You Only Go Once (Y.O.G.O.)
Cheryl and Eileen explore different topics around the limited time we have on this earth to create a fully layered life. Because...You Only Go Once!
You Only Go Once (Y.O.G.O.)
Uncorking Life's Pleasures: Julie Shen on Wine, Work, and Wisdom
We're excited to bring you an extraordinary conversation with Julie Shen, a strategic ally for purpose-driven business founders and the mind behind advisory and consultancy practice, Springstead. Julie's journey took her from the corporate world to the vibrant and dynamic sphere of female-led startups, and she's spilling the secrets of her transition, as well as sharing her passion for her clients' products and services.
While Julie's work might be serious, her life certainly isn't all work and no play. She's a bona fide travel enthusiast with a love for living like a local, specifically when it comes to the wine regions of Europe. Julie and her husband's adventures through the vineyards of France and Italy have led them to some incredible finds. If you've ever wanted to know how to taste wine without the morning-after regret or the secret to pairing that perfect red, Julie's insights are not to be missed.
However, life isn't just about work and travel, it's about embracing the stage we're in and the age we've reached. Julie's perspective on reaching the mid-thirties phase of life is refreshing and empowering. We dig deep into the concept of 'shoulding', life in the present, and the evolving paradigm of family planning. We also touch on the generational disparities between immigrant parents and their progeny, with Julie offering her wisdom on navigating these differences with grace. Enjoy the intriguing conversation with Julie Shen, where she shares her journey, passions, and wisdom with us.
Hello, hello, hello, welcome back. I am with my fantastic co-host, eileen Grimes, and this is you. Only Go Once, and today we have a great guest. Eileen, kick us off.
Speaker 2:Thanks, cheryl. Julie Shen is here with us today and is the founder of Springstead, an advisory and consultancy practice that works with purpose-driven founders, businesses and organizations to develop, launch and grow their initiatives. Springstead turns ideas into results through strategy, business development, project execution and capital opportunities. Julie has over 15 years of experience incubating, developing and launching new businesses for startups and organizations like CondiNASTS and HBO. She has scaled a digital media network to 75 million annual downloads, a direct-to-consumer business to one million paying subscribers in year one, and negotiated deals and partnerships with an impact of over 200 million. She's passionate about supporting female founders and facilitating an environment for them to flourish, and Julie welcome.
Speaker 3:It is so nice to be here. May I just say that I do a lot of podcasts and we talk business and we talk shop. This is my first podcast where we are getting more personal and really doing more of that personal journey. So I've been looking forward to recording with you guys and talking with you guys for a long time. So thank you for having me.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:I feel very special Thank you for coming on.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah. Well, we're going to really try to get into the deep, dark, spiritual side and I'm just kidding, but we are really excited to dive in and talk with you. I mean, as we were talking a little bit before and even obviously in your bio, supporting and really being intentional about encouraging female founders to thrive in this day and age is something that's obviously extremely important to you. You know what really got you started in that and you know what are some of the big things that you're doing right now.
Speaker 3:Yeah, what a great start to the conversation. So currently I work with a portfolio of female founders and I really support their businesses in different ways. Some of them will come to me when they're in pre-launch and I support them in a pre-launch strategy and a go-to-market strategy. And some of them will come to me when they're a few years into their business and they're looking for opportunity to either grow or diversify or really take that business to the next level. So I've been really fortunate to see a variety of businesses at different stages and be able to support these female founders in these different stages. So that's been really cool.
Speaker 3:I first got into working really with female founders when I spent some time with the helm. I don't know if you guys have heard of it, but they are a female-led VC fund who invests in female-led startups Amazing, yeah. And they are an amazing organization with amazing goals. And it was the first time that I really focused on supporting female founders in this intentional way. And I have just found that not only is that a personally important cause to me, I enjoy the environment and the connection and the chemistry of people that I work with a lot more. I've come from a world of corporate, where things can get very competitive and things can feel quite just not collaborative. And I think having to work closely with female founders, it's just such a warmer environment, it's more collaborative. People are just softer in their approach. That's the type of environment that I thrive in and that's the type of environment that I want to continue to get forward in.
