Committed: The Entrepreneur Marriage

Show notes:

Note: Heads up if you’re listening with young children in the car– there are a few words sprinkled through the interview that might not be for young ears (no “f” word).

Today’s episode is the first of several that will focus on entrepreneurs who create art through their words, music, or visual arts. 

They move us to tears. They move us to action. They move us towards each other. They move us to discover joy or our truest selves.  They provide a beautiful respite from the pressures of life.

We are a musical family. My father-in-law was a minister of music for decades. His love of jazz was passed along to Mark, and on to our kids. I remember coming into the boys’ room one night when they were in high school and found them listening to a radio station out of San Antonio that played jazz on Saturday nights. What in the world? They were into all the popular music of their high school years, but jazz? It was an unexpected connection between generations. 

We lived in Texas for many years, and loved living near Austin, known as “the live music capital of the world”. We began following different Americana musicians about 15 years ago, many of whom would play at Gruene Hall, the oldest dancehall in Texas, just outside New Braunfels.

One of the first musicians we started following was Walt Wilkins. He is one of the most talented, generous singer/songwriters around.

I’m joined today by Walt & his wife, Tina Mitchell Wilkins—a funny, talented singer/songwriter in her own right. Join me now as I talk with Walt & Tina about their roller-coaster journey as musicians who have managed to raise an awesome young man while maintaining a strong marriage. 

Read the full transcript here

Walt Wilkins Music on facebook

Tina Wilkins on facebook

TinaMitchellWilkins.com is Tina’s website & blog

Walt Wilkins website tour/music info

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Show notes:

Today I am so happy to have Ben & Liz Bohannon, co-founders of Sseko Designs as my guests. Liz recently released her book Beginner’s Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose, Passion and Impact Now, which tells about her trip to Uganda as a young adult and her unconventional way of discovering her purpose and passion. I loved the audio version of the book, read by Liz. Her story and insights are sometimes hilarious, sometimes heartbreaking, but always truth telling. I highly recommend it. 

Liz’s challenge of finding a way to support Ugandan women eventually led to an untested plan.  She designed a sandal that Ugandan women could make, and then she committed to selling enough sandals to fund 3 young women to go to college. This was the beginning of Sseko Designs—a social enterprise that sells beautiful fashion products made by women in Uganda, and now a few other countries. They provide jobs for women so they can earn a fair wage and have the money they need to attend college. 

We get to hear a little bit about Ben in the book, but today we’re going to dive in with Ben & Liz, and hear how they manage to do all of life together. Listen for the way they sort out their roles at home and work, the role of mentors especially as newlyweds starting this new business, how they create boundaries, and how they integrate faith, work, and life. 

ssekodesigns.com

You can find Liz on Instagram @lizbohannon, Ben @ben_bohannon

Click here to leave a message or ask a question (up to 90 seconds)

Find a full transcript here.

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Show notes:

Today I’m joined by Brent & Kierstan Fessler. Brent is another man that sat on a C12 board with Mark. Check out episode 3 with Brad & Jooyoung Voeller, and episode 29 with Trevor & Catie Bird, for interviews with other C12 peers.

When Mark joined a C12 board, he found the life preserver he needed to get his head above water. These men—his board just happened to be all men—provided life-giving friendship and feedback at a critical time in the business, and our marriage. Now, we look for ways to support other entrepreneurs in their business and marriage.

Brent launched Integreaters in January 2020—perfect timing for a consulting business launch!

Listen for the singular principle that weaves its way through the Fessler’s approach to marriage, raising a family and building teams in the workplace. It’s simple, but not easy.

Kierstan: @kfess04 on Instagram

The reference to pain/peace cycles comes from Five Days to a New Marriage, by Terry Hargrave & Shawn Stoever

Have a question or comment? Leave me a message up to 90 seconds here

You can find the full transcript here.

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Show notes:

About 15 years into starting and scaling Alzcare, the assisted living company Mark started in 1997, he was burned out. It began to take a toll on our marriage as neither of us had much left in the tank. A friend told Mark about C12—a Christian peer board that met once a month. This group of men—there are women on many of the boards, but his happened to be all men—became the antidote for the loneliness and burnout he felt. After the very first meeting Mark attended,  I felt like I’d gotten my husband back.

Several interviews in the cue are people we met through that board. To each of you, I want you to know how grateful I am for the life-giving friendship you provided, just in time.

And now you get to meet some of them!

Brad & Jooyoung Voeller were interviewed in episode 3.

Today I’m talking with Trevor & Catie Bird. In 2016, they moved from Texas to Durango, CO, to become co-owners of the Harley-Davidson dealership. Listen for the way they made this decision as a couple, how they are teaching their young children about business, what teamwork looks like, and how they keep their busy entrepreneur marriage growing.

durangoharley.com

If you’d like to leave a voice message (90 seconds max) with a comment or question, click here.

