Self-Help Junkie Gives a Behind the Scenes Look at the Strategy Academy with Kendalyn Banks of Sage & Sea Apothecary
Episode 139: Show Notes
We have one of our dreamy students on the show today, Kendalyn Banks. She is a wanna-be mermaid, lightworker and sole proprietor of Sage & Sea Apothecary. She is multi-passionate and believes in taking the holistic approach to self-care and she’s got some amazing natural products in her shop. She is also a pretty smart entrepreneur! We had her on the show to walk you through exactly what she went through from starting her Etsy shop to growing her product-based business.
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Kendalyn also shares her experience with Strategy Academy; what she was able to implement from the program and how she really started to see growth, both personally and inside her business. We are diving into nurturing versus growth. We are talking about pivoting, being a self-help junkie and what it’s like being a multi-passionate. At the end, we also go into the topic of meditation! This episode is a really amazing look at the behind-the-scenes of what a student inside Strategy Academy goes through. So if this is something you have been considering, you should definitely have a listen!
The Humble Beginnings of Sage & Sea Apothecary
A few years ago, Kendalyn went down the Pinterest rabbit hole in an attempt to find inspiration for handmade Christmas gifts she wanted to make for friends and family. On her exploration, she saw some amazing ideas for natural bath and beauty products. Kendalyn absolutely loves living a healthy, organic, natural life and so this was just a natural fit for her to take on as a fun project. Although Kendalyn had never dreamed of running her own business, after her handmade gifts were so well received, it really sparked something inside of her. Since she was already an avid Etsy customer, it seemed like the perfect place for her to open her shop. During this time, Kendalyn was also working at a fitness studio and they have a very holistic approach, which was the perfect fit for her products. She was able to target her ideal customers first hand! As a result, a lot of her first followers were people who she had actual relationships with in real life, which was amazing.
Adapting to the Rollercoaster of Life
Kendalyn’s business really started to take off as she focused in on her product. A couple months later, her world was turned around as she found out she was going to be a new mom! This got her thinking about what she wanted her life to be like once the baby arrives. She had a day job that she liked but it was all-consuming which presented a big challenge trying to figure out how to balance it with having a baby, planning a wedding and moving into a new house all at once! It was a lot of change in one year and during that time, Kendalyn definitely put her business on the back burner. Once the dust settled, Kendalyn knew her next focus would be on building a community; trying to find tribes of women to talk to in the business realm. During this time of exploring, Kendalyn found Trello for Business and knew she wanted to take the steps to make her business sustainable and profitable so she can serve other women and take care of her family.
Investing in Yourself and Your Business
To pursue a sustainable and profitable business, Kendalyn knew she had to invest in her business and decide to invest in herself. She joined the Strategy Academy, which has led to a major shift for her in her business. The accountability group has pushed her in major ways. It gave her access to others who stop her from self-sabotage and walk her through things when she gets stuck or felt completely overwhelmed. In her accountability group, Kendalyn knows she does not have to filter herself. She can be completely honest and know they are going to be loving and supportive. It is truly such an incredible piece of the puzzle of running a successful business. Many of us are already doing some incredible things. We just need someone beside us to remind us we are, in fact, capable over and over again. Once we believe in ourselves, so much can change and your business can skyrocket.
Taking Yourself and Your Business Seriously
After going through the Strategy Academy, Kendalyn decided to pivot in her business. During the last few years, she had spent a lot of time dealing with personal challenges and trying to keep herself in a good place mentally and physically. Diving really deep into her self-help junkie side, it made her realize she was constantly seeing women who were overwhelmed, stressed and depleted. Coming out of that for Kendalyn was a huge shift in her life, which made her realize she has value to offer to people in those situations. She wanted to help hold their hand to get over the hump and start living a life filled with meaning and magic. When you become a mom, your time is so precious and it is so important to consistently make yourself a priority. In addition to focusing on her business, Kendalyn was doing a lot of her own personal work because she did not want to lose herself in motherhood. She still wanted to be her own individual and set a good example for her son. That meant a lot of reflecting on how to make her business work and how to avoid the burnout.