Speaker 2:I love it. So I found something really similar. So I was a part of this author group. It's a female authors, non-fiction authors and we were working together to launch books and things like that. And there was this. It was never competitive, it was continuously this community driven space where we just supported each other. If you're looking at hero queries or whatever it is, it was like oh, this one, I think, fits you, jenny, or I think you should take a look at this. Like there was something about us all rising together that was so amazing being in that space. Do you see that within the founders as well?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. I think the reason why it's like that is because there's so much at stake. There's no one who's going to care about your business more than you, and, I think, for these founders, they are so close to it and they touch every part of this business at this stage. So it's also nice to bring in someone like me, because not only am I hugely passionate about supporting the female founder cause, but also I'm an avid consumer of their product services, right.
Speaker 3:And so I really come in and I'm like, oh my God, I needed this product in my life or there was a huge gap and I understand what you guys are trying to do or how you guys are trying to disrupt the market Versus. I think sometimes you may work on a business and, even though the business is awesome, you don't emotionally connect with it because you're not specifically the target audience. So I am fortunate to say that I am the target audience of my clients and I legitimately use the products and services of every one of my clients. So that is really nice as well.
Speaker 1:That's great.
Speaker 2:So how did you transition from corporate into sort of this space? What did that jump look like? Was there a moment or realization, or how did that happen?
Speaker 3:Yeah, so I left corporate, I think at the end of 2021. I had been in corporate for 15 years at that point, ending eight years at HBO and then five years at Kandey Nass, and I like to always tell the story that, because of my cultural backgrounds, you know, I am the only child to immigrant parents and for us, culturally, there was nothing more important than profession and education, right, and so, for the longest time, what my parents wanted for me, which was profession, it was what I wanted for me because I didn't know anything else, I didn't think of anything else, and so all I wanted to do when I was younger was just rise up the corporate ladder. I really thought that I was going to. My goal was to be a corporate executive, and I just thought I would do that forever.
Speaker 3:And it's crazy because it's like allegory of the game. Right, Like, once you see the light, you're like what was I thinking?
Speaker 2:Absolutely.
Speaker 3:Yeah, like that right.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:And when you're in it, you just don't think about it because you're just living it day to day. So it was during the pandemic and, similar to everyone else, I was getting really burnt out. You know, we were extremely overworked, the budgets were really slim, our targets were still the same and it seemed so unsustainable Sure, at the time when I left, I didn't know what I wanted to do.
Speaker 3:I just know what I didn't want to do, and sometimes that reverse action just points you in a directional space where you're like well, I don't know where I'm going, but it's not that way.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah.
Speaker 3:I'm going this way, so it was also really fortunate because my husband happened to also be taking some time off, so we were coordinated in both of us taking some time off together. So we took about six to eight months off in 2022 and we really just like traveled the world. We ate a lot of good food and drank wine, and I've always been quite like an organized type A person and I never thought how much I would enjoy not having a plan for multiple days and multiple weeks at a time. I thought I was going to be bored, but I was just doing what I wanted to do. I would read books on wine making and champagne making, we would go to museums, we would do nothing, I would yoga Like literally, I could have done this for probably more years. But yeah, you run out of money and you're like OK, right, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:So yeah. So then we finally landed back in New York, and what happened through my time off was this insane crystallization of what I wanted to do and how I could serve my purpose, and I, because of my exposure and experience with working with the helm, I just really gravitated towards that category, and so I wanted to do that again, and I don't think I said this to you guys, but what I was doing in corporate previously was I was basically building new businesses for large organizations and well, I could do that for businesses for perhaps in for actual early stage founders.
Speaker 3:So that's how I transitioned into finding Springstead and I incorporated and launched within like a month of landing back in New York.
Speaker 2:Oh, my goodness.
Speaker 3:That's amazing. Yes, that is amazing. Yes, I think.
Speaker 2:Sean, I have kind of talked about this. And this is sort of where the podcast came from, or these like moments of oh shit, this isn't Wait, what am I doing here?
