Do you have a great BIG dream? The one that captures your heart and imagination but you’re not sure where to start? Are you willing to leave everything to make it happen? From the warmth and order of the Austin tech startup scenes to frigid Michigan winters rescuing animals, get ready for your heart to be moooved by Kelly Holt of Animal Planet’s Saved by the Barn.
Big on Small, The Official Small Business Podcast, explores the big ideas that are helping small organizations survive and thrive. Hosts Karolyn Hart and Samantha Castro interview the inspiring people who are running small businesses, agencies, towns, charities, schools and teams. Here's why we're so excited about sharing our second episode with you!
Our second Big on Small episode is definitely close to home, or should we say the barn? We’re chatting with Kelly Holt, the Executive Director of Barn Sanctuary and cast member of Animal Planet’s Saved By the Barn. Kelly’s journey to leading a rapidly growing farm animal rescue started in the most unlikely of places - magazine publishing that ultimately focused on the tech startup world and even led to her working with InspireHUB.
Out of a world hyper-focused on perfection, Kelly shares how embracing ANTI-Perfectionism led her to find her own freedom and success. The same principles that she uses in helping to rescue and care for animals are found in building a successful organization. From creating healthy boundaries around understanding the clear divide between identity and our work to practising kindness over failures, whether it’s you or your team, this episode will definitely get you ‘moo-tivated’! Here's a taste:
“I think in every type of interaction, the stress that we put on ourselves to be the perfect whatever we’re being at that moment, it really doesn’t make for valuable conversations, it doesn’t make for good human connections, it doesn’t make for good leadership. It creates a problem where there doesn’t need to be one when we strive to be perfect instead of honest and good. I think it’s just the wrong value to put at the forefront if you’re trying to do something powerful, if you’re trying to make a positive impact" -- Kelly Holt.
Kelly also unpacks the challenge of rapid success and the need to navigate customer relationships while you're still learning and growing.
“It can be really stressful for people who are on learning curves to feel the weight of the responsibility that's growing every day. And trying to keep up with just doing the best that we can sometimes is enough and not striving to be perfect.
She goes on to explain how choosing radical transparency not only builds loyalty and trust, but gives you space to choose a healthier and more authentic path forward.
Kelly came to us through Dan McKernan. If you know about Barn Sanctuary, you know Dan as it’s Founder, but before that, he was InspireHUB's third employee! And his impact went much deeper than his technical contributions as a developer shaping our company. He had a profound influence on us as people, and that started with a conversation with Kelly. Have a listen to learn more about the seeds these two planted in our team and continue to plant in people the world over who are now thriving on meatless, plant-based diets!
"It's just so funny to see the people thinking about their food for the first time just because they're seeing a farmed animal at a sanctuary. Seeing that, just that experience is like planting a seed in and of itself. That's really always been our goal, just to touch people's hearts with their stories and show them who these animals are for the first time in a real way."
Click here to go to the Big on Small podcast page for this episode.
Tune in to find out how this powerhouse entrepreneur is taking what she learned from shaping tech and media careers to reshape the animal rescue business, and how the Aha! moments she shares will empower YOUR small business too!
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If you have a small business question that needs answering or want to show some love to a small business in your life, call and leave a message on the Big On Small Hotline at 1-844-967-CHAT (2428) or visit the contact page here.
We've been helping InspireHUB clients not just survive during this time but THRIVE! We collected all of our advice and made it available for FREE as our great big give-back during this difficult time. Included in this FREE Guide: