Latest / Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane / Why Not Today? Season 2 - Episode 6 with Katie Cleasby, Recspert.

Transcript

Why Not Today? Season 2 - Episode 6 with Katie Cleasby, Recspert. · Why Not Today? with Leslie Kane

0:00
Hello, my name is Leslie and I am the host of the Why Not Say podcast.
0:05
This is a podcast to celebrate people who have been courageous and said, Why Not Today?
0:10
I started this podcast in honor of my father, Patrick Kane, who often did say, Why Not Today?
0:15
I'm based in Reston, Virginia, a planned community right outside of Washington, D.C., and thanks
0:19
for joining us today.
0:21
And I'm excited to have my guest, Katie Cleese, be on today.
0:25
And I would like to share how I met somebody who are connected.
0:27
And Katie was instrumental in getting me off a couch and getting me out of fear.
0:34
And I share that often when I remember exactly where I met somebody, I'm like, They're going
0:39
to be in my life forever.
0:40
And you were one of those people, Katie.
0:41
I was sitting on the couch in the beginning of March, mid-March 2020, everybody knows
0:47
where we were.
0:48
And I was a little terrified that I was like, How am I going to run a business?
0:51
And just like we always do, we're a little fearful.
0:54
We try to distract ourselves.
0:56
I was on social media and a comment somebody had on some site said, I'm looking for someone
1:03
to help me with makeup.
1:04
And so I reached out to Katie and her mom was in town and wanted to play with some makeup.
1:09
Well, it was right about when the world shut down.
1:12
And so we decided we'd better do something virtual.
1:14
And that's how we started.
1:15
And since then, in the last three years, Katie and I have become great friends and gone through
1:21
life together, some twists and turns in your life, Katie, and just feel like God definitely
1:26
puts you in my path and a reason for you in my life.
1:29
And so I'm excited to have you share today, courageous things you've done in your life.
1:35
And I didn't even realize what was going on in your life when I first met you.
1:39
But why don't you just quick introduce a little bit about Katie and a fun fact about yourself
1:44
and then we'll get into the courage component.
1:46
Awesome.
1:47
Well, yes.
1:48
Thank you so much, Leslie, for having me on the show today and I'm excited to be here.
1:52
My name is Katie Klespie and I am the owner and CEO and founder of Rexpert, a two-sided
1:59
marketplace to find and connect with recreation experts near you.
2:04
And I met Leslie, yeah, during the pandemic when I was getting my first surgery.
2:11
I was diagnosed with breast cancer.
2:13
My mom was in town visiting.
2:17
And yeah, we were looking, I was looking to, you know, knock something off my list, which
2:21
was get my professional photos done for my business as I was presenting at conferences
2:26
and wanted someone to help me with my makeup before I had those photos done.
2:30
And so Leslie came into my garage.
2:32
I want to say the day that afternoon I had surgery.
2:35
I had no idea that you had surgery or going through any of that until probably months
2:43
later it seems like.
2:44
Yeah.
2:45
I think I told you that day.
2:46
I was like, oh, I just had surgery.
2:47
And you were like, okay.
2:48
Oh my God.
2:49
I think I agreed to like speak at a couple of conferences that afternoon too and they
2:54
say no big decisions like the day when you're still kind of anesthesia.
2:59
And that's, I wouldn't have it any other way.
3:01
So.
3:02
I was about to, you know, you're out doing life and not letting it slow you down.
3:07
Well, you know what, you go through cancer and during the pandemic, right?
3:12
I went right into 26 rounds of chemo after two surgeries and 33 rounds of radiation.
3:19
I had the max of everything because I was only 32 at that point in time, you know, and
3:23
I couldn't have any visitors during chemo, but I made the best of it.
3:27
And you know, I actually had a little, not a little podcast, but I had cocktails with
3:31
Katie had chemo every Tuesday and I would get groups of people together and we would
3:36
play like online virtual games together.
