After Quinn graduated college, she had no idea what to do next. So like most people, she took the first job she could get. Day in and day out, she worked long and hard. Like a hamster on a wheel, she ultimately pushed herself to the point of burn out. She began to feel ambivalent about life and her future. She knew something needed to change.
During a year of soul-searching, she was forced to take a deeper look at the decisions that brought her to this point. Through that journey, she learned the lessons she needed to heal and found her passion—helping others overcome the same obstacles she had faced to bring their ideas to life.
Today, Quinn is the founder of Create Your Purpose®, a movement and community that empowers female founders to create more purpose + profit in their businesses *without* burning out. Quinn never planned on becoming an entrepreneur, but now, she can’t imagine doing anything else. She’s sharing her full journey on this episode of Creator Stories.
Quinn’s website: https://quinntempest.com/
Find out how Quinn generated 10k+ leads with her quiz!
Take Quinn’s quiz: What’s your entrepreneurial purpose?
Jessmyn:
Welcome to Interact’s Creator Stories Podcast. Interact is the easiest way to convert curious people into loyal and happy customers by using a lead generating quiz. On Creator Stories, we get to hear the entrepreneur’s journey. This is a podcast about how those creators took their knowledge and experiences to curve out a place in the world, owned what they know is special about themselves and turned it into a successful company. Today, we get to speak with Quinn Tempest, a color loving business mentor and brand strategist. She’s the founder of Create Your Purpose, a movement and community that empowers female founders to create more purpose and profit in their businesses without burning out. All right, let’s get started. Hi guys. Welcome back to Interact’s Creator Story Podcast. I’m super excited because with me today I have Quinn Tempest. Quinn, thank you so much for being on our show with us.
Quinn:
Yeah, I’m excited to be here.
Jessmyn:
And for those who don’t know who she is, she’s a color loving business mentor and brand strategist. She’s the founder of Create Your Purpose, which is a movement and community that empowers female founders to create more purpose and profit in their businesses without burning out, which I love that you add that little bit in your bio because I’m sure we’re going to get into burnout and I love talking about it. But if you could just jump in, tell us more about you, your business, and then take us back to the beginning. How did you get started in all of it?
Quinn:
Yeah. Well, honestly, that little bit of my bio without burning out is the start of my story because I burned out really badly in my first job out of college. So I went to school for acting and that’s all I ever thought I was going to do. So I went to school in LA. I graduated, but pretty quickly I realized I don’t think I want to be waiting tables and going to auditions. All the power to my friends who are still that. And a lot of them actually have booked roles and it’s really exciting to support them, but it just didn’t feel right to me. And instead of asking myself, well, what would feel right? What would kind of light me up? What would feel meaningful? I just took the first opportunity that came my way, which happened to be in marketing, which I saw at the time quite a few parallels with like theater and marketing.
It’s all about moving an audience. Obviously in theater, it’s moving them to tears or to laugh while in marketing, it’s moving them to take action. And so I went into this job and this marketing agency in LA and I worked so hard and so long that I got to the point where I didn’t really know where the job ended and where I began. And I worked so hard and so long that I also ended up in the hospital. So that was like the major burnout story. I’ve been through multiple other burnouts in my life, in my business, in my career, but that was kind of the rock bottom of it all. And although it was so awful at the time, I’m grateful for it because I think it really taught me to slow down, to ask myself important questions, to figure out what was the most important thing to me and to actually kind of be the captain of my own ship instead of letting it kind of drive me wherever it was going to go.
And so through that journey, I ended up starting my own business because I was such a bad employee obviously that I could not have any boundaries. And really it wasn’t with the goal of starting a business, it was like literally with the goal of like how can I learn to take care of myself as well as make money at the same time, but do it in a way that feels healthier than when I was an employee and couldn’t see where I ended and where that job was beginning. So that was unfortunately the start of my business career. I didn’t know I was starting a business, but now I know that I’m meant for entrepreneurship. Like that is what I am definitely meant to do. And then here I am like, gosh, 11 years later still my own boss. So it’s been a long while, a long journey, but it did start with just hitting rock bottom and having to look inside and say, “What do I want? What matters to me?”
Jessmyn:
I love that a lot. And it’s funny guys, in case you didn’t notice I had to mute my mic because of background noise, but you didn’t hear me say, oh wow or anything like that. But I think that’s an incredible story, even though it was sort of hard and difficult because I think it’s some of those really impactful moments that it does force you, I guess, to kind of stop and be like, okay, what am I doing here? What is this and what do I want out of this? So that’s super interesting because I didn’t know burnout can actually get that bad. I always kind of thought of it in this sort of space of like, you’re just super exhausted, but you could just take a second. Not that it’s that easy, but you just need to take some time and you got to this point where you were like, it was very bad.
