PODCAST. Happy New Year & Tracie Campbell of Brooklyn Charm (replay)
Happy New Year!
Happy 2026, Wise Squirrel!
Join me on my frosty three-mile morning hike, where I share words of encouragement, invite you to join me for a complimentary “good fit” coaching session to kick off the new year, and avoid getting hit by a train!
Plus, we share a replay of our most popular episode of 2025 featuring Brooklyn Charm’s Tracie Campbell. This episode is especially inspiring for Wise Squirrel women entrepreneurs and creators!
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[00:00.000 --> 00:20.120] Welcome to Wise Squirrels, the podcast for late-diagnosed adults with ADHD, who are short
[00:20.120 --> 00:21.120] of breath.
[00:21.120 --> 00:25.680] I'm your host, Dave Delaney.
[00:25.680 --> 00:26.680] Don't worry.
[00:26.680 --> 00:32.760] You can still listen if you are not short of breath.
[00:32.760 --> 00:36.440] If this is your first episode, I apologize.
[00:36.440 --> 00:43.160] This is highly unusual, highly, I don't know, it's highly unusual, but we'd be highly unusual
[00:43.160 --> 00:46.960] if there was somebody else's voice talking right now.
[00:46.960 --> 00:53.960] But first of all, I wanted to kick things off today by wishing you a happy new year.
[00:53.960 --> 00:55.960] Uh-oh.
[00:55.960 --> 01:01.080] It's like I timed that.
[01:01.080 --> 01:07.960] There's a train about to pass me.
[01:07.960 --> 01:12.800] I'm out for a walk.
[01:12.800 --> 01:16.880] This is your first episode of Wise Squirrels, I apologize.
[01:16.880 --> 01:19.800] It's a little different.
[01:19.800 --> 01:26.800] Excuse me a moment.
[01:26.800 --> 01:45.200] Ah, that's better.
[01:45.200 --> 01:56.360] So it's a sunny morning here in Nashville and I am back at it after some delay of
[01:57.360 --> 01:58.360] getting exercise.
[01:58.360 --> 02:11.040] It's quite early, probably about 8 a.m. and one of the things, it's not really a resolution
[02:11.040 --> 02:18.120] so much as it's just like, I gotta get my ass in gear.
[02:18.120 --> 02:24.280] And for quite a while I was doing these, I was really committed to these morning walks
[02:24.280 --> 02:27.040] regardless of the weather.
[02:27.040 --> 02:33.920] Today's quite a pretty day, it's cold, but I'll be honest with you, you know, I've been
[02:33.920 --> 02:45.480] in a funk for sure, I already, you know, deal with anxiety and dance around depression.
[02:45.480 --> 02:49.360] And I've certainly been feeling that, that funk.
[02:49.360 --> 02:57.040] But I wanted to mention that partly because you might as well with anxiety and depression
[02:57.040 --> 03:06.400] both being such common, comorbidities that come along with ADHD.
[03:06.400 --> 03:16.520] When you get exercise, it is just so good for you and so when I do these walks, you
[03:16.520 --> 03:24.320] know, I make them brisk, I walk quickly, try to get sweaty, if you're not sweating
[03:24.320 --> 03:30.720] you're probably not doing enough, that doesn't mean don't, you know, go for a walk.
[03:30.720 --> 03:41.280] But you really do need to break a sweat and I mentioned the sort of depressive depression
[03:41.280 --> 03:49.040] and the anxiety lately and the other day a week or go or so, sometimes around Christmas
[03:49.040 --> 03:56.560] I did this and it was magic.
[03:56.560 --> 04:05.760] It was just some time to clear my head and think through a bunch of stuff and then not.
[04:05.760 --> 04:19.120] Just focus on my steps, focus on the moment and all the research and of course not a doctor
[04:19.120 --> 04:25.200] but all the research shows, I mean naturally exercise is important, right?
[04:25.200 --> 04:32.880] But all the research shows that exercise is especially important for ADHDers, that's
[04:32.880 --> 04:36.320] what you wise quarrel.
[04:36.320 --> 04:45.240] This walk I do is like three miles, I think it is, three and a half and you start the
[04:45.240 --> 04:57.200] day feeling successful, you've accomplished something already and you've also actually
[04:57.200 --> 05:06.280] exercised, got the blood going, got the pulse going, got the heart happy.
[05:06.280 --> 05:19.600] And so forget resolutions but do think about getting outside today or tomorrow, maybe
[05:19.600 --> 05:27.000] you're already outside listening to this and do your best to make some time for yourself
[05:27.000 --> 05:32.600] to get out and get some exercise.
[05:32.600 --> 05:44.760] I've been pretty excited about 2026, I am excited.
[05:44.760 --> 05:55.200] My coaching has picked up this year and I'm excited to continue coaching fellow late
[05:55.200 --> 06:02.440] diagnosed adults, maybe like you.
[06:02.440 --> 06:13.440] People that are like me, sort of middle aged, mid career, perhaps you're feeling stuck,
[06:13.440 --> 06:20.440] perhaps you're looking for something new, some new direction, perhaps you have this new
[06:20.480 --> 06:32.120] clarity like I did after being diagnosed just a couple of years ago now and realizing that
[06:32.120 --> 06:39.160] I should add with therapy and medication and all the things and meditation too and journaling.
[06:39.160 --> 06:49.480] All these things help you slow down enough to look at your life in not in a negative way
[06:49.480 --> 06:55.520] but in a future thinking way of the good that you can provide the world and that's what
[06:55.520 --> 07:04.560] I've been feeling lately.
[07:04.560 --> 07:11.360] So I'm excited and as always, or you know, upon availability I should add but as always
[07:11.360 --> 07:18.120] I try to offer what I call a good fit coaching session which is no strings, a free coaching
[07:18.120 --> 07:28.960] session, I'm looking for new coaching clients and if you're feeling stuck in your career
[07:28.960 --> 07:37.440] or stuck with your business, I can help you get unstuck and if you have a business or
[07:37.440 --> 07:43.160] you work for a company and you're trying to find ways to improve your marketing, your
[07:43.160 --> 07:48.840] communications, I can help you with that too.
[07:48.840 --> 07:50.840] Do I guarantee results?
[07:50.840 --> 07:54.640] Of course not.
[07:54.640 --> 08:02.480] Only somebody dishonest would do that and there was so much of that online these days,
[08:02.480 --> 08:05.440] so much snake oil, it's insane.
[08:05.440 --> 08:14.160] So what I always recommend people do is go over to futureforth.com or you can get there
[08:14.160 --> 08:20.280] from YSquirrels.com, click the link and you can read testimonials that are actually
[08:20.280 --> 08:23.880] directly from my LinkedIn profile.
[08:23.880 --> 08:28.560] So these are real recommendations from real people and you can find those on my LinkedIn
[08:28.560 --> 08:41.880] profile if you like, that way you can message those folks and have some questions.
[08:41.880 --> 08:50.640] And the other thing I wanted to mention, probably a few things, is I've recently redesigned
[08:50.640 --> 08:58.120] my speaking page and last year I didn't really focus enough on speaking.
[08:58.120 --> 09:10.480] And it shows in the number of speaking engagements I delivered and I must say every time I do,
[09:10.480 --> 09:19.440] it's one of those things that I know I know I was put on this earth to deliver presentations
[09:19.440 --> 09:23.880] and training, I love it, I love it, I love it.
[09:23.880 --> 09:30.560] And at risk of tooting the old horn, I must say I'm quite good at it.
[09:30.560 --> 09:39.280] I'm very good at speaking and in fact, you can watch clips and read testimonials in the
[09:39.280 --> 09:47.920] same way that you can with coaching over at futureforth.com, which of course is my business.
[09:47.920 --> 09:55.600] So I wanted to point those out, but one thing I didn't check before going out of my
[09:55.600 --> 10:01.400] walk this morning is at the number of downloads of Y-Squirrels.
[10:01.400 --> 10:08.600] My goal was to hit 100,000 downloads this year and today is New Year's Eve Day.
[10:08.600 --> 10:18.400] So I'll make sure to report back on social so you can see we're on sub-stack as well.
[10:18.400 --> 10:19.400] I'll let you know.
[10:19.400 --> 10:26.880] I know you've been waiting with baited breath with their Dave hit 100,000 downloads.
[10:26.880 --> 10:29.800] But what's funny is it really doesn't matter.
[10:29.800 --> 10:33.720] It's really just an arbitrary number, an arbitrary goal.
[10:33.720 --> 10:38.120] It's very about the sniffles by the way, it's pretty frosty out here.
[10:38.120 --> 10:48.880] So I guess this episode is sponsored by me Futureforth, which is my business at Futureforth.com.
[10:48.880 --> 10:55.760] And today I'm going to play an episode from the archive.
