Claire French 00:00:00  I think after moving across the globe, it was like, I don’t need to ask anymore. This is just what I have to do. And I think it all goes back to like making that just a huge decision and feeling like the whole world is against you. Everybody was very supportive, but it was just like an uphill battle to get to where I am now. And instead of being like, you get stuck in the Y and you can move forward with the like, what am I supposed to be getting from this?

Katy Ripp 00:00:29  Hey there, welcome to #ActuallyICan this is the podcast where us female entrepreneurs are going to ditch the hustle culture, build value based aligned businesses, and finally charge what we’re worth. I’m Katy Ripp, a serial entrepreneur, business mentor, rule breaker, and your go to guide for building a profitable business on your own terms. Around here we do things differently. No hustle for hustle sake, no playing small, and definitely no more following antiquated business rules that, clearly were not made with midlife women in mind.

Katy Ripp 00:01:00  Each week I’m here to ask the hard questions, share the advice that’s actually worked for me, and bring on a guest or two who decided to say, fuck it. Actually, I can do this my way. Expect bite size, high impact episodes ranging from about 25 to 45 minutes, packed with real strategies, mindset shifts, and rule breaking business insights. If you are tired of business feeling like an endless to do list and you’re ready to make more money without burning out and feeling guilty, you are absolutely in the right place. Let’s go. Okay. Hi, Claire.

Claire French 00:01:40  Hi.

Katy Ripp 00:01:41  Welcome from Australia. This is so exciting. I am in this small little area in Wisconsin, United States, and zoom has made it, like, so possible to open up my mind to the world. And, I mean, I’m still in, like, these little pockets, but I’m not like a world traveler, so it’s so cool to talk to people from other countries on here. So welcome. It’s 630 in the morning where you are.

Katy Ripp 00:02:08  It’s 1:35 p.m. the day before. So I think that’s also fascinating.

Claire French 00:02:12  Yeah. living a little bit in the future. It’s great over here on Friday, so that’s great.

Katy Ripp 00:02:18  Well welcome to #ActuallyICan, I’m so excited to have you. You’ve got a really cool story about not only leaving corporate but also moving across many oceans. So I’m going to let you get into it. I would love to just hear your story. These are the exactly the kind of people like, hey, I just said fuck it and did it. Yes. Not without some worry, I’m sure, but I would just love to hear your story. How you got there, how you got to where you are. And please tell us where you are in your business. So I’ll let you take it away and I’ll ask you questions if I have them.

Claire French 00:02:51  Okay. Amazing. Like you said, my name is Claire. I moved to Australia in 2019 and I’ve lived in Sydney the whole time. I visited with my then boyfriend in 2018, just to get familiar with it for Christmas and meet his family, and this was when I went.

Claire French 00:03:11  It was so comfortable. I knew if I ever had to move, I could make the move if I needed to. And then a year later, well, it was like six months later, actually. My then boyfriend at the time, now he’s my husband. He was like, I’m going back. And I had already finished school. I was in a kind of a dead end job. I loved my job at the time, but there just wasn’t any growth there. I was already working from home, so I was already pretty familiar with what that would look like. And so I just. Yeah, like you said, I just said bucket and told my family, this is what I’m doing.

Katy Ripp 00:03:45  How did they.

Claire French 00:03:46  Yeah, we were on a family vacation at the time. And Blake, my husband, called me and was like, hey, we’re making the decision. He was there visiting his family for. It’s our summer, their winter. So it was like the middle of winter. Yeah.

Claire French 00:04:02  So he was there in June, like on our summer vacation. But he was there when it was winter and they had a conversation as a family over there, kind of. We met in college and he kind of same thing as me actually was playing soccer for the college that we both went to. And it was not going the way that he thought it would. They brought in a new coach. There was a lot of political change and stuff going on, so they decided it was best for him to go back to Australia and that was kind of a non discussion. They just said you’re coming back. And so he said, I’m going back. He always tells me like I never wanted to force you or pressure you into making that decision. But to me it was just like why would I.

Katy Ripp 00:04:44  You’re not coming with me.

Claire French 00:04:45  Yeah, like I don’t understand. We had only been dating for a year at that point, and I just kind of knew there was just no other decision for me. So walked out of.

Claire French 00:04:55  We were staying in like a cabin because it was June July and I just told them like, okay, I’m officially going to be moving. I don’t know when yet. We need to sit down as a family and have that conversation, but I’m moving. That was in June. I ended up moving in December to Australia.

Katy Ripp 00:05:14  Yes, I.

Claire French 00:05:15  Think they always knew when I was like applying for colleges. I applied for colleges in Italy. I applied for colleges all over the States like I had always had a little bit of that desire to live elsewhere. There’s nothing wrong with California, I love it, I just love traveling. I went to Europe when I was 16. I played soccer there, and I just kind of loved that experience and being immersed in different cultures. So being able to visit Australia in 2018, and there was just like, maybe I could move here eventually. I really was like, this is for me. And when you date somebody internationally global, there is that conversation very early on on like, well, one of us is going to have to relocate.

Claire French 00:05:56  So I always kind of knew it was going to be me. I graduated college early. I had already been working from home. I already had a couple VA clients, so I was already kind of set on my own. And so when he told me he made that decision, it was just kind of a no brainer. And that’s what the whole process was very easy. Like, yes, I was worried. I think I was more worried about the social aspect on like I’m moved. When I was 21, I felt like I was pretty solid in my career. I had my degree. That doesn’t mean shit in Australia, like it is completely different. And I was like, I’m starting over again with friends with like getting to know a new family, with my job, with like if I wanted. I was actually enrolled in a master’s program that I had to drop out of. And so there was a lot of those hard decisions. But I regret none of it. It all kind of led me to where I am now.

Claire French 00:06:52  So yeah, that is that way. That’s how I got here.

Katy Ripp 00:06:55  There’s something to be said about being with the guy, right? Like, yes, you went for the guy and the guy was still there.

Claire French 00:07:02  Embarrassing, I can’t lie.

Katy Ripp 00:07:03  Oh, it’s not.

Claire French 00:07:04  My boyfriend I’m following. I’m like chasing this man across the globe. But there was just something about him. Like when we matched on Bumble, and I like to say I hunted him down. I was only talking to like, people that were not from California, that were blond hair, blue eyes, and were athletic. And he’s blond hair, blue eyes. Play soccer from Australia. It was like the perfect match.

Katy Ripp 00:07:27  I mean, you know, like, it’s not like you followed a guy and got dumped. You followed a guy and got married.

Claire French 00:07:34  So yes, we had a couple of those conversations that were kind of uncomfortable in the beginning to be like, you actually like me, right? Like I’m not going to move and then you’re going to change your mind.

