[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Spanish Janice. I'm Janice Burt and today we're diving into conversations that inspire growth, connection and confidence. You're watching now Media Television. Welcome to Spanish Janice, everybody. I am so thrilled today to sit down with Susan Stewart. She is the founder of Strapping. It is a Sacramento favorite gift shop. It has clothing and, and jewelry and just fun, quirky gifts. But what I am most excited about is to have a heart to heart conversation with my friend Susan. Susan, welcome to Spanish Janice.
[00:00:42] Speaker B: Janice, I am your friend and I love you and I'm super excited to be here with you too.
[00:00:47] Speaker A: I love you too. And I want to first, before we get into Strapping and this amazing business that you've created, which it is amazing.
I want to know, little Susan, what did little Susan do as far as, were you entrepreneurial growing up? Was that something that you feel like you learned early on or how was that in your younger years?
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Honestly, I've always been a creative person.
Like to get a little deep. I had a very traumatic childhood, a very kind of physically and mentally abusive parents. And I think as, as weird as this is going to sound, I think that part of my life actually made me extremely independent and kind of scrappy. So I've learned to adjust, adapt and survive. And I think that's like a big portion of what an entrepreneur is.
I mean, yes, I, I like to deal out joy. I have an ice cream shop, I have a gift shop. I like when people come in to have this wonderful experience and be happy.
But sometimes some of that comes from a little bit of pain. So yeah, I mean, an entrepreneur is a creative person. So I think part of my creativity is that. But yeah, I wasn't growing up thinking I'm going to be an entrepreneur. I mean, it was something that kind of fell into my lap. And I think as a person who is super hyperly independent, you sometimes gravitate towards entrepreneurship. Yeah.
[00:02:18] Speaker A: Well, let's talk about creativity because I love that you brought that up.
What are some, what were some of your creative expressions growing up? What did you gravitate towards?
[00:02:30] Speaker B: So I was, I was an artist.
I used to do a lot of oil painting and honestly animation. I was really into stop motion animation. If I had some, I would give you a clip. It was hilarious and terrible.
But I did, I really, I focused my entire like younger childhood and into high school on being an artist. And that was my path. I was, that is where I wanted to go. I wanted to be an animator. I ended up getting into a really prestigious art school as a High school student. I worked really hard to do that. And unfortunately my parents, like I said, were, were not very, they weren't great parents and they put the kibosh on it. It was an expensive school. They said, you're not going to do it.
So that sort of journey like kind of took away some of my creativity as an adult. But I've always been creative. I've always loved art, I always appreciate it. And it's a big huge portion of who I am as a human.
[00:03:25] Speaker A: So what do you think? What would you say to people out there who feel like they're not creative? Like, have you heard those people say I'm just not creative? What do you say to you?
[00:03:35] Speaker B: Everybody's creative. I feel like the saddest part of life is that every single one of us loves to sing, dance, make art. And at some point in our journey, sometimes it's early, someone tells you you're not good at it or makes you feel like you're not good at it. You're a terrible dancer, you're a bad singer, you're not really a good artist.
And our minds always seem like we have to have some sort of career, we have to make money, we have to be responsible adults. And I think sometimes society will stop people from being their creative selves. But everyone's creative. Everyone's creative. Even if you're just a creative thinker. Like creativity is a human quality. And it breaks my heart that we kind of beat it out of each other and don't see it as an adult and don't allow ourselves to continue creativity.
[00:04:30] Speaker A: What is your suggestion for people now that we're adults and we have our lives and yes, we have to make money and do all that, but how do we step back into that creativity?
[00:04:43] Speaker B: Yeah, I, I don't have a full answer except for like just taking a moment for yourself. I think we live in a fast paced world. We're seeing a lot of like AI kind of taking over, even artist roles and music.
I think, I think just taking a second for yourself, breathing deeply, being vulnerable and being okay with like not being the best at something. Just allowing yourself to get into a different mindset and be creative. It's very super important to.
[00:05:11] Speaker A: Totally.
[00:05:11] Speaker B: But yeah.
[00:05:12] Speaker A: And you know, for me with the creative thing, I find that if I join a group of some sort, it's super helpful because then there are other people who are doing that same thing and you can learn from each other, encourage each other to keep going. Like we were talking about improv earlier. Yeah, I feel like, what a cool way. And it's not because we have to do improv to then be a stand up comic per se, for sure. It's like you do improv for the sake of doing, doing improv and letting your mind and creativity run rampant and kind of explore that place.
[00:05:51] Speaker B: And I think you find muse in other people sometimes.
I definitely, when I go to an art class, I've taken a handful of little life drawing classes and stuff in town. And when I do that, I feel like there's a little part of the fire inside of you that ignites when you're around other people. So 100%, I fully agree with that. People need to come together.
[00:06:15] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:06:16] Speaker B: And yeah.
Explore things together.
[00:06:20] Speaker A: I'm a huge. Because I'll just not do things if I don't have that kind of external motivation sometimes. So that's important to me. So getting back to strapping and how this came to be this amazing gift shop, that really is more than that. And we're going to talk about the experiences that you create and how people feel genuinely welcomed and loved and safe too when they go to your shop, which is huge.
[00:06:49] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:06:50] Speaker A: But going back to little Susan. Okay, so little Susan. Little Susan, A little baby.
[00:06:57] Speaker B: She's still here. She's still here.
[00:07:00] Speaker A: What, what did you do just before strapping came to be? What, what were you involved in?
