This week, Lorie Jones introduces you to powerhouse founder Rose Arendarczyk, CEO of GiftEase—a woman who turned every career curveball into an opportunity for growth. From consulting to executive leadership and ultimately entrepreneurship, Rose reveals the bold decisions and mindset shifts that propelled her success.
Rose candidly discusses overcoming inner critics, navigating tough life events, namely breast cancer and divorce, and building authentic confidence. You will hear strategies for financial independence, the payoff of investing in mentorship and connection, and the importance of prioritizing both ambition and self-care.
As professional women forging your own paths, Rose’s story will inspire you to make courageous choices and embrace your personal fearless journey. Let her hard-won lessons fuel your next chapter.
Show Highlights:
- Why consulting is a great career entry point for new grads. [04:30]
- What is consulting and how do its skills transfer to industry? [07:35]
- The power of investing in coaching for informed career pivots. [09:53]
- How our fears can be our worst advisor and how to regulate it. [14:14]
- Do we realize that we can dare to question existing processes? [18:40]
- Powerful saving tips for young females to secure financial freedom. [22:44]
- Find out exactly the right answer to “Am I good enough?” [26:43]
- Life-changing coping strategies for working moms—and why balance is a myth. [29:31]
- The importance of being realistic, resilient role models for daughters. [35:27]
- Key advice for young women on cultivating connection. [38:14]
Connect with Rose Arendarczyk on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosearendarczyk.
Explore GiftEase at https://www.thegiftease.com/.
If you enjoyed this episode, please go to Apple Podcasts and leave a review!
For more information about Lorie Jones, go to https://fearlessfinancialadvisors.com/fearless-females.
00:01.40
Lorie Jones
Good morning, fearless females. So today we’re here with Rose Aaron Darzik. She is the founder and CEO of Giftease. And I really appreciate you coming on the show today, Rose, to share your story. Thank you so much.
00:16.14
rose
Lori, I’m so excited to be here. Thank you so much for having me.
00:20.05
Lorie Jones
So my first question is always, I’m a reader. I love reading. Give me your favorite book.
00:28.41
rose
This one’s a tough one for me. i actually consume a lot of books, mostly through Audible and Spotify. You know, since the beginning of the year, I’ve had more than several titles that I’ve gone through.
00:35.72
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
00:42.19
rose
One, though, that sticks out to me from some years ago is a Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. um It is it’s just a poignant book.
00:56.72
rose
heartfelt, heartbreaking story um that has just stuck with me. It just resonates when I think about like, wow, what’s really touched me in terms of, you know, content. So I would recommend that. And then the other thing I think of is on a business front, I just picked up and started reading Hooked.
01:17.87
rose
It’s about habit forming products and how to develop those. And it’s extremely relevant in where I am today with Giftees and my journey.
01:28.06
Lorie Jones
Oh yeah, is that by Heath? Is that Dan Heath that wrote read that?
01:32.65
rose
It’s Nir Eyal, E-Y-A-L.
01:34.71
Lorie Jones
Oh, okay.
01:36.57
rose
And it’s he’s got like a four-part framework for developing habits for people when you’re when you’re introducing a product.
01:36.70
Lorie Jones
Okay, Ken.
01:45.29
rose
So…
01:45.59
Lorie Jones
Oh, I’m so interested. That sounds so interesting. Both of those sound like really good suggestions. So thank you. You’ve made my book pile a little bit larger.
01:53.65
rose
Oh.
01:55.26
Lorie Jones
So tell me a little bit about your journey. Like, how did you get started? Kind of, um you know, did you always know what you wanted to be? How did your journey go? And what what are you doing today? Tell me a little bit about you, Rose.
02:07.61
rose
Yeah. I didn’t always know what I wanted to do. um In college, I was a business major, operations management, international business.
02:17.99
rose
I studied abroad in France. to broaden my horizons uh coming out of school i really didn’t know what i wanted to do and i actually bet this is back in the days when we didn’t have really broad access to internet we didn’t have you know cell phones i um went to the career fair at penn state and we would walk around and all you know different companies who were recruiting were there and there was a strong presence from consulting firms And as I thought more about what next for me, consulting appealed to me because it was ah it would allow me to work in a variety of industries and companies and just see and learn.
02:59.72
rose
and I thought, you know what, that’s a good entry point. And then I’ll figure out from there what I think I want to pursue.
03:05.30
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
03:06.68
rose
So that’s what took me into consulting. And then I worked in consulting for majority of my career, I’d say probably almost maybe 15 years. And then the latter 10, I moved into industry.
