Traci Channer: Bold Enough to Begin

Content Warning: mention of miscarriage, adoption journey, mention of anxiety and panic attack

About This Episode

Founder Traci Channer shares how searching for elevated tween loungewear for her daughter sparked The Decided Collection and fulfilling a lifelong dream to start her own company. She opens up about leaving the corporate world, learning the fashion industry from scratch, and the resilience shaped by entrepreneurship. Traci offers a grounded look at building a growing community early and taking action before everything feels perfect. If you are on the cusp of a change, her story is a reminder to start small, stay curious, and take the next bold step.

About Traci Channer

Traci Channer’s journey began with a dream she carried since childhood: to one day start her own company. Though she did not always know what shape that dream would take, everything changed in 2021 when she made the bold decision to leave corporate America to spend more time with her young daughter. That decision would become the spark behind The Decided Collection.

As her daughter grew, so did her sense of style—and the two found it increasingly difficult to find pajamas that felt age-appropriate for Traci and stylish enough for her daughter. Everything felt either too young or too grown-up. Traci quickly realized there was a gap in the market—and she knew she was the one to fill it.

Today, Traci is the founder of The Decided Collection, and she could not be more excited to be building her dream alongside a community of inspiring female entrepreneurs.

Additional Resources

Website: decidedco.com
Instagram: @thedecidedcollection
LinkedIn: @TraciChanner

Transcript

Defining Bold As Being Yourself

SPEAKER_01 0:07

Welcome to the Bold Lounge Podcast. My name is Lee Burgess and I will be your host. If you're anything like me, you love hearing inspiring stories of people who have gone on bold journeys and made a positive impact in the world. This podcast is all about those kinds of stories. Every week we'll hear from someone who has taken a leap or embarked on an extraordinary journey. In addition to hearing their stories, we'll also learn about their bold growth mindset that they use to make things happen. Whether they faced challenges or doubts along the way, they persisted and ultimately achieved their goals. These impactful stories will leave you feeling motivated and inspired to pursue your own bold journey. I believe everyone has a bold story waiting to be free. Tune in and get ready to be inspired. Welcome to the Bold Lounge. Today I have Tracy Channer. Tracy's journey began with a dream she carried since childhood to one day start her own company. Though she did not always know what shape that dream would take, everything changed in 2021 when she made the bold decision to leave corporate America to spend more time with her young daughter. The decision would become a spark behind the decided collections. As her daughter grew, so did her sense of style, and the two found it increasingly difficult to find pajamas that felt age-appropriate for Tracy and stylish enough for her daughter. Everything felt either too young or too grown up. Tracy quickly realized there was a gap in the market and she knew she was the one to fill it. Today, Tracy is the founder of her company, The Decided Collection, and she could not be more excited to be building her dream alongside a community of inspiring female entrepreneurs and her family. Welcome to the Bold Lounge. Thank you so much for having me. So I'm excited to jump in. We talked a little bit in the green room, but we've never really talked about your definition of bold. So what does it look like in your world, Tracy, when you say the word bold? What does it mean?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

I love this question. And I have thought about it a little bit to be honest with you. And I've been asked a few different questions recently for different things that I'm working on. And one thing that I got asked was kind of what's the best advice that I had ever received? And it was early, early, early on in my career, it's very green. And I was interviewing for a different position in a different department and worked for an incredible woman. And her advice to me was just be yourself. Just be yourself and you'll never go wrong. And to me, that's being bold. So if you can just be yourself, no matter what situation you're in, no matter where you're at, I believe that that is being bold because it's very hard to not want to shape shift. We're getting bombarded with information and images and scenarios of what people expect from us and what we're supposed to be, especially as women, right? You're too loud, you're too quiet, you're not pretty enough, you're too pretty, you're whatever it may be. To me, I think if you can just be yourself no matter where you are, that's being bold.

SPEAKER_01 3:03

Yeah. And it's easier said than done, you know, a lot easier. It sounds so simple, but it's right.

SPEAKER_00 3:08

Right?

SPEAKER_01 3:08

Yeah, just be you, be authentic, you know, do this, do that. You know, I think what happens is like you don't even know sometimes when you're starting to shift or you're starting to assimilate or acclimate, or you know, I even like in my chair just physically went backwards to move into the shadows, so to speak, you know, don't stand out. And I think it is very hard. So when you think about your life and that definition, do you remember a time where you were yourself, even though it might have been a more difficult time to be yourself, or a time that, you know, people didn't expect you to be a certain way?

