Lindsay

[00:00:00] This is an Undiscovered Legacy production.

Some people have the fear of failure. If they're a people pleaser, that's a big thing. If they have the fear of some people actually have fear of success, they wouldn't know what to do with it. And that's a hard thing too. So there's a lot of mental ties to a lot of it that working through those has actually been the best thing for my business, personal growth and business.

Cause it's also interconnected.

Are you ready to unlock your entrepreneur potential? Are you ready to break free from all the barriers holding you back? Then you've come to the right place. Welcome to the Undiscovered Entrepreneur. Your first step of getting across the start line.

I'm your host and guide, Scoop, and I'm here with one mission. To help you overcome the obstacles standing between you and the start of your adventure. Whether you're dreaming of launching a startup, creating the next big [00:01:00] app, or turning your passion into a thriving business, this podcast is your launchpad.

Together we'll navigate the challenges, Overcome hidden boundaries that stop us from starting and learn how to overcome them with the help of others. Experience them right along with you. So are you ready to take that crucial step to transform from aspiring to inspiring? And let's get across that start line together right here, right now on the Undiscovered Entrepreneur.

Hello, scuba leavers. And welcome to episode number 80 of the undiscovered entrepreneur. And it's me scoob coming at you. Whatever device you happen to be listening on. All right. So this is our very first interview that we're doing for undiscovered entrepreneur,

get across the start line. And today we are talking to Lindsey. Now, [00:02:00] Lindsey is a founder and CEO of soothe beginnings, a company developing. An innovative pacifier product for babies born from her experience as a new mom during COVID 19 And this is an idea she had as she was going through COVID 19

She actually transitioned from a 10 year occupation to become an entrepreneur overcoming significant challenges like Fundraising to be able to mold her prototype. , Lindsay emphasizes an importance of networking, overcoming imposter syndrome, and pushing through fears to succeed as an entrepreneur.

, drawing parallels between starting, A business and becoming a first time parent. This is a great interview. If you're especially just starting up and you have an, a basic idea of what you want to do. And we go really deep into a couple of the pillars that I talk about and getting across the start line, specifically if you're looking about imposter syndrome or fear of success.

So let's listen to Lindsay.

Salutations, school [00:03:00] believers. And we are here again with another amazing entrepreneur to help us get across that start line. So today we're talking to Lindsay. Hi, Lindsay. Hello. Thank you so much for taking the time out of your day to come on to the , undiscovered entrepreneur and talk to all the new entrepreneurs out there.

I'm super excited. It's a, it's a mission close to my heart. So, 

Oh, good. Then we're in the right place then. That's great. So before we go any further, I want to make sure I ask you kind of a semi serious question. Okay. You're ready. 

I'm ready. 

Okay. Here we go. Are you a school believer? 

I am a scuba leaver.

All right. Thanks, Lizzie. Thank you so much for being a scuba leaver. I super appreciate you. All right. So Lizzie, tell me a little bit about who you are besides Lindsay, cause we know that's your name kind of what your entrepreneur adventure is and how you actually got across the start line. 

Yeah, it's so I was in a totally unrelated field.

I did 10 years. as an optician. And that was my career and my [00:04:00] training and running other people's businesses for them. And being technically skilled in that. So during COVID, we got pregnant and we decided I would be a stay at home mom. And when I was home, I actually had a product invention idea, which is so not me.

I never thought I was that creative person. Had a product invention for the modern pacifier to make things easier, but also safer for babies. And so now I'm the founder and CEO of Soothe Beginnings, just trying to help new parents. But I have a lot of passion for working with other startups, networking with other startups, and helping people that are where I was a year and a half, two years ago.

Nice. That's awesome. Thank you so much for doing that. There's a lot of people that could really use that kind of help to get across the start line. 

That was hard. Oh my gosh. Yeah. 

 What, what do you think was the hardest part about getting across the start line? 

