923: The Lean-In Circle That Changed Everything (And How to Start Your Own)

24:08Right. Yeah. And I'm alone or this doesn't feel how I thought it was because I have no one to share this with, whether it's good or the bad. So I freaking love that. And I love it for you. I'm like a systems girly. Like I want to like take an operating system and put it into my life. Right. Like on Mondays, we Instacart our groceries on Tuesdays. And so I love that there's like an actual framework to it. So everybody that's listening, start a circle. Don't email Bianca with your zip code. She's got enough on her plate. just like look outside your door like you'll find these people and I we just ordered takeout we had and we would put it on the calendar year in advance every third Thursday of the month dinner at my house that was it it was just easy scheduling and standing it's it's like fairly low lift and easy we have a lot of wine you know take out like it doesn't have to be anything formal and just deep conversation it just it's like also like when you're talking about your husband who he created this like weekend with his buddy so quickly like the resentment that could come out of that as a wife.

25:06Right. And it's like, instead you're like, I'm not going to be resentful. I'm actually going to do this myself. What a great idea, honey. Yes. Right. Thank you. It's very supportive. I'm sure he's right. I've been telling you all along, Jenna, like, of course you should do this. Yes. And that's what I was like. I'm not mad. I'm inspired. Like, I'm not mad. I'm like, give me that energy. Don't take away from him. Just add to add your own weekend. I love it. That's right. Okay. So one of the things that I am so curious about is that most founders, like when we think about this idea of community, right.

25:40And we think about building something because here's the thing in the age of AI, especially with like digital businesses and stuff. I think that the thing that AI will never be able to do is create community, right? Like truly help people move towards the life they want, whether it's through a product, whether it's through service and offer, whatever that is. And so when we think about like, well, okay, if you have been isolated, if you have been siloed, like where do we start? And I would say that some people would say this whole like community idea is outdated. I think that people want to have something to connect with.

26:16How have you done this through shoes? Like walk us through it because I can see how easy it could be to build a community of say entrepreneurs. How have you done this with a product? You know, it sounds so like thoughtful when you say it in so eloquently as you just did. It was, you know, it, I think shoes were just like the by-product of what I was seeing as I was building community. So the idea behind birdies was very simple. I'd love to host people at my home, you know, men and women, but particularly with these circles that started in 2013 and two years into it, it was one of these funny things where I would ask people to kindly take off their shoes, you know, and it was not so much because the shoes were dirty, although like it does seem kind of weird to have dirty shoes outside meant for the outside inside.

27:00But it was more like, Hey, stay a while, like kick up your feet. Like if you have your, like, you know, heels on or your boots on, you're kind of like, you know, one foot out the door sort of thing. I was like, stay a while, have a glass of wine, take off your shoes. But I would see people would be uncomfortable, you know, like they'd have a hole in their sock or they didn't have a pedicure or it just, it kind of felt intimidating or just awkward. And in 2015, like two years after doing this, I had this like aha moment where I was like, you know, we have our slippers for the bedroom and bathroom for the moment where, you know, the day is done, you have your jammies on, your hair's in a bun, you're washing your face and you've got your snuggly slippers, but you would never entertain in them or go outside of the house in them.

27:42And then you have your shoes that you throw on as you're going outside, but there was nothing for the yummiest place in the world, which is the living space, the living room, dining room, kitchen. That's where the magic happens. That's where community happens. That's where food and conversation and guests and laughing and crying and hugging, that's where it all happens. How do we not have shoes for this space dedicated for this space? And so that's where the idea came in. And certainly I did not think I would be the one to solve the problem, nor did I frankly want to solve the problem. I just wanted to go into Nordstrom and just buy the shoes and go on and be done.