Quinn:
Yeah. Well, I think one thing leads to another and I guess I can expand on it a little bit because I was working in the entertainment industry in LA, which is ridiculous. It’s nuts. Like I was working at Playboy Mansion. I was doing all these events. I was going to celebrity houses, which is so different than my life now. And I was working late nights. There were questionable things happening. There were alcohol clients, there were model. Like it was a very weird environment and I didn’t know myself enough that this wasn’t my world and I was trying to be, I was trying to fit in. I was trying to be part of it.
And I think just going on such little sleep, being part of unhealthy behavior and also not really having a purpose and not having a why, which is everything I’m about now got me to the point physically where I just was so exhausted, like you said, and I was probably kissing too many boys, so I got mono, but I got mono and I think this is where the burnout comes in is like, you can get mono right at any point. And you’re down for a little bit or a few weeks, sometimes just a little longer. But I guess 3% of people get it so bad they end up in the hospital and I was in that 3%. And I know exactly why is because my body completely run down.
I wasn’t in touch with my feelings. I wasn’t watching out for myself. I had no purpose that was lighting me up. And so I let myself basically take all of these barriers down with my body. And then I got this thing and I got it so bad I ended up in the hospital. And I think the problem wasn’t even that. That wasn’t even the moment that woke me up. It was many months later after the hospital. Because I went right back to my full-time job like two days after I was in the hospital, maybe even one. And I was working these late events and I did not give my body any time to heal. So if I had, maybe it wouldn’t have become such a big burnout, but I didn’t.
And I kept working and I kept showing up and I kept doing these things that weren’t healthy. And I got to a boiling point where, still remember this to this day, I was biking and I took the curb the wrong way and I fell and smacked my leg really hard. And there was dripping down. And the scariest thing was not the blood, the scariest thing wasn’t the bruise forming, it was the fact that I did not feel anything.
I did not feel emotions. I didn’t feel physical pain. I was completely numb. So I think when it comes to burnout, it is obviously exhaustion. It is emotional tiredness, but it can also make you make decisions like not taking care of your physical self that lead to other things. And for me, I didn’t listen to that even when I was in the hospital. I only listened to it when I literally couldn’t feel anything anymore. And I just want to say like, I don’t think entrepreneurs or creatives have to hit rock bottom to find their purpose. That’s where my journey began, but I know so many people that can just live a meaningful life and make meaningful decisions without that. It’s just unfortunate that that’s not how… I couldn’t be woken up that way.
Jessmyn:
Right. Right. But how did you… So you got to this point where you were like, okay, this is my wake up call I need to make, I need to do something about this. How did you get from that point to starting a business?
Quinn:
Yeah. I mean, it was a weird jump and I didn’t have any clarity. I was completely muddled. I couldn’t feel anything I didn’t know. And so the only thing I knew and I think this has come back in many different forms in my life and it’s something I even teach now is like, I was curious about one thing and one thing only. And at that time it was yoga because it was the only thing that got me back in my body and actually made me feel something again. And so I followed that curiosity and I took all the savings from this job in LA. I left after many months of planning that departure and I enrolled in a year long yoga teacher training. And that was the best decision ever, like just to follow what is it I’m interested in. It’s something that actually lights me up because I hadn’t stopped to ask myself that. I hadn’t even dug deep to be like, oh, what do I like other than acting, which I didn’t like anymore.
And so during that year of really sitting with myself, asking myself hard questions, being with me, I started to just explore, well, what would I like to do? And something I’ve always liked to do is design. So I’ve always liked to bring ideas to life, I’ve liked to be creative. And I was like, hey, I could do that maybe. And just by chance, I got my first client in a coffee shop where he needed a pen, he was on the phone and I could tell he needed a pen. So I handed to him, we struck up a conversation after and he was like, “What do you do?” And although I didn’t know at the time what I did, I was like, “Oh, I’m a designer,” like a question mark. And he was like, “Oh, what’s your hourly rate?” And I just happened to know a rate of someone else that I had previously met and I just threw it out there. He was like, “Great. Let’s do some work together.”
And he became my first client ever. And from there, I started to build some confidence in myself that, oh, I could get paid to do creative work. I can get paid to do something I really enjoy. I can get paid to look at my computer and design cool stuff. And that’s really was the start of it. And that was back in 2011 and it’s 10 years later. And so really it wasn’t necessarily like I had this grand plan, I had this grand scheme. I wish I was that strategic back then, but it was really just like, I got this opportunity, I was curious about it, it lit me up and I was like, why not follow this? Why not pursue it and see what happens? And obviously then there’s so much more to the story, but that was it. It was just following my curiosity. And I always say this to people, it’s like, you can’t think your way to clarity. You can’t think your way to clarity. All you can do is take one action and then let that take you to the next.
And I think the thing that you need to do is just follow your curiosity. Like what lights you out? What are you curious about? Go read a book, go talk to someone, go lend a pen to a random guy in a coffee shop. Like just be curious and take action. And you don’t have to know where those actions are going to lead because inevitably you’re going to start to build those breadcrumbs and you’ll see that there’s a path that’s going to form.
