In this week’s episode we are chatting with business coach, mama, entrepreneur and podcast host - my friend, Audra Bartlett!

I met Audra through a recent course we were both enrolled in, Kathy Heller’s It’s Your Turn to Podcast. After sharing ideas in our assigned group, it was like our energy aligned and I realized how much I resonated with her. From being a visionary child to now a successful entrepreneur, Audra’s journey shows how resilience and the courage to let go can help you navigate life’s complexities with grace and strength and lead to a more balanced and fulfilling life.

After spending four years of owning a bakery, a passion and career she thought she wanted, Audra decided to pursue her real estate license, which then led to running a few Airbnbs, and investment properties. Through those opportunities she discovered her true passion of helping others develop a vision for their business.

Before we got into this powerful and juicy conversation, Audra shared a little background to her story. Since childhood, she’s always had an entrepreneurial spirit including: owning a clothing store in the mall, owning a monkey, all the way up to writing and directing her own musical theatre performance that would debut in her basement. Her ideas were endless.

She notes that what she really appreciated and valued most in those days of curiosity, was her mom’s encouragement and validation.

“Instead of being like no that's not possible or you're too young to do that, she said okay you're interested go ahead call them all see how much a store is. She just sent me on a mission to research to call people to ask questions to figure it out on my own.”

I loved when Audra said that because I think as moms, we all want to do that. We want to help our kids kind of connect to their authentic expression and follow their bliss. And yet we're in a framework in society that doesn't totally doesn’t encourage that.

When she left a toxic relationship when her son was just an infant and after a heck of a journey of self-discovery, she clung to that childhood curiosity and knew that no matter what she had to do something. Audra opened her bakery from the kitchen of a tiny apartment. It was during these years of the hustle and grind of barely making a profit that Audra realized this dream wasn’t a dream anymore. After learning that it’s okay to walk away from situations that no longer served her, she said her perspective shifted and she even sees this with her clients today.

I've seen them go from waffling a little bit in their decision and thinking that they have made the decision to be fully rooted in this like, no matter what I'm gonna do this.

Everything changes you realize that you can have great ideas, they just may not be for you. We talked about how sometimes it can be hard to hold space for happiness and sadness at the same time. Audra shared how important it is to do that though because the more we can hold space for either ends of the spectrum, the more we can hold space for the possibility of failure, losing businesses, losing money, bankruptcy, all the things. Finding pillars of support throughout this process is something Audra leans on every single day.

Ways of Sticking to Your Dreams in Hard Times - Pillars of Support

• Moving your body

• Walking the dog

• Meditation

• Therapy

Whatever it is my love, take the time to reconnect with yourself so you can see the path forward.

It was so inspiring to chat with Audra and is evident the fire in her for what she does now is nowhere near going out! Wow, just wow. Thank you Audra for sharing your heart and having the courage to be vulnerable on today’s episode. I hope this conversation sparks something in you that maybe you’ve never felt before or been ignoring for a while.

Connect with Audra!

Website: www.audrabartlett.com

Facebook: Audra Bartlett

Instagram: @audrabartlettcoaching

Take care of yourselves and therefore each other!

XO, Brooke Jean