28:15Continue building at Facebook. That was a great life. And so my husband in 2015, he's just like, I've been hearing you have this problem for a long time. You haven't found a solution. why don't you just solve it? And I thought this is, he's crazy. I have this like big job, you know, I have two kids. I don't know how to make shoes. You know, I Googled how to make shoes. Like that was not helpful, but it was like, I couldn't shake it. I was like, God, this is just such a thing. And I remember watching this, like Mr. Rogers, you know, like on Instagram, you know, where he'd like walk in and take off his outdoor jacket and put on his indoor coat and take off his outdoor shoes and put on his indoor loafers.

28:50I'm like, see, he's not walking around barefoot. but he has shoes on. He's still maintaining the integrity of his outfit. It's, you know, he's, he's not ready for bed at this point. So I was like, I want that. And, but in order to do that, because I had no background in it, I rallied my lean in circle. In fact, the first picture we ever posted, I think was of my lean in circle, all wearing the shoes together in a circle. And this idea of community, you know, the idea of birdies was anchored on community. We were solving a problem, you know, of what to wear on your feet during a moment of community.

29:18And so very much a part of our heritage is this idea of community. Like, how do we make it better? How do we enjoy this moment even more? It just kind of took off. And at one point, you know, a year later, we were like, if we were to gift our shoes, a pair of one of our shoes, we had 1800 units, and we wanted to sell every one of them because we needed the money to reinvest in the company. What would be the one celebrity that we would send it that really embodies this idea of community? and you know, you, you go to like the stratosphere of like celebrities, gosh, if this person, where is it? You know, you'd, it'd be great.

29:53But nobody really had that. Like, you know, like there wasn't a celebrity where I was like, yeah, I bet if I go over to her house, she'd make me like a bowl of mac and cheese and a big glass of red wine. Like, like I would, I would be hungry leaving in their house. So it's like, who embodies this idea of community and tables and cooking and the yumminess. And then I, I came across Megan Markle. She had the tag on Instagram and she was on her show suits. And I just was, I just remember like, she wasn't like the biggest celebrity in the world back then, but she really embodied everything that was birdie, which is like, I bet you she would serve me something delicious to eat.

30:30And she had this like big green egg grill in her yard and she would like barbecue. I was like, this is my girl. And so we decided to ship her a pair and the rest is history. But the idea is that we were always authentic. Like who is that girl that's going to eat at the table? And also if she's hosting a dinner party and you come in with three more people that she did not expect, somehow she has enough to feed them and three extra chairs miraculously arrive. You know, so community has always been in our DNA from the very, very, very beginning. Okay. Can we talk about bras for a second? Because honestly, for the longest time, I just accepted that being uncomfortable was just a part of being a woman.

31:11Like those underwire digs, the straps that leave marks on your shoulders, spending half of your day readjusting everything. I thought that was just life. But then I kept hearing about the Skims fits everybody collection everywhere. And I finally gave in and I tried it and I totally get the hype now. The fabric is ridiculously soft and stretchy, but not in that cheap way where it loses its shape. It literally feels like it was made for your body specifically. And I'm not even kidding when I say I forget I'm wearing anything half the time. It is one of those things where you don't realize how uncomfortable you've been until you finally experience what comfortable actually feels like.

31:50Now, trust me on this one. You just need to try it. Shop Skims fits everybody collection at skims.com. Once you place your order, make sure to let them know we sent you. Just select podcast in the survey and choose a gold digger podcast in the drop down menu that follows. when we were young we dreamed of castles and fairy tales and as we grow up those dreams might shift into building something real like starting a business you need a website payment systems a logo and a way to reach customers it can all be overwhelming and confusing but thankfully that's where today's sponsor shopify comes in shopify powers millions of businesses around the world and 10 % of all US e-commerce, from big brands to folks just getting started.

32:35They offer beautiful, ready-to-go website templates so you don't need design skills to look professional. Their AI tools help with product images, descriptions, discount codes, and more. Shopify also makes it simple to run email and social campaigns so people can find you. And if you ever feel stuck, their award-winning 24-7 support is always available. Turn those dreams into... and give them the best shot at success with Shopify. Sign up for your$1 per month trial and start selling today at shopify.com slash gold digger. Go to shopify.com slash gold digger. Shopify.com slash gold digger.