So [00:05:00] having a product idea that wasn't something I could just sew together a prototype, I actually needed a mold, which molds run about 25, 000.

So, and I was just talking to a friend of mine about this today. Here I am with this great idea that I'm like, Give me money for it, but it doesn't exist yet. And I don't have anything to physically show you yet or show you that it works. So typically in entrepreneurship, the whole methodology is start small, test, revamp, and building up from there, right?

We want to collect data and tweak and build from there. And as much as you can start from that, start from that. Unfortunately, my start small still needed a 25, 000 mold. So there I was, a first time entrepreneur, pitching a bunch of men a mostly product moms would purchase, or soon to be moms, and so it, things got very interesting in having [00:06:00] to get them to like me, get the mission, get the vision, and who the heck am I to be doing this?

So, one of the biggest things that was impactful for me was networking. Networking was huge. And it's funny now because the initial people I pitched that said no, that was the best possible thing. It was educational. It's almost you know how when you're, when you're trying to get a new job, it's actually good to have practice interviews.

Right, right, 

like that. You see what you do want. You see what you don't want in an investor or somebody that wants to contribute. So the people that said, no, it actually ended up being like the best thing ever for me. And I just kind of networking and anytime somebody would say, oh, Oh, do you want to talk to so and so from this business?

That might be a good phone call for you. I said, yes. I always jumped on those because that actually started slowly building my network because you didn't know where that phone [00:07:00] call was going to lead. And it ended up leading me to ending up on a reality TV show for entrepreneurs where in the bar area, I ended up meeting who became a six figure investor in my business.

Wow. You just never know who you meet when you were doing those networking, huh? 

That's exactly it. Networking was fun. Everything getting started. It really was. 

Are you allowed to say the game show? 

I am. So the TV show I was on is called the blocks. It's an Amazon prime show and it was, it was a lot of fun.

It was basically like a business bootcamp and we had everybody from. Startups where some of us, our products weren't physically launched yet to Service industries to, people that owned local businesses, like roofing companies. So it was a wide spectrum of like education. The networking was insane, but it was gamified and it was a lot of fun.

Believe [00:08:00] it or not, I was actually invited to go to the blocks at one point 

and, 

We could talk about about that a little bit. I, we could probably have a long conversation about that, but we could talk about that a little bit later, , but that's amazing. Yeah. I actually know of the blocks, obviously, and, and how it goes and that kind of thing.

It's, it's a great, if you have an opportunity to get onto something like that, just to, just to get your feet wet. Even there's loads, just loads of people that are there to help you and that, something like that. So 

yes, educational alone was so worth going. 

Yeah, absolutely. Just just to to talk to people just to do the networking like you were talking about just a few minutes ago.

So during that whole conversation, when we're talking just now, there is a set of words that came out that kind of piqued my interest. And you said, who am I to blank? 

Yeah. 

Now, now that is a telltale sign of what's of imposter syndrome, which is one of the, one of my pillars that I talk about a lot [00:09:00] in my podcast that stop us from getting across the start line.

Can you elaborate on that a little bit more if you don't mind? 

I am your poster child for imposter syndrome and working through that. So I truly, I never invented a product, never created a product going through package. This was not my wheelhouse. And it needed to become my wheelhouse. I needed to dive in, in research, and know the facts.

And I often situated myself on purpose around people that were smarter than myself. Or where I was people that had different talents than I had. Because if you are teachable and open minded, you truly can do anything. Especially when you're selling a product that physically doesn't exist yet. I'm like, yes, give me your money for my crowdfunding campaign.

Or give me money for investment. Or pre order the product that isn't physically here yet. There's a lot of imposter syndrome, a ton of it, and having to believe [00:10:00] in yourself that it will happen, it's coming, it's something that a really great person I met on the show that I network with a lot and talk to frequently, he calls it the calm knowing.

And not getting caught up in too much of the highs or the lows and just staying in that calm, knowing that it's coming and it's happening and it's progressing. And that's really hard when you're starting a business because those first couple of years can be really challenging. You're questioning your decisions.