[10:55.760 --> 11:03.600] I looked at the stats last week and unless there's some dramatic change, I'm assuming it's
[11:03.600 --> 11:08.080] still, I still know what the number one downloaded episode was this year.
[11:08.080 --> 11:13.920] And I have a feeling I know why.
[11:13.920 --> 11:17.840] So the most popular episode this year was Tracy Campbell.
[11:17.840 --> 11:28.120] And Tracy is the CEO, president, founder, creator of Brooklyn Charm.
[11:28.120 --> 11:34.600] And one of my goals with Y-Squirrels is to shine a light on, well, first of all,
[11:34.640 --> 11:44.520] to dispel misinformation and to interview thought leaders and people that are experts in ADHD.
[11:44.520 --> 11:51.440] And if you listen to the archives or you look through, you'll see there's no shortage of folks like that.
[11:51.440 --> 11:59.720] But another goal of the show is to shine a light on those who are successful in life,
[11:59.720 --> 12:06.840] regardless of their ADHD, perhaps even because of their ADHD in a sense.
[12:06.840 --> 12:10.920] And I am seeking more guests like that.
[12:10.920 --> 12:16.120] So if you know people, I would love to feature them on the podcast.
[12:16.120 --> 12:21.640] And there is a link actually Y-Squirrels.com slash guest.
[12:21.640 --> 12:28.560] If you know somebody, you can share that link or you can fill it out yourself if you like.
[12:28.560 --> 12:36.640] I also accept guest articles and you can get those details at that page.
[12:36.640 --> 12:46.840] But I mentioned this because Tracy Campbell is one of those success stories.
[12:46.840 --> 12:56.840] And I think her episode resonated with people a lot, I think, because, well, first of all, Brooklyn Charm,
[12:56.880 --> 13:04.560] I was not familiar with the brand, but if you're into making jewelry or charms,
[13:04.560 --> 13:10.800] or you're from Brooklyn, New York.
[13:10.800 --> 13:15.800] And now, in all sorts of other locations, by the way, California.
[13:15.800 --> 13:20.880] I think Los Angeles and I forget where they all are off the top of my head.
[13:20.920 --> 13:23.760] But she continues to open up locations.
[13:23.760 --> 13:27.200] And they have a great online store.
[13:27.200 --> 13:35.520] I believe they are the largest supplier now of charms, like you can get a charm of just about anything.
[13:35.520 --> 13:42.840] And in fact, in the episode, I asked her to describe ADHD in a charm.
[13:42.840 --> 13:45.040] And without missing a beat, she had the answer.
[13:45.040 --> 13:46.800] It was impressive.
[13:46.840 --> 13:56.360] Anyway, oh, sounds like another train is coming, which is my cue to shut up.
[13:56.360 --> 13:59.400] I've been talking too long.
[13:59.400 --> 14:01.680] Here comes.
[14:01.680 --> 14:05.120] But let's see if I can wind this down before the train comes.
[14:05.120 --> 14:11.080] I'm guessing not because it's right here and I'm still talking.
[14:11.080 --> 14:23.640] Did you actually think that I would wrap up this introduction before the train got here?
[14:23.640 --> 14:30.600] Did you really think that, come on, you know me?
[14:30.600 --> 14:35.560] I think this episode really resonated with people because you're one, she's female,
[14:35.560 --> 14:38.720] and more women are being diagnosed now.
[14:38.720 --> 14:44.640] And two, she's awesome, and a ton of fun to talk with.
[14:44.640 --> 14:53.680] Three, she's well known in the charm space for jewelry maker space.
[14:53.680 --> 15:00.480] And in addition to this, she's a very successful entrepreneur and business owner.
[15:00.480 --> 15:05.440] This is something to be celebrated because
[15:05.440 --> 15:16.160] we don't hear enough about those wise quarrels with their own businesses who are successful.
[15:16.160 --> 15:21.400] We hear about the big names, people that I would love to have on the podcast, by the way.
[15:21.400 --> 15:30.800] People like Richard Branson and Sarah Blakely and many others who are very successful entrepreneurs
[15:30.800 --> 15:33.240] who have ADHD.
[15:34.200 --> 15:40.600] We don't hear enough from those many other entrepreneurs who are successful.
[15:40.600 --> 15:46.680] And I think that's another reason why this episode resonated with so many people.
[15:46.680 --> 15:57.480] I think for ADHDers, the stat that I recall is that we're 60 to 80% more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions
[15:57.560 --> 16:03.160] and about 100% more likely to start some business at some point.
[16:03.160 --> 16:09.000] And maybe this is you too, maybe you have a business as well.
[16:10.600 --> 16:12.200] Maybe you're struggling.
[16:12.200 --> 16:14.840] And once again, I can help you with that.
[16:17.000 --> 16:18.680] Head over to futureforth.com.
[16:19.800 --> 16:22.200] Sign up for a good fit coaching session.
[16:23.000 --> 16:27.080] And let's see if I can give you some ideas to move forward.
[16:28.920 --> 16:35.240] And of course, if it's a good fit, join me to become a coaching client.
[16:36.440 --> 16:38.680] Okay, the last plug I will do here before
[16:39.320 --> 16:45.880] playing this interview with Tracy Campbell is I wanted to mention the nest.
[16:46.840 --> 16:52.760] If you haven't joined yet, you can visit yscrolls.com slash nest.
[16:53.320 --> 16:54.840] That is our online community.
[16:55.560 --> 16:59.560] We have a handful of early adopter founding members.
[17:00.920 --> 17:05.160] I expect many more will join in the coming weeks, months.
[17:06.760 --> 17:10.680] And at some point, I'll probably have to turn off new memberships.
[17:11.080 --> 17:17.000] Because I expect many, many, many people will be joining.
[17:17.000 --> 17:20.200] Okay, happy new year, friend.
[17:22.680 --> 17:23.480] Keep smiling.
[17:25.720 --> 17:26.680] Stay positive.
[17:28.520 --> 17:30.280] The future is bright.
[17:31.640 --> 17:33.720] And even brighter with you in it.
[17:33.720 --> 17:36.760] So keep pushing forward.
[17:37.480 --> 17:38.440] We'll talk to you soon.
[17:38.440 --> 17:47.880] And now from the archive, my interview with Brooklyn Charms, Tracy Campbell.
[17:47.880 --> 17:50.040] My name is Tracy Campbell.
[17:50.040 --> 17:54.280] I own a jewelry company based here in California.
[17:54.280 --> 17:58.120] And we have one in New York as well in Brooklyn.
[17:58.120 --> 18:03.800] So we specialize in customized jewelry at an affordable price point.
[18:03.800 --> 18:09.480] And I have been doing that business concept as Brooklyn Charms for the last 15 years.
[18:09.480 --> 18:14.280] But I have been making jewelry for 25 years or so long time.
[18:14.280 --> 18:15.720] So that's awesome. Yeah.
[18:15.720 --> 18:19.800] I was reading that you started jewelry making at 15 years old.
[18:19.800 --> 18:23.160] Did you ever think to like look back at that and just go like, oh wow, that was,
[18:23.800 --> 18:29.480] that would maybe the ADHD energy that helped you kind of hyper focus on creating jewelry and things.
[18:30.200 --> 18:31.160] Absolutely.
[18:31.160 --> 18:35.800] It is the ultimate hyper focus that I have.
[18:35.800 --> 18:39.800] Oh, like maybe sometimes over even like parenting my child probably.
[18:42.200 --> 18:43.240] Well, it's great though.
[18:43.240 --> 18:46.520] I mean, I think, you know, we all have to find, you know,
[18:46.520 --> 18:48.360] different ways to channel who we are.
[18:48.360 --> 18:53.080] And, you know, if we can do that into our businesses or our jobs at least, you know,
[18:53.080 --> 18:57.320] to have good sound careers, I think that's a great thing.
[18:57.720 --> 19:00.920] And yeah, tell me, tell me about the business a little bit because it's,
[19:00.920 --> 19:05.320] it's you've, I mean, you've had incredible success.
[19:06.600 --> 19:09.400] Tell me about some of those, some of those successes.
[19:10.280 --> 19:15.800] Well, you know, when I opened my store in Brooklyn in Williamsburg in 2010,
[19:15.800 --> 19:19.800] I would say that it was like the peak hipster era of Brooklyn.
[19:20.440 --> 19:26.520] And so that was like when Williamsburg was still kind of like cool is the best way that I can put it.
[19:26.520 --> 19:31.800] And so I like to think that I was like one of those fun cool stores that opened up during that time.
[19:31.800 --> 19:34.920] I mean, we had like a gallery down the street, like, you know,
[19:34.920 --> 19:37.000] dog supply place Japanese market.
[19:37.640 --> 19:39.240] I was just off the main drag.
[19:39.240 --> 19:42.760] So I wasn't paying high rent like some of our neighbors were.