33:15Anyone who knows me knows that I'm all about creating spaces where people actually want to be. So when we started hosting on Airbnb, it honestly felt like the most natural thing in the world. and it's turned into one of the best decisions we've ever made. Over the years, we've hosted hundreds of couples in our little spaces. We've had so many repeat guests come back and we've created this incredible community, not just with our guests, but also with the people who help us care for our space. Whether you've bought properties as an investment or have unused rooms waiting to be shared, hosting on Airbnb is a practical and profitable choice.

33:49And just think about it. If you've put a ton of time, effort, and work into your home, someone out there probably would love to experience it while they're traveling. So next time you're planning a trip or want to make some extra income from your spaces, you should definitely host on Airbnb. Your home might be worth more than you think. Find out how much at airbnb.com slash host. Oh, I love that. And I love that story. And I think a lot of times what's interesting to me about this, Bianca, is a lot of times when people are starting a business, there's this whole exercise you're supposed to do right with your ideal client avatar.

34:26And to me, like even the word avatar, I just picture the blue guy from like the movie. Like it just doesn't resonate. And I'm always like, I've had to always create picturing an actual human, like who is my friend who actually needs this thing? And how would I speak to her? And I think that when we go so like, like, Oh, it's this, you know, woman who is this age and lives here and does this. It's like, it doesn't connect. Like even the other day I was writing an email for my whole email list, hundreds of thousands of people. And I'm like, I am writing to one person. I'm writing to my friend, Sarah right now.

35:01Right. And I feel like that's where brands and people are getting this so wrong is that it's this elusive idea of a person versus a real human person. You nailed it. I learned that by accident. I was at Facebook and I was, I was working with retailers on the West Coast. And, you know, as a salesperson, the best way to sell is to understand their problems and then come with a solution. So I sat in an old Navy meeting here in San Francisco and the CMO at the time was talking about, you know, their growth opportunity and their target person. And her name is Jenny. I was like, wow, she hasn't, they're not talking about millions of people.

35:39Jenny is getting older. How do we talk to NextGen, J-E-N? And I was like, this is fascinating. They have not only a persona, know, but she has a name. She has a number of kids, you know, here's her age. Here's what she, she's busy. She's a working mom. When she shops, she wants to shop for the whole family. She wants it to be fun. She wants it to be, you know, cost-effective. And that's when I came home that night. I was like, who is our Jenny? And that is to your point, exactly. It was not a fake, fictitious person. It was like down to what does she have for breakfast? What car does she drive?

36:09What is she doing all day? And then if that were a celebrity that we could all identify with, Who would it be? And that's how we ultimately got to Megan. And even still to this day, you know, lover, hater, you know, she's still very much to me exudes that like that warmth and sense of community and, you know, and food, which is so much a part of life. I, okay. I love this so much. And I think too, to your point, it's like, if you are trying to figure out what this elusive person eats for breakfast, if you have one person in mind, it is so much easier to do that entire exercise, right? Like it's, it's like people are throwing spaghetti at the wall and trying to serve everyone and your communication and your branding and your marketing gets so much clearer when you speak to one person.

36:55And I think that you guys just nailed it. One thing that I think is so beautiful about your story and just the brand of birdies is, you know, the origin of gathering and community. And it's like, almost like sell people what they think they want, which is shoes, but give them what they actually need. Right. Like your through line is so much bigger than the product itself. And whether people just want an epic, you know, pair of shoes. Great. That's awesome. But like the mission and the brand and the vision is so much bigger than that. And I just, I don't know. I love that. And I loved when I heard your origin story and like starting with Marissa and all these different things.

