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Reinventing Yourself in Business with Tracy Matthews · Values-First Marketing

0:02
Megan Loehr: I am here with Tracy Matthews today, and I am so excited for our conversation today about reinventing yourself after age 40 or age 50, and then how the heck do we reflect that reinvention in our copy, messaging, marketing, in our business going forward? So Tracy, welcome to the show. So excited to chat with you.
0:21
Unknown: I am so excited to chat too. This is my favorite topic to talk about,
0:25
Megan Loehr: and you have quite the story and to be able to talk about this so but let's first before we really dive into it, what does reinventing yourself even mean?
0:37
Unknown: Well, I believe that at different stages in life. It's literally part of our human condition to have a desire to like, I mean, there's this term out there that's that's going around, like, upgrade your identity, or evolve into the next best version of yourself, right? Or become that phoenix rising out of the ashes, if you know, you have these challenges, and everyone at different points in their lives are reinventing themselves, and a lot of times it starts with going through something super challenging, or being in a phase of burnout, or being in a phase of extreme boredom and not really knowing what's next for you, but also feeling this call or obligation to continue holding on to the past or The older version of you, or your business, or whatever that was, and that that call, or like that pull, is kind of keeping you stuck for a minute. And so the the process is really about moving through that challenge, that energy, that point in time to become that phoenix rising out of the ashes so that you can step into what you're really here or what you're called to do. That's so good talking about this in the frame of business. But you know, this happens with people in their midlife all the time. You know, when they become epi esters or, you know, maybe they have been in a marriage for a long time and they end up getting divorced. It's the same process, just different, different modality, I guess,
2:05
Megan Loehr: yeah, yeah, it can look different ways, but we all have or will experience this in some point. So I feel like my clients go through this a lot, and it's something that we work through in their messaging. And I feel like there's a lot of, well, like, hemming and hawing of like, but I don't want like this, wanting to hold on and yet, like needing to let go and like wanting to get to this next point. So how do you know, like, when is it time to reinvent yourself? Oh, gosh.
2:35
Unknown: I mean, I can only see the right time. I don't know that there's a right time, but I can only speak to my own personal experience. Um, I think the time is when your soul is calling you in a new direction, and I, like everyone's going to have a different feeling around that. I've been speaking to so many women lately who are in this process. They've been really established business owners. They've been they've been known in their industry for the thing that they do, and they're just so bored. They're bored with what they're doing as a result of that, you know, they feel like they're going backwards a little bit, because maybe their sales are declining, or they're they're kind of losing their energy around the offer that they do. They might even be in a specific phase of burnout, feeling like just exhausted all the time because they don't know what to know.
3:22
Unknown: They just, it's hard for them to get up and keep having that same conversation over and over again. Or there's this other layer, where it's a business owner who has an established business, and they're, you know, they're the kind of person who's just like, all right, I got status quo. This is great, but I have this other thing calling on me, and I just really don't know how to move in that direction. I was speaking with a woman the other day, and she is like, a leader in our industry. She works in the beverages industry and providing beverage services for events and different things.
3:53
Unknown: And she's like, I really see this problem in my industry.
3:56
Unknown: People do this for three to five years, they completely burn out, and then they give it up. But what I want to show them to do is how to navigate it. But I have no idea how to, like, be a coach, or, like, launch a coaching arm to my business. So every time I go, I sit down to go work on it, I end up going back to what I know instead of working on the new thing. And so I feel a little bit stuck. And it's not that I feel like I'm going backwards because my business is good. It's just that I don't really know how to move forward, and I'm not making the time myself to actually sit and think about it. And so for me, I think of this like when you're thinking about your audience and all the things you know you are, you people are attracted to you because of your energy, because of the value you provide, because of, you know, whatever it is that you stand for in this world, right? And, you know, we think of the great artists. They all started somewhere, right?
