Virtual Sales Mastery: Katelynn's 3-Year Millionaire Path | Katelynn Blackburn DSH #882
Tune in now to uncover the inspiring journey of Katelynn Blackburn, who transformed her life from a single mother struggling to make ends meet to a self-made millionaire within just three years! πͺβ¨ Join the conversation with Sean Kelly on the Digital Social Hour Podcast as Katelynn shares her powerful story of resilience, entrepreneurship, and the drive to succeed in the virtual sales landscape. π
Packed with valuable insights, Katelynn reveals how she broke free from the traditional 9-to-5 grind, embraced the virtual world, and built one of the fastest-growing insurance agencies. πΌπ Don't miss out on her secrets to overcoming adversity and thriving in a competitive industry.
Watch now and subscribe for more insider secrets. πΊ Hit that subscribe button and stay tuned for more eye-opening stories on the Digital Social Hour with Sean Kelly! π Katelynnβs journey is not just about success; it's about redefining possibilities. π
Join us on this episode available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, and be part of the movement transforming lives through entrepreneurship! π§β¨
#lifeinsurancesales #closingthedealinvirtualsales #virtualsellingtips #b2bsales #virtualsellingbestpractices
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:26 - Katelynn Blackburnβs Early Life
01:30 - Katelynnβs Early Jobs
03:16 - Katelynn's Path to Success
06:34 - Finding a Mentor
08:22 - Overcoming Industry Adversity
11:05 - Building a Strong Team
12:09 - The Role of Family Support
14:54 - Making a Positive Impact
16:57 - Value of College Education
18:40 - Lifelong Learning Journey
20:04 - Future Aspirations
21:09 - Weekly Work Hours
23:37 - Cultivating Mental Resilience
25:56 - Evolving Relationships with Mothers
27:30 - Passion-Driven Success
28:03 - Connect with Katelynn
28:25 - Thanks for Watching
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GUEST: Katelynn Blackburn
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Transcript
Right.
You know, when you get in that position where you put your you put yourself up against the wall, you know, like I have
at the time, three-year-old daughter, single mom, barely making bills.
And then I find an opportunity where the potential is there, but if you work, you can actually succeed.
So that's what, that's what pushed me very, very hard.
Adversity doesn't doesn't scare me.
All right, guys, Caitlin Blackburn here today.
Can't wait to get into your story.
You're about to inspire a lot of people.
Thanks for coming on.
Thank you for having me, Sean.
Absolutely.
Going from single mother to self-made millionaire, right?
Yeah.
In a matter of a couple years.
Mm-hmm.
Three years.
I'd love to talk about that journey and, you know, how you got there.
Yeah, absolutely.
Well, I am.
Sorry.
I grew up in California and in a pretty typical, you know, background, typical family life.
I
had always pictured my life being something where,
you know, it was, it's completely different than what it is now.
I've always pictured it as like, you know, being a wife, being, you know, a mom, being somebody that was going to have the white picket fence and all that.
And what ended up happening is that I found myself as a single mother.
And that was really the turning point for me to go into entrepreneurship because I knew that I believed in myself.
I knew that my family deserved more than what we were getting from the corporate nine-to-five ladder.
So I had the open mind to take an opportunity to build something from scratch.
Right.
So your parents were both nine to five corporate workers?
Yep.
Yeah, that happened to me too.
But my dad was an entrepreneur on the side.
Oh, okay.
So I got to work under him.
And that really shaped me to become an entrepreneur.
I think looking back at it now, I didn't know at the time.
But yeah, that nine to five was not for me.
No, me neither.
Not at all.
So did you have jobs before you were an entrepreneur?
Yeah, so I went to school.
I mean, I went to Chico State, graduated with a business degree, went into the nursing program, ended up, you know, departing from that during COVID found this opportunity of being an entrepreneur in the financial services realm.
Got it.
So you wanted to become a nurse at first?
I did.
