Creating an Aligned Life with The Slept Life CEO, Tiffany Paul
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About this episode:
CEO of The Slept Life, Tiffany Paul, is on the show today and I'm so excited for you to join our conversation. She took a risk leaving a successful corporate career at P&G to make the entrepreneurial leap and start her own business. Tiffany shares the importance of living your most authentic life, why women have to put themselves first, how to find success in a way that works for you, and so much more. This is a must listen for every entrepreneur!
Topics Discussed:
Why Tiffany shifted from her successful corporate career to entrepreneurship
The new definition of living the American dream and redefining success
The importance of allowing yourself to be aligned with your authentic self
Why self-prioritization is a must, especially as women
What your business can teach you and how it can heal and grow you
Giving yourself permission to move slowly to find joy
About Tiffany:
Tiffany Paul is a former unfulfilled corporate employee spending 10 years with Procter & Gamble before leaving her 6-figure salary and taking the leap to full time entrepreneur. She is the host of the Dream Life podcast, a platform that empowers listeners to chase down big dreams and redefine success for themselves. Tiffany currently resides in southern California with her husband of nine years and their two children, ages 3 and 4.
Resources:
Click here to read a raw, unedited transcript of this episode.
Melanie Thank you so much for joining us today, Tiffany.
Tiffany [00:00:51] Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to chat.
Melanie [00:00:55] We'd love to know more about who you are and about your early career experiences leading to becoming the founder of Slept.
Tiffany [00:01:02] [00:01:02]Yes, well, who am I, what a profound question, [3.1s] I was like, first, I'm a human soul, having a human experience, right? [00:01:10]But here on Earth, [1.0s] I am a former unfulfilled corporate employee. I spent 10 years in corporate I'm from Minnesota originally and really from a young age. I thought, [00:01:20]like, [0.0s] the big dream would be to work for the big corporation [00:01:23]and move to California for me to do all the things. [4.4s] And I did. [00:01:31]About halfway through, though, [2.0s]
Melanie [00:01:34] [00:01:34]to the I know started telling me that they're. Yes, we are having it's weird because it wasn't doing this before, [8.3s]
Tiffany [00:01:43] [00:01:43]but you're freezing. Oh, the Internet connection is unstable. [2.1s]
Melanie [00:01:46] [00:01:46]I'm turning off my phone all of a sudden. [3.5s]
Tiffany [00:01:50] [00:01:50]So all of a sudden, let me change let me change it to my 5G as well. I just connect and then connect. I don't think it will just cut the call, but OK. [6.9s]
Melanie [00:02:03] [00:02:03]If you do disconnect, just come back, OK? [3.1s]
Speaker 2 [00:02:07] [00:02:07]OK, cool, [0.3s]
Tiffany [00:02:08] [00:02:08]OK, I connected to my 5G so that that should help. I don't know if it was me, it could be me. [4.7s]
Melanie [00:02:13] [00:02:13]So I turned I just turned off the Wi-Fi on my phone. But what was weird is it wasn't doing that at all before we were talking. And then the second of course, the second we start the episode. [7.4s]
Speaker 2 [00:02:21] [00:02:21]Yes, you breathe so good. [2.5s]
Melanie [00:02:25] [00:02:25]I think it started to freeze around the time you said I'm from Minnesota and I thought moving to California was like the dream. Cool. [7.3s]
Tiffany [00:02:32] [00:02:32]So to speak up because of Ed and. [1.3s]
Speaker 2 [00:02:34] [00:02:34]Yes, I will edit. Yes. [3.4s]
Tiffany [00:02:39] [00:02:39]So I'm originally from Minnesota Small Town, and [2.6s] I always dreamed of moving to Los Angeles, [00:02:45]working for a big company. [0.7s] And I really thought, [00:02:48]like, [0.0s] that was going to be like my big dream, my dream life. I had my sights set on 00:02:54 [0.0s] becoming like a CEO of a big company. I remember reading a statistic as a child that only two percent of Fortune 500 companies had female CEOs. And I thought, well, that doesn't seem right, [00:03:05]like [0.0s] we need more women at the top. Why not me? And that was my first big dream. But then about halfway through my decade long career, I just started feeling [00:03:15]that [0.0s] I wasn't quite where I belonged. It wasn't what I imagined. And somebody who really embraces breaking down barriers and living outside the box, being in a corporate environment very much felt like I was in a box, very much constricted as far as like how I could act, show up, speak. And I quickly realized I needed something else [00:03:38]to kind of scratch that itch. [1.2s] So halfway through, I started my first business, which was a side hustle at the time in the travel space I invented. It's actually a two and one scarf, a neck pillow. I travel a lot for work and I hated the bulky neck pillows and I was like, let's do something fun. I created a scarf with like a pocket where an inflatable neck pillow could be transported and you [00:03:59]kind of [0.1s] blow it up in flight. And it's [00:04:01]like [0.0s] a blanket and scarf. It's called the zipper staff. [00:04:03]And so [0.1s] it's a patented trademark invention. I created that. And which is [00:04:09]like [0.0s] a fun thing, that [00:04:11]kind of. [0.3s] The film, A Passion of Mine that I wasn't able to get in corporate [00:04:17]and [0.0s] from there I [00:04:20]kind of [0.2s] kept it on the side for five years until at that 10 year mark, I was [00:04:24]like, all right, I'm [0.8s] ready to take the leap and be a full time entrepreneur. [00:04:28]And so from that leap, the pandemic came to the entire travel business and I was forced to pivot [7.0s] into my current business, which is called Slept, which is a curated marketplace, which is 00:04:42 [0.0s] all my favorite things for better sleep online.