4:48
Unknown: And you think you look at someone like Monet who started his process, and the early impressionist age, like his earlier paintings were very dark and gloomy. But then, oh. For this evolution period of his reinvention. He, you know, he ends his, you know, career with the water lilies and all these bright, beautiful, large format paintings. You know, just like any artist, or you can take the same example of a musician, like your favorite musician, the music that they were doing 20 years ago might be very different than what they're doing now. And that's all a natural evolution in the process of upgrading your brand and your brand story and that reinvention process and so along the way, you know, I think the biggest thing is to keep people engaged with what you're doing and move your audience along with that journey. Is to just be open and transparent about what's going on, but don't talk about the wound before it's healed. So if there's something crazy going on with the process, or you're wanting to burn things down, probably best not to talk about that until you're already through it, but bring people on your journey. And you know, I've been in I've been through several reinventions in my history, and I'm going through one right now, because I'm expanding my offerings beyond my industry, and it's scary because it part of me feels sad, because I feel like I'm leaving people behind, and I don't want to say too much because I have an existing business, but also I want people to know that I am evolving and moving on in This different direction. And what really surprised me in that process is that a lot of my students who have been with me for a while are like, Heck, yes, Tracy, you have to do this. And when you're ready to offer something, I'm completely on board. And so the reason why I'm sharing that is primarily because, you know, we think that we're like, going to, like, lose it all if we change or we decide to do something different, but at any given point in your career, you have the right to change your mind and move in a different direction. It's just, I think the toughest part for a lot of people is making that decision to do it.
6:55
Megan Loehr: And I love that you acknowledged that like you're sad, because it means you're leaving some people and something behind. And I think that can be a factor that holds people back or makes people hesitate. And I think especially as women and the people pleaser in us, it's like, oh, we don't want to, we don't want to do that. You know, it's interesting
7:18
Unknown: that you say this whole thing about people pleasing, because the people pleasing is the thing that could really take the whole thing down. And what I mean by that is, Jason said this to me, my partner said this to me a couple of months ago, because I was really struggling with, you know, feeling like, Oh, I'm going to let people down if I don't have this big, massive launch for free, and spend all this money doing this big launch for the community, and I'm like, I have to do it differently because I'm so burned out. And he's like, your business is here to serve you, and if it's the second, it's not serving you, if you're doing it for other people, like you're never going to be showing up as the best version of yourself, and nothing's really going to work if you don't do that. So what about just being the best version of you and doing what works for you? Stop the people pleasing, and then see what lands from there?
8:11
Megan Loehr: Yes, and that takes so much more bravery than we're often willing to admit, or that like is often talked about because that's the ideal, that's what we want. And yet it's so hard because we feel almost this obligation to the way we've always done it before, to the way that it's always worked before. But business is always changing, the market is always evolving, and we've got to evolve with it, otherwise we're going to get left behind. And I think a lot of people saw that in 2024 specifically, things changed a lot. And a lot of, I think, especially service providers, were like, What the heck just happened? And I think you're right, is the first step really, is we need to be the best version of us and show up fully so we can pour out fully and really serve people. And no one ever has to get only half of of our energy, of our time, of who we are.
9:11
Unknown: This is true. So,
9:13
Megan Loehr: okay, so how do we do it? How do you start over and reinvent yourself?
9:19
Unknown: Oh, gosh. Well, it depends on where you're starting from, because I think the first step of this is really just getting clarity on two things.
9:25
Unknown: Number one is like, what? What's your real gift? And I can use myself as an example here, because I'm really good at jewelry marketing. I've been doing it for a long time. I have been in the jewelry industry. I know how to price jewelry. I know how to do basically everything from all aspects of the business, because I've done it all. My real gift is being able to see the full potential and the full spectrum of what someone like, what someone's potential is, not just their potential, but like, let's say they come to me with these gifts. But. Knowing how to tell, like, how to monetize it and turn it into something that makes money, like that. That's really where I shine. Because, like, people will be like, Oh, I have this thing, and I'm like, Oh, here's how you do it. And this is how you do this, how you can get it out there. Like, that's, that's where I really shine. And so the first step of this is, like, maybe you're working in an industry, maybe you you're known for one thing, and you're in this, like, very particular niche, but what is the thing under the thing that you're really good at? So clarifying, like the true gift of what your brilliance is.