[00:07:09] Speaker B: So, like early career, I was a golf professional. I grew up in Palm Springs and that was a big part of my life was golfing. And it's something that brings me joy. So I decided, you know, as a, as a young person, like, how if I can't do my art, what, what else brings me joy that I can still do? And I think that's a big part of my entrepreneurship. I've. I look for jobs that bring me joy because it's a big portion of your day. It's 40 plus hours of your day. So I was a golf professional before starting strapping. And that, that bizarrely led into retail. So as a golf professional, I was the only female at most of my golf courses. And in our little society, women kind of get pushed into retail. It's one of those careers like nursing or teachers. I don't understand why retail is so, is so female forward. But as the only female at a lot of my courses, they, they would ask me to do the buying because the guys didn't like, I don't have time for this. I can't fold a shirt. I don't want to, I don't want to be buying. You Know, skorts and skirts for women.
[00:08:12] Speaker A: I can't fold the shirt.
[00:08:13] Speaker B: I can't fold a shirt. I'm a golf professional.
So I, like. I think it was like, I was 20, 23, 24 years old, working at a country club in Vermont, and my pro did not want to do the buying whatsoever, so he asked me to do it. And I kind of fell in love with retail in a very bizarre way. Like, I really enjoyed the creative process of making things beautiful, bringing like. Like having a certain ambiance in the. In the pro shop, making people feel excited when they got a gift, or, like, I would. I would hand pick things for certain members of, like, this is. This is something that, you know, Mrs. Smith would really love. And it kind of gave me, like, this weird little joy. And so from that, I became a retail buyer. Like, as a career.
I still did a little teaching on the side as a golf professional, but, like, Honestly, from my mid-20s on, I was a retail buyer. And I bought for places like, I bought for a dude ranch. I bought for theme parks. I purchased a lot of things for resorts and stuff like that, and eventually led me into having my own. My own business and kind of doing my own thing.
I think, like, when you're. When you work for a corporation for a long time, it kind of sucks your soul a little bit. And I really felt the need and desire to do my own. And I think it's again, like, I'm a person who's very much an individual. I don't like, if I think something's a good idea and someone's like, no, no, no, no, no, and puts a wall up, I'm gonna find a way around it. And so I think I got to a point of complete frustration with being a corporate buyer and wanted to do something that would bring joy to others and myself and. And have no rules.
That's a big part of entrepreneurship is, like, the fear of it is. Is huge. But having no rules is, like, was. Was very important to me.
[00:10:07] Speaker A: So it's one of your values, which is why. Yes, you look for that. And it seems like one of your values also is joy.
[00:10:14] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:10:15] Speaker A: And definitely happiness and creativity and all of that. And so being able to go, okay, these are my values. Now look for how those values can. Can show up professionally, for sure.
[00:10:29] Speaker B: I mean, I. Like I said some people. Some people live to work, some people work to live. We've all heard that.
I am definitely a person who works a lot. I work six, seven days as an entrepreneur. You work seven days a Week, but like six days in the shop, seven days, always on doing things.
But I want to find joy in that. I want it to be a part of my life, not like a part of my life that I hate and that I have to do. I want it to be a full, like, portion of my life that I actually enjoy.
So, yeah, that's super. That's a huge value for me is. Is finding joy in something.
[00:11:03] Speaker A: Absolutely. And I would think as a buyer. Yeah, you have to have other people in mind 100%.
[00:11:11] Speaker B: So what.
[00:11:12] Speaker A: Talk us through a little bit of that. How do you.
It must come from reading people pretty well and knowing what people want.
[00:11:21] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:11:22] Speaker A: But what is your process for that at Strapping, where you get to choose because it's your store, Everything that is in there.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: I mean, there's a little. When you're a buyer, you definitely have to buy for your demographic, but you also have to be the professional. You have to know that your taste level and what you do for a living is important and that everything that people say that you should have is not always things that you should have.
And I also like to think about my customer.
What the culture of my shop is, what my values are in that shop, mean a lot. But also, like, I want to lead them and show them cool things that they've never seen and, like, have experiences that people have never realized. In a town like Sacramento, we aren't, you know, we're not on the, the, you know, lead of trend. We're not New York, we're not Paris, so we're not London. You know, there are people that have to have to, like, lead this trend. I like to lead the trend in Sacramento. I like to, like, I know that we are.
I always call this a big city, small town. We're like a big city. So we have the resources and we have, like, we have really great food and culture.
But then, you know, we're also a small town. And so the people, like, you can kind of. You kind of know, you get to know your neighbors, especially in Oak Park. I know park really well. And when I buy things, I put them at the forefront. They're like, I think about them, but then I also want to be like. And there's also this, like, let me bring you this to Sacramento that you've never seen.
[00:12:56] Speaker A: I really love that. Yes. Because it's a trend. You're forward thinking, you're innovating, in a sense.
And has it ever happened where you have something that you think is a great idea and a forward.
[00:13:10] Speaker B: That flops yeah. 100%. Always.
Yeah. I mean, I, I feel like I'm a pretty good buyer. And luckily for me, what strapping is, it's. If you've never been there, it's novelty, it's fun, it's quirky.
So it's. It's pretty easy to make people laugh and know what people think, think is funny and stuff like that. But every now and again, I'll bring in something that I think is the coolest thing ever, and people will just be like, what? And that goes on the sale rack.
So if you ever want to see my failures, go to the sale rack when you walk in and be like, oh, still buy them at a discounted price. But, no, I mean, yeah, definitely. Like, I don't think anyone has 100% success in life. Like, that's part of entrepreneurship, too, is like, trusting in yourself enough and, like, jumping off this wild cliff and hoping that there's, like, having, having, like, I don't know, pride in yourself and, like, trust in yourself that you're. That what? That all the knowledge that you have and all the things that you have will catch you.
And also, same thing with buying. Yeah.
[00:14:12] Speaker A: Yeah. That failure is not. No, it happens how we learn. It's how we grow. So.
[00:14:18] Speaker B: And it has to happen. Like, no one's perfect. If you, if you're trying to be a perfect person, you're going to be. You're going to be so sad and you're going to be so disappointed and you're not going to learn. And it's just. It's not a.