37:36It's like, oh, every piece of this has been you bringing people in your fold. Oh yeah. I mean, let's talk about the number of times I've just been like, just embarrassed and like punched in the face for things just don't work. And you're just like, that sucks. And, but you go to your community and you're like, you guys are not going to believe this. This is like how, what a terrible day I'm having. And like, we all laugh and you know, it's like, you feel like a big hug and you're like, okay, I got this. I can move on. Yeah. Okay. So I'm going to ask you kind of a fun question, but let's say someone gave you$1 ,000 and 30 days and they said, I need you to build a community around a brand new product.

38:11Like I want to make like a movement. I don't just want to have something to sell. I want like people behind it, no existing audience. Like let's remove all of the factors, no connections, no advantages. What would you do? Like, how would you break this down? I would, well, first off, I would just keep the thousand dollars, get my nails done and have like a really nice meal. Cause I don't think you need money to solve that problem. I think you need a lot of creativity and a lot of discipline and just a lot of just like talking to people. To your point, you know, we're all craving human connection.

38:39And so you have to humanize the problem and the solution down to who is that one person. Oftentimes, you know, people are trying to boil the ocean. It's never going to work. It's not going to be for everybody. And now eventually it can be, but you got to start off specific, specific, you know, to this one problem. And then we can keep iterating and grow and whatever. But I would say, you know, kind of like what we did, like, who is the one person that this is going to solve their problem? And how is it going to solve the problem? And once you've identified that, go ask that person, does this solve your problem?

39:11And, you know, for Bertie, is the interesting thing is, I was so excited to solve this like slipper shoe problem. Turns out that was not really people's problem. Like they were okay with just walking around in socks and barefoot. Like much to my dismay, it's very hard to change people's behavior. But what happened was they loved the shoes because they were playful and comfortable that they started wearing them outside as shoes. Yeah. Did that mortify you? Like when I know the origin story, I'm like, wait, what did Bianca do the first time she saw somebody wearing these out in public? So I would, I mean, it was mostly my friends in the beginning and I would just be very disappointed.

39:47I was like, you know, these are intended to be at home because I didn't think we were ever going to win in the shoe market. And I didn't even care about shoes. Like I was not trying to solve a shoe problem. There's plenty of shoes. If half the shoe companies go away tomorrow, we would not be missing shoe companies, right? Like it, like I didn't care about that. I cared about the home. So I saw my friends like at airports and like around the street, I was like, this is annoying. And then, you know, Meghan Markle, she had a big following on the tag, but every time she was photographed either by paparazzi or herself, it was always outside of the home.

40:14And I was like, oh man, people are going to start buying these as comfortable shoes. And then in 2016, I remember like our return rate was like sky high. I was like, this is a problem. And so we hired an intern that summer. And I said, your job is to email all of our thousands of customers and ask them, how are you wearing your birdies? And at the end of the summer, she presented to Marissa and myself. And she said, listen, turns out over 75 % of our customers are wearing them everywhere, not just at home. And so, you know, genius me. I'm like, well, there's the problem. We need a marketing campaign to educate them to wear them at home.

40:47And she was like 19 at the time. And she's like, or we could pivot, make them, you know, a little bit better for the outdoor elements and make them the most deliciously comfortable shoe they've ever worn. And I was like, huh. And it really kind of took me back. And it did take me a while. We were birdieslippers.com for many years. And I was like, wait, are we really not going to be a slipper company? Are we really moving outside? But this is, you know, there's, it's a very fine line between staying true to the initial problem you were solving and pivoting to where the customer is taking the product.

41:21And ultimately, after much deliberation, we just decided, okay, we just, we should re-engineer the shoe to make the outsole a little bit thicker, but everything else the same and see what happens. And sure enough, like the business exploded. They were durable, returns rate, you know, came crashing down. That was fine. And then I had to hunt for who owned the domain birdies.com because we were birdieslipers.com. And that took me like two years to find the owner and negotiate. And that was at that moment in 2018, we were like, all right, from now on, we are entering into the footwear space without any experience.