Jessmyn:
I love that so much. And I love that you kind of emphasize taking one action because I think in entrepreneurship a lot of times there’s this, I guess, feeling or kind of urge that you have that do everything right now. Like all has to fall into place right now, but there’s small steps that you could take to get to that place, which is a lot healthier and probably will give you more space to actually be more thoughtful in each step that you take rather than trying to do everything at once, which can probably lead to burnout or it won’t, nothing ever happens the way you want it to. But I also love your coffee shop story because it kind of reminds me about how side story everybody else talks about like you never know when you’re going to meet the love of your life, you might walk into coffee shop, but you walked into a coffee shop.
Quinn:
Oh, funny story.
Jessmyn:
Wait, is he?
Quinn:
Yeah. Yeah, I’m like, okay, well, this is going to come full circle. So funny you mention that.
Jessmyn:
That’s amazing.
Quinn:
Because yeah, in 2011 I handed the guy a pen and he became my first client ever. In 2012, I believe, a very handsome man handed me a pen when mine ran out of ink and he’s now my husband at a different coffee shop. So yes, there’s quite the life changing magic of pens and meeting strangers in coffee shops.
Jessmyn:
Yeah.
Quinn:
I mean, honestly, that is how I built my business in the first few years was literally just working in coffee shops. It was granted I know I’m like… I hope this doesn’t sound awful, but I’m a cute girl. And I’m sitting there by myself.
Jessmyn:
You’re.
Quinn:
And there were a few men that talked to me and I took advantage of it and I took those opportunities and I built on those opportunities to end up finding the type of client I actually wanted to work with after I had the funding to build some marketing and do that, which actually led me to now working with all women, which is much more my happy space. But so yes, I met my husband the same way.
Jessmyn:
I like that. That is so funny because I had no idea it would go that way.
Quinn:
I know.
Jessmyn:
So a note to self, you can meet your future husband and your first client in coffee shops.
Quinn:
Yes.
Jessmyn:
That’s good to know. I love that a lot. And I think what’s really interesting, something that kind of caught my ear was you saying you kind of just took these opportunities as it presented itself. Something that… I mean, we can’t all meet clients in coffee shops, but I think that’s something that you can resonate with is like once an opportunity presents itself to just kind of say yes, but how do you know if it’s the right opportunity?
Quinn:
That’s a great question. I think it depends what stage you are if we’re talking about entrepreneurs. I think it really depends on where you are in building your business. Back then when I was first starting out, it didn’t matter other than I got money for it. Because I was just trying to make an income and was just trying to get something going. But then as my business started to progress, I started getting to the point where I could say no, I could take opportunities that were really lighting me up versus other ones. And now in my business, I have that freedom even more. So I think you have to throw out the idea that it’s a one size fits all decision making skillset, because it really depends on what your goal is, what your vision is, what your purpose is and what will help you create that purpose in the moment.
And sometimes I even have to do that too. And I talk to a lot of members of my collective and people I mentor in business is that if you know where you’re headed, if you know what your ultimate goal is and what that purpose is that’s driving you, you can then start to make decisions easier because you know if that decision is helping you create that purpose and move in that direction or if it’s holding you back. But that’s not always the case for everyone. Sometimes like actually a few, maybe five years ago or even before that, I took on a big marketing client because all I needed at that time was stability and finances so that I could start exploring what I wanted to create that felt more meaningful. Now, that doesn’t mean that that work I was doing with that client wasn’t meaningful. In fact, it taught me everything I know out marketing, but I made that decision because it supported in my greater vision.
And I think sometimes, and especially in the kind of women’s entrepreneurial space, it’s all about work with your ideal client and you can be happy all of the time. And I just call BS on that because sometimes you have to make intentional trade offs to get where you want to go. And just the fact that you’re intentional about that decision makes a less than stellar opportunity fine, because you know that opportunity is helping you get somewhere. So like working with that client taught me everything I know about marketing so that when I was able to actually leave, I knew how to my own business, I had a direction, I had a plan and I could put my full heart into it.
So I don’t remember the original question, but… Oh, decision making. And I think that’s the thing is like, I almost like to envision, because I talk about purpose a lot and this is kind of weird and woo-woo but I think it’s a good visual for people. It’s like picture this glowing orb in the middle of your chest. And then there’s an opportunity that comes up to that orb and you hold that orb up to that opportunity whether it’s to take a client, whether it’s to work with a partner, whether it’s to take a part-time job, whatever it is. And you ask yourself like, does this light my orb up or does it diminish it? And sometimes there’s going to be a counterintuitive answer because sometimes something that’s going to diminish it will actually help light it up later. But in the meantime, you kind of want to think, okay, am I being lit up or to this jamming my sparkle and at least use that as one element of your decision making.