03:19.86
rose
And that was a direct result of seeing and learning through the changes in projects and clients I was working with from a consulting standpoint. And in fact, I made a move to one of my clients who was she was building out her organization and had a leader role.
03:35.49
rose
that I put my name in the hat for. And so that’s what took me into what I call industry leadership roles, which which is where I’ve spent my time over the last 10 years focused on you know driving, leading, strategic change, enterprise transformation, lots of technology initiatives with cross-functional, cross-enterprise teams under my ah and under my leadership as a part of my department and team.
03:42.43
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
04:04.89
rose
you know, working with large organizations. And most recently, my last role was svp of transformation at the largest distributor in the promotional product space.
04:15.88
rose
Now, when that role ended, my career throughout had been, you know, really a journey of kind of accomplishment, achievement and movement, I’d say upward.
04:26.34
rose
you know, from a title and role and responsibility standpoint. When when that role came to an end, it really, i was really in an interesting place. And so, you know, I’ll look forward to sharing more of that.
04:37.62
rose
But that’s what led me to now be a startup founder. I went through major pivot, kind of identity shift, if you will, and looking to understand where do I, what do i who do i and now how do I in my journey?
04:41.97
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
04:54.07
Lorie Jones
So it’s so interesting because usually you go from like leader in a company to a consultant, but you did it the exact opposite way. You did consulting first and then you focused those skills in on a company. how did that how was How did that work for you? Was it like, did it give you a broad ah advantage, like just kind of looking at everything and then going specific or tell me about that?
05:21.75
rose
Yeah, you know, consulting is problem solving. It’s client service. It’s, um, You know, be finding ways to be resourceful and quickly assess, you know, a situation and figure out how to take action and drive results. You know, all of that lends itself to taking on a leadership role in an organization. Now, my transition was intentional. I knew that I wanted to transition into an industry role, um,
05:50.26
rose
it was just a matter of which organization was that, you know, was the culture, was the environment, was perhaps maybe most importantly, the person I would be reporting to, how was that relationship?
05:52.99
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
06:02.92
rose
Now she was a female leader and that really, really appealed to me to have someone, you know, I would consider to be a role model to, I’ll say, take me under her wing a little bit and learn from her and how she was navigating.
06:15.64
rose
And so, you know, for me, that was compelling. The other thing that I really learned a lot in that move from consulting to industry was taking on true ownership and accountability for a team and results in a different way from consulting. Because when we make recommendations from a consulting standpoint, you’re an outsider.
06:40.57
rose
And the organization then has to adopt and recommendations. you know, whatever it is that you’re, even if you’re a part of that journey, you’re not living with those results. And so that’s where, you know, I really felt that it was time for me to take ownership in a different way and then live with the decisions that not only was I a part of making and implementing, but that I had to see through to the end with all of my stakeholders.
06:48.14
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
07:00.37
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
07:01.48
rose
And and and so it it takes on meaning and understanding in a different way, you know, with giving you an appreciation for what it takes to get things done in an organization.
07:13.24
Lorie Jones
I love that. I think that’s kind of neat that you got to see both sides of that and from different angles and at kind of different perspectives in your life. And it probably drove as well, as we’ll probably see as we go through the rest of this interview, like kind of oh the experiences you took from both of those kind of impacted who you are and where you’re at today. So I find that interesting. What is the best investment you’ve made in yourself, Rose? Is there something you can look back on and you’re like, oh thank goodness I did that?
07:42.26
rose
Well, yeah, the the best investment I made in myself, I would say, is coming through that pivot that I was just referring to when I left my last role. i i i um found someone I connected with and engaged with her as a coach.
08:02.89
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
08:04.15
rose
And it was an investment. And I was worried, especially in a time when I was in transition, However, whether it’s, you know, whether it’s paid or not, like finding someone who can challenge your thinking at a time when you’re in, you know, a pivotal place or contemplating, like having someone challenge you, you know, she really helped me with my mentality and my thinking to transition from what I thought I was or where I was in my career to really tap into my inner self.
08:40.15
rose
me and sense of purpose because I had never throughout my entire career, it’s interesting, like really reflecting back, what do I want?
08:41.18
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
08:49.85
rose
What do I want? So many times we as women prioritize everybody else’s needs really above our own. And I felt I was on this invisible path that was propelling me.