Early Career Fork In The Road

SPEAKER_00 3:40

Yeah, you know, it's funny, I was thinking about this too. And really, again, it goes back to I was very young and I worked for one of my best friends' moms uh during college. And I had the opportunity to do an internship, right? That was kind of a requirement for my degree. And I could have stayed working for my best friend's mom and got done my internship that way. And I made the decision not to do that, to step away and to get an internship in a corporate position. And that was a hard decision to make, right? Because this was a family I grew up with. I loved them very much and I enjoyed working for them, but I knew that I needed something different. And so I did, and I took the leap and got a great internship, actually working for Universal in Orlando. And that was the start of my career. And I think, you know, it's those moments where you can go one of two different ways. And that was a pivotal moment for me at a very young age. And I don't think in the moment I knew that I was being myself or that I was being true to myself. I really don't. I think I was young and took a chance, right? But looking back on that now, absolutely, that was me saying, no, I think this is a better path for me. So you needed something different, right? And something harder, right? Like I didn't know anybody, I didn't know what I was doing. I was brand new to corporate America. Staying where I was would have been very comfortable. It was easier, right? A lot easier. And I chose not to do that.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah, you chose the harder path, but you felt like that's where you're gonna learn more or have more exposure, or you know, who knows what you will learn. I think that's part of it when you're you're making a bold move. You don't say, Hey, I'm making a bold move today, watch this.

SPEAKER_00 5:14

Not usually No, I think it's only in reflection that you realize, like, wow. I mean, and to your point, there's many of those moments in my life, right? I think there's always the fork in the road, and you can, depending on what you choose, that's your bold move, right? Either way. And early on in my career, that was mine.

SPEAKER_01 5:29

Yeah. What do you think that led to for you in the sense of, you know, you did something different, you stepped outside of what was expected of you, and maybe even some people didn't get it, or you know, they misunderstood why you did it. What do you think doing that the first time led to for you?

SPEAKER_00 5:46

I think confidence that I could do something that I didn't know how to do, right? That it was brand new to me. I think also just the relationships that I built because of new people I was meeting, new positions I was in, different people that I was being exposed to, different experiences that I got to have because I was in a corporate space and you know, large events and just all the different things that you get to be a part of. That's very different, right? And so um challenges that you face, layoffs, uh, whatever it may be, like experiencing all of those things, I think really teaches you working for great leaders, working for not so great leaders, you know, seeing behind the curtain, all of those things I think really has taught me so much over my career span and then showed me who I want to be as a leader. What are the values that I want the company to have? Ideally, when we're a huge company and there's, you know, I have a huge staff and all like how do I want to lead that? You know, what kind of examples do I want to set based on things that I got to see early on in my career and honestly throughout my career?

Leaving Corporate And Identity Shift

SPEAKER_01 6:48

Yeah. Did you think you'd always be where you are now as an entrepreneur? Or what was your first step towards it?

SPEAKER_00 6:54

Oh my gosh. No, I've always had a dream to have my own company. I never knew what it would be, honestly. And, you know, I had many ideas throughout the years. Oh, I we could do this, I could do that, but nothing that really stuck, nothing that really compelled me to move forward. I mean, I can remember watching like the Today Show and watching like the she made it segments or, you know, female entrepreneurs who were like, you know, I was in corporate America and I was a mom, and now I started this business and think and I would get emotional, honestly, watching it, thinking, God, that could be me one day. But again, not knowing what that path even look like. And then it was my daughter. She's the whole reason, you know, that I'm doing this. It wasn't until she was turning like eight, nine, and I saw a huge shift in her. And that's, you know, we really struggled. Her aesthetic changed. She, I don't want rainbows and unicorns and butterflies and all of these things. And it felt like overnight it wasn't, but it did feel that way. I can't pick out clothes for you anymore. You want to completely change your room. Like, what is happening?

SPEAKER_01 7:53

Yeah, she was being herself, right? She was really your definition of bold, you know.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

100% coming into her own a little bit, right? And the one thing that we really struggled with was finding her just like comfortable loungewear pajamas that she could wear and that she loved. And I scoured high and low, and she didn't like the designs, the fabric, whatever it may be, the graphics, the colors. And so I started asking all of my friends and saying, Where are you guys buying the girls' pajamas? Oh, she wears an old t-shirt or just you know, some old shorts and uh my husband's t-shirt or whatever it may be. And I thought, this is crazy. Like our girls are so young. How can we not find some great everybody needs a great pair of pajamas, right? But she wanted a more her look, which it might have been more sporty versus more unicorned, a little more, right, a little more elevated, yeah, right, a little more mature, but still very much age appropriate.

SPEAKER_01 8:44

Yeah, still young, right?