You're questioning yourself. You're questioning. Why am I doing this? Some days it ends up all over the place and starting a business is such a roller coaster and as much as you can stay in that calm, knowing you'll end up making better decisions, but you stay the course and you keep plugging along. 

What's funny is just today.

I was scrolling through LinkedIn and I'm actually I follow Gary V. And one of the things that he wrote, he put up posted was this is what people think entrepreneurs [00:11:00] like, and it's just a straight line from here to there. Then right next to this, here's what it's actually like. And there you go. It 

looks like my toddler, toddler doodled it.

Yes. Yeah, pretty 

much. Yeah. And that's, that is so, so true. I mean, there's, there's just so many, you can't be ready for it. I mean, you have to be ready for it, but you just never know where you're going to end up. 

Yeah. Finding comfort in being uncomfortable will definitely help a new entrepreneur. You have to get okay.

With that discomfort, so you can grow yourself, you can grow your business and a lot that I actually relate it to being a first time parent, you don't know what the heck you're doing, you're handed this baby and it's figure it out. What are you going to do? You have to figure it out. You have to think of solutions.

You have to troubleshoot things. You have to find what works for your unique baby and entrepreneurship is exactly the same thing. Having that skill set translates over. [00:12:00]

Yeah, it certainly does. I mean, I have three kids myself, but my oldest is 32. My next one is 28 and my youngest son's going to be turning 18 next month.

So, but even now, even having these kids that are older, you're still going through all this kind of weird stuff that's going on just because it 

never stops 

and never stops. It's just part of being a parent, so don't worry, it's coming. How old is your little one now? 

She'll be three in a couple of weeks.

So I basically, and this is what I tell people, invest in a parent that can handle being bullied by a three year old all day while still getting work done. 

That's right. 

Toxic work environment.

That's great. So what do you think holds a lot of new entrepreneurs back from getting across the start line? What do you think? 

I think a lot of people in general, especially entrepreneurs, we struggle with the feeling of enoughness. [00:13:00] Am I enough? Is this business enough? Is this idea good enough? I think that in itself is a big struggle.

And as I've worked through a lot of my entrepreneurship mental hurdles you go through the fear of rejection. If you're somebody that struggles with fear of rejection, That's going to translate in your business. You're scared of what people are going to say, and that in itself was one of those hurdles I had to overcome.

So there's a lot of enoughness in the fear of rejection that really translates into business. And a lot of it stems from our childhood, which is crazy. Just like when you become a parent, there's a lot of things from your childhood you kind of have to work through. Overcome and it's going to, honestly, it's the same thing in your business.

You have to work through a lot of those and grow as an individual. And I think the fear of that is a lot. Some people have the fear of, failure. If they're a people pleaser, that's a big thing. If they have the fear of some people actually [00:14:00] have fear of success, they wouldn't know what to do with it.

And that's a hard thing too. So there's a lot of mental ties to a lot of it that working through those has actually been the best thing for my business, personal growth and business. Cause it's also interconnected. 

Yeah. And fears we talk a lot about fear on my podcast and, and how different ways to overcome that fear.

But at the same time, fear sometimes can point you in a direction. If you're scared of it, you might want to try doing it because it's trying to tell you something. So that's kind of what I think of it as fear. And that, and that aspect, 

I totally agree. One of the, the like mantras I tell myself is if there's something I am so scared to do or kind of like procrastinating or not looking forward to doing with the business, I feel like in my gut, it's the thing I actually really need to tackle first and foremost, That's where I actually need to go.

Cause a lot of [00:15:00] times on the other side of that fear is greatness, but at the same time, if we don't take that step, we don't take the, that calculated risk of that fear that we think what could have been. 

Right. And it's one of those things too, like we have to be okay with looking crazy because entrepreneurship is nuts.