Or were you just following what your parents wanted you to do?
Well, a little bit of both.
I grew up in a pretty like standardized home where they go to school, get good grades,
go climb the corporate ladder.
And I always knew that there was something more to me and there was a bigger purpose behind what I was going to be doing.
And when I found the opportunity, I was like, well, I don't really have anything to lose at this point because I'm not happy with what I'm currently doing.
So if I do give this a shot, you know, where can I take this?
And, you know, fast forward three years, we're one of the fastest growing insurance agencies in the industry.
Incredible.
And you're one of the few females in the space too, right?
Yeah.
So was that intimidating at first?
At first, yeah, it can be.
I've always tried to not compare myself to other people in the industry just because I feel like everybody's journey is their own.
So, you know, when you see men come in and they have like, you know, they're all dressed up in their suit and tie and they're very successful in this space.
It's like, I mean, women can do the same exact thing.
It just comes down to the confidence and their perseverance to actually make something work.
Right.
So you're three years in.
What month or year did you think this could potentially work out?
Did you know right away or did it take some time?
Well, I found the opportunity in March of 2021 and I got my license in April.
and in that first month I had net over 30,000.
Wow in the first month?
First month.
And that's on the phone sales, right?
Well at the time it was all in person.
So I was calling clients, going to their house, showing them the policies and selling.
So that was really when I knew it was possible.
I was like, I've never made that kind of money before and I've never had the freedom that I, that I had.
You know,
to be able to create my own schedule.
In the first month.
So were you just naturally good at sales, talking to people, you think?
I think sales is one of those things that it's a personality trait as well.
It's not necessarily like, oh, like,
you know, you can study your way into sales.
Of course, you can get better at sales.
Of course, you can, you know, go and watch different sales trainings and get better with it.
But your personality and the way that you present yourself is also going to be huge when it comes to sales.
So for me, like the biggest thing was that I don't feel like I was really that good at sales when I first started, but I had an unmatched work ethic so I was going to do whatever it took to make it work right you know when you get in that position where you put your you put yourself up against a wall you know like I have
at the time three-year-old daughter single mom barely making bills and then I find an opportunity where the potential is there but if you work you can actually succeed So that's what that's what pushed me very, very hard.
Adversity doesn't doesn't scare me.
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Yeah, I feel like similar with me when I was starting out, work ethics what got me like that first six figures.
Absolutely.
But then you reach a certain point where you need some mentorship or some networking, you know.
Exactly.
You want to, you want to find other people that are similar to you
and be able to connect with them and see like, hey, what have you done?
that has helped you get to this level and like vice versa like how can i help you get to the next level like maybe i'm good at this, maybe you're good at that.
Like let's let's collaborate.
Right.
You know, so how did you navigate that part?
Did you have a mentor or someone guiding you through this process?
Well, I mean, Sean Mike is our mentor at the company.
So he's been a great help when it comes to, you know, learning how to structure a business, learning how to build a business, and also learning how to develop other agents because that's really what it comes down to when it comes to this industry.
Entrepreneurship, I feel like it's something that, you know, people can grow into if they're willing to put in the work and also they have the burning desire for more.
You know, if you don't have that burning desire, then, you know, maybe you need to find something that you're more passionate about.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Shout out to Sean Mike.
Share the same name.
And I love how honest that dude is.
Yes.
He'll tell you straight up.
Yeah, he is.
Yeah, I remember the first time I had him on the show and he was just like so raw.
It honestly shook me.
I was the first guest I had on that was that honest with stuff.
You're like, wow.
I mean, he told me his whole story.
Yep.
Overcoming adversity and things like that.
Yeah.
And I love that I get to follow someone like that because, like, we're very similar in a lot of ways when it comes to, you know, where I very, like when I first started, like, you know, I'm a different person now.
It's only been three years, but I'm a completely different person than I was when I first started this business.
Like, I was insecure.
I was unsure if this was going to work.
I was doubting myself.
