Discussing my experience years 2-4 of my business, when the adrenaline wears off and the work gets real. Hear about what happened when I hired people, ventured outside of Etsy and into wholesale, mass production, worked with luxury & online retailers, why I backed out of major purchase orders, and what happens when a heart and head are at odds with your business. To be continued in Part II (b).

While How I Built This 2 is still in the works, Kate's back to discuss the "secret project" she announced last week, but more importantly, is back because she needs to address the moral compass of one Victoria Gunvalson. Some Real Housewives of OC discussion, some Real Housewives of Dallas discussion, 90 Day Fiance conspiracy theories, that time Kate almost got on Ellen, reviewing my favorite gospel-style pop songs, the role of the gospel in the hypocrisy of the Housewives, the difference between 'mothers' and 'mommies,' among other riveting topics. Enjoy!

Taking a brief, albeit unforeseen, break from the How I Built This series (due to Kate's anxiety about the hurricane) to bring you a breezy, lighthearted episode. Join her as she distracts herself from excessive checking of Doppler radars to discuss what bothers her about weather people, why she's a birthday monster, a little Real Housewives, what she's learning on Enty's blind item podcast, what social media is making her feel bad about this week, a review of the 2004 Vanity Fair cover that is her Mount Rushmore of teen starlets, among a litany of other topics surrounding pop culture, personal life, and TV. Enjoy!

For our 30th episode, I'm doing a deep dive into the business that is Be There in Five. My own "How I Built This," named after the podcast NPR does about entrepreneurs that have inspired me over the years. In this podcast, I'll tell you how I turned $250 into $500,000 just from innovating on a stale and ubiquitous household category; the doormat. In 2014, I started selling doormats as 'remindoormats' instead of welcome mats, primarily to remind people to turn off their electronic or hazardous devices (i.e curling irons) before leaving the house. After putting photos on social media and creating 2 Etsy listings, I woke up to 200,000 likes in a night from a fateful Facebook post and my entire life changed from that moment forward. I wanted to tell my listeners how, in real time, without any experience, I built this.

I also wanted to speak from the standpoint of someone who is still in the middle; who has endured a rollercoaster of accidentally starting a side business, it taking off overnight, quitting a full-time job, only to land in a category and industry I knew nothing about in a business I never really meant to start. I wanted to speak to a level of detail I don't usually hear about in other related podcasts, talking about the specific things I did, obstacles I faced, how it made me feel, mistakes I made, and moments that were lowest of the low. Share in my wins, learn from my losses, and hear the play by play of a small doormat business that took on a life of its own.

Part 2 Coming out next week, where I can hopefully explain the full arc of how the business has changed in the last year. Please reach out to me via the show notes with any questions or comments!

For a bonus half episode (while I'm working on episode 30), join me and my sister Kelly as we drink wine and discuss our hopes and dreams prior attending the Very Cavallari Finale viewing party with the cast. A lot of talk about vintage Laguna Beach, The Hills, Jay Cutler's Deer Cams, online dating, among other topics. A fun example of the type of content on Patreon, which (I hope) is a fun departure from the regular podcast. Enjoy!