[19:42.760 --> 19:49.160] So I feel like I lived in New York City and opened my business during like a really special time
[19:49.160 --> 19:52.360] in history in New York, you know, and it was coming off the
[19:53.320 --> 19:55.720] curtail of the OA crash.
[19:55.720 --> 20:01.400] And I was in an industry that again was like affordable, right?
[20:01.400 --> 20:07.080] So maybe find jewelry, luxury brands, all these companies that were like focused on like big ticket
[20:07.080 --> 20:13.240] money items. I was, you know, pushing a product that even if someone was broke or lost their job,
[20:13.240 --> 20:16.840] like just put that on the credit card and we'll pay that off later, you know.
[20:16.840 --> 20:22.120] Yeah, yeah. And you've done cool collaborations and things with like Forbes and broad and Chicago,
[20:22.120 --> 20:28.680] the show Chicago, what else, urban affiders, color pop, cosmetics.
[20:28.680 --> 20:34.200] Oh, yeah, we're doing something with a French luxury brand here coming up.
[20:34.200 --> 20:38.680] And I mean, a lot of those kind of those opportunities came up, you know,
[20:38.680 --> 20:40.200] through the business going viral.
[20:40.200 --> 20:45.400] But even before all the viral stuff, you know, we had, we were in Manhattan too in Chelsea market
[20:46.120 --> 20:51.960] for a long time. And that place was crazy because it's just one of the highest foot traffic
[20:52.440 --> 20:59.320] tourist areas in New York City. And so that opened a lot of doors for us when we were, again,
[20:59.320 --> 21:07.720] like in the early 2010s, you know, that we had a partnership with a Japanese company that opened
[21:07.720 --> 21:13.160] several Brooklyn Charms throughout. Uh, Japan, those are no longer around, but you can take COVID
[21:13.160 --> 21:19.800] for that. Uh, yeah. Uh, and then even in Denmark, we had one at Denmark one point. That one
[21:19.800 --> 21:25.640] fizzled out only because the owner's husband was like a famous musician out there. So I think they
[21:25.640 --> 21:31.240] just kind of, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah, on that. But yeah, I mean, I just, that was what was
[21:31.240 --> 21:37.720] amazing about New York. And I think why I moved out there was because I just saw the potential
[21:37.720 --> 21:44.840] for myself more so than I saw it here in Southern California. Even though I'm back, you know,
[21:45.480 --> 21:51.320] I left a Californian and I came back into New Yorker, like for sure. Yeah, yeah. And how long have
[21:51.320 --> 21:58.600] you been back? We're part of Southern California again. I'm, I'm in Ventura County. So my shop
[21:58.600 --> 22:04.360] that I have here in California is in Ventura, but I live in Art Now, which is where I'm born and raised.
[22:04.360 --> 22:10.200] Okay. Nice. Nice. I'll tell my son to pop in. He and his girlfriend are doing a road trip to LA
[22:10.200 --> 22:19.160] from Nashville in a few weeks. So yeah, is actually like I've never been there, but I think about
[22:19.160 --> 22:25.160] like if I were to open my business in another state, like Nashville is on like the top of my list.
[22:25.160 --> 22:30.200] Obviously, I have to visit there first, but yeah, I can see myself being like semi-retired life
[22:30.200 --> 22:35.720] and natural. If I don't, if I can't, if I don't stay by the beach, you know, yeah, yeah, yeah. Well,
[22:35.720 --> 22:41.960] yeah, it's, yeah, Nashville's, Nashville's a great city and it's, it's definitely doing quite well,
[22:41.960 --> 22:47.240] given the economy and sort of the state of things that Nashville's kind of doing, doing quite well.
[22:47.240 --> 22:55.160] So yeah, I'm from Toronto originally. So I've been, but I've been in Nashville for nearly 18 years now.
[22:55.160 --> 23:01.400] Oh, well, very cool. Well, I'll definitely reach out to you. Link, we can have a way. I have a friend
[23:01.480 --> 23:09.160] who has a shop out there, any old iron and he sells a lot of clothing or loans, a lot of clothing,
[23:09.160 --> 23:17.640] both to like celebrities and musicians and stuff like that. So that's cool. Yeah. So it's fun to see
[23:17.640 --> 23:24.200] kind of like his success and him, him grow in that industry as well. So tell me like, so,
[23:24.760 --> 23:29.880] and if I don't have the note in front of me, like how old were you when you were diagnosed with
[23:29.880 --> 23:39.400] ADHD, ADHD, right? ADHD. Where were you? ADD first and then ADHD came later. I'm early, I'm early
[23:41.000 --> 23:47.800] diagnosis. So I was diagnosed in third grade and they started me on Ritalin. I was very hyperactive.
[23:47.800 --> 23:53.160] My whole life, all my cousins would always call me a brat, but like in a, in, in during way. Yeah,
[23:53.320 --> 24:01.480] and I didn't get a lot of, I didn't get enough tension, right? For like a kid like that. So I think I
[24:01.480 --> 24:06.200] kind of drove some of my teachers crazy and that was when they were like, okay, we need to like
[24:07.480 --> 24:12.920] figure this one out. You know, I had a little trauma in my second grade with a second grade
[24:12.920 --> 24:18.440] teacher and just through my childhood too. So I think sometimes that kind of stuff, you know,
[24:18.440 --> 24:28.280] exacerbates, you know, those the way that you are, you know. And yeah, I was on the ADD stuff
[24:29.000 --> 24:35.480] up until junior high and I wasn't on it for a couple of years in high school, but then I was like
[24:35.480 --> 24:44.360] falling off really bad and they put me back on it. My junior senior year and it helped and it
[24:44.360 --> 24:51.080] didn't help because when I was a senior, they were coming out with new stuff other than Ritalin.
[24:51.080 --> 24:57.880] So Adderall was still fairly into the market, Stratera, Dexatrin. I don't know if I'm saying
[24:57.880 --> 25:02.760] these correctly, but like I mean, it's been over 20 years since I've taken them, but these were
[25:02.760 --> 25:11.000] things that they were giving me and it didn't set well with me actually. And my when I was,
[25:11.000 --> 25:14.360] when that happened, the Ritalin was the only one that ever really like truly helped me.
[25:15.400 --> 25:22.920] But funny enough, when I hit 22 and really decided what my field was going to be, jewelry,
[25:23.800 --> 25:31.160] I quit cold turkey on the ADD stuff, drugs. And I have never looked, I've never looked back. I mean,
[25:31.160 --> 25:37.480] I also had job problems and sleep problems like, you know, like I do, I do truly believe that
[25:37.480 --> 25:42.760] that stuff helps people because again, like, you know, I know ADD and ADHD when I see it.
[25:44.120 --> 25:48.920] And it just, it just got to a point where it was like no longer serving me, you know.
[25:48.920 --> 25:53.000] Yeah, and that's fair. That totally makes sense. I mean, it's definitely, you know,
[25:53.000 --> 25:56.840] different strokes for different folks. And certainly, you know, everything that I've read it,
[25:56.840 --> 26:00.600] you know, I always say on this show, it's like a drinking game. And at this point, you can take
[26:00.600 --> 26:05.320] a drink that when I say that I'm not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet, right?
[26:06.040 --> 26:15.880] But that said, yeah, I mean, yeah, I know like stimulants work because I've experienced it myself,
[26:16.440 --> 26:23.400] being late diagnosed. And I didn't have that eureka moment when I, well, first of all, I started
[26:23.400 --> 26:31.800] on stimulants that were prescribed by my doctor, my GP when I was diagnosed. And there was some
[26:31.800 --> 26:37.800] weird side effects, nothing terrible, but there's some things. And so he switched me to something else.
[26:37.800 --> 26:41.400] And then we experimented with doses a little bit. And then he's like, you know what, this isn't my
[26:41.400 --> 26:46.040] expertise. So let's get you to a therapist, I guess, psychiatrist who can actually help you manage
[26:46.040 --> 26:52.840] your meds. And so with her, you know, we tried, you know, different, not a lot, but different things,
[26:52.840 --> 26:59.320] because it's first like you try the thing. And then you, you on a low level, on a low dose. And
[26:59.320 --> 27:05.160] then you increase that dose, this is my experience at least. So you increase that dose until the point
[27:05.160 --> 27:10.120] where it feels good, or if you're not, if it's not working well, or you're getting side effects,
[27:10.120 --> 27:15.720] or whatever, you switch to a different medication, and then start again and rinse and repeat. So
[27:17.480 --> 27:21.320] and I've, yeah, I've found it to be, I mean, one of the interesting things that I always find,
[27:22.360 --> 27:27.640] well, tragically hilarious, maybe, but how people are like worried because they think they're
[27:27.640 --> 27:35.000] addictive. And it's like, ask any ADHD or they forget to take their meds all the time, or they
[27:35.000 --> 27:40.280] forget their meds in general, they go away for a week and they forget. So that's like, you know,
[27:40.280 --> 27:46.520] and if they were addicted, I can assure anyone that if you are addicted to something, there's no way
[27:46.520 --> 27:50.600] you were going to forget to take anything, right? Smoking, right?
[27:51.560 --> 27:57.880] person doesn't look at it as something to be addictive, you know, like, right, you know, I had a
[27:57.880 --> 28:04.920] friend in college who wanted a pill, and I gave her one, and like, she crunched it up and
[28:04.920 --> 28:12.360] started in front of me. And I was like, never again, am I letting anyone have this? I was shook,
[28:12.360 --> 28:16.520] like shocked. I'm like, I've been taking this stuff since I was in third grade. And I'm like,
[28:16.520 --> 28:21.000] why are you doing that? And she's like, it gets to me faster. And I'm like, this is not a party
[28:21.000 --> 28:30.840] drug. Like, this is not, yeah. And yeah, no, exactly. And it didn't work out very well with that
[28:30.840 --> 28:36.440] roommate anyways. So yeah, it sounds like it made out of, that would be my game. If I was a big
[28:36.440 --> 28:42.040] gambling person, I would say, yeah. So she did, she looked at it, she viewed it as a drug,
[28:42.040 --> 28:47.880] and I did not, you know, it was just, it was a different substance for me, and it was to help me
[28:48.920 --> 28:55.080] with my own, you know, productivity and coping mechanisms for things that triggered my ADHD,
[28:55.080 --> 29:00.920] like, you know, and that's the thing too is like, finding out what triggers that too, right? Like,
[29:00.920 --> 29:07.000] because it's not like the ADHD is on all the time, you know, like you have moments where
[29:07.720 --> 29:14.120] you're totally feeling focused and have calmness and, you know, and then, then all of a sudden,
[29:14.120 --> 29:19.880] like it comes out of nowhere and it's like a rush of feeling it almost. And then it's like, wait,
[29:19.880 --> 29:25.560] why can't I not focus on anything right now? And it's like, sometimes it's two noises going on
[29:25.560 --> 29:35.800] at once, you know, or, um, hearing bad news or, you know, yeah, there's so many. So I find that
[29:35.800 --> 29:40.120] does happen where you, yeah, I mean, when you, when you, well, this podcast is a great example,
[29:40.120 --> 29:45.000] right? Like, I do it all myself. I edit the show myself. I do it all. I probably should answer
[29:45.000 --> 29:50.440] some of it or get somebody to help me with some of this, but it's a labor of love. I mean,
[29:50.440 --> 29:55.560] I love podcasting or studied radio and television broadcasting. I've, you know, I've been podcasting
[29:55.560 --> 30:01.480] 20 years this October. This show is obviously new. It's only been around a couple of years since
[30:01.480 --> 30:08.120] I was diagnosed, but I love, I love the topic and I love my point to it, though, is that like,
[30:08.600 --> 30:14.040] uh, with hyper focus, something, you know, the kids call flow. Yeah, everybody's, I'm trying to
[30:14.040 --> 30:19.320] get to my flow state. And it's like, well, ADHDers have no problem with flow. The only problem is
[30:19.320 --> 30:24.840] we start to flow into like, you know, we fall down rabbit holes and get distracted by things that
[30:25.240 --> 30:31.960] maybe shouldn't be doing, um, right? Not bad things necessarily, but just like, you think of a new
[30:31.960 --> 30:36.760] design and then you're like, what is the name of that color or what is, you know, and is that color
[30:36.760 --> 30:41.800] a popular color this year? And look at the different Pantone codes or colors. And I'm always working
[30:41.800 --> 30:50.280] at like five projects at once when I'm like in two. So, yeah, when I'm at work, I, you know,
[30:50.280 --> 30:55.800] I have staff and employees and I always joke, they always joke around that I leave like a path of
[30:55.800 --> 31:02.440] destruction, you know, when I'm working on everything. But then again, I'll be the opposite. I'll
[31:02.440 --> 31:09.000] come in and they leave a path of destruction. And I'm sitting there cleaning up after all of them.
[31:09.000 --> 31:14.440] And I can't even get to the thing that I want to do because I cannot do it until that stuff is
[31:14.440 --> 31:20.120] cleaned up, you know, and then I end up doing other people's work. And that's okay, but, you know,
[31:21.640 --> 31:27.160] you know, I can do both. Yeah, well, but one of the reasons why I wanted to chat with you so much too
[31:27.160 --> 31:33.640] is, you know, I speak to a lot of medical professionals, psychologists, psychiatrists, and so on,
[31:33.640 --> 31:41.720] and also just like, you know, ADHD coaches and things. And I wanted to speak to more sort of
[31:41.720 --> 31:48.120] air quotes, high achievers with ADHD to kind of learn from them about not necessarily like about
[31:48.120 --> 31:52.840] working around, not around, but working with your ADHD, you know, it's part of who you are. It's how
[31:52.840 --> 31:58.440] you're, it's your neurotype. And I mean, you've been aware that at least, you know, most of your life,
[31:58.440 --> 32:04.840] which helps, you also bring some insights from that awareness and self-knowledge, I'm sure. So,
[32:04.840 --> 32:13.560] maybe like maybe putting ADHD on hold for a second or letting it in as you like, but how does one
[32:13.560 --> 32:21.880] start a business that is successful as yours, whether without ADHD? I mean, you started in 2010,
[32:21.880 --> 32:27.640] right? You said, did you start with a store front? Yeah, the retail store open. I started my
[32:27.640 --> 32:35.000] business in 07, just like doing online and e-commerce. Like Etsy or something? Yeah, actually,
[32:35.000 --> 32:43.000] I kind of like people of the eBay days. Yeah, sure. I was at the birth of Etsy. I was there at the
[32:43.000 --> 32:50.680] very beginning stages. And so I found a niche for myself quite quickly. And as a jewelry maker,
[32:50.680 --> 32:57.560] it was hard to sell my jewelry on there because 75% of the people on Etsy and at that time,
[32:57.560 --> 33:01.640] were jewelry makers either. So I was like going on there trying to sell my own jewelry to the
[33:01.640 --> 33:06.840] same people who was like, I'm not going to buy jewelry from people I'm, you know, making jewelry
[33:07.480 --> 33:14.920] competitive with. Sure. And so they were letting jewelry supplies on, you know, and D-stash and
[33:14.920 --> 33:22.600] crafting supplies and vintage on there. And so, you know, I love shopping and I used to work at
[33:22.600 --> 33:30.360] Michaels for a long time. And I'd like a, you know, crafting supply background. And so I started,
[33:30.360 --> 33:36.760] you know, buying wholesale bulk jewelry supplies at like closeout places. So like, I was putting
[33:36.760 --> 33:42.680] things up there that you literally couldn't get at Michaels or any craft store. And it just took
[33:42.680 --> 33:48.200] off immediately. I got really lucky. And in fact, I remember I stayed up till four o'clock in the
[33:48.200 --> 33:54.920] morning, like another ADD lifestyle is sometimes just staying up all night. And I listed 20 things on
[33:54.920 --> 33:59.960] the website on Etsy. And I woke up in the morning and they were all gone. And I thought Etsy shut me
[33:59.960 --> 34:06.120] down. And I was like, Oh, I spent all night working on it. And then I go and I look and everything was
[34:06.120 --> 34:12.440] sold. So like from four in the morning till 12 in the afternoon, everything I put up on the site
[34:12.440 --> 34:16.920] was like, this was before you could put quantities and everything like that. Like it was, I had made
[34:16.920 --> 34:23.320] 75 bucks while I was sleeping. And I was, I mean, and it just kind of took off from there. I mean,
[34:23.320 --> 34:28.920] honestly, I didn't know I was starting my own company, you know, like I came out of art school.
[34:29.720 --> 34:35.240] And I was a little disappointed with my school in the sense, I'm, it was a great art at program.
[34:35.240 --> 34:41.400] But they really set me up with the concept that I was going to be in business for myself as an
[34:41.400 --> 34:47.320] artist. I just always thought like, you know, you go to school, you do college, like you get a job,
[34:47.320 --> 34:52.600] you know, even as an artist, like I just imagine being an artist with a job, not being independent
[34:52.600 --> 35:01.240] like that. And so it was really liberating because I never really kept a job very well other than
[35:01.240 --> 35:07.400] working at Michaels. And like this one in a bead store, you know, but I had many jobs, many hats,
[35:07.400 --> 35:17.240] you know, hostess, waitress, bar, tender, I got a worse waitress. I mean, still retail all of it.
[35:17.240 --> 35:24.120] And so it was just, yeah, it was amazing. Like it just immediately, I was selling supplies like
[35:24.120 --> 35:32.920] crazy. And I was, I was like the number ones or top five jewelry supplier on Etsy for the first
[35:32.920 --> 35:41.880] few years of their existence until super saturated, you know, and that kind of got me going with.