It’s not the end all be all of like intuitive decision making, because I think there needs to be logic within it, but I think the more we can listen to ourselves and tune into what’s going to help me now as well as what’s going to serve me later, that’s how you make a decision. And also if you’re not ready to make a decision, don’t. Just take action. And it literally doesn’t matter what you do. Go talk to someone, go on a walk. Like clarity’s built from action not from thinking about what you need to do, just do it. Nike, just do it.
Jessmyn:
I love that a lot. And I think it’s a good way to kind of… It’s like an actionable thing that you can do too. It’s not… I feel like sometimes when you read advice online or you hear what other people are doing, it feels easier said than done. And they explain it, but you’re like, I don’t even know what that means, but the way you described it visually just makes so much sense. Do you relate that also to figuring out your purpose or how does… Because you do talk about, you’ve said it a lot, but what does that mean?
Quinn:
Yeah. Well, I think there’s a lot of understandings of what purpose. So maybe let me ask you first, what is your preconception of purpose or your perception of purpose? Like how have you defined it in your life or in your work?
Jessmyn:
I think for me personally, which I feel like that has a lot to do with it is the word personally, right? For me personally, purpose kind of means just where I want to end up in life, looking back, what I feel has led me up to this moment and what, in your terms, I would say would light up my orb. But before I knew that I would say like just kind of what makes me happy. And that’s I think how I would define purpose.
Quinn:
Yeah. And I think why I ask that is just because sometimes we can have conversations about big loaded terms like purpose or even like religion, God or whatever, money and everyone has a different definition and you end up having a conversation and you’re talking about completely different things, but you don’t realize. And so that’s why I want to ask about you. And I think we’re kind of similar. I thought way too much about purpose. It’s my business now. It’s literally my trademark. And for me, purpose is really the drive that makes you do something. It’s the why that drives the what. And I think there’s a lot of different definitions of purpose out there that can be really confusing. Like for instance in religious traditions, it’s almost like your existence, like why you’re here and why you were born, which is like really big and scary and daunting.
Like, wait, wait, wait, I was born for this reason, I don’t even want to go there. So that’s not my definition. And it could also be a lot more about like how you serve the world too. I mean, it can lot of things. And I think growing up we always see this phrase, especially at like TJ Maxx or Marshalls or home goods, like find your purpose, right? It’s like on all the mugs and the posters. And I think that’s not helpful, that’s not true because you don’t just suddenly find your purpose unless you’re looking for it. It’s not like a messed up existential treasure hunt that like one day when you’re just smart enough or wise enough and mature enough or still enough in meditation that, oh, it’s just right there and oh my God, I know exactly why I’m here and what I’m supposed to do. That’s never happened for me. I’ve never experienced anyone that’s just like suddenly found it.
I think the only way you’re going to find it is if you look for it. And I really have looked for it not just in myself, but in other people. And I think it’s really that core drive, that core why that’s behind your what. And I think another thing that I’ve heard a lot about is like people think their purpose is what they do. Like I’m a teacher, my purpose is to teach and to be a teacher. Is it though? What’s behind that? Or my purpose is to… Like for example for a long time, I’ve done web design. I still do it. I don’t do it as much anymore. I would never sit here and say, my purpose is to be a web designer. How boring? That’s not why we’re called. That’s not why I’m called or we’re called to do design or creative work.
And once I started figuring that out, I was like, okay, well, what’s underneath the surface of what I do? And that’s the why. And as I personally dug deep into that, I realized I got so excited when I worked with especially women who were purpose-driven because when I was able to design a website and create brand for them, that brought their ideas to life and that was empowering to them because they then had this home base online that they could share with their followers, they could get business out of. That could change their life. And so I went under the surface of what I did and I said, why am I doing what I do? And the answer to me was because I love helping people bring their ideas to life.
And the cool thing about going under the surface and making your purpose broad and also deciding your purpose, not finding it is that it can come to life in so many different ways. Like I help people bring ideas to life, that doesn’t need to just be a website, right? Now I have my own community of women. It could also be being on a podcast and talking about this stuff. Also I’ve seen it in my life volunteering with like homeless kids and doing art therapy with them. That’s where my purpose is as well. So I think if we can divorce our idea of like purpose is conflated with our what and say purpose is the why that can drive many what’s, it’s so freeing. I don’t know, that’s at least what I think.
Jessmyn:
Yeah. Oh my God. I was like, I’m not even going to say anything because I love everything that you’re saying. I’m just going to let you keep going. Do I have any more questions? I don’t know. No, I think that was beautiful and I think that distinction. And you’re right. Like when you think purpose, it kind of feels like it always has to be one thing. It feels like it has to be that one thing. And I think like relating it to even entrepreneurship when people think about their business idea, like what they want to do, how they want to serve people, they’re like, okay, it has to be this one thing and it has to surround around this one thing for every single thing that I do.
Quinn:
Nicheing and all of that.
Jessmyn:
Right. But I love the way that you describe it in a way that it’s like, if you kind of focus on it being your why, you could do whatever you want. Sky is the limit. It doesn’t have to stop there. I think that was awesome.
