Determined Society with Shawn French | Adversity & Mindset - Leaving Corporate and Betting on Yourself | Kiera Palmer on The Determined Society

Episode Date: May 5, 2025

Kiera Palmer shares her powerful story of leaving toxic corporate life, betting on herself, and building two thriving businesses. From emotional lows to building her dream studio, this is a raw conversation about grit, faith, and never quitting, no matter how hard it gets. If you're stuck, chasing dreams, or facing setbacks, this episode will light your fire. Subscribe, share, and stay determined! Drop a comment: What risk are you scared to take right now? Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Rinse takes your laundry and hand delivers it to your door, expertly cleaned and folded, so you could take the time once spent folding and sorting and waiting to finally pursue a whole new version of you. Like T-time U. Or this T-time U. Or even this T-time U. Said you hear about Dave?

Or even T-time, T-time, T-time, T-time U. Mmm. So update on Dave. It's up to you. We'll take the laundry. Rinse. It's time to be great. What's very important for everybody to understand here is that there was multiple moments that you could have stopped, that you could have just said, you know what, this isn't meant to be, I'm going to quit. It was so hard because there were nights where I would just lay in bed and cry because I felt helpless.

This isn't going to work. When I tell you the emotional turmoil that I was going through during this time, it will tell you to take the risk. It'll pay off, you know, and that's what I was doing. I was taking the risk. And it wasn't paying off. It was terrifying. Sean French, what up? Spire me.

I'm from all and everything I'm doing. Up until it's done, I meet for the entirety. I'm putting overtime. I'll be working. Just know I'm a go for mine because I earned it. They watch and I know it's time. I confirmed. What's up, everybody?

Welcome back to another episode of the Determined Society. Once again, it's me, Sean French. Before I introduce today's guest, yes, you guessed it. Please hit subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple, and share this show in the message. with someone that you know love and trust that needs to hear it. And most importantly, I want to hear from you. Follow the At the Determined Society on Instagram,

at Lechon French on Instagram. Let me know what you want to hear about. And if you want to be on the show, there is an application process. Please feel free to contact me. And I can direct you to my individual that will help you get through all the application. So without further ado, today I have a good friend of mine.

I met her in a community chat while we were sipping coffee on a virtual event, about two and a half years ago, maybe. It may not have been that long ago, but instantly we had a really good connection. It was a part of my journey when I was super lost. I didn't know where this thing was going. I knew what I thought I knew and where I felt it could go. And she poured into me immediately.

And I've never told her this, but that day she really saved me from making a stupid decision and shutting the show down. So publicly edify her. and thank her. Her name is Kiera Palmer, and she's an amazing badass entrepreneur. She lives in Atlanta, and she recently, you know, started her own studio and her social media management company, and it's just an amazing business. And she has had some struggle in leaving corporate America and leading to where she's at right now. So without further ado, Kiera Palmer,

welcome the show. Hey, hey. What's going down? After all this time. Crazy. Never seen you in person. I know. Isn't it weird when you, when you've known somebody for a good bit. And it feels like you've seen each other. So when you finally do, it's like, you know. It's like the power of social media though, right? Like right away, let's talk about that because there's a lot of negative, negative connotations with social.

It's this dark place. Well, yeah, if you're a dark motherfucker. Yeah, right. But if you're somebody who like really, if you're somebody that really wants to bring good into the world and you want to meet good people, you attract that. Yes. And from there,

you build these genuine connections that I may not even have in person with people that live in the same city. 100%. Yes. And, I mean, let's be honest, you can curate your Instagram feed and your TikTok feed to have positive things. You don't have to see the nonsense.

Yes. But, yeah, so you and I, it's been such a cool thing to, you've been, I will side note, you know, you've been such a good supporter

virtually for so long. And, you know, we've had that for quite a while now. So it's really cool to be able to get together and do this and support each other in that way too. So, but yeah, I mean, seeing you in person after seeing you all for so long. Yes. It's great. I mean, I know we've talked on the phone. Of course. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, but this person's real.

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Amazing. Thank you so much for flying down. Thank you for having me. You know, that's one of the most amazing things is like, you know, never in a million years that I think that this platform were turned into like my friends fly. Flying in. Yes. Flying in to do this. Yes.

And I think that's like one of the things where you, where I just kind of realize like, okay, we're doing something valuable here. Absolutely. Because if it wasn't, you wouldn't, right?

Yeah, I would say that. I wouldn't just fly out anywhere, you know, to do that. I mean, because that's obviously, you know,

time resource and things like that. But this was jumped at the opportunity. So, I'm so grateful. Yeah. So grateful. For the audience that doesn't know you, right?

Why don't you give them a little peek behind Kara Palmer and everything that's gone on That's what, three, four, five years? I guess five years now. Wait, is it 2021? I don't know what year it is. I think it's so.