It's crazy. We are insane for doing this, right? We are and no sane person. Would start a whole company or business and because of there's so much to go through and you know how it affects your family and stepping out and putting a business out there idea out there takes a lot of guts and it takes being okay with the craziness, but also being okay with people are going to talk whether you do take a risk.

Or don't take a risk. People are going to talk either way. It's just going to happen and [00:16:00] I have come to terms with the fact that, people are going to talk, which is a good thing. If it is not in favor of what I'm doing, they're not my customer. If it's in favor of what I'm doing, they are my customer.

And there has to be that okayness. Of repelling people, but also attracting other people because in order to attract some people, you have to repel other people and that is definitely part of it. So being okay with the crazy and looking crazy and being okay with people talking about you and what you're doing.

It just is. And a lot of the people that how many times do you hear? Oh, I had this great idea or I could have done that. Right? How many people have that? They, the people that are doubting you have that thought process a lot, but then you do it, you're successful. And it's Oh, I could have done that.

And you're like, you were the doubters, 

right? 

And the other aspect is okay. If you could have done that, why didn't you?

Exactly. And that's why it's so [00:17:00] important for us to get across the start line. That's why it's so important for us to take those first two or three steps, no matter how minute they might be. Whether it's just reading a book or talking to do the networking and talking to the people that you're scared to talk to.

Those two little steps will get you where you need to go, or at least point you in a direction that you need to go. It's really important to be able to do that. And we also have to remember that we're not for everybody. We're not going to please everybody with what we're going to do. Because they're either, we're crazy, okay, we're going to stay away from this guy because he's crazy.

Or, hey, I like this guy, he's crazy. So, 

that's exactly it. I I, I'm not wearing one right now. I have t shirts that have nipples, pacifiers over the nipples. And our tagline is ask me about my nipples. And it was a really interesting conversation I had with my parents. They're like what if that offends somebody?

I'm like, guess what? They're not my customer. My customer [00:18:00] is. A lactating mom or a grandma that needs, a gift for her first grandbaby that there, there's not a lot of dignity in childbirth. And if we can make light and have fun, and those are my people, because if the word breastfeeding scares you, You're not my customer.

Exactly. Exactly. So let's not get caught up in the cut up that, that yay editing, let's not get caught up and thinking about what other people are thinking, unless they're part of your world, the part of your business or your, your target customer, whatever that is. If they're not going to be a part of it, then don't use up that mental, don't use up the mental calories on them.

Cause it's not worth it. 

What is, it's, that, that's such a great point. So that is such a drain to your energy, your battery, your everything, if that is, because what you're fixated on is where you're going and what you're attracting, right? So [00:19:00] if we can focus on, even if it's baby steps, I mean, when you're talking about like just getting started, if it's reading a book, listening to your podcast, like just getting started, right?

Because thinking about, if, if you're, If your goal is I want to start a business, I want to have a successful business, or I want to get married, you have to start dating, you have to start somewhere, you have to put yourself out there, and it's dip your toe in the water, and get going, and I know that's scary, but you'll see you took that step, and you're okay.

Yeah, that's, that's the thing too. A lot of times when I talk about fear, I talk about the, the acronym for fear. Do you know what that is by chance? Yeah. 

No, 

no. Okay. I love it when somebody's nobody knows that this. Okay. So fear is spelled F. E. A. R. false evidence appearing real 

the lies we tell ourselves 

Exactly.

These are the things that fear it's not gonna be a saber toothed tiger That's gonna bite you in the butt [00:20:00] cuz they caught up to you Or anything like that, these are things, the things that we tell ourselves, we catastrophize ourselves with these things that make us not want to do not make us want to get across the start line because we think about all the bad things that can happen.

And then when we think about bad things, we get scared of those things because they're all bad things. But are they actually things that that's going to hurt us? That's going to destroy us. It's going to kill us. No, these are just thoughts that are going through our head right now. Why not take the, Take the chance of getting across the start line and making a fantastic pacifiers, whatever it is that ends up coming your way.