10:30
Unknown: That's the first step. The second part of clarity is to get really clear on the vision beyond the vision of what you're here to do. And one of the things I like to talk about, I'm launching a program called The Art of reinvention in the spring. But it's that vision, beyond the vision, like, one of the things that is really empowering to me, and that I'm really trying to lean into, is like inspiring women who are leading a movement, because I feel like there's so many people out there that are, it's not that they're playing small, like they've made a big impact in whatever they're doing. It's just that they feel like this audacious dream that they have, or this, this message that they have, or whatever it is that they're they want to get out there. They don't know how to really talk about it or turn it into something that makes sense for them, but it's a it's something that is calling on their heart so strong and they're just uncertain how to get there. So if you can start clarifying that vision beyond your vision, like, you might have a vision for your business, but what's the next step to that? Like, what's beyond that?
11:31
Unknown: Like, if you were to dream so big that you had, like, it literally seemed impossible.
11:37
Unknown: What would that look like? And I originally got this because I was at a Brandon Burchard event, probably in 2018 and this is, like, it took me this long to, like, actually get to this point. Brendan asked us at this at this event, if you could have it like, you could snap your fingers. I don't know exactly the words he used, and like, create something or have something happen in your life that, like, literally, was a dream come true, that, like, expanded your exposure and everything. What would it be?
12:07
Unknown: And this had never even crossed my mind. He's like, I don't want you to think about it too much.
12:09
Unknown: Just write the first thing that comes to mind. And I was like, I want to tight talk with 20 million views, and I want to launch a brand called creatives, World of world. And I didn't, I don't. I actually like love TED talks, but I'm not one of those people who like watches all the TED Talks. I just have watched some of the really powerful ones. So of course, I go and do some research later. At that time, the most viewed TED talk was, like, 25 million views. And I was like, Oh, wait, way to go, like, all the way to the top Tracy. But the reason why I'm sharing this is because that little experiment, I still haven't done a TED talk, but I'm hoping to, like, get in in the in the ring with that this year, or TEDx talk, but it launched, it helped me get clarity that I wanted to launch this new offering in this new brand and the creatives rule The world is a trademark name and a trademark, basically modality that I have, and I'm launching a new podcast later in the year, all around that topic. And the bigger mission, the vision, beyond the vision of that for me, is to be able to empower teenagers and kids to understand that their creativity is their biggest gift, and that there is a different path, and you don't have to just go work a job for someone else. And I know that we have the gift of, like, living in this, like, sort of freelancer, service provider, entrepreneurial world, but there are a lot of people out there who don't realize that that's what's possible. They're literally trained from a very early age to go get a job that's secure, and that's not really the best path for a lot of people, especially people with neurodivergent brains, or, you know, that have a hard time focusing class like, I know a lot of people probably resonate with what I'm saying right now.
13:53
Unknown: It's like the reason why you're probably an entrepreneur, you're a service provider or doing something differently, is because you know that, like a regular path wasn't for you. And so to me, like, I would have never gotten to that if I hadn't really sat down and thought, Okay, what's the bigger impact that I'm trying to make? And how does that work? So the first step is clarity. The second step is to create. And when I mean create, it's just really okay getting clear. Like, what does that like if I'm here for this bigger mission or this bigger iteration of myself, like, what does that look like, and how am I going to be getting out there, like, spreading my message and the word, and how am I going to monetize that offering or that movement? And so this is really where you kind of sit down and get into an offer stage and build your brand around this movement, or miss it mission, and then the final stage of it is really cultivating that idea and catalyzing it to get it out into the world. And that, that's obviously what you do, having messaging around it and marketing around it, and building your audience and your funnel and getting it out into the world so that you can you.
14:57
Unknown: Share your gifts with everyone out there.
15:02
Megan Loehr: Yeah, I love it. I think that is so important.