Do you just spend January for seven years? Yes, it does feel like that. Good God. Yes. January like 56th. Yeah, I think it's January 56th right now. Yeah. Yeah, so I guess I've been on the, it is five years, I guess, because COVID was basically

when I went full time into entrepreneurship. Fun times. I started my career off. the ever exciting high-risk commercial property insurance field. So I was a broker and I did like hurricane terrorism insurance, that kind of stuff. So fun. It was, you know, sounds depressing. Yeah. So you can imagine my equipment job. Hell yeah, dude. So. You've been in an insane asylum with a white patent and room in a straight fucking jacket. And I will tell you, so that was actually before the COVID time, but there's, you know,

there's a story that goes with that of how ridiculous life was in that corporate space. I mean, it was just a nightmare, and there was a nightmare story that caused me to quit my job without a plan. So I don't think that I would recommend that to do to anyone, but it was my story. So I made it work, right? But is there ever right time? You know, there's not. And I think people get too wound up in that part of it, too. Like, oh, everything has to be perfect and has to be ready.

And I have to have X amount of dollars. And that's not the case. It's a perfect case for me right. Yeah. And so mine was such a knee-jerk reaction to a situation. and I was like, okay, I'm done. I'm not doing this. And I mean, I literally stayed up all night, went in the next day, quit my job.

I gave three weeks notice. And at the end of three weeks, I went to Hawaii for two weeks, which was fun. Yeah, it was real fun. Wow, what part? We were in Oahu, and then we did, like, a quick bounce over to Maui and then back. What did you like better? Probably Maui, right? Is there just so different, I think, you know, because you've got, like, Waikiki Beach, and it's very happening.

You know, it's very, like, busy. and Maui was so much more relaxed and beautiful. Yeah, I went to... Road to Hana. Isn't that what it's called? I don't know. It's like this really long road that you can drive. I mean, we did like the sunrise on the top and then we biked down.

It was just... Damn. You and Hubby did that? Yeah, Trey A, he, um, his friends lived out there for a long time. So we went a couple of times to visit them. But they, you know, so they knew all the fun things to do. Wow, dude. But that's how I quit. That's how I spent my quitting of my job is, let us go to,

a paradise. And so while I'm freaking out about, oh, shit, what am I going to do now? I was getting to do that in a very pretty place. It's so funny because I've been to Oahu. I went for my senior trip. I went with my ex-girlfriend who has passed away since then. We stayed really close friends, but we went to Oahu. Everybody told me like, dude, it's like San Francisco on the beach. Yeah. You know, I'm like, well, it's Hawaii, so we're going to go. It was a blast. I've never been to Maui, but I want to go. Now I'm all the way over here in Florida, so it's like, that's like a 10-hour flight. It is.

Big flight. Yeah, come on. I might as well go to Australia. Yeah. That's a thought. You should. I just got back. I went to New Zealand last year. Did you? Yeah, it was unbelievable. It was beautiful. It was awesome? Yeah. It's just a really long flight day. Wow. God, oh my. It's rough. I want one of those beds to sleep in and like, you know, like, you know, like maid service.

Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. I say made. Is that degrading? I mean, yeah, probably. It's probably fucked up. Yeah. Yeah, I was like, maybe not. Yeah, well, you guys know my intention. Yes. You don't turn the show. But I know to me, but yeah, especially if you can, when you're on, is literally, I mean,

especially from where we are, you know, Atlanta or whatever. It's a good 36 hours of a travel situation. Yeah. Because you have to fly to L.A. first and then L.A. over and then L.A. into Auckland. And if you want to go South Island, then you got to take another flight. That makes me anxious. Yeah, it was a lot.

Okay. Anyway, yeah. Wow. I like to. We are good at tangent. The dual ADHD is fucking kidding. We're both like that. I know. It's like, oh my God. Okay. So, um, situation happened. Yeah. Are you open to talk about the situation? Like, what happened? Oh, gosh. I actually talk about it frequently because I think it's good for people to hear. But the industry that I was in, I really, the last few years I was there, I hated life. I just, I could not believe that I'd spend so much time building this career for something that made me so miserable.

And, you know, they have that the gin. What is? the latest young people, Gen Z. Yeah, they had these were like quiet quitting. Okay. And may have been a little bit of that. What's a quiet quitting? We're like, you're just not performing at your highest. Oh, you're just disengaged.

Yeah, you're just engaged. And I was pretty disengaged. But I also was in that moment of like, I don't know what I'm going to do. You know, you had that old school mentality of, you know, you went to school to get X degree and you're doing all these things. So I don't know. I just was having like that inner crisis. I don't know what to do, but I know that this is not my life.

don't want this to be my life. And I ended up going to work for one of our clients who had known for eight years and he had a terrible reputation. But I was coming from a boss that was also had a terrible reputation because he was so tough. And I mean, just make you cry all the time. So I'm like, if I could do that for eight years or nine years, I can handle this guy. And it was awful. I mean, I was only there for 10 months. I think it was. But just. So, Oh, you're about to make a trade based on a friend's text. But which you do you listen to? Is it, we could buy a house in Tulum?

Get optioning those options. We could lose everything. Or let's do a little research. Get your head in the trade and make the investment decision that's right for you. Learn more at finra.org slash trade smart. Very inappropriate behavior. and I'll let you go with that. But several occasions, very inappropriate behavior.

