Crafted Connections

Episode 40: Saying “Yes” When Opportunities Arise with Andrea Dodson
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week on Crafted Connections, I’m joined by the powerhouse human that is Andrea Dodson—entrepreneur, former collegiate athlete, pilot, international flight attendant, community advocate, coach, and deeply intentional mother of three.

Andrea and her husband built Redwood Automotive in Anderson, Indiana from six cars and pure grit into a community-rooted dealership shaped by their core values: connection, service, responsibility, and saying yes when life opens a door.

But her story doesn’t start with business ownership.
 In this conversation, we explore Andrea’s winding early career—flying planes at 16, working internationally, running competitively again after years away, trying on identities, shedding others, and learning to trust her own curiosity even when people questioned her path.

This episode is about following your own internal GPS, even when the route isn’t linear.

It’s about discipline and flow.
Structure and intuition.
Vision and adaptability.

And above all, it’s about the power of showing up authentically in your work, your community, and your family.

Andrea also shares the extraordinary and deeply moving story of becoming a foster parent to two teenage brothers she met while coaching high school cross-country—an experience that reshaped her family, her outlook, and her understanding of what it means to say yes to a moment that calls you forward.

Whether you’re an entrepreneur, a multi-passionate human, or someone navigating a chapter of reinvention, this conversation will leave you feeling expanded.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

✨ How Andrea’s curiosity carved an unconventional early career path
 🥾 Building a business from scratch—literally from a six-car inventory
 💛 Why community investment is at the core of Redwood Automotive
 🧭 Challenging the myth that you must be “one thing” to be successful
 🌱 Why flexibility—not rigidity—is the true engine of entrepreneurship
 🏃‍♀️ What endurance sports taught her about mindset, resilience, and business
 👦 The incredible story of how she grew her family
 🎯 Why success requires being proud of where you are right now, even as you aim for what’s next

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

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Episode 39: REWIND – Curiosity, Sobriety, & the Healing Nature of Stories with Anna Zimmerman
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

We’re rewinding the clock today and revisiting one of the most downloaded, most shared, and most loved episodes of Crafted Connections — a conversation that continues to resonate deeply with this community.

I’m joined by my dear friend Anna Zimmerman — facilitator, former professor, strategic thinker, and someone who leads with deep care and grounded presence. In this episode, Anna opens up about her journey through academia, sobriety, identity shifts, and choosing a life rooted in curiosity and connection.

We explore how storytelling shapes recovery, why shedding old identities can feel like an ego death, and what it looks like to define success on your own terms. Anna’s warmth, honesty, and humor make this a conversation you’ll want to return to again and again — and yes, she still gives cozy-blanket-and-tea energy in every moment.

We also talk about gratitude as a practice of noticing, of staying awake to the moments that anchor us and remind us of who we’re becoming. It’s a tender, thoughtful, resonant conversation — and the perfect episode to revisit at the end of the year.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🧠 Why unlearning old identities is part of growth
💬 How storytelling shapes sobriety and recovery
🎓 Leaving academia and redefining professional success
🌀 Embracing curiosity as a core life value
💪 Showing up for strength—not aesthetics—in healing your body
📖 How stories can connect, confine, or liberate us
💛 An ode to gratitude as a grounding force for change

Ready to Step into Your Next Chapter with Clarity?
Story Strategy Sessions are 50% off for the next week and a half as part of my Resolution: CLARITY sale.

Whether you're launching something new, refining your message, or craving direction for the new year, this one-hour session helps you get clear on your story — and how to share it in a way that aligns with who you’re becoming.

6 slots available at this price. Sale closes 12/9/25.

🎥 Book your session and use code SEASON2025 for 50% off:
https://katelyncalhoun.as.me/story-strategy-session

You Can Connect with Anna:
📷 Instagram: @annagracezimmerman

💼 LinkedIn: Anna Zimmerman

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 38: SOLO – End of Beginning – The Story of Saying Goodbye to My First Company
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week’s Crafted Connections is a solo episode — one that’s both tender and transformative.