Katy Ripp 00:07:45  Yeah, because that is a real fear. My husband and I bought a house together before we got engaged, and that was kind of like, I mean, we’re sort of signing a big piece of paper here. Is this coming or is this, like a thing or what does this look like?

Claire French 00:08:04  It was definitely one of those like, we’re going to get married and this is going to be forever, because I don’t know if I could handle it if it wasn’t. So. Yes. Yeah.

Katy Ripp 00:08:13  Amazing. How did your family take it?

Claire French 00:08:16  My mom kind of knew after I had visited in 2018. I just loved the culture. Here it was. Everybody speaks English. They use a dollar. It’s like very comfortable. Public transit over here is amazing. So it’s very easy for me now I drive. But you know, five years ago when I moved, I didn’t. So I knew that if I moved, I wasn’t going to be stuck. And that was very important to my mom, that I had a good support system here and that I could get around easily and explore and live my life.

Claire French 00:08:47  Of course I moved and then Covid hit, so we didn’t do a lot of anything. So I it was like just divine timing. The whole thing just ended up working perfectly because I had graduated, I had switched jobs to work fully from home. I had two clients that I was working with that decided to work with me exclusively instead of working with other people. And so it just there was no roadblock. And I think she knew that she had a conversation with my husband about it. My husband was very I was very proud of him. Kind of like when you ask for your father’s hand in marriage. He asked my mom, like, I know she’s already made the decision, but are you going to be okay with this? And I think she really appreciated that. They have a really nice relationship. So yeah.

Katy Ripp 00:09:33  Yeah. Okay, so let’s talk about Covid. I don’t like to talk about Covid. Nobody likes to talk about Covid. I don’t love it. It feels like it was yesterday and also feels like it was 40 years ago.

Claire French 00:09:43  Well, it feels like a trigger word. When I said it, I was like, oh.

Katy Ripp 00:09:47  I know, right? Like nobody really wants to talk about.

Katy Ripp 00:09:50  But I will say, just like I said, when you came on here, zoom didn’t really exist before Covid. And so the fact that I got my coaching certification on zoom and met people from all over the world, we would not have this opportunity to talk at 630 in the morning and 130 in the afternoon. Would we have had the opportunity? Sure. What would it have been? As easy or people would have opened their minds to that? I’m not sure. I don’t think so because we weren’t doing it before. So I really feel like for me personally to there were so many silver linings of Covid. If we can like stop looking at it, it’s like a trigger word, which it was like I owned small businesses. It was a very rough year. My kids were homeschooled, like all of those things that make it triggering.

Katy Ripp 00:10:42  There are also so many beautiful things that came out of it. One of them for me is how I communicate with the world now. Tell me about that for you. Yeah.

Claire French 00:10:54  It was like the only thing that really gave me hesitation because I moved in December 2019 and then things were starting to shut down and that was just another conversation. My dad’s always worked from home, so that piece of it was fine. I was very familiar with what that look like and I was already working from home. So for me it was not a problem. Being in Australia, they never worked from home. So when I’m interviewing and I’m telling them like, oh, I’ve worked from home, they’re like, so you haven’t actually been working? And it’s like, no, I’ve been working from home. It was just so weird to like walk into interviews. I already had a lot of restrictions with my visa and getting a job. So then when I was telling them I work from home, like the calls that I got after Covid hit, they’re like, so you’ve worked from home? Yeah, I told you that I did.

Katy Ripp 00:11:43  Yeah.

Claire French 00:11:44  Remember this? So that part of it was very easy. It was just the move and another conversation with having to call my dad and my mom and be like, okay, they’re closing borders, I am here, I don’t know when I’m coming back. I had a ticket. The goal was to go back every six months, and that kind of made it easier for everybody to digest. Yeah, and my six month ticket, we just had to. Thankfully, the flight that I had booked, they gave us like points for it, but we had to cancel it. We officially shut down March because I remember celebrating my birthday at home and couldn’t I couldn’t see anyone. We just FaceTimed everybody and thank God for FaceTime. And you know, I was still able to call everybody every day. I call my mom multiple times a day. Even now, I call my dad as much as I can. So that was it really took the harsh out of the blow. I think when that was the only thing that we kind of sat down and we were like, well, I don’t know what I’m doing here.

Claire French 00:12:50  At that time, I couldn’t get a job. I was there for a couple of months. I had interviewed multiple places I could not get a job. And then with Covid coming in and I’m not working, my husband was working in retail at the time. We just felt like we were in between a rock and a hard place of like, well, shit. Like, what are we going to do? The Covid restrictions in Australia were very different, and so it was like you couldn’t leave your zip code basically, and you couldn’t just like go for a drive or like go outside of where you were. They were like really strict about it. And so it was very different to kind of what we were seeing happen in the States. And we were also one of the last countries, I think, to kind of go through lockdown because it was so protected. But yeah, my grandma ended up passing away the month that I was meant to fly back and land like on that day. She passed away on that day.

Claire French 00:13:38  And so it’s hard to process that and not be there. And then it’s even worse to be like, I could have been there and I have to just, you know, she knew I was here. She was very proud of me. And that’s kind of what I have to hold and just know that everything worked out. But it really lit a flame underneath me to just, like, make it worth it. Like, if I could not come back and be with my family and I needed to almost prove in a way I don’t have to prove anything, but I wanted to make it worth it that I made this decision.

Katy Ripp 00:14:12  So that’s such an interesting thought process, because I think that there’s so much of well, there’s certainly so much of that that happened in Covid, right, where we lost people and they didn’t get honored the way they should have, or we didn’t get to be there when for the closure and that kind of thing. But to really, like, take that pain and sort of make your purpose out of it, like, I made this decision to be here, I, I’m not going to wallow in it, I like.

Katy Ripp 00:14:38  It’s unfortunate I miss that, but like, I’m going to make this worth it because otherwise what is there? Yeah. Like then you just missed it. Then it’s just like something that you could really, and at the time could have really gone into a dark hole, I’m sure.

Claire French 00:14:53  I think I was just in this place of being like, well, at the I was just like applying for jobs. I had taken two clients with me when I moved, but they were just like at that time I was still navigating the time change. So we were only working together like maybe 3 to 5 hours a month. It really was not a lot of time. It really wasn’t enough to pay me to like, move out on our own or to really get started on anything or make the decision like, this is what I’m going to do. I was working from home before, but I loved the corporate scenery, the corporate industry in Australia. It’s very different from America and I wanted to try again. And so I applied for over 110 jobs.

Claire French 00:15:35  I interviewed over 15 times. Like I was really hustling and like looking back, it wasn’t, you know, I got a lot of temporary jobs, so I’d be up at 6 a.m. and they would always tell you, like, you need to be ready by 8 a.m. because we can call you and need somebody to fill in and any office in Sydney. So I had to know my way around my husband, like practice taking the train with me and like showed me how to like, get on and off. And he’s always been super good about that because I get really lost. I still get lost. So it.