SPEAKER_00 8:45

Right. She wasn't wearing, to your point, sparkly rainbows anymore, right? We were we were moving beyond that. Yeah. And so it was one of those things that like it just kept gnawing at me, and I kept talking to my husband about it. And I was doing like looking things up online and trying to find like what she would be looking for. And I'm like, there's a gap, like there's something missing, you know, like either the these girls are either really, really young or suddenly they're teenagers. There's a whole period of time in here that we're missing them. And I just could not let it go. And I I said to my husband, I was like, if I don't try this, I'll regret it for the rest of my life. And he was like, Go, let's go for it. And so we did. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:22

So I think in a way, it sounded like you actually, like you said, you started to research it, you started to talk about it more, you started to maybe ask some questions, even though you didn't know yet what you were going to do. It did feel like something was clicking into place for like curiosity, right? And just trying to understand it.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Absolutely, yeah. And it was one of those things, like I just would dream about it. I would, I mean, it was, I could not let it go at all. Yeah. And I kept asking my daughter questions and like, what if you had something like this? And we were starting to brainstorm ideas, and then she started to get excited, which was fun. And then it was, I have no fashion background. That's not my background. My background is corporate America and you know, marketing.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

How does one get started? So, like, it's not going away. It's something you want to solve. Were you in corporate at that time? I so I had left.

SPEAKER_00 10:07

Okay. And my intention was not to do anything. I was gonna take a year and just be with my daughter. At the time, we were pursuing our adoption of our second child, which is my little guy who's almost three now. Your other bold moves you've made. Yeah. So we were in the process of that. And so we thought, okay, I'm just gonna take a break. My husband was working full-time, working on his master's degree. I'm gonna take care of my daughter. We'll focus on getting the, you know, working on this adoption and take it from that. And then this idea came up probably, I don't know, maybe five or six months after I left. And it was interesting too. I think that's something to talk about too, is leaving corporate America and kind of what that looks and feels like, right? So it took me a little while to unwind from what I was, you know, my identity as being part of corporate America and what my day-to-day life was like. It was very scheduled, right?

SPEAKER_01 10:57

Yeah, I think when you leave, it is a personal thing, but I think there's definitely some things that probably all of us feel. The very first one, I was burnt out. So, like uh very different reason that I left. Uh, but I think in the sense of the first thing I didn't have to do was have meetings like seven or eight hours a day. And I don't know if you felt that, but I felt very scheduled before. So then when I wasn't scheduled, I have this mindset of like I'm not working hard, I'm being lazy. I had like I had to re-also learn how to talk to myself when I'm not scheduled back to back to back. Did you have that too?

SPEAKER_00 11:32

I did. I was burnt out as well. I'd been, you know, just grinding and working a lot. And I was on the West Coast at the time, my company was on the East Coast. So I would be in meetings at 5:30, six o'clock in the morning. And then my daughter, all of those things. Granted, I was grateful because I got to work remote and it was amazing. That was an amazing shift for me at a time when working remote wasn't what it is today. And so the unwinding for me was more was interesting. I think it was probably like maybe two or three weeks after I had stopped. And my husband looked at me and he's like, You do realize you can leave during the day. Like you can do whatever you want. And I didn't realize, but I was following that similar schedule of like get up, take my daughter to school, come home, and then I was home because I was so used to just working all day. And then he was like, You can leave and go anywhere you want, anytime you want during the day. And I thought, holy cow, I didn't even realize I had not been doing that. I was like, You're right, I could go to Target at 10 o'clock. You know what I mean? Like it was such a it was very interesting. And so it took a little bit for me to get into a new rhythm. And I think having that time and that space though to kind of breathe and and get a new rhythm allowed me to see the gap, to see the changes in my daughter in a different way. Do you see, you know what I mean? Versus like day to day to day. Okay, okay, yeah, we'll just get you new clothes. We'll get, you know, the hustle. I had a moment to like breathe and see things differently. But to get started, your question to get started, it's this is gonna sound so cliche and so annoying, and it would annoy me if I was listening to it, to be honest with you, is to truly just get started.

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah. It's not annoying. They hear that from me all the time. So, like, in the sense of like, I hope they're not annoyed by it, but it is just start.

Research, Partners, And First Hurdles

SPEAKER_00 13:14

I can remember hearing people say that and being like, oh yeah, where do you you know? And I I would feel annoyed, but I also didn't have an idea that my why was so strong, and I felt so strongly about it. And I think that's the difference. I think if there's something that's gonna push you to really go out of your comfort zone, it's because your why is so strong. Like you believe in this idea so much in your core, like you feel it. I think that allows you to be bold and to say, I'm gonna go ask questions, I'm gonna, you know, one conversation leads to another one, to another introduction. And that's really what I did was have conversations with some people very close to me that were, you know, I knew were people I could confide in and talk to and say, hey, I have this idea and I'm not quite sure to start. Oh, hey, I know somebody who used to work for Carter's. How don't you have a conversation with them? My person says, you should go and look at this. And then it's just it kind of just starts to stack on each other. And you know, it took three years to launch the business. And we just launched last November because during that time I was researching, we had, you know, we're blessed with my son. And so obviously, having an infant changes everything. For sure. And so we had him and you know, all of those things, but it took time, and I will say, like, there's always going to be roadblocks. I mean, again, my background is not fashion. I was able to get connected with a wonderful fashion designer who was in California, and she really helped bring my vision to life and gave me tons of sketches and different types of things, but manufacturing wasn't her sweets, you know, all that's not what she did. So I started researching manufacturers. I didn't know what I didn't know, and I just again I had to follow my gut, and I just kept feeling like this is not the right thing. This is not the right thing. You don't do this. And I ended up through a community that I'm part of finding a fashion consultant. And I was like, holy cow, this is it. You know, like I had been and I it had been months that I just been sitting because I was like, I'm kind of stuck, like I can't move forward with producing because I I don't feel comfortable. I'm not gonna go write a check when I don't even know, I don't know enough, right? To ask the right questions to do whatnot. So that my fashion consultant and I met and we immediately hit it off. Like she's amazing. And that's what really pushed me over the finish line. And we were able to fine-tune the designs and tech packs and product to door, and that it's been a wonderful relationship.