In honor of National Entrepreneur Day, I’m sharing the full story behind closing my first company, Teardrop Pictures, and what it means to finally say goodbye.

For eight years, Teardrop was my creative home. It was where I grew up as a filmmaker, storyteller, and entrepreneur — learning hard lessons, building community, and creating work I’m deeply proud of. But when it came time to evolve into Calhoun Creative Consulting, I realized I never gave myself space to truly close that chapter.

So I took a trip back to Indianapolis — to the coffee shops, breweries, and streets where it all began — to honor that season, celebrate what it gave me, and let it go with gratitude.

This episode is about endings, beginnings, and everything in between. It’s about the courage to release what no longer fits and the grace to see how far you’ve come.

If you’ve ever outgrown something you once loved — a business, a dream, a version of yourself — this story is for you.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🎬 The story of starting Teardrop Pictures as a 24-year-old filmmaker
💡 Lessons learned from eight years of entrepreneurship, growth, and failure
🏙 Returning to Indianapolis to find closure and reflection
💭 The power of letting go and redefining success
🌱 Why endings aren’t failures — they’re fertile ground for what comes next

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 37: SOLO - Mindset Swaps to Move Past Resistance & Share Your Story
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week on Crafted Connections, it’s just you and me — a solo episode all about shifting the stories we tell ourselves before we share our story with others.

We all face resistance when it comes to storytelling — that little voice that says my story isn’t special, I’ll share when I’m more successful, or no one really cares what I have to say. But those thoughts are exactly what keep us from connecting.

In this episode, I’m breaking down five mindset swaps that will help you move past resistance, get out of your own way, and start showing up with confidence and intention. You’ll hear personal stories, practical reframes, and a few reminders that storytelling is less about perfection and more about connection.

Whether you’re launching something new, building your brand, or just learning to be more visible, this one’s for you.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
💭 Five mindset swaps to help you move past storytelling resistance
✨ Why your “everyday details” are what make your story resonate
🌱 How sharing the messy middle allows your community to grow with you
💬 The truth about owning your narrative (and your brand)
❤️ How telling your story invites others to share theirs

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 36: On Impact with Megan Hamilton, the Impact Witch
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week on Crafted Connections, we’re tapping into creativity, courage, and a lotta bit of magic with Megan Hamilton — speaker, coach, musician, and host of Embracing Enchantment on the Women in Media Network.

Megan is a powerful communicator who helps people step into their voice and create impact with confidence. As the Speaker Advisor for the award-winning TEDxQueensU since 2020, she’s coached powerful and meaningful TEDx, keynote, and signature talks all around the world.

As the Impact Witch, Megan helps folks craft spells in the form of speeches—creating legacies of change and new ways of thinking.

In this conversation, we talk about what it means to rebrand with intention and lean into the next chapter of your creative life and business. From tarot to transformation, this episode is equal parts practical and enchanted—a conversation that will leave you inspired to speak your truth, trust your timing, and embrace your own magic.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🪄 The story behind Megan’s evolution from ubu skills to Impact Witch
🎤 What it means to craft impact through your words and presence
🌙 How tarot, intuition, and storytelling intersect in creative leadership
🔥 Why transformation takes courage—and a little faith in divine timing

You Can Connect with Megan:
📲 Instagram: @impactwitch

🎧 Podcast: Embracing Enchantment
🌐 Website: impactwitch.com

Join Our Monthly Kick-Off Sessions!
Start your month with clarity and momentum.

Each Monthly Kick-Off is a guided reflection and planning session where we set intentions, identify story themes for the month ahead, and build connection with others on the same journey. It’s part journaling circle, part goal-setting workshop, and all about getting aligned before diving into the work.

💚 Come join us — your story (and your month) deserves this space.
 Sign up for the next session at https://stan.store/KatelynCalhoun

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 35: A Reminder to Live Your Life with Horace Tong
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week on Crafted Connections, we’re taking a trip around the world—literally—with traveler, adventurer, and all-around joy-bringer Horace Tong.