09:00.45
rose
Yes, I was making decisions all along the way, but to take the stop, the pause and really say, what do I want? You need to create space environment, opportunity, and like to to really challenge yourself and also get quiet and uncomfortable, like sitting in it and and really thinking about that.
09:19.27
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
09:21.67
rose
So I feel like that investment in a coach, and again, this doesn’t have to be someone you, you know, like I happen to pay for a coach coaching experience, but it could be someone else who you feel is able to really you have a good rapport with, able to collaborate and and kind of go back and forth with to be introspective.
09:38.49
rose
And that’s the best investment for me. And it’s what led me to where I am right now in my journey.
09:44.79
Lorie Jones
I think that um as i as I kind of reflect back on where I’ve been, the the first years are you’re learning so much about what you’re doing that it kind of keeps you engaged and and moving forward. But then when you’re on the back half of it, like you’ve kind of learned all the how to’s and stuff like that. And and now you want to feel a purpose, a reason for what you’re doing, right? Is that kind of?
10:13.56
rose
it It completely is. In fact, I took um i took a role at a nonprofit for several months because a part of, you know, my, my you know, but it it was connection to purpose.
10:28.68
rose
You know, many companies, a lot of companies are mission driven.
10:29.03
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
10:32.48
rose
But in a different way, I wanted to feel that connection and purpose. And as I, in those months that I was with the nonprofit, I very much believed in what they were doing.
10:43.35
rose
But what happened was I started to recall and reconnect with something that had been with me inside of me for probably years. I don’t know, over a dozen years, more than that, since I had become a mom, a struggle that I had had with just keeping up with relationships and the people who matter.
11:02.30
rose
And so I kept coming back to that, like over those years.
11:02.78
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
11:05.50
rose
But then as I was really connecting with purpose and mission at this company, I thought, what about, what about mine? What about my purpose? What about the thing that, you know, is in the back of my mind all these years? And then really that compelled me to want to take action in that way.
11:22.58
rose
So yes, there is absolutely, you know, this, I feel as we get to later stages in our lives and our careers, feeling more empowerment, more intention, more purpose, more connection. It’s so, so, so important.
11:36.63
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah. I find that in a lot of people who have had a long and successful career that at a certain point, they do have to get uncomfortable, challenge themselves a little bit and start thinking about their why.
11:52.37
Lorie Jones
And are they really fulfilling their highest, best purpose? Yeah, I find that interesting.
11:55.99
rose
Yes.
11:57.73
Lorie Jones
So What about, um what is the worst advice someone gave you? Do you have some really bad advice that you’ve gotten and did you take it or did you not take it?
12:09.34
rose
So this one’s interesting. I’m like, what’s the worst? i don’t I can’t pinpoint something that somebody else has advised me of necessarily. Where my mind goes is me. Right?
12:22.04
Lorie Jones
Okay. Yeah. Okay.
12:23.54
rose
Well, we all have an inner voice.
12:24.41
Lorie Jones
you know
12:26.04
rose
We all have an inner self-critic. Sometimes it’s quieter, sometimes it’s louder. And for me, know, my experiences, I’ve had a few, no, quite a few, few really challenging experiences in life.
12:39.38
rose
really challengings challenging experiences in life
12:43.50
Lorie Jones
Good.
12:44.05
rose
i’ve um oh I was diagnosed with breast cancer and I came through that journey. All is well now and i’m very you know I’m in a good place, which is wonderful. I went through a divorce. you know During those times, that voice picks up and your amygdala kicks in and you get into you know fight or flight.
13:02.65
rose
And in those times, I very much experienced me giving my own self advice and it was go
13:12.34
Lorie Jones
Terrible. Mm-hmm.
13:13.46
rose
It was terrible. Flight, you know, flee, like leave your job, go do, you know, when we’re in times of stress or times of challenge, you know, that voice kicks in and it and it urges you to maybe make some rash decisions. And so. For me, you know I really do find that some of those worst decisions or advice come from that moment of, holy moly, what am I gonna do?
13:37.52
rose
oh my gosh, the world is ending. I don’t know what the future holds. And we wanna just make that rash decision. And so you know what I’ve learned is to just sit in it, sit still, don’t make a rash decision.
13:44.14
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
13:51.83
rose
Wait until you’re able to let the emotions, the panic, whatever it may be subside. And then when you can think more clearly, make the decision. So I, so I have to say it’s me and I work to quell the inner self critic in that inner voice, um, actively a much better now than, you know, in times of stress, when we’re, when we’re moving through different experiences, it’s there very much so.
