This Mompreneur Figured Out How to Have It ALL: And You Can Too!

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SPEAKER_01: The online business world is an exciting opportunity, and really it's there for anyone.

Truly, there's no glass ceiling, there's no barrier to entry, except, you know, some knowledge.

But even that can be found through books, through coaches, through courses.

I mean, even to think, you know, those the top courses are, you know,$2,000 or something.

It's like, what a what a bargain compared to the knowledge that's inside and the time and money that's going to save you figuring this stuff out on your own.

SPEAKER_00: Welcome to Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and I'm excited to welcome you inside.

This is the kind of place where your glass will never be anything other than half full because we choose to focus on the positive side of life.

Now, this doesn't mean that we shy away from the real talk.

No, not a chance.

Matter of fact, we explore all aspects of life.

From the good, the bad, and the ugly.

But all of that is done with one purpose.

One purpose.

To inspire you to never give up on life.

Even when it may seem like life has given up on you.

Now I get it.

Life is hard.

But starting today, you've got grit, grace, and inspiration.

What's going on and welcome back to the podcast.

My name is Kevin Lowe, your host, and today you are joining me for episode 141.

Today we are chilling out in the studio with Megan Myers, a woman on a mission.

Let me tell you what.

To have the career of my dreams.

To be able to be at home with my kids.

To be living the life that I want to live.

Well, today is a dose of inspiration for you.

Because Megan Myers has figured out how to have it all.

From NFL cheerleader to successful dance studio owner, to then realizing, you know what?

She wanted a family.

And she wanted to be at home with her children.

So she made transitions.

And she started her own home-based business.

Which has now blossomed into what she is doing today, where she's helping women, maybe just like you, who decide, you know what?

I want to be like Megan.

I want to start my own home-based business.

My own online business.

Where you have the freedom to be at home, to be your own boss, to be with your children when you want to be.

That's what Megan is helping people do.

And baby, let me tell you, Megan Myers is a woman on fire, and I'm excited to introduce you to her inside of today's episode.

Now, before I get to my conversation with Megan, I do have to give a shout out to our sponsor, Naked Warrior Recovery.

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Because as a sponsor of this podcast, Naked Warrior Recovery is offering you an exclusive 20% discount when you go shopping at their website.

So head on over to nw-recovery.com.

Again, that is nw-recovery.com.

Make it easy on yourself and just check out today's show notes where you can find that link.

And use the promo code LO.

That's L-O-W-E, all capital letters, and snag a sweet 20% discount.

So give it up to Naked Boy Recovery, a company devoted to helping out both your physical and mental health.

With that said, I hope you enjoyed today's episode with Megan and if nothing else.

I hope that today's episode gets you fired up and starting to think, hmm, maybe it's time that I have it all.

Megan Myers, welcome to the podcast.

SPEAKER_01: Thanks so much, Kevin.

Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_00: Oh, well, I'm thrilled to have you joining me today.

Where are you joining us from today on the podcast?

SPEAKER_01: I am Napa, California.

SPEAKER_00: All right, all right.

Well, awesome, awesome.

Well, Megan, thank you so much for taking the time to be on my show today and unpack a little bit of your story with my listeners.

And so I would love for us to kind of go back a little bit and work our way forwards.

Take us back to a time in your life when you were actually a cheerleader in the NFL.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

So, you know, I uh half a step before then, I had started dancing sort of late in life.

You know, I feel like meet a lot of dancers and they all, you know, started dancing when they were three years old.

And that really wasn't the case for me.

I started dancing really in high school, but I was on a very sort of intense competition program.

And, you know, after high school, just wasn't quite ready to give it up.

And I had my best friend with her older sister, was a raiderette for the Oakland Raiders.

And so I sort of had this influence in my life and thought, hmm, that looks like a lot of fun.

And so I auditioned and was an Oakland Raiderette for two seasons in my early 20s, and it was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

That I mean, what a cool way to kick off the 20s.

SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

Well, that's awesome.

That's awesome.

So so after that, I mean, is that what then led you continuing on this path with dance?

Because you would then go on to to open your own dance studio, correct?

SPEAKER_01: So I actually had my studio before I was a raider.

I started my studio when I was 18.

SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow.

SPEAKER_01: Yes, exactly.

You start started very, very early.

And I ironically, that same, you know, my my best friend's older sister sort of got me into that as well.

She was running an after school program, the Sheriff's Activities League of all places, and um sort of this at-risk youth type of a program.

And she said, you know, will you come in and and teach dance?

The girls really, really, they really want to learn how to dance.

And I, you know, at this time was 18.

I think I was just right out of high school, you know, just first year out of high school.

And I said, I don't know how to teach.

I mean, I've been dancing, you know, I love to dance, I'd been on this competition dance team, but I've never taught before.

And she said, Oh, don't worry about it.

Just they will have fun.

Just come in, do your best.

Like you can't go wrong.

And I did, and it was so much fun.

The girls had a blast, I had a blast.

And the way I got into actually, this that's the way I got into teaching, but I just so happened a local studio closed and I started getting calls from my parents saying, Oh, we hear you're teaching these dance classes at this after school program.

Can we bring, you know, our children in?

And I said, sure.

But these were not at-risk youth.

These were, you know, normal parents who had been paying for dance lessons.

So I I ended up charging them tuition and creating a couple extra classes to accommodate all these new dancers.