Horace has visited every country in the world, but his story goes far beyond passport stamps. It’s about curiosity, courage, and connection—the kind that reminds us why we’re here in the first place.

From crushing an oyster-eating contest in his home city of Vancouver to visiting Antarctica, Horace shares stories filled with humor, heart, and perspective. In this conversation, we explore what it means to live with intention, build global connections, and find joy in the small, spontaneous moments that make life rich.

This episode is your gentle nudge to get out there, follow your curiosity, and live your story while you can.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🌍 The story behind Horace’s journey to every country in the world
🦪 From oyster-eating contests to Antarctica—adventure stories with heart
❤️ A simple, powerful reminder to live your life—right now

You Can Connect with Horace:
📸 Instagram: @horacet_

Join Our Monthly Kick-Off Sessions!
Start your month with clarity, momentum, and a little creative magic.

Each Monthly Kick-Off is a guided reflection and planning session where we set intentions, identify story themes for the month ahead, and build connection with others on the same journey. It’s part journaling circle, part goal-setting workshop, and all about getting aligned before diving into the work.

💚 Come join us — your story (and your month) deserves this space.
 Sign up for the next session at https://stan.store/KatelynCalhoun

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 34: Creating Choice with Brittany Scott
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week on Crafted Connections, we’re sitting down with Brittany Scott — founder and CEO of GROW WIWO (Grow With Women) — for a conversation about curiosity, connection, and creating spaces where women can thrive both personally and professionally.

Brittany’s story is one of resilience, leadership, and redefining what it means to build community. From her early years as an athlete and educator to launching multiple wellness and empowerment ventures—including Mom Gets Moxie and GROW WIWO—she’s turned challenge into purpose.

In this episode, we explore how curiosity fuels connection, why vulnerability is a strength in leadership, and how Brittany’s personal journey—including her experience as a survivor of domestic abuse—shaped her mission to empower women with resources, confidence, and choice.

It’s an honest, heartfelt conversation about what happens when you stop pretending to have all the answers and start building from authenticity.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🌱 The journey from teacher to founder and CEO of GROW WIWO
💪 How being “a little bit curious” can change everything in business and in life
💼 Lessons from corporate life—and getting fired—that led to entrepreneurship
💬 Why vulnerability creates stronger communities and braver leaders
❤️ The personal story behind Brittany’s passion for empowering women with choice and voice

Content Note: Timecode - 32:40 to 40:00
 This episode includes discussion of domestic violence beginning around the three-quarters mark. Please listen with care and skip that section if needed.

You Can Connect with Brittany + GROW WIWO:
🌐 Website: growwiwo.com

📲 Instagram: @GROWWIWO

🎟 Use code MUNCIE2025 for $50 off your GROW Muncie Conference ticket on October 21!

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 33: How Business, Creativity, and Community Co-Exist with Daiyawn Smith
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

This week on Crafted Connections, we’re diving deep into the intersection of business, creativity, and community with filmmaker, creator, and all-around good-vibes human Daiyawn Smith — founder of Dai In & Dai Out Productions.

Daiyawn’s story is one of imagination, consistency, and heart. From early influences that sparked his love of storytelling to building a brand rooted in authenticity, excellence, and connection, he shares what it means to be both a creative and a business owner in today’s world.

In this conversation, we talk about the mindset shifts that come with growing as a professional—from learning to raise your rates to setting healthy boundaries—and how community fuels sustainable creativity. Daiyawn also shares insight into his latest project, an indie reality-style dating series filmed in Indianapolis, Indy Amor, plus how his corporate work is evolving to center more community impact.