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 2:What is the point and purpose and how do I redefine success? Even Right, for me, it wasn't for you, it wasn't climbing the corporate ladder anymore, it wasn't getting to that point. And how wonderful to be able to self reflect at this point, right, wherever you are in life, it doesn't matter if you're 20 years old, it doesn't matter if you're 70 years old, like it can be at any point, to say, wait a second, what do I want? I don't have to continue on this treadmill of life, or you know the supposed like gold star of success. It can be what I define for it and it's just, it's so amazing that you were able to do that and go through that and then, a month, my goodness, get a launch and just come right just to come back and be like, yep, this is what I'm doing, this is so you have basically embodied Eileen's saying, which is yep, this is happening.
Speaker 1:Eileen says it all the time. This is how the podcast got formed. What a wonderful, what a wonderful time for you and for your husband right To to go out and really just think about what you need. I think it's like the number one question I think most of us fail to ask is what is it that I need? And you went and did that. So I know we wanted to talk a little bit more about, like less about business stuff, right? If you had to go back, I'm going to switch gears for a little bit, right, because now you, you know you've had 15 years in industry. Now you're in this new world, this career 2.0, if you will. If you had to go back to yourself, your 20 year old self, your teen self, what advice would you give her?
Speaker 3:Hmm, oh, that's a good question. I would say to stay hungry but stay humble, and that success is just progress, and there's always another peak around the corner. So just when you think you reached a level of success, there's always something more that you want to do. And I used to measure success in a very professional, quantitative way, and I think that I have really changed my point of view on that, and it's no longer about what title, what salary you know how I am compared to other people. It really is just about making myself fulfilled and something that feels like I'm leaving a footprint in the world.
Speaker 3:So I would really tell my younger self to not think so much about prestige, but think about, ultimately, like, how do you serve your own soul? Because we so much don't like, like we're, we're always trying to do what other people think or have told us is the right thing to do, and I think this is actually true for women, right, like ever since we were young, it was just been ingrained in us in terms of how we should behave, the etiquette that we should have, you know, how we should live our lives, and progress and balance and etc. And I think, sure, some of that is great like goalposts, but it doesn't have to be so like quantitative in terms of how you think about progress, and so I would just really give myself the grace to you know, grow in the environment that I needed.
Speaker 1:I love that right to be able to give yourself grace. And also, you said something about what. What do we need to do to feed our souls, right? So, while you and your husband were on sabbatical, what was it that fed your soul the most during that time?
Speaker 3:Yeah, it was a lot of food and wine and a lot of art. Yeah, so we are huge art history bands and we actually joke because we love Renaissance art and we love art. And then if you drop us into like a modern museum, we're both like we don't know what's happening. Oh, my gosh, same.
Speaker 3:I probably sound very uncool, but you know really what fed our souls was immersing ourselves in the culture of a place like Florence and you know, Paris and really like going to the museums and seeing the art history and seeing how much the city has not changed in the hundreds of years that it's. It's been built Thousands and and so that was insanely beautiful and I came back with a lot of books on. You know some of my favorite artists. And then the second thing really was food and wine. We wanted to live like locals, so we got an Airbnb and we cooked a lot, we tried local recipes, we went to cooking school, yeah, yeah. And my husband, because he's in hospitality, he is certified like wine, certified at a level three. I don't know if that means anything to you guys, but it's high up there.
Speaker 1:It sounds impressive.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, it's high up there, and I mean like I've seen bottle shock. So yes, Just Just yeah.
Speaker 3:I've had a fairly breaking level one, so, so it was really nice to learn about wine in France, in Italy, and have it kind of be my wine guide. So I would say those were the things that really, really fed our souls.
Speaker 2:Oh my gosh, the wine in Italy too. I mean even just a table, a red table wine. Amazing, like how is it so good and I don't get any kind of hangover stuff the next day? Like it's wonderful.
Speaker 3:Yeah, no, I mean the wine in Europe, in Italy it's like all so much cheaper than it is in New York.
Speaker 1:And.
Speaker 3:I'm sure we've all heard that you can get wine cheaper than water there, right? And so you're like, OK, I might as well just order a bottle of wine. But yeah, to your point, the table wines are incredible for an amazing value.
Speaker 2:Yeah, absolutely OK. So what is your? Are you a red or a white?
Speaker 3:I'm a red kind of gal.
Speaker 2:Mm OK.
Speaker 3:I'm mostly red and then the white. That I will do is champagne.
Speaker 1:OK, well, fair enough.
Speaker 2:What about you guys? Oh, I'm definitely a red. So I lived in Berkeley for gosh four years, so made my way up to Napa and Sonoma. I know it's not Europe and all of that wine, but it was amazing and I learned a lot, like I think that was what was so much. Fun for me is like here's, you know, even just seeing like where it's made and the barreling, and like walking the fields and seeing the grapes and stuff and how the grapes only like certain grapes only grow in certain locations because of you know the amount of sunshine, like I just that part was so fascinating to me and just learning about it I still couldn't like taste. I'm like if it tastes good to me, that's what I care. I don't whether it's a $150 bottle of wine or two-butt chuck, like it's what hits my palate the best and that's kind of where I've gotten with it and to each their own, but that's that's where I am yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 3:And what about you, Cheryl?
Speaker 1:I, I'm with you, I'm team Champagne I enjoy that thoroughly. Champagne, really stuff that's fizzy. So like Champagne, prosecco, happy girl, happy, happy girl. I will agree with you, I had gone to Paris 20 years ago. No 15 years ago, long time ago, and I was floored. When you go to market and you pick up a bottle of wine and it was like three francs and it was like where's the? And you know, you don't know because, like here, if you get a $3 bottle of wine, you're kind of questioning.
Speaker 2:It's more like grape juice.
Speaker 1:Maybe, and it was just amazing. And to Eileen's point, yeah, you didn't get hungover, it literally just went down nice and smooth and you enjoy, you know, bread and cheese and that bottle of wine and that just you know it definitely, like you know, I had my happy two-two on. I was just very happy in Paris, Just a wonderful place, and you know, the food, of course, is bar none and just just wonderful. Now, that said, I say bar none. I've not been to Italy or other parts of Europe, but Paris was like my. You know, that was kind of like my goal. I was like I've always wanted to go to Paris, let's go to Paris.
Speaker 1:And went with a friend. We had so much fun, Just like. We packed in as much as we could into like five days, went all over the place, got to see Versailles, which was amazing, so that artwork alone. I mean just kind of walk around with your mouth wide open and just going, how do people do this? Like how, how is this possible? Yeah, I love that you went. I love that you got to see all the sites.
Speaker 3:Yeah, my husband's actually French and he's from the Basque country, so all of his family is back there and we go to France pretty often.
Speaker 3:You will joke that you know it's okay if you haven't been to Italy or other European countries, because France is going to be the only one that matters so well, you're like speaking his language, but that's awesome. But really quickly back to Eileen, what you were saying about red wine and I went through a similar journey in the in the beginning, when I first started drinking wine, I always thought that a quality and good red wine had to mean that it was full body and that it had to be a combination of some kind of cap. And since I've started to get my palette more wet and study with Laurent and my husband, I have really come to appreciate, you know, like grapes, like Pinoe and and going into more of like the softer red. So I, yeah, like I totally understand, and now we really try to pair our reds based on the foods that we're having and it's been wonderful. Actually I'm having a moment with Pinoe because it's one of those reds where you can pair it with fish, you can pair white meat, you know and it's fantastic.
Speaker 3:It's not so tan and heavy. So we've been really having a love affair with with that grape.
Speaker 2:Ooh, anyone's that you'd suggest?
Speaker 3:Yeah, actually you know what Sorry I'm like, please tell me Also. I just and you guys like a list after, because I can't follow all the labels off the top of my head Sure of course. However, we were just in Oregon and, as you guys know, or you may know, Willamette Valley in Oregon. They have fantastic Pinoes and I really enjoyed a lot of the Pinoes that I had there. I'll definitely send you guys a list from Oregon and from France, of course, because Well obviously.
Speaker 1:I mean duh yeah, right, Awesome Please do.
Speaker 2:That would be wonderful.
Speaker 1:And Oregon is very close.
Speaker 3:I'm so sorry, Like I feel like now we're talking about wine forever. That's fine.
Speaker 1:That's OK, talk away.
Speaker 3:I was just going back to Cheryl's point about champagne and I read this whole book about champagne making and the difference between what is called the classical method and then what is the Prosecco method, because they're both different. And so with the classical method the champagne is. The second fermentation happens in the bottle and so the gas from the fermentation is what gets trapped in the bottle and that's what makes it bubbly. Versus the Prosecco method, it's kind of injected. The bubbles are injected into the wine carbon tank, so it doesn't really go through a second fermentation, which is why Prosecco generally is a little bit more affordable, it's more reasonably priced. But you'll see, if you taste it the two of them side by side, you'll see that Prosecco is not as persistent in their bubbles, because the bubbles work. I don't want to say artificially made, but they're not naturally fermented.
Speaker 2:That is fascinating. Is it true that champagne is only truly champagne if it's from France?
Speaker 3:Yes, from the champagne region and then different parts of the world. They can't call a champagne. So if it's a classical method, so that second fermentation happens in the bottle, then they'll say champagne method or classical method. I see They'll call it something else. So let's say where you are. In Italy it will be called something that's not champagne.
Speaker 1:Got it.
Speaker 2:Well, there you go, I just, wanted to confirm that Sure?
Speaker 3:Yeah, Don't check me because I'm nervous. You're fine.
Speaker 2:You're totally fine. So back to your travels. I need to spend a little bit more time in Florence. I literally had one day there and I mean it was like the bam bam bam fastest tour of all tours possible. So we got to see the David, we went to El Ponte Vecchio and El Duomo and go see the Uffizi. There's not enough time really in the day to do all of those things, but it was beautiful.
Speaker 2:And it was like raining, so it was actually kind of like oh, this is, I feel, like a real like. We went in March, like early March time, so it was actually the very beginning of tourist season, so there weren't that many people there, which was lovely. But yeah, I just like we rushed through all of it and I'm like I need to go again like the leather market, like I need to go again and have a little more time, yeah, but you saw a lot in one day. Yeah.
Speaker 3:And I think it was a great historical marks to see. Wow, that's wonderful. I know I love Florence and the history of Florence is so deep and it's so like fantastical and when you're there you really feel like you're in a different era because, you know, the city hasn't changed that much in a very long time, so they barely have a sidewalk, because people didn't use sidewalks back then. You know they have a lot of thigh towering facades for their mansions, because that's how people built their homes, you know, back in the day. So, yeah, it's wonderful. I will also send you a lot of recommendations. Okay, great.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I appreciate it. Yeah, I love it. I mean we spent more time in Rome and that was cool, seeing ancient Rome and then modern Rome, like you could see where it was built, right, like the stuff that they kept to the newer stuff. Anyway, sorry I'm going off too much. It's all the travel stuff, but there's so much to be learned about traveling and even just experiencing and seeing other people's lives while you're out. I think we can learn so much about ourselves and each other as human beings and that.
Speaker 2:So when this was in 2021, 22, you traveled, yeah, so last year Got it, so one. I assume you're probably gonna wanna travel more. Obviously you'll keep going back to France as one of those things. But yeah, as we sort of age in this life, there are things that we see as being more important, or at least understanding the value of different parts of our lives, and aging is sort of a piece of that. So this idea of aging like what does that even mean to you as you're now Cause I think this is one of the things we talk about right Is like we can change at any point in our lives. It doesn't mean that any age is bad, good or anything, there is acceptance of coming into whatever age that is and living it fully. And yeah, we just love to kind of get your thoughts on what that looks like for you.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I love how you put it, that there's acceptance in that age that you're going into and the age that you are now. I think for me I've always been. I've never really thought about age as a detriment, meaning that, like, the more that I get older, the more that I'm winding down the clock. I would not give anything to go back to my 20s, truthfully. Oh no, I love my best years. I'm still in my 30s. This is my last year in my 30s.
