Drop and Give Me 20

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3,  Lindsey invited Elizabeth Boardman, the Chief Dreamer and founder of The Milspo Project. 

Elizabeth gave us some updates on what's going with her business since the last time we spoke to her. You will also hear messages from people she made an impact on.

Highlights:

• [01:00] The tendency to not hear feedback when working alone and not having someone to report to
• [03:33] What's new with The Milspo Project
• [04:11] What The Milspo Project is
• [06:50] Redefining their mission
• [09:45] First letter for Elizabeth
• [12:45] On navigating fundraising
• [14:10] Second letter for Elizabeth
• [17:00] Stepping back and working on things when running a business

Quote:

• "Elizabeth owns everything she does and doesn't do. That doesn't mean that every interaction is perfect and every decision is the exact right one. And I'd always, every time, rather work for someone who owns up to mistakes and loses and not just wins."

Links:

001: The Milspo Project Milspo Project Milspo Project on Facebook Milspo Project Membership

In this episode, Lindsey's guest is Kathy Stoddard Torrey. In today’s show, you’ll hear about Kathy's life now, the people who are always there to support her, and letters from her loved ones.

Topics:

• [02:30] What Kathy has been up to
• [05:41] On whether or not she’s still taking clients
• [07:50] The people who are always there to support to her
• [11:43] Letter from her youngest son
• [14:08] Letter from her friend
• [17:44] Letter from her sister
• [25:42] Lindsey's failure with employees
• [31:33] How to connect with Kathy

Quote:

• "I couldn't just toss everything over to somebody."

Links:

• Ep 010: Tapfer Consulting
• Kathy on Facebook
• Kathy on Instagram
• Kathy on LinkedIn
• Kathy's website

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3,Lindsey's guest is Claire Yanta-O'Mahoney. Claire has been a guest in season 1 of the podcast.

She is the founder of Fleur de Lis Fitness. Lindsey read letters from Claire's loved ones and Claire shared her thoughts on them.

Highlights:

• [2:36] What is new with Claire and Fleur de Lis Fitness
• [4:43] The first letter for Claire
• [6:02] Claire’s sister's response to Lindsey's question
• [7:18] Third letter for Claire
• [9:16] Claire's thoughts on the emails
• [9:48] How Lindsey and Claire met
• [10:34] Lindsey's two cents for Claire
• [13:02] Purpose of season 3

Quote:

"Successful entrepreneurs only sight failure as one of their most stabilising steps on the path to success."

Link:

013: FLEUR DE LIS FITNESS Fleur de Lis Fitness

In this first episode of Drop and Give Me 20 Season 3, Lindsey visits with Katie Christy. Katie was a guest in Season 1 of Drop and Give Me 20.

Katie hears how she has made an impact on those around her, listen as Lindsey reads these letters!

Highlights:

• [03:44] The reason Katie wasn't able to continue her business
• [07:33] Katie's mom shares how her daughter has inspired those around her
• [11:09] Josh's replies to Lindsey, but Lindsey screws this up
• [14:28] Abi's words of reflection about Katie
• [17:55] Tips to listeners

Quote:

"It's so easy for us to shy away from our natural strengths because they come naturally to us, right? We think everyone's good at because we're good at them. And so I think one of the things that we really deny ourselves is that ability to accept praise to refill that tank..." - Katie Christy

Link:

006: [MINI-SERIES] ACTIVATE YOUR TALENT with Katie Christy 

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed Dan Dwyer, the founder of Vet2BizLife, and Amy Uptgraft, a playwright who wrote the play "I Will Wait" and the founder/artistic director of The Veteran's Spouse Project.

Dan Dwyer is a U.S. Army Veteran of 22 years, a husband, father, leadership coach and veteran entrepreneur. Dan's Vet2BizLife Podcast is dedicated to the boots to the business advancement of all veteran entrepreneurs.

Amy is a proud military spouse. Her husband, LTC Jamie Uptgraft is the commander of 1-501 INF (ABN) out of JBER, AK and is currently deployed with his unit to Afghanistan in support of Operation Resolute Support. Amy is actively involved in various Army volunteer organizations. Amy's play focused on stories of veteran spouses across generations. She aims to give voice to the experiences of military spouses across the generations using music, drama, dance, and expressive arts.