3:39
My aunt used to read me a story and everyone had to bring a cocktail glass and wear a funky
3:43
hat because I had a cold camp on.
3:45
So it just kind of made the best of it.
3:47
But when you go through hardships like that and then my mom had been diagnosed with leukemia
3:53
for the second time.
3:55
Well, I was going through my own cancer journey and I ended up losing her that November and
4:03
had to pause my cancer treatment, say goodbye to my mom.
4:08
And then continue on my own cancer journey.
4:11
So you realize really quickly that life is so short, right?
4:14
Like my mom had just retired and you know, she was 62 and she only had like a year or
4:21
two of retirement and had saved her whole life, had made all the right choices, had,
4:25
you know, not taken big risks, but kind of done the right thing.
4:30
And so I just any opportunity I take it now.
4:34
Yeah, you know what?
4:35
I love my life that way too.
4:36
Like you got to live life and I've heard so many people that, you know, again, work
4:40
all their, their life for that and goal of retirement.
4:44
And with my age, a lot of people are talking about retirement or I'm like, are you going
4:47
to retire?
4:48
I'm like, heck no, you know, people retire to sit on the couch or retire and then you
4:52
don't know what's going to happen.
4:53
Like live life.
4:54
And I think we both do a really good job about with that.
4:56
So before we get into the courage component, what's a fun fact about Katie?
5:00
Fun fact about Katie.
5:02
Well, I love doing triathlons, so I just completed my first Ironman Maryland last September.
5:11
And yeah, so I'm here at a lake today and I'm looking forward to swimming in the lake.
5:16
Everyone thinks I'm crazy because I brought my wetsuit.
5:19
So that's when you know, an athlete when you show up to someone's lake house on your
5:23
vacation and like, I brought my wetsuit and my beating cap and my goggles.
5:26
I'm very excited to swim.
5:28
Congratulations for the Ironman.
5:30
That's an amazing accomplishment.
5:31
I had my brother on my anniversary episode and we talked about my dad encouraged, but
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we also talked about he did an Ironman.
5:38
I don't know, did you do it?
5:41
What is the completed, I guess?
5:43
I don't know.
5:45
But the other day I was somewhere and somebody I know who had started a fitness journey just
5:49
the last couple of years told me, I listened to your podcast with your brother and it inspired
5:54
me to sign up for an Ironman myself.
5:57
And so it's kind of fun to see how this podcast is encouraged people do other things.
6:03
So all right, so before we get started talking about your courageous thing, tell me what is
6:07
your definition of courage?
6:09
Yeah, well, my definition of courage, I actually wrote down some notes.
6:15
It's having the confidence to step outside your comfort zone and try something new that
6:21
makes you scared or nervous.
6:23
You went like that.
6:25
Just taking a risk essentially when you have those butterflies or just feeling anxious,
6:33
not necessarily anxiety, but feeling anxious about something and knowing that on the other
6:38
side it might change you for the better or improve or it could be a really great experience
6:43
or not.
6:45
I think courage too is just sitting in that and the pre-op before you go into surgery.
6:52
It takes courage to go into surgery too, right?
6:56
So it could be good or bad, but facing something that's really scary and doing anyway, I think.
7:02
Right.
7:03
Yeah, and we don't know when we do step out and do those things.
7:06
We talked about before we came on, you know, you got to have A, B, C, D, plan to Z.
7:11
And I think every time you take that step of courage to do something, and even if it
7:16
doesn't work out, it gives you the courage to take another step.
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You're still living.
7:20
You're still kicking.
7:21
You're still having it.
7:22
I mean, think about the worst thing that can happen.
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So you've had lots of courageous things in your life just since I've met you three years
7:29
ago and I definitely want to talk about your business.
7:33
So I don't know if you want to talk about the courage of your journey and with cancer
7:41
treatment, your mom, your Ironman, you want to talk about traplines, you could talk about
7:47
your business, we could talk about so many things.