Katy Ripp 00:16:05  Was just. And when you say, what kind of jobs were you looking for now? Like were these like corporate assistance because you’re you’re a VA now. But like was that like a an in your bio which I love so much. You were like Donna from Mad Men. I love Donna who doesn’t love Donna.

Claire French 00:16:23  And that’s kind of like what I wanted to be in my head like that go to Power Woman and The Office.

Claire French 00:16:29  But I think I always had myself being like an assistant and I, like always, had myself like serving someone else. I never really saw myself doing my own thing. Even as a VA, I’m like, well, I serve my client like I work for them. And the two clients I took, I was employees for them, so it was very different from what I do now and I was applying for my background is in like office management, so I’m applying for office manager roles. They’re not looking at my American experience as like experience. They’re like, it’s completely different. You don’t have any management experience in Australia working with a different culture and different people, which is so fair. And that was a huge roadblock. And then I started applying for more receptionist roles, but then I was too advanced for a receptionist role because I had seven years already of corporate experience. And then if it wasn’t one or the other, my visa. I was on a working holiday at the time while my partnership was processing, and I could only work somewhere for six months.

Claire French 00:17:31  So a lot of these roles, they don’t want somebody for six months, they want somebody ongoing. Even the contract roles were like contract to permanent. And so it was very hard to, you know, I registered with a bunch of recruiting agencies. I worked for a recruiting agency. I still support a recruiting agency. I heavily believe in them and was like, I’m just going to get registered. I was registering before I left. I was already kind of talking to people when I was still living in the States. I’m like, this is what the plan is. If anybody ever has a thought of moving to another country long term, I would recommend doing that very early. Having those conversations with recruiting agencies or possible firms, or starting to apply before you move, especially if you already have a plane ticket or plans. It just makes it so much easier when you land and to like, navigate those expectations.

Katy Ripp 00:18:20  Yeah, it’s just a like connection.

Claire French 00:18:22  Yeah. I didn’t think I was going to get here and immediately land a role, but I didn’t think it was going to be like a year before I really started working again.

Claire French 00:18:30  And of course, like Covid didn’t really help because everything like working from home wasn’t really an option unless you had already been working for that company. So we were very limited and like what we could do. So I ended up having to file for unemployment for a couple of months while we kind of figured out what we were going to do. Covid rates on apartments were great, so we were able to move out, and it was like a little one bedroom and a study. And my husband’s like that study is your space to figure out, like what you’re going to do. I was writing a blog at the time like a food blog, and he was like, you know, use that space and figure it out. And that’s kind of what I did. So thankfully, one of my clients that I had really saw my potential in me, and she offered to pay for this program, this like VA training program, and I didn’t think anything of it, but it was just we had had a call and I just was in tears on I’m like, I cannot keep applying for jobs.

Claire French 00:19:30  I cannot keep interviewing and showing up and nothing is working out. And it’s never like you’re not qualified. It was always like your visa’s restricting you from doing this, or we think you’d be a good long term fit, not just a short term. And it’s like, this is out of my control. So yeah, yeah, she changed my life.

Katy Ripp 00:19:49  Yes. Sort of silver lining.

Claire French 00:19:51  Yes. Yeah. I think I wouldn’t have taken the initiative to do anything like I’m doing now if I didn’t go through that process.

Katy Ripp 00:20:04  Yeah. Also the like process of vulnerability and tears with someone that like, recognizes that it’s okay to be that way. And let me help you like, I want to help you. I can see your potential. Maybe you can’t see it right now, but let’s move this way instead. And sometimes, just sometimes, tears do that. Yes, I’m a crier. I’m always crying like I have a coach. I have a coaching, obviously a coaching business, and I do a lot of small business mentoring, and people come into my office and they’re like, why are there Kleenex on your table? And I was like, because you’re gonna cry like, sorry, you’re gonna cry.

Katy Ripp 00:20:43  Yeah.

Claire French 00:20:44  I have lots of feelings. And I think at that point I was just like, I don’t know what to do. I’m embarrassed. I’m on unemployment. I’m embarrassed that I made this move and nothing is working out, and I feel like I’m not doing right by my family. And I was just, like, holding a lot of shame and just a lot of frustration. And I think she could see that. And I was like, look, I saw this course. One of her other coach friends had gone through it with their VA, and she’s like, I think that this could be worth your time. And she even said, like, it’d be so funny if it ended up working out and we could have this, like, memory and like, here we are.

Katy Ripp 00:21:21  And here we are. So tell me, you have mentioned a couple of times that you brought some clients with you overseas, sort of. You know, like, obviously virtually, you are already sort of like dipping your toe in that.

Claire French 00:21:34  Yes, I was a virtual job manager for a recruiting firm. So it was really just like a fancy title for online office manager, which is what I do now, and I love it. And I didn’t know at the time that I was going to love it. And so it really working online that first time eliminated any sort of barrier that I had. Because I’m younger and I think people obviously kind of knew that no matter how badly I was like, I’m a professional. Like, yeah, I was young.

Katy Ripp 00:22:06  When you are young, you’re just young.

Claire French 00:22:08  I was just yeah, I had a lot to learn and it was just nice meeting online. We just did like a phone call so they couldn’t see me. I, you know, ended up getting the role very quickly and working from home. I do remember the first time we did a video chat. They were like, oh, you’re younger than we thought. And I was like, yeah, I get that. Yeah, a lot.

Claire French 00:22:32  But it just eliminated any of that. Like, it’s hard showing up every day and being like, oh, these people think I’m a child. Like they think I’m a kid. They treat me that way. Some people talk to me that way. And so going online just eliminated that like fear almost to where I could really get the most out of it. So I was already working for a VA agency when I got that full time virtual role. I, I don’t even think it’s around anymore, so I’m not going to name it, but I was getting like $5 an hour and it was not up to par with like regular working standards. And they would just give you a client. They’d be like, hey, this person just signed up, this is yours. Like, get to know them. Whatever. It was very I think it really shaped my standard of work with new clients, because I hated the way that they ran their business and thought it was so unorganized. And it was I was being matched with people like, not even matched.

Claire French 00:23:28  I was just like being placed with people that needed help, that I didn’t know how to help them. Not even beyond. It was like some things were coding or some things were website building, and those are things I didn’t know yet. And so it was like a lot of very weird. I don’t know why they did what they did.

Katy Ripp 00:23:45  Well and also just sets everybody up for failure.

Claire French 00:23:48  Yes. I just like looking back and like it was obviously a very new concept because it was ran in the States we had heard of like overseas support and it was just way different than what we were doing. We were kind of trying to replace that office feel in this agency, but it was just not done in a very efficient way. So the two clients I worked with had been like passed around from person to person because of that, because if it doesn’t work out with one, they kind of are like, oh, well, let’s fix it and give you to somebody else. And so you kind of just it’s like weird, never ending cycle.