It's not real. It's not real. We're all humans. Yeah.
[00:14:33] Speaker A: And the adventure of life is like getting up on the bike. You fall, then you get back up again. You fall, then you have the time of your life riding that bike.
[00:14:45] Speaker B: And you might be the best. You might be. You might be a BMX star. Who knows? Like, but yeah, you never know. Like, like, if you fall one time and then quit. Yeah. Like you said, you're not going to have that journey of the excitement of actually riding a bike. So.
[00:15:00] Speaker A: Yeah, absolutely. And we are going to take a short break and be right back with Susan Stewart, everybody. Stay with us. We'll be right back with more insight, inspiration, and real conversations. This is Spanish Janice on NOW Media Television. And we're back. I'm Janice Burt, and you're watching Spanish Janice. Let's keep growing together.
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and we are back with our guest, Susan Stewart.
[00:16:01] Speaker B: Susan? Yeah, I.
[00:16:04] Speaker A: Here's one thing I love, love, love. Not just that you have an amazing gift shop in Sacramento that is a favorite, but. And the reason I think it's a favorite part of the reason is because the community that you build and you do that purposefully, it seems like, and strategically, and it has to be intentionally so. Tell us a little bit about why creating an experience for people is so important to you.
[00:16:38] Speaker B: I, you know, we're, we are in hospitality, in retail, but I've been into stores where you can tell the person is like regurgitating something that they have to have to say, you know, or they might say welcome in and then go right to their phone and want nothing to do with you.
I don't know. I love humans. I think you do too. I think I've been to your house. You're a very welcoming, loving human.
My store is a part of me. It's like a big piece of who I am.
And I want people to feel like they're at home when they're at Strapping. I don't want them to feel like they're just at a gift shop. And it's not just this transactional thing for me. It really is my dream. And how can you have a dream and not have a piece of yourself there?
So, I mean, also a huge, a huge reason why, I don't want to say this is the reason why I built community, but Strapping is in Oak park neighborhood that has gone through some pretty severe gentrification.
We've been there for nine years. And I knew coming in as a white female business owner that I was going to stir up a little bit of like, sadness in the community. Like, why are you here? Why, why are you taking over our neighborhood? Kind of feeling. And, and when I did start, I did get a little bit of that conflict from humans. Like, people would come in and ask me, like, what is your, what are your intentions here in Oak Park? It's not the same as opening a, you know, business in Midtown or somewhere that people are generally used to, like having a ton of businesses come and go and a lot of activity. I was like, I was in smack dab in the middle of a neighborhood. And it was important to me to let people know that my intentions weren't there to, like, you know, completely change their culture and completely change the vibe of their neighborhood. I wanted to. I wanted to be a part of their neighborhood. I wanted to be a part of their community.
So that was a big. Was a big deal for me.
When I first initially opened my store, I went to the Oak Park Neighborhood association, and I asked them, I'm like, listen, I'm opening a store.
How can I help this community? How can I be a part of this neighborhood? How can I be a neighbor to everybody and not just be a store? Taking money, taking space, changing culture, and luckily, you know, good, bad, and ugly. I got a lot of comments, and some people were very skeptical of what I was doing being a queer business owner. Like, why did you choose this neighborhood? And. And I chose it because it's close to my home. It's a place that I've always loved to go to. I always felt really safe and comfortable in Oak park, and I like the vibe of it. Like, so building community early in that neighborhood was very important to me. And then also building community with just all of Sacramento and the queer community.
I want people to come into my store and know that I'm a part of Sacramento. I am your neighbor, and you are safe, welcomed, happy here. This is not capitalism at its cruelest. This is a gift shop where I think about you when I make decisions on buying, when I think about you when times are getting tough for our. For our world. I'm your neighbor and I'm here for you. I'm a businesswoman, but I'm also going to be a leader, and I'm going to be someone helpful. Community means so much to me.
[00:20:07] Speaker A: Well, and I think that shows because small businesses are having a hard time right now.
I mean, just with online businesses and the changing landscape of all of that.
And I know the community rallies around you 100%. And because you did that first for them, I feel like then everybody is looking out for you as well, which is such a testament to how you have shown up for them.
[00:20:41] Speaker B: I appreciate that. Yeah. I mean, it's. I.
I am so grateful. And I. And I won't just, like, in hard times that I'm having, I'm not going to just, like, be like, okay, cool, now, now it's your time to give it to me. Like, I'm going to continue to give. Do the back and forth with people. Like, when the government closed down, we started a food pantry in Oak park because we knew that our neighborhood was going to be one of the neighborhoods that was Hit hardest. Like, you know, Land park, you sacked. They're not really concerned if the government shuts down. They have their jobs, they have their income coming in. Some people, a lot of people in Oak park, sorry, South Sacramento, were folks that were really frightened because they had to feed their families. And I think a big misconception with that was that these people are not working. These people are working. These people were working several jobs, trying to live. And I know them, I know these families.
So, yes, we were struggling. But then you see. You see your neighborhood, you know, and your neighbors going hungry, of course you're going to step in.
I've had times where someone like, I had a person shoot out all my windows in Oak Park. We had our rainbows up. We had some Black Lives Matter flags in the window during a time of, like, severe social unrest. It was around when George Floyd was murdered.
Somebody came through and shot out all my windows just to prove a point.
The next day, someone started to go fund me, and the neighborhood paid for my windows. And with the extra that we had, we didn't just, like, pocket extra money. I took that money and I gave it to another organization in town that really helps Oak Park. So I gave some to City of Refuge and I gave some to Wellspring Women's Center. So it's just about. I think, like, a lot of people dream of having, like, living on communes. I think if you've ever talked to any of your friends in times of need and stress, you're like, we should just have a commune. We just need to have a couple houses on a land.