This episode is equal parts inspiration and real talk for anyone navigating what it means to grow, learn, and thrive as a creative entrepreneur.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🎥 How Daiyawn built Dai In & Dai Out Productions and the meaning behind the name
💼 Lessons on pricing, boundaries, and professionalism in the creative industry
💡 Why curiosity and community are key to long-term growth
❤️ The importance of collaboration and surrounding yourself with people who build you up
🌆 How corporate creativity and community engagement can co-exist beautifully

You Can Connect with Daiyawn:
📸 Instagram (Biz): @daiin_n_daiout

📸 Instagram (Personal): @sir_shoot_alot

🌐 Website: https://daiinanddaiout.squarespace.com/

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 32: On-the-Go – Collective Voices on "Alignment"
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

We’ve reached the final episode in our On-the-Go series from the GROW Conference in Fort Wayne—and this one brings it all together. We’re weaving together the interviewee's definitions of "Alignment."

As you’ll hear, alignment is not a one-size-fits-all definition—it shifts with our seasons, challenges, and growth. Alongside this compilation of voices, I share my own reflections on alignment in my life right now—what it means to embrace the “hustler” part of myself while making space for all the other parts that make me whole.

This episode is a reminder that alignment isn’t about perfection—it’s about presence, self-trust, and creating room for all of who we are.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
🌱 A wide range of definitions of alignment from GROW attendees, speakers, and vendors:

• 2:19 - Brittany Scott (Ft. in GROW WIWO episode)
• 2:55 - Kori Rae Kovacs (Ft. in GROW WIWO episode)
• 3:19 - Carmen Nikae (Ft. in GROW WIWO episode)
• 4:40 - Jill Trimmel (Ft. in GROW WIWO episode)
• 5:32 - Margaret Tilley (Ft. in GROW WIWO episode)
• 7:09 - Jennifer Fisher
• 7:51 - LeeTosha Henry
• 9:02 - Amy Ballard
• 10:32 - Sarah Weaver
• 11:14 - Leah GiaQuinta
• 12:33 - Tabitha DeSeranno
• 13:52 - Tracey Hanton
• 15:08 - Darnell Scott
• 15:47 - Stacey McGuire
• 17:40 - Katelyn Calhoun :)

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

...

Episode 31: On-the-Go – Darnell Scott on Imagination, Alignment & Photographing Life as It Is
Hosted by Katelyn Calhoun

We’re back with another On-the-Go episode from the GROW Conference in Fort Wayne—this time featuring photographer Darnell Scott, whose journey is equal parts inspiring and grounded in purpose.

Darnell isn’t just behind the camera—he’s using photography as a tool for empowerment. Through his work with at-risk youth, he’s helped more than 188 kids discover a new way of seeing the world by placing cameras in their hands. His own story began with imagination and vision—rehearsing what it would feel like to be a professional photographer long before he ever owned a camera. That mental rehearsal led to a pivotal moment with Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, which opened the door to photographing his very first NBA game.

In this conversation, Darnell shares what alignment means to him, how imagination shapes his life and work, and why authenticity is the foundation of both storytelling and photography.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:
📸 How Darnell uses photography to connect with and inspire at-risk youth
🏀 The incredible story of meeting Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and shooting his first NBA game
✨ The role of imagination and mental rehearsal in turning vision into reality
🖊 How he scripts his goals before stepping into aligned action
🤝 Why authenticity and connection are the throughline in both life and art

You Can Connect with Darnell:
📸 Instagram: @_darnell.scott

P.S. If your videos are stuck in your camera roll, head over to @calhounedits for quick editing tutorials, or book a free 30-minute consult here: [link]

Community Co-Working Monthly Kick-Off
Start the month with me! Once a month, we get together on Zoom to review the past month, set intentions for the next, and work on something that matters. Quiet focus, community, and accountability to keep the momentum going all month long. It's free. It's monthly. 👉 Sign Up!

Need Help Clarifying Your Story?
Story Strategy Sessions are designed to help you uncover your narrative, refine your messaging, and build a visibility strategy that actually feels like you.

🎥 Book your session: HERE

Join the Conversation
📲 Send a DM on Instagram: @CraftedConnectionsPod

Crafted Connections is produced by Calhoun Creative Consulting, a strategic storytelling firm helping people and brands tell stories that resonate.

🌟 Subscribe and don’t miss an episode. Keep creating. Keep connecting.

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