14:15.97
rose
And it’s there for good reason because it’s looking out for you, but it doesn’t mean we have to listen to it.
14:17.94
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
14:21.82
rose
Um, you know, uh, in that moment, in that, in that, you know, in that time that it’s really kind of screaming the loudest sometimes.
14:31.18
Lorie Jones
It’s so interesting. i um ah woman A woman long time ago or way back in the podcast and recommended the book called Big Magic. And in the book, fear has a place. you get to Fear gets to go on the journey, but fear doesn’t get to sit in the front seat. And that seems like your worst advice, right? Your your little voice or the big voice in your head. And like it it sounds like in some places my little kids used to like climb up to the front seat. They would get in such big trouble because they weren’t in their seatbelts, but you know, they would climb up to the front seat. And I’m, and that’s what fear was doing during those times is it was those, that voice in your head was climbing up to the front seat and yelling in your ear rather than sitting in the back where they belong, being quiet, not being allowed to drive or, or you know, get the directions. Yeah.
15:22.92
rose
It’s that’s true. You know, it’s interesting. I, I, it brings to mind my coaching experience and the, and the coach that I had, we talked about, you know, all that that little voice, think of it as a part of your board, your personal board.
15:35.60
rose
And it’s there for a reason it has, you know, it’s looking out for you.
15:35.83
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
15:40.00
rose
It doesn’t want you to be, you know, hurt or taking, you know, the ones to protect you from risk or, you know, whatever it may be. And so it’s there for a reason, but to your point, You’re in the driver’s seat.
15:51.48
rose
You’re, you know, the chair of that board. And so all those voices, it’s almost like, what was the, what’s the movie with the feelings?
16:00.12
Lorie Jones
Yeah, the Disney feelings. I was just thinking of that and I can’t for the life of me remember right now.
16:05.30
rose
Right.
16:05.32
Lorie Jones
But yeah, that exact thing.
16:07.05
rose
Sadness, those different emotions, those different voices, they serve a purpose, but ultimately you’re the one who needs to, you know, kind of synthesize and take from those and then make the decisions.
16:08.85
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
16:15.99
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
16:18.55
Lorie Jones
Yeah. And I like the idea too of kind of, if you’re in a really fight or flight response, if you’re in a very tense situation, like maybe don’t make big decisions, like maybe give it a minute.
16:30.20
rose
you
16:32.76
Lorie Jones
I like that. What about um a do-over? Is there a situation that you can think of along your journey where you’re like, oh my gosh, I wish I could go back and do that again because I know so much more now and I would so totally do it differently.
16:47.67
rose
I think every experience is a learning experience, you know, and I think back to some disasters, like even earlier in my career where, you know, i took I take away from those experiences. You know, one of them early on, know i started out as a programmer. I was working on a design and i had to have a code review, like a design review with, there were at least several, probably six different people, men, women, senior programmers. My boss was in the room. We were going through the code, but what i had what I had outlined for changes to this program. and
17:24.22
rose
I made the changes that I thought needed to be made. And as we, it was very complex. So there was a lot of logic and you can, if you can imagine like kind of if statements and nesting and all of that.
17:36.44
rose
And some of the feedback that came back was, well, why didn’t you, why this is really difficult to read. Why didn’t you like redesign it? And I said, I didn’t know I could.
17:45.86
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
17:48.79
rose
i was following, I was following the outline of the structure that someone else had put in place. And it devastated me because that early in your career, as we talked about, like you’re looking to learn and absorb, but you also want to please. It’s all about like your validation comes from, you know, how you’re being received by others and doing a good job. And so I was devastated. I left that room and I was crying. I went outside and my manager came after me.
18:16.96
rose
um I didn’t know. I didn’t know. It didn’t occur to me that I could do something differently. Now, would I take a do-over? i mean, yeah, I probably would, but learning from that, it just stuck to me that you don’t, you know, just because that’s the way it is doesn’t mean that that’s the way it has to be or that you have to align with whatever that, you know, whatever that standard was that was set.
18:39.51
rose
um Yeah, that one sticks with me big time.
18:39.77
Lorie Jones
yeah
18:42.58
Lorie Jones
I love that. I actually surround myself and and my team um there at Tandem. We like kind of surround ourselves with questioners, with those young people that come in and this is the first time they’ve seen the processes or the first time they’ve done the things. And they ask all the questions like, why do we do it like that? Well, why can’t we do it like this? Well, why why don’t we do this, that or the other thing? And, and I love those questions because it, it starts you thinking, well, is this just the way it’s always been done or is it the best way? Like what’s, what’s the right answer there? And I love that, that you came to that. It’s kind of probably a hard experience to come to that, but that’s the question you came to. Why, why do I do what you tell me to do? Just because like, I should question that I should ask, I should find out if there’s a better, easier, faster, more comprehensible way.