Like, you don't need to live on a commune. You can live in your neighborhood and have that community and do the give and take. It doesn't have to be like, I'm holed up in my house and I have my job and I can buy online and I can take care of myself. It's like you have to think about the people around you as well. Like, yes, you might have a cush 9 to fiverr where you never have to leave your home. But then what happens to the people around you? What happens to the businesses around you? What happens to your city?
So it's a great responsibility and you have to really think about it and make it an important thing in your life, but to give back and not just consume. And I think people forget that.
[00:23:21] Speaker A: Like a reciprocal.
[00:23:23] Speaker B: Yes, yes. But I have that with Oak park and that's why I love them. They're my, like, Oak park neighborhood is my ride or die. I opened an Ice cream shop in oak Park. We make $0 at the ice cream store. But it was because I wanted. I wanted my neighbors who they. We talked about. I've talked with people. They're like, we need an ice cream store here. I'm like, let's do it. So for those 25 neighbors that come through every week and get their ice cream, and they're so excited to have it or just to be proud of their neighborhood, they're like, cool. We have this. We have this new cool business on our block. Like, I don't know, there's. I love Oak Park. I want to see it thrive. I not only survive, I want to see it thrive. And they also want to see the same for me. And I feel that in my darkest times as a business owner, they've always. They've always shown up and it means so much.
[00:24:11] Speaker A: What would you say to a business owner if they really struggle with this concept of community?
What advice do you have for another entrepreneur that just doesn't even know where to start as far as engaging with community? How. What's the mindset shift? What needs to happen for them to step out in the way that you have?
[00:24:36] Speaker B: You know, it's. It really. It really comes from within. You have to, like, want to better your neighborhood. You have to want to better, like, this, the world around you. And I think that people, when, especially in times of hardship, we go internal and we forget that there are other people there to help.
So I think just like, leaning on people and being okay with that and not going it alone. Like, I've talked to a lot of business owners that never express to their neighbors or their community that they're having a hard time. And they are, and I know them, and they're like, two days from closing kind of people.
And I'm like, why don't you ever reach out to your community? And it's because they've never built that community, and that's a shame.
I think it's about being like any relationship. It's about being vulnerable. It's about showing up when it matters. It's about communicating. It's about seeing what their needs are and trying to meet them.
Yeah. Like, if you're. If you're a business owner and you don't.
You don't go to your business and know your customers, you don't have regulars, there's something wrong. You need to start, like, communicating with the people that are in there and not regurgitating lines like, welcome to Jack in the Box. Can I offer you the curly Fries. You got to be like, hey, how are you? Have you ever been here? Like, have you, like, do you like curly fries? Are you even into that sort of thing? And, like, people will have conversations with you, and you get to know them. And the coolest thing about my business is that I've been there for nine years. I've seen kids graduate high school that are now in. That are now done with college and that are. You know, I have. One of my staff is now a professor. Like, I've seen, you know, babies grow up that are now nine that are reading, and they can read all the terrible jokes in my shop.
I'm sorry.
I've known people that have, like, you know, had pets that have passed away that would come into my store every day to get treats. There's, like, so much love, and you're. You just grow. You're growing this big family, and it's just so special and important, and it's. It's something that I've always wanted. I didn't have the best family life growing up, and I get a little piece of that with my community. Whatever you're. Whatever you are lacking in life, you can get that in life. You just have to seek it out. So my. My thing is joy, love, community, bringing people together, and that's really important to me. And also selling gifts. And the last part is. You also sell gifts, right?
[00:27:01] Speaker A: And the last part is, oh, here's the prize.
[00:27:02] Speaker B: And there's also a business attached to it. But, like, I'm not making millions of dollars. I just. I. I'm living a life that makes me happy. And I feel joy and I feel proud. Of what? I don't know. Waking up every day and knowing that even in the hardest times, there are gonna be people there because I'm there for them.
[00:27:22] Speaker A: And it's a purposeful, meaningful thing that every morning you go, okay, this is not just selling a product.
This is bringing my community together. This is making people happy. This is. It's. It's a bigger something bigger.
[00:27:39] Speaker B: That's my value. Some people really don't value that. They just want to make money and put. Put themselves in their little hole and, I mean, teach his own. But I just feel like that's an empty life. And what's the. What's the purpose? At some point, you, like, they always say you can't take it with you. So, like, you know, being the king that has all the. All the gold.
[00:27:58] Speaker A: Yes.
[00:27:58] Speaker B: That's never seen. Seen the sunlight or seen the people.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: Who cares? Who cares? What's it worth?
[00:28:03] Speaker B: Who cares?
[00:28:04] Speaker A: What's it worth, I say?
[00:28:05] Speaker B: Exactly.
[00:28:06] Speaker A: Thank you, Susan. Everybody, stay with us. We will be right back with Susan Stewart from Strapping.
We'll be right back with more insight, inspiration, and real conversations. This is Spanish Janice on NOW Media Television. And we're back. I'm Janice Burt and you're watching Spanish Janice. Let's keep growing together.
Hola, mis amigos. Welcome back to Spanish Janice. I am here with Susan Stewart. Susan, thank you again for being here with us. Please tell everybody where they can find Strapping in Sacramento and how they can find follow you online.
[00:28:46] Speaker B: Yeah, both of my businesses are at 34th and Broadway in Oak Park.
We do have an online presence anywhere. Every platform you can think of. We are at Strapping Store. So, yeah, we have a fairly good. Fairly good following on Instagram and everything else is.
TikTok.
[00:29:09] Speaker A: I did want to talk to you about that because I know that you do have a massive following on Instagram.
[00:29:17] Speaker B: I do. It's a good one.