41:54And kind of frankly, like that was not the roadmap. And here we go. And it's just been, you know, an insane journey. And by the way, like during the same time, Meghan Markle announces that she's engaged to Prince Harry on Cyber Monday. And the whole global press goes crazy that, you know, Birdie's her favorite shoe brand was a slipper fit for a princess. And that was the timing of it all was like so amazing. I was just like, OK, here we go. We are going to be the yummiest, most delicious, most fabulous shoe for the home and everywhere she goes. It's what we like to say. You know, what a beautiful lesson in surrender as a founder, right?

42:35Because I feel like you definitely hit a crossroads of like, I am going to dig my stinking feet in and I'm going to tell you what these shoes are for. And I'm going to like recommit to that journey, or I'm going to let you guide me in how you want this to go. And I feel like many founders have found themselves in places where like your product kind of takes on a life of its own, right? Like it's not, it's like that combined energy. It is a collaborative experience. Like it is truly. And so what a fascinating thing, because you know, what's so funny, Bianca is like, I am a customer of birdies. I have never once thought of like, I will only wear these in my home ever, which is, and I have been a customer for years.

43:21Like I'm talking years. And so what's so interesting is, is like the product now stands on its own, regardless of the mission that started it. Right. And I think every founder, no matter what you've created at some point, you've either had to tune in and listen to what people are telling you or dig your heels. Right. And there is no right or wrong. Right. They both can have beautiful outcomes. Yeah. But that is like the fork in the road. Oftentimes where you see like, Oh, if I would have maybe chosen it this way, it could have gone differently. Yeah. A hundred percent. I am like a fail up story.

43:55Like the journey of birdies is just like constantly failing and like picking wrong, but pivoting and, you know, and just persistence, like not giving up, but like this, you know, the idea of like, how'd you build community and this like slipper shoe and then a shoe like that was not by design. That was purely out of desperation and like the need to pivot and you know, all those things. And I love that word you said surrender. I have not used that in my vocabulary. Maybe I'm afraid of that word, but I, I don't know. I haven't used it. And when I heard you say that, I was like, God, that's such a great word.

44:26I surrender. Whenever I think about my business and I feel like my journey into motherhood was like just this massive, like you just got a freaking surrender, which is most of us entrepreneurs are control freaks. Right. Yeah. Yeah. And I now picture like my hands are like, I've loosened the grip. I've just loosened the grip on my expectations. I've loosened the grip on the way things have to go. I've loosened the grip on expectations. Like, and so it's just, it's interesting because I think that that is like a hard fought lesson for so many of us where it's almost like we go into entrepreneurship as this like desire to have control.

45:06Maybe there's other aspects of our lives out of control. And it's like, damn, Like entrepreneurship is the biggest lesson in surrender that we might ever experience. It's so true. It's so true. I don't know. I think like knowing what I know now when I do this again, I don't know. I mean, it's a crazy journey. It's yeah. And, you know, I think one of the hardest things for me building this and my husband, I used to talk about a lot. He's like, your job as a founder is you're going to get a lot of feedback from customers, from investors, from your friends. Like, oh, have you thought of this? Have you thought of that?

45:40Have you thought of that? And one, you're like, yes, I've thought of it all. Like I am up all night. I'm like a lunatic. Yes, I've thought of that. But he's like, your job is, you know, to listen to it all. And then you have to pick which, you know, feedback you take and which you don't. And that's really hard to do. Yes. You know, because they're all good ideas. And also, how do you ruthlessly prioritize? Like you want to do it all, but you only have so much time and so much money. And so how do you ruthlessly prioritize how you stock rank them? And I think just being disciplined and also, you know, have this ability to surrender, like they're two opposing things and yet they have to coexist for, for anybody to be successful.