Quinn:
Yeah. And I’ve seen it in my career, I’ve seen it in my mentees career is this freedom to pivot, this freedom to be flexible, this freedom to evolve and to see how your purpose evolves. Oftentimes the actual purpose stays the same because it’s broad, because it’s not defined, because it’s not focused in on one thing. But like my purpose or more absolutely put, the expression of my purpose has changed throughout the years. I mean, we’ve even kind of talked about it. Like at the beginning I was doing design work and I was doing it for whoever would pay me. And then I started refining, oh, what is it that actually lights me up. And I started working with more and more of those people. And then as I started working with more of those people I realized like they don’t just need marketing help, they need help on defining their why. And that’s why I created Create Your Purpose, which is my business and my collective.
So the evolution of how my purpose comes to life and my business changes, the purpose hasn’t changed, but I feel free to keep letting it change. And I’m not actually scared about a five year plan or 10 year plan. I don’t even care to create it right now because it’s going to evolve organically and naturally as I evolve and as my purpose meets the world. And I think that’s the thing about purpose is like, it’s both so unique to you as a person, but it also meets the world in what it needs. And personally I think right now we need more empowered women, especially with great ideas, with the confidence as well as the tactical knowledge to communicate those ideas. And so like that’s why my purpose lights me up was like, I just want to help people bring their ideas life and how I do that doesn’t matter as much as why I do it.
Jessmyn:
Right. I think that’s beautiful. I love the way you talk about it. And I think it’s awesome. Something that I heard you say was, and correct me if I’m saying this wrong, but you don’t necessarily worry about like your five year or 10 year plan because it all kind of happens in steps and it comes naturally. But for the people who are listening who are like, no, I do not work that way, I have to kind of have sort of a direction of where I’m going, how do you still apply this same kind of idea, but for someone who is not quite there yet and they’re like, well, no, I need to plan and I need to see each step before I actually start going or before I start taking each step, I want to have something in place?
Quinn:
Yeah. It’s a good question. I think I would start by differentiating a vision from a plan, because they are very different things. And I think I am fine having a five year vision or a 10 year vision, but how I’m… And for me a vision is like an end destination. That’s like the beautiful either tropical location you want to go to someday and by creating a vision and by putting it out there, either documenting it or whatever you want to do, painting it, you can know where you’re going to go and you can feel how you’re going to feel when you get there. And that makes it real. Like that I have absolutely. But what I don’t have is like, this is exactly the path I’m going to take to get to that destination, to create that vision because that has to evolve. And that has to be done not in the moment because I don’t believe in just doing things randomly, but it needs to evolve based on where you are right now or in the near future.
So personally, I like to think big picture in terms of a vision, how I’m going to feel, what I’m going to be like, what I’m going to do. And it’s not something I can like perfectly articulate, but it’s a feeling, right? And sometimes I’ll write it down as a vision statement. And that might be further out, but I can definitely have a plan for a year. I could say here’s what my goals are. This is what I did earlier this year. Here’s how I’m going to reverse engineer those goals and like what I need to do to get there. And then I also like to do quarterly plans. So when we’re kind of talking about systems here as we get down the bucket, visioning is very different than planning. But when you start to do planning, that’s about systems. That’s about harnessing your time and energy with intention towards that greater vision.
And I’ll tell you, I think everyone should do whatever works for their brain. For me, it works good to do a long term vision, a one year plan and then a quarterly very specific, like here’s my objectives, here’s my weekly action plans. That’s how it works best for me, but that’s not going to be for everyone. And anytime I talk about systems or tools or organization, do what works for you. Because I think we and I have wasted so much time trying to use this tool or do that system or this process that worked for other people but does not work for my brain. So I think one of the biggest things is just to get to how your brain works. Like how do you process information? How do you organize? How do you streamline a lot of different data points in your life and play around, try everything, do it all and then start to make some decisions.
So I guess I just want to distinguish because I think a vision is very different than a plan. I think you need a vision first because that’s the end destination and then you can clarify your purpose that’s like the vehicle that’s going to get there. And then the plan is this path that you’re going to take and walk down to kind of get to that vision and that purpose is going to continually drive you. I hope that visualization helps a little bit, but I know it can be a lot. I just think it comes down to like getting to know how you work best and then implementing some of these strategies to keep moving forward with intention.
Jessmyn:
Yeah. I think that’s great advice because I… And this has come up more recently. I don’t know why, but I’ve been talking to more people where they buy multiple courses and they’re trying to follow all these different types of advice and it just doesn’t click. Somewhere down the line it’s like, oh, I feel like I wasted my money, I feel like I didn’t get what I needed from it. And what I needed was something that I read online for free or whatever, right?