[00:29:19] Speaker A: Yes. And you do these Instagram live videos where you show people new product in the store and you'll just talk to people like they're your best friends and you're just catching up.
I know for a lot of people, business owners, visibility can be hard for them and tricky.
What is your thought on visibility online and as far as importance and were you always a prolific poster, like, you know, doing lives, or was that something that gradually you learned how to do more and more?
[00:29:57] Speaker B: I think I learned how to do it more and more.
I think that a small business should be, like, out there. I think that if you're a small business owner, people should know who you are because the business is so much yourself. Other people think that they should not. People should not know who they are, that the business, the business is its own entity. I just feel differently about that.
The harsh thing about me being so open about who I am and showing people my vulnerability is that there are definitely trolls out there and they are so bad. They are so rude. People love to hide behind their keyboards and say the nastiest things. And I think because I'm such, like an open, friendly person, if someone's having, you know, bad feelings about themselves, sometimes it gets a little. A little aggressive on the keyboard. But 90, I say 98% of the time, I only have positivity. I think people feel like I'm their neighbor and I want them to feel that because I am their neighbor. I. The funniest thing to me is when I go into, like a grocery store or something and people like, oh, it's like a celebrity sighting. And I'm like, no, I, this, I live down the street and I'm your neighbor. Like I'm, I'm just a Sacramento business owner. I'm not like, I feel like a lot of people become insta famous and I'm not, I'm not, I'm only. There's only like 25, 000 followers. It's not like this crazy thing but like I'm known enough where like if I'm. I've gone on vacation or something, somebody like, oh my God, Susan from Strapping, like people will point me out and they'll know who I am.
To me it's, I don't see it as like I'm trying to be like this famous person or anything. It's really just like letting people know I'm the business owner. This is my, the vulnerability I show is because this is my heart and my soul and my love. In Strapping. It's. I always tell anyone that like my unfortunate ex wife and my current partner that my first true love is Strapping. It's so terrible to say that, but it's a big portion of who I am and it's a big portion of my life and the community is so important to me and I have all these relationships built in this, this business that it's, you know, it's important people know who I am and they, and that I'm vulnerable with them on, on Instagram and that they feel like I'm not this weird fake person.
[00:32:12] Speaker A: Do you ever second guess? Because I've heard from a lot of people that post things on their social media that there's like this kind of second guessing and they're not sure. And how do you deal with those kind of feelings of just maybe somebody trolling you, writing a bad review, a rejection?
Because that's a lot of I think what holds people back for sure, truly showing up and being visible. So how do you handle those things and what would you tell somebody else in that space where they're like, I know I should be doing this, like I need to be doing this. And I'm so terrified of the rejection aspect.
[00:32:53] Speaker B: I mean I think early, early on I, I chose to be a leader in community and a leader in like especially the queer community.
So I think that my voice is important. A lot of people do listen to, listen to me and expect like some guidance.
It is really vulnerable. It is really scary. I definitely am a person who, I'm an extroverted Extrovert. If you can't tell, I just bleh. And then, like, deal with whatever the outcome is afterwards. And I think that's part of my.
That's. That's part of why I'm okay with saying certain things online, that other people might be more cautious because they probably think. They probably have thoughts and think through their things before they do it.
I have a little problem with that.
But, yeah, I mean, it's. It's hard. You have to play this political game, and if you're afraid of some. Some random person, and like I said, It's 99% positivity. It's like that random person being an asshole to you. Pardon my French.
Part of my Spanish being. I don't even know the. I don't even know the word for asshole in Spanish.
I'm like, puto. I don't know. I don't know.
Being a jerk to you.
All the beeping, beep, beep, beep, beep.
If you're worried about that and not being authentic and not welcoming people and being your yourself and not saying your piece or your values because of one person who might not agree with you.
It's a hard life. Like, I think we all learned that in junior high on of, you know, the harshness of society and being different or saying something that maybe everyone's thinking, but people are like, well, you know, we learn early, like to have to put the pause on things because we're. We fear. Fear society. But I mean, the worst thing that could happen to me is someone comes and kills me and they make me a martyr. And then everyone's like, still heard my voice and still got my message and still knows that I care. So, I mean, I don't know. Life's too short. Life's too short to. To not say what you feel.
[00:35:02] Speaker A: I agree. And I also know that it is such a.
A big deal in a lot of people's minds, which makes me sad just because I know the fear. I struggled with that a lot. Fear of criticism, fear of rejection, fear of failure, all of these things.
So I know what that prison can feel like, and I know other people are trapped in that as well. And. And they're not living their best lives and their businesses are not thriving as much as they could because of it.
[00:35:38] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:35:39] Speaker A: So somebody that's really trapped in all the fears of social rejection or criticism.
What's like, one thing you would tell them that they can start feeling maybe those chains loosening a little bit. What's something practical that you think that they can do to make one step toward the direction of freedom. Because it really is being free to. To be yourself and show up authentically.
[00:36:12] Speaker B: I think knowing your mission, your business mission, and knowing your culture and knowing your values, like, if you lead with that, you're going to always make the right decision. It's when you go off the rails a little too much, like, you can't.
I don't. Like, I definitely. I put my political views on my social media. I don't go aggressive because I. I do feel that everyone should have the right to their political views, their religious views. I feel very strong about that. Like, I'm. I'm a liberal, but I don't. I have friends who are conservatives, and I don't.