19:37.46
rose
Yes, yes, yes. And it’s so, you know, we, we, it’s interesting because when it’s you, we know this, right? We kind of know this. Oh, that’s the way it’s always been done isn’t necessarily an acceptable answer. But when you’re in it.
19:49.21
rose
When you’re experiencing it right? I know. It didn’t even occur to me. I was like, well, no, I need to, this is the structure that’s there. And so I’m going to make these changes because I have to add and change and update this. And so I just worked with what I had, but it was like so eye-opening because, you know, in that moment, I’m like, why didn’t I? Why didn’t I? Why didn’t it occur to me?
20:08.44
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah, that’s, yeah, i I am so fully supportive of those voices that are asking those questions because it helps all of us get better. It helps all of us. And so i i really like, you know, if I could talk to younger people, I’m like, always ask the question, like always do.
20:29.91
Lorie Jones
Right.
20:30.65
rose
And you know what?
20:30.81
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
20:31.17
rose
Feedback, it’s like, don’t take it personally either. It’s not personal. Take the feedback and just adapt and learn.
20:36.34
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
20:38.44
rose
them That’s it.
20:39.63
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm. That’s hard, but it’s it’s so true.
20:41.62
rose
heart It is.
20:43.26
Lorie Jones
Yeah. What about um if you could go back and high five yourself for one great financial decision that you made in the past? What would that be?
20:53.82
rose
I know exactly what it would be.
20:55.45
Lorie Jones
Okay.
20:55.66
rose
Early in my career, You start getting a paycheck and you’re thinking, woohoo, you actually have some money. My friend, colleague, friend, um in fact, we’re going to meet here in a couple of months. We’re going meet. He’s going to be in Chicago. But at that time, my friend, his name is Asher. He said, Rose, every paycheck, take some of that money, take any amount.
21:25.46
rose
and auto, uh, set up an auto, auto deposit to savings or an investment account, something, and just make sure that every time you get a raise, every time you get a bonus, make sure that you’re taking some proportionate amount and increasing that over time.
21:43.29
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
21:43.93
rose
That I’ll call it investment or saving strategy. Um, the other thing he told me was, max out your four ah one k which is, i feel like it’s common knowledge, but still many people don’t do that. So those, you know, that amount, you’re not really going to miss it, especially at earlier stages in life.
22:03.42
rose
But then as you, ah obviously the time value of money over time, like it’s going help. So make sure you’re saving. And so I absolutely would go back and high five myself and Asher. I’ll give him one when I see him in April.
22:15.50
rose
going to see him in April. he’s He’s in Maryland. And so he reached out to me. And I, so I’m excited to be able to share that with him and the impact that he made my life because it’s important.
22:24.80
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
22:27.13
rose
And, you know, that saving and being financially able, capable and independent, especially as young females moving forward in your career, i cannot like,
22:43.33
rose
emphasize enough how important that is for us to be comfortable and feel empowered financially and have access to some you know savings and and and investments.
22:53.98
Lorie Jones
It gives you a lot more opportunities as you look around um and you make decisions based on caregiving responsibilities or based on ah changes in in, you know, your living situation or career changes and pivots.
23:08.88
rose
Career. Career.
23:10.20
Lorie Jones
Yeah. You can make a lot. You have a lot more leeway to make decisions if you have if you have ah a stash. Right.
23:19.77
rose
Absolutely.
23:19.98
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
23:20.70
rose
i mean, I don’t what the rule of thumb is, you know, at least accessible, like cashflow savings through, is it three months, three months salary or something?
23:20.73
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
23:26.74
Lorie Jones
Yeah, three months, six months. It just depends on who you talk to. But but definitely a cash savings and then some investments for your future. So I think I love that. I love that they and this is the part I love the most, Rose, is that your person taught you that at a young age. Like this is this is stuff that we don’t.
23:48.02
Lorie Jones
we don’t hear or get exposure to a lot of times, even through formal education, but some mentors somewhere thought it was important enough to tell you. And I bet you thought it was important enough that now you’ve passed that message on.
24:02.07
rose
Yes, yes, yes. You know, inevitably, we have to learn through our our our own experiences. We do. Just telling my daughters, i have three. Hey, this is what you should do. Okay, mom.