Melanie [00:04:45] I love the idea of the scarf, because when you travel recently, when I've been on planes, it gets so cold. Yes. And so you need the added warmth and then, [00:04:55]you know, [0.1s] if you want to take a nap and you're trying to pack so compact so that everything. Yes. Underneath the seats.
Tiffany [00:05:00] [00:05:00]So that's [0.1s] especially when you're traveling for work, it's like you want just to carry on, like you don't want to wait for the check bag and all the things. [00:05:08]And that was actually my first little that was my first love affair with Sleep where I was like [4.7s] I loved hearing the people were sleeping better in flight because they did have the warm wrap around them while they were sleeping. And so that made it an easy transition into being a founder of a sleep company entirely.
Melanie [00:05:26] So tell us more about Slept. And I know you are a mother of two young children and I am a mother of twins. And I'm sure we never realized how much we appreciated sleep until our children were born.
Tiffany [00:05:38] Yes, I really started tapping into this collective exhaustion long before the pandemic. [00:05:47]Right. [0.0s] We're now even more exhausted and burnt out. But everywhere I looked as a mom of two or two, as somebody who at the time had a corporate job and a side hustle, I was also an entrepreneurial space. [00:05:59]It was like [0.2s] no matter where you look, whether it was corporate [00:06:01]entrepreneur, [0.0s] entrepreneurial ism or in motherhood, even the stay at home moms, everybody was exhausted. It wasn't like one of the camps for, [00:06:10]like [0.0s] rested. Everybody was exhausted. So I think that seed was planted for a while until I actually was forced to go all in because of the pandemic. [00:06:20]And so [0.2s] I also think it's interesting how life and timing works. [00:06:23]Right. And so [0.9s] at the time when I had the idea, [00:06:27]I was like, well, [0.5s] I just left my corporate job. I can't start a new company entirely. But [00:06:33]yes, [0.0s] when looking at where I should go next, it was clearly sleep because it felt like a way I could truly make an impact on the lives of the people in my life, because as any mom or sleep deprived person knows, when you're not sleeping well, it literally impacts every element of your life from your mood to your concentration, your ability to be creative, to show up as your best self. And I just became obsessed with, [00:06:58]like [0.0s] all the research out there that showed us the importance of sleep and the fact that so many people were not getting the recommended sleep that we needed
Melanie [00:07:08] and look at the market for it. Yeah, everyone sleeps every day.
Tiffany [00:07:12] Yes. And I think that during the pandemic, it became less of an issue of not getting enough sleep, but disrupted sleep. [00:07:22]It it [0.3s] made early research. It was like, I don't have time to sleep. Right. There's so much to do. [00:07:26]Like [0.0s] after you put the kids to bed and the laundry and the dishes and then I'm on Netflix because otherwise I have no time to myself.
Melanie [00:07:34] [00:07:34]And then [0.3s] teaching during the day if you have kids in school and then. 00:07:38 [0.6s] Yeah. The stress of it all.
Tiffany [00:07:40] Yeah. [00:07:41]And so [0.1s] it was primarily initially a conversation of just like I don't have the time. But then as things really heated up in the pandemic, people became really [00:07:47]I think, [0.1s] stressed out and anxious because of everything. And it was also moving into issues of quality of sleep, meaning [00:07:54]like [0.0s] waking up in the middle of the night, not feeling like they fully were rested or having trouble falling asleep. And so that really sparked my first idea within the slept umbrella, which was, again, a curated 00:08:07 [0.0s] marketplace of all my favorite products. But we didn't have [00:08:09]like [0.0s] our own products at the time. And so as I heard all my friends struggling to stay asleep, I started to look into how we could help improve the quality of sleep. And so we did. Blankets were one of the number one seeds. [00:08:25]I didn't want to go and take the supplements and sleep AIDS route, but that was something that was really interesting to me. [5.6s] And then I stumbled upon Weighted Enmasse. I tested a few out and I did find relaxing benefits from them, but I felt [00:08:38]like [0.0s] there was a few things I would change about them. For example, they I really wanted [00:08:43]like [0.0s] a cooling fabric because I the number one thing that keeps me awake, if I'm too hot, [00:08:48]I need in actually like [2.5s] research says, it's supposed to be [00:08:52]like [0.0s] sixty seven to sixty nine. Most of us sleep way too warm. We need to 00:08:56 [0.0s] make sure our house is like iceboxes to get the best sleep. But having a Satine [00:09:02]like [0.0s] a cooling fabric like that was something I really wanted. And machine washable because it was [00:09:06]like [0.0s] on your eyes and face you wanted. Big silk is [00:09:08]like [0.0s] high maintenance. And then I wanted more pressure like. On the side of my head [00:09:12]like [0.0s] to cocoon my face, [00:09:14]like [0.0s] waited comfort, so I created a strapless Ima's with weight that wraps around the side of your head. And I just slept so much better, I was able to take those in middle of the day power naps. And I thought, OK, we need to go to market with our own products. And since then, we have been featured in Vogue and Allure, picked up by Urban Outfitters will be going into Saks Fifth Avenue soon. So it's really been just listening to the customer and the community and tapping into the sleep needs of so many.
Melanie [00:09:45] I love that. And it's so much fun and good for you for listening to yourself. When you were in the corporate world thinking I need to do something different, I can do so much more. So speaking of that, you mentioned how the old definition of living, the dream is hurting us. Why do you think that is?
