I am so excited to introduce you all to my very special guest, Julia Taylor, today. Julia is the CEO and Founder of GeekPack, an organization which exists to empower women to change their lives for the better through the power of code, community, and confidence. They teach valuable technological and business building skills, provide the support of an encouraging community, and build the confidence to believe that any dream is achievable. The journey that led Julia to create this remarkable organization is a fascinating and inspiring one which she shares with us all here today.

Julia starts by telling us about who she is, what she does, and the road that has brought her to where she is today - educating women who wish to start or grow businesses. She goes on to share the best three places she has spent time in as a traveler, the beauty of owning your own business, and how her intern program students remain part of the community even after the program has ended. Julia also explores the most challenging aspects of being a business owner, including the work-life balance, mindset, and imposter syndrome, and elaborates on her future goals. Finally, Julia recounts the most significant transformation she has seen with her students and explains the importance of coaching within her program. Hot on the heels of my previous episode about rejection, Julia's tale, as shared here today, is one that educates as well as inspires, and is definitely one that we all need to hear.

Don't forget, if there is ever a topic you would like me to discuss, a guest you'd like me to interview on the podcast, or feedback you wish to offer, please feel free to contact me at [email protected] - I would love to hear from you!

The Finer Details of This Episode:

• Who is Julia Taylor
• Julia's transition from providing business services to teaching
• How she trains both startups and growing businesses.
• What led her to do Intelligence in the past
• Her childhood experience
• What it's like to run a community
• The best three places she has spent time in
• The beauty of owning your business
• The most challenging thing about being a business owner
• What is on her home shelf
• Julia's goals for the future
• The most significant transformation she has seen with her students
• Dealing with imposter syndrome after the program

Quotes:

"When I realized that I could figure something out with Google and how to code, I thought if I learn a lot, maybe a company will hire me to work remotely."

"I started applying to jobs, nothing at all. It was not that nice to get so many rejections because I didn't have a degree. I didn't have all the fancy stuff they were looking for, 20 years' experience or whatever. And it was a friend who said, 'Why don't you start your own business?'"

"I was very reluctant to start my own business. I did not have any friends or family members that were entrepreneurs. I didn't know what that meant, really. I didn't have an entrepreneurial bone in my body. I was the complete opposite of all the other entrepreneurs that you hear about, kind of an accidental entrepreneur."

"I got a business coach, and I said to her that I wanted to create a program where I could teach women to code. I wanted to have a community that goes along with it. And that's where the name of the business comes from, GeekPack."

"I was not a cool kid; I was awkward. I was very tall and lanky. I always wanted to be like the cool kid, but I was always on the outskirts. I was different. I was very shy, probably because I was homeschooled. Homeschooling was not that common back then at all. My brother and I were like the weird kids because we were homeschooled."

"We loved Colorado and San Diego, and we thought somewhere in between there we would get an RV, and we'll drive out to all the different places. Idaho is probably one of the most beautiful places in the country that is not quite yet known by too many people."

"I have an intern program where we get students to support other students, and everyone on the team has gone through that process. I now get to focus all of my energy on things like being on podcasts, showing up, growing the business, focusing on the team, and then they get to pour everything into the community."

"Work-life balance was a hard thing. And last year was the best I'd ever had because I have a team who love what they do. They believe in the mission of the company, and they give as much as I do, if not more, and all the day-to-day stuff gets handled."

"Now I accept a lot of the imposter syndrome that I hear in my head because I've had it from day one, and it's never going to go away. It just changes because my business will grow and evolve, and I will pivot."

"I have a very clear vision for the business. Anytime I get distracted, I say, 'Hang on, will that get me closer to my vision?' And if the answer is 'no', I don't do it."

"We have an ideas list on my team where I just let it sit and marinate before making any kind of big decisions or drastic moves, and one of our big things in our vision is reach and impact."

"When I first started the program, it was primarily just on the coding side, but a lot of students since then have said, 'I'd like to know how to start an online business, how to find clients, how to use social media.' So the program has evolved, and it now covers all of that."

"There's something very rewarding about learning, something that Hollywood makes you think is hard. I'm a big believer that it's not that hard. I started from nothing with no experience before, and now I teach women to do it all the time."

Show Links:

Kelly's homepage - www.kellytravis.net

She Doesn't Settle – The Experience - https://www.kellytravis.net/sds

Social: @kellythealth

Julia Taylor's Website - https://geekpack.com

Julia Taylor LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/juliathegeek/

Julia Taylor Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/julia_the_geek/?hl=en