But when you get to be, you know, in your 30s or whatever, it's really hard to get your friends together, especially women because they all have children. I don't have children, but, you know, they all have children. So if you want to get all five or six of you together for a night, it's just difficult to do. So we had planned, this is some girls I used to be friends with, and we had planned this night out together, like six months,

in advance because we were going to see the Lion King at the Fox Theater, like a show, a dinner and a show. So we bought tickets. And I remember all the way back then telling him, hey, I have to leave early this day. And mind you, like, I'm like number two level in this company. It's not like I'm a college kid who just permission to go to the dog, you know. So I was like, hey, you know, I'm putting this on your calendar. I need to leave the office by 4 p.m. that day latest. I'm not going to see these girls. I haven't seen them forever. So excited. and reminded him about a bigillion times. Not to mention it's on his freaking.

And that day, I remember reminding him. And one of our clients who was coming up for renewal, like in, you know, six to eight weeks on it, we were working on a project with them. And I remember about 3 p.m. He walks in my office and basically gives me this assignment that's going to take five to six hours. And he tells me I can't leave until it's done.

And I'm freaking out because this is like, my biggest client, you know, but it wasn't a big deal, but of course, you know, he made it a big deal. Of course. I know that game. Yeah. Yeah. And so I, you know, I kind of got in line and gave the yes sir salute and stayed there and I missed the dinner and the drinks and all that stuff. And so I finally get out of there. I'm texting them and I'm like, I'm so sorry. They're like, we ordered you a glass of wine so that when you get here, you can have like down it and it'll go. Yeah. And I was so in Atlanta, for those of you don't, Atlanta traffic is a nightmare. We're known all over the country for that. And I was driving in the downtown connector and he calls me,

like just berating me about a cell on a next spreadsheet. Like, you know, there's formulas not right on them. I mean, there's thousands of cells, right? And all these pivot tables and things like that. So ridiculous. And I'm like, I don't know. Just check it. You can just click on it and see what the formula is and just fix it. I don't know. I mean, I've spent hours on this thing. He's like, pull over the side of the road and check this. I'm like, I am on the middle of the downtown connector. I am not pulling over the side. Pull up your laptop and connect it to your cell phone as a hot spot and just fix it. And what do I do? I mean, this is so dangerous. Oh my God. I can't believe I'm in this.

But I pull out my laptop. I sit it on my console. I connect it to my phone. I'm trying to manipulate a spreadsheet as I'm driving and stop and go traffic in downtown Atlanta to do this and I fix it. And I remember doing it, you know, valet my car, walking to the restaurant and I just tears because I've been looking forward to this night so much. miss the entire thing. And we're not going to talk to each other at the play. You know, so it was just enough. And I know I will tell you that one of my good friends, Amanda, who's also an amazing entrepreneur, she looked at me and said, Kira, you know, working at Starbucks would be so much better than what you're doing. Yeah. You know? And I'm like, you know, you're right. This is

a, this is a egregious behavior, you know, and why am I participating in this? You know, and at this point in my career, this is like, this is unheard of. I can't believe that this is my life, you know, so we went to the show, we got out of the show. And when I say the inappropriate behavior, he had an alcohol problem. And I had this email that was all misspelled and caps and all the stuff, just basically 11-something at night saying, I hope your personal life is more important than your job and blah, blah, blah. And so I remember I came home that night and waited for, Trey was still working nights at the restaurant at this time. And so I waited for him to get home and he came in and it was like three in the morning. I'm sitting at our dining room table.

That's like, you're like, and he's like, oh my God. What do I do? What are you? Are you leaving? We're looking for the suitcase. Right. And I just looked at him and I was like, I just was in tear. You can't tell I've been crying. I'm like, I just can't do this anymore. And he was very supportive of it. And he was like, do what you need to do. And I stayed up the rest of the night to put a ball cap on and went in the office and quit. So that's badass. Yeah. I just couldn't do it. What did the boss say? Oh, he's so immature. My goodness. He was like, okay, okay, you know that, and no emotion. And I said, I'm giving you three weeks because I leave for Hawaii on X, you know, like, I'm going to work. This client is important to me. It's a big company. You would know him when I, if I say it also. And so it was important to me leave on good terms. And so I'll give you three weeks. I'll be here, you know, and I didn't see him after that day. I didn't come out of the office the whole time. I'm not, I have not spoken to him since. Good. What an asshole. Yeah. Like, really, so for the audience, like, listen, Everybody's going through shit in corporate America, and I'm not saying leaving corporate

America is your answer. What I'm saying is you need to find a situation where you can not just be yourself, but you can feel supported and truly led by your leader. Do not work for anybody that is going to cross boundaries and break commitments. Like that is not okay. What part of somebody would literally say, like, this has been on my calendar for three weeks, and then say, you know what, an hour before you're supposed to leave, you need to stay? but everybody I say that but we've all been in that situation so many people you know I've worked for some

big fortune 500 500 companies like big ones and you always want to I would say perform for your direct leader no matter what right you want to show that you're the good soldier you want to show that you know I am the top producer and this is my responsibility so come hell or high water I'm gonna I'm gonna do what he asks or what she asks I'm gonna show that son of a bitch but at the same when we do that, we're giving them permission to do it again. Yes. You know what I'm saying? Yeah.