15:05
Megan Loehr: Because I think a lot of people skip those first two steps, or they kind of skimp out on them, because it can be hard to go that deep, or it can be scary to admit that bigger vision that you are called to. I love that.
15:18
Megan Loehr: You call it the vision, beyond the vision, beyond the vision, because, like, we all have, like, a vision for our business, but what's the vision beyond that? Like, that's a whole different question, and that is a whole different ball game, so to
15:31
Unknown: speak, the vision that's it's most people don't they think that they're dreaming big and they're starting a dream business, but they're still playing so small. And it's not that you necessarily have to be like a, you know, famous person, or something like that. But what is the impact like if you were to this always brings me back to my mom, because my mom passed away when she when I was 21 and that's what this was, 30 years ago, or 33 years 30 something years ago, some 53 now. And it was very sudden she was only 45 years old. And I think back to that time, and it was like she had spent her entire life raising children, living her life for other people, in a terrible marriage with my father. You know, it's like all these things, she finally gets her excuse. Can I swear on her shit? Her shit together? No.
16:15
Unknown: Sorry. Her stuff together. Edit that out. Sorry about that. She finally gets her stuff together and meets a man and ends up like starting a business and all the things and right as she was, like on the beginning of that journey, she died very suddenly, and she never had a chance to like express that dream. So why not like, if you were to die tomorrow, like is the legacy that you have today, the legacy that you want to be remembered for, and if it is great. I mean, not everyone has to be here to do big things, but if you know that you're meant here for more, and you're not doing the thing because you just don't know how to get it out there, or you're afraid of what people are gonna think, or you're playing small, or whatever it is. Why? Like, what's the point? Because, literally, at any given moment, your time could be up here, and then what's it all for? I think
17:13
Megan Loehr: that's one of the reasons why I love doing the messaging and marketing so much, is because, like, I don't want it to stay just this great idea in your head. I want to get it out into the world. So it's this tangible, living, breathing thing that can then become your legacy, the thing you want to be remembered for, to like, actually do the thing and really spread your message. So I think your whole process is great, getting that clarity on the gift, the vision, beyond the vision, and then actually creating it. What does it look like, and cultivating it and catalyzing it into the world.
17:50
Megan Loehr: Because if you never get to that step, then it's just like, man.
17:53
Megan Loehr: It doesn't matter how great all those ideas were, because they're never like coming to fruition or actuality here. So okay, so then I feel like this is kind of a funny Next question. But also people are asking it is like, but how long does it take to reinvent yourself?
18:13
Unknown: Well, that depends. It could take years. It could take three months. It really depends on how focused you are on it.
18:21
Unknown: Hold on one second.
18:31
Unknown: Sorry, I have something in my throat all of a sudden. I don't know where that came from. So as far as the timeline for this, it could take years. It could also take months. It really depends on you. I think there's a couple of things that you want to look at. I think the reason why most people it takes a lot of people a very long time to do it is because they're not creating this space or a container to actually allow themselves to dream. And if you don't have that container, you and your life is busy, and you have all these responsibilities, and you have already have a business that you have to keep going because you need money, and all these other things are happening and coming at you. It's hard to actually create the boundaries in the space for that. And if you're very self disciplined, awesome, like you're gonna probably crush this really quickly. But in my experience, in speaking to people and supporting women through their reinvention, one of the things that would come up over and over again is like, I just want the accountability and the space in the container to be able to allow myself to think through this process, because I'm not doing it on my own, and I just start to default back to what I know, and so that's where it's really up to you, and it can be really fast. I mean, like a lot of people are really fast movers. Some people like to think about things more, and neither is right or wrong, because, like, some people are, I think the best pace, the best pace for most people, is probably you. Somewhere in the middle, right? Because you have enough time to think through it, and then also get your brand to catch up. And so what I like to recommend is just taking maybe a four to 12 week like time frame 90 days, is usually a good amount of time for something like this, and commit to actually just coming up with the idea, shaping the idea, developing the offers and all those things around it, and then the rest of the things will be easier, because you already know what you're going to be selling, creating and all those things.