Tiffany [00:10:04] [00:10:04]Yeah, and so [0.5s] when I was in corporate, the biggest struggle I faced when deciding [00:10:09]should I leave, should I go or wait, that's the same thing. [3.0s] Should I leave, should I stay? It was really tied and wrapped up into the [00:10:17]societal [0.0s] societal definition of success, which said if you had a certain salary, the certain house, the certain job title, all the things that I had, then I should be happy. I had I did struggle with infertility. But eventually, [00:10:33]you know, [0.1s] I had to get a boy and a girl. I had a happy, healthy marriage. I had the house. I had made it to California. I had the six figure salary I could travel. I had enough 00:10:42 [0.0s] extra income to support my side hustle. And so on paper, I was like, I should be happy. [00:10:50]And so [0.2s] why am I so passionate about talking about this conversation? That society's definition of success is hurting us is because it really did keep me in that box for much longer than I probably need it, because [00:11:03]I was convincing myself [1.4s] I was trying to convince myself that I should be happy. And I think so many of us look at our lives at certain point and we say, I should be happy, but I'm not. And we feel really guilty about it. And even when I left my corporate job and then I was my own boss, I still felt like something was missing because I'm I really miss the community of having [00:11:26]like [0.0s] a workplace. I miss connecting with people. And I found, [00:11:30]you know, [0.2s] I was working remotely. My team was not here with me. I was doing a product all day and less with people. And it was [00:11:39]like [0.0s] monotonous and it was stressful because I'm a founder and 00:11:42 [0.0s] everything's on your shoulders and the money. And I'm like, well, this doesn't really feel like living the dream either. And they say that being your own boss and doing the whole thing, this is supposed to make me happy. And I was like, well, something wrong with me again, like that didn't make me happy. Now I took the leap. Fortune favors the bold, right? [00:12:02]Well, I'm like, this is not it. I'm like feeling like I'm losing my mind. Like, [4.9s] this is like the dream either. So I really had to dig deep and figure out what was going on [00:12:12]with me [0.2s] and beyond. Just like your typical supplementing beliefs of [00:12:16]like [0.0s] I'm not an up or I'm not smart enough or strong enough to overcome, just [00:12:20]like [0.0s] the regular stuff the entrepreneurs face. I really had this deep rooted belief that success looked like a certain salary, a certain level of success in your business and a certain life. And [00:12:36]I had [0.3s] the game changer for me was when I finally gave myself permission to redefine success for me versus what society had released on me. And it was a journey wasn't like overnight. I was like, OK, cool, none of that matters. And I still [00:12:50]kind of [0.2s] find myself like I am so happy, but like my bank account is not quite where I want it yet. And [00:12:56]I'm like, [0.1s] no, I'm living the dream. I'm living the dream because I'm releasing that and trusting that it's all going to come to mean perfect timing. But I moved initially from money and titles and material things as my measure of success to impact. I was like, well, that's a more normal definition of success. How can I make an impact? [00:13:16]Like, who cares if I make money? Just start a business where you're going to impact lives, help them sleep, you know, like do good in the world. [7.1s] But then I realized I was still relying on external validation to support this version of success. I was still relying on someone to tell me, you help me sleep, but you made a difference in my life. And when I didn't hear that, because who takes the time to
Speaker 2 [00:13:40] write about right.
Melanie [00:13:41] To actually tell you even though you're doing it?
Tiffany [00:13:44] Even if I was, I was like, well, am I making an impact? And even [00:13:48]like [0.0s] I'm relying on other people again to make me feel like I'm enough, feel like I'm a success. So then I shifted from that to realizing, you know, if I can just show up each and every day as my authentic self, because in corporate America, I was not my authentic self. I really had to dim down my light, [00:14:04]like filter myself. The football being my full self. [4.2s] I always felt like I was too much. So [00:14:11]I was like, [0.1s] if I. I can be myself each and every day if I can live as much of my life in alignment with work that feels good being around people that feel good in environments that feel good, that will be a success. And to me, that's where I landed. And what I love most about it is you can achieve it each and every day. It's not like relying on [00:14:30]like [0.0s] one final outcome. It's like, did I show up as much today? And do they do work better on people that feel good?
Melanie [00:14:38] We are so aligned in a like and this way because what we talk about a lot in this podcast too, is are you doing what brings you joy? And you can say, sure, [00:14:46]you know, [0.1s] I'm doing what brings me joy. But if you ask yourself that question and really dove in deep, maybe you're not. And I completely understand being in a corporate role. I work for the L.A. Dodgers and the and Marriott Hotels and AT&T where, you know, you can do so much more for the company in the corporation, but you're in that little box and they don't necessarily want you to. So it seems [00:15:09]like [0.0s] you made the right leap for you to go run your business and launch your podcast. And now you can take all of those things to whatever level you want to and you're not stuck feeling that [00:15:21]kind of [0.2s] stifled feeling.
Tiffany [00:15:23] Yeah, they really do keep you in boxes because they in ways they have to write the systems and structures.
Melanie [00:15:30] [00:15:30]And [0.0s] and I don't mean that negatively, but when you're sitting somewhere and you just want more, you think it's that want more a feeling. 00:15:38 [0.0s]
Tiffany [00:15:38] Yeah, exactly. It's like, you know, there's something more for you. And so, yeah, you mentioned the podcast where [00:15:44]it's like [0.2s] as an entrepreneur, [00:15:46]I was like, [0.2s] I need to connect with people. And I actually I don't think I'm using the best methodology to make the impact. I because I still desired impact, even though I wasn't using that as my definition of success. [00:15:57]And I was like, no, [0.8s] I really want to speak and use my voice. And it was calling to me for the longest time. [00:16:04]I was like, [0.4s] that's a waste of my time because it doesn't pay. It's not [00:16:09]like [0.0s] going to benefit the business. I don't want to talk about sleep all day. I want to talk about like,
Speaker 2 [00:16:14] OK, 00:16:15[0.0s]
Tiffany [00:16:15] so I'm like I pushed it down and pushed it down. And, [00:16:19]you know, [0.2s] like you said, I didn't give myself permission to do what lit me up because I didn't see the hour. Why we're so conditioned to think your dreams need to make logical sense and 00:16:30 [0.0s] it's linear and go all in on one thing and don't like play. We have this innate desire to play and do multiple things so we don't give ourselves permission.