Speaker 3:Me too. Me too, and I have to say that my mid 30s were, oh, fantastical time. I loved coming into my own, because you are more confident, you are your own person, you know exactly what you want, you don't waste people's time, you don't waste your own time and you have a financial footing that you didn't have when you were younger. So when people feel discouraged about talking about their age or they don't feel confident enough to just say their age outright, I always like to break down the barriers and just be like, yeah, I'm 39 years old, like here's my birthday and I just I don't want age to be a taboo subject. I want age to be something that we celebrate, because I think that so much is gained when you get wiser and older.
Speaker 3:You know, and I really feel like within the last two to three years is when all of the things that I've ever wanted in life is happening. You know, I got married, I found my partner, I got engaged, I got married, I left my job, I founded my own company Like all of that happened within the past two to three years, and so I think that a lot of times we feel like we're racing against the clock, but we're just exactly where we need to be at the moment where we are, and so if we could just relax into that present moment and just kind of enjoy this moment that we're having right now instead of worrying about what's not coming, what is to come, it will just make life a lot more easier.
Speaker 2:Definitely, and sitting in the present can be so difficult, especially, like you said. You know, if you are working in the corporate world where it's constantly like what's next, what's next, what's next, how do you get to next? And you know, even I just like I've always felt like that growing up, where you know it's like well, I have to go to elementary school and then I go to middle school, and then I go to high school, and then I go to college and then I'm supposed to do my job, and then I'm like there's all the supposed to's or the shoulds, and, as someone so wonderfully told me at one point, they told me that I was shoulding on myself and I just, that's always. It's always stuck with me, obviously. But yeah, there's something to be said about.
Speaker 2:How do we, god, can we help kids learn that earlier? Right Like so I have two of my own Like enjoy where you're at right now, not once you do this or once you hit this, or like this goal post. If we can enjoy the now, whenever that is, I think that's such a, it's a I don't know if it's a skill set, but just I think it's something that is so valuable to how much joy and value we find in our own lives.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. I also think that the modern you know, modern day woman, the modern day family, it looks different to everyone, you know. So when we were growing up, we were taught a very traditional outlook of what that family planning should look like, what that you know what, what that future 40 year old self should look like. And if it were up like, if it were up to my, my traditional plans, I would not. My life would not look anything like what I have now. But life that I'm living now is what I've designed for myself.
Speaker 3:And you know, for a very long time I felt this anxiety of not having found someone that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. It felt like it was so easy for everyone else, around me, you know, people were just dropping off and getting married, like you know, like as if they're picking up a pair of shoes, and for the longest time I couldn't figure out. I'm like, is it me? What is wrong with me? I can't find this person. Like I can't. You know, I can't make a relationship work and there's just so much self negative talk that you end up doing for yourself.
Speaker 3:And you know, the truth of the matter is everyone has a different timeline and you know, and you don't know, what other people have sacrificed and accepted for their love life that you may or may not accept for your love life, and so everyone's journeys just look different, everyone's timelines look different and the modern family planning it can all look different based on, like, what you need and what you want.
Speaker 3:And so I think, as soon as I was able to just say like if I just let go of that control, let go of that anxiety and let go of that need and just say like, if I choose to really, really, really want to have a family and children and I don't have a partner to have it with, I will figure out how to do that, either on my own or I will. I will figure it out if that is my end goal, right. But ultimately it's like I think we can choose what is the most important thing in our lives and then everything else can flex around that and we can make our lives as modern and flexible as possible.
Speaker 2:And I'm not going to ask specifics because we don't want to call anybody out but were there voices that you would hear that would like well? Why aren't you not just your own right, but were there other voices that you would hear that like well, haven't you been someone that I know?
Speaker 3:of. I mean, I'll be honest, my parents for one, because, again, you know, they're traditional immigrant parents, and so the day that I got engaged and married was probably the happiest day of their life. They were really like, oh, you're not going to die, espenster.
Speaker 1:Oh my heavens. But really, you know, I yep no understood.