Claire French 00:24:21  And then when we got matched.

Katy Ripp 00:24:23  I unfortunately just went through this. I was with a VA company. I was like, hey, I’ll just dip my toe in this. I think I told you, like, I didn’t even know what a VA was six months ago, which is horrible. But in any case, now that I know, I’m like, oh, this is amazing, but I went to a company. Super good recommendation. Amazing. But they subcontract their VA’s, had a good fit, went through all the SOP, went through all of like the planning. Ghosted. Got an email. You know so-and-so has left the company. We’re matching you with the new person. We are really excited about this new person. Fine. Have to go through the entire thing again. Now I’m paying by the month. This is now. I’m on the second month of my payment. Go through this all again with another person. Super excited. Ghosted. Sorry this person has left the company. We’re going to do our very best.

Katy Ripp 00:25:14  I was like, yeah, no, I’m done. Like, yeah. And I had I had already spent $1,400 and like no offer to refund me, no nothing. And I was like, yep, thank you.

Claire French 00:25:27  I am so sorry you got bad experience. That is like, I hear it’s.

Katy Ripp 00:25:32  Such a good learning experience though, because for me it was like, I can’t put all the blame on them. I also wasn’t ready. I didn’t know what to expect, so I didn’t know. My biggest fear about that was, what am I going to have these people do? Like, what do I really need? And I realized that some of the stuff I need now is a different skill set than what I was looking for. So, you know, we learn things as we fail. Yes.

Claire French 00:25:59  I yeah, that sounds exactly like what it was when I finally got with the two people that I ended up taking, they were like, oh, this is actually a good fit. So then it was just rough.

Claire French 00:26:10  Like a couple of months later when I was like, hey, I’m leaving the company. I they were just like, you know what? We don’t want to be passed around again. Like they were willing to leave the agency they were working for. We, like, looked at all the contracts. And I was like, well, it doesn’t say that I can’t, you know, do that. Yeah. So made sure we were all protected. Nobody is going to get in trouble. And then was very clear about like, I don’t know what the working hours look like. I have no idea what it’s going to look like when I get there. Ultimately, I work nights at first and then it was just not sustainable to work nights the busier that I got. So now I’ve like worked to schedule out, but at the time I was working nights. It was terrible. But yeah, you definitely had those. The trial and error. I’ve like taking clients that we notice it on the service provider side of being like, oh, this person doesn’t know what they need help with.

Claire French 00:27:00  Like we can show you to somebody like, okay, this we kind of have to guide them a little bit. But as somebody that is maybe only a VA or doesn’t have a lot of experience, they wouldn’t know kind of how to guide that in the right direction. So after having that experience, one of the things that I kind of pride myself on, on being like, okay, immediately you’re kind of all over the place. How can we kind of streamline this, give you some clarity, give you some point of direction and guidance so that you know what you need help with and how we can help you with those things. So yeah, it’s just through kind of learning.

Katy Ripp 00:27:36  Well, first of all, you have your own business now. Yes. Claire French and company. Right. So I’m out on your website and I’m like, what is this clarity? It’s your name with a T. Yes. It’s the cutest marketing I’ve ever seen. I love it so much.

Claire French 00:27:52  Thank you so much.

Claire French 00:27:53  Yeah, I think at the core of what I wanted to do and through my corporate experience, what I realized is that people have a lot of good ideas. They just like, don’t know how to execute or implement. And it is so hard to watch.

Katy Ripp 00:28:06  Nobody can see me right now, but I’m like dancing around because this is my life I have thousands of really good ideas actually, and no implementation skills.

Claire French 00:28:18  Yes, it is hard to be both a visionary and like the implementer in the action team. Yes. Yeah. And so I can see a vision, but I get distracted with the details. I like taking action. I like the pieces of like the getting it done. I cannot tell you how many recipes I’ve started being like, I’m going to make a cake and then completely, like, get sidetracked or like forget to do things along the way. And I’m like, yeah, I’m making a cake. Like, I am definitely the action paper. Yeah. Person that kind of helped implement those things.

Claire French 00:28:48  And I just always loved playing that role, especially in corporate. I’d be like, I have this new system or have this new way of doing things. And corporate, of course, was like, well, we’ve always done it this way, so this is the way it will be. And that was an immediate like, I don’t work with clients that are like that. I don’t run my business that way. I like to constantly be learning new things, or kind of asking for feedback or figuring out how we can make it better. And so knowing that that clarity also my name being Claire, I was just like, I have to somehow play that together and I don’t know how it came to be. I think I just like wrote it out and was like, that’s cute. We’ll stick with that. And then it ended up being like five years now I’ve had that business all the same. Offers never changed. So yeah.

Katy Ripp 00:29:31  I love it. So you had a little bit of an entrepreneurial itch, right? And then sort of you got there, it did like a whole bunch of things didn’t work.

Katy Ripp 00:29:40  What really made you take the leap? Because it is a leap, especially in a foreign country. Right. Like, had you already had your business, like, had you already had an LLC and that sort of thing, or did you have to do that in Australia?

Claire French 00:29:53  So I technically kind of run two businesses because I’m registered in California, like in the States and here in Australia, and I do taxes in both, which is okay. That’s like the not so fun side of being an entrepreneur is like navigating taxes in two countries. And well, even in one country. That’s the not so fun part, you know?

Katy Ripp 00:30:14  So yeah, unless you think it’s going somewhere good, which.

Claire French 00:30:18  Yeah. So I joined this VA program and they gave you leads and it was kind of up to you to close them instead of being like, this is who you’re working with. They would be like, hey, this person reached out. They’re looking for someone. If you think you’re a match, like, reach out and we’ll connect you.

Claire French 00:30:32  And so that was from the start, such a great way to learn. Like I’ve been getting on calls with people and like learning my sales process and like, not even like to me, it’s not a sale. It’s like a relationship, like that relationship building on like, yes, of course I want them to work with me if they’re a good match. But by the time somebody is reaching out for a VA, they already know that they need help. It’s just my job to see if I’m the right person to give that to them. And so reaching out and being like, what do you need? How can we help you? Or can we bring a little bit of clarity in? And I very quickly booked out and my first like week of doing that. I was on unemployment and then immediately had to like, I didn’t need it anymore. I was making five k months in my first month of doing it and just like told my husband, like I, I can do this like I’ve done this once, I can keep doing this again and again.

Claire French 00:31:23  So even in that first month, my husband’s like, great. So you’re going to work from home now and this is what you do. And he was always been just like such a strong supporter. Like he’ll have questions. He’ll like need a little like be realistic about this. But when he knows it works like he’s just behind me 100%. Like even that first month, like we got a dog because I was like, well, I’m never going back into office, so I can like, stay at home with a dog now and like and we did and amazing. It was like in that first like three weeks of doing that, I was like, I can do this. And that initial feeling the first time you do something for yourself is just like, you have to keep chasing it, like you have to keep figuring it out. And I think it oh, Maria Figueroa. She sounds like everything has figured out a little. And it’s just like something that I live by, because it’s just like being met with so much.