Melanie [00:16:42] So true. And I think as moms too, and I don't know if you went through this, but I had two babies at once and I went from supporting myself in L.A. since I was 19 years old and building a corporate career, then launching. She built it to sitting in the nursery by myself with two babies that didn't talk back to me. And so I found myself consuming so much content. And then you think I need to connect and I miss business development and coming up with an idea and making that happen. [00:17:10]So I don't know of you. And [0.8s] it sounds like you might have gone through similar experiences from wanting that [00:17:15]that [0.0s] connection.
Tiffany [00:17:16] Yeah, [00:17:17]I mean, [0.1s] for me, I never loved the baby stage, so I didn't have twins, but I had them very close together, [00:17:22]like [0.0s] 15 months, not necessarily on like on purpose, because my first one took me three years to conceive. And basically I had him in it like six months. I was like, you better try again because it could take another three years. And then the universe is like, hi, you're pregnant right away, which is a blessing and amazing. I had them really close together. I am not a mom that 00:17:43 [0.0s] loves the baby's age. I was [00:17:45]like [0.0s] fortunate enough to have like a beautiful maternity leave program with my corporate job, which is another reason I did stay longer because [00:17:52]I was like [0.2s] they paid for my fertility treatments. I have beautiful benefits. Yeah. And but I ended up hiring a nanny a couple months in because [00:18:03]I was like, [0.2s] I need I need something more.
Melanie [00:18:05] I think when you have kids that close together to [00:18:08]like, [0.0s] you have to have help. [00:18:09]Like [0.0s] I'm very independent, but I having two babies at once, I had to learn to ask for help [00:18:15]because I can't. [1.0s] And I had to learn that that's OK. You know, when you're an independent person and you're used to having your career and you kind of know what everything's predictable somewhat, and then all of a sudden your life is not predictable at all. You that I have to be OK asking for help.
Tiffany [00:18:30] Yes. I think that self prioritization is really the most important thing because we talk a lot about health care. And I actually think that a better conversation is about putting yourself first, because in those moments, it's really not self care that you don't need a massage in like a even a
Melanie [00:18:49] day or something.
Tiffany [00:18:50] You don't need that. You actually need it. It's a whole mindset of putting yourself first, because as women, we've taken on this identity that we are martyrs and we have to 00:19:00 [0.0s] give one to everybody else. [00:19:02]And if you really look at the root of that, it was really placed on us by men. Right? Like, if it's a patriarchy, we live like livin like we were. They're property a. One point in time, like it was our full time job to be like serving them and being there everything like literally their property. [14.8s] And so I think sometimes, [00:19:19]you know, women, [0.8s] we have this natural tendency to be caregivers. [00:19:24]Right. [0.0s] But we confuse that with giving everything of ourselves. And so getting into this mindset of putting yourself first, I think is one of the best things that I have cultivated through life. But [00:19:38]I think that the origins [0.8s] it comes from, unfortunately, [00:19:41]like [0.0s] growing up in a chaotic childhood where I was not in the best environment where I had to learn early on, I had to take care of me because I couldn't rely on my parents necessarily to be the caregivers in the stable support system that I needed. I was also the oldest of three. And so. It was almost a skill set borne out of trauma, but it has also served me so many times in my life where you you feel those moments of chaos and you can get wrapped away in them or you can stop and say, wait, no one's coming to save me but me. So I need to ask for help right here and now. And that can play out so many times, whether it's you're going through a fertility challenge and you're just being so out of control. So it's like centering back to what do I need right here and right now in your business as a mom, [00:20:35]you know, [0.2s] just in life, if you keep coming back to putting yourself first in those chaotic situations, because it's going to continue to be chaotic our whole life, [00:20:43]they can [0.1s] look at the world and [00:20:45]it's like [0.1s] we want to save the world so badly. I feel like all of us, like I'm talking to you. I can tell you have a beautiful heart. We want to save the world. But I really think it it really starts with saving ourselves first.
Melanie [00:20:56] Yes. And you bring up such a good point. [00:20:57]It's like [0.1s] putting yourself first. [00:20:59]It's like, [0.1s] what do I need? And, you know, we're we're also kind of conditioned to think, oh, what I need is a spa day or what I need is a, you know, a day at the beach or something. But maybe that's not really what you need. [00:21:11]Right. [0.0s] So it's taking that moment to think about, OK, if I had time to myself, what would really fulfill me? And I think really bring me that joy.
Tiffany [00:21:22] Yeah, the first thing you probably all need is a little more space and time to figure out what we need. Right.
Speaker 2 [00:21:27] It's not always like
Tiffany [00:21:29] I know the answer. It's like actually first thing I need to create the space to even
Speaker 2 [00:21:32] know what I figure it out. [00:21:34]Right. [0.0s]
Tiffany [00:21:35] Which is a fair request. But again, that's not self care. I mean, maybe it actually
Melanie [00:21:39] kind of have to calendar that in [00:21:40]right now. [0.7s] Are you going to callendar this thing to figure out what it is? I actually did. And with bombs and busy people running careers and lives like, it's so important to do that. Otherwise we get lost in the shuffle and especially with social media, [00:21:55]you know? [0.2s] Yeah. Just taken us all to this level of busi. I mean, it's like this is amazing. But in other ways, you've got to force ourselves to slow down a little.
