a lot of changes since starting my business back in 2016. What I've learned about myself is that I can't pretend I'm not good at kind of holding onto my emotions. And I say that because for example, I think my mom is very good at being able to kind of force her way through things.

Speaker 2 (16:35):

I can't do that. I tried and I tried it a lot when I was in the corporate world. I would ignore the feelings that I had that things were, we were being lied to you, that things were not as, they seemed that it was a game. And when I avoided those feelings, it bubbled up in different ways. And I became incredibly depressed. So I won't do it. I can't do it. In the past, it has knocked me down repeatedly because I didn't know what I stood for. I knew I was angry, right? I knew I was off, but I didn't know what I stood for. I didn't know what I really wanted in my personal life. And I was still chasing other people's dreams and other people's goals. The ones that we see on the glossy sales pages, selling a lifestyle that was never supposed to be mine. One that is going to cost us thousands of dollars, probably our soul and our sanity and years of hustling before we can even sniff success. I've learned to trust my intuition, to trust my own decisions. I no longer ask everyone for their opinion. I'm patient, I'm curious. And more often than not, I will take it to my journal.

Speaker 3 (17:49):

I love Entrepreneur Outlaws and I've loved being the host of this amazing podcast. It also feels like it's come to a natural end. There is a newer, yet very familiar path that I'm going to be nurturing and exploring and seeing where it takes me. Will it bring me back here in the future? Possibly. I have absolutely no idea because if you had asked me seven years ago when I started this business, if I thought I'd own a shop, if I could even imagine selling my art, I would've said no because it didn't feel possible. You never know where things are gonna take you. And being open to the opportunities of entrepreneurship presents with us is such a magical process. But it can also be a really slow burn manifestation that might just take half a lifetime.

Speaker 3 (18:43):

So I know that I have <laugh> probably dropped a lot of news on you in one day in one episode. Thank you for being here till the end. Thank you for listening. Thank you for your last, however long you've been listening. Thank you. Whether you've been listening from the very beginning or if you have recently discovered Entrepreneurial Outlaws, thank you. Because without you, this show would never have existed and won't continue to exist. Entrepreneurial Outlaws is not going anywhere. The show will still exist and you and I were still outlaws with or without the podcast. Being an outlaw was still very much be a part of my business is who I am. And that's not going anywhere. And as I said, we still have a few more weeks, five more episodes in total, four incredible guests. And I'll be sharing with you all of the things I've learned or not learned from being away from Instagram.

Speaker 3 (19:47):

I'll also be going through how you can stay in touch with me and where to sign up for all of my various places to be, whether it's on my email list, whether you're on TikTok and wanna hang out over there. We will discuss that in a few weeks. So stick around, Don't go anywhere because as I said, we still have some more episodes to go and some incredible guests. Like next week, we are joined by a Fear. A Fear is a mindset, a manifestation coach, host of the Manifest Edit podcast and creator of the Vibes Method for aligned Manifestation. Her mission is to empower and teach ambitious women how to stop playing small and access their innate magic so they can expand their current reality. I sat down with a fear over the summer and we had an amazing conversation. It was really great to chat with her because manifestation is something we've

Speaker 2 (20:46):

Probably kind of, we've kind of drifted past on this show over the last two years. It's never something we've actually sat down and spoken to somebody about what it means to manifest. And so I'm hoping that you're gonna join us for that incredible episode. Get to know her fear, get to know what she does, learn more about hi story. And yeah, I will see you next week for that episode. And again, I wanna say a massive thank you for being here. Thank you for sticking around. Thank you for listening. If you want to reach out, if you have any thoughts or questions or feelings that you wanna share about Entrepreneurial Outlaws, if you are feeling a type of way that about this announcement that it's ending, or if you want to share a review, you can review the podcast on Apple Podcast and Spotify now. You can leave a five star review and rating and if you want to share that with share however you're feeling personally, and you can always email me melanie melanie nights.com. And yeah, I will read your email under reply. So friend Outlaw badass, I will see you next week. I.