And so I think that’s great advice to kind of listen to where you need to figure out what works for you because it’s the internet. And so there’s going to be all these different types of, I do it this way, it works. I got this much money from it and it’s amazing. But one, they don’t always tell the full story. And two, if you try it and you spend X amount of money on it, you have to have an open mind or take it with a grain of salt, I guess, of like, this might not end up working. It might be totally different for me.
Quinn:
Yeah. And I think that’s something that has come up a lot even when I was building out the idea of my community, which is now the Create Your Purpose Collective was kind of reaching those people who are at the phase of I’ve collected a lot of information, I’ve downloaded all the things, all the freebies, all the opt-ins, but I still don’t know what’s next. I still don’t feel excited. I feel I’m pulled in a million different directions. Like I hear the same things all the time. And I think there’s a time and a place to learn a lot.
There’s a time and a place to do all of those things I just said, and to get a lot of information and collect it. But there’s also a time, and I don’t know if anyone listening is feeling this, but I know a lot of the women I work with are ready to rely on themselves more and are ready to dive deep into what makes them feel good, what makes them light up, what feels authentic to how they want to run their business. And at that point, you can’t keep looking up externally. You can’t keep looking outside of yourself.
And so part of the experience in my collective is introspection. Like that’s the biggest thing is like getting to know yourself because we all know entrepreneurship is the best place to see how you get in your own way. Like there’s so many ways. I get in my own way. And knowing those things, kind of approaching them with a sense of kindness, but also taking everything you learn and putting it in a certain direction, that’s not finding your purpose, that’s creating your purpose. And that’s why I called my business that.
So I think there’s a time, and if you’re still in that time, it’s okay, download it all, learn it all but then you will know when you’re like, I am ready to just do this myself to take everything I learned, everything I know and to also just root myself in me and what I want to do and what impact I want to make and propel myself forward. There will be a shift at some point. And at that point it’s really important to be around people that support you because you might not always like what you find or at least it will be a little hard to look in words if you haven’t really built that muscle yet.
Jessmyn:
Right. I think that’s an interesting point because I mean, a big reason why we even started Creator Stories was to kind of tap into this space because we feel like nobody’s talking about it, right? We feel like nobody’s talking about like the nitty gritty things that you need to think about when you’re an entrepreneur or what you need to ask yourself. So how do you you yourself kind of sit down with yourself? I know I keep saying that word, but how do you sit down with yourself and tap into that space of like, okay, let me figure out what I need. Let me figure out what this means, where I want to go, what I want to do and so on.
Quinn:
Yeah. I mean, at the very beginning it was a lot of me just trying to figure out. Like I do a lot of like mind mapping and like I think one of the biggest strategies that has helped me is to just get my brain out of my brain so I could see it objectively. Because I think it’s, we just keep a lot up there. It’s a hot mess up there and I think until you can look at it objectively outside of yourself, it’s hard to find clarity. It’s hard to make decisions. It’s hard to know what’s even in there. And so I think that was really my first step in the process was really getting my ideas out, really asking myself some good, big questions like what key experiences in my life have shaped me and why, what is the impact that I want to make? Who do I want to serve and who do I feel called to serve and why? And really like honing in on those things that we all have answers to but we don’t necessarily have the question asked of us.
And so either you join a group like mine or you ask yourself that question and you see what happens and you see what comes next. And I think that’s really where it starts is just introspection and getting your brain out of your mind and starting to make a decision. And it’s not a fast process. It’s a lifelong process. And I think I always say entrepreneurship is like this bootcamp/yoga class/ therapy session all in one. It’s hard. It’s not easy. Like this stuff is hard and it’s not for everyone. You have to get to know yourself and you have to get to know the good parts and the bad parts and then decide what you’re going to do about it.
I think it’s also the coolest thing ever, like who else gets to do this, right? Like I’ve learned so much about myself through my business. And I think for me it comes down to checking in with myself, whether that’s creating a ritual or routine or just taking a walk. Like for me, I think the biggest thing that’s changed in the past two years if we’re talking nitty gritty is I started doing a monthly reflection on the first weekday of every month within my community because I also need the accountability myself. And I’ll ask myself some questions like what did I achieve last month? What challenged me? What insights did I have? What can I celebrate? I also think that’s a big one because it’s really easy especially as women to just focus on what we didn’t do and what we didn’t achieve.
And so I always kind of write myself like a full and little affirmation. And then I also think about, well, what do I need to focus on this month? And so that’s like the beginning. That might only take me 30, 40 minutes to do that reflection, but from then I take those things and I say, okay, I already know what I need to focus on, I also know what I need, maybe it’s more walks, maybe it’s less time on my phone and I’ll then turn that into an action plan. So I’ll literally take that. I’ll go into… I personally use Asona for my task management system and I’ll put it like week by week. Like this week you’re focusing on your quiz marketing or next week you’re going to connect with your collective members and I’ll put it in there. And I think the more we can set our future self up for success, the less decision fatigue we’ll have in the moment.