Speaker 3:And here's the thing is I also give the older generation a lot of grace, because they grew up in a much more traditional culture and tradition than we experienced, and so they are probably very modernized for themselves, but it just hasn't caught up, and so I have to think about it from their perspective, from their upbringing and from their point of view. So a lot of times, you know, if I feel this pressure from them, ultimately I know it's because they want me to be happy and they think that they equate the happiness to having a family, because that is the traditional values right, and so I can't fault them for that, because that isn't your point of view. I just need to be able to tune that out and still figure out what it is that I need for me, because I can't live for anyone else except for me.
Speaker 2:Oh, yep, I mean, that's just it, right, sorry, as you're talking, I'm like there's like a million things going on my head, and Cheryl knows this. A million things go through my head and I apologize, never apologize. Yeah, okay, yeah, but that's what makes society so interesting too, like when you think about, I mean, even business structures, right, you've got these generations of different people with different values and different ways of, or different expectations of how to be treated at work or around coworkers or things like that, and it's just, it's so. That's the way it's supposed to happen, right?
Speaker 3:It is.
Speaker 2:And that's how things change and that's how things progress. But there is a sort of constant clash of what are there's always. We always hope for the best or better for our kids. Right, that's generally, I'd say. Right, we're hoping that they are happy and find a path that allows them to be that, and then they get that and I'm like, well, okay, I don't really know how you're doing that or what that looks like. That's not what I experienced. And so there's like this constant misunderstanding sometimes of those things, and I love that you're conscientious to think, okay, well, this is what's going through their heads as well. And I think us old people you have to, we have to think about that when we're we're having conversations with younger generations that are entering the workforce now and right or within the government structures and voting, like there's just so much to think about that and what generationally happens, based on these new values and expectations that these young people have, and it's a good thing.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I think the generational difference and gap in the workforce is it is a big challenge because each generation has a different mode of values, different mode of communication, different way that they express gratitude and they receive gratitude. So it is really about kind of trying to like bridge the two gaps and, and you know, I always think that if we have kids, they'll grow up and they'll probably think we're so traditional, you know they'll leave. So modernized and like and.
Speaker 3:I'm going to be like how is happening? Who are you guys? Who raised you? And then they will be like oh my God, get off our backs. You're so traditional and annoying. So you know, I think that is just. That is the cycle of life.
Speaker 1:Oh it absolutely is, it really is, it really is. I mean, there is nothing that's matching more in the face than two examples that I'll bring up. Number one is like when you go into a store and you hear music that you're like, oh, I know that song. They're like welcome to the classics. And you're like, oh, no right, excuse you.
Speaker 1:And I remember being in a in a corporate environment not too long ago where somebody was very open about their salary and I could feel myself like clutching my chat. I was like, well, we don't talk about stuff like that. I'm like, oh, get with it, come along, come along to the next generation, because transparency is very important. But that is not how I was raised. You didn't bring up salary, you didn't bring up religion, you didn't bring up politics, you didn't bring up marital status, and those were like not in the business world, lady, don't do it.
Speaker 1:And now everything's on the table and there is something incredibly freeing about that and, from my perspective, also a wee bit terrifying, because you have to kind of get adjusted to what's new and you can either embrace it or be terrified by it. Better be. Some days I'm terrified by it and some days I'd say giddy up, let's go so, and I love that you've embraced that part for you, because you've talked about what it means for you and how it applies to you, and you can only be accountable to yourself. So that was very cool. That's a very cool statement.
Speaker 2:Yeah and Julie, I don't know if you have seen this, but I was very offended recently when I saw the American Girl Doll magazine calling their 90s girls as like historical figures and I was like, okay, really.
Speaker 3:I was like I had a dinner party and I was playing biggie Smalls, Okay, and this guy who is my husband's friend he's 32, I think and he was like, oh, who is this?
Speaker 2:And I was like who is this?
Speaker 3:And he was like right, well, I don't know who they are, but, like you know, why don't listen to their stuff? And I'm like oh man, I am okay, I'm aged.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but yeah, that was like a real blow to the you know and then with all the you know, tiktok and Instagram stuff and it's like hey, old millennials parts on the side. So I think that was incorrect at some point. I don't whatever, but now you're just calling us old, like that's mean.