24:15.35
rose
You have to learn. my My oldest just started college and budget management, you know. Being able to manage to a budget and understanding cash flow and what that means in her expenses on a month to month basis, how she’s spending, what she’s saving.
24:31.50
rose
It’s I mean, it’s a lesson that we all need to learn. And, you know, thankfully, she’s 18 and still has, you know, we all still have time no matter how old we are.
24:39.87
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
24:39.96
rose
But, you know, we we do have to learn through our own experiences, but it’s so critically important.
24:45.18
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah. What scared you the most when you started out on your journey? And does it, does it still scare you?
24:54.87
rose
You know, I think for me, what scared me,
25:02.86
rose
scared. Well, I mean, um I guess I’ll go a little bit deep here. I think, you know, when we talk about the validation piece, external validation, you know, am I good enough? Will I be good enough?
25:13.87
rose
You know, in consulting, moving from assignment to to assignment, it can be anxiety and inducing, moving from role to role, you know, whatever those new experiences are,
25:20.21
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
25:25.21
rose
Am I good enough? You know, that i think that’s probably one that in the back of my mind, always seeking that validation from others that what I’m doing is sufficient.
25:35.74
rose
Now, very much less so. And I think it is, you know, being able to tap into your own like inner you, intention, purpose, and also accepting the fact that we’re all human.
25:48.44
rose
Nobody is perfect. It’s okay to make mistakes. I’ve made some big ones. And then now to be able to accept that it’s okay, no matter what decision you make, you know, if if you make a decision and and and and you fail, dwelling on it doesn’t help.
26:04.60
rose
Just keep moving forward. It’s okay.
26:06.38
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
26:07.38
rose
You know, so I think it’s trusting you know, trusting yourself and feeling comfortable in yourself over time. That’s helped me to quell, you know, that, that, you know, I’ll say that fear, if you will, of not being good enough, because we’re all just human and you’re living your true self.
26:27.54
rose
If you’re operating with authenticity and showing up in an intentional way, guess what? You’re good enough.
26:36.41
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah.
26:37.72
rose
Good enough.
26:38.81
Lorie Jones
Yeah. I like that idea. And I think that if you ah yeah if you reach out, there’s so many people that have had those same experiences. They’ve fallen flat on their face. It’s shocking to me how um you know a lot of my guests are very open and they have failed and I have failed you know and dead things in my life that I was like,
27:01.05
Lorie Jones
Oh, gosh, I wish I there’s my do over. I wish I could have a do over right there. Right. But um but I think they’re willing to share those experiences with you as well so that so that you can learn from their experience, too.
27:17.11
rose
For sure. For sure. You know, yeah Yeah. I mean, life life is a journey, taking learnings from all the experiences, both good and bad that we have. And then, yeah, being able to share those with others who are open to that. um You know, I think supporting others, reciprocity, I truly believe in when we give to others and then we receive like it’s it’s that yin yang, if you will. um Yeah. And being open to to to just learning and continuing forward in the journey.
27:46.31
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Did you face any unique challenges along your path because you were a woman?
27:55.93
rose
unique I think as women, we we face unique challenges simply being a woman. And then certainly as I became a mom,
28:03.16
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
28:05.94
rose
um balancing career and and being a parent, for sure.
28:11.91
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
28:13.21
rose
i mean, I remember walking into work the first day after my first maternity leave and thinking, oh my gosh, how do people do this? How do people work and be a parent?
28:23.77
rose
Because the responsibility
28:23.80
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
28:26.07
rose
for another human being,
28:30.87
rose
i had no idea the appreciation for that only came after I became a parent. And the but the balancing and the mental load that moms carry in particular, working or not, balancing all of the things, is it’s it’s a challenge. And you’re constantly carrying some degree of guilt about not being enough in one way or another, you know, whether it’s, you know, oh, I have to miss a meeting because I want to go to my daughter’s play, but then you’re feeling guilty about the meeting, you know, whatever, whatever it may be. I feel like we, we uniquely women are kind of, uh, we uniquely have their
29:14.10
rose
the responsibility of managing a lot of that household and mental load, even though we have completely supportive partners, something innate to us, we just carry it all.
29:19.93
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm.
29:27.13
rose
We and carry it with us and it’s very hard to let go. And it also brings up a lot of guilt when we have to make decisions about you know trade-offs or priorities.