Claire French 00:32:13  It’s not even, like a bad experience. It’s just like new experiences that I had to navigate and I wasn’t familiar with. And I had very different expectations when I moved. And like, you know, I thought I was just going to get a corporate job.

Katy Ripp 00:32:27  Yeah. It makes you very resourceful. You just.

Claire French 00:32:30  Like, important as an entrepreneur.

Katy Ripp 00:32:31  If you don’t have a resourceful bone in your body, you can. I don’t think you can become an entrepreneur. There’s just too many things you have to figure out on your own. Yes, you can go and learn about it, but your experience is so much different than the person next door. We all have the same. I think it’s very true. We all have the same like underlying issues, and there’s lots of limiting beliefs and there’s lots of challenges that come up. For most of us, especially as women, it’s different. For women. There’s it’s just like it’s different for women. It’s also especially different if you want a relationship or heart led business.

Katy Ripp 00:33:11  Period.

Claire French 00:33:12  Yes.

Katy Ripp 00:33:12  I mean, I run heart lead businesses, I coach heart lead people. I have no interest in coaching somebody who’s only worried about the bottom line. Yes. I just like the bottom line will come, I promise. If you care about what you’re doing, the bottom line will always follow. Always, always, always.

Claire French 00:33:29  Yes. So in my business, we are a human first business. So like you said, kind of heart lead. We’re human first because we do a lot of like the we do a lot of the not so pretty back end stuff that people don’t see. And it isn’t always client facing. You can’t always see what’s happening. And that’s why it’s so important to me that it is human first, because I want them to feel that we’ve thought about the things that feel good. When you remember a client’s birthday, or you remember a client’s anniversary, or you remember, like big things that are happening and you are checking in on them and you are just those little human first pieces, is so, so important to me.

Katy Ripp 00:34:10  I heard something not too long ago. I think it was in a book or something, but it was like, when was the last time you were delighted? And I was like, delight your customer. Like delight your client. When was the last time you were really delighted? And I thought to myself, like, what does delight mean, right? Like it is the little things, like we own a coffee shop. It’s the note on the side of the like, have a great Monday, you know, Tara or whatever. There’s so much you can do there that people don’t think it’s connected to ROI and it’s everything. It’s everything. Can you put a tack on it and be like, oh, well, you made $5,000 because you put have a great Monday, Tara. No, but to me it’s everything. That’s how I look at my bottom line is this is completely connected to me. Yeah, because it’s sort of like the, you know, nobody cares about the electric in your house when you’re building a new house, but like, that’s what turns the lights on.

Katy Ripp 00:35:12  Yeah. Like we gotta have the like we gotta pay the big money for the electric because it turns the lights on. So I am all with you. I love that I love the human first. I hadn’t necessarily heard it that way, but I love it.

Claire French 00:35:26  Yeah, because I think people get lost on, especially as new business owners. And I’ve worked with a lot of people over the years that they are just like, how much money can I make and what amount of time? And it’s like, I just don’t work with those people anymore because it isn’t. We’re not aligned. They’re looking for quick, they’re looking for a hustle. And I do not believe in hustle, but I do believe in hard work. And so we look a lot at like intentional action and making sure that what we’re doing is working, even if it’s a lot of trial and error, if there’s a lot of testing, it will take time. But those kinds of things are sustainable and they’re long term. And it isn’t just starting a business, making a ton of money and then having to go back into work.

Claire French 00:36:07  It is, well, this is what you’re going to do.

Katy Ripp 00:36:10  We have been sold a bullshit bag of goods online that all of a sudden you go from being on unemployment or, you know, at a teaching job and three months later, you’re making six figure money. Yeah. Also, what, six figure money? Like, there’s a big difference between $100,000 and $999,000. Like, I mean, it’s just such a I know it’s so hard. We’re like fighting against society and the man all the time. I totally get it. But also, I don’t believe in hustle either. I just like we’re playing a long game here. I am not interested in a short game. I’m not interested in starting anything for a short game. I want my stuff to be legacy projects for my kids and yeah, legacy for the community and legacy stuff. Not like, hey, how much money can I make as fast as possible so I can shut this business down?

Claire French 00:37:03  Yeah.

Katy Ripp 00:37:04  I’m not. Well, I’m not interested.

Claire French 00:37:06  Yeah, and I think you and I are starting where we did and even like me, starting in 2018 with working online and having VA clients, that was before it was even like a thing. And then Covid hit. Everybody went online and started these businesses. And then the last two years, I cannot tell you the amount of people that I’ve seen that have like, oh, I got a new job and they’re leaving the online space and they’re no longer doing that anymore. And it really makes me think, like if you were not forced to work it out in that moment, would they have even pursued that? And the answer is probably not like, yeah, I think there’s a piece of me. I was walking dogs before. I was like doing extra jobs on the side. I was a VA. Even when I had my full time corporate role. Like, there’s always been a piece of me there that I’ve loved, that work that I kind of I would have gotten there eventually, but it is kind of interesting to see, like the shift constantly of the entrepreneurial landscape over the last couple of years.

Katy Ripp 00:38:05  Yeah. Well, and sort of the, the bullshit of it. Right. Like nobody makes I’m not saying nobody makes that kind of money. They don’t do it overnight. There is so much work. Yeah, there is so much work that goes into this. And if you look at, like the Jenna Kutcher’s of the world or the Amy Porterfield or the, you know, whoever, they’ve been at it for years, like years over and over and over, putting their selves out there and really trying to figure out, like, this is working. This isn’t working. Like I fucking failed 40 times. And I’m going to try again. And it looks very enticing. It’s a lot harder than people think it is because. So it’s emotionally harder, right? Like you have to really, like, love yourself. Yes.

Claire French 00:38:53  And that’s like the navigation of figuring things out as you go, while you’re also trying to help people as a coach, as a service provider, as a VA, it is very emotionally draining to like hold space for your clients and also for yourself.

Claire French 00:39:09  And it isn’t. You know, I had a great first month, the first month I ever started. A year later, it was like the worst year I ever had. It was so slow. I had hired a team to quickly. I had to let people go. It was like the worst feeling. I had to navigate, like burnout, because I took on too much, too fast and like was exhausted. And it is trying to navigate those things and still be like, okay, well, I want to try again. And just because this, this one way that I tried, it didn’t work. I want to try it again in a different way and start over. And it’s taken, I don’t know, three years now to kind of build back up from where I was that first year. And I think it is reminiscent of there was a lot of money to be made. There was a lot of success when it was brand new, but it wasn’t about that. It was always been about sustainability and longevity and what you’re building beyond, just like when it was easy.