[35:41.880 --> 35:47.800] And that again, that was like, I wasn't really making or creating or being an artist. I was more
[35:48.440 --> 35:54.760] curating, right? Like picking out like charms and chains and beads and findings that I was drawn to.
[35:54.760 --> 35:59.560] And that's like what I'm sitting on at sea. And you know, trying to also have something that like
[35:59.560 --> 36:03.960] nobody else had or, you know, I don't want to compete with people like I want to have something
[36:03.960 --> 36:11.080] unique. Yeah. So that, that was like the root of the early success. That's amazing. That's,
[36:11.080 --> 36:16.520] that's amazing. Did you have like, it's funny. Actually, I sold, I set up an Etsy store when my
[36:16.520 --> 36:22.680] daughter was like, I think 11 or 12 and her and her friend were making all the slime all the time.
[36:22.680 --> 36:28.600] Like during that craze, they're making tons of homemade slime. And so I taught them, like I,
[36:28.600 --> 36:34.360] I managed it all for them. But I created an Etsy store and we sold the slime. We entered,
[36:34.360 --> 36:40.280] we entered, we shipped it to Switzerland, even. And it wasn't my brother who lives there with someone
[36:40.280 --> 36:47.320] stranger about it. And so we were like selling slime online. And yeah, it was just such a cool thing
[36:47.320 --> 36:51.640] because I wanted, I wanted them to see sort of this, the opportunities out there with, you know,
[36:51.640 --> 36:55.640] online businesses and entrepreneurship and things. Because I think, yeah, obviously there's,
[36:55.640 --> 37:01.160] there's a lot to be had. Did you have like a mentor, parents, like who, a family member,
[37:01.160 --> 37:07.240] like who was it that, or was it just you reading books and thinking, okay, if I do this or this or
[37:08.120 --> 37:15.800] I mean, I had help along the way for sure. I mean, my parents, you know, helped me with, with
[37:15.800 --> 37:21.480] start, in fact, I borrowed like 200 bucks for my mom and went and bought all the supplies. I was
[37:21.480 --> 37:26.600] able to pay her back immediately. And then my husband, now he was my boyfriend at the time. He's
[37:26.600 --> 37:33.320] been, he's my business partner, basically. And he's been, you know, there with me all through the,
[37:33.320 --> 37:39.720] the way and incredibly back. He's building out our register for the Venice Beach location as we
[37:39.720 --> 37:46.360] speak. So amazing. You know, I just, I did, I, I'm not a good reader because again, 80, 80,
[37:46.840 --> 37:51.480] like reading is tough for me. I don't even necessarily have the attention span for podcasts either
[37:51.480 --> 37:55.880] because my brain just goes off in other directions. And then I can't, and then I'm like, wait,
[37:55.880 --> 38:01.240] what did they just say? You know, yeah. So I read a lot of magazines working at the craft stores,
[38:02.040 --> 38:09.800] you know, and I'm very much self-taught in the like crafting jewelry area. And I went to art
[38:09.800 --> 38:17.240] school and I did put an emphasis in metal smithing. So, you know, I do have a more like formal
[38:17.240 --> 38:25.640] education on silver smithing and metals and materials and all that stuff. So again, that was what
[38:25.640 --> 38:32.360] was kind of neat, like no, like no mentor, just like a passion for something, you know, my daughter
[38:32.440 --> 38:38.120] even said the other day, she's like, mom, you're obsessed. You know, I'm like, that's great though.
[38:38.120 --> 38:43.240] I mean, you found your thing, which is, you know, I mean, a lot of people are still looking for
[38:43.240 --> 38:47.640] theirs, right? And maybe you won't find it. Like a lot of people, you know, search through their
[38:47.640 --> 38:54.520] lives. So it's fantastic that you did that. What about like opening a brick and mortar business?
[38:54.520 --> 38:59.800] Because I mean, it's a lot, it's all of a lot easier to open an online store, especially with a
[38:59.800 --> 39:05.720] platform like Etsy or eBay or whatever it is these days, marketplace or what have you. So, you
[39:05.720 --> 39:10.840] know, at some point, you're like, I need to sell this from a store or how did that happen?
[39:11.480 --> 39:19.240] I yeah, you know, I so selling online was good and all, right? But I hit a plateau and there, it
[39:19.240 --> 39:23.720] was, you know, there was just a point where like for a couple of years living in New York City,
[39:23.720 --> 39:28.040] I couldn't like, I couldn't get my bank account over a certain amount. And it was just like
[39:28.040 --> 39:35.400] stuck at $4,000 for like two or three years. And so I was like, what what do I do to, you know,
[39:36.120 --> 39:44.840] further this? And I was actually selling my own jewelry at a local artisan market on the weekends.
[39:44.840 --> 39:51.800] That again, you're competing against so many other jewelry makers. So that was tough. And so I was
[39:51.800 --> 39:56.280] like having this like, you know, small success with selling supplies online,
[39:57.400 --> 40:02.680] breaking even barely making it selling my own jewelry designs. But because again, I was more
[40:02.680 --> 40:08.520] avant-garde with my jewelry. So when I would make jewelry, I would make actually like stuff that
[40:08.520 --> 40:13.720] people would put in magazines or use in fashion shows. And, you know, it's hard to push that stuff
[40:13.720 --> 40:18.680] if you're not well connected. And so I just when I was doing the marketplaces, I was like,
[40:19.240 --> 40:25.160] what if I put my charms out? Because people were always asking me, do you want to, can I switch that
[40:25.160 --> 40:29.640] charm? Or can you shorten that chain? Or can you? And I was always willing to do it because I
[40:29.640 --> 40:34.520] wanted to make the sale. And I would notice that my fellow jewelry makers in the market, they were
[40:34.520 --> 40:40.440] like, no, you buy it like this, you know? And not, you know, not because there's like an ego that
[40:40.440 --> 40:45.160] comes with it, you know? And like, I like to think I don't really have that kind of ego. So I was
[40:45.160 --> 40:49.240] totally willing to like alter this stuff in order to like make the sale. And I think that's like
[40:49.240 --> 40:54.840] where the marriage came. It was like, well, let's take like my willingness to, you know, be flexible
[40:54.840 --> 41:01.000] on the work that I put into it and give them the chance to kind of like dictate what they want
[41:01.000 --> 41:06.760] in it. And actually, the venue that I was doing it in, they wouldn't let me do it at first when
[41:06.760 --> 41:14.040] I applied because they were like, oh, this is, it exposes the, like what people, what it costs
[41:14.040 --> 41:20.600] to make jewelry. They did not let me do it. And so I ended up doing it at another market. And that,
[41:20.600 --> 41:26.440] like the first day I did it at that other market, it was like instant, incidentally successful. I
[41:26.440 --> 41:32.520] like, and I was all by myself doing it. And it was so Mickey Mouse compared to the way that I do it
[41:32.520 --> 41:37.320] now. Like I had spools of pain. And I was like cutting them and like assembling them on
[41:37.320 --> 41:42.600] site. And now everything's already pre made like a chain stuff and ready to go. But I definitely
[41:42.600 --> 41:48.360] was like, you know, figuring that out in the beginning. And then as soon as I did well with
[41:48.360 --> 41:53.320] the Brooklyn flea location or the other location artists and please they kind of were like, all right,
[41:53.320 --> 42:00.440] let's bring you in and do the concept. And that again, kind of like doing Etsy, it instantly,
[42:00.440 --> 42:06.280] you know, became like an income for me. And like within a year of introducing the concept,
[42:06.280 --> 42:10.280] you know, that's when we opened the store. What year was that that you opened the store?
[42:10.280 --> 42:12.120] Is that 2010? Okay. Yeah. Yeah.
[42:14.120 --> 42:20.520] And again, I wasn't really setting out to open a retail store. I wasn't really setting out to
[42:21.240 --> 42:29.000] have that quote unquote business. I was just like pursuing this thing that I love doing, you know.
[42:29.000 --> 42:35.160] And I'm putting one thing I really like pride myself in one of my accomplishments in life is
[42:35.160 --> 42:41.160] like when I moved to New York City, I did not have a job. I worked for myself. So I never actually
[42:41.160 --> 42:49.240] worked for anyone living when I was living in New York. So that's amazing. That's amazing.
[42:49.240 --> 42:58.040] Were there times when like whatever the circumstances just where you wanted to throw it all out and
[42:58.040 --> 43:06.280] just quit like I mean, that's like once a week. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I mean,
[43:07.000 --> 43:12.120] to roll a toast or entrepreneurship. I get anxiety, you know, like there's anxiety that comes with it.