Right? Something that early on in my entrepreneurship journey, I did an incubator and I, at that point was not telling only my husband knew what I was doing. Nobody knew. Nobody had any idea. I wasn't talking about it. And at the incubator, we had somebody come in. And he's I just hit the phones.

I started networking. I did this. I did that. I just started cold calling people. I started doing this. [00:21:00] And he's what's the worst? Someone's going to say no. Oh, that was that was actually really impactful for me early on, especially with that fear of rejection and the enoughness was what is the worst someone's going to say like that?

That was it's such a simple thing, but really. Yeah. Jostled me, honestly, and I've definitely ridden with that. And the concept of the fear of getting started, right? You're on a trajectory in life, okay? No matter what you do, time is still going. You can't stop it. You can't slow it down. So if this is where you want to be, And you don't get started.

That's still an action. It's not getting you closer to where you want to be. You're actually moving further away from it. So taking those little steps in that direction are actually getting you closer to where you want to be, because time's going either way. 

That's right. And either you do it or you don't do it.

And don't [00:22:00] fear no. No sometimes can be a good thing. Sometimes no is, this is just one less person I have to worry about, I'm going to move on to the next person, or no might even be not yet. 

Yeah, the no's I got ended up being the best things to happen to me. There was lessons there, there was benefit in those no's it was, I am so thankful for those no's.

They were a gut punch in the moment, but it turned out to be the best possible thing for me. 

Exactly. Exactly. Awesome. the the fundraising that you had to do, do you think that was the hardest part that you actually had to overcome in your business or? 

That was, that was tough. So, yeah, whether it was pitching like local angel investors that, you know, through networking I had met but really actually doing the crowdfunding, [00:23:00] doing a Kickstarter.

Was actually really, that was more intimidating because that was putting myself out there far more than I already had. That was like putting out there on the internet, what I was doing and social media and like asking people for money felt like weird and icky. And so that there was a lot there that I had to mentally get through.

There is. Obviously, you do the research and the know how and you go through, which does help learning, doing the research and educating yourself definitely helps. But then hitting the button of putting it out there, emailing people, calling people, trying to raise those funds. Saying this is my vision.

It's not a thing yet. And you're thinking about all these concepts like PayPal for example. When they got started, people were like, we don't need that. What are you talking about? And so people weren't about it until they were able to turn it around and it became [00:24:00] one of the biggest. Sales out there, it became such a big deal, but initially people are like, we don't need that.

Like I don't get it. I don't see a need for it. But staying that course and finding your people really is incredible. You find the people that believe in you, the people that support you and they rally behind you. And that's really impactful. 

Exactly. Exactly. And we all have to keep that in mind as we, as we go along to how did you overcome that fear?

Of putting yourself out there like that. Was there something that kind of snapped you out of it or? 

It wasn't going to happen unless I hit that button. 

That big publish button. 

Huh. Coming to that moment was like, oh, sick to my stomach, but it's I don't know. It's like jumping in cold water. You just got to do it sometimes because if you don't do it, nothing's going to happen.

And I really wanted this to happen. So my what [00:25:00] my want for the outcome had to be bigger than my fear. Of doing 

well said well said, I'm going to clip that out. That's actually pretty awesome. All right. What advice do you have for new entrepreneurs to help them get across the start line? 

You need to open yourself up. You need to open yourself up to other people's networking, other people just wanting to have a conversation with you, other people asking about what you're doing and challenging it. You have to open up to that as, as hard as that is because you might uncover something about your own business.

You either hadn't thought of or hadn't even considered how you would handle that. If, if somebody were to say it on social media, how would you handle it? So kind of preparing yourself for those things, because when you do open yourself up [00:26:00] and kind of get past those fears, a lot of amazing things can happen and do happen.

And they will happen because you took the step. 

And you keep going. 

That's right. You keep going. All right. What I like to do with all my guests is get a six month goal. Where do you see you and your company in the next six months? 