SPEAKER_01 15:39

Yeah. I think one of the things I'm hearing that I want to underscore for folks is that you don't have to know it all, right? No, there are people who you have an idea or you know what you want to do, but you can start to talk to people and not only learn, but then there's also people who you don't have to learn the fashion industry, you know, up and down. You don't have to have a master's in fashion.

SPEAKER_00 16:00

Or if you don't know how to build a website, there's plenty of people out there who can support you in doing that. And again, it's money. So there's you there's always that, you know, being frugal and you know, obviously, as entrepreneurs, right? Money is is cash is king. Think about your investments. Yeah, but you have to also know what you're good at because you could learn something, but that might take you an extra six months. Yeah. But if you want, you know, what you're good at, what your sweet spots are and what they're not, and see if you can bring those other people in to support those areas that maybe you're not as strong at.

Trusting Your Gut Over “Experts”

SPEAKER_01 16:30

Yeah, I think that's one thing I think for anyone listening that maybe has an idea of like thinking what you have and whether it's the idea or maybe it's a talent or a skill, and how you can do that better than or faster than or whatever it may be than everyone else. You're different, it's differentiated, right? So that's the secret sauce of what you want to do, or maybe what you want to explore. You can really then collaborate and work with others to help fill in the gaps that you have. And I do think that is something that holds entrepreneurs back is they think they have to have all the answers and do it all by themselves.

SPEAKER_00 17:04

No way, yeah. And I don't, that's just for me, anyway. That's not that's not reasonable. Not for me, but there's a lot on the planet that I'm aware of that knew it all when they started. Everybody starts from a place of not knowing, right? You're not an expert in whatever it is new that you're trying to do. Yeah. And so I think being okay with not knowing is one thing, being vulnerable, being able to say to somebody, I don't know what that means. And following your gut. Like this is your dream, this is your idea, whatever it may be. This is what you're doing. Yeah. Just because somebody who is an expert, and I say that in quotes, is telling you something, if that doesn't feel right to you, don't do it. You know, take time to think through it. Everybody has opinions, everybody has things the way they think, you know, things should be done. You get to do it your own way. That's the exciting part of being an entrepreneur, is that it's yours.

SPEAKER_01 17:56

Yeah, you bring up a really good point because as you were talking, like I was sitting here and it resonated with me. Like two of the, I will say, I'll just say bad decisions that I've made have been connected to me not believing in myself. Meaning I thought, you know, someone else knew more than me and they were going to help me so much. And I paid a premium for it, right? And it was investment in my business, and I did it twice, you know, separated out, not back to back, thank goodness, but close. But I think you get to this space sometimes where you're like, wow, I need help, and they're an expert. And I just appreciated what you said of they're an expert in quotes, because sometimes on paper or even all our due diligence can't really show that someone knows maybe exactly what we know or doesn't really know more than we know. So I think it's just important for you to realize sometimes you think someone you know can help because they know more than you, and you end up realizing that you do know a lot, right? You actually can do it, or maybe you didn't need as much help. But I think regardless, just realizing that the next step can be just talking to someone or learning more about something, but you don't have to have the PhD in it to actually move it forward, right?

SPEAKER_00 19:05

Yeah, that's such a true statement. And I think too being okay with making mistakes, right? Because we're not always gonna get it right. You're not, right? It's just it's impossible.

SPEAKER_01 19:14

You don't like it. And by being okay, it doesn't mean that we like it. So I want to be no, no, no. You are going to make mistakes. Yeah, no one likes to waste their money or investment or time.

SPEAKER_00 19:26

No, but then the sense of you don't let that knock you down or stop you. You know, take a day or two if you need it, have the pity party, do what you need to do to kind of get it out, and then you gotta move on.

SPEAKER_01 19:37

Yeah, there is not a lot of time to wallow in it, which I appreciate because I don't want to be there too long.

SPEAKER_00 19:43

No, exactly. As my mom would say, chin up. My mom always said, chin up, kid. So chin up, you know, you have that's what you have to do and keep going. Yep.

Adoption Journey And Resilience

SPEAKER_01 19:51

My mom says buckle up buttercup. So, like it's like go, like just go, keep moving. That's right. Yeah. So when you think about The decided collection. Where did the name come from? I'm just curious.