Claire French 00:39:59  Because it does get hard.

Katy Ripp 00:40:01  Yeah, harder than we think. Yes, you had said team right. Like you hired a team and then had to let go. And then you are referring to we. So tell me, do you have employees? What does that look like for you? Because you must have started out by yourself.

Claire French 00:40:15  Yes. Yeah, it was just me. And then I kind of realized I didn’t want to work nights with a time difference. And so I switched my schedule. I work like early mornings, and I work some nights, but I never take calls after a certain time anymore. And I never take calls at like 2 or 3 a.m. anymore. I’ve worked it out.

Katy Ripp 00:40:34  And you said some boundaries.

Claire French 00:40:36  Yes. And realized very quickly I wanted to help more people, but couldn’t do that if it was just me. So I hired a like a VA and then just got really swept up in this like really big picture. I had a VA, a copywriter and a graphic creator and it was just too much I had to focus on.

Claire French 00:40:54  I didn’t know how I needed help, I was helping everybody get help, but I didn’t know how I needed it and realize, like, I like doing some of the creation stuff. I like doing some of the VA stuff. So when business slowed down, I had to restart again and ultimately have always kept on admin support. So she is kind of like a tech VA, so she helps schedule emails, she helps schedule social media posts, she helps put the little the fine pieces into place. While I do a lot of the big strategy now, I’ve kind of shifted into more consulting, and then having a graphic content creator on my team is such an asset. So I have one on my team as well. We just met last night actually, and was like, this feels so good and they’re all very excited. I’m excited. This is going to be a good year. So it was just are.

Katy Ripp 00:41:42  You taking clients?

Claire French 00:41:43  Yes. So we currently have room for VA and ODM clients. If you’re looking for more consulting and strategy on an OB side.

Claire French 00:41:52  We have availability for that. And we also do one time strategy calls as well. So if you are listening and you feel like you have some questions and you don’t need an ongoing help, strategy session is a great place to start to kind of answer those questions, get the implementation support afterwards, and get the clarity that you need in 90 minutes.

Katy Ripp 00:42:12  Who’s your favorite client? I mean, not like you don’t have to name names. I mean, more like, who’s your ideal client? Like who’s the if you had a dream client, what does that person look like?

Claire French 00:42:22  Yeah. So we it’s not really a person. It’s more of like we do a value based matching with our clients and really look at who they are as a person because we’re we’re people first in business. So making sure that number one, they’re just good people and also that they have a long term vision, usually somebody that is considered a thought leader or wants to kind of shake things up in their industry, even if it’s already been done.

Claire French 00:42:50  The way that you are putting your spin on it is still important, and we kind of try to bring that out in people. We primarily work with females in the space, and we just like to work with people that like to work hard and kind of celebrate their wins along the way. So yeah.

Katy Ripp 00:43:06  That sounds lovely. Okay, we talked a little bit about scanners, just like, yes, scanner personality. And you had said you’d never heard of it, which I love to talk to people about this because I am a total scanner and it totally changed my life. I had no idea what a scanner was. And if you haven’t listened to the scanner episode, there’s an episode where I explain what a scanner is, but it’s basically a multi passionate person and we’ve all been put into like put baby in the corner, right? Because yes, nobody can really understand entrepreneurs, lots of them, lots of entrepreneurs or scanners. And there’s really never been like a oh it’s not very popular. Let’s just say that like it’s not a very popular opinion, but it also comes across as very like flighty and flaky.

Katy Ripp 00:43:54  And you can never finish a project. Details aren’t your thing. You know, you’ve had 40 different hobbies in your life. Do you consider yourself a scanner?

Claire French 00:44:04  I do not consider myself a scanner, but our ideal clients are actually scanners, so.

Katy Ripp 00:44:11  100%.

Claire French 00:44:13  Cannot. Like, as you’re saying, that I’m immediately picturing clients in my brain being like, oh, actually, I think those are the only kinds of people that we support in my business. Like I said, because I’m very detailed. And so as long as they’ve got the vision and they give us some time between jumping to the next thing, we can do that. And so I kind of yeah, when I was reading on your website about that, I was like, I don’t think I’m that, but we definitely know some people that are.

Katy Ripp 00:44:40  Yeah. And it’s for me personally, when this like revelation came and it was a revelation. I had been like basically apologizing for myself all of my life because I always felt like a failure, like, why can’t I keep a corporate job? Why can’t I, like, just stick to one hobby? Why can’t I finish one job before I start another job, why can’t I? I mean, at the time I was literally turning every single hobby I have into a job I still do, still do.

Claire French 00:45:09  I have to not do that? I have to I got a cricket and I’m like, I could make cups. And then I have to remind myself, like, I do this to bring myself joy, not to make money or to make it another thing I have to do. I got a coffee machine and I’m like, I could open a cafe just right here in my kitchen. My husband’s like.

Katy Ripp 00:45:27  So.

Katy Ripp 00:45:27  You’ve got a little bit of it. You’ve got the bug for sure.

Katy Ripp 00:45:31  You happen to be the one that can like also take it and go with it.

Claire French 00:45:35  I know it’s hard.

Katy Ripp 00:45:36  I can too. I have built a number of businesses and like brought my dream to fruition. What I have figured out and learned is the who, not the how. Have you read this book, by the way?

Claire French 00:45:49  No I haven’t.

Katy Ripp 00:45:50  Oh my God, it’s called who not how you will love it because you’re a who person, right? Like you can find people and if not, people like resources to do things for you that you’re not good at.

Katy Ripp 00:46:02  Yes, there are people out there that like to do shit that you don’t like to do. There are people out there that like to plan events. I like to plan events. I don’t want to like find the chairs and the napkins and the invitations and all of that. I don’t want to do that, but I damn it, I will show up at your cool party or I’ll show up at my cool party. But I have a manager that loves it. That’s her jam. All I have to do is say this is the party I want and she runs with it. When I found my who’s everything changed for me. Now, my favorite thing to do is like, where can I find more? Who’s to do everything? And that for me.

Claire French 00:46:41  As I’m because I’ve always struggled with not really a scanner in that way, but I like to do everything, and part of me is like, if I like to do everything, does that mean I’m not good at one thing? Or like the thing that I’m good at is just that I’m good at a lot of little different things.

Claire French 00:46:57  But I have been timewise trying to be better about like, somebody can do that faster than I can or in a much more efficient way than I can. So whenever it’s like taking me a little too long, I have to check myself and be like, do I know me too? That can do this? Instead of me wasting time here? Can somebody else do this for me so well?

Katy Ripp 00:47:15  And that’s really about like, sticking in your zone of genius, right? Like your zone of genius is really where all the money is. Yeah, that’s my zone of some of my zone of genius is connecting with people. Well, I need to be out connecting with people 1,000% of the time. And so I can’t sit here and, like, make Canva posters.