You can find a full transcript here.

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Show notes:

The 3rd episode in a series where Mark & I chronicle buying a business. This episode covers the process of “dating”–getting more information, how the SBA loan process works, difference between buying assets and buying a business. And most importantly, how we process this as a couple.

Find the full transcript here

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Show notes:

Part 2 of a series where Mark & Kathy pull back the curtain on their process of buying a business. The pandemic created a heightened awareness of the need to diversify their income. Currently, all of their business involves long-term care, which took a big hit in the pandemic. We discuss the process of narrowing the many options of businesses for sale, and how we approach it as a couple, noting how different this is compared to when Mark started AlzCare 22 years ago!

For more marriage resources, go to kathyrushing.com.

Find the full transcript here

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Show Notes:

Mark & I are in the process of buying a business. In the middle (are we in the middle? Please say yes.) of a pandemic. This is Part 1 of what will be at least 4 parts:

Find the full transcript here

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SHOWNOTES:

I love meeting entrepreneurs. It’s like hearing a good adventure story when I listen to a seasoned entrepreneur tell their story from startup to sale. The episode with Bob & Rose Knorr, which was episode 2, was a nail biter, and I already knew the ending!

But I especially love hearing the stories of young entrepreneurs that have so much vision and energy and drive.

Today’s guests are early-stage entrepreneurs. I connected with Caitlin through Instagram last year, and have loved watching her grow CCS Flower Truck. Her partner, Nate, turns out, is an entrepreneur, also. Join me now as we unpack their story. Listen for the challenges they faced right out of the starting gate of this new business.

Connect with Caitlin on Instagram, @ccsflowertruck

For more marriage resources, go to kathyrushing.com.

Find the full transcript here

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Show Notes:

How do 2 strong willed, competitive people thrive for 33 years of marriage? By wrestling. Yep, that’s what they said! 

Nathan & Dianne Baxter join me today, and boy, did we cover a lot of ground. 

Their career paths seemed to be an unlikely fit when they fell in love. But as love would have it, they found they had more in common than they realized.  Nathan started his career as a youth pastor, then began to focus more on life coaching. After 20+ years on church staff, he launched  “Lead Self Lead Others”, a coaching and consulting business. Dianne has successfully built a Mary Kay business fueled by her passion to empower women to achieve their potential. 

Their shared passion for life coaching culminated in the recent release of their book, Real Coaching Success: What it Takes to be an Excellent Coach and Build Your Business. 

Dianne & Nathan share insights about how they found ways to stop fighting against each other and get on the same team. They talk about communication, scheduling, parenting, personality differences, and  finding a rhythm when working from home—which they’ve done for at least 20 years. Many thanks to our mutual friend, Mike Loomis, for introducing us! 

Links:

Lead Self Lead Others

Real Coaching Success

Read the full transcript here

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Show Notes:

This episode is releasing on January 12, 2021. This will forever be a special day for us— it’s our anniversary. This year marks 41 years since we stood in front of our family and friends, and committed to whatever was ahead. We were young and idealistic, and gave no thought to how hard that commitment would be at times. It’s probably a good thing that none of us knows what the future holds, or we might never take any risk.

But we looked to a future that was full of hope and opportunity. I had someone by my side that loved me simply—Mark is not one for token gifts or platitudes. He simply sees me, with all my brokenness, and loves me anyway. Every day.

That is something I still have trouble accepting some days, having grown up with a father that was mostly indifferent, then left us completely when I was 17. Mark’s love has been a safe place for me to learn what real love feels like. Thank you, babe. And cheers to many more years together.

But that’s not to say that we haven’t struggled at times. There was a season when I wanted to leave…that’s a story for another time, but enough to say that we tied a knot and hung on to our faith in God’s goodness, and kept taking one day at a time.

Maybe you have experienced a similar place in your marriage, or you’re there now. You don’t see a way out of the pain and can’t imagine how things can get better.

Well, listen in to today’s episode with my guest Toni Nieuwhof. She is the author of a brand new book which is releasing today. Her book is called Before You Split: Find what you really want for the future of your marriage.

A former divorce attorney, Toni writes very honestly about her now 30-year marriage to Carey Nieuwhof, and how they went from “that bad, to this good”. Carey is also a former attorney, and the founding pastor of Connexus Church near Toronto, Canada. I can only imagine what it looks like for 2 lawyers to fight it out! It took a lot of work, but they gradually transformed their marriage. Toni deeply believes that you don’t have to stay in a toxic place in your relationship. Her book offers tools and hope to other marriages that may be struggling.

Join me now as Toni & I talk about this new book.

You can connect with Toni on Instagram, @toninieuwhof

Visit my instagram feed before Jan. 25, 2021, @entrepreneur_marriage_coach for a chance to win a free copy of Toni’s book.

You can find the full transcript here.

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