7:52
Can you tell I'm typing?
7:54
And you're getting a PhD with all this going on.
7:58
Yes, I was writing my dissertation through chemo.
8:02
Like I chemo took seven hours because with the cold cap, it took like an hour to freeze
8:07
your scalp and then a couple hours to have the chemo and then you had another hour to
8:13
defrost your scalp.
8:14
So I saw that almost like a plane ride, I'm like, oh, seven hours that I can get so much
8:18
done.
8:19
I love that.
8:20
That's what got me through grad school as I was traveling for business and I was on
8:25
lots of plane rides and I could study on a plane.
8:28
I'm like, this is the best time to study.
8:30
No distraction.
8:31
Yeah, it was fun in the beginning.
8:34
Like, I mean, not fun.
8:35
Chemo's not fun, but like there was 12 hard sessions and I want to say the first six,
8:40
I could get things done.
8:41
And then you start getting chemo brain, like it's foggy, it was hard and then towards the
8:46
end it was really, really hard.
8:48
But I would bring like a vat of caffeine because they give you all these drugs that make you
8:53
sleepy and tired.
8:54
And most people just like sleep, you know, because it kind of goes by fast.
8:56
It's like caffeine, let's do this.
9:00
Okay, so I'll talk about courage when starting my business because that I want to say that
9:05
was the biggest step, the biggest risk.
9:06
When I met you, you were working for Clyde Moore Park in the aquatics department when
9:12
I first met you.
9:14
And then you ended up leaving that job and starting your own business.
9:18
So that's super exciting.
9:20
Very abruptly, actually.
9:22
Okay, I did not know that I was planning that I was ever going to walk away in that moment
9:30
on that Friday afternoon, but I did.
9:33
I've always been, why not today moment?
9:37
Oh my gosh, Leslie, 100%.
9:40
I've always been good at making decisions.
9:42
And when you know, you know, like I always say, like when I met my husband, when I bought
9:45
my first house, like there are certain moments in your life you just know.
9:49
And I just, I knew, I just knew when I called my husband and I was like, I need to do this.
9:54
And he supported me the whole way.
9:55
So I left Parks and Rec on a Friday and I had planned to do it.
10:01
And half Ironman in Atlantic City that Sunday.
10:04
And so we literally like, I came home from work.
10:07
I was typing the resignation letter in the car on the drive to Atlantic City.
10:14
And you know, my friends and family were saying, 24 hour rule, Katie, like calm down, like
10:19
just, you know, send in on Monday, do your half Ironman.
10:22
And I said, no, no, no, I know, I just know, like, so it's hip sent, showed up, had a great
10:28
race and it was the first race that I completed after chemo too.
10:32
So I had trained for this half Ironman all through chemo.
10:35
And it was really important to me to finish that.
10:38
And then that Monday I was already like thinking of what I wanted to do.
10:43
And I had known that in Parks and Rec during the pandemic, right?
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It was a physical building.
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That physical building shut down and everybody went outside.
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So I realized that people were still looking online.
10:56
Where can I go for hiking?
10:58
You know, my kid wants a coach and being in Parks and Rec, working at the front desk sometimes
11:03
or just being in aquatics, talking to parents, everybody was always asking me where they
11:07
can find XYZ, right?
11:11
And so I realized that, you know, there were two side of marketplaces out there to find
11:15
contractors for your house, right?
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Why is there not anything for recreation, you know, component for that?
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And so I did my research and found out that there's fitness, there's sports coaches, but
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there's not really like hiking, biking, you know, kayaking, paddle boarding, things like
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that and opportunities for families and just people in general to connect and be outside
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and recreate.
11:37
That's the definition of recreation, right?
11:40
Recreating yourself and through different experiences.
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And so I called up my business partner at the time.
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He was somebody who worked in Parks and Rec with me.
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And he actually said, Katie, please be, you know, where are you going from aquatics and
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how can I come along with you?