And this program and sort of business teaching dance kind of fell into my lap.

And a few months into it, the after-school program was like, Well, you got you're kind of running a little business here, Missy.

We're we're gonna start charging you rent.

Um, which they had every right to do.

But at the same time, that it was that turning point for me to sit and think, hmm, gosh, this is I am getting paid to teach dance.

Maybe I should, you know, turn this into an actual business.

And so I ended up finding a space to rent and ended up officially starting my studio.

So that was actually, you know, when I was 18, 19, and then so it was a few years of doing that before I then was like, you know, this is really fun teaching dance and dances in my life, but I I missed the performing aspect, I guess I should specify, which is what then inspired me to audition for the Ray to Rent.

So I was doing both at the same time.

I was teaching, I was um cheering for the Oakland Raiders for those couple of years, and you know, it was all dance all the time.

So it was a lot of fun.

SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.

Now, now this is coming from a guy who danced, and I I don't know one thing different from another.

When I hear though about cheerleading, I don't even think of that as like dance.

So talk to me about the how that kind of lends its hand to then you becoming a cheerleader.

SPEAKER_01: Sure.

So, you know, you're right.

When you when you hear cheerleading, it's that can be a lot of different things.

Depends on the team.

The Oakland Raiders, a lot of the NFL teams, they are dancers.

Now they're holding pom-poms, they're on the sidelines, cheering the team on and pumping up the crowd.

You know, it's a promotional gimmick, is why the NFL has cheerleaders.

It's eye candy, it's a friendly face.

You know, they use us to go, we'd walk through the parking lot and wave and meet and greet and take pictures with kids and fans.

And so it's it's a marketing tool for the NFL, which is why they have, but in terms of what the skill set you need to be an NFL cheerleader, you know, it's one part speaking skills.

You are going out into the community.

The teams want you to represent their organizations well.

So, you know, you can't be a total airhead idiot.

Helps if you're not, you know, you have to look a certain way.

The NFL cheerleaders, they there's a certain look.

So there's, you know, a physical look about you.

And then also, yes, they're all we're all dance teams.

So when we perform at, you know, before the games or at halftime, you know, we're putting on dance performances is the way we are.

So so yes, dance was very much a part of being an NFL cheerleader.

So that's that's how that all gets tied in together.

SPEAKER_00: Gotcha, gotcha.

Was it pretty grueling work?

I mean, for the training aspect of being a cheerleader.

SPEAKER_01: Yes, absolutely.

And I was used to it because in high school I was on a competition dance team.

So I was used to long, long hours.

And yes, it is physically taxing.

It's, you know, it's but you love it.

So it's not in a bad way.

It's in a good way, you know.

You you really enjoy it.

It's a fun thing.

But yes, and then certainly cheering for the NFL, same thing.

You know, I was commuting from Napa into, you know, the Bay Area.

So it's about an hour commute, you know, three, four days a week.

It was every Saturday morning at 7 a.m.

I had to be, you know, an hour away from my house at 7 a.m.

every Saturday morning.

You know, that's like the last place any 20-year-old wants to be on a Saturday morning for a three-hour practice, you know, rain or shine.

And yes, the the expectations are very high.

You have to, you know, keep your body in peak physical condition and your dancing, you're, you know, you're just the fitness level.

So you're also working out and keeping your body in peak condition outside of the dance training aspect of it.

But again, it's typically, you know, for me anyway, I I loved it.

So it was all fun.

And I was in my early 20s, and what the heck else did I have to do?

I didn't have any children yet.

I had no responsibilities really.

So, you know, it was it was great for that time of my life.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that that's amazing.

That's my what had you finally deciding to leave?

You said you you did it for two seasons.

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

For for me, it was that was enough.

You know, some some women stay, I mean, that there's some of them were like 10 years.

So I mean, some women do it for a long time and it really becomes like a career for them, and it's something and they get really involved with the organization, and and I think that's wonderful.

For me, my my dance studio really was calling me.

So for two seasons, that was fine to sort of do the commute, do both things.

But then I sort of felt like I had, after two seasons, you know, checked everything off my my bucket list.

I was honored, I got to be, you know, captain my second season, and I was voted Raider Ed of the Year, which means I got to represent the Oakland Raiders at the Pro Bowl in Hawaii.

Um so yeah, so after two seasons, I kind of came, saw, and conquered and felt like, all right, bucket list complete in that department and wanted to just get back to growing my my dance studio, my business.

So yeah, that was that's what it was for me.

SPEAKER_00: Okay, well that I mean, I think that's really awesome, really.

So so you still have the dance studio.

So now, how long did you continue on with the dance studio?

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

So I had my dance studio for 14 years.

Wow.

Um yeah, so a decent amount of time.

It you know, I'm only 38 now and I've been out of my studio for seven years.

We'll get to that part of the story, but it's hard to believe at 38, I've already like had multiple businesses for like over a decade.

I know I've been in business over 20 years now, or just hit my 20-year anniversary of being an entrepreneur.

But, you know, I guess that's what happens when you, you know, start uh when you're literally, you know, a baby practically, right?

So yeah, for 14 years and really was doing two simultaneous paths.

I was on one hand running a dance studio and learning how to be a better teacher and educator and very much immersed in, you know, the dance industry and industry seminars and industry trainings and all of that.