A lot of people were hating on me.
They were like, there's no way she's doing this.
Like, there's no way she's going to succeed.
And, you know, I had to overcome all of that along with with all the things that happen in business, you know, there's ups and downs all the time that you can't control.
And when you're new at business, you have to learn how to overcome that and know that, you know, if you continue to work and you don't quit, you can be very successful.
But if you cannot get your mind to be mentally tough enough to get over that.
then you're going to have a really, really hard journey in entrepreneurship.
Right.
Entrepreneurship, it's not easy.
And speaking of business changes, your industry had some massive changes, right?
Yeah.
And it reminds me of the solar space.
A lot of people got wiped out in solar.
So what happened with your space and how did you adapt to that change?
Yeah.
So, I mean, when I first started the business, I was doing all in-home appointments, which just was calling the leads, you know, setting appointments to meet with them in-home and sitting down at the table and doing more of a face-to-face interaction.
Now, about two years ago, things were going more virtual.
So, virtual just means that everything we do is over the phone.
So, you know, me giving you a call, like, hey, Sean, this is Caitlin, giving you a call about the request you sent in, you know, it's completely different than setting an appointment and sitting with somebody face to face.
So when I made that transition, it was definitely difficult for me because I was so used to having the credibility of sitting like across from somebody and going to building that credibility over the phone was a hurdle.
However, it's a lot more sustainable and it's also a lot more,
you know, your time.
It's a lot more time-saving because when you're driving and traveling and going from door to door, it's, it, it takes up a lot of your time.
So for me, the big moment was like, my team is growing very, very fast right now.
And the only way that I can train them is if I can have them all in one spot and I can show them what to do.
Like on a Zoom room or in an office where they can watch me do it because I can't bring more than one person in the house with me.
Like that's weird.
Like, why do you have six people with you?
Yeah.
You know, so I couldn't do that.
So I was like, I have to make this work.
And what, you know, what was the, that was the big determining factor.
I was like, virtual is a new world.
Let's figure out how we can make this work.
I started writing a high level virtually, which allowed the team to do the same.
And then I started bringing people into the business.
And that was all we knew.
It was like, this is what we do.
This is what we're training you on.
This is how we're going to do it.
Build the best credibility and trust you can with your clients over the phone.
And I think that's why you're one of the fastest growing because you were able to adapt quicker than a lot of people, right?
Yeah.
I mean, you have to adapt in business.
I don't think that that's a unique thing to just this industry.
I think it's every industry because there's always going to be change.
You know, there's change throughout the years.
If you can't adapt, that's going to be really hard.
So for me, I was like, you know, you can't just sit back and be like, oh, I'm just going to keep going in home and not train my agents to work virtually.
Right.
That's what a lot of people want.
And a lot of people are very good at it.
Like, I have a lot of people that I work with that are extremely better at sales than I am.
And they crush it on the phones.
And I remember bringing them in, and I taught them the forefront, but you know, they're really crushing it in that space because that's all they ever did.
Yeah.
I love it.
How big is your team now?
Well, we have about 220 agents.
Wow.
Yeah.
That's crazy.
Yeah, we're pretty big.
Three years.
You're going to hit a thousand in a couple years, probably.
We will.
We're growing very fast right now.
Yeah.
We're generating, we do about 1.5 million a month, paid commissions.
We're growing.
That's super amazing.
I mean, just in three years, too.
Three years.
Did you think it would grow this quick?
No.
I love the honesty.
I actually didn't even think I was going to grow a business.
I didn't.
I was like, I'm in this to, you know, see if sales is the right avenue for me because like the nursing field wasn't going to be it for me and my daughter.
And like, you know, turns out it, it definitely is the right avenue.
And, you know, there's a lot of sacrifices that you go that go along the way.
Wow.
I wonder what your ex thinks about this.
Oh, I'm sure he ate it.
Probably crazy to him, right?
Yeah, I'm sure he ate it.