SPEAKER_00 20:03

So this is a great story. So one of my best friends and I, we were probably my daughter's age now. So maybe like 10. Well, she's 11. So maybe we were around 10. We were at her grandmother's house in Ohio, and we were like playing with fabrics and doing different things. And we had, you know, as kids do, great imaginations. We were like, we're gonna have a clothing store one day and we're gonna create our own brand and we're gonna call it Decided. And we drew a logo and we did all these things. And you know, that was an idea way back when nothing ever came of it. We didn't do anything with it. I don't even know if we even talked about it after that, right? It was just kind of like a, you know, it was a play. We were playing, we were having fun. And so when this idea came up, I had always remembered that moment. So it's funny how certain things stick in your head. And so when the idea came up for this, I was like, well, decided has to be part of this. Like, how could I not? You know? And so that's where the decided collection came from. And my we're still best friends today. We've been friends for 40 years.

SPEAKER_01 20:58

I love that.

SPEAKER_00 20:58

Yeah. So we've been friends for a long, long time. But yeah, so that's where it came from.

SPEAKER_01 21:03

Yeah. So the idea like was born when you were nine and then came to fruition much, much later, too. So I think another bold learning there from your experience is also the dream doesn't die just because you left, you know, nine and ten years old. Like it's still planted somewhere. And if it's meant to grow, you know, you water it and here you are, right? Yeah. In that sense. And I don't mean like overnight here you are, but I mean like it is an idea that was somewhere there and here it is now. True.

SPEAKER_00 21:31

I think it's funny how the universe works. You know, I think it's just one of those. And the irony is so we were in Ohio, my fashion consultant is in Ohio, and our first photo shoot was in Ohio. You know, again, you just look at those kind of things in life and you think, wow, what a full circle moment for me.

SPEAKER_01 21:46

Yeah. Let's talk about the adoptions for a second. Because I do think, you know, when we first met, I talked about, you know, my family's experience with adoption. My youngest sister is adopted. So when you were thinking about adoption, why did you start? And how would you describe your adoption journey? Because I think that's one thing I learned, even as just being a child, pretty much I was in middle and high school and my parents were adopting. It's a journey, like it's a whole bunch of ups and downs. At least ours felt like it for you. Why? And then how do you get through some of the ups and downs of it all?

SPEAKER_00 22:21

That's a great question. So I had always said that I wanted to have one biological and adopt one child. That was kind of always my mom was a foster child. And so it's a very special place for me when I think about foster children, adoption, yeah, all of those things. And so when my husband and I decided, you know, we were working on our careers and doing all of those things. So when we decided we got married, and when we decided to start having kids, you know, you just assume things are going to go smooth. And they didn't for us. I mean, we were on an eight-year journey and um, you know, tried infertility treatments and did all of those things and finally kind of just sat down and I ended up getting pregnant, had a really rough miscarriage. And um, we finally just sat down and said, So what's the goal here, right? Is the goal to get pregnant or is the goal to have a family? Because we can keep pursuing all of these things, but there's no guarantee, right, that I'm gonna get pregnant. And even if I do, if that I'll be able to carry. We don't know. Right. And so we decided it was having a family. And so that's when we kind of started pursuing adoption. I will tell you, it's in the beginning, it was a little like the wild, wild west. Like we didn't know what we were doing. I was doing my own research. We got connected with an agency that didn't work out at all. Finally, ironically, a very good friend of ours, their neighbor was an adoption. I don't want to say consultant. She had like her own, she has her own business of doing home studies and things like that. Wealth of information, like an amazing, amazing woman. And so we got connected with her, and that's really what got the ball moving for us getting our home study and doing all these different things that we had to do. You know, you're excited, you're nervous, there's so many things like it's like passing the test.

SPEAKER_01 24:00

Yeah. Like when you say home study, like I want everyone who hasn't been through this process to realize FBI background check. You are literally investigated as you should be, in a sense, to make sure you're going to be safe and you're going to take care of your children and that you take care of yourself. But it's also like coming into your home and seeing where they live and seeing their room, which again makes a lot of sense, but it feels extremely, I'll just say the word intrusive on purpose, right? You know, like they it needs to be and vulnerable.

SPEAKER_00 24:27

Like you're like, oh my gosh, what if they see a piece of dust in the corner? You know, whatever it may be, like exactly and you don't know. Like, and you know, we in the beginning, we weren't we wanted more of a closed adoption, we were very conservative with what we were willing to. I mean, they ask you everything. I mean, there's if you want a certain gender, what kind of drug exposure are you willing to accept? And there's all kinds of questions that go into it. And in the beginning, we were so nervous, we didn't know. And so, long story short, we ended up getting matched. We were very, very excited. I was starting to build a relationship with the birth mom and taking her to doctor's appointments and doing things like that. And he was born, and we were in the hospital with them, and we were not there when he was born, but we came to the hospital shortly thereafter. And then the day that we were supposed to bring him home, she changed her mind. So that was the miscarriage was hard, right? That was hard. This was on a whole different level. We had gotten his room decorated, the car stayed. So that was really hard. And we, you know, kind of shut down for a couple weeks and just my husband like closed the bedroom, that nursery room door, and he was like, Don't go in there, don't go near that room, like just stay away from it. And the one thing that we concluded was, okay, well, now we know more than ever that we really want to be like this is what we want to do. This was really hard, but we're gonna go keep going. We both decided that this wasn't gonna stop us. And it was just a couple months later we got matched with my daughter's birth mom. And it was just heaven sent. Absolutely, I mean, I can't, it was heaven sent. She was amazing, she was wonderful with us. She knew that we had a failed adoption. She kept reassuring us, like, I'm not changing my mind. This is what I want. I feel like this is the right path. And it it still is a beautiful relationship. And we were very close to them. We do visits when we can, FaceTime. My whole point to saying that is after the failed adoption, we were much more open. Like, yes, we'll go on visits, yes, we'll do because we just feel differently, right?

SPEAKER_01 26:28

You had more clarity, right? You had more clarity of what you wanted and what was important, and you were bold in continuing. I mean, let's just say, like what you went through is no joke. And the miscarriages and losing a match. And uh, you know, when we met, I shared that you know, we had that same experience as well. And it's because she got sick, actually, and we couldn't actually adopt her once she got sick. And like you said, you've named them, you have their room set up, you've bought their clothes, and then they don't come, but you're like, now I'm clear. I really want this, we really want this. We're gonna do it maybe differently because that's not as important as this, right? So I think you can also like extrapolate that into your own life of like things get hard, things don't work out maybe like you wanted them to, but you kept going and it got clearer what you wanted. So I think as an entrepreneur, you might have had those experiences too of like it's now clear what I want, and maybe this I thought was important, but it's not.

SPEAKER_00 27:24

That's true. That's absolutely true. And I think I think the other piece that I realized or that we've realized as we were going through this was looking at things from the birth mother's perspective, too, right? So early on, we were very much about how we feel and what's going on with us. I mean, compassionate, of course, but we didn't have a great understanding versus when you experience something and you're interacting with the birth mom, that's a very different experience than when you haven't done that before. And so for us, yes, open. Yes, you know, you can text us, yes, you know, we'll send pictures, we'll send updates, we'll do visits when we can, you know, all of those types of things is good for us. It's good for the birth mom. And ultimately it's really good for our kids. And then we did it again with my son.

SPEAKER_01 28:06

Yeah. And again, you knew what you wanted and you were real clear about how you would get there. Like the second time I could guess maybe things went more smoothly because you started at a different spot, not to say that was perfect and there were no issues, but again, you knew more, right? Same thing when you're out in, you know, life outside of something as serious and close to your heart as this is, but your business is pretty close to your heart as well. But like you're learning and sometimes you just don't get it right. It doesn't mean quit. Absolutely. It means maybe like let's pause, let's reset, let's get clear, and then let's try again, right? You know, from that perspective.

SPEAKER_00 28:44

You know, everybody who's an entrepreneur will tell you just don't give up because it's just that one more day. Like that one more day could be the click that sets you off in a way you didn't expect. And so that's kind of just a life philosophy, right? It's like don't give up and just one more day, just keep pushing. Yeah, believe in yourself. Yeah, follow your instincts.

SPEAKER_01 29:01

Yeah. So when you think about the decided collection, kind of where it started, and like you said, it three years to launch, kind of officially launched last fall, November, I think, and where you are today, what have you learned since launch to now that is surprising or you didn't expect? It's a great question.

SPEAKER_00 29:19

One thing that I didn't do prior to launch that I wish I would have. So prior to launching, I wasn't like out there yelling at from the rooftops. I'm launching a business and I it's coming in a few months, and I wasn't on social media. I wasn't doing all of that. I was truly heads down, like making sure we had everything lined up and ready to go. And I can remember people saying, just start putting stuff out there, like whatever it is, it's okay. And I was timid. I was a little timid and like, well, I don't what do I have to say? And how early should I show my designs? And you know, all of those things as a new entrepreneur and new idea. And I think looking back now, I'm like, that was so silly. Like I could have that now. I can think of a million things that I would have done prior to, right? And all the ways that I would have promoted differently and whatnot. And unfortunately, I'm one of those people that has to learn the hard way. So that was my learning the hard way. And so now there's still a lot of that work that's happening. I think that was a really big learning for me. I think the other thing was how quickly you can change and become more confident in yourself and more grounded as an entrepreneur with just within a few months. Whether it's, you know, you're a wild success, you're not, but every day you're learning something new. There's new conversations, new people that I'm meeting with, or other tween brands that have been incredible and partnered with me on giveaways or different things, and just been supportive. And those conversations, all of those little things, they're just seeds, right? That just keep you just have in you that just keep helping you grow and learn and feel more just more confident. That's the only word I can come up with. And so I'm a very different entrepreneur today than I was when we launched it.