And I think that’s a real thing for us as entrepreneurs is like making so many decisions at once that feel really big and really daunting. If we can start to almost batch our decision making and plan ahead, like not only are we going to get more done, we won’t have to make as many decisions. We’re going to enjoy what we get done. And we’re also being so kind to ourselves because we’re asking, so how do I set future Quinn or future Jessmyn up for success and take action towards that. And that dynamic just changes everything. So if I were to sum all of that up, I guess, is what can you do now to set your future self up for success? I think just that question alone, whether it’s drinking more water now, whether it’s putting your task down on a piece of paper, whatever it is, that question can just do so much for you in the long term as well as the short term as a business owner.
Jessmyn:
I think that’s amazing. Actually, I’ve been doing development coaching and it’s really interesting because this is something that I didn’t know I was doing, but something that comes up with my coach all the time is he’s like, “Jess, be more gracious with yourself.” Like you don’t think you’re being mean to yourself because out of all the people in the world, you wouldn’t want to like put yourself down or you wouldn’t want to be hard on yourself, but you don’t realize that you are doing it kind of unconsciously I guess or subconsciously, but it’s crazy how that small thing can kind of change everything. Like once I started every time, now after kind of hearing that multiple times, I’m like, okay, this is something that I’m going to pay attention to. And every time I’m like, oh, the day is over and I’m tired, but I didn’t finish that one thing. What’s wrong with me? The deadline soon.
And I could go down just like a spiral of the rest of my night is kind of ruined, I guess you could say, because you’re just so caught up in this like, should I just finish it? But I’m tired. I don’t feel like doing it. It’s going to end up not looking good anymore. But once I stopped sort of doing that and stopping myself in my tracks of like, okay, you could be a little nicer to yourself and let’s take a second. And then also kind of what you were saying, something similar of just like future facing of like, okay, so what can I do to make sure that I don’t get in that place again of not finishing something or what can I do to not get in that place or something if I don’t finish it or I don’t accomplish what I thought I would, how can I react a little bit more positive for myself, right?
Quinn:
Or you could even flip it and say, instead of what can I do better next time because that seems like the root of the question and say, what did I do good this time or do well this time.
Jessmyn:
I love that.
Quinn:
Like something that… Because I feel you so much. Like I think we are so unkind to ourselves. We would never say the things that we say to ourselves to other people. And I think that’s a really good barometer is like, would I say this to someone else? And so I think almost like looking at the flip side of that of like, for example, with yours, like could you, at the end of the day, write down the five things you accomplished and cross them off and be like, that just feels good, I’m going to celebrate what I did and I’m going to move what I didn’t to the next day or to next week knowing that I’m going to be able to cross that off then.
I think we’re so ingrained. I know I am, I have a slave driver within me and she is like whipping me constantly and not in a sexy way. Not that that’s sexy, I don’t know. But like I feel it so much and I always have to stop and I’m not saying this as in, I have it figured out, I’m saying as like, this is what’s I’m trying to do is to look at what I’ve actually accomplished versus what I didn’t and then move that thing that I need to work on to another time. Like we have to celebrate what we’ve done not just bag on ourselves for what we haven’t, because otherwise it’s just not sustainable.
Jessmyn:
Right. It also, I think, makes the whole experience not that great for lack of a better word.
Quinn:
Have fun.
Jessmyn:
Yeah. And I think what’s kind of interesting about even just the fact of like why don’t we talk about the hard parts of entrepreneurship is like… Because what am I trying to say here? I think what I’m trying to say is sort of this just like we don’t celebrate those moments. We kind of just look at, okay, I’m struggling through this and I’m struggling through that. Look at this person online. They did it in like a month, why am I not doing that? But if you kind of step back from that and look at that perspective a little bit differently and just say like, okay, well, what did I accomplish, where do I need to go from here? It could be a game-changer.
Quinn:
Oh yeah, I mean, it’s so hard because you bring up like looking at other people online and you just never know like what starting point they were at. You could have been at A but they were already at G and that’s why it only took them a month. Like you don’t know everyone’s story, you don’t know all the details. And it’s just so easy to break our own hearts by judging ourselves in comparison to what we see. And I think something I try to tell myself is like turn envy into inspiration. Like if you see someone doing something you love and you feel envious of, ask yourself why, like why did that spark you? Why did that trigger you and say, how can you turn that into something useful? Like there’s a woman, her name’s Amber Ray on Instagram and she does amazing drawings and things like that, just like really great. And I also just think she’s cool.
And so instead of being envious of her post although I probably was at some point, I was like, well, how can I take something from this? And I figured out that, oh, I want to have some more like hand drawn elements in my marketing and my design. And so I bought like an Apple pencil. Now I haven’t used it yet, but my intention is there. And I think that’s just an example of like, well, what can I take from this feeling I have and turn it into something that I can learn from and I identify like what it is that bother me. And it’s not that it bother me, it’s something that like, oh, I don’t have that and I want that and it looks so good, but there’s something I could do about it, which is learn how to do that. So that’s the next step.