46:16Yeah. I think too, you know, to your point, it's almost like you have to have a filter, right? Of like, what am I letting in? Even in ideas, I recently had to send a voice message to this person who's like, brilliant, love him. And he was doing this like mastermind and all these things. And I said, you know, I love you and I love this idea, but here's where the problem is. The problem is me. And I can so easily take on other people's energy and excitement around ideas that are not mine and are not mine to pursue. And if I say yes to this thing, I'm literally going to put myself in a cesspool of ideas and energy that is not mine.

46:52And I'm not in the season to accept them or adopt them. And so it was funny because I like turned it down. He's like, oh my God, you're so like me. Like I am the same thing. And I think that it's like when we start to turn the filter on and be like, wow, that is a great idea. Not my idea, but great. Or like, yeah, this feedback is constructive. Like, how do I move with this? I think that's like where, where you have to like do the reps. You just literally, there's no way to build the filter, but by putting in the reps. Totally. There's no way out, but through. I tell that to my kids all the time.

47:25Like it just, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So one thing I want to know is like oftentimes in entrepreneurship, people will look at things and be like, this is an overnight success. You are a decade, a decade into this journey. What is something that you wish people knew about the long run, like the long game of entrepreneurship, not the flash in the pan, not the overnight anything. What do you wish people knew about it? It's a long journey. It's a marathon. It is a game of persistence and never giving up. And you could have the best idea. And, you know, and sometimes I would say like, even the best ideas are even the hardest because everyone's coming after you.

48:06Everyone's going to try to like steal your idea or cut you down or, you know, just come after you in any way. You're more visible if it's a great idea. There's no easy way. I mean, if it's just hard, no matter how great or how big or small the idea is. But I think a lot of people give up too soon. And that's okay. But I think like the most successful founders that I've spoken with, they've been hit with the worst of the worst moments in that journey and they never give up. They use it as a learning. It's just another opportunity to grow from it. The positive attitude. And the other thing is, you know, I hear a lot of young founders who, you know, a couple of things are like, one, I want to start a company because I want more control over my schedule.

48:56And I'm just like, oh my God, like that's not going to happen. Like you are, you know, like that's never going to happen. You're going to be 24 seven or they're like, the real money is made in being an entrepreneur. And I, you know, I'm like, if you're chasing the money, you're like, this is not for you because it's going to be long and hard. And we started with nothing. There's no promise. And along the way, you're way better off getting a job and doing and working hard at a big company. You know, you have a 401k, you have health insurance, you have some reliable form of income. And so I think like the best entrepreneurs are those that are just like, almost like, God, I kind of like don't want to do this, but it's like, I can't not not do it.

49:33Right. Like you just, you're like so passionate. And then in my case, you know, So halfway through the journey, I was like, wow, this is really hard. But like, there's no going back. You know, you've raised capital. You know, you have investors. You have a board. You've got like everyone cheering you on. You're like, oh, my God, I can never quit. Like, unlike any job you have where you're like, this isn't working for me. I'm going to give my notice and I quit. Like, you can't quit. You're the last person on the ship. No matter where you're going, you like, that's it. And so it is a commitment for ever, you know, until you decide, you know, this is the right time to exit.

50:07And even then, I mean, we sold our company a few months ago. I'm still, I'm still running it. You know, I just, it's hard to let go, but I think you have to have passion, resilience, thick skin. I've had to learn that the hard way. I don't have great thick skin. Same. You want to do 10 years of therapy, do one year of entrepreneurship, right? Yeah, right. You have to learn to just, and that's where community comes in and you can laugh it off because the people that really matter to you have your back and like nothing else really does matter. Yes. Oh my gosh. I love it. I feel like entrepreneurs have to have some level of delusion, just like, like, it's like your alter ego just like has some sort of like 2 % edge of a belief that other people don't have.

50:50And that delusion is going to guide you forward. And it's a beautiful thing. I hope. Oh my God. I haven't used that word in a long time. Delusion. It's so true. You have to be delusional enough to think that you're going to be better than anyone else in the world that has done this. And also humble enough to be like, I'm punched in the face every day? Cause I'm a moron. Like I, that was a bad idea. That was a bad decision. Like, I guess I'm not so great. Right. Like it's a constant battle of, you know, two polarizing things. So I got my colors done. Bianca, have you heard about this whole thing?