12:02
Like what are you doing now?
12:04
And so we formed a partnership initially that Thursday, I think we met for lunch and then
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we came up with the name like experts for recreation, like finding coaches, Rexpert,
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you know, finding connected recreation expert, Rexpert.
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And then Rexpert was born.
12:21
That's awesome.
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I love that.
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I love that you just jumped in and did it and like, you know, that you know that you
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know.
12:29
And so often we know that we know that we know and then we survey everybody and especially
12:33
the people we don't even value their opinion.
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And we don't really care to ask and that's, you know, how does this look on me?
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We always got to get the approval of somebody.
12:43
But you know, it's just, I did the same thing when I quit my job.
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It was a little more thought through and it wasn't immediate, but for the couple months
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before I made that leap over, it's like, sure you're going to do it.
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You're sure you're going to, I'm like, yeah, I'm done.
12:55
Like, and have a little bit.
12:57
I will say, yeah, and I give you so much credit, Leslie.
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I mean, I will say to the credit of my husband, like I could not have done this without his
13:04
emotional, financial, physical, all of it support, right?
13:08
Like he was right there and, you know, to do that as, as not having a significant other.
13:15
Oh my gosh.
13:16
So you have even more courage than I do when it comes to this.
13:20
So what's the worst that can happen?
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I knew I could sell products and, you know, I can always get into the job, which I've
13:26
never had to do.
13:27
So through the development of your business, you're still in the launching phase.
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And I love that you have reached out and figured out ways to get resources and funding and
13:38
some of those things.
13:39
And I think this, as I shared in the beginning, this podcast is really a platform to encourage
13:45
people to do the things.
13:46
So if somebody's looking at starting a business, some of, what are some of the resources you
13:50
found to get some help?
13:52
Yeah.
13:53
So the SBDC Small Business Development Center was, you know, so influential in the beginning.
14:02
That was one of my first calls.
14:04
And they set me up with what was called a program called ICAP, which was the Innovation
14:08
Commercialization Assistance Program.
14:10
And it's free.
14:12
And they provide me with a mentor and I got into it and it was probably, I think, a six
14:17
week course.
14:18
But it almost took you step by step by step.
14:21
And they encouraged us to do customer discovery and talk to people and write down your business
14:26
plan and the value proposition.
14:28
Why are you doing this on each side of it?
14:30
And so once I got involved with ICAP, and then I want to make it clear that I'm not
14:38
a small business, I'm a startup.
14:40
So there's a huge difference between a small business and a startup.
14:45
Just, for instance, funding, right, the massive amounts of funding.
14:49
And I'm not doing the skill myself, right?
14:51
Like I have to hire developers.
14:53
It's the tech, which makes the difference in startups.
14:56
So a lot of those things.
14:58
So is ICAP for startup or small business or both?
15:01
ICAP is for startups.
15:03
Yeah.
15:04
Okay.
15:05
But I want to say one of the biggest mistakes I made was following the path of a small businesses
15:10
in the beginning.
15:11
And if I could do it all over again, I mean, I use too many companies locally that were
15:16
for small businesses that were not a good match as a startup.
15:20
And then I want to say a year later, I got into the startup community in DC and got more
15:27
connected to the startup resources that I knew and was finally in the right place.
15:31
But I wasted tons of money and time.
15:34
And unfortunately, I don't know, some people were connections and some just took me down
15:40
bad paths.
15:41
Obviously I won't name names or talk about any of that.
15:44
But I felt like there was a solid six, seven months that I wish I could just do it all
15:49
over again.
15:50
Yeah.
15:51
But you learned.
15:52
So what lessons did you learn that you could share with other people other than, and I
15:56
love the thing about startup.
15:57
I've never even thought about that with the why not today brand.
16:00
But I think it's definitely startups.
16:03
Yeah.
16:04
I mean, everyone has it.