29:35.07
Lorie Jones
Yeah. Yeah. it it It is hard. and the and And those kids, they don’t come with any sort of instruction manual, like do this and this will happen. It’s a trial and error along the way.
29:45.33
rose
Not at all.
29:48.26
Lorie Jones
And yeah. So is there a way that you found that to deal with that um unique challenge? Is there anything you found that is helpful?
29:59.03
rose
Two things. One, outsource where possible, where you can, because we can’t do it all. Like I ah truly believe balance is like a fallacy when people say work-life balance.
30:11.83
rose
the you know, the scales always tip on one side or the other and to the degree that we can outsource and get x outside help if you’re able to.
30:19.81
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
30:20.06
rose
um Or friends and family, it’s okay to ask for help. Carpool, relying on carpool, even if it’s someone helping you in your house with housework. At different times, in different stages, you know,
30:34.46
rose
Someone gave me that advice and I look to pass that on to others as well because there’s no metal for best mom. There really isn’t. There’s no, we’re not going to get a metal because you folded the laundry and sorted it in just the perfect way. If the laundry gets done, if the dishes get done, or even if they don’t, life’s going to move on. So outsource where possible. And then the other thing that, you know, I continue to work on outsource.
31:01.33
rose
We’re always making trade-off decisions. And when we do that, whether it’s the example I talked about, i have a meeting, but I also need to go to my daughter’ daughter’s play. So I’m going to go to the play. Okay. When we make a decision one way or the other, let’s not beat ourselves up after the fact, because we can only be in one place at one time. And so when you make that decision, be present in that, whatever that decision was in the moment at the play, or if you had to choose the meeting, And don’t, you know, shoulda, coulda, woulda.
31:33.53
rose
We need to be okay with that and the fact that we can only focus on one thing at a time. And so don’t beat ourselves up.
31:40.68
Lorie Jones
Oh, I like that. That makes a lot of sense. Apparently I didn’t have the phone figured out. um That makes a lot of sense. I like the idea of um of not beating yourself up after you’ve made the decision because you need it you you make it with your best your best information, the best way you can do it, and then move forward with that and and be present in the moment.
32:07.74
Lorie Jones
That’s really smart. That’s a really good idea. Yeah.
32:10.62
rose
and it includes you too, because I think of it from three fronts. There’s the work front, there’s the family front, and then there’s the you front. So if you make a decision that you need to do something for yourself, whether it is attend a class, whether it’s go to yoga, whether it’s get a massage, whether it’s read a book, whatever that is, not feeling guilty about that either.
32:17.42
Lorie Jones
Yes.
32:31.30
rose
Now, granted emergencies and things will arise, but It’s okay because we need that time for ourselves as well in order for us to be at our best for others around us and our work.
32:41.50
Lorie Jones
You just blew my mind, honestly. i am like, you can you can make the, I do, I make that decision sometimes and then I am constantly feeling guilty about it. That is, that’s a that’s something I have to do better at is to is to make that decision to to do something for me that’s going to feed me and feed my soul and then be okay with that, be present in that moment. Oh, that’s so smart.
33:07.74
Lorie Jones
That’s how come we need it.
33:08.37
rose
It’s a tough is a tough one. and What’s funny is I look back like the pre me, call it V1.0. Now I’m like, 2.0 or am I 1.5?
33:18.39
rose
Think back on the 1.0 and I used to always default to no. And what I mean by that is people would ask me to do things and I would deprioritize myself. And so I would hesitate to commit to things. And so I would say, no, let me think about it because I was always worried about putting, making sure that I could accommodate everybody else. And so I never made space for myself. Now I say, Rose, do you want to do that?
33:43.10
rose
Yes. If I want to do it, commit to it. You’re going to figure out a way and you’re not going to feel guilty about it.
33:49.60
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm. Yeah, I like that and that. And it is a mindset change. Like it just be present, be present in the decision you made and and be OK with that. You you made that decision for reason. It’s going to be a good thing in your life for for whatever reason. And you need to own that and kind of move forward with it. I like that.
34:11.13
Lorie Jones
What about um Rose? What is the thing you are most proud of?
34:19.00
rose
I have three daughters. They’re all teenagers.
34:23.42
Lorie Jones
Lord help you, we’ll all pray.
34:24.41
rose
I know.
34:24.72
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
34:25.05
rose
i know. the thing ah The thing I’m most proud of is i hope for them to see mom navigating life, holding her head up, being positive, grateful, and doing things that she feels intention behind to make a difference in the world.