I don't. We're so. We're so polarized right now. I don't like that feeling. These are my friends. These are people that I love. And just because you have politicians or issues that are so, like, you know, dividing, I don't feel like I should stop loving that person and that thing. So I think a lot of people fear whatever they say, especially in today's climate, that it's a yes or no. There's no gray. It's. It's black or white. I have to take a stance, and I have to be strong on my stance. It's like, I think that if you know your values and you know what you stand for, and even if it's like, it's like, no, like, all right, I stand with, you know, people that are like, sex, survive, people that have been sexually assaulted, they're survivors. Like, I will stand with those people and I will be very strong about those feelings, but I'm not going to maybe talk about economic things. Like, I'm not going to be like, well, my stance on the market and blah, blah, blah, blah, because that doesn't mean any. That's not, like, who I am as a human or my values. So I think if you just, like, you don't have to go super stronghold and be like, I'm a mega person and I feel this, this, and this. Or I'm a super progressive and I feel this, this, and this. Like, I think people think of things in political ways and forget that we're humans and, like, just think, know your values, know your mission, and just dip your toe in stuff. If you're like, think something's wrong or if. Or whatever. Or if you're just like, you're like, hey, guys, I'm really bummed that I'm trying to think of A of a topic that people are like, that are. They're afraid to get on there, I
[00:38:19] Speaker A: would say maybe because that part might come a little more naturally or you've built up to that.
I think you would be surprised.
It doesn't even have to be a controversial topic. But for people even to show their face sometimes on social media to do any type of video I get, that is terrifying and they shy away from it and they don't do it even if there's something they're real excited to post. Oh, because how is this person going to take it? Does it look. They're gonna think I'm bragging, okay. And this person's gonna think, you know what I mean? Like trying to put yourself into everybody's heads and you can't please everybody as a recovering people pleaser.
[00:38:59] Speaker B: So I think sometimes you have to lean on other people. Like, I've seen people that, like. Because I. I'm okay with cameras. Like, cameras don't freak me out. And I know that sometimes when a camera comes up for somebody, people just freeze. Or they do get. They get nervous or like, you'll see it in their videos. They're really like, oh, just be true to yourself. But honestly, sometimes lean on other people. If you have a younger staff member who can do a funny TikTok dance, maybe they, like, get you roped in or they know some little, like, funny thing that's happening. Like, like some sort of trend. Like, maybe you don't have to, like, be out there and vulnerable and be like, hi, my name is Susan. I am the business owner of Strapping. This is my store. You can just be a funny little, like, tidbit in that and just show a little bit of your personality and make yourself human. Because when it comes down to it, especially for a small business, people want to see a human. They don't want to. They don't. I. I don't. I doubt anybody knows who, who the big person in charge at Target is, you know, and you'll never see Jeff Bezos, like, packaging a box at Amazon.
But I do, I do everything. I do. I wear all the hats. So I clean the toilets at our store. I mean, I do everything. So I do our counting.
I want. I am a big part of that store. I am. I'm part of the entire thing. So I want people to know that. But, yeah, it's hard.
[00:40:18] Speaker A: And just to wrap this segment up, if we're thinking of leadership and as a leader, you mentioned what some of your values are. Are those the same ones that you have as a leader. What are your main values in leadership? So you have people that work for you, people in the community that look up to you.
What, what are some leadership values that, that you find are very important in business?
[00:40:49] Speaker B: You know, honestly, I was really afraid to be a leader. I always hated. I'm a people pleaser. I don't want to tell people what to do. And I felt like you had to be an alpha person to be a leader. You had to be like, this is what we're doing. It's a type a thing. And you know, you got. And you have to reprimand people and it's like, no, you just treat them like they're your family. You treat them like they're people. And you start to like, learn that this customer or this staff or whoever is like an individual and they like to be talked to differently. And so it's just like adapting to them as a human. But my biggest leadership quality, I think, is that I'm very collaborative when it comes to anything. So I'm not a stubborn person who is my way or the highway. I like hearing other people's ideas and getting them involved. And I think if you get people involved in your business, your community, or like, you know, my staff, when people find ownership themselves, they're going to seek you out for advice. They're going to see you as someone that they can talk to and not somebody who, like, they're squashing dreams. I think being a collaborative, open person is just as important as being, you know, that real tough. Tough as nails alpha. I'm not that. Yes, never will be.
[00:42:02] Speaker A: I totally agree. And everybody stay with us. We will be right back for our final segment with Susan Stewart from Strapping.
We'll be right back with more insight, inspiration and real conversations. This is Spanish Janice on NOW Media Television. And we're back. I'm Janice Burt and you're watching Spanish Janice. Let's keep growing together.
Welcome back to Spanish Janice. I am here once again with Susan Stewart. Susan, thank you again for coming on and just sharing your heart, your wisdom, your love.
[00:42:40] Speaker B: So much wisdom, so much.
[00:42:42] Speaker A: Seriously, a lot of wisdom, a lot of heart.
I have absolutely loved just getting to know you and the business a little bit better.
And I want to talk about something that is hard for a lot of business owners and people, I think, that work in corporate and stuff, but this concept of either balancing professional and personal life, this concept of burnout, which a lot of people struggle with in the business, in business.
Have you, first of all, have you ever Felt those things. Like burnout.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: Yes. Oh, yeah.
[00:43:20] Speaker A: What does that look like for you in the past?
[00:43:22] Speaker B: I think when I first started the business, I was working seven days a week and I was the only person and I just really wanted my, my shop to be successful. Like it was baby shop.
My goals were small, but like, I, you know, there was no one, I, I, there was no game plan. It was just like, I'm gonna open my business and there's a lot of imposter syndrome. So you kind of like go overboard where you're like working hard, you have all these ideas, you're throwing them all at the wall to see what sticks like nine years later. Obviously I know how to run my business at this point and I know what works and what doesn't work.
But I mean, the burnout is real. You really get involved. It does become a big portion of your life. And there was a time I actually had to go to therapy with my, my ex spouse. And honestly, a big portion of our divorce was because I was so focused on my business. There wasn't a lot of time for anything outside of it.
Strapping was it. And I, like I said earlier, strapping is my first love. It's like my, my one true love in life. It's like super weird to have an inadamin object be your true love in life, but it really is.