[43:12.120 --> 43:17.880] And I've always had anxiety since I wasn't always, but since I was like 16, 17, like I also have,
[43:17.880 --> 43:23.800] you know, dealt with that. And so yeah, when the anxiety comes in and it can come out of nowhere,
[43:23.800 --> 43:29.080] and again, like the triggers, right, there's triggers for that. And you just, yeah, it's like
[43:29.080 --> 43:35.080] this overwhelming sensation. I mean, I have so much stuff, like so many beads and so many
[43:35.080 --> 43:40.360] charms. And like sometimes when I'm going through it all and I'm just like, I'll die before I ever
[43:40.360 --> 43:45.480] get to see everything that I own, you know, like I won't ever get to go through it all because it's
[43:45.480 --> 43:52.120] just so much. And it just, I'll, yeah. That's so amazing. I was going to say to with the anxiety
[43:52.440 --> 43:58.760] piece, I mean, that is a common comorbidity of ADHD as well as depression, like those two are
[43:58.760 --> 44:04.680] the most popular. My understanding, but you know, there are others too, but with those and that,
[44:06.200 --> 44:10.680] yeah, without this is what I've learned. I have anxiety and some depression as well. So like,
[44:11.240 --> 44:17.000] but what I've learned in this journey is that treating the ADHD is kind of the core. In fact,
[44:17.000 --> 44:26.440] I just just had a guest, I just published an interview with Dr. Alan Graham and he he talked
[44:26.440 --> 44:33.240] about that too. We're like, you know, if you don't treat the ADHD or you're not aware of it for
[44:33.240 --> 44:36.920] especially for undiagnosed people, then you can keep treating the anxiety and depression all you like.
[44:37.640 --> 44:42.920] But you're it's going to keep kind of coming back without treating the ADHD as well or at least
[44:42.920 --> 44:48.600] like teaching people about the ADHD because that that's one of those strange bedfellows that comes
[44:48.600 --> 44:57.240] along with it. Yeah. I know. And I definitely went through that in high school and you know, I was
[44:57.240 --> 45:04.680] seeing a therapist and had depression was on antidepressants. I had insomnia for two weeks. I
[45:04.680 --> 45:10.760] actually didn't insomnia came from one of the EDD drugs that was given to me. I want to say it
[45:10.760 --> 45:18.360] was this stratera one, but it was I had I took it the first day. I was fine. And I was like,
[45:18.360 --> 45:23.160] oh, wow, this is great. Like I don't really feel it. I just, you know, that's what I didn't want to do.
[45:23.160 --> 45:29.640] I didn't want to feel the speedy part of it, you know, like and sometimes I that would be I'd,
[45:29.640 --> 45:35.160] you know, be clenching and yeah, so that was like, oh, wow, day one. This is a relief from that
[45:35.160 --> 45:40.280] because I think it was on Adderall for a little bit before that. And then when then day two came
[45:41.000 --> 45:46.600] and I straight up did not sleep that night. And then I did not sleep for almost two weeks. Or if I
[45:46.600 --> 45:52.200] did, I slept for like an hour at a time. And like, that's when the depression actually started,
[45:52.200 --> 45:58.120] you know, was like when you when you are up alone with yourself and your thoughts and like,
[45:58.120 --> 46:02.440] there's nothing that you can really do. Were you talking to your doctor at the time to
[46:02.520 --> 46:10.760] yeah, I had a pediatrician until I was 22 years old, you know, and I had a great pediatrician
[46:10.760 --> 46:16.120] actually. And he really, you know, he was like you said, you were trying different things and
[46:16.120 --> 46:20.840] trying to find the right doses and the right, you know, the right prescription for you. And so
[46:20.840 --> 46:28.600] that that was a journey in itself, you know, was just trying to navigate what was, you know,
[46:28.600 --> 46:35.960] going into my system and how to deal with it. Ultimately, they like ended up prescribing me
[46:35.960 --> 46:43.640] Ambien. I took an Ambien and I slept for like a day and a half or something. So they needed it for
[46:43.640 --> 46:52.040] sure. Yeah. Yeah. And then when I woke up and I came out of it, I actually like, it like
[46:52.040 --> 46:57.960] reset me. It was really weird. And I was like, I was, you know, I was doing better and therapy
[46:57.960 --> 47:06.200] was really helpful. So he, you know, he, and again, like we kind of just wound up back at
[47:06.200 --> 47:15.080] Ritalin at the end of it because it really was the one that like was the least like I had TMJ2. So
[47:15.080 --> 47:21.160] like if I was clenching and you know, that like I didn't clench on Ritalin basically or have
[47:21.160 --> 47:27.720] trouble things. So you got me thinking about from because I'm an entrepreneur too. So like,
[47:28.600 --> 47:33.240] you know, from running a business and sort of a DIY sort of mindset, which is kind of what I've
[47:33.240 --> 47:39.320] always approached everything I do with where you're, you know, there comes a point when you do have to
[47:39.320 --> 47:45.000] start hiring or outsourcing or what have you. Tell me about like when, when did you realize
[47:45.640 --> 47:50.360] I can't do this alone or I can't get to where I need to get a loan or oh my god, I'm not good at
[47:50.360 --> 47:54.040] this because that's, that's one thing that I tell people all the time. That's one of the,
[47:54.040 --> 48:00.120] the aha moments of my diagnosis and treatment is I've, and practicing mindfulness and meditation
[48:00.120 --> 48:05.000] where I've realized like, oh wait a minute, I'm not created everything. And it wasn't that I was
[48:05.000 --> 48:13.320] cocky and thought I was, but rather I was just moving a mile a minute unknowingly that I just assumed,
[48:13.320 --> 48:18.520] I didn't even assume I just had to do everything. So there wasn't even time for me to stop and think,
[48:18.520 --> 48:24.040] oh, that's why you're not doing a good job at X because you're not good at X. You need help with
[48:24.040 --> 48:31.560] this. Tell me, tell me about that experience for you. Yeah, I mean, the first time I hired someone,
[48:31.560 --> 48:37.480] it was, it was, this was before you could process shipping at home, right? So you actually had to go
[48:37.480 --> 48:44.600] to the post office to, to have your stuff mailed. Yeah. And so I had just moved to Brooklyn. I was
[48:44.600 --> 48:53.240] living in Bushwick at the time, very colorful neighborhood, very loud, somewhat scary post office.
[48:53.240 --> 49:00.760] And I had a panic attack in there actually because line was super duper long. I showed up with 30
[49:00.760 --> 49:05.960] packages. It took me 45 minutes to get to the front. And as soon as I got there and threw my 30
[49:05.960 --> 49:12.200] packages on the table, the two other windows closed. And it was just like me and this one guy 30
[49:12.200 --> 49:18.840] packages and 30, 20 people behind me. And they all just were like, you know, like throwing their
[49:18.840 --> 49:25.240] arms up in the air. And I like started getting tunnel vision and my name at none. And the post office
[49:25.240 --> 49:30.920] guy was like, flick to his finger in front of my face. And he's like, hey, hey, I'm right here.
[49:30.920 --> 49:39.400] Just focus on this and stay with me like he's spiral. And he did it, brought me back. And he's
[49:39.400 --> 49:46.120] like someone's coming back. And I, but in that in that situation, I was like, I can't do this.
[49:46.120 --> 49:52.120] Like I need, I'm hiring a New Yorker to come and wait in this line for me because this is just
[49:52.120 --> 49:58.760] like too stressful. And so I did. I hired a young lady, Verne. She was 19 years old at the time.
[49:58.760 --> 50:03.640] She's originally from Barbados, but you know, lived in New York. Oh, God, she killed me not Barbados.
[50:03.640 --> 50:11.400] Trinidad. Trinidad. Yeah. And she's, she stayed, she stayed with me for over 10 years actually.
[50:11.400 --> 50:14.760] She was my first employee and she's still very good friend of mine. Yeah.
[50:15.880 --> 50:22.360] So that was my first hire. And I didn't really hire again until I introduced the,
[50:23.240 --> 50:30.680] the business concept of the charm jewelry thing. So like, once I was doing the DIY or like,
[50:30.680 --> 50:35.160] you design it, I did have to have some people help me with that just because again,
[50:35.160 --> 50:40.680] you can't be ringing people up and making stuff at the same time. So you need, you know,
[50:40.680 --> 50:48.440] someone to do the ringing up and someone to do the, you know, the, the making. And I, you know,
[50:48.440 --> 50:53.240] I only had a couple employees the first couple of years of being open. But then when I opened the
[50:53.320 --> 50:59.080] brick and mortar store, you know, I, I had to go from like two employees to five employees.
[51:00.280 --> 51:08.040] And heek, having my shop and my two locations in New York, I would have sometimes 16 employees
[51:08.040 --> 51:14.840] at a time. And so, you know, with that, you definitely need like good management to help
[51:14.840 --> 51:21.080] with that. And I did, you know, it takes time to get to that place and to find the right person.