Well, and I think, too, if you're the kind of person who is really determined, you know, and you really want to be whatever that is that you're looking to be, right? You know, if you want to be the leader of the company, if you want to be the best at something, you know, you understand that it's going to take certain things to get there, right? But I think it gets really messy when it's out. outrageous behavior and outrageous demands and things like that. Because, I mean, I think so many of us in our 20s, we work hard, we work long hours, we come in the weekends, we do, we do what needs to be done to get to the level that you want

to be at, right? And I think that's just such an interesting thing. I guess now being on my own for so long that you don't have to work like that. You don't have to have a culture like that. Yeah. And, you know, my friend Bridget, who, you know, were really good friends. She was ex-corporate, too. And we talk a lot about just the culture of personalities and things like that,

of what, you know, the place where I used to work and how really not great things would go on. And, you know, you get caught up in that too sometimes and drinking too much and doing things like that. When you're out entertaining and not stuff. I just, you know, you know, you had those moments where you look at yourself in the mirror and just think, this is not me. and this is not who I want to be, and this is not who I want to be 10 years from now. Yeah.

You know? Yeah. I have a question for you, and it could be controversial, but I'm going to ask it anyway. Do you think that boss would have treated you like that if you were a man? No. Well,

okay. Well, there's two different ways here. Okay. Because the men who... Hold on real quick time. Because I see that as bullying. Like,

that was bullshit. But they would bully everyone. Okay. But, I mean, there were some inappropriate behavior that was, I mean, I was female. Of course you. Yeah.

Young and blonde. Just really inappropriate stuff. I mean, you know, you look back and you're like, oh, he did that cringe. Like specific things, you know. There's actually, I remember very specific. And it wasn't me that he was talking about. I remember one day where he was walking around the office with his phone and he was showing pictures of this female that used to work for him.

He had had some plastic surgery. Oh, my God. And it's just, and he's like, you know, and he's like showing it to people. And I'm like, does he realize that this is, it's just not okay? Well, that's harassing. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. But I mean, and then that industry, too, it was definitely like, bro-driven. Okay. Very, very driven. I remember being out in Vegas at our, like, high producers conference one year. And our office won for like office of the year and say, hey, we all go piling up on the stage. and like all the producers and someone looks over, there's literally like two women on stage.

And then like 45 guys, you know, like they're like, ooh, that doesn't look so good. That's a disparity there. Yeah, like, oh, I'm like, well, yeah, that's basically how it is. Yeah. You know, you almost like get to the point and you're like, well, I mean, I think they may have gotten,

I think they've gotten a little bit better over that over the years because it kind of had to. Yeah. But again, I've been out, so. Yeah. Yeah. This is all interesting to me because all of this happened. And I think that what I want to connect for the audience is that all these things happening in your life, right?

Like the disrespect from the boss, the inappropriate behavior, the egregious asks, right? The behavior. It's like everybody has that version going on in their life. And what's important is to really highlight the fact that you decided to make a move. And when you make that move, you don't have to have everything figured out. And I think too many people, and before I start, of the show, I was constantly saying, well, I don't have this yet. I don't have that yet. Like, I need to have all these different things in place before I make that decision. And in some

ways, like before you leave corporate America, you do have to have somewhat of a, you know, maybe a financial plan or a cushion, right? But too many people are waiting for the right time and the right time never comes and they're stuck. And you know who gets to suffer from that? Their spouse and their children if they have children. So, like, how did you, you know, know, I know it was just finally done, but like, how long did it take you to find what you were going to do and go on this journey? Because I think this is the beauty part. That's the part. Yeah, that's the significant part, I think, because the five months that followed, I didn't do anything. Okay. Because I was in that analysis paralysis situation. Like, what if I do this? And then, of course,

I had not yet established that I could be 100% on my own. I was kind of like career path I'm going to take. So that was an interesting time. And what happened was, you know, I was going, and we'll get to that in a second, but like I was going through all the things that I know how to do and all the thing. What do I enjoy and what kind of lifestyle I want to live and like all that stuff too? But what you were just saying, which I think is important and was a process of mine, is that so many people like you were saying, they're so afraid to start because of X, Y, and Z reasons, right? Whether they're not prepared or no, they don't have financial situations, whatever.

Now, obviously, I had some savings and things like that. and I was able to support myself through that. But you literally just take a step. And I think that when you're looking at the path ahead of you, it can get overwhelming because you think that you need to know what the end of the path lies ahead looks like. And you don't. You don't.

It's every day you just put one foot in front of the other. You don't have to run a mile at a time. You could take two steps. And it's propelling you in the direction that you need to go. I mean, I think that that might be the overall message that any entrepreneur would tell you is that you don't know what you don't know, and that is perfectly okay. You figure it out as you go.

Yeah, still learning. Exactly what I did. I figured it out as I went. And so how I got into where I am now is if you guys remember how awesome Instagram was back in like 2014 and 15 when it was just pictures. I didn't execute it. Okay. I did.

I barely was on it. Okay. So it was for me back then. I'm like, this is so fun. You just take pretty pictures and you grow and you have. friends and I loved it. And so I'm a big traveler. I'd love to travel. And that was also part of, you know, corporate career. It just didn't allow you to do that very much. So, you know, you'd have like one big trip a year and then maybe a few sprinkled in. But anyway, I loved

taking pictures of the travel and all these places. So I ended up starting a travel Instagram account and blogging. You did tell me about that. Yes. It was so cute. It was the blanderer. instead of like the wanderer, which I thought was so clever at the time, you know. And just taking really pictures of wherever I traveled. And back then, social media was so easy because that's all you had to do was like the perfectly curated picture. Now it's a... Right. Yeah.