Katy Ripp 00:47:37  Yes. Right.

Katy Ripp 00:47:38  Like I can do it. And I’m really good at it. But that does not mean I should do it. And just because I can figure everything out does not mean I should anymore. And I used to do everything and sort of good, right? Like I could sort of do everything good, but I do certain things really great.

Katy Ripp 00:47:57  And when I figured that out, that’s where all the money is. And other people like to do it. It’s not shit work to them. Even though it’s shit work to me, it’s not shit work to them. And so just because I can do it doesn’t mean I should. And that is very hard. And when you go out and start hiring people, or you’re hiring a service or you’re hiring, it’s very hard to equate the, well, if they’re doing this and they’re making money, I could do it for that money, I get it. But like, you can be making double that money if you have support.

Claire French 00:48:37  Yes.

Katy Ripp 00:48:37  Yeah. Or triple or quadruple.

Claire French 00:48:40  Yes. Yeah. And that is something that we focus on so much is like keeping clients in their zone of genius and only doing what they want to do. We support a lot of coaches. We support a lot of people in the health and fitness industry, and it’s when they start to get stuck on like, well, how does this person receive this email at this time? It’s like, okay, that is what we do.

Claire French 00:48:59  You don’t need to worry about it. It will get there. Let’s put you back into just being the client facing person that is getting your clients results. You don’t need to worry about the emails on the back end. So yes, that is. And then, you know, I always have to check myself to do I really want to schedule out all of these emails, or is this something that somebody else can do a lot quicker and go through it a lot easier than I can? So, oh.

Katy Ripp 00:49:22  And there’s also something to be said about like, it’s okay to not want to do something. Yes. We’ve also been told, well, there’s so many things in business you just have to do. Is there like, is there stuff you have to do?

Claire French 00:49:36  No, I was really worried about doing like taxes. But I have an accountant and a bookkeeper that helps with that. Like I don’t have to do that anymore.

Katy Ripp 00:49:43  So it’s also not your job, like it’s not what you were trained to do.

Katy Ripp 00:49:47  I wasn’t trained to be an accountant. I don’t want to spend four years in school to do my own taxes. When I can pay somebody a thousand bucks a year to do it, I just like it doesn’t make sense. But it is sometimes like pulling that stuff out of people. And like there’s a limiting belief that my mom did everything, so therefore I should do everything. Or, you know, somebody has told me like, there’s always something that, you know, you can save this much money. And I always think, too, that sometimes we’re looking to the wrong people for opinions. Yeah, right.

Claire French 00:50:22  Like it is. Definitely.

Katy Ripp 00:50:24  I don’t want your life. I don’t want to take your opinion. So start taking opinions from people that you want their life, because that’s not the person we’re looking to give us advice? Yes. And this comes down to partners.

Claire French 00:50:39  Yes. Yeah. There’s that saying about like, don’t take life advice from somebody that’s never lived the life that you want and that I always think about that when people start to, you know, if you just did this and it’s like, no, I need to just tunnel vision on what I’m doing because they’re not living the life that I want to live.

Claire French 00:50:55  So, yeah, you just have to.

Katy Ripp 00:50:56  It’s okay. Like, you go ahead and live your life and I will live my life and it will be great. But we do. Some of this comes in to like, partners, right? Like we ask for advice from our husbands who have never owned a business or have never owned a business that’s heart lead or like, don’t agree with a heart lead business. And when we start taking advice from that person and they’re like, well, you should be able to do that on your own. Like, why are you spending money on that? No, no, no, no. Like I get it. I understand I have a husband to rein it in a little bit and like, does that make sense for my business. This is different and it should be different. Like that’s the whole point.

Claire French 00:51:37  Yeah, I definitely default to my husband’s realism. Like when I have a bunch of ideas or we’re like doing a lot and he’s like realistically is that? And I’m like, that’s it does make me pause and think.

Claire French 00:51:51  But if I’m like, this is what I’m doing. I’m so thankful that he’s like, okay, then this is what? Yeah, this is what we’re doing.

Katy Ripp 00:51:58  I totally have a supportive husband.

Claire French 00:52:00  Yes it is. It makes such a huge difference because I worked with clients in the past that do not have that, and it really is such a roadblock. It’s hard because it’s not my place to be like, get your husband out of your business. But it is hard to be like, well, what do you actually want for yourself? Like, what do you do for your business at the end of the day?

Katy Ripp 00:52:20  And unfortunately, we haven’t really been given that permission to give the permission to ourselves. And that is an uphill battle. And I think once you get there, I just don’t ask for permission from people anymore. But it took me. I’m 47 years old. It took me 27 years to get here of like, I just don’t apologize anymore. I’m so sorry that you don’t feel that way.

Claire French 00:52:43  After moving across the globe. It kind of was like, I don’t need to ask anymore. This is just what I have to do. I do like to try to call my mom before I make a big decision just out of like, have it, but otherwise I’m like, hey, I’ve done this. What we’re doing. My husband and I have a pretty good gauge of like, if it’s easy, like, not everything’s easy, but there are expected things. But if there’s ever like, we were trying to, like, get a new car and it was like people weren’t calling us back. Nobody was emailing us like we would go. We try to set up an appointment and then they change it, and it was just like it kept getting pushed and pushed and push that my husband and I had to be like, okay, this maybe isn’t the direction we need to go in. So things like that, like when we’re trying to align with a new client and they miss their discovery call or they’re like not showing up to things.

Claire French 00:53:31  And it’s just like, okay, this may be not, but like making the decision to move to a new country. And my visa got approved and we found a place to live. And like all those things kind of aligned to the way they needed to. Even though it was hard, they still made sense. They still worked out. That’s what we always think about. Like, yeah, it’s so cheesy, but like if it is meant to work out like in some way, then it will.

Katy Ripp 00:53:54  Yeah. It’s so I think the older I get to, the more just like it works out quicker for me than it did. Like I can just see that this is like the right decision now. I’m also very open to signs and I love energy and that kind of thing. And so I can usually tell pretty quickly if this seems right or if it doesn’t seem right. And what am I doing to hold it back?

Claire French 00:54:17  Yes, I always have to ask like never the why is it me? I always try to.

Claire French 00:54:22  It’s hard. But that reframe of being like, well, what is the bigger purpose in this happening to me? Or what am I supposed to be taking taken from this or what? Am I supposed to be learning from this? And I think it all goes back to like making that just a huge decision and feeling like the whole world is against you. Everybody was very supportive, but it was just like an uphill battle to get to where I am now. And instead of being like, oh well, like, you get stuck in the Y and you can move forward with the like, what am I supposed to be getting from this? So it’s such a small reframe to think that way, but it makes such a huge difference because you’re not stuck in the like, feeling bad for yourself. You’re like trying to work through and figure out why these things are happening in a way that’s supposed to benefit you, and that’s why even any bad thing that’s happened, I’m like, I know it has served a bigger purpose and what I’m supposed to be doing.