[51:21.160 --> 51:25.880] And not, and not just the right person, but the like, the person who's going to put up with you
[51:25.880 --> 51:35.560] in your ADHD, you know, yeah. So yeah, you know, I've got a great, I still have the same person who
[51:35.560 --> 51:43.480] runs everything in New York City that I've had for 10 plus years. And she's, she's amazing. And
[51:44.440 --> 51:51.880] allows for me to, you know, be more permanent here. In fact, like, after COVID, we closed everything
[51:51.880 --> 51:59.560] down in New York for like a year and a half. And when we reopened, I licensed the brand to her. So
[52:01.320 --> 52:08.200] the woman, Adrian, who was the manager of my store, when I wasn't in New York, you know, she
[52:08.200 --> 52:13.880] lost her job, her whole career just like went into thin air when we closed the stores. And so,
[52:14.680 --> 52:21.080] you know, she saved up money and kind of went out and joined the Chelsea market thing that we
[52:21.080 --> 52:27.960] were doing before and started it on her own, you know, but as Brooklyn Charm. So it's great. Like,
[52:27.960 --> 52:34.040] I have, you know, she's technically like, you know, a licensing, but you know, I look at her more
[52:34.040 --> 52:40.200] as a partner just because, you know, we make a lot of joint decisions together. And, you know,
[52:40.200 --> 52:48.040] because she's representing the brand Brooklyn in Brooklyn, you know, you know, I always say,
[52:48.040 --> 52:52.760] if it weren't for her, I don't even know if I would be Brooklyn Charm anymore because, you know,
[52:52.760 --> 52:59.400] we weren't going to move back to New York. You know, so we, I'm like, eternally grateful
[53:00.280 --> 53:06.280] to have someone like Adrian in my life. And I, I always joke around like, I hope I find my
[53:06.280 --> 53:12.360] Adrian here in California. Yeah. Yeah. Well, I mean, that's part of it, right? Because I was just
[53:12.360 --> 53:18.120] having this conversation with someone just yesterday, actually, a small group about outsourcing
[53:18.120 --> 53:25.720] some work and, and realizing like part of what stopped me from doing that has been, well,
[53:25.720 --> 53:32.040] first of a perfectionist. So there's that. But besides that, it's, for me, it's more like a need
[53:32.040 --> 53:36.840] for someone to help me with my social media and help me with my, like, some, maybe some admin
[53:36.840 --> 53:43.640] stuff and some, some, you know, mainly digital stuff. But a lot of times, you know, folks are,
[53:44.680 --> 53:49.880] you don't know who is best for this. And there's a lot of online services and things where you can
[53:49.880 --> 53:55.400] hire people. But like, I feel it's sort of like a CRM setting up a CRM where like, I don't want to
[53:55.400 --> 54:01.000] like spend all this time teaching someone how to do everything. And then they don't do a good job.
[54:01.000 --> 54:05.560] And then I've got to rinse and repeat it all over again to find someone else and all that time
[54:06.200 --> 54:12.200] wasted and money wasted when I started my self. Yeah. I've been there for sure. Tell me about
[54:12.200 --> 54:17.000] like your strengths as far as obviously you're very creative and you're obviously a great, you
[54:17.000 --> 54:21.800] know, talented jeweler. But besides that, as far as like running a business goes, what are the
[54:21.800 --> 54:28.920] areas that you're your best at or weakest at as far as like all these things? Because you, I guess
[54:28.920 --> 54:35.800] you have to understand your strengths well enough on, you know, there's a, there's a great book
[54:37.000 --> 54:44.680] the e-meth manifesto or not manifesto, but e-meth. It's mainly about, yeah, it's about entrepreneurship.
[54:44.680 --> 54:50.840] And in it, I only remember this like, it's a fictitious story in it, but it's like one that
[54:50.840 --> 54:56.040] resonates with so many people, which is, and I've heard about, I've heard others share it.
[54:56.040 --> 54:59.080] Lots of entrepreneurs say this basically the same story, which is,
[55:00.440 --> 55:05.960] woman loves baking cupcakes. She opens, you know, starts selling cupcakes from her house.
[55:05.960 --> 55:10.360] Then she starts similar to what you're doing. And then she opens a bakery. And next thing she knows,
[55:10.360 --> 55:17.240] like she's so successful that she's suddenly managing people only and the books and all that stuff.
[55:17.240 --> 55:24.120] And she's so taxed with that and recruiting and replacing and all that stuff that she's lost
[55:24.120 --> 55:30.440] the, the, her any time to actually bake and create the stuff that she's most passionate about.
[55:30.440 --> 55:35.640] And so she's miserable because now all she's doing is managing people, which is, you know,
[55:35.640 --> 55:40.200] a great talent to have for some, but does that resonate with you?
[55:40.200 --> 55:46.520] Yeah, 100%. I know, I don't, yeah, I don't particularly enjoy managing people.
[55:48.840 --> 55:54.040] I'm not saying that I'm not good at it, you know, I just, it is probably the hardest part of
[55:54.040 --> 56:03.080] the job actually is because you're, you're the income, you know, for these, these people and you are
[56:03.080 --> 56:09.800] responsible for their livelihood in a way, you know, not everybody holds that over you, but people
[56:09.800 --> 56:16.040] certainly do, you know, and I would say one of my greatest strengths is also my greatest weakness,
[56:16.040 --> 56:24.760] which is, you know, I want, I want to be liked, you know, I want, yeah, and not just by my staff,
[56:24.760 --> 56:31.160] by everyone, you know, and if you want everyone to like you, then what can happen is you can get
[56:31.160 --> 56:37.880] walked all over, you know, and so, and I'm an empath as well, you know, so, yeah, those are,
[56:37.880 --> 56:44.200] you know, great traits to have as a person and a business woman, but it can also be
[56:45.080 --> 56:51.000] taken advantage of, you know, and so I've, I think that that has been a struggle for me because
[56:52.200 --> 56:57.080] I don't feel like I'm the kind of person that takes advantage of people. It's never really been
[56:57.720 --> 57:04.440] my trait. I will lean into people when I need help and I will be open and honest about that,
[57:04.440 --> 57:09.640] you know, again, like I don't have too big of an ego to admit when I need help, you know, but
[57:12.680 --> 57:17.960] I think that especially with this newer generation too, you know, we're like, now I'm in,
[57:17.960 --> 57:25.320] I'm the like kind of older, you know, in the, in the game and I'm watching these younger,
[57:25.320 --> 57:31.320] you know, 20, early 20 something year olds sort of step into the professional world. I see a lot
[57:31.320 --> 57:39.240] of them, me and them actually just in terms of like not liking being told what to do, you know,
[57:39.800 --> 57:45.400] or being told to do something they don't really feel like doing. And I have, I have definitely been
[57:45.400 --> 57:51.000] that person where I'm like, oh, you want me to do that, you know, and then I get done to me and I'm
[57:51.000 --> 57:57.720] like, why do you have to act like that, you know, or so I'm always like just, it's important for me
[57:58.200 --> 58:06.520] like when I task people or work with people to just, you know, be kind when I'm asking that. And
[58:06.520 --> 58:12.440] maybe I'm not always kind, maybe I'm a little bit blunt, you know, because I'm in business mode
[58:12.440 --> 58:19.880] and I'm like, like when I go to work, I am there to work. I am not hang out. I am not there to socialize.
[58:19.880 --> 58:25.880] Like I will talk and will like, you know, do do any kind of conversation that most people do,
[58:25.880 --> 58:33.560] but like, I am doing it while I'm working, you know, and so that I expect out of, you know,
[58:33.560 --> 58:39.160] my staff as well is like, if you're going to come to work, I don't care if you talk, but like,
[58:39.160 --> 58:44.360] make sure you're staying productive while you talk, you know. Yeah, I find the people
[58:44.360 --> 58:52.840] pleasing and empath sort of aspects intriguing. And I don't know with any sort of science study,
[58:53.640 --> 59:01.720] you know, I like what I do know is that like the study, I think that the, I think it's something
[59:01.720 --> 59:08.440] to the effect of like a 10, a 10 year old with ADHD or ADD same, same difference these days, I guess,
[59:08.440 --> 59:14.040] everything. It's just ADHD. It's a new name. But yeah, so, but a 10 year old with
[59:14.040 --> 59:21.560] ADD or ADHD, whatever you want to call it, has received something like 20,000 negative feedback
[59:21.560 --> 59:29.080] from like teachers and parents and, you know, other adults by the time they're 10 years old. So
[59:29.080 --> 59:35.880] they've heard, they've heard way more negative feedback. In addition, you know, in our sort of,
[59:35.880 --> 59:43.640] I'm 53, but in my generation at least, my parents were not diagnosed, but we do know that it's
[59:43.640 --> 59:50.120] something like 75 or 80% chance is, or that it's as almost as heritable as height, meaning that like,
[59:50.120 --> 59:57.720] one or both of your parents quite likely has ADHD as well if you do. So, but with undiagnosed and
[59:57.720 --> 01:00:05.080] untreated ADHD, that can lead to, you know, difficult people sometimes for whatever reasons with,
[01:00:05.080 --> 01:00:10.680] you know, whether it's addictions or impulsivity or whatever. So therefore, and this is where like,
[01:00:10.680 --> 01:00:18.120] I don't know statistically or anything, but I feel like, I do know that, that we Y squirrels or
[01:00:18.120 --> 01:00:30.440] ADHDers do tend to experience more trauma as children, and certainly I did as well. But I also think
[01:00:31.080 --> 01:00:37.560] that this is the part where that my theory comes in, which I'm curious about. I have learned
[01:00:37.560 --> 01:00:43.560] through therapy that I became a people pleaser in part because of the trauma that I had as a kid.