Speaker 1:Right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I just embrace it. I love being like come for me, come for my age. I dare you, I'll give a flying fuck, totally All right.
Speaker 2:Oh, Julie, I like you, we do. So our next question is the one we ask everybody. This is happening, as Cheryl was saying. You know, this is the pivotal three words to which Cheryl knows. Okay, I better get in gear because Eileen's about to go off the rails on something, and maybe not off the rails, but like we're diverging on a new path and it's going to be exciting and fun. It's not everything. It truly is not everything. If I, if I implemented every idea I had, it would not be She'd be exhausted.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I don't know, I don't know I don't know what segment is coming up like this we're teaming this up really nicely, so Great, but yeah so. So really, it's about having the drive and the passion and purpose behind things in our lives that matter to us. It doesn't have to, they don't have to be big things. It can be, rest, it can be. Maybe it is a new product, maybe it's new language, or it's just simply sitting in the now. You know what, for you, is sort of in your this is happening realm in the next year or two or five.
Speaker 3:Yeah, great question For this year. Because of where I am, this is happening. That I am focused on is really my business. As you guys may be aware, starting a new business requires a lot of attention, a lot of sharing and you know sometimes you're just doing a lot by yourself. And I know everyone always says outsource, get someone else to do it, etc. Etc.
Speaker 3:I am a firm believer that if you are a founder, you need to touch every aspect of the business first so you can understand what needs to be done, what the challenges are, where you see optimization for that specific part of the business, because you cannot just say, oh, I'm not a finance person, I've outsourced the budgeting, the forecasting, all the you know strategic finance to my fractional CFO.
Speaker 3:That doesn't work when you are a founder, right? So you really need to be able to speak to every part of your business and that's where I am now. I am very focused on building my portfolio of founders and I'm also really focused on diversifying my income and what I touch and how I support and make impact to not just be consulting or advisory but also, you know, be able to support founders through capital, resources or connections or whatever it may be. So my, my two focus for this year is really expansion and also diversification. Personally, I have I'll be honest, I have found it really hard to find that time for myself because so much of my energy and mind share is going towards the business.
Speaker 3:Now I know I'm always I'm like always trying to course correct, you know, but I think this is truthfully kind of the cost of starting your own business. I mean, I'm less than six months in right, so I cannot expect to not put in that work and still see that return. So I understand that I'm just in a phase where I need to put in that work and then, you know, for the next few years I'll have to figure out how do I scale the business and kind of ease off and still be able to grow the business.
Speaker 2:So are you going to? Do anything to give you that time, even maybe just five minutes. Just five minutes, yeah I do a lot of stretching.
Speaker 3:Yeah, I do a lot of stretching and I, I take, like I, I take the time and it's either like stretching, like some meditation, some kind of Pilates or yoga, and then like I love, love, love, binging through a crime novel and so those are a few things that I really kind of do for myself to give me joy, and I can like binge through a crime novel in like two days, you know, I'll just like fantastic, literally read it for hours. So what's?
Speaker 2:your. What did you read recently?
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I think um is it called a house in the pines? It's the newest. Oh yes, from, and it just made Reese Witherspoon's book club and it was. It was really good. It was like a thrill at the end. Okay, yeah, cool.
Speaker 1:Yeah, definitely Awesome Julie. If there are people, or if there are specifically women out there that want to do that, how will they do that with you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, um. So they can find me on Instagram. My Instagram handle is spring stead, so that's spring, as in the season S, t, e, a, d, underscore C, o, um. Or they can find me on LinkedIn and I'm at Julie Shen.
Speaker 2:Perfect. Um, this has been truly lovely. Um, I cannot wait to get your wine recommendations. So, um, I will be following up with you in case you don't send those.
Speaker 3:I definitely want to send you, but thank you guys so much for having me. This was such a great way to spend one hour. You know you guys have been so open and so generous with your time and your own stories, so I really look forward to staying connected and continuing to build our friendship from there.
Speaker 1:Thank you, julie. It's been a pleasure On behalf of Eileen Grimes and myself. This concludes our episode of you Only Go Once. Thanks everyone, take care Bye.