Because you were broke when you were dating him.
Oh, yes, I was.
College student.
I mean, I didn't make any money.
Damn.
Yeah.
How does he hit you up?
Well, he has another kid and another family.
Oh, wow.
Yeah.
Damn, that's a whole nother podcast, it sounds like.
But family is important to you.
That's one of your core values.
Absolutely.
My daughter is the most important thing to me.
Nice.
She was the reason that I made the
decision to bet on myself.
You know, I thought about her, thought about how I was working 12-hour shifts, spending all of my money on childcare, and knowing that this was going to be
this was going to be my life for a very very long time if I didn't make a change.
So, you know, obviously I get that question asked a lot like, oh, like, how did you do it at the very beginning with a three-year-old?
Well, the honest truth is there's a lot of sacrifices that have to be made to be able to build a business while raising a child.
But my daughter could not be more like.
thankful for what I've done in the past three years because of the life that we do have.
You know, she always says now now that she's six, she's like more aware.
She's like, I'm just glad, mama, you don't have to go to work.
Like you can be home with me.
And now I have more time where I can pick and choose what I want to do.
That's where I'm at too.
That's why I'm working so hard right now because I don't have kids yet, but I want to be there for them because I was an only child.
My parents worked really hard.
And I have a lot of memories of me alone in the house, honestly.
Yeah, me too.
I was an only child.
Yeah, exactly.
So that affects the kid without...
the parents even knowing.
Oh, it does.
Yeah, definitely.
I mean, my upbringing wasn't great.
It wasn't like i was super well off it wasn't like we were super broke either but i didn't have a very good relationship my mom was single mom you know same type of situation um however she just wasn't able to provide me what i want to be able to provide my family and my future family right you know yeah single mom here too yep wow we're both trauma bonding out here yeah there's some drama trauma that comes from that for sure yeah yeah the family unit's important though to me it is like i really want to stress that with my family yeah i think that when you come from something that, you know, you're like, I don't want to repeat that cycle.
You're going to do whatever it takes to not repeat that cycle.
So it's like, I mean, look at the business that you've built.
It's like, you're doing that for a reason.
You have a why behind it.
Same, same goes for me, you know, and we're strong enough to know that we can handle any adversity because we've already been through a lot.
Yep.
That why is important.
Oh, yeah.
And a lot of people have the wrong why, I think, when they get in the business.
Oh, for sure.
For money or for fame or whatever.
Money will never be a why.
It won't.
It won't.
It can't be the main.
No.
no, it can't because it won't last.
No.
Once you start making it, then you become complacent and you have to have a stronger purpose and passion for what you're doing.
You know, like what I, I'm obsessed with my business.
Like I have no shame in saying that.
Like I'm obsessed with it.
I love getting up every day, getting to talk to my agents, develop new people, talk to new people, and really be able to help these entrepreneurs become the best versions of themselves.
Absolutely.
When you made that first million, did you feel like a big shift or anything?
No.
Really?
No.
Honestly, I didn't.
Yeah.
I mean, it is, it's one of those things where I don't even look at my bank account.
Really?
Like, I know it's there and I'm grateful for it.
But I have a stronger, stronger why behind what I'm doing.
And that is to bring more people into this type of space and help them become successful if they're willing to put in the work.
And I always say if they're willing, because there's a lot of people that are out there that want to do this.
They want to build a business.
They want to be an entrepreneur.
They They want to go into something where they're working for themselves and building their own empire.
But you know as well as I do, if you're not somebody that's willing to actually put in the work and go through the adversity that does come, then you're not going to be very successful in this space.
Yeah.
And you're changing thousands of lives now because 200 under you, they help families, you know, they have kids.
And that means more than anything.
Yeah, that's impactful.
Because to get them out of that nine to five is not only helping them financially, but just mentally.
Oh, absolutely.
Yeah.
We make our own schedule.
Yeah.
That's how it should be.