16:06
Some people have different definitions of startups like, you know, if you're a small
16:11
business, you are starting up, but I needed funding, right?
16:15
And I was so grateful that when my mom had passed away, she had left me some inheritance
16:21
funding.
16:22
And I was able to take that funding and hire a developer and hire the things, a marketing
16:29
company, you know, initially early on, but, you know, some of those early decisions led
16:36
me down the wrong path.
16:38
I think I just, I didn't know what you didn't know.
16:40
And I don't know if I can give advice on that because I really, it was such a huge pivot
16:45
in careers.
16:46
I had to go through it myself and go, I will, I don't know if I'll ever go back to like
16:52
a corporate business.
16:53
I love being my own boss and I already have ideas for my second startup after when this
16:58
one becomes successful.
17:00
But I would do it completely different based on the mistakes I made and now what I know
17:05
in the beginning.
17:06
Right.
17:07
And don't we all need that?
17:08
And I think the event difference with me and you in starting businesses, I started a
17:12
business.
17:13
It was a direct selling business that had all the everything behind it, which I think is
17:18
helping me tremendously with launching the Why Not Today brand is I've got the systems
17:23
in place and all the things I've done for 20 some years in place, you know, when you've
17:29
just worked for some of you, you haven't created a business.
17:32
I think, yeah, you're definitely coming from a different place.
17:35
Right.
17:36
Which is why startups are so incredibly hard and like only 3% of funding goes to women
17:40
too.
17:41
So like being a female founder in technology startup space, I just was, you know, I have
17:48
a handle on it now.
17:49
But yeah, that's great.
17:52
So talk about the business where you're taking it.
17:55
What are you doing with it?
17:56
How can we even support people and do encourage us things?
18:00
Yeah.
18:01
So let's see, we launched our beta product last January and had some early doctors, but
18:08
it was built on WordPress, which is like your basic, you know, website designer and to be
18:14
a startup, you need what's called intellectual property IP, right?
18:18
Something that's unique and that you can kind of change and manipulate as you grow and WordPress
18:24
doesn't allow for that.
18:25
So we took it down and totally recoded it, found developers and coded it from the ground
18:32
up to something that we wanted it to be, which was more of a user friendly, two-sided marketplace
18:39
where a busy family can go and type in what they're searching for.
18:43
You're looking for pickleball and coming and it generates different coaches and trainers
18:49
and things that are local to you that you can message back and forth right on your phone
18:53
and connect with them and choose them through profiles, reviews, ratings, things like that.
19:00
So we are, we just about, I want to say a few weeks out from launch for our MVP to,
19:08
I want to say, minimal viable products.
19:11
So we're very excited about that.
19:13
We've got about 50 early adopters we're working on getting on right now.
19:18
But yeah, eventually, you know, once we launch, you'll be able to find not only solopreneurs.
19:23
So like, you know, those who are coaches who have their own business, his small business,
19:28
but also recreation centers.
19:30
So one of the biggest habits that we made in the last month was connecting with rec centers.
19:38
So rec centers will be able to load all their classes so that as a parent or a local person
19:43
or family individual, you'll be able to see all the recreation options, not just personal
19:50
coaches, but the rec center too, so that you don't have to go multiple tabs across your
19:55
search bar.
19:57
So with the coaches you work with, do they have to be local?
20:01
Do you have them all over the country?
20:04
Well, for our marketing strategy, you know, we want to start here in this area.
20:09
So Virginia, Maryland, DC, and coincidentally for our research, this area is one of the
20:17
top five areas and towns and cities and that invest in parks and rec in the United States.
20:25
So I think Norfolk was like number five.
20:27
So we'll grow from there and eventually grow from East Coast to West Coast and scale that
20:35
way, but we want it to be strategic.
20:37
So you're kind of a connector to all the resources to the public?
20:43
Yes.
20:44
Yeah, it's a subscription.
20:46
It's for the experts in the rec centers.
20:49
And so the families use it for free or individuals use it for free.