Love that. Okay. So in six months from now Our physical product will be selling.

We will be on Amazon. I will have more of a affiliate strategy in place. I do have affiliates now, but building that up even more. So, having so I'll have social that is going to be Okay. Beautiful moment to actually have social proof that I'm looking forward to. So we'll, we'll be physical sales, people putting our [00:27:00] product in their baby's mouths.

I'm really looking forward to that. 

All right. So what I like to do with you, Lindsay, is in six months, I'd actually like to follow up with you, have another interview, just like this, only obviously going to ask different questions and see if you've actually reached those goals. Is that okay? 

That is more.

I, I love that. Absolutely love it. 

All right, cool. I'm looking forward to that. All right, Lindsay, this is your time to shine. This is the time where I want you to advertise yourself. How do we get ahold of you and all that good stuff? Okay. Ready? Set 

go. All right. So I am on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok at Soothe Beginnings and our website is soothe beginnings.com.

My Facebook is under Lindsey Dera. I very much love to help new parents and give feedback and safety information. There's a lot of, [00:28:00] pacifier safety. I've become a pacifier safety advocate so people can always reach out, ask questions, things of that nature. 

All right. Fantastic. Hey, when that product actually hits that gets out there, I want you to send me a link that I could put in my show notes so people could take a look at it.

Is that okay? Absolutely. All right. 

Absolutely. 

Fantastic. Lizzie, so much for taking the time to be on the Undiscovered Entrepreneur. I've had a blast talking to you about all these amazing things and helping other people get across the start line. 

Thank you so much. 

All right. All right, School Believers, make sure you stay tuned for the wrap up.

Okay, everybody. Thank you. Bye bye.

All right, School Believers, that was Lindsey. What a great interview. I'm really excited to have her as part of my network now that we actually had, we talked for Half an hour, 45 minutes after we stopped recording. I really wish we kept going there, but that's okay, but she's great. I really had a great time talking to her.

It's really nice that she herself knew what she [00:29:00] needed to do to get across the start line eventually. And she had a lot of the same problems. Y'all do imposter syndrome. What if the fear of rejection, and we were able to talk our way through it and figure out what was on the other side of those things.

So. I'm so glad I was able to interview Lindsey and have her talk about her getting across the start line.

\ You know, something that really struck me about the whole thing was really how to embrace. Being uncomfortable 

lindsey's journey shows us stepping out of your comfort zone is essential for growth. She transitioned from a stable career. To the unpredictable world of entrepreneurship facing fears and doubts along the way. Just remember on the other side of comfort lies, greatness. Don't let fear hold you back. Don't let that pillar of fear hold you back. Use it use it as a sign pointing you in direction there that you got to tackle first. I mean, you take action, no matter how small, Lindsay [00:30:00] emphasizes the importance of getting started. Even just small steps, like reading a book or networking. Times move forward regardless of what you do. 

So take action now, no matter how minor. It's always better. That just standing still and doing nothing. Your desire for success. I must be stronger than your fear of failure. And as Lizzie puts it. What do you want for the outcome has to be bigger than the fear of you actually doing it. 

So keep that in mind. Art school believers. Thank you for another fantastic

and first interview for the undiscovered entrepreneur getting across the start line. I can't wait to see what the next one. Thank you. Bye-bye.

And there you have it, future entrepreneurs. We've taken another step towards our journey to get across that start line. Remember, every great business starts with a single idea and the courage to pursue it. You've already shown that courage by joining us here today. [00:31:00] As we wrap up this episode of the Undiscovered Entrepreneur, I want to remind you that the start line isn't as far away as you might think with each bit of knowledge you gain, each fear you face.

You're getting closer to launching your dream until our next episode together. Keep pushing, keep dreaming, and most importantly, keep taking those steps across the start line. They'll all add up to big strides in your entrepreneur adventure. This is Scoob, your guide across the starlight. Remember your future is waiting.

I can, I am, I will, and I'm doing it today.