SPEAKER_01 30:58

Yeah. Taking action is something that really combats anxiety. And I don't mean clinical anxiety, but what I'm talking about is anxiety about your business, anxiety about will it work, anxiety about can it be successful, anxiety about will I make enough.

SPEAKER_00 31:12

Who am I to think I can do this? Like that's the other thing. I mean, I can remember having a moment when it was time to sign the like write the check. I use that word in quotes, of course, but send the payment uh for our first collection. And I had a full-on panic attack. Like I was, I mean, it was all the all the doubt. What are you thinking? Who are you? You you have no idea what you're doing, you've never done this before, you're taking money away from your family, like all the things, right? Just crazy thoughts for probably like a good 48 hours. And I mean, you know, thank God for my husband, he's very, very supportive. And I even remember I was having a conversation with somebody else, and they were like, this is the difference between entrepreneurs who start something and ones that don't. Like you've got to push through this, just keep going. Like, don't stop now.

SPEAKER_01 32:02

Yeah, you're gonna have a gulp moment at some point, or maybe many off and on. I think there's definitely more than one. I think I've had more than one. Yeah, yeah. It feels like a very large one at the beginning where you're like, I'm really doing it, I'm really putting myself out there. So, like, again, I do think, you know, when you think about kind of the breakdown of the the mental fortitude that you have to have during this is just not only belief in yourself, but also the sense of like, if it doesn't work, I will figure it out. We will, we will get there. But I won't know unless I start.

SPEAKER_00 32:35

Yeah, and I think the biggest thing too is like you're gonna live with regret if you don't do it, then do it. Because living with regret, I think, is probably far worse, right, than making a mistake.

SPEAKER_01 32:45

Yeah. And I also think like for those of you that are listening that have had something flutter into your whether it's your mind or into your heart or just an idea that keeps coming back, I would just ask you to begin to explore it. And I don't mean quit your job, don't do what I did. I hope people learn from that, which is why I've put my story out there so much, is like you don't have to get to that point or be burnt out like you. Like you can you can do it before, but just start to think about it. Like, what would it take? Like if it's maybe creating something or going back to school or maybe calling that person that you want to talk to that you haven't talked to in a long time, like, or starting your own business, or maybe doing something on the side, like what would it take? And you don't have to be all in in the beginning.

SPEAKER_00 33:27

Like, I think that's the other thing is you can say on the weekend, you can spend 30 minutes just online doing. I mean, we live in a world where like literally you have a wealth of information at your fingertips. Just start searching, you know, start looking things up. I did all kinds of different things, just taking information in and also honestly building my confidence, like listening to other entrepreneurs' stories was like, if they could do that, why can't I? You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_01 33:54

Yeah, you'll hear a lot of similarity of like, oh, they felt that same way. I can't believe it. You know, they're so successful or X, Y, or Z. And you're like, oh, you you you didn't just have the thought, you actually took action on it. And I think that's the difference between someone who just has, oh, wouldn't that be great when I win the lottery, once I retire? You know, these are things that, you know, maybe they're working on eventually. It isn't something they're taking action on right now. But I think when you get to a point or you feel like you're pushed in a way to move towards something, like your business, like my business, like the other businesses that maybe people are thinking about or even about to start or have already started, like it doesn't go away. So like I just ask, like, if something keeps coming back, there's a reason. It's planted there. So as you think about how the decided collection is moving forward, you know, into 26, you're like, what are we what are we looking forward to? What are you excited about?

SPEAKER_00 34:45

A big thing for me. So obviously the pajamas, the pieces, the collections that we have right now, I'm very excited about. I'm very proud of them. Yeah, the fabric, the styles, the versatility, all of that has been something that has been such a journey, and I'm very, very proud and excited about it. So we're continuing obviously to push that, starting to think ahead. What could other pieces look like? What different products could we bring into our line outside of just clothing, right? What are some other things that we could bring in? Another big piece of this is the community, right? So I'm a mom of a twin girl. I have a million questions. I don't know, I've never done this before. And so we have a blog, and so really bringing people in who are other tween brands who are doing great things, people who can give us support when it comes to twin girls. You know, what should you have prepared when your daughter has her first period? What's how do you talk about puberty? All of just all of these things that are questions that I mean with my friends we talk about it, but sometimes people just don't talk about that kind of stuff and the importance of you educating yourself and also having those conversations with your daughters. So I think I'm really excited about growing the community, growing the information that we provide. I would love to have an in-person event at some point for mothers and daughters and growing the line.

SPEAKER_01 35:56

Yeah, maybe make it a fashion show or some something like that. Like it's a fashion show with education.