And I developing my staffs over that time, I went from a being a one-woman show to eventually, you know, a 7,000 square foot facility when we had hundreds of students, multiple dance rooms, a staff of 10.

But simultaneously, I was immersed in found a passion for sales and marketing.

So, you know, it started off as a necessity.

You know, you have a business, now you need to, you know, you want more customers to enter the need to learn how to sell stuff and you know, learn how to market your business, but I really found a passion for that.

So I really went above and beyond.

So in addition to being immersed in becoming the best dance teacher I could be, you really became the best marketer and salesperson and business person I could be as well.

So I sort of had these two tracks going on during those 14 years, which really contributed to the growth and success of the dance studio.

SPEAKER_00: Wow.

Well, I mean, Megan, that's really phenomenal.

I mean, that's I mean, talk about an accomplishment.

And I mean, especially, I mean, you didn't do any like type of college, you know, business degree or anything like that, did you?

SPEAKER_01: I did actually.

Uh at the same time, I know.

I don't know where I had all this time and energy from.

It, I do look back and like, wow, that's that's the power of being 20 right there.

So when I first opened my studio, I was at the our Napa Junior College here, is where I started off because I did not, my first choice was UC Berkeley, and I did not get into UC Berkeley straight out of high school, despite having over 4.0, all these extracurriculars, you know, senior class vice president, and I still did not get my first choice school.

And so I was not willing to accept going anywhere else.

And so I went to my Napa Junior College for the first two years, and I tried to get into Berkeley again, and then I was accepted.

So I did end up going to the Haw School of Business to get my degree in business.

But I will say I fabulous experience, but there's nothing like in the trenches.

Uh so I I I really don't sorry, UC Berkeley, I don't attribute much of my education there to any of my actual in, you know, business experience.

It was all very, you know, they're they're they're training future corporate types, and you know, we're working with million-dollar budgets in the marketing class.

And in the real world, I had to like, okay, I have a hundred dollars.

How can I turn that into a new student?

And so it was really reading books, which are free at the library, is really where I learned how to market and grow my business and turn$100 into millions of dollars.

So yes.

So I did have the degree, but I don't know how much it helped me, you know.

SPEAKER_00: Yes, of course, of course.

Well, I mean, I think I think that's though, I think that's a story for so many.

I mean, is is school altogether, I mean, it makes us very knowledgeable.

But as far as practical, you know, pieces of of learning that we can actually apply to the life that most of us are living, it takes just being in the trenches.

In the you know.

SPEAKER_01: And I will say there's something to be said for signing up for something, doing the work, reading the books, memorizing it, regurgitating it, and forcing yourself to complete it.

So I I think there there is that like piece of of college that was a benefit to me, you know, and I was able to then apply that to running my own business because being an entrepreneur is damn hard.

And there, you know, you will be tested.

And so I do think, you know, that is the one thing I will say that dance and even just like a break, you know, the college experience, not to poo-poo it too much, it does force you to power through and you know, and do the hard stuff to complete it and and then to move on to something else.

So, you know, that that is something I will say.

SPEAKER_00: Okay.

Well, well, well wonderful, wonderful.

So now during all this, if if if we don't have enough, we have dance studio, amazing just thriving business, we have college.

But then you also became a mother during this whole same period in your life?

SPEAKER_01: Sort of, yeah.

So uh in around year 14 of having my studio.

So I had a long career of being a uh a proud workaholic, like I said, in my 20s, um, you know, and then into my early 30s, just running my business, obsessed with my business.

I mean, really just never taking any time off.

But to me, I mean, I I believe in setting up a life that you love, and so you don't need a vacation when you love your everyday life.

So, I mean, I was a proud workaholic, but again, I I wasn't digging ditches, I was teaching dance, you know, and running a studio and producing recitals, and it's it's fun, creative work, and happy kids are coming in, and you're truly changing people's lives with dance.

And it's just a very positive, high vibe thing to be doing.

So, but that being said, it was 24-7.

I never took time off, I never took a vacation, I never took a day off.

I just was working, working all the time and always trying to grow my business, improve my business, improve myself.

And then along comes my, you know, first child in 2015.

And I had some mothers warn me that, you know, your priorities might change a little bit.

And I said, I totally, you know, uh blew off their advice and to myself, you know, I'm sure I was gracious with a smile on my face.

Thank you.

But in my head, I was like, oh, that is so old fashioned.

I would never change.

I love to work, I love my career, I love my business.

Like some baby is not gonna change that.

And, you know, I could not have been more wrong.

The second that child was there, my son, I wanted, you know, I was no longer willing to devote 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to my business and my customers.

You know, I feel like it's like when that fur baby is your everything, and then you have a real child, and now that's you love it, but okay, it's a dog.

It's not the same thing.

That's kind of how I was with my business.

And it was like, I love it, but you're not my child.

And now I really did want to just my life did revolve around taking care of this child.

I wanted to be home more.

I wanted more freedom and flexibility to now step into this new season of being a mom.

And not that my child needed me there 24-7, but it was like for me, I wanted to be the mom I wanted to be.

And so my priorities did absolutely change.

And so that's you know, sort of what led me to look for how can I free up some of my time?

How can I simplify my business without giving up my business?

Because it is a big part of my identity.

It is it was our family's sole source of income.

My husband and I were high school sweethearts, but at this point we had been running the studio together.

So it was literally our sole source of income.