Katy Ripp 00:55:12  Yes. You said something about values before that you’re like a very values based business, and I am as well. And I know my values and I’m very confident in my values. But that also took me a really long time. How much of that is in alignment for you when you are talking to clients? And or are you checking in with your values like on a personal level or a business level? Like is that something that you have when you hired somebody? Like, how important are values to you?

Claire French 00:55:39  That was one of the first things I did when I started my business. So there’s like an Instagram post from 2019 that is just like, these are our values. And Claire Elizabeth Co and I well at that time it was like simply clear virtual services before I even like really had what I had because I’m so heart lead like you said and like very human. First I get taken advantage of a lot and I did. It used to be worse where I would let people walk all over me.

Claire French 00:56:09  It was because I was looking at it from a place of what are they doing on paper and not who are they, values wise. And that just comes from, you know, trial and error, from failing with clients and realizing, like, I just was not a good fit because I am led this way. I am not Like driven the way that they were. And everybody has their own way of doing things, which is totally fine. But for me, I have to consistently like and when I hire, I ask, what are your values? These are ours. How do yours align with what we do on the inside? I do that with people that are on the team. I do that with people that we like contract too. With clients, I kind of ask like what’s important to you? And they’re like discovery caller on their application on like, what is your big picture vision? What do you see in like five years? And I’m always able to tell, like, I want to make money, I want to live in a big house and that’s great.

Claire French 00:57:01  But like, what does that mean other than that? Like, what purpose does that serve?

Katy Ripp 00:57:06  I think that there’s so many people also that have no idea what their values are like. I didn’t know my values and they also change. So I’ve talked about this a hundred different times and a hundred different ways, but especially as women like if you ask 80% of the women in the world right now what their number one value is, I’m guessing that they would say family. Is it family? Like, are you making all of your decisions based on your family? And if so, that’s scary. We can’t do that, right? Like, but maybe your value is connection to your family, right? Like family isn’t necessarily like I understand that everybody wants family to be their number one value. And we can still value family as an institution, but that’s not really a value. It’s connecting to that or being really cognizant of how we use our time, or if family is the value. Like, are you giving up all of your, you know, meetings so you can get to a softball game? I always tell people like, give me your calendar and give me your bank accounts and I will tell you your values.

Claire French 00:58:13  Yes, yeah, I definitely yeah, that is so true. Even as like we’re doing the back end part of things and I’m just like, I don’t know how you could say your value is this when this is where you’re spending all of your time in your business is not on the one thing that you said that you valued. I went through a really hard, healthier last year and it kind of shifted my, like, even going through like burnout a couple of years ago shifted one of our values to be health and vitality. Just believing that a thriving, healthy business starts with a thriving, healthy founder and having to, I mean, again, human. First look at what that means for clients and how that impacts them. And looking at health first and it’s making the healthy decision is, you know, taking a call at 630, healthy. Well, I went to bed on time. So yes, that was like it’s always like a trade off. You know, you find what that means to you.

Claire French 00:59:04  But that is something that when clients are like, this is what I want to do, and they overwork themselves, or they’re super busy, or they’re making all these decisions, a little bit of their scanner personalities coming in. And I’m like, is this really the best health wise? Is this going to make you feel good to get all these things done? Or do we need to like, refocus a little bit?

Katy Ripp 00:59:23  And just because health is coveted as a value, what does that even mean? Like, do you know what health even means to you? Like, health means something different to everybody, and it is not a cookie cutter, healthy way to live like that can be 14 different things. So I mean, for me too, when I take clients, I’m like, that’s the first thing I do is like, if you don’t know your values, that’s what we’re doing first, and then we’re really going to talk about what that means. Because if adventure is one of your values, when are you adventuring? Like tell me where in your schedule adventuring is or health is or family is or whatever.

Katy Ripp 01:00:08  So I love to talk to people, especially other business owners that love values because I just think it is such a foundational piece and so many of us are missing it. And once you lay that foundation down, it’s just like the sky is a limit. There’s just like nothing. If you are aligned, all the perfect clients come to you. All the perfect customers come to you. You start attracting people that match your values. Maybe you don’t have the same ones, but match at least.

Claire French 01:00:37  Or have respect for the values that you do.

Katy Ripp 01:00:39  Have. Yes. Yeah, don’t have to have the same but like have the respect. I love that clear. It was such a pleasure.

Claire French 01:00:47  Thank you so so much. I had so much fun.

Katy Ripp 01:00:49  This was so great. Yeah. Tell everybody where they can find you.

Claire French 01:00:53  Yeah I’m on Instagram at Claire E French and my website is Claire Elizabeth Co nice and simple.

Katy Ripp 01:01:01  And tell me if somebody wanted to work with you. What does that look like.

Katy Ripp 01:01:05  Is it like a intake form discovery call. What does that look like?

Claire French 01:01:09  Yeah, there’s an application form on my website, but in Instagram and my link in bio, there is a link to book a call straight away just letting me know your name, kind of what you do, and a little bit more about what you are looking for. Or just send me a DM. I know we can send voice memos. I’m very much a talker, so I like sending voice memos in the DMs. And yeah, that’s how I like connecting with people. So if any questions or you’re just curious, feel free to send a DM.

Katy Ripp 01:01:36  Okay. And we are going to put all of Claire’s information in our show notes too. So thank you for joining us. It’s exciting to talk to people in other parts of the world because it’s winter here. So summer there.

Claire French 01:01:48  It is, the middle of summer. Here it is. Okay. Very warm.

Katy Ripp 01:01:53  Okay. Well, it’s been very cold here. Yeah, I know you have this nice little tan on you and I look like I am literally like of the fish belly.

Katy Ripp 01:02:03  So you can tell we are different areas. Thank you so much, Clara. I really appreciate.

Claire French 01:02:09  It so much for having me.

Katy Ripp 01:02:11  Well, that is a wrap on today’s episode, but the conversation doesn’t have to end here. If this episode resonated with you at all, come hang out with us inside. Actually, We Can. This is my private community for midlife women entrepreneurs who are just done with the hustle and ready to build businesses that actually work for them. Inside, you’ll find support and strategy and a whole lot of real talk from women who get it. You can join us at katyripp.com/community. We can also stay connected on socials. You can follow me on Instagram at Katy Ripp for behind the scenes extra insights and plenty of business wisdom. But most importantly, make sure you follow the podcast so you never miss an episode. If you love today’s topic, please leave me a review and share it with another badass woman who needs to hear this. As always, thank you for being here.

Katy Ripp 01:02:57  Now go do your thing and I’ll see you next time.