And I had to go, I had to go through a lot of therapy.
I went through couples therapy, which ultimately ended up in divorce. And then after that, I went through a lot of personal single therapy with, with someone just to work on not being a people pleaser, not putting all this pressure on myself and learning to rest. And I think a lot of people really struggle with that, just letting themselves, like, have a moment and being okay when you are struggling in life to still take a breath. Because I think when you're in survival mode, a lot of people forget that mental health is important and taking that time for yourself is okay. Like, it's okay that your world is crumbling.
You don't have to keep fighting. Even though even a soldier on a battlefield isn't going to just be a gun, gun, gun, stab, stab, stab. There's going to take a moment. He's going to sit behind the bunker, he's going to go, he's going to have his little terrible dehydrated meal and take a breath and look at the stars and maybe be like, oh my gosh, this is so incredibly hard. And think about the things that you love in life because you have to, you There's. We only have this one life that we know of and we are, we're not guaranteed any time, you know, so just going full force into a business all the time and burning out and not remembering why you even started it is really hard.
So I'm, I'm continuously working on that. I still haven't mastered it. I still have a hard time stopping and being like, okay, there's nothing I can do about this. I'll wake up at three in the morning just like from a dead sleep thinking about all the different things. And I have to like stop and think like, okay, this is not, this is. There's nothing I can do at this moment. What is this? Who is this serving? What is this doing to my life, to my body, to my relationships? And it's a, it's an ongoing process and sometimes it does take a professional therapist to help you through it. And I'm can. I'm still on that path. It's really hard.
[00:46:35] Speaker A: And what, what are some of the things. Advice from the therapist that they've given you? Because I have heard of that. You need to slow down to speed up.
[00:46:45] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:46:45] Speaker A: Kind of concept.
[00:46:46] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:46:47] Speaker A: And I'm a huge proponent of it as well.
But my view is it is very scary sometimes for us to slow down because that's when we come face to face with our past wounds and things in our. That's why I would always run from myself and numb, avoid, do other things to like not sit and kind of be in that space.
[00:47:12] Speaker B: Yeah. That's the scariest part.
That is the scariest part. And I think that a lot. You'll see people that are workaholics. My father was a workaholic just to avoid. It's avoidance. It's not healthy.
So, yeah, I think like my, my therapist has told me that it's just not, it's not healthy. What do you like, working this hard? It's not gonna, Is it gonna change the outcome? Like you taking a minute for yourself? Are you taking. You going to lunch or are you eating, like, eating food or you know, going on the vacation and, and empowering your staff to actually, you know, take care of your shop and your baby and like be okay with that. It's just like a brand new mother leaving their child for the first time. It's like, you need that date night with your boo because your poor husband's like, are we gonna stay married? This baby, all we do is change diapers and stuff. You need to like let the babysitter have the baby and take that second and foster those other relationships in your life. And that could just be yourself, but it's like your internal relationship with yourself. You need to, like, foster that care about yourself.
Because if you do burn out and you just give up, I mean, what. What are you doing it for? There's. You have to have these inner, like, monologues of like, I need to take a breath, I need to take a second. It's going to be okay.
And I think a lot of people can't.
[00:48:32] Speaker A: It sounds to me like a reframe. Right. So you're going. Okay, wait a minute. There's worry is not going to get me anything. Or this anxiety is not doing anything for. For me. It's actually working against me.
[00:48:44] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:44] Speaker A: So let me reframe and. And do all that. And then also setting up a time for a vacation or even time throughout your day, like, here's five minutes. I'm gonna go walk around the block.
[00:48:57] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:48:58] Speaker A: I'm gonna intentionally breathe or I'm gonna journal something or. Or here's a fun idea for you especially.
[00:49:06] Speaker B: Give it to me,
[00:49:08] Speaker A: the artist in you.
[00:49:09] Speaker B: Yes. Yeah.
[00:49:10] Speaker A: Sitting back in a back room and doodling something, even not to have a perfect image or artwork, but literally for that creative flow and that, like, giving yourself the care and the love that you give to everybody else, but having that come right back to you.
[00:49:28] Speaker B: Yeah, it's hard.
[00:49:30] Speaker A: It's hard.
[00:49:30] Speaker B: Well, and there's avoidance in that, too. I've talked to people about this before. Like, you know when you are really good at something as a young person and you get older and you're not. You haven't given yourself the time or practice or something. Sometimes you live in the past and you forget, like. Like my art and my golf. I am not the golf professional that I used to be. People like, oh, you're probably a really good golfer. And I'm like, oh, play enough golf to be a good, good golfer anymore. And I don't give my time, myself the time to make art anymore. And sometimes because you feel like an imposter in those places that you used to be a perfectionist at or used to be really great at, you overwork and you. It's an avoidance in itself. So even just bringing it back to, like, you're a whole person, it's like, my whole life shouldn't be strapping. It shouldn't be this gift shop. And it's a big, important part of my life, and it does bring me a lot of joy and love.
Like, there's so many other aspects of me. Like, I'm not just a queer person. I think that's a big thing about the queer community. Like people always think like, well, this is my whole identity. I have to wear rainbows and I have to like show everybody this I'm a queer person. It's like, it's just a small portion of who you are. Being an entrepreneur is a small portion of who I am. Strapping is a small portion. It's like, it doesn't have to be everything and like a more well rounded person has a lot of different things that they do. And it's okay to like be terrible, terrible at things. And I'm trying, I'm still trying to get to that place myself. Like, I avoid art a lot because it used to mean so much to me. And even just that, that early trauma of it being, being told no, like it's been hard for me to like put it back into who I am as a human.