So it was really easy to go back then. And so I was doing that on the side just for fun. I didn't even like tell my friends I was doing it. And so and I started like growing and we had this little community of like travel bloggers. And then Delta Airlines started picking up my. content and you think yeah I mean they used it in-flight videos remember the Sky magazine used to be in there there are paid advertisements on social media email marketing I mean everywhere and so like my followers shot up I got a I think it's like

50,000 oh wow and I mean back then I was so excited right and so what happened from there was people were asking me to run their Instagram for them because they wanted to get followers like that and so this is really funny, but my first client paid me $250 a month. Been there. Right? Been there. And I'm like, yes.

Hell yeah. Client, baby. You know, because it's a goddustle. And so, yeah, so I started doing that. And so meanwhile, all that was happening when all this other stuff was happening, right? So I knew that I had that, but I didn't know because right at that time was kind of the infancy stages of that being a career path. Yeah.

You know, like it was very new. sure um and now it's all the rage right so um i took i did take a job and then moved to another one and this company that was a marketing company that hired me and i still have a really great relationship with owner of that company's he's so supportive um i talked to him a couple of days ago sends me referrals and has come to see the studio and he's just a great guy and which was such a change from previous right but uh in 2020 or on covid like that was super successful and all that stuff. So it was kind of one of those times where,

okay, you got to make a decision. What are you going to do? This is not working. You got to make a jump. So I had enough side hustle clients that could sustain my bills, you know, like half the mortgage, you know, like all of this. It covered that. That's great.

So it almost became a, all right, maybe I have to lessen my lifestyle a little bit, but I can do this. Yeah. And so I went head first. into that and started at my company, the social project. And we do, you know, all digital marketing stuff. So website development branding, social media management, strategy, things like that. So I've been doing that now, I guess it'll be five years this spring. Dude, so freaking wild. You know what's, you know what's funny? Because it's like every conversation I have with people and every time I break

down when someone says, hey, how'd you build this? Like, I need you to help me build this. And like, here's my goal. And if I could just get there, if I could just get there, if I could get to that spot, you talk about steps. You don't need to know what's at the end of the rainbow or into the road or whatever, but everybody wants to focus on that macro result.

And I think, you know, what is going to pay massive dividends for those of you listening and watching right now is pay attention to the small steps. Because in those small steps, that is you and your process and doing what you need to do strategically every day to move the potential brand,

potential business revenue forward. And it doesn't happen overnight. So if you're wanting it to happen overnight, you're doing it for the wrong damn reasons. Focus on the impact, focus on the process, and dive into it and understand in those small micro steps every single day, that's when you're becoming that person you're supposed to be. And then when you become that woman, when you come that dude, now it starts to open up. And now you can finally, you're like, I'm not there, but like, dude, I'm not going. I'm like 25 miles away. Like, I know where I'm going now.

And I just kind of feel that in my own life right now. it's like, I'm not there. Yeah. But like I'm getting closer to the destination. You know what I'm saying? Absolutely. I've been feeling that. I mean, I think you and I've talked about that a little bit.

You know, just kind of both of our past years and all that. And, you know, I was joking with, say, my aunt is a super successful woman. I mean, just, she's a total badass. And I was talking to her a couple weeks ago about wanting to grow the social project so that the social studio is not. I don't view that as one of my. income streams right now because we're trying to build and we want to expand and all that stuff too. And I laughed at her, you know, to her and I said, you know that I'm not really done business development for this company.

And she's like, really, it's like, every client that's come to me has been a referral. Wow. And I keep people long term. Wow. Great. And so I said, no, I'm putting a new hat on like, I've never actually been in that position. But that's something that, you know, I'm putting one step in front of the other. Like, okay, let's go build this.

How do I do this? You know, because I've never had to do it before. Yeah. Which is really cool. But, you know, when you talk about that and just taking steps, which, you know, I've had a few successful years with my own company and expanding and doing all that. So it led me to a new venture, which is complete. I mean, they're separate companies, you know, and so, and then I opened the social studio, which is so, I mean, I'm so in love with this space. It is.

And for those of you listening, it's a multi-use facility. We have, it's really beautiful. so you can come in and create content, you know, record your podcasts like we're doing right now. In photo shoots, we have all the, you know, backdrop equipment and stuff like that. But you can also rent it for small events. And that is so cool. That's amazing.

That's great for Atlanta. Yeah, it's great. You know how many badasses are in Atlanta that can take advantage of that space? Yes, yeah. We actually, you know, I thought that it would be more geared towards the content creation part of it. But the events are really taking off there because, And this is part of the reason why I wanted to include that is because I've also been someone who's hosted events for many years. I ran a breast cancer charity for many, many years and women's entrepreneur networking group.