SPEAKER_00 36:03

Yeah, I just think there's so much opportunity in this tweam space. And again, I have a little guy, so uh everybody keeps saying, When are you gonna do boys' pajamas? And I'm like, let me get the girls up and running, and then you know, who knows? He's little right now, so he doesn't care.

SPEAKER_01 36:16

He's good, yeah. He's got his ones, he doesn't, yeah, he doesn't even think.

Action Over Anxiety And Regret

SPEAKER_00 36:19

At some point he will. And I have had moms say to me, When are you gonna make these for moms? So who knows? You know, that could happen too. But I think, you know, as we continue to grow, I'm just excited to see kind of where we can take this from a community perspective because I do think between space is really a precious time and it's a very important time. And I think if we can reach our kids before they go to high school and build their confidence and make them feel good. And you know, I always say to my daughter, you're 11, be 11. And just be, I tell her the same advice I got given. Just be yourself, be yourself. Not everybody's gonna like you. You're not gonna be everybody's cup of tea, and that's okay. You know, you have to be okay with that. You don't have not everybody has to like you. And just starting to build that confidence because at this time they really start to, they're very vulnerable, they really start to get insecure, and you can see them shape shifting, and you're like, No, no.

SPEAKER_01 37:11

Yeah, to be you, don't don't change it because of that.

SPEAKER_00 37:13

Yeah, don't lose that magic. Like that that magic is what's gonna take you far.

SPEAKER_01 37:18

Yeah. I honestly, like when you talk, like it is things that women in their 40s and 50s need to hear as well.

SPEAKER_00 37:26

I know. That's why I'm really so passionate about it, is because I know the work that it takes as an adult and the affirmations and the podcasts and all the things that we're doing. And I'm like, God, if I could just get my daughter to feel that now.

SPEAKER_01 37:38

Yeah, and keep it right, and like keep it safe. Yeah. So I think in the sense of kind of what you're talking about, really is it's past, you know, the sense of style or what you're wearing. It's deeper than that. And what you're saying is like you're excited about the opportunity to connect with the people who buy what you sell, right? And it's the community that you're talking about, the connections that you have with them. And I I love that idea because I don't know many people who are doing that in the fashion world. So that it is if you're buying these clothes for tween girls, then you probably have the experience of having a tween girl. Exactly. Yeah, and we all probably need a little help there every now and then, or to know we're not alone. And I think you can you can extrapolate that too in different ways. But I love that that's what you're thinking about and doing. So stay tuned for that with Tracy and uh her brand. So as we kind of close out, I'm just wondering, kind of for anyone who is just kind of on that ledge of like, I want to maybe take the step toward my dream in the sense of of doing something different, and I'm in a role and it could be incorporate, it couldn't, you know, it could be something different, but they just want to change. What would be your guidance for just, you know, doing something different and the mindset that you need, you know, because you need a different mindset, I think, or maybe just to revive maybe one you've put away.

Building Product And Community

SPEAKER_00 38:59

Yeah, I think I mean I can only speak for kind of what I did. And I would say one, I would say get started. You don't have to, if you don't feel comfortable telling anybody, don't tell anybody. You don't tell anybody anything. Exactly. Just go start read a book. And it doesn't even have to be a book about what you want to do. Maybe it's a book about confidence and reassuring yourself, listening to podcasts where they have women on who are doing different things, entrepreneurs just like this one, who tell their stories. Listen to as many of those stories as you can. That will help you think, huh. Well, again, Tracy's no different than I am, right? And she did it. So I can go and do it and take baby steps. You don't have to be all or nothing, one foot in front of the other. One step and one small step builds onto another one and another one. And then before you know it, it's 90 days, and you look back and you think, wow, again, you don't have to have a full plan in place. I I think people get so stuck up on like, I have to have a perfect business plan. I have to have you don't. You really don't. You just have to Don't yeah. You don't. You just have to keep moving.

SPEAKER_01 40:03

Yeah. I keep moving forward. I think taking the steps, learning from the mistakes that you make, and I think realizing that perfection is not something you're going to ever achieve. And the sooner you learn that, the better.

SPEAKER_00 40:14

Exactly.

SPEAKER_01 40:16

As you move through it. Well, so happy to have you. All the information about Tracy, her journey, the decided collection is down in the episode notes. Please do check it out, follow her, and keep up to date, especially if you have a tween girl, because her community is building and growing, not only through her style, but also through the community that she's building. So thank you so much, Tracy, for being on the Bold Lounge.

SPEAKER_00 40:38

Thank you so much. This was wonderful. Thank you so much for having me.

SPEAKER_01 40:44

Thank you for listening to the Bold Lounge Podcast. Through the continuum of bold stories, vulnerability to taking a leap, you will meet more extraordinary people making a positive impact for others through their unique and important story. By highlighting these stories, we hope to inspire others and share the journey of those with a bold mindset. We hope you've enjoyed this podcast and look forward to sharing the next bold journey with you.