20:35
Unknown: So the messaging and everything just kind of comes along with that after so if you can allow yourself that space of about a 90 day container, a lot can happen in 90 days. It's enough time to get a lot done, and it's also a short enough window that you're gonna move forward fast.
20:50
Unknown: Yeah,
20:53
Megan Loehr: and I think it will be easier than you think it is to find that space like I already I know we already feel that, like there is no blank space in our calendar. It's so hard to create margin, but also, like, what's the cost of not doing that? What's the cost of, you know, just letting it keep going on as it is, and you're getting increasingly, like, dissatisfied and just kind of, you know, what's the word there for? Just like, yeah, I guess, dissatisfied with where you're at, not that you're not proud of the success that you've had so far, but like, your next step is something maybe different. So my next question is, I'm wondering, so you have said you're 53 years old, has there been a difference, like similarities, differences, nuances between starting again, reinventing after 40 versus after 50?
21:45
Unknown: Oh gosh, yeah. So I've been through a couple of reconventions in my life. The first one was at 30. I got divorced, and also was starting a business right at that time, and like, learning how to be an entrepreneur, that was, like, interesting. Then my first reinvention was when my first business got wiped out in 2008 after the market crashed. And so that was really unexpected, and something that kind of I was forced to do it because I basically shut my first jewelry company down. Had to reinvent into a new jewelry business. And that was sort of at the the tipping point when I decided to start consulting and mentoring jewelry business owners. There's a longer story around that. I would say that at each stage, it was, it's easier when you're a little bit earlier, only from the sense of, I think as you get older, depending on your circumstances or excitement level about it, there's a lot of, at least for me, this is kind of what, what has been creeping up and from a lot of the interviews and and people that I've been supporting, things that have, people have said is there's a lot of judgment around like, am I going backwards to have to step back and, like, take the space in my business? Like, because there might be a time like if you're in a process of or a reinvention, season like this, where you it might feel a little bit like you're going backwards, because you might have to descale your company, you might have to step back a little bit.
23:35
Unknown: And this isn't for everyone, but some people might have to. And I think as that we get older, we have this judgment around ourselves, like, shouldn't I be further along right now? Or like, these things that come up, and so if those things are coming up for you, I can only share my experience. It's just to know that you're not alone.
23:56
Unknown: And so many people reinvent themselves, like after 50, and it's you're here to do big things, and the best day to start was yesterday. The second best day to start is now. I know that all of you have heard that saying before, but it's really the truth, and so let go of the judgment. You're in the right place. And if you're feeling a calling to step into something bigger, then go for it, because you literally have nothing to lose. And if it doesn't work, you can always do some like, reinvent yourself again. Like, you know that's that's the beauty of being a creative that's the beauty of being an entrepreneur, that's the beauty of having resilience. Because those are that, those are the skill sets and the muscles that we build as business owners to help us step into our next level. Yeah.
24:42
Megan Loehr: And when you say so, like, for sure, there is a lot of judgment that we feel when you feel like you have to stay step backwards to take this space or descale or this, shouldn't I be further along by now? Kind of a feeling. But let's clarify that judgment I feel like it's primarily self judgment. 100%
25:01
Unknown: it's all like, you know, I mean, this is, I can only share, like, what I'm going through, but I've also talked to a lot of people who are going through the same thing, and they part of the big thing is, like, especially when, because many of the women that I've interviewed are over 50, and one of the things that has been coming up for them, it's like, this big thing, like, shouldn't I. Me past this or further along, and it's, it's very hard, like, I've been an entrepreneur for 30 years, and it's hard to step back and be a beginner again.
25:32
Unknown: That's part of the my process has been, like, I needed, like, breathing room, so I ended up, like, deep, like, sizing my team down so I don't have as much support, which has been very challenging in a lot of different ways, because now I'm back doing things that I haven't done in years, and that's fine.