And when you're hosting an event like that, you have two choices. You are either in a bar or a restaurant in private rooms or something like that, like that kind of skill, or you're in those big event venues that cost a fortune. And so there wasn't really anything in the in-between, you know, where you max out around 75 to 80 people in terms of the venue size, but you can still host an event for 20 people. And so that's kind of where I wanted it to be

to have that middle in between, where you can rent it by the hour, you can bring your own food and beverage. You don't have to use our vendors. You don't have to spend a minimum. You don't have to, you know, spend X amount on alcohol and, you know, all the stuff. It just make it really easy.

And that would benefit so many people in Atlanta, especially entrepreneurs, especially people who are trying to do their own thing because it's affordable to come into your own thing. So, you know, with that said, I had no idea. I mean, when I say zero idea, how hard it would be to open a brick and mortar business. Yeah, I bet.

I mean, when I started the social project, that was on my house. Yeah. You know, you file your LLC, you get your bank account set up, You do this, you start, you know, your little quick books and things like that. It's, it's in your online systems, that was a breeze. Yeah. And, I mean, it's not, like, it's not easy, but it's, that was a breeze.

But it's easier. But it's easier. I've been going through. So, um, all of the things, it was just opening the studio, which now it's great, you know, it almost makes you forget how hard it was to get it open. But that was a nightmare. Talk about that, though. Like, I talk about the fear.

Oh, my God. And that's my one of my. favorite subjects because when you were talking about you just you just go you just take the step I think that fear and even if it's like a hidden fear if you even if you're saying oh I'm not afraid you you probably are and that's probably one of the reasons that's honed you back because you're there's a couple of things like a what if the business fails and you lose all your money yeah what if something fails and then you're embarrassed in front of all these people who have watched you go after it right it's it's a little bit terrifying so I like to say hey me I mean if any

entrepreneur you're looking up to your business owner, they've all failed and they've all failed a lot of times. So you just, you just fail forward. Yeah. So you just, it's just pushing you to the next location and your next destination or whatever you want to call it. So, um, I thought, so silly for me to think this, but I thought that I would finally do the construction, paint the walls, do all the things and then open my doors in five to six weeks. And everybody would just come. And everybody would just like, if you build it, they will come. So February 24. and like ready to open my doors like March 1st, here we go. And we still don't have a CEO, like a business license.

And like, well, it's coming. It's fine. And so I remember we had like this little, you know, come check out the studio thing where we invited our friends and family. And, you know, we couldn't open the doors yet. But we're close. Yeah. And we are not close.

I followed out with the city. You know, what's going on? Like, oh, we're missing a page from your application. Thanks for letting me know. Cool. It's been six weeks. Why wouldn't need one page? And then I even went back.

They never sent it to me. So it wasn't an oversight on our prep part, right? So we get it done or whatever submitted. Two more weeks go by. And then I get my first decline for the business license. And they declined our business because they put us into the category of movie production. And you know Atlanta is like a really big hub for our, you know, Hollywood. competition.

They're like, you can't do that there. I'm like, well, I don't know what you were looking at on my business application, but I have no idea what movie production is. This is not my business. This is not what we're doing. And then resubmitted it another decline. And so then I started going up to City Hall and like trying to speak with people in the planning department because the whole zoning and explaining to them what this concept was.

And so one of the people there said, well, resubmit your application and call it a photo studio. first, then list the other things. Cool. So I do that. Oh, no. Two weeks later, maybe three weeks later. I get another decline and they added on photo studio is one of the reasons. And they're like, it's not allowed. I'm like, what are even talking about? It's not allowed because it. You just told me to do it. Yeah. So you, there's a thing like when you're opening brick and border, you have to like pay attention to like what kind of businesses are allowed and what or not. What is it is not. And I mean, I just don't think they knew who they were messing with. I'm like, you, I, I would.

fight to the death for this. So I'm like researching and like all this stuff. And the year prior, it's this list is pages and pages long and it is very specific about what is allowed and what is not allowed. So like, you know, adult entertainment, not allowed, you know. Surprising. Right. So the year prior photo studio was on this list checked as approved. One year later, it's not on the list at all. It just skips over the number. So it goes from like 5.20 to 5.22. So I'm like, where does go. I would like to have the minutes of the city council meeting to where this was voted on and why it was removed because you're declining my business because of this. They couldn't provide an answer. And then so then I went down there and was like, okay, this is not an actual

photo studio because I'm not a photographer. I'm not taking pictures. People are just coming in with their phones and recording things, right? They're like, that's not allowed either. So that was actually told to me after I resubmitted it with content creation. And they told me that content creation was not allowed. So four declinations. Yeah. And content creation. And And so then that's really, that's about the point where I, it was like somebody lit me on fire. I was so I sent them, I was like, oh, so does that mean that you're shutting every business in this district down? Because they're all creating content for their business. And I sent them everybody's Instagram account.

And like, I'm sorry, I expect all these businesses to be closed tomorrow. It was a mess. And I ended up talking to an attorney. He gave me some like wording to use about setting precedent without, I don't know. I don't know. So you can tell that it was like legal advice. And he told me to send that and copy all of the city council members and the mayor. So I did.

And within an hour of me sending all of that over a city council member called me. And that was in May. And that is when the ball finally got rolling in my direction. But then it took two more months to get to do that because they would do things like, well, now that you're going to have events, you're technically considered assembly. An assembly meaning like a church. Yeah. We have thousands of people, right?