[01:00:44.280 --> 01:00:49.640] And so that kind of made me realize that if David's a good boy and I'm pleasing everybody,
[01:00:50.440 --> 01:00:56.040] then I'll get ahead and I don't like drama, I don't like conflict, I'm a pacifist, like, you
[01:00:56.440 --> 01:01:02.280] all these things. And so, but it makes, and you were saying, you know, and I'm very empathetic as
[01:01:02.280 --> 01:01:06.120] well. So you were saying something similar there in a little way. And you made me think of it when
[01:01:06.120 --> 01:01:11.880] you had this panic attack, where you have like 20, 30 people upset with you behind you, and you
[01:01:11.880 --> 01:01:17.720] have this panic attack in a moment. And maybe as somebody who's, you mentioned you're a people pleaser,
[01:01:17.720 --> 01:01:22.040] maybe in that moment, the reason why you had that panic attack was because you want to please,
[01:01:22.040 --> 01:01:25.800] you don't want people upset with you. And now you've got 20 or 30 of them. And that
[01:01:26.120 --> 01:01:31.800] to me, not being a psychologist or psychiatrist or a doctor would, I mean, just my spidey sense tells
[01:01:31.800 --> 01:01:36.360] me that that would make sense to triggers such a thing. No, I felt bad for all of them because I
[01:01:37.240 --> 01:01:42.200] myself, and now they're really in the ringer because they got one person with 30 packages. Yeah.
[01:01:43.240 --> 01:01:49.400] And then all the focuses on me, you know, like, thank goodness, you know, and like, I used to, when
[01:01:49.480 --> 01:01:55.880] I was a kid, I wanted to be like an actress and, you know, early 90s, like Hollywood, there was
[01:01:55.880 --> 01:02:02.360] like such a fantastical, like, you know, being about it. And I think back to it now, and I'm like,
[01:02:02.360 --> 01:02:09.480] glad that never happened because I could never, ever handle the, the, the negative part of it,
[01:02:09.480 --> 01:02:14.680] you know, or the, like, the bad ass or the, you know, like, yeah, like when I'm in trouble,
[01:02:15.320 --> 01:02:20.200] one of the worst feelings on the planet when you're, when you feel like you're in trouble or
[01:02:20.200 --> 01:02:29.080] you feel like you've upset someone, and I, I get, I do, I get serious, like debilitating anxiety
[01:02:29.080 --> 01:02:37.400] when I feel like I'm in trouble, you know, and therefore I hardly ever get in trouble, you know,
[01:02:37.400 --> 01:02:42.280] well, in high school, I would get in trouble in like a party way, and I never really felt bad
[01:02:42.280 --> 01:02:48.040] about that. I mean, again, in trouble with hurting someone's feelings or upsetting them or like
[01:02:48.040 --> 01:02:53.800] rubbing them the wrong way, even if you don't like the person, I don't even want the people I don't
[01:02:53.800 --> 01:03:00.120] like to feel like a negative impact from me, because I don't know their story, I don't know why
[01:03:00.120 --> 01:03:06.600] they're acting like a jerk to me, you know, like, yeah, yeah. So, you know, I just, I, you know,
[01:03:06.600 --> 01:03:12.360] I just, I do, I want to get along with everyone, it doesn't mean I do, you know, and being a
[01:03:12.360 --> 01:03:18.760] business owner and a boss, you're going to get people that are going to come in that are not
[01:03:18.760 --> 01:03:24.200] going to agree with your style of management, you know, and, and then you'll get people who do
[01:03:24.200 --> 01:03:28.840] agree, you know, and the people that do agree are usually the ones that stick around, and the ones
[01:03:28.840 --> 01:03:34.760] that don't agree, they either drag you through hell for who knows how long until they quit or you
[01:03:34.840 --> 01:03:40.440] have to fire them, or they don't last very long, and they just like move on to the next thing.
[01:03:40.440 --> 01:03:44.920] And love it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. If you could design a charm, and I'm watching the time here,
[01:03:44.920 --> 01:03:50.120] I know we're, we're almost talking about, but if you could design a charm or jewelry that captures
[01:03:50.120 --> 01:03:57.800] ADHD in a fun and powering way, what would it look like? God, it would probably be like a spiral
[01:03:57.800 --> 01:04:05.880] within a bursting sun. I love that. You like didn't miss a beat there. Have you been thinking
[01:04:05.880 --> 01:04:11.080] about this already? No, you totally, I did not, I never thought about that, and I cannot believe
[01:04:11.080 --> 01:04:17.560] I came up with that so quickly, but like, and the spiral is that like, you're, there's this,
[01:04:17.560 --> 01:04:21.560] I don't know if you listen to tool at all, but I'm like a big tool fan.
[01:04:21.640 --> 01:04:27.000] All of them. I love a blues in 1991. Yeah. Oh my God. On the backstage. I've seen them like four
[01:04:27.000 --> 01:04:33.720] times in a perfect circle, but like, you know, spiral out, spiraling like third eye, just
[01:04:34.200 --> 01:04:38.280] you know, because there's a spiraling out, and then there's a finding your center as well.
[01:04:38.280 --> 01:04:42.120] And there's been so many moments in my life where I feel like I'm going to explode,
[01:04:42.920 --> 01:04:47.400] but I'm, I'm finding a way to sort of like circle back into my own,
[01:04:48.360 --> 01:04:54.040] my own thoughts that don't make me explode, you know, so it's like you might be exploding on
[01:04:54.040 --> 01:04:59.880] the outside, but it's because we're working on the inside, trying, and that's, you know, that goes
[01:04:59.880 --> 01:05:07.320] back to why we interrupt people sometimes, or we, you know, get lost track of our tasks and things
[01:05:07.320 --> 01:05:12.840] like that. So it's just, it's constantly moving, you know, it's like, even today this morning,
[01:05:12.840 --> 01:05:19.560] I woke up at 430 in the morning, and I could not go back to sleep. And I, I was like thinking
[01:05:19.560 --> 01:05:25.000] of a spiral. So I wake up that way too. I'm like, it drives my wife crazy, because I'll wake out
[01:05:25.000 --> 01:05:32.600] like, hey, let's talk. Yeah, leave me alone. I can't talk to you for at least an hour.
[01:05:34.120 --> 01:05:39.880] And you can blame her. And then you said the sun, right? Or like a burst or a spark or something
[01:05:39.960 --> 01:05:46.600] that is just like, you know, it doesn't have to be even like symmetrical, you know, just,
[01:05:47.880 --> 01:05:53.160] and you know, there's an explosion happening, but there's a time to inner peace.
[01:05:53.160 --> 01:05:58.840] I love it. I love it. I love it. This has been so much fun, Tracy. How can people get a hold of you,
[01:05:58.840 --> 01:06:02.200] learn more about what you do? Like, where's the best place for them to go?
[01:06:02.920 --> 01:06:09.000] Well, Instagram and TikTok is, you know, where we're very active through our Brooklyn Charm account.
[01:06:09.640 --> 01:06:17.400] We also website where we do jewelry making supplies and customize charm jewelry online. So
[01:06:18.520 --> 01:06:24.120] you can always, you know, have something custom made on the internet. You don't have to be there
[01:06:24.120 --> 01:06:29.480] in person to do it. I would say that we have the largest selection of charms of any custom charm
[01:06:29.480 --> 01:06:36.520] by you'll ever find on an in person. Yeah, it's amazing. It's amazing work. I mean, yeah,
[01:06:36.520 --> 01:06:41.560] I know I love it. Yeah, this is honestly, it's been amazing. So very inspiring. So thanks. Yeah,
[01:06:41.560 --> 01:06:49.880] it's fun to talk to someone else who, you know, has an understanding of how this neurodivergent
[01:06:49.880 --> 01:06:56.840] brain works. If you enjoyed the show today, please leave a rating and review. This helps other
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