51:20You get your, like our mom. Oh no, no. You like you, it's like this thing. Our moms probably did it in some community ed class at some point where you find out. So there are seasons and you get your colors done. So it's all based on your skin tone, your hair, your eyes, what colors look best on you. And I discovered in getting my colors done that I am not a black girl. Like I can't wear black. I need to wear brown. And so I am now flipping all the shoes in my wardrobe from black to brown because all my clothes now are going brown. Anyways, my husband walked down and I was on the birdie site and the new loafers are like, oh yeah, so freaking cute.

52:01He was like, girl, he's like, Jenna, if you order another pair of shoes, like you got to FIFO your shoes, you got to get some out of here. So I just feel like I'm in a iteration of like out with the old and with the new. And I feel like birdies is just like reinventing shoes and ideas and design. And I don't know, it's not maybe the original vision that you had, but like, damn, they're good. You're so good. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. We're having fun. We're having fun. And we've sort of proven ourselves somewhat in, you know, an industry that is like a very hard to get into industry. We've sort of proven ourselves.

52:40We're able to hire, you know, the best talent in the industry. And we're having a lot of fun. It's been a lot of fun. But by the way, if you're a brown girl, I highly recommend like colorful shoes. Like you could wear like, you know, like yesterday I was wearing like this like tan dress with a pair of our suede red hummingbird flax. Like the red with the tan, like looks great. Like we have a lot of, a lot of great colors. Well, I'm eager and waiting. Where can everybody find you and connect with you? Also everybody, let's start lean in circles. Like I just, I am so behind this and I love it. So where can we connect with you, Bianca?

53:17Please do. And actually maybe we can catch up afterwards and I can kind of give you like some bullet points that you can share with your audience in the form of an email if they want it. Like just to kind of follow the structure because like the structure is the stickiness and the glue to making this work. It's not just getting together. I'm just Bianca Gates on Instagram, Bianca Gates on LinkedIn. You can shop birdies.com because that girl bought that URL, baby. Yes, I did. Oh my gosh. That was, that's a story for another time, but you know, thank you so much for coming on the podcast. This was such a treat.

53:47You're amazing. Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. I loved today's interview. Bianca is just an incredible founder. I feel like she tells it like it is, but I'm also so inspired by her love and devotion of community through every step of the journey, whether it was sharing her idea, gathering women in her home, making people be ambassadors for this brand that was just an idea in her head. Oh, I just feel like community has been at the crux of every single step she's taken. And I think that we can all take a page from her and Sheryl Sandberg's book about creating our own communities. I am obsessed with the structure and the rules that follow this because I feel like as women, it is so easy for life to get too busy or for things to pop up or for us to quick cancel at last minute.

54:37And I think that if we truly want and crave community and we want to be in community with other people, we have to make space for it. And we have to make it as important as everything else in our lives. This episode was top notch. I hope you share it with people that you want to be in a lean in community with in your own lives. And I hope that this is the start of something incredible. I hope this is the start of many more communities of women gathering and changing the world together. Thank you so much for listening to this episode of the gold digger podcast until next time, keep on digging your biggest goals.

55:11Thanks for listening to the Gold Digger podcast. I hope today left you inspired and equipped with something you can put into action as you build a business that truly supports your life. If this episode resonated with you, here's how you can help the show reach even more entrepreneurs. Hit follow, share it with a friend who's building something meaningful. And if you're feeling generous, leave us a review. Those reviews help other listeners discover these conversations when they need them the most. This show has become so much more than I ever imagined. And it's because of listeners like you who show up and share.

55:44You are helping build something that will inspire entrepreneurs for years to come. For show notes, links, and resources, head to golddiggerpodcast.com. Keep digging your biggest goals. The world needs what you're building.