The Strategy Academy Therapy Sessions
Part of the draw for Kendalyn to join the Strategy Academy was the fact that there are strategies, tech solutions and also a mindset piece. Inside the Strategy Academy therapy sessions, everyone is completely real. The main point is to show the crazy challenges and struggles happens to everybody. You get to see that it is okay to have down days, to doubt yourself and to feel like an imposter. We all constantly need the reminder that we are not alone and that sense of community is so important. Also the reminder that as you pivot and grow with your business, stuff is going to keep coming up over and over again until you really, truly deal with it.
Top Takeaways From the Strategy Academy
Kendalyn started her Squarespace website earlier in the year. She had some development experience but had no clue how to write an “about” page. Inside the Strategy Academy, she was able to learn how to use her website as a tool, almost like an employee, walking them from page to page. That strategy alone was so much help for her because it really made her see the value in having a good website. The Opt-in Like a Boss was an absolute bonus and for Kendalyn, she has always struggled on the product side because she felt like she had nothing special to offer. However, over time, she realized the value she could provide from her own personal work with meditation and yoga and created a little Meditation 101 opt-in from those experiences. It is so important to show up for your customers and providing value with that free opt-in so you can get their email and grow your list. On top of that, the module about Pivoting to Passion was key for Kendalyn to become comfortable believing in herself and her messaging, even if she didn’t truly believe it quite yet. Plus, realizing you don’t have to start from square one! You always have the option to make subtle shifts and tweaks to leverage your previous experience without starting from ground zero.
Nurturing Versus Growing
In the online industry and the entrepreneurial realm, every time you go on Facebook you are slammed with ads about growing your list and having a six-figure launch. Although that stuff is great, it may not be right for your business. Often it’s about adding value and the “free, free, free, marry me” method. For a while, Kendalyn was scared to offer up free content but she quickly realized it is the best way to position yourself as an expert in the industry. She became really intentional about emailing her current list more, staying in touch with them and giving them the things that they actually asked for. Kendalyn decided to pivot and make it her goal to be super real and share all of her experiences and struggles with her audience. Once she started sending emails out about lessons she learned in motherhood and the horrible thoughts and feelings she was having, it really resonated with people and engagement went through the roof. Getting that positive feedback really motivated Kendalyn to keep going and keep nurturing them and being there for them.
Quote This
Hard things happen to everybody, and it doesn’t mean you should go out of business.
—Kendalyn Banks
Highlights
The story of how Kendalyn got started with her product-based business. [0:04:13.1]
Walking through the challenges Kendalyn faced as a new mom, putting her business on the back burner. [0:07:55.1]
Kendalyn’s amazing experience working with her accountability group in the Strategy Academy. [0:11:46.1]
Learning how to take your business seriously and the impact that can have on your success. [0:15:03.1]
How the Strategy Academy therapy sessions positively changed Kendalyn’s outlook on herself and her capabilities. [0:19:51.1]
Kendalyn’s favorite strategies from the Strategy Academy and how she was able to implement them. [0:27:00.1]
Understand the difference between growing and nurturing and the impact it can have on your business. [0:33:51.1]
#TalkStrategyToMe [0:47:46.6]
Invest in yourself.
Make time for what is important to you.
Create a schedule to work through each module.
ON TODAY’S SHOW
Kendalyn Banks
Sage & Sea Apothecary
Website | Instagram | Facebook
Kendalyn Banks is a wanna-be mermaid, lightworker and sole proprietor of Sage & Sea Apothecary. She's a multi-passionate entrepreneur who believes in taking a holistic approach to self-care and offers natural products and sacred healing services that serve your mind, body and spirit. Kendalyn is on a mission to help disenchanted women rediscover how to live a full life by embracing who they are at their core with kindness and compassion. She works to empower women feeling lost, stuck and overwhelmed by helping them reconnect to their intuition - that innate inner wisdom we each have but are often taught to turn off in favor of logical thinking. Through her Reiki healing services, guided meditations, spiritual workshops and supportive natural products, Kendalyn helps women work through physical or emotional blocks no longer serving them so they can step into their highest and best selves and live a life filled with magic and meaning.
KEY TOPICS
Product-based business, Balancing business and motherhood, Accountability groups, Business therapy sessions, Strategy Academy takeaways, Nurturing versus growing, Honing your focus