34:49.66
rose
And I hope that they can take that to know that they can forge their own path. They can step forward and not be certain about what the outcome is, but yet still take those steps, call it be fearless, right?
35:04.13
rose
Take the steps even without knowing what that outcome is gonna be because they believe in it and that they can move forward and live rich and fulfilling lives.
35:04.18
Lorie Jones
Yeah.
35:15.86
rose
that That, you know, for me to be able to, like, I guess, role model in some way for my daughters and hopefully at some stage in their lives to be able to say, yeah, you know, to see that in in mom, I feel like that’s my proudest achievement would be to raise my three girls in a way that allows them to pursue their paths and feel good about it.
35:40.21
Lorie Jones
I like that you said, be fearless, obvious for obvious reasons. But I like that idea of like teaching them that it’s okay to be afraid and still try it anyway.
35:51.54
Lorie Jones
um And that that’s something that’s really near and dear to my heart.
35:52.91
rose
That’s right.
35:54.86
Lorie Jones
You can’t make a difference if you don’t try. And, and sometimes, um in fact, all the time, in my case, being fearless is being scared to death of it, but trying it anyway.
36:06.49
rose
36:06.52
Lorie Jones
And I would love that.
36:07.89
rose
That’s right. But it can hold us back. i mean, we get we can get stuck in that complacency or routine or, you know, it’s predictable. i know what the result is going to be. It’s scary. It is for sure. But you know what? we We can take those steps and move forward. And at the end of the day, if we need to make a pivot, we’ll make the pivot.
36:24.92
Lorie Jones
Yeah, yeah. And sometimes we fall. Sometimes we don’t do it perfectly right. Sometimes we don’t do it at all right. um and And watching our experience with that, trying it and failing and getting back up and trying again, sometimes that’s the most valuable experience that they can see too and that we can have.
36:44.21
rose
It is, and you know what? We only live one life. So at the end of the day, i like i don’t wanna be shoulda, coulda, woulda, and I don’t want them to be shoulda, coulda, woulda. So it’s like, how do we, you know, how do we, um yeah, how do we live life in that way?
36:59.64
Lorie Jones
Any advice for a young lady who’s kind of just starting down this path that you’ve been so successful at to help her become successful like you?
37:09.80
rose
would say,
37:12.99
rose
connections relationships matter.
37:15.95
Lorie Jones
Mm hmm.
37:16.12
rose
You know, earlier on in my career, I didn’t i didn’t really feel, felt like I was on this path, but I didn’t really feel that I had a strong like mentorship from anyone in particular.
37:29.66
rose
But I would say, you know, looking back and along the way, I’ve been able to develop those types of relationships for people. My former boss that I just mentioned, the one that I left consulting for We still are in touch today, supporting one another.
37:40.17
Lorie Jones
Mm-hmm.
37:44.96
rose
It’s wonderful. So develop those relationships and and don’t be afraid to reach out to you know to other women, maybe who’ve experienced some of the same, that you that you know the the path that you want to follow, or you’re just, LinkedIn is is ah is a huge you know way to get visibility to other to other women, but reach out, make those connections and you know just be open to that feedback and Yeah, I think that allll having that support can make a big difference, not feeling alone.
38:15.99
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I like that. I like the idea of connections. I always felt like when you started out, I felt like you just work hard, work hard, work hard, and things will work out. But as I’ve gone along the path, sometimes work hard doesn’t always work because you’re you’re in a lonely place or you’re in a pivotal place and you don’t have those relationships, those people that pass these ideas. What should I do? Like, can you help? Is there any advice you can give me? And and I’ve come to find that connections, those connections that you’re talking about, those are so much more valuable.
38:52.06
Lorie Jones
They really are more valuable than anything, than any other skill or work ethic or anything else, which is all important. But those are the most important things to take into your journey.
39:02.37
rose
They are. They are. And especially women, I think think we have a tendency to think that we put our head down, we do hard work, and it’s just going to get noticed. Not necessarily. not necessarily. So, so yeah, I think those relationships are important in helping you to also see things from an outside perspective.
39:21.53
Lorie Jones
Yeah, I love it. Well, thank you. Thank you so much, Rose, for taking this time and just sharing your journey and sharing your experience. I really appreciate it. If I have a young lady who wants to get in touch with you, how does she do that?
39:33.94
rose
Find me on LinkedIn. find me on LinkedIn. Just send me a message. Reach out. Yeah, absolutely.
39:40.15
Lorie Jones
Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.
39:42.71
rose
Thank you. Thanks, Lori.