Just closing up shop wasn't really even an option.

So that's what set me down the path of okay, how can I be home more, but not give up the income and not give up the business?

So yes, that's that was that turning point.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, okay.

I love that.

So what did you end up deciding to do?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

So you know, this is the the next chapter, business number two.

So I had developed, I I told you I'd, you know, run my studio, and during these 14 years, I've been obsessed with, you know, the dance side, but equally obsessed with the sales and marketing side.

And so a few years back, so about maybe five or six years prior to my having my son, I took all my sales and marketing experience and love of dance, and just now I had, you know, had owned my studio 10 years at that point and just sat down and thought, how can I make just the world's greatest dance program from a systems standpoint, from a marketing standpoint, from a What would the kids love?

What would the parents love?

And I created this program called the Princess Ballerinas Dance Program.

And that name is very on the nose and it's on purpose.

And that is exactly what every little three, four, five-year-old little girl wants to be.

Why fight it?

Let's just slap that name on this puppy.

They love being Princess Ballerinas.

And I created this program that was just what I consider my Mona Lisa.

You know, it's that sales, it's marketing, it's it's systems, it's it's organized, but it's a magical experience for the students.

Everything is imaginary-based, it's story-based.

We do themed music and themed props, and the parents love it because I believe in rolling out the red carpet for customers and just treating everybody like, you know, a celebrity, a, you know, royalty, and just making everything so beautifully choreographed for them and just totally subjugating myself and making, you know, it all about the customer.

And so that's what this program was.

So when it came to now I have my son, I'm like, hmm, how can I simplify my business?

Right now we are doing, you know, everything from adult Zumba to competition dance teams, and we've got all these programs and all these things.

And but I had this Princess Ballerina dance program, which was very profitable, very marketable, very easy to run.

I had lesson plans, I had playlists, and everyone loved it.

Word of mouth, you know, it was just obviously very naturally built in because it was such a fabulous experience.

And so it had been built that way.

That was not an accident.

It was very much by design.

And so I said, okay, let me take this program.

I've created this like basically franchisable prototype that I've been doing now for five years.

Why don't I just open up multiple Princess Ballerina locations?

Because I couldn't get out of brick and mortar thinking.

That was to me the only way a dance studio grows is to open more locations.

But I thought it would be a simplification to just do one thing and I could leverage my staff and you know send them off to all these different locations.

So that was my idea of simplifying, quote unquote, even though looking back, that would have been a nightmare.

That would not have been simplification at all.

So I hired a consultant to help me with this multiple locations plan I had for my Princess Ballerina dance program.

And on our first discovery call, she said, Well, why don't you just package it up and share it with other dance studios?

SPEAKER_02: And it was like, Yeah, that's brilliant.

SPEAKER_01: Like I mean, I loved it, but at the same time, it was like, wait, I can I could do that.

And it was like having someone reflect back, and she didn't flinch.

She wasn't sort of like chuckling as she said it, like she was serious.

Here's this person who seems to think I could do this.

And you know, that just gave me that confidence of like, well, that's a brilliant idea.

And if this person thinks I could do this, maybe I could.

And so that's exactly what I did.

Once that idea was planted, that seed was planted in my mind, there was no turning back.

That was absolutely the answer to my problem.

You know, I could have the business, but I could do this from home, you know, and and so that's exactly what it was.

So now it was just I had to figure out how to do it.

Now, this consultant, she was specifically a dance studio consultant.

So she was great with planting the seed and kind of, you know, initially helping me, but I really had to sort of now dive into like learning the online world and business world and information products and like how does this work?

But dive in, I did.

And six months later, I ran a simple ad sharing a sample of one of my lesson plans.

And I spent about 500 bucks and I had about 1,400 downloads from dance studio owners and dance teachers around the world download a sample.

And I sort of freaked out that that to me, coming, you know, I'm a little local dance studio owner here.

I have no pedigree, I have no dance degree, I have no idea.

I really have no business going out into the world of sharing this, you know, this is what I'm thinking at the time.

And now 1,400 people are gonna be looking at this thing, and oh, you know, here I am.

So freaking out, turned off the ad, but I'm so desperate to make this jump to like, you know, pull back from my brick and mortar studio at this point that I, you know, have to power through anyway.

Like fear cannot hold me back.

It's like I have I my desire is far outweighing my imposter syndrome and fear and not having a clue of what I'm doing.

And I'm so grateful it did because what what I ended up doing, I simply asked them for feedback.

I was very humble.

I truly had no idea what the reaction would be.

They could have all very well said, This is this is garbage.

We hate your idea.

You know, I mean, like probably no one would have said it in that way.

These are these are educators themselves.

But not only did they not say that, I had, you know, just an outpouring of positive feedback about, you know, how creative it was and how much, you know, time it's going to save them.

And they love that they could just share it with their instructors.

And so I kind of just just natural unfolding.

I said, I have 36 of these monthly lesson plan themes.

If you'd like, I could send you one a month.

You know, I'm gonna charge$47 a month.

And I had about 140 dance studio owners sign up within the first 30 days.

So here I am making that's like six grand a month, which is uh the same as I was making running my entire studio with a staff of 10 and a 7,000 square foot facility and$7,000 a month in overhead and$20,000 a month in payroll and you know, this whole huge just beast of a brick and mortar business.