Yeah.
I hated going to school.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah.
Waking up at six.
I know I did it too.
I have trauma from that.
Like, literally, I still have nightmares about like tests and stuff.
Yeah, no.
I mean, like, you're probably similar to me where, like, I wanted to have the best grades and like I wanted to be really successful in it.
And I, I mean, I did well, but I don't use my degree now.
I don't know.
You know.
Did you graduate college?
I did.
Oh, wow.
Gross.
I did not make it that far.
Well, I felt pressured, but I did it.
Where'd you go?
Chico State.
Oh, yeah, you said that.
What'd you major in?
I majored in nursing originally, but I ended up going with business management.
Wow.
So you were minoring in that?
Well, I was initially going to nursing, but in that school, they don't give you a degree unless you finish the program.
So I went with business.
Nice.
So did you learn any good business there?
No.
Not really.
Ironic, right?
Yeah, ironic.
Yeah.
I learned everything from basically books and experience.
Yeah.
And that's what I'm I'm telling kids now in like high school.
They DM me and they ask if I should go to college, but for business and entrepreneurship, I mean, you don't need it.
I don't see the value other than networking.
Yeah.
Networking, but if you, I mean, if you put yourself out there enough, you can network with a lot of successful entrepreneurs without having to go to college.
Yeah.
Do all of that.
Especially if you're in a major city.
There's so many events.
Yeah.
There's events.
You can go out there.
You just have to be willing to put yourself out there and step out of your comfort zone.
If you're willing to do that, then I mean, you can be way more more successful than these people that are at school, you know, trying to graduate.
Yeah, that's a big first step.
Get willing to get out there, whether it's online or in person.
Exactly.
That took me years to overcome that fear.
Yeah, me too.
It took me a lot to overcome the fear of just like posting something on social media.
I was like, I mean, it really doesn't matter.
Like, I'm sharing what I do and I'm sharing my life because there's other people out there that we have something valuable to share.
And that's what we have to remember.
That's what I remember every time.
It's like, I have something valuable to share.
Somebody wants to hear it.
Some people don't.
Maybe I'm annoying to some, but I am sharing this with the right people.
You never know who you're going to help, directly or indirectly.
Like, I get all sorts of messages now or people coming up to me.
It's crazy.
Yeah.
And it's just like, wow, if I just held that in like I was for years, I couldn't have helped you.
Absolutely.
So I think podcasting is changing the game.
Yeah, definitely.
People are just being authentic.
I mean, people go through it and they watch it.
They scroll through and they're like, oh, this topic.
And then they can hear people talking about their honest, their honest truths, their, you know, the honest things that they're actually thinking.
Yeah.
Which you can't see that like when you read magazines and other things.
It's like podcasts are super real.
Are you still learning through podcasts or books or anything?
Actually, I do.
Yeah.
I watch podcasts all the time.
And honestly, like, if you're, if I wake up and I'm having like a rough day, like, I'll turn on a podcast like of literally anything.
It could be just of entrepreneurship or it could be of, you know, the business that I'm in, working out, anything like that.
And it just immediately changed my mindset for the day because I'm like, okay, like I just got yelled at on that podcast.
100%.
Like, I need to get it together.
Yeah, I love pods, and yeah, audiobooks, audible.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You got to constantly be learning no matter what level you're at, too.
Oh, yeah.
It never ends.
Yeah, that's where people, because they graduate college and then they just stop learning.
They get a job.
And then.
Yeah.
And then, like, I mean, I feel like my brain would be like dead if it's not like it would be.
It'd be so stagnant.
Yeah.
Like, I wouldn't be growing ever.
And it's it's like every day i want to get better because every day there's a new challenge you know as you as you know in business there's there's always gonna be something new that you have to overcome and that gives you the opportunity to be better every single time yep yeah if i'm not growing i get so anxious if you're not growing you're dying you're yeah you're going backwards and then there's so many competitors in our space yeah exactly they're just gonna surpass you it's like you gotta you gotta have that burning desire to continue to grow and continue to become a better individual that people want to to network with you and people want to share your story and people want to be in your space.
Absolutely.
What's next for you?
You know, there's a lot of things in the future right now that I'm thinking about.
I'm working on a coaching course right now.
So coaching entrepreneurs of any type of business.
So whether it be the insurance space where I specialize in or marketing where I specialize in, it could be anything because I do believe that entrepreneurship is all about passion.
So if you find your passion in a specific space, you should go after it.
You know, go after it and become very, very good at it.
And when you need somebody to mentor you through the ups and downs of it, that's who I want to be.
Nice.
Like, I want to be there to help you through the ups and downs.
So I'm working on that right now.
Working on obviously establishing the brand a little bit better of exactly who I am and what I want to share and how I want to bring value to other people.
And we have a couple other things in the works right now.
Can't tell you, but they're coming
next month or so.
I'll tell you in a month.
I love it.
You've got all sorts of businesses.
I'm just working on it.
It's a new business for us.
So I'm excited and we're going to continue to grow.
Nice.
You're grinding.
How many hours a week are you working right now?
Oh, that's a funny question for me because I probably, I mean, I feel like I'm working all the time, but I love what I do.
So it's like, I wake up and I'm working because I'm talking to my agents or I wake up or I go to bed and I'm working, you know, because I'm closing, you know, a decline or something.
You know, it's like I'm always working and it really just just comes down to I feel like I've made it a part of my lifestyle that it just like it feels like home you know my business feels like home my my family is a part of my business like my daughter understands the business she is equally connected to the business and the people in my business as I am.
She's really cool.
Six years old.
She's six years old.
Wow.
She comes to our lock-ins sometimes.
Like we have things, events at home where she'll be there.
You know, we've opened an office before and she was there.
It was very, very cool to see her be a part of all of it.
And that's why I do think that, actually, I don't think I know that she is confident what mommy's doing because she's such a part of it.
It's like if you're a parent and you're not sharing with your child what you're doing, that could be a little bit harder for you to be able to make those sacrifices because they don't understand.
But Carmella understands.
She gets it.
I love it.
She's going to be a bright, bright person.
Yep, I hope she follows in my tracks.
And I love how you went against the conventional advice of like not integrating family, personal lives with business lives.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
I mean, Family First Life is the company that I had originally joined.
And that is what it comes down to, Family First.
So I always knew that, you know, the only way that I was going to make this work is to be able to incorporate my life into my business.
Like, I don't think of my business as something where like I clock in and clock out of it.
It's like I'm always running my business.
I'm always talking to people, whether that be brand new people, whether that be people like you, whether that be my current agents, whether that be my actual family that is a part of my business.
It's like I've made every single person and relationship that I have in my life a part of my business.
Wow.
And that is special.
That is, because, you know, when we were growing up, we were taught to rule by fear.
Don't talk about personal lives at the workplace.
Yeah.
So you're basically throwing that out the window.
No.
Yeah, we don't do that.
Which is cool, though, because then you could just be yourself in the workplace rather than trying to hide stuff.
Well, that's the coolest thing about building your own.
You know, you build your own empire.
So, you know, you are your own boss.
And that is a very, very powerful spot to be.
Absolutely.
You got to hold yourself accountable.
Yeah.
You seem really mentally resilient.
Like, I'm really impressed.
I am mentally resilient.
I've been through a lot.
I can tell.
Yeah.
Yeah, you have to reach that point, right?
Yeah.
So were there some challenges early on in the company?
Not necessarily with the company.
I would say more just my personal life.
You know, like we talked a little bit about my upbringing.