Important topics they discuss:

• [01:48] Who Dan is and the kind of business he has
• [03:18] Who Amy is
• [04:38] How Amy came up with the idea for the Veteran's Spouse Project (VSP)
• [05:02] How Dan came up with his business
• [05:49] How Dan helps people who seek his business advice and guidance
• [07:29] What authenticity means for Amy
• [08:57] On turning down opportunities/relationships from others that doesn’t feel right
• [15:49] Their advice to the listeners

Quote:

"I think authentic people are high-character individuals that don't just talk the talk, they also walk the walk." - Dan Dwyer

Social:

Dan Dwyer - Vet2BizLife's website Vet2BizLife Podcast on iTunes Vet2BizLife Podcast on Google Play Vet2BizLife Podcast on iHeartRadio Vet2BizLife Podcast on Stitcher Dan on LinkedIn Dan on Facebook Dan on Instagram Dan on Twitter Dan's Email Address: [email protected]

Amy Uptgraft - Amy's website Amy's Facebook Page

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed Stephanie Lincoln, the owner and CEO of Fire Team Whiskey Military Health and Fitness and Charlynda Scales, a speaker, mover and shaker, and the founder of Mutt's Sauce.

Fire Team Whiskey­® is the vision of Former Army Captain Stephanie Lincoln. She was inspired by her work with the Florida Army National Guard Wellness Program and also her many years working with Military Medical. She observed the steady decline of the fitness and health of Military Service Members over the last 10 years. CPT Lincoln created and published a unique eating plan, a specialized line of nutritional shakes, bars, and other performance supplements and a fitness program that requires no equipment and minimal time. Fire Team Whiskey® encompasses all of those intangible things that a Military Member and First Responder is driven by: Duty, Comradery, and Mission.

Charlynda Scales is a Tennessee native who spent 11 years active duty in the U.S. Air Force. While still on active duty a few years ago, Scales founded a Dayton-based business called “ Mutt’s Sauce,” producing an all-purpose sauce based on a family recipe her late grandfather bequeathed to her.

They talked about how they started their businesses, their products, tips on making products at home, how they help other people, and many more. This episode is a must-listen, so don’t miss it!

Important topics they discuss:

• [01:49] Charlynda's background and how she came up with the Mutt's Sauce business idea
• [02:47] Stephanie's background
• [05:30] How Charlynda started her business
• [06:16] How Charlynda found a company she first ordered from
• [07:38] Stephanie’s products
• [11:03] Mistake Stephanie made
• [11:51] Charlynda’s take on co-packaging
• [13:04] Mutt's Sauce recipe's consistency and how it almost got ruined
• [14:58] Inventory of their products
• [17:18] On people who make products from home
• [20:40] How long they have been established

Quote:

"I would encourage you to talk to somebody who is maybe two or three steps ahead of you. And in this business maybe start it out at home and kind of work out from there so you can kinda not make all the mistakes that I did." - Stephanie Lincoln

Links:

SCORE Amazon Fisher House

Social:

Stephanie Lincoln - Fire Team Whiskey Fire Team Whiskey on Facebook Fire Team Whiskey on Twitter Fire Team Whiskey on Instagram Fire Team Whiskey on Youtube Fire Team Whiskey on Amazon

Charlynda Scales - Mutt's Sauce Website Mutt's Sauce on Facebook Mutt's Sauce on Instagram Mutt's Sauce on Twitter

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed two of her friends, Dianna Flett of Girl Smarts and Carl Churchill of Alpha Coffee. 

Dianna Flett is a retired Army Lieutenant Colonel and has served 21 years in various positions as a military intelligence officer. Girl Smarts is a series of workshops designed to give our young girls motivation and skills to move forward with confidence and strength in the years ahead.

Carl Churchill is the Co-Founder and Chief Coffee Officer of Alpha Coffee. Carl is a combat veteran with 21 years of service as both an enlisted soldier and officer. Alpha Coffee is a veteran and military-spouse co-owned and operated company dedicated to offering our customers amazing coffee, promoting the warrior lifestyle, providing the highest levels of service, and giving back to our military and veterans.

They're going to talk about their backgrounds, Carl giving bag of coffees to deployed service members, managing employees, and more. Tune in and enjoy!

Important topics they discuss:

• [01:24] Diana and Carl's background
• [04:24] For every bag of Alpha Coffee purchased, a cup goes to deployed service members
• [05:56] Tips for those who have employees
• [10:59] What After Action Review (AAR) is
• [15:01] What gave them an opportunity to learn as a leader

Quote:

"Sometimes I think people who have their own business has stopped working on their own leadership, and we can't do that, we have to stay keen on our own leadership skills." - Dianna Flett

Links:

Deputy

Social:

Carl's Alpha Coffee Carl's Email Adress: [email protected]

Dianna's Girl Smarts Dianna's Email Address: [email protected] Dianna's Facebook Page

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Erin interviews Doug Nordman, author of The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement and The Military Financial Independence and Retirement Pocket Guide.