Okay. So then from that, the floor plan that we submitted was no longer okay because I had to hire an architect to come stamp it, which is like four grand. I mean, it's just crazy. So it was a mess. But yeah, once that started happening, the boss will started rolling again. And then we finally got approval in July. But what was so fascinating about that process is that for whatever reason, they didn't want me to advertise that it was coming. So I got to cease in to.

assist, saying posted on the front door. Fantastic. It's like jail time, big fan, fine, because I was posting on Instagram that the studio

was coming soon. So the day that I got my business license, it was like, oh, I have a business. I'm open with no lead up to announcing it. It was crazy.

That's wild. And like, this is what I really want the audience to focus on because I'm hearing a lot of failure here. There's so much. I'm, I'm,

and you know, I didn't know all this, right? Like, you open up a studio, you're open, cool. You're executing it. You're having events.

You're doing cool things there. But what's very important for everybody to understand here is that there was multiple moments that you could have stopped, that you could have just said, you know what, this isn't meant to be. I'm going to quit. I'm going to quit. On that, it was so hard. Yeah.

Because, I mean, think about all the money that's being in the shredder. There were nights where I would just lay in bed and cry. Yeah. I mean, just because I felt helpless. You know, that's a really hard feeling. And I did feel like a failure. And I did. And it was just, this isn't going to work.

And I'm going to have wasted all of this money. I mean, when I tell you the emotional turmoil that I was going through during this time, I can't explain it, you know, because it's like you, everybody will tell you to take the risk. It'll pay off, you know. And that's what I was doing. It was taking the risk. And it wasn't paying off. And it was terrifying.

But you know what's encouraging, though? It's like you've been through this. Yeah. And you came out of it. So in about a year, you're going to come across someone that is going through something similar and you're going to be able to coach him or her through it and help them let them know, hey, like, this is where I was at. These are the stages I went through.

And if this is what you're feeling right now, it's totally normal. You want to know what really got me through too is I kept telling myself, you know, you have those moments. They come to Jesus moments or whatever. where I'm like, I'm not the person, though. I am not the person who quits. I will not do it. I will not quit.

And then, you know, you have those moments of realizations where, you know, they always give you these statistics, like X number of businesses last out of the X number of businesses that are started. And it's not a lot, you know, the ones that it becomes successful. And I remember, you know, multiple times, like, sitting in my car as I'm doing my makeup, just, like, looking because you could just see it in my face. And I was just kind of, I was going through it, you know. But I would tell you.

myself like this moment right here this is where people quit and you're you're not going to like this is it this is what you read about this is what you hear stories about you're not going to quit dude yeah there's been multiple people over the years we may have spoken about this offline i'm not sure if we have there's been multiple people over the or the course of what the last four and a half years said you cannot build a brand off the backbone of just a show I was like, well, why not? Like, well, look at Joe Rogan. He was Joe Rogan.

Like, look at Andy Vucela. He started first for him. And I go, well, dope. I will be one of the first ones that build an empire off of a microphone and a camera. And then I will build something else that comes along with this brand. See, because to me, way I look at is like, to me, that's true reverse engineering. Like, no, I hadn't really done anything. I had did some things in sales and I was in the top one to five percent.

of every company I was with. Cool, neat. But I hadn't built a business. And I just feel like now we're starting to really, truly build the business aspect of it. But like to going from an iPhone in a car to number three on Spotify and business, that is determination. That is like being a glutton for punishment.

Because just like you, just like you, sitting in my office. I remember when I was doing the show from home, like I would say. sit in that den where everybody always saw me smiling and giving the most energetic interviews. Most of the time, before those interviews were shot, I was pacing around the house, in tears, depressed, because I felt like I wasn't good enough, because I wasn't getting the response. But what I learned is I was becoming somebody that was fucking bulletproof. And now that I've changed other things in my life, my nutrition, my activity level, and now I'm completely transforming, not just externally, but internally,

like, nah, like this is what we're coming on to. Like, this is what we're building. This is what we're doing. And I've become a different human. When did making plans get this complicated? It's time to streamline with WhatsApp, the secure messaging app that brings the whole group together. Use polls to settle dinner plans.

Send event invites and pin messages so no one forgets mom's 60th. And never miss a meme or milestone, all protected with end-to-end encryption. It's time for WhatsApp. Message privately with everyone. Learn more at WhatsApp.com. And do you think that part of that when you're having those moments? Because I think about this a lot, you know, especially when you're trying to coach up somebody else with that. You know, I think because of the world of social media and things like that, people have this very skewed idea that these things happen overnight.

and everybody, everybody wants instant gratification. Yeah. Instant gratification. And that's because we are conditioned to feel that way, right? We, if we want groceries, we can have them delivered in an hour. If we want, I mean, all of these things that are instant gratification. Yes. I mean, and it is, it's crazy how all of our lives revolve around instant gratification.

But when you're trying to build something like this, it is a long road. It is not easy, but it's so rewarding. And I, you know, I think about that too, some of those points where, like we, I said before, I'm a huge travel, love to travel. It's part of my blood. It's why I want to make money, honestly, just so I can travel. Sure. I mean, full disclosure, right? Yeah.