And here, instantly, within 30 days, I have no overhead, no staff, no inventory, and I'm making the same amount of money, sending out one lesson plan to new subscribers.

So clearly I fell in love quickly with this new business.

SPEAKER_00: Yes, it goes without saying.

Yes.

Wow.

I mean, what what though like some amazing, like valuable life lessons.

And the the one that I kept thinking of as you're sharing this story is not being afraid to put something out there.

Because we never know unless we try.

SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.

Exactly.

Absolutely.

And and I think for me, I can't say, oh, I just powered through the fear.

It was just literally I the desire.

And so I think it it I think that goes with being an entrepreneur in general.

You have to like have such a passion for what you're doing, or in the case of you know, creating any business, online, brick and mortar, service, whatever it is you're doing, it's like that desire really need it's so it's it's such a shortcut to like have this passion and desire and driving you through these obstacles, whether these are uh exterior obstacles you have to overcome, like oh, I have to figure out how to do this, right?

I have to figure out how to create a podcast, I have to figure out how to start an online business, whatever that is for people listening, right?

We're all having to figure things out for the next thing we're going to do.

We don't know what we're doing.

Hence that's what makes it new.

But secondly, there's so many internal obstacles you have to overcome as an entrepreneur, right?

And I think that's, you know, that's sort of the the larger discussion and the benefit of entrepreneurship is overcome those things you do and become a you know bigger, badder, bolder version of yourself in the process.

But yeah, so I think having that passion driving you or that desire, you know, for when I had my dance studio, that passion was what drove me through 14 years of obstacles.

It was really a passion-filled business.

I really loved it.

And so I was willing to figure out the sales and marketing side.

I was willing to figure out just the the you know, staff issues and systems issues and you know, dealing with people issues, right?

Yeah and then and then in the online space, it was a lot of yeah, the internal stuff I find for me and now coaching other people to do this same thing.

It's a lot of the imposter syndrome, it's a lot of mental blocks in overcoming that.

That's that's the challenge.

SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely, absolutely.

What do you think when when you when you look back at it, what do you feel like was the huge success to it?

Because I mean, there's there's many people out there who launch online programs, memberships, and they don't have the type of success that you had.

Do you look back now and see anything that you did or anything that was unique about your program that made it have the success that it has?

SPEAKER_01: You know, I think it was a few factors.

And some of these things I appreciate now more than ever.

It's I think some things I maybe took a little for granted, and now that I am helping others down this path, I'm like, oh, it's sometimes a little slower for other people.

SPEAKER_02: Just like that.

SPEAKER_01: And that's okay.

So one thing I think I dismiss, you know, I a lot of times my story just starts with I ran an ad for and it had 1,400 people.

There was a 14-year story that was before that.

SPEAKER_02: Yes.

SPEAKER_01: I had a lot of up and ups and downs with my brick and mortar studio.

I had a lot of just challenges figuring things out, a lot of debt I took on to, you know, making mistakes and taking on space when I shouldn't have.

And sometimes, you know, I would take on the space and acquire, you know, we'd have to keep it running before I learned the marketing to bring in the students for the so there were a lot of things I did there.

So there were a lot of there was a whole story and a whole life experience that went into even being able to create this thing that had value, you know, it was sort of like it had been forged in these 14 years of blood, sweat, tears, fire, you know, to even have created the thing that then I was going to go out to the world to share with others.

Now I think most people have that actually, and that I think is the challenge.

Like if you're in your 30s, 40s, 50s, you have 30s, 40 or 50 years of experience doing something, whether that's a professional experience, whether whether that's just life experience.

And so I think not discounting that and like that is such this leverage point of value for you to then bring to others if you are interested in starting a business or even moving into an online space if you've been doing something sort of locally, you know, this, you know, the online world is like this amplifier.

But I think it's definitely helpful if you can have something that's truly a value that you're bringing forward.

But I think everyone has that.

It's finding what that is.

So, you know, what are these value points?

It's it's like where that incredible amount of experience is that maybe you don't see because it's just you've been doing it, so you don't really recognize it.

Like me and my marketing experience, I I didn't realize until I started teaching other people, like, oh, other people don't obsess about sales and marketing, but for fun.

Hmm, interesting.

I thought I thought we all did that.

It's like, oh, okay, that's something I bring to the table that not everyone does, you know, but you just it's so second nature to you.

And so I think, you know, those couple things like is were a big part of the success.

I also think, you know, there was a little bit of just luck in the timing of it and bringing something, you know.

If it had taken me six months, would I have been happy with this has been as good of a story?

Of course.

You know, there was probably some luck involved, obviously, with it happening within 30 days versus six months or a year.

But if it had taken six months or a year, it still would have been worth it.

So I think those two things, really having something to value that I had taken a long time to create.

Yeah, taking really have spending all that time in studying sales and marketing.

So I think if you haven't been obsessing about sales and marketing, then it's okay that maybe you don't have the same skill set.

You can, but these things can all be learned.

So I guess that's my other point.

For me, I think that was a success trigger.

Clearly, I I mean, how could it not have been?

But, you know, to anyone listening, those things can be learned.

That's why I think it's so valuable to take a course, you know, join a membership, hire a mentor, hire a coach.

I always have these, I do all of these things.

I the read the books, but I still buy the courses, and I still typically have a coach I'm working with, right?