Tiffany [00:22:04] I know. And it's a pandemic is such an interesting time in our lives or we all got to experience that stillness yet. So much more up on your plate, so I can't figure out if
Speaker 2 [00:22:16] we really were able to cultivate
Tiffany [00:22:18] it or not because our nervous systems are just shot from everything going on, too. So it's even harder to figure out what we need because our nervous systems are so overloaded. It is even more important that we take the space and time to let it calm down. They always say there's a saying that says the solution cannot be created from the same energy that the problem was created. So [00:22:41]it's like [0.1s] if you're feeling chaotic, like the first step is getting to an energy that's not chaotic and overwhelmed. And then from that space, you can typically get a little bit better handle on what you actually need
Melanie [00:22:54] to have more clarity. And you can just things so much clearer when you step away from that moment. What is one of the most memorable experiences that you have had while building your business?
Tiffany [00:23:06] [00:23:06]You know, [0.2s] I think that I've never expected. My business to be such [00:23:12]a like [1.2s] a school in myself, like learning so much about me, I feel like my journey as an entrepreneur, I've hit so many beautiful milestones as far as like revenue or certain press opportunities that I desired or, [00:23:27]you know, [0.1s] partnerships. [00:23:28]But it's really just been, I think, this journey of self that I think I know you have people who still are in corporate. So this is not meant to be a knock or anything. [8.8s] But when you do put yourself out there [00:23:41]in the way that entrepreneurs do, you like literally [2.8s] you put yourself through a journey that is almost like it's unlike anything I have experienced before I took that leap. And you learn so much about yourself. And it's an amazing opportunity to heal so much. These [00:23:57]like [0.0s] self limiting beliefs that come up the self-doubt. And it's a really it's been a great training ground to really learn more about myself. And I really felt like I knew myself. [00:24:07]But like now I'm really like, OK, I get it. Like all [2.4s] the shadow sides, the good side, the bad side, like the insecure ones. [00:24:14]Like I feel like [1.0s] I never expected my business to teach me so much about myself and to serve as such a healing opportunity for myself as well. So [00:24:22]I feel like [0.7s] it's more about what's been going on internally and externally.
Melanie [00:24:26] You're so right, because you wake up some days and you feel great and other days you feel tired and other days you feel like, oh, this person is or this other business is so much farther than me. [00:24:35]And you have to learn. [0.9s] And then you're also running the business and growing your teams. And so you have to learn how to juggle and deal with all of those things.
Tiffany [00:24:42] So many things, comparison, setting boundaries, [00:24:45]like [0.0s] managing your emotions. It's just [00:24:47]like [0.0s] an endless list of things that you're working on in addition to like the actual business.
Melanie [00:24:53] And if you're starting something from nothing, that also takes it to a whole other level. Right. You have to figure out what it is and and explain that and then get the marketing and PR around it and drive the excitement. And that has a lot in itself as well.
Tiffany [00:25:08] Yeah, it's been [00:25:08]like [0.0s] the biggest investigation of my life, but it's fun when you start to put the pieces of the puzzle together. But I've also the biggest learning is just that there is no one way to build a business. And so I invite anybody listening to release that. If they're feeling [00:25:25]like [0.0s] I got to find all the answers, I got to find the right marketing person to build my funnel or, [00:25:32]you know, [0.2s] leave my corporate job or go on. There's no one way you can find success in so many different paths and so many different stories. And what work for one person is not necessarily going to work for you. I mean, if I gave you, [00:25:45]like, [0.0s] the road map to build Amazon right now, it wouldn't work because Amazon already exists at that point in time, has already passed. [00:25:51]Like [0.0s] you are not that founder. You don't have the same connections or money. Like no one journey is the same. And so going back to your point of comparison to [00:25:59]write [0.0s] this thing, I've learned because I so often would look at other businesses and then as a podcast host myself, who's now interviewed so many founders, you realize a lot of these founders I was comparing myself to, [00:26:12]it's like this is not a knock or anything, but [2.6s] they have money and connections. [00:26:16]Like [0.0s] I'm [00:26:17]like [0.0s] a self-funded corporate employee that didn't know anybody who even started a business. And I'm comparing myself to somebody who their whole career has been in startups who raise millions of dollars. But I didn't know that unless I had actually done the research to understand how they got to that level so much faster than me. So now that I've [00:26:37]done more of this, [0.8s] had more these conversations, you realize it's like so true. You can't see from a picture the connections, the money, the life situation. And so I just try my best to just let go of any sort of comparison.
Melanie [00:26:51] So true. And I had that realization one time when someone said to me, but Melanie, I bought an existing business [00:26:56]and I thought, oh, I mean, because [2.1s] I just have been so in my head about building [00:27:01]the business, [0.1s] my business, the way I want to [00:27:03]write. [0.0s] But I wasn't even thinking about how someone else who buys an existing business [00:27:08]like [0.0s] it's already there. [00:27:09]Right, right. Right. All [1.3s] you have to [00:27:11]do is [0.4s] make sure you maintain it and grow it from what it is.