20:54
And obviously you can purchase your services right on the platform.
20:58
So it's $39 a month for solopreneurs and $99 a month for the big rec centers to load up
21:05
all their classes on there.
21:07
That's awesome.
21:08
So I'm thinking about somebody I interviewed on my podcast that she's a health and fitness
21:12
coach and she has a coaching business and work with people like nutrition and giving
21:20
you your exercises and everything.
21:23
And you have a coach you work with, everything's completely virtual.
21:26
And she's probably a good partner with you and a good person.
21:30
She's very, she's young, I keep saying that, she's in her twenties, but she is wise beyond
21:35
age and what she's been able to put together in this company.
21:38
Awesome.
21:39
Love to hear.
21:40
Yeah, definitely.
21:41
So I know it's been courageous to keep going with this project.
21:46
You've had some things that have not gone well.
21:50
And we just talked about something that happened a couple of weeks ago.
21:54
And so talk about, you don't have to give specifics of what hasn't gone well, but talk
21:58
about, you know, how do you get back up and how do you keep going and how do you not like
22:03
growing the talent?
22:04
Where do you get that resolve to say, or courage to say, I'm not quitting.
22:10
Yeah, it's funny because so many people have asked me like, are you at that point yet?
22:14
And like, no, no, failure is not an option.
22:17
We haven't even launched yet.
22:18
Like there's not even, that's not even my vocabulary.
22:21
So yeah, one of the things that has been a biggest challenge for me in a startup is,
22:26
you need, they say, you know, you need a co-founder.
22:29
So from day one, I've always wanted to, I wanted someone to do this with, right?
22:34
And so I have gone through three co-founders now.
22:38
And for whatever reason, they have left and, and, you know, I've got a board of advisors
22:44
and everyone is like, Katie, you're so strong.
22:47
You can do this on your own.
22:48
You don't need a co-founder.
22:49
Yeah, you don't need a co-founder girl.
22:51
Yeah, just keep going.
22:53
And you know, and I just, what you said is so strong and I was going to recommend is
22:57
you have a board of advisors.
22:58
So you don't have to have a co-founder, but you have your tribe, your mastermind group,
23:03
your women, your people that surround you that are going to cheer you on and give, and
23:08
be able to mastermind and brainstorm with people.
23:10
And I love doing that.
23:12
Oh yeah, I've found in people have just, you know, almost like, I guess, magnetic.
23:18
They've reached out to me and it's funny how things happen for a reason because so, you
23:22
know, one of the biggest things that I had to have courage was two weeks ago, my third
23:26
co-founder left the company and they, I'm allowed to talk about this legally now.
23:30
So I'm just going to go for it.
23:33
So he took all the code.
23:35
He just removed myself.
23:36
Yeah.
23:37
He took us to my entire company for two years and he took down our landing page.
23:42
We were getting ready to pitch that Friday in a pitch competition.
23:46
So here I am on Tuesday with no landing page and nothing to show for two years for Rex
23:51
Bert.
23:52
So long story short, you know, we ended up getting it back, but there was, you know,
23:58
a couple of days there.
24:01
I had to dig deep and, you know, one of my old business coaches, Katie Nelson, has said
24:07
to me, you know, Katie, you have a plan A, B, and then all the way to Z. And I felt like
24:13
I hit Z that day.
24:15
And yeah, well, she was like, then we started Alpha Bravo, Charlie, you know, the Zulu alphabet.
24:23
So I was, you know, working on Alpha at that point and had to just keep going.
24:28
So my husband was such a great supporter in that moment.
24:32
I reached out to my advisory board, you know, I used all my resources and I just took it
24:36
day by day and leaned on the things that I could control.
24:41
And I think in those moments, that's the phrase that I was in my head, like, what can I control
24:46
right now?
24:47
Because you have no control, right?
24:48
So I could control my Ironman training.