He spent 20 years as part of the Navy's submarine force. And now he's an enthusiastic surfer, a martial art student, and a veteran of many chaotic home improvement projects.

Among other things, they’ll be discussing how to maximise Facebook groups. He’ll also share how he got into Facebook groups and how it grew. They'll also tackle building audiences, answering other people's questions on posts, getting into other groups, handling controversial comments or posts accordingly, and many more.

If you are one of those people who spends a lot of time on Facebook, you’ll surely enjoy this episode!

Important topics they discuss:

• [01:56] What got him working on Facebook groups and how it grew/evolved
• [02:42] Building audiences
• [04:11] Answering people's questions
• [05:32] How he keeps people engaged
• [07:50] Getting into other groups
• [11:32] How he handles controversial posts or comments
• [14:07] What a beginner who wants to start a Facebook group needs to know

Quote:

"Whenever I'm answering a question, I try to provide a link to the reference and I get pretty good at this after 8 years of writing and blogging and so I know where too look, and that make sure that the subject that's been discussed has the right answers has the right information and the people can act on it later on." - Doug Nordman

Links:

Personal Finance for Military Service Members and Families (Facebook group) MilitaryTimes  Snopes  Military FIRE (Facebook)  Dave Ramsey Military

Social:

The Military Guide The Military Guide to Financial Independence and Retirement by Doug Nordman Military Financial Independence and Retirement Pocket Guide by Doug Nordman

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey is joined by two of her friends, Judy Davis and Lauren Cecora, to talk about becoming an author.

Judy Davis is a military spouse and a successful entrepreneur. The motivational speaker is known nationwide as the Direction Diva. The published author and co-founder of DASIUM is also considered an authority on military life and small business success and is leading the way in depression, addiction, and suicide prevention in teens/young adults.

Lauren Cecora is a military spouse and the author of the book Past-Partum: From Shattered to Sane. Lauren is a postpartum mentor. In 2015, after the birth of her daughter, she was diagnosed with postpartum depression and later postpartum anxiety. In her book, Lauren shared her postpartum depression and anxiety story as well as her sanity saving tips to help any mother regain their sanity.

Important topics they discuss:

• [01:24] Getting to know Lauren and Judy
• [03:00] Judy's books
• [04:06] What made Judy start writing a book
• [04:45] How depression hit her son
• [05:04] Her motivation in writing her book “Warning Signs”
• [06:14] Lauren's book
• [07:11] Some of the sanity saving tips
• [10:50] The traditional way of publishing
• [11:45] Tips on finding a publisher
• [13:57] Self-publishing
• [17:19] Process of getting your book published
• [20:08] On marketing
• [21:22] On having a vast audience
• [23:21] People's review/feedback

Quote:

"There's no better joy than holding your published copy when it's all done. I don't think there's a better feeling other than the first time you hold your baby. It's one of those things but writing the book is only a fraction of what it means to even have a publisher or self-publish. It's just the beginning." - Judy Davis

Links:

Hands Free Mama by Rachel Macy Stafford CreateSpace

Social:

Judy Davis: The Direction Diva DASIUM  Right Side Up by Judy Davis Warning Signs by Judy Davis

Lauren Cecora: Lauren's Website Lauren Cecora - The Sanity Saver Facebook Page Lauren on Instagram Past-Partum: From Shattered to Sane by Lauren Cecora

In this episode of Drop and Give Me 20, Lindsey interviewed two of her online friends—Kristen Smith and Moni Jefferson. They talked about the concept of collaboration and how it works.

Kristen is the founder of Blog Your Genius, an online education community for women who are looking to create out of the box professional opportunities. She's also a longtime blogger and digital marketer.

Moni is an entrepreneur, PR professional, and accidental app creator. She runs a public relations and social media agency and is also the brains behind MilSpouse Creative, a virtual global networking community for military spouse entrepreneurs to connect, collaborate, and create relationships. Plenty of gold nuggets in this episode so don’t forget to tune in!

Important topics they discuss:

• [01:32] Kristen's background
• [02:20] Moni's background
• [04:20] Business relationships
• [08:29] Advice to people when a collaboration is not working
• [12:05] On giving each other a heads up
• [13:06] On divorcing if things don't match up
• [14:52] What to do first when collaborating

Quote:

"As you grow and you go through different stages with your business, you are going to need relationships, you're gonna need other people to talk to and support you to point you in the right direction." - Kristen Smith

Social:

Asana Trello

Kristen's Website Moni's Website