So it's just these things are they're success triggers and they shave off the timeline of figuring out and reinventing the wheel all by yourself.

SPEAKER_00: Exactly.

Exactly.

Now, how long ago was it that you launched the online business, this this whole program?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I just am coming up on seven years.

So seven years ago is when I first ran that ad.

And wouldn't you know it, I'm still running that same ad right now as we speak, Kevin.

What worked seven years ago still works now.

You know, I know there's a lot of like, oh, the algorithms have changed and Facebook ads aren't what they used to be.

And, you know, yes, I think they're a little bit more expensive, but you know, my marketing strategies and my marketing just beliefs are so foundational.

It's so just people to people.

And it's like my, you know, sales funnel for Princess Ballerinas is I literally, it's like I call it, it's like the Costco model, right?

I'm like, here, would you like a free sample of teriyaki chicken?

Oh, you like the teriyaki chicken?

SPEAKER_02: Here's a whole box.

SPEAKER_01: It's it's a very simple way of working with other humans, right?

Like we're all humans.

SPEAKER_00: Yep.

SPEAKER_01: Communicating with other humans.

Let's not forget that.

And so, you know, how I launched seven years ago was offering a free sample and then saying, hey, you like that?

You want some more?

Here you go.

And some people say yes, please.

Some people say, maybe later.

And some people say, No.

I like I'll puke if I have to eat that teriyaki chicken, right?

And like all of it's okay.

It's I'm just looking for the yeses and the maybes, and you'll sign up in six months.

That's okay too.

And so that same, of course, that still works now.

Yeah you know, it's it's just human nature.

It's just making friends.

That's just you start with coffee and then you go out to dinner, and maybe later on, if it works out, you get married.

So it's it's all the same stuff.

SPEAKER_00: I I do.

I love that.

And I love that whole mindset towards marketing online and an online business of stop thinking of it as two different things and incorporate the human element into your marketing online.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

It's people helping people.

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.

So so I asked you about how long ago it was, because really you were basically a trendsetter going into the fact of, you know, into 2020, you were already in the online space.

You were ahead of the curve.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

I I mean, I guess so.

You know, it's like I feel like, and that's what's so funny.

I, you know, it was it didn't feel like I was a trendsetter in 2015.

I mean, obviously the internet had been around, online businesses had been around for a long time.

So it's so funny.

It's yeah, and if you started tomorrow, you know, in 10 years, it's gonna you you're gonna feel like you were a trendsetter, you know, because it just moves so fast.

But so yes, I mean, I I can't, I will I would be lying if I didn't say I'm glad I did not have my brick and mortar studio still through the pandemic.

Um definitely, you know, I as serving these customers, you know, I have obviously all dance studio owners are my customer base.

It's certainly an industry like a lot of brick and mortars that were highly impacted by being closed for months, if not a year.

I mean, I would say this year is like the first year that, you know, this this is the time of year dance studios are all doing their year-end recitals, and it's like this is the first year they're finally doing a quote unquote regular recital, you know, it's like with everybody at the theater and no masks and the kids backstage.

So, you know, that's it's been a long time, and it's definitely been a road coming back for this industry, and and it's there's still, you know, a ways to go.

But yes, for me, I still had my business was all online, and I certainly lost a lot.

So that's sort of what is interesting and what moved me into, you know, sort of my third business I also have now, which we will yander into.

So Princess Balleries, I mean, it's a fabulous business, and you know, we've been talking a lot about the business side, but truly it's it's been very rewarding to me to share my ideas and to know.

I mean, we've had over I've had, I say we, I say it's it's me.

It's just me.

I'm a solopreneur.

No ivory tower here.

I sit in my home office.

I have shared my program with over 2,000 dance studio owners around the world in 10 different countries.

Typically they have, you know, they might be a sole proprietor, but a lot of them have, you know, staff of, you know, five, six to ten teachers.

And together we've shared the dance program with, I mean, tens of thousands of children around the world, which is just, you know, so rewarding to think about the impact of that.

So, you know, I we didn't get to this part of my story, but you know, technically dance changed my life way back when, before I started dancing, dance absolutely changed my life and transformed my life.

I was very painfully shy, and it was dance that really just helped me develop confidence and and just get out of my own head and get into my body and realize that, oh wow, I control my destiny and you know, and then my you know, sort of life took off from then.

So it's very fulfilling for me with you know, Princess Ballerina's it is for young children.

So to me, I see it as this yes, we're, you know, marketing this shiny, sparkly, you know, nugget of an activity, but I know the deeper meaning of it is when kids come in, they're gonna get, you know, they get bitten by that bug of dance.

And now if they stick with it for five years, ten years, fifteen years, they will be transformed as a person.

And just they could not have a better foundation of self-confidence and just inner knowing and inner direction and to go out into the world as a young woman.

So to me, I know that's what we're really doing, as well as, you know, I I don't take it lightly, the Princess Ballerina dance program, it's a moneymaker for studios.

So and the dance studio industry is 99.9% women-owned.

They're employing women instructors.

And so to be able to help these women, you know, add a profit stream, you know, some of the top studios in bigger areas outside of, you know, Chicago, Nashville, they've got a couple hundred Princess Ballerinas in their studios.

So they're bringing in an extra $100,000 to$200,000 a year in revenue to their studio with the program.

So, you know, that's incredibly fulfilling as well.