Tiffany [00:27:14] And that may be a better path to. And that's the thing. I think sometimes people think that entrepreneurial ism is the one size fits all path to freedom. You know how to get the job, go start a business. It's not it's actually miserable in so many ways. So you have to it has to really be a thing to actually be your path to freedom and fulfillment, because especially a lot of us entrepreneurs, we set out on this path to not only be your own boss, but you get right away. But to be financially free. [00:27:40]Right. [0.0s] And one of the three businesses fail. It takes a lot of money to usually scale and create a business, which is most of them aren't profitable until you're three or four. And so it takes time to actually build that financial freedom. And it's not guaranteed with the high rates of risks that are involved. And so buying an existing business, 00:27:59 you know, [1.8s] maybe a franchise, maybe it's multilevel marketing for you, maybe it is staying in corporate and being an entrepreneur. [00:28:07]Like [0.0s] there's so many paths to finding your own. Version of freedom, I assure you, not everybody needs to be an entrepreneur. We need so many people to actually, we talked about this before we hit record. I'm so passionate about so many people staying in corporate America, even though I left. [00:28:25]Like [0.0s] there is change that needs to occur to help employees feel more free in a corporate environment. And we need the leaders that are in those spaces to remain. My best friend, a lawyer, she's a partner at a law firm. And I tell her every day I am like, you are there to help, [00:28:43]like, [0.0s] change the way they just burn out their employees. And they it's frowned upon to take their vacation just because they're a lawyer, just because they make so much money. That's ridiculous. Everybody deserves a quality of life. Everybody is multidimensional. Beings have passionate, [00:29:00]passionate passions [0.5s] outside of work and families and friends and lives. And so if you are in a corporate job and you're feeling [00:29:06]like [0.0s] I'm not quite feeling free, maybe I should start a business. Maybe there's a way you can impact the company [00:29:13]you're living in. [0.5s] You're working in an existing in right here now. Or maybe it's getting another job where you're going to feel more free. You have more autonomy to make that impact that you that you crave.
Melanie [00:29:22] [00:29:22]You are so right. And [1.1s] one of the things I say a lot is that the beautiful thing is we all like to do different things. Yes. [00:29:29]And then we start to yeah. [1.6s] Maybe we start the same business at the same time, but we're not going to grow it in the same way. [00:29:36]Right. [0.0s] And maybe you are someone who thrives in a corporate environment, who thrives working with a number of people in an office. And that's what brings you joy. And to your point, that's OK. [00:29:46]You know, [0.2s] everyone should follow what what they love to do and find a way to financially follow that joy.
Tiffany [00:29:53] Yeah, and that was really the impetus for starting my podcast, Dream Life, because it's all about what is your dream life. [00:29:59]And again, like [0.6s] the answer needs to come from you. And I think the more we start questioning what society's definition of success is, what what other people tell you will make you happy, other people tell you you should do and you just actually get honest with yourself, even if it's ridiculous, even if it's not going to make you any money and it just going to make you happy. That is your dream life. You do enough of what you
Speaker 2 [00:30:21] love,
Tiffany [00:30:22] suddenly love your life. [00:30:23]And that is the dream, you know, and if only the answers can only come from you. And I think that's really why I started the podcast. I wanted to empower people to question things and give themselves permission to do something just because they want to do it, not because it's going to be a million dollar business, not because it's going to get them the promotion or look cool in front of their friends. Like, just do what you want to do. It's going to make your heart happy because you're going to be so much happier in the long run. [27.4s]
Melanie [00:30:51] [00:30:51]So to let go of what you think you're supposed to do. [2.3s]
Tiffany [00:30:54] [00:30:54]Yeah, and we all fight each and every day. Right. Because there are certain things we have to do. Right. Because we're responsible for mothers. Like I have to do the laundry. I also could technically hire a laundry service. I know. I you know, I could get an extra job. I could you know, it's like there's always options and choices in front of us. It's not always like our most ideal song was like, oh, my God, go on a yacht or go to France. It's like, OK, [26.4s]
Speaker 2 [00:31:21] [00:31:21]like there's [0.6s]
Tiffany [00:31:22] [00:31:22]the choices are not always the thing. Oh my God. Lights is up. But there's always choices. There's always something that feels more in alignment and less in alignment, something that feels like the right step forward versus something that you are forcing yourself to do. [11.9s]
Melanie [00:31:35] [00:31:35]So true. And [0.8s] I have so loved our conversation and I asked this question at the end of every podcast, and I truly believe it. Magic happens when we focus on the part of ourselves and our business. That brings us joy. What is one tip that you can leave with us today about how you find Olivia Joy?
Tiffany [00:31:51] It is giving yourself permission to move slowly. I think that when you get to create with more ease and joy, suddenly you're loving the life you're living, your loving the creation versus putting so much pressure on yourself to go fast and make the money. I'm a huge advocate of going at a side hustle. Go get a service job, go get a consulting gig if money is the reason you're pushing yourself to go so fast, because allowing yourself to go slowly and at your own pace and find peace at the end of the day that you did your best. That's where I find the most fulfillment. Enjoy my business.
Melanie [00:32:27] [00:32:27]You are so right. And [1.0s] throughout my career I've thought I'm going to take this meantime job. And I always called it a mean time job because I knew, [00:32:34]you know, [0.2s] I had to pay my bills myself. I was in L.A. alone 00:32:39 [0.0s] and I would think I'm going to take this job for the meantime. Yeah, well, I find and search for what I truly want to do. So you're so, so right. Thank you so much for joining us today. This conversation has been so much fun. I'm so excited for you [00:32:54]with your your your I'm so excited for you [3.3s] with your [00:32:58]slept [0.0s] business and your podcast. You're inspiring so many people. So thank you. Can you share with our listeners how and where they can find you?
Tiffany [00:33:07] This has been so fun. And yes, my podcast is dreamlike with Tiffany Paul and then my online shop is the Slept Life dot com. And then if you are on Instagram, you can find me at Tiffany, Nicole, Paul.