Jessmyn:
That’s amazing. I never even thought of it that way. I’m not with necessarily business and entrepreneurship, but I’m like that with looking at like clothes online.
Quinn:
Sure.
Jessmyn:
Especially Instagram where you want to follow people who wear all these nice outfits. And for me it’s always like, oh my gosh, I wish I could. I spent so much time trying to look for more affordable pieces that I could recreate these looks that I forget to look at my own closet and then I realize I have like five of the shirt and I’m like, why did I do this?
Quinn:
I feel this a lot.
Jessmyn:
Right. But my analogy to that is if you just look in your own closet, it might already be there.
Quinn:
Yeah. Shop your closet, right?
Jessmyn:
Right, right. But we are coming up on time. This was amazing and I loved conversation. Quinn, I have two last questions that I like to wrap up with if you’re game for it. Second to last is what are three things most people would not know about you.
Quinn:
Okay. Number one, I have worked at Buckingham Palace.
Jessmyn:
Whoa.
Quinn:
Yeah. That was fun. Backstory was I was doing catering there and it was really fun. And I got a chance to work at the garden parties. So the queen greeted us and we saw her corgis.
Jessmyn:
That’s awesome.
Quinn:
Yeah. So that’s my fun fact. Let’s see. Number two, I feel like this is always like surprising to people but I’m lefthanded. I don’t think it’s that rare, but it seems like people just make a big deal out of it that I’m lefthanded. And then, I mean, the third one I usually say, but you guys already know it now, is I met my husband in a coffee shop when he let me a pen.
Jessmyn:
I love that story though. And I will say as a rightie, I don’t know what it is that when you’re a rightie you just think… When you see someone write with their left hand, I don’t know what it is, but I’m always like, oh my God, you’re lefthanded.
Quinn:
Yes. It’s always like that.
Jessmyn:
Yeah. And I forget who, because now I feel like I know a ton of people who are lefthanded and my nephew actually, he’s the first in our family, he’s lefthanded, but-
Quinn:
He’s special.
Jessmyn:
It’s just so funny because I think it was one of my best friends growing up every time I was like, I forgot you were lefthanded. It turned into, oh my God, you’re lefthanded to, I forgot you’re lefthanded, which is probably just as annoying as oh my God you’re lefthanded.
Quinn:
I will say I do everything else with my right hand. I eat and I write with my left hand, but who writes anymore with their hand. So I still eat with my left hand, but apparently lefties die sooner than righthanders.
Jessmyn:
Sketchy.
Quinn:
So I feel like that’s not going to happen to me because I only eat with my left hand. That’s all good.
Jessmyn:
Maybe it was a thing back in the day because there wasn’t many lefthanded instruments you could use I guess. That is so funny. Actually, we have a lefthanded store up in San Francisco. So I was like I can’t wait till my nephew can actually… He’s only two. So I was like, I can’t wait until he actually does things on his own, I’m going to take him to that store and buy him everything that he needs.
Quinn:
Yeah. And he may change his mind. At two they might not be lefties for life yet, I don’t know.
Jessmyn:
Oh really? That’s great.
Quinn:
I hope so. I hope so because he will feel very special.
Jessmyn:
Well, his dad was lefthanded until he broke that hand or arm or something that he was forced to learn how to write with his right hand. And so now he’s right handed, but I think it’s one of those situations like yours where like he writes with one hand, but does everything else-
Quinn:
We all do. Yeah. I’ve never met a pure lefthander yet.
Jessmyn:
Very interesting. Yeah. So he’s a… I want to think of a funny word for like forcing himself to be right handed, but I can’t think of anything on the spot. Who knows? We’ll see. Okay. So my last question for you is if you could give yourself a single piece of advice at the start of it all, what would it be?
Quinn:
Oh, well, I think since I kind of shared the story of the start of it all, it’s like get to know yourself first. I think that’s the biggest thing, because I just jumped right into whatever. I didn’t necessarily follow my curiosity. I just was scared. And I think if I had had some more skills of knowing myself and looking inside, that would help me a lot. So I guess to sum it up, I’d say, look inside, get to know yourself and then don’t be afraid to follow your curiosity. Like it’s a very powerful sometimes magical force and I think it’s undervalued in our culture.
Jessmyn:
I love it. I love it. And before I do forget, where can people find you online?
Quinn:
Oh gosh, well, I spend way too much time on Instagram, so you can find me @quinn.tempest. And then since we’re on the Interact Podcast, you can also take my quiz. So it’s right on my homepage at quinntempest.com. So if you’re interested in knowing a little bit more about your purpose, I have a quiz where you’re going to get one of eight results, which is your purpose profile and some information about how you can dive deeper into what your why is. So that’s just at quinntempest.com right on the homepage.
Jessmyn:
I love it. I love it. Well, thank you again for being on with us today. We will put those in the show notes and then for everyone who is listening, thanks for joining us and we will see you next time.