24:51
Like I can go out and do, you know, even things that have nothing to do with your business,
24:55
like that makes me feel more grounded in the chaos that is happening around me.
25:02
So randomly slip that in.
25:05
We talked about it before, but I don't think you actually said that you have, or you did,
25:09
I guess we did talk about the Ironman and triathlons.
25:12
I mean, and that's just such a major thing too.
25:14
I mean, all the courage and all the things.
25:17
Oh yeah.
25:18
I mean, and everyone's like, oh, you do all these things, but I'm scared.
25:22
I'm super scared inside.
25:24
I don't care.
25:25
Yeah.
25:26
I just, I don't know.
25:28
I'm able to just push beyond that.
25:30
And I think I've lost a lot of really important special people in my life early on and I've
25:34
gone through cancer and I've gone, like I feel like you name it, I've gone through it.
25:38
And you know, the day I finished my last chemo for breast cancer, I found out I had skin cancer
25:45
and I had a chunk of my neck removed.
25:47
Like, so it's just not worth it.
25:50
Like if it's going to be good, just do it.
25:52
Like we were on the lake yesterday and I said, I'm going to jump off and go swimming and
25:57
they're like, it's cold.
25:58
You know, it's early, it's May and, and then I got the whole boat.
26:01
We all jumped off the boat, but it was just such a why not today moment.
26:05
I thought of you yesterday and we're, let's just do it.
26:09
What's the worst that could happen?
26:10
They were cold and there's cows.
26:11
We'll get back up.
26:12
Like, yeah, exactly.
26:13
It's like cold is not going to kill you.
26:16
Yeah.
26:17
So my computer's beeping for some reason.
26:20
All right, so lots of courageous things and I just love and I can't wait to see your business
26:25
launch and we definitely need to schedule another brainstorming.
26:29
You know, there was a reason you reached into my life because of makeup and look where it's
26:35
taken and we've been able to share ideas and brainstorm and, you know, I think you'd be
26:40
a great partner too for the why not today brand and encouraging people to get out and
26:45
exercise and, you know, just get started.
26:47
I am, I used to, and I know this is a connection we had when I taught water broke, I used to
26:51
tell people like, just think about how you're going to feel at the end of the day when you
26:55
put your head on the pillow.
26:56
If you did or you didn't, and I think, you know, exercise and starting business and all
27:00
those things saying why not today is also important.
27:05
Just doing it.
27:06
So what would you do to encourage somebody else to be courageous?
27:12
Ironically, I didn't thought about it, the word encouraged is has courage in it.
27:21
You know, that's a tough question.
27:23
I've always struggled with that.
27:25
I think I feel like sometimes I do that naturally organically when there are people around me
27:31
and people have told me that like I do it, but I don't know how to articulate how I do
27:37
it.
27:38
So somebody wants to start their own business, quit their job, compete in Ironman, fight
27:47
cancer, like all those things you've gone through.
27:50
I would say just do it, you know, and what's stopping you.
27:55
Life is too short.
27:56
Like a friend of mine just bought a beautiful house in Florida and, you know, she's close
28:00
to retirement and she's like, oh, it's long plan, you know, like we're going to be down
28:04
in their 70s and then we're going to do X, Y, Z and I said, what is holding you back?
28:08
Like just do it.
28:09
Just go down to Florida.
28:11
Like life is too short.
28:14
And I honestly, you know, it's a phrase that everybody says like life's too short.
28:19
But it really is.
28:21
Yeah.
28:22
Yeah.
28:23
And so when you when you lose people at an early age, it really is too short.
28:27
Everybody should we be also lucky to get to retirement and to be in our retirement house,
28:32
whether it's on a lake or in Florida to get to your retirement plan, you know, if you
28:38
can get there.
28:39
Yeah.
28:40
So I would say, I don't know, like live life to the fullest.
28:44
Like, like I said, we should be obviously lucky to live to 100 and do all the things.
28:48
Like every year, you know, I want to look back and be like, what did I accomplish?