Melanie [00:33:22] [00:33:22]That was great. Yeah, so much of what you said. I'm like, yes, yes, and more. [4.7s]
Speaker 2 [00:33:27] [00:33:27]Yes, yay, [0.9s]
Tiffany [00:33:29] [00:33:29]I'm so happy. It's like you never were so [1.7s]
Melanie [00:33:31] [00:33:31]and [0.0s] aligned with what we are doing and the way we think.
Speaker 2 [00:33:35] Oh, my goodness. It's I it's always
Melanie [00:33:37] frustrating because you wake up and you're I mean, it's just interesting what you go through. And you're so right about the school of learning more about yourself. Yeah. Yeah. I hear the whole process.
Tiffany [00:33:49] Yeah. My friend just released a book called The Emotional Entrepreneur, and it's all about like how business is just so emotional and like we're often focusing on like the external like markers. But it's like there's so much going on inside that I feel like sometimes gets overlooked. And I feel like maybe the information was out there before I took the leap. But I just think this mystic's, I was like goals, money.
Speaker 2 [00:34:10] Right? Like, right. You know, I don't know.
Melanie [00:34:12] You stop and you go, wait a minute. This is about you're right. Like this is supposed to be fun. Yeah.
Speaker 2 [00:34:16] You're like this is loving this. Yes.
Tiffany [00:34:19] Yes, I know. So it's like it was a good it was a great conversation. And thank you so much for having me. I feel like like I said, you never know. Like, when you get on like the somebody, they're going to be like in alignment with you. But it's always so nice. But like the energy.
Melanie [00:34:32] Yes, 100 percent. And then I was kind of hoping you were in LA. I mean, you're close. Yeah. Maybe we could we could mean no.
Tiffany [00:34:38] But I'm always up there because like I said, my best my my my lawyer friend, she's in L.A., so I'm always up there. And whenever I'm if you're heading
Melanie [00:34:44] that way by Manhattan Beach. Yeah.
Tiffany [00:34:46] Oh, I'm always passing by and I have another friend in Manhattan Beach. So that's what I'm like. Yeah, I'll I'll let you know next time I'm in the area and seeing like Orange County, like especially working from home and, you know, podcasting, working at home. It's like I always love to grab a coffee at lunch. So that would be
Speaker 2 [00:35:02] I would love that. Yeah, that would be great.
Tiffany [00:35:04] OK, well do you know,
Melanie [00:35:06] so when you're from St. Louis, you're supposed to ask what high school you went to. I mean, I'm joking. Kind of. Did you know about that. No.
Speaker 2 [00:35:12] I'm like, no, I thought it
Melanie [00:35:13] was a St. Louis thing. Like they all
Tiffany [00:35:16] go to high school there in Minnesota. Look like after elementary. Yeah.
Melanie [00:35:21] It's not a thing. I would when I meet people there, I'm like, I didn't grow up here because because I know what they're going to they're going to if you
Tiffany [00:35:27] go to high school there that
Melanie [00:35:28] I didn't I went to I grew up in southern Missouri, so. Yeah, had an all of my family moved to St. Louis area after I had moved to California. But I just I preface the conversation like I didn't grow up here like that.
Speaker 2 [00:35:41] Her me I can't take anymore no more. How are you
Tiffany [00:35:45] going back soon then with a pandemic getting weird again, are you still traveling or where
Melanie [00:35:49] are you at? Probably Thanksgiving. And then we'll go back for Christmas and Hanukkah. My husband is Jewish and
Tiffany [00:35:55] my husband is Jewish as
Speaker 2 [00:35:56] well. So maybe that
Tiffany [00:35:58] probably like the same St. Louis family.
Speaker 2 [00:36:00] Like funny. If they knew each other, you should start asking.
Tiffany [00:36:03] Like Louis. Paul is his mom and he's she's like their all the time. You never know. I feel like they know each other. But she the Jewish community and you.
Melanie [00:36:09] I do. I have your email. I don't know. I think I
Tiffany [00:36:11] do. Yeah. Because you think we for
Melanie [00:36:15] I think you, I think you accepted the meeting request so I think it's probably there. Yeah. Yeah. So I'll send you my husband's. My husband's.
Tiffany [00:36:24] Yeah. Send it to me and you hold the Jewish mothers. Always loves another like like he's always like do you know. And like do you remember. Your teacher is like no we don't
Speaker 2 [00:36:32] remember them, we don't know them but she'll love this game. So usually you know me so I love it.
Tiffany [00:36:40] Well it's been amazing. When do you when is the episode coming out and then do great graphics and stuff. I do.
Melanie [00:36:46] I do. And I would love for you to share a story. I mean, however.
Tiffany [00:36:50] And every email list. So we'll share it out there too.
Melanie [00:36:52] OK, and I'd love I mean, I don't know, I'm up for being a guest on podcast too.
Tiffany [00:36:57] Yes. And I, I loved our energy and I'm guessing in this fall, so I will definitely keep you on my show lined. Yeah. Every Monday I do an interview and then I was doing Wednesday, Friday solos. But then now that I've been on podcasts, I'm like, OK, I can't just right.
Speaker 2 [00:37:17] And an interview and I haven't
Melanie [00:37:19] been on many. And people were asking me and I just during the pandemic, I didn't have time. I was like, I am teaching the lives. Yeah.
Tiffany [00:37:26] So that's I like I put a pause because then I'm like, well now I can't be because I'm also like I started my own podcast so
Melanie [00:37:34] I do a first round FirstRand edit too. But thank you so much if you're rich. Thank you. Yeah.
Speaker 2 [00:37:38] Yeah.