25:49
Unknown: It's part of the process. And at the same time, I know that this is just a season, and the faster I can get through the season, the more that I'm going to be like stepping into that bigger calling, right? And so part of this process in moving through into this next variation of me has been a deliberate descaling of my company, a deliberate like stepping back from my team, so that I have the space and the financial bandwidth to be able to think, because if I don't give myself that breathing room, or if I didn't give myself that breathing room, because I'm kind of on the other end of on the other end of that now, but like, it would have been really hard to make any changes, because I would have just been continuing in that people pleasing stage.
26:32
Unknown: And so the judgment is part of the process, but when you can understand that that judgment is just like, you know, your subconscious trying to keep you safe, then you're all good.
26:42
Unknown: Yeah, yeah. I mean, we all have it. It's like our subconscious is so powerful, right? Totally,
26:48
Megan Loehr: totally. That's one of the things that has, I think maybe surprised me the most, as a copywriter working for these multi, six and seven figure brands, is like, yeah, how much self judgment they have, or this expectation, like, I'm like, You're so successful. And they're like, I should be further along by now. I was like, wait, what? Um, but then also I feel like, from one perspective, it feels like crazy to, like, want to try and reinvent ourselves, but then I feel like, from a different perspective, it's like, Wait, it's kind of normal to reinvent yourself, like, you're not going to just stay the same person forever. And like, wouldn't that be weird if you were just like the same person for, you know, 2030, years,
27:28
Unknown: some people do stay the same, but I think that people who are growth oriented human beings, people who are here to do big things, people who have a story or a message to to share, people who are getting their art out into the world. You have to be a growth oriented human being in order to survive. And, you know, growth I feel like all business owners have to be growth oriented in some way. I mean, maybe they're not spiritually growth oriented.
27:53
Unknown: Maybe they're more like focused on learnings and, you know, understanding the numbers better and all that stuff, which is great, but running a business is one of the hardest things that anyone will ever do, and it's it like, just as soon as you think it's getting easy and you're coasting along, something happens, right? It's like we have a pandemic. Or, you know, there's like, I mean, this is awful, but there's like terrible fires burning in California right now, and it's like things, like apocalyptic things that you never think will happen, that creates inadvertent setbacks, or maybe it's a direct thing that happens to your business, like for me, the market crash, and I had shipped a ton of orders that I never got paid for. And when you have an inventory business, and you're paying for the materials 90 days in advance, before, and then you don't get paid for another 90 days, sometimes for those orders that are shipped, and then you never get paid. Like you're just in a cycle of like no one's like, you can't return from it, especially when your business is big, you know what I mean? So it, it can be it's challenging, because sometimes things happen that are completely out of your control, but that growth aspect to it, or that resilience that we have, and our ability to see these challenges, the opportunities for growth is, like, one of the things that makes us so special, all of us, like, who are in that who are in that bucket, right?
29:15
Unknown: Or in that boat,
29:16
Megan Loehr: yeah, yeah. Like you said, like, we are all going to face challenges that are inevitable or, like, out of your out of your control, and yeah, it's a growth opportunity. It's to practice your resilience and who you become. On the other side of that is just like you're gonna eventually be so grateful that that that suffering or that hardship now has made you who you are now so much stronger than you were before. So if we can end with one, like practical tip in light of our conversation today, like if they could implement something right now, like, what? What would you tell them,
29:55
Unknown: if you are in a stage of reinvention? What I would the first place that I would start is to ask yourself the question, and you may have heard this before, if time and money were no concern, like, what would you be doing now? Because that is the seed that's going to plant to start you on this process of understanding, like, What is the vision beyond the vision?
30:17
Megan Loehr: Yeah, that's so good that is one to definitely take a moment and. Turn along really deeply, because that can illuminate so so much awesome.
30:25
Megan Loehr: Well, thank you so much for such a good conversation. This is one that needs to be had that isn't talked about enough. So if our audience would like to connect with you more, where can we find you awesome?
30:38
Unknown: So I'm watching a new private podcast. It is called a reinvention season. So you can grab that over at Tracy matthews.com forward slash reinvention season. And if you want to find me on Instagram, you can find me over at Tracy Matthews, NY Perfect. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thanks for having me. You.