The Doing Scary Things Podcast

Teri Dosher owns and operates The Willow Tree Coffeehouse & Music Venue in Johnson City, TN, which is a magical little place that has quickly become a must play for many amazing musicians from near and far. 

On today's episode, Teri discusses what led her to "just go for it" and open the business with the encouragement of her daughter. She tells the incredible story of how her dream location became available the day after she decided it would be the perfect spot, and how she's more scared of this decision now, 5 years later, than she was in the beginning.

Teri describes what it was like to leave her secure teaching job at the time, and what it's like for her now, when business has been up and down, and she's watching several of her friends enter in to "secure" retirement plans while she has none. 

She tells the fascinating story of how her team learned to make coffee from watching Youtube videos and how they built their incredible "comfort" food menu one item at a time, as well as how she has developed her process of paying artists fairly without going completely broke.

She talks about the interesting story of where the name of the coffee shop came from and how they've weathered the addition of competitive coffee shops in their town.

Teri tells Anna + Katie about the highs and lows that have come with owning her business and some of the things that have made it most worthwhile for her over the years.

She discusses the need for gratitude in every circumstance and how she pushes past the different fears that creep into her mind from time to time. Teri is a wealth of wisdom and we think you're really going to love this talk!

Connect with Teri online at www.thewillowtreejc.com or experience The Willow Tree for yourself at 216 E. Main St, Johnson City, TN.

Suggested Reading from this Episode: Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert

Amanda Williams Wilkinson holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Hollins University where she was the recipient of a Jackson Fellowship and a Teaching Fellowship. She is the recipient of the Gertrude Claytor Prize in Poetry from the Academy of American Poets, and her poetry has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her poems have been published on Poets.org, in Flock, The Sycamore Review, Sugar House Review, Silver Birch Press, and The New Territory, among others. Her essays have appeared in AAAA Magazine and The Morning News, and she sits on the Board of Directors for Ruminate magazine. She is also the Owner of The Bodice Babe, a historical costuming company, where she creates one-of-a-kind custom historical garments for clients all over the world. She is currently the Assistant Director of Development, Annual Fund & Parent Programs at Whitfield School in St. Louis where she lives with her husband. Little Human Relics is her first book.

Anna + Katie talk with Amanda about the process of publishing her first book and then having the bravery to ask for it to be re-released. We discuss how she finds time to run her online costuming business and how she brings her innate creativity to her "day job" of fundraising for the Whitfield School in St. Louis. She explains the hardest part of writing poetry (finishing them!) and what she was most scared of when asking her publisher to re-release her book. She talks about the fears that come with doing this work and what she can and cannot control, as well as what her most rewarding outcome of her hard work would be. She explains the vulnerability with re-releasing a project, but also what she plans to do differently this time. Amanda discusses the fantastic way that she prioritizes her time between all of her passions and efforts and what keeps her going along the way.

Connect with Amanda!

Author Website: https://amanda-williams-cmpr.squarespace.com/

Etsy Shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/TheBodiceBabe

Purchase her book Little Human Relics on Amazon or directly from the publisher at http://www.unsolicitedpress.com/

Dr. Janine Krippner has been called a "smiter of ludicrous volcanological rumors" by Forbes. She has studied explosive volcanic eruptions and their deposits using data collected in the field in Russia and on Mt. St. Helens and also using satellite data from space! She's now using social media in exciting and innovative ways to educate a new generation about the truth and best safety practices of volcanos.

Anna + Katie talk with her about why creativity is required for all scientific professions. She discusses process of becoming qualified to do what she does, and how she wasn't sure she was good enough to do it. She describes the process of not knowing what her next job will be or even if she'll be allowed to stay in this country. 

She gives practical and encouraging advice that you should pursue your passion, even if it's not easy (It probably won't be!), that doubt is natural for everyone, and she describes why she often felt like she was behind in life, even though she chose her profession when she was very young.

She explains the difference in figuring things out vs. feeling things out and the importance in remembering why you're doing something, as well as evaluating worst case scenarios. 

Janine + Anna bond over their shared love of cats, and Katie describes why she's probably a lot like a cat. You don't want to miss this episode!

Find Janine online!

https://twitter.com/janinekrippner

Anna + Katie discuss the inspiration and true life story behind their first Jasper + Jade single, Collide. They discuss the insecurities and challenges that come from putting yourself out there as an artist for the first time, and the experience of recording with their friend WILKES, who was a contestant on Season 14 of The Voice and a very accomplished artist in his own right. Katie talks about how she had to take the words she had written to encourage others seriously for herself and the courage it took to decide that she had every right to pursue this passion. Hear the single here first and then go stream it wherever you listen to music! 

Learn all about Anna in today's episode, including how she grew up in an Illinois cornfield, was in the brass section in her high school band, and borrowed a whole bunch of money for a degree in a field that was actually her second career choice. She talks about the fairytale story of how she met her musician husband while he was touring with his band, being a cat mom on Instagram, listening to 90s country music growing up, and then touring with a successful country artist as an adult.  After that abruptly ended, she talks about how she eventually returned to her first love of music and the story behind how she began writing songs with Katie. Together, they discuss how they've treated every step of this process as an experiment and how they began giving themselves permission to try the thing they had always wanted to do the most, as well as what they think leads to becoming a more full human being. They debunk the myth that everyone should follow the same path, discuss ways to think outside of the box when it comes to pursuing your life passions, and elaborate on why they think you shouldn't listen to or follow the status quo. "The only real question is, are you going to do it or not?"