28:53
What did I do?
28:54
I want to live life to the fullest in that moment as much as possible.
28:59
But.
29:00
Love it.
29:01
Yeah.
29:02
I love life.
29:03
And you know, so I always in the questions I give, oh my guess, I'm like, how do you
29:07
connect to my dad and people are like, I never met your dad.
29:10
How could I possibly connect?
29:11
But really it's a as I talk to my guests, I mean, some of my guests have met my father
29:16
but or had met him.
29:18
But I really kind of see where you can connect and where similarity.
29:22
So the first thing before we even started recording was we talked about plan ABC or D.
29:28
And he was definitely that kind.
29:29
He was by trade a planner and I mentioned that in his, when he passed away, his eulogy,
29:34
my brother's talked about, you know, he did have a plan ABC and his life, the path he
29:39
ended up in where I am was because of plan A and B didn't work.
29:43
And your whole philosophy of just living life and live life to the fullest.
29:47
I think my dad was a great example of that.
29:50
That he and our logo and I talked about this before the logo is my dad's, is my dad's
29:55
logo and he had an iPad to handle my mustache.
29:58
And he had the iPad since the night he grabbed, or not immediately, but he got in a car accident
30:03
and I graduated high school and almost died.
30:06
And he was in the hospital interaction for months and they didn't think he'd make it.
30:12
And he did and he was supposed to play football for USC, I think, and that didn't work.
30:16
So in the day, he decided instead he would just go to Notre Dame.
30:20
He might have a kid today just deciding, I'm going to go to Notre Dame instead.
30:24
But he got on a train and went to Notre Dame and instead that was his plan B. And then
30:30
he almost died in another car accident.
30:32
And so lots of, you know, why not today moments that he taught me, like, live your life.
30:39
I remember one time I wrecked his car in high school and I was devastated.
30:42
I thought he was going to kill me.
30:44
And he was out of town.
30:45
I didn't want to talk to him.
30:46
I was afraid.
30:47
And he came back to flowers for me and he said, you're alive.
30:49
Who cares about the car?
30:51
Like, you know, you're alive and that's all that matters.
30:54
And so definitely live by that example, what you're living.
30:57
Like, just do it.
30:58
Do the things.
30:59
And I love how you're enjoying life.
31:00
And like you're in a lake house right now in Tennessee, in a lake house in southern
31:04
Virginia and we can work wherever.
31:06
We keep talking about how you have a place at the beach that we need to plan an excursion
31:10
there and just kind of escape your play.
31:14
So lots of good lessons.
31:15
So thank you so much for being on.
31:17
And so if somebody wants to find you, we will share this in the show notes.
31:22
But if somebody wants to find you, where are the best places to find you and connect?
31:26
Yeah.
31:27
Well, our website is, you know, rexpert.com, R-E-C-S-P-E-R-T.
31:34
And my, our Instagram is at rexpert and my Instagram is at katieclisby.
31:40
And so you can just email me at the rexpertinfo at rexpert.com too.
31:44
And happy to connect.
31:46
Great.
31:47
Well, thank you again for being on.
31:49
And I love getting to know even more about you.
31:51
So if you want to follow the podcast, we are on all the platforms, Spotify, iTunes,
31:55
Google.
31:56
You can go to our website, which is whynottodaypodcast.com.
32:00
Would love to have guests review us, rate us, share it with your friends, let other people
32:04
know that you're here and that you watched.
32:07
And just remember, say why not today.
32:09
And also on the website, I do have some swag.
32:12
We've got cups and t-shirts and vinyls.
32:15
I'm thinking about some journals as another thing.
32:18
So we're just seeing where this is going to go.
32:20
Again, Katie, thanks for joining us.
32:21
Thank you for having me.
32:23
You're welcome.
32:24
Thanks everybody for listening.
32:25
Have a great day.
32:26
Bye.
32:27
Bye.
32:28
i