But so as amazing as I, as all of this was with the pandemic, there was a lull for me, just obviously I wasn't bringing in new members.

So it was just kind of a a plateau for a for a couple years, which is a great time.

I think for all of us, it's been this time of self-reflection, right?

And pot you know, and exploring some new things.

And so I've been ex I've always been asked, you know, how did you start your online business?

And can you help me start an online business?

And I've always sort of shied away from it.

But I think there was this opportunity with this lull of running my Princess Ballerina dance program business.

I had an acquaintance reach out to me specifically a year ago and ask me, and I told her the same thing I normally do.

I sort of referred her to some books and said, Oh, I just do it, I don't teach it.

And but she was persistent.

And so I finally said, okay, I got on the phone with her and just let me see what she's looking for.

And we totally clicked, we had a great conversation.

And it was at that time I saw these past seven years of running my online business that that knowledge gap of like, here's this woman, she's brilliant at her thing, but she has no idea how to package it, how to get it in front of the people who need it.

And I could see clear as day.

I knew how she needed to brand it, I knew how it needed to be packaged, I knew how she needed to market it, how she could get it in front of people.

And so I said, like, let, you know, let's do this.

And it was a great experience.

And so that's where I was like, I'm I would like to do more of this.

And so that's what inspired what I'm doing now, which is the Shine Online Network.

So still have my Princess Ballerina's business, greatest business in the world, but I'm also now helping other women to create their fun and easy lifestyle-based online business.

SPEAKER_00: Wow, wow, wow.

This is just phenomenal.

And what's phenomenal about it is not only just, I mean, when we look at just the big picture and like, oh my gosh, the tremendous success that you've had.

But when we look at the deeper meaning behind all of this and going back to not only helping dance studios around the world with their business, but then that's helping all the little girls who are coming in, who are just like you, who dance is impacting their lives, and now on a totally different spectrum, you're helping other women who are just like you in the online space.

SPEAKER_01: I know.

Isn't it so cool?

I know.

It's it's a miracle, and not a day that goes by.

I don't appreciate that.

I I it's I feel like a steward of these things.

I'm just a vessel, and this amazing, you know, opportunity and opportunities flow through me.

I know.

It's a miracle.

SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's like it's like it's like the Megan Myers Santa Claus, you know.

SPEAKER_01: It's true.

It's true.

SPEAKER_00: Well, that's amazing.

That's amazing.

So now helping other women with with their online businesses, that is something that really ramped up, I assume, after like with the pandemic when when a lot of people were looking at going online.

SPEAKER_01: You know, yeah.

So that's that's sort of w ha still happening now, you know.

I think as we just discussed, the the pandemic was this point of great change for a lot of people, uh a pause.

A chance to s, you know, hit reset and really consider do I want to go back to that commute?

Do I really want to spend, you know, 60, 80 hours a week at my job and not being around my kids and family or, you know, not traveling, not doing whatever it is.

You know, everyone has their different life experience that they're looking to, you know, live their best life, so to speak.

And I think that's still going on now, you know, is you know, the the term the great resignation, right?

So people aren't willing to do it.

So I think it's it's been going on and it's going to continue to go on because, you know, being able to work from home and the internet is such a miracle.

It is this amplifier with technology, it's this simplifier.

I mean, how else could you explain just what I'm doing?

And there's millions of people doing this too, right?

I mean, it's like a solopreneur, but there are no limits on me between the internet and between technology.

I there's nothing, there's there's no limits on what I can accomplish.

And I should note that I'm doing all of this very, very, very part-time because my priority is being the mom I want to be.

My son is seven now, but I have a 16-month-old daughter right now.

So I'm back in baby mode, very much, you know, chasing her around.

Uh, my husband and I are, you know, call it Death Watch 2022 right now because it's she's not hanging off the couch.

She's, you know, swallowing her brother's Legos or, you know, shoveling sand into her mouth endlessly.

So we're very much back in that.

So it's not like I am just never leaving my computer.

My Facebook ads run behind the scenes while I'm living my life.

You know, the studio owners, they get my email follow-up introducing them to the program and what it costs and how they can get involved.

And if they like it, they can click a button and they sign up.

And then every month they'll get a new lesson plan.

And it's like all of this is happening on a global scale, and I'm being a mom at home and I'm folding laundry, you know.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.

SPEAKER_01: So, you know, for for a lot of people, of course, that's clearly very attractive.

And I think, you know, the secret's out.

The online business world is is an exciting opportunity, and really it's there for anyone.

It truly there's no glass ceiling, there's no barrier to entry, except, you know, some knowledge.

But even that can be found through books, through coaches, through courses.

I mean, even to think, you know, those the top courses are, you know,$2,000 or something.

It's like, what a what a bargain compared to the knowledge that's inside and the time and money that's going to save you figuring this stuff out on your own.

So it truly can be all had for pennies if you ask us.

SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Well, that's a beautiful segue into I know there's actually an amazing resource of a book for this very topic.

Would you love to uh talk to me a little bit about that?

Because um, you know, you've explored now becoming an author.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

So I uh once I made this switch into, you know, launching my Shine Online Network program and coaching program, and you know, I wrote a book at the same time.

It just all was sitting there.

You know, that first call with that acquaintance really just everything had been there.

It's like had been under my nose the entire time.

And then one of that switch flipped, it flipped.

And, you know, apparently that's just how I do things.