Like, you know, I don't have the greatest upbringing, single mom like I was a test tube baby so I was dad yeah I was like you know mom just wanted to have kids so wait so that's a thing actually because yeah it is I always thought that was like a meme no that's real what I'm not yeah so she went she wanted to have kids so badly so she did got test tube yeah
and you know it it was just a different childhood you know just only one parent I have a very small family we didn't see eye to eye on a lot of things as I grew up and it it created a lot of that trauma that once you get older into, you know, like my grandparents were my parents for a very long time.
And then at age 13, you know, they both passed away.
So it was like, that's a crucial age to like lose somebody like that, which caused some trauma, which, you know, in time, it started to reflect in relationships and jobs and things that I was doing.
And I had to make that conscious decision of learning how to overcome it.
You know, like, what am I doing?
What can I do to be better?
And the business really helped me do that because it was like, I've already felt rejection.
I've already felt abandonment.
I've already felt the fear that I'm going to lose everything.
But with this business, like for me, I was always thinking like,
I mean, if I just don't quit, like, I could really make something out of this.
And that's what I tell myself every single day.
When it comes to struggles in the very beginning of the business, I mean, yes, of course, there was like things here and there.
There were adversity that I hit.
There are things that, you know, were hard on me.
But I was so resilient to be able to overcome that just because I saw the vision of where it's going.
I love it.
And that's the same place that I feel today.
It's like I see the vision of where we're going.
Like we're, we're a very, very great company.
Like I'm very happy and blessed to have the company that I do.
But when it comes to where we're going, like I'm so excited about that every single day.
Can't wait to see your journey.
Yeah.
Similar with me.
My mom and I, 80% of our conversations were arguments when I was growing up.
Yeah.
Like it was so toxic, but the business actually healed our relationship.
Yep.
Because I got to find out more about myself, find out about more where she was coming from.
Yeah.
And now we're like, we barely argue now.
Did you ever pair with your mother too?
We try.
I mean, she's got her issues too, but we try.
We're, we're, I will say, you know, we are a lot better than we were before I started the business.
And I do believe that is because you become more self-aware.
100%.
You know, you understand and you feel for other people.
You know, you understand that they may be going through something.
You know, this business taught me a lot about that.
Yeah.
When I was selling and growing, like everybody has something going on in their life, whether they're vocal about it or not.
Everybody has their, you know, their stuff.
And that is where you have to be empathetic towards it.
And as you grow as an individual, you can understand people and read them a lot better.
Yeah.
My biggest fight with my mom, probably yours too, was grades.
Grades, yeah.
Well, they want us to be perfect, right?
Right.
And that's how they made money.
because back then school actually mattered, so you needed to get grades.
Yeah, exactly.
So I get it from their point of view, right?
I guess I never thought about that.
Yep.
No, that changed it for me because she was so hard on grades, but you know, that's how she came to America and made money.
So
I can't even absolutely
be mad about it looking back.
I don't know.
It's like the better grades you have, the better.
the better career you're gonna have back then
but now it's irrelevant
it's like unless you're a doctor or something yeah but it's it's too much pressure on these these kids.
Like, it is.
Oh my gosh, these SATs and everything.
That's why I say it's like, you got to find your passion.
When you find your passion, it's like, go all, go all in with it.
You can make money in anything in this day and age if you're passionate enough and you work really hard.
I've seen every random niche.
You're like, what kind of business is that?
They're like super successful.
It's like, yeah, it's just because they're passionate about it and they're obsessed with what they do and they see a purpose behind it.
Like they want so much for themselves and the people that they work with.
So they're going to make it work.
you know.
Yep, you gotta align everything, can't just be one thing, absolutely.
Sure.
Well, Caitlin, it's been cool.
Where can people find you and potentially work with you or work for you?
Absolutely.
Um, at Caitlin Carmella on Instagram, best place to find me.
Um, you can DM me, you can also shoot me a text or call 530-570-5567.
Wow, putting your number out there.
Yep, I'll get back to you.
About to get blown up.
All right, thanks for coming on.
Thanks, John.
Yep, thanks for watching, guys.
As always, see you next time.