Tiffany [00:37:38] So I'm like I just need to put a pause on like interviewing new people so that I can like do my little like do interviews. Then I'm like switch it again. So yeah. No I'm all for like having a line guess on. So especially like local
Melanie [00:37:50] talk about things like
Tiffany [00:37:51] entrepreneur. Yeah. What would you love to talk about too. So I can just put you down because I always I also try to make it get and be besides just like if we haven't had a conversation a while on something and I'm like I want to talk on this and then I will grab that person. So he must have a
Melanie [00:38:05] lot of the same thing. It's interesting because we're so aligned right now making the leap from corporate to becoming an entrepreneur or being a producer. Yeah, like finding digging deep and finding out what you really love to do. Yeah, right. Because sometimes we think, oh, I'm supposed to love to do this. Yes. Right. Or I'm supposed to write so those. His conversations to feel
Tiffany [00:38:23] like living in a line,
Melanie [00:38:24] juggling it all as a mom.
Tiffany [00:38:26] Yes.
Melanie [00:38:27] So and that building, community building she built it for. Yeah, I watched it when they were two. And then I started my first podcast when they
Tiffany [00:38:37] lost it when they were two.
Melanie [00:38:39] And I thought, I'm going to, you know, as you said, go slow. I thought to myself, I'm going to slowly build this. And because I just needed something, I was sitting in the nursery going. I have always I had just come off working in sports for the Dodgers, working 12 to 15 hour days. Yes. And then I, I owned another business for a while that I sold when they were when I was like five months pregnant. Yeah. And because I thought I can't travel back and forth to St. Louis
Tiffany [00:39:07] one second because I know about this race and
Speaker 2 [00:39:10] I know not. Wow. Wow. You thank you so much.
Tiffany [00:39:28] Like no one ever comes to my door, so I'm like, is it important?
Speaker 2 [00:39:30] No, I understand it's like a child.
Tiffany [00:39:32] And there were like this paper was blowing. But I also got my phone because you mentioned that you were I should connect you with another podcast or do I just interviewed with because she worked as a sports anchor. She's in the Bay Area, but she has a podcast, too, which is like us can have similar formats where it's like, let me just find her name. It's called. Love the Life actually podcast. Have you heard of that podcast? No, I hadn't either, but she was like a former sports reporter. And so I feel like you guys would like your energies, like, very similar. She's like a little like, can I say something? And then you don't judge me and don't repeat it.
Speaker 2 [00:40:08] Oh, yes. OK, cool.
Tiffany [00:40:10] She has like the sportscaster.
Speaker 2 [00:40:12] Right voice still. Right. Right. But she's a nice lady, you know, like, like hello. And I'm like, hi guys. Drop it. Yeah. Come on. Yeah. Yeah.
Tiffany [00:40:25] Like really dropped. And now we're we're like we're connecting that. If I connect you guys, I don't want to be like, why did you connect me
Speaker 2 [00:40:31] with that girl.
Tiffany [00:40:34] But her conversations really cool and like her bios literally helping women toss up societal norms that you can like on your own timeline. And so I just had a combo with her yesterday and she just is newly pregnant, had fertility issues and stuff.
Melanie [00:40:48] So when I went through that, too, OK, yeah. Yeah.
Tiffany [00:40:52] So, yes, I like I feel like you two would connect really well, so I'll connect you to in the meantime and then I definitely would love to have you on this fall. And I
Melanie [00:41:01] loved sports, but I looked around and I was like getting to the age where I used to try to start trying to have kids before that time, before I didn't want to write anymore. And I'm like, I can't because I almost went to work at Staples Center after because I was interviewing there.
Tiffany [00:41:14] I was on the L.A. Kings, too, by the way. So you don't see any Charles Sanday. She worked for the Dodgers for a while. OK, anyway, it's continue because all ages or whatever.
Melanie [00:41:23] Staples Yes. And I went in and I know Lee Zeidman inside. He was such that he was the general manager at the time. And he goes, I'm interviewing you. What do you want to do? Because he knew I'd work for the Dodgers for three years. Yeah. And as I was sitting in those two interviews, I'm like, there's won't be a season like this is 24/7, like at least address. There was a eighty game season. Right, right. Yeah. Like there's no season. I'm like, I'm not going to have a life and I'm just going to work and then I'm not going to have kids or a family or a life. And then, you know, I was kind of trying to date and a guy would think it was great that I worked for the Dodgers in the beginning and then they'd come to a few games and then they get tired of going to games. I'm going to be like, can you go to dinner? And I'm like, well, can we go at nine o'clock? Yeah. And yeah, I would get that. Well, you're never home. So, you know, it wasn't the lifestyle that bought that was like not eighty games this season.
Tiffany [00:42:11] I know that is intent. It was
Speaker 2 [00:42:13] a mistake. Well I know there's still time left.
Melanie [00:42:19] Right. Yeah. I don't know. I'm happy doing what I've done.
Speaker 2 [00:42:22] I'm living my joy. Yes. Enjoy. Now I don't need to go a moment in time.
Tiffany [00:42:28] Yeah. I think she has like a similar story, not like with the schedule, but just where she was like trying to be like a woman in a man's world, but just like eventually, like, lost her passion for it. And like, I don't know what she does now, but but yeah. I'll connect you guys both.
Melanie [00:42:40] I would love to I have to huppah. I have one.
Speaker 2 [00:42:41] Okay, perfect. All right.
Tiffany [00:42:43] Great chatting. And what like I said, we'll talk again soon. We'll have coffee
Melanie [00:42:47] or. Yeah. Yeah. Let me know when you're passing through Manhattan Beach.
Tiffany [00:42:49] Yes, definitely.
Speaker 2 [00:42:50] I might get some you. Thanks. Bye.