And so, yes, the book just it's a it's a short book, so it's not the great American novel.

It's not, you know, a thousand pages long, it's a quick read, but it poured out of me.

So it's it was simple to write and really just it's the framework.

Cause I do think when people understand how a simple online business like my Princess Ballerina Dance program works, when they see the high like 30,000 foot overview, it becomes a whole lot more believable.

It's like, oh, that's all you're doing.

And they you can see it's like, oh, the Costco sample thing.

You can see then how it would work, you know, and like that's a sales funnel.

It's that Costco teriyaki chicken.

Here would you like a free sample?

You like it, here's the whole box.

And then people connect those dots, and then they're when that basic understanding is there, I find it becomes their their mind opens up and then that it feels a lot more believable to them that it's not just, you know, people selling snake oil.

Oh, start your own online business, make money while you sleep.

You know, it's not that.

And when you see the overview of how it works, you it creates that belief, and then people are a little more willing to entertain it for them.

Because of course, everyone loves the idea of making money while they're asleep or making money from home and having this automated online business.

Like everyone uh loves that, but I think in order to take the next step to move towards it, you have to believe that it's truly possible.

You have to a little bit understand how it could work.

And then you also have to understand, you know, how it could work for you.

So the my book also just starts taking people down that journey of let's explore for you, you know, where is your passion, where is your expertise?

And then where does that maybe intersect with what people might want?

And like everybody has this, Kevin.

It's like if you have the interest of starting an online business, obviously not everyone does for some reason, but they don't.

But if you do, you know, everyone has this skill set or this passion base or experience.

And then there is that intersection with, you know, the greater world and needs of it.

And so exploring that and like that that intersection is the opportunity for you to create simple digital products.

You know, I mean, I I'm all for any entrepreneurship in any form, but you know, certainly the past seven years, I've fallen extra in love with digital products versus, you know, brick and mortar's great.

I think I think for me, it's just it being in this season of my life.

I'm very much in in love with the digital products and the automation.

You know, perhaps when my children are older, I will be opening a bed and breakfast or a coffee shop and I'll be back down there every day, you know, in the trenches again.

Who knows?

So for now, I may very well be speaking from just the season of my life.

But, you know, and then but being able to create, you know, Shine Online is specifically about creating online products, digital products.

But yeah, whatever that is for someone, it can be an ebook, it can be courses, it can be, you know, membership, you know, it could take so many different forms.

So that's that's really what the book is is showing that overview, making it very accessible and educating just the total newbie who's new to all of this, and then exploring for the reader, you know, how how could this what could this look like for you?

Like let's let's a little bit of a a coaching, coaching experience in a book.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I love it.

I love it.

Well, well, Megan, where can somebody find your book?

Find out more about all that you have to offer.

Where's the where's the best place for us to send them?

SPEAKER_01: Yeah.

So, I mean, the book is on Amazon.

It's called Shine Online.

And or if you come to the website, it's the other best place to find me, shineonline network.com.

Anyone who's interested can actually download the first chapter for free and check it out.

So that can be another great place to get started.

SPEAKER_00: Another teriyaki chicken sample.

SPEAKER_01: Another teriyaki chicken sample.

unknown: That's right.

SPEAKER_00: I love it.

I love it.

Megan, you're absolutely amazing.

You're such a you're such just a ray of sunshine, and you're such this reminder of something that I read about you, of this idea that we really can have it all.

SPEAKER_01: Yes.

Well, thank you, Kevin.

I truly believe it.

I absolutely believe you can have it all, whatever that means for you, right?

I mean, that can mean so many different things to so many different people.

For me, it's been that combination of having the business, having the impact, and conceding nothing to be, you know, the 1950s stay-at-home mom I want to be as well.

I concede nothing in any area.

SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.

Absolutely.

Well, well, Megan, thank you so much for taking the time out of your busy day to be here on the podcast.

I want to thank you so much and just really appreciate it.

SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Kevin.

It has been an absolute pleasure.

SPEAKER_00: Ah, wonderful.

Well, thank you.

Well, for you listening today, oh man, I hope that you've been able to take something said by Megan and turn it around and look yourself in the mirror and realize, you know what?

What do I really want out of life?

And maybe I can put something that I heard here on this podcast today to action in my own life.

And maybe that is picking up a copy of Megan's book, or maybe it's just really starting to get clear on what your dreams are, and then take action on it.

Hey, real quick before you go, I have one last thought to leave you with.

I of course hope that you've enjoyed today's episode, but more importantly, I want to remind you that I never want you to listen to an episode of this podcast to hear something that I have to say or that my guest has to share, and think Wow, I wish I could be like them.

I wish I could overcome my own challenges and do the great things that they are doing, but I just can't.

Well, friend, that's where you are wrong.

You are capable, you are able, and you darn sure are deserving of having all that you can imagine in this life.

There's nothing special about me or any guests I have on this podcast.

We are all just normal people trying to make it in this life.

And so I encourage you to take a look at yourself in the mirror and remind yourself that you know what?

I can do it too.

Now, of course, if you would like help along that way, reach out to me.

Whether that's as a listener of this podcast, a friend, or if you'd like to work with me as a coach.

My contact information is inside of every episode's show notes, just like this one.

So go down, check out my contact information, and reach out to me today.

With that said, I encourage you to take on the day every day with great grace and inspiration.