Well, in the last year, I joked to you guys that, you know, flying down here is the first time I've been on a flight in a year. That's wild. Which is wild. I mean, I don't think that's happened since I was in college, maybe. I mean, I lost my platinum medallium. ship with Delta, which was tragic, but I'm like, it's fine. You know, but you've literally, it was a tragedy. It was tragic.

I mean, I know that sounds like such a braty, but I've been, I've been that so long, but I just had to take a step back and say, that's still me, but I am building something here. So, I mean, so those are you listening to this, you do have to make some sacrifices sometimes. You do have to change your behaviors. You do have to change your discipline. I mean, all of those things, if you want to create something bigger, you have to sacrifice. sometimes. Excuse me sometimes. And some people will tell you like, oh, it's so easy. I mean,

you get, you get into that looped and trap because, I mean, if you think about, like, how many videos on social media do you see a week? We're like, I make $900 million in one hour by working one hour a day a week. I mean, it's just constantly in your face about how, and I'm like, no, they're not. I mean, yes, there have been some people who have really hit it big and they are making tons of money, but it was a slow process to get there. And there's only those tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of people who something did just click and it went over time. Slow process, yeah. And we'll land the plane here.

You know, like, this has been such an amazing conversation. I just wish you were local so we could do it again soon. But, like, we talk about the instant gratification. And I mean this with complete respect. Because I don't want this individual to hear it and think that I'm shit talking him because I respect him. Diary of a CEO. Stephen Barnett?

Yeah. Had no clue who he was until two months ago. I'm sorry. I didn't. I didn't. I didn't know. And so I look at that, and I could say overnight success. I know home boy's been grinding.

He's been at it. And again, maybe I was just misinformed and I, that wasn't in my algorithm, right? Now it is. The dude's amazing. Like when I, and so when I got the picture sent to me from my friend Steve over the weekend on the Sunday morning at 6 a.m., dude, look at this. Like, it was him. Then it was Monday morning coffee or something like that.

And then the determined society, I'm like, oh my God, I'm like right there with that guy. And it was really cool. But like, nothing is an overnight success. That dude has been grinding just because I didn't know who he was. And I don't mean that as a knock. But like there's a bigger picture here. There's a massive undercurrent of all the work that he's done. I mean, that dude's a G, man.

Like I didn't know who he was now. But now I'm like, dude, I'm a fan of this guy. He and I should get on a show. We should. Yeah. Yeah. Well, that's on the vision board. It'll happen if you want to.

I mean, my people get in touch with this, people, I get it. But I mean, that's such a good point. Yeah. It's such a good point. You just never know. It's just, it's wild how those things work, you know, and this part of why I love your brand so much, you know, the determined, like, if you are determined and you're dedicated, you can create some pretty epic shit in your life. You can't. Yeah.

But you can't come off it. Like determination, you know, well, let me answer that. What does determination look like to you? Well, I mean, that's part of what I experienced. last year and I'm like, I'm not going to quit. I'm not clear.

I know things get tough. I've been through hard stuff. I've been through a lot of hard stuff in my life, you know? And this is, but I am determined to live my life is full as possible.

And I, you know, part of that and I think, you know, like, you know, I lost my mom when I was in high school. And that was such a,

she was so young, you know? And I'm, so now I have, I've always had this in my head of like, you have got to live life to the fullest because we, are only here for a very short amount of time.

And I don't want to be that person who is in the office nine to ten hours a day, barely seeing in my family, not experience in the world, not living in a joyous way, just being happy and fulfilled and great relationships and friendships. I'm like, that's what my life is going to be. And whatever it takes to get there in a very moral way, and I don't mean the other stuff. I'm in a very determined positive direction. I'm going to go do that, you know. There it is.

There it is. Don't let up. Just don't let up. You can be the person that's going to quit. Quitting is going to be hard. Sticking with it's going to be hard. Choose your hard. That's not a proprietary statement.

But really think about that. Like, do you want an easy life or a hard life? I would rather the easy life, so I'm going to do the hard shit. Right? So just thank you so much for coming on. I adore you. This has been amazing. Can't wait to get some food with you after this.

No. God, what a surreal moment. Serreal moment. That's what I love for this. So thank you for coming down here. I can't wait until we're celebrating you being number one. I can't wait. That's going to be incredible.

You know, I got goosebumps because I want to save that celebration for number one, not categorically, but overall. It's coming. Maybe five years, maybe 10. Damn it, it's going to happen. And we will fight on those micro movements and that process until we get. there. So with that being said, guys, please share the episode with somebody that you know love and trust that needs to hear this story of overcoming obstacles and turning it into opportunity that Kiera has done. So thank you guys so much. Until next time, stay determined.

Our friends, what else? Everything I'm doing up until it's done. I meet for the entirety. I'm putting over time. I'll be working. Just know I'm a go for mine because I earned it. They watch and I know it's time. I confirmed it. A whole society determined. the term is to save. Next up is a little song from CarMax about selling a car your way. You want to sell those wheels. You want to get a CarMax instant offer. So fast.

Want to take a sec to think about it. Or like a month? I want to keep tabs on that instant offer. With Offer Watch. Want to have CarMax pick it up from your drive. So, want to drive? CarMax. Pick up not available everywhere.

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