[00:51:06] Speaker A: Okay, let's talk more about this because trust you me, there are a lot of perfectionists out there. It's just a thing and like, if I can't do it perfectly, I'm just not going to do it at all. And things like that. Let's talk a little bit about that.
What, what is your take on that? First of all, like at the place you are now knowing that you were or have been maybe a perfectionist and wanting to get everything, you know, just right.
Are you at the place where you feel like you can kind of dabble and not have something be.
[00:51:45] Speaker B: I'm learning. I'm learning. I think like when I was young and I used to start a painting, I'd always, if you, if you let an artist paint and not stop them or give them a timeline, they will never complete their painting. Like I, even the best artists will go back and kind of look and look and it takes like a real, it takes, it takes a lot of self control to be like, okay, I'm done.
So yeah, it's, it's a hard thing. And I, and I see it a lot with, with like athletes and I'm not even talking about my golf, but I, like a lot of my friends were real, real strong athletes when they were young.
And when you get older, your body changes. Especially for women. We're not as strong. We're not, you know, we don't have the endurance that we used to have. And I think people like, they almost stop playing their sport or stop participating in anything because they're not the athlete they used to like. They were living in this past world. So I think it's hard, it's really hard for people that are perfectionists or people that really have high expectations for themselves to stop and be like, it's, we're evolving and I'm changing and it's okay to change with this and still appreciate what I had. Like, still appreciate being an artist in the past, being a golf pro in the past and not being those anymore, but still bringing them into my current day. And I'm still learning that it's, it's ongoing.
[00:53:02] Speaker A: You know what's helped me with that is because I have this whole one fear per year journey where I do one thing every year that really terrifies me.
It's, it's doing something to walk through the fear of it. And that's it.
[00:53:18] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:53:18] Speaker A: Instead of looking at the outcome, how is this thing going to turn out?
Now I just go. My only job, like my only focus is I'm doing this because I can, I don't want to be bound by fear anymore. So I want to experience freedom.
And so I'm going to do whatever the thing is.
Like for instance, I did this filmmaking challenge, right? Five day filmmaking challenge. Never recorded anything, edited anything, done anything in my life. But I was like, I just want to, I'm going to give it a go. I'm going to do it. It's not going to be perfect. I know that like the outcome is not going to be like this great state of the art thing, but the whole goal is just doing something I've never done before and walking through the fear of that. So maybe that little reframe too of, you know, I'm doing this just because I can tell the fear is holding me back.
[00:54:13] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:54:13] Speaker A: And that's it.
[00:54:14] Speaker B: I think that's a beautiful lesson. I hope everybody watches your like TED Talks on that because it's really, it's pretty powerful. It's pretty. Yeah. I think you did like a stand up comedy or something like that. I did that when I was younger and it was like, I mean, I got heckled the first time and it was horrifying and like I really didn't want to do it again. I think I did it two other times and I realized like I wasn't the best at it and I never gave it a go again. And it's one of those things. I'm like, dang, I really should have, I enjoyed it. I like enjoy being funny with people and, and bantering and stuff. And I like, yeah, it's, it's, I think that's cool. There's a lot of things I'm afraid of that I feel. I look very confident. But yeah, I'm not. I'm not.
[00:54:53] Speaker A: We all are.
[00:54:54] Speaker B: All. That's the thing, I think. I think people need to know that like the coolest thing that came out of like the last maybe like 10 years was imposter syndrome. I don't think anybody ever talked about before. But like, we all have it. Every single person, even like the top person in their career, they're like, there's a moment where you're like, am I doing this right?
[00:55:10] Speaker A: Do I belong here?
[00:55:11] Speaker B: Yeah. Entrepreneurs, that's your whole entire, your whole entire journey is like. Because there's no, there's no real like guidelines for being entrepreneur. It's almost like you're free falling and you have all these cool skills that you're trying to like, hold yourself up with. But you know, there's always like things you don't understand. And imposter syndrome is real. And I think just knowing that term
[00:55:32] Speaker A: has helped me through life and to normalize these things. Like we are all human.
[00:55:39] Speaker B: Yeah.
[00:55:39] Speaker A: We all struggle with fear. We have, all of us, it's, it's everybody. And it actually is very empowering when we know that we're not the only ones. You know, unless you're sweating, shaking a
[00:55:50] Speaker B: lucky sociopath who doesn't care about anything and then good for you, then you become President of United States. United States. I didn't say that. I didn't say that. Who said that?
Then you just, then you become a high paid politician and you just don't care. You don't care about the trolls, you don't care about the stuff that's right, like tra la la.
But the rest of us, the 99 of us that are not the 1% of that population, for the rest of
[00:56:16] Speaker A: us peons, this is, this is it.
[00:56:20] Speaker B: So it's, we are going to walk
[00:56:22] Speaker A: through our fears together.
We are going to reconnect to our creativity, which is just this beautiful source inside of all of us. I mean, we are creative beings and so for each of us to come back to that in our own ways, I think is hugely important. And I just want to thank you so much for coming here and just literally pouring out love onto all of us. You are fame, amazing.
[00:56:50] Speaker B: You're, you're the best. And if you haven't watched her TED Talk, you should watch the TED Talk because it's amazing. It's really. I'm very, I'm always impressed by you. You always you are a person who, just like, this is horrifying. I'm gonna do it.
[00:57:05] Speaker A: That it has been many years of a lesson learned, but fear holds us back. And that is my mission, is to encourage everybody to look fear in the eyeballs and say, you know what? I see you, but I'm gonna do this thing anyway, and I'm gonna live my best life.
[00:57:22] Speaker B: Good. Yes. Perfect.
[00:57:24] Speaker A: So everybody go out there, live your best life, pay a visit to Strapping, go onto all the social medias and watch the brilliant Susan Stewart just show up in all her beauty, authenticity, vulnerability, and go out there and make it an amazing day.
