Taking Big Risks to Build a Wine Empire | Stephanie Franklin

00:00
What am I so afraid of? And then I think one of the main things as well to me is when my mom passed and I saw that the world kept turning. People still kept moving. I wanted the whole world to pause. And they were like, oh, we'll give you a moment of silence and now we're gonna move on to the next one. So it's one of those things to where we think, we overstate the importance of our current existence versus realize there may be something else greater and why should you not do whatever it is you want to do?

00:29
And it also made me realize I do not want to be, whether it's that better if it happens quickly, living with regrets. I'm just trying to create memories. I tell my dad, memories that I want to see flash before my eyes before I leave. Today's guest is Stephanie Franklin. Stephanie's an entrepreneur who went from a career in ad tech to becoming the founder and CEO of Fly Wines, which is a company that works with international independent wineries, and it helps people discover

00:58
local gems, in her words. Her journey shows her resilience, her determination, and this unwavering spirit. We talk about how a personal tragedy became her catalyst for change. Her story is a reminder that life is fleeting and it's essential not to live with regrets. It's an inspiring tale that underscores the importance of seizing opportunities, taking big leaps of faith, and making the most of our time here on Earth.

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Whether you're an aspiring entrepreneur or someone navigating a significant life shift, or you're just someone looking for a little inspiration, I think Stephanie's story will resonate with you. Before we jump into today's episode, I wanted to thank all of my Patreon supporters. It might not seem like a lot to some of you, but the Patreon community is now over 30 supporters, which means I just gave away two t-shirts over there. But in any case, your support means so much and it allows me to cover the costs of producing the show.

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Just for some context, each episode takes about 8 to 10 hours of time from beginning to when it's out in the world, and it probably involves the use of about 5 or 10 tools. 5 to 10 tools. So all your support is going to good use. If you want to learn more about how you can support the show, please head to thel or patreon.com slash thelifeshiftpodcast. And without further ado...

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Let's jump into this episode of the LifeShift podcast with my guest, Stephanie Franklin. I'm Matt Gilhooly, and this is the Life Shift. Candid conversations about the pivotal moments that have changed lives forever.

02:45
Hello, my friends. Welcome to the Life Shift Podcast. I am joined today by Stephanie. Hello, Stephanie. Hello. Thank you for wanting to be a part of this most fulfilling journey of the LifeShift Podcast. I was telling you a little bit before that that really started as an assignment in a school project. So thank you for being a part of this. Thank you for having me. It's fascinating to me to think back the version of me, even like two and a half years ago before this podcast was even an idea.

03:14
and to know now that I'm close to 110 people that I've talked to and had the pleasure of having mostly deep conversations about really the human experience and the ups and the downs and the ways that we can move through things that are really hard and or exciting or both and that we're not alone in this journey. And I know that your story is really going to resonate with people in that way as well.

03:45
Yes, definitely. We do tend to feel a lot of times, which most people feel like, oh, we're the only ones going through things. So it is good. And I share my story just because I know that it can be very impactful, hopefully impactful to someone else. Yeah, you know what I found? And it's so interesting. Sometimes people come on and they have this really like profound story and I'm like, oh my gosh, someone listening is gonna really attach to like this.

04:12
pivotal moment in their life and like, oh, I'm so inspired by that or whatever that may be. And then I'll hear from listeners behind the scenes. They'll send me a message on Instagram or something like that. And they'll point out some like super innocuous, like a nothing moment if you think about it that stuck out to them, that just hit them on the right day, the right time and inspired them in a way. So it's like, it reminds me that even if we don't

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connect directly to someone's specific story, there might be something in that journey that people attach to and they find inspiration in. And I don't know why I never thought about it before. I always just thought like just very surface level, like, oh, well, you know, for me with having a parent die when I was a kid, I'm like, okay, well, I'm automatically always going to identify with someone's story if they lost a parent when they were a kid.

05:09
And sometimes I've had people on the show and I'm like, that experience was like totally different than mine and it doesn't relate. But it's so interesting to see how little pieces of people's stories can really just bring people to a new level. Yeah, definitely. And the main thing is people get different things based off of where they are in their lives. So for me being here in my story and what's happened to me.

05:34
may be impactful to someone at one level, but impactful, like you said, those little bitty pause moments for someone else, they may find that those are more important to them because that's all based off of where they are in their current life. I found myself doing that. I'm a big reader, love reading. I'll read a book one year and get one thing from it and then reread the book maybe a year or two years later and get something that I missed. So it's one of those same things. If you think about

06:01
when we're interacting with anyone versus a podcast or anything else, we only hear at the level where we currently are and what we need. It's fascinating though to even dive into and think about it. I don't know why before, I think I was so conditioned to these check marks and these things, it was just one and done or completed that, completed that and I never really dove into the details. I love your example about the book because

06:30
I've had a lot of people talk about that as well as like, I've read that book before, but this time, it meant something totally different. And you're right, it's just like where we are and the people we've experienced in our lives up to that point. So thank you for being a part of this. Maybe before I have you kind of go into your story, you can just tell us just a smidge about who you are and what you do in this current world. And then we'll have you kind of paint the picture of what your life was like leading up to the change in your life.

06:59
Sure. So I'm Stephanie Franklin. I am the founder and CEO of Flywines. We're a wine company based in the U.S. We work with international independent wineries from around the world and bring them to the U.S. We also help people discover local gems that they may not have known about. So that's exactly how we came about. Prior to starting a wine company, I worked in tech. I was in the whole

07:29
had no idea how it was gonna happen, what I was going to do. I just knew I was over the current state of things and flow within organizations. With that being said, a light bulb came off with the idea for Fly Wines. And luckily I already had some really good members of my team that we were trying to cultivate another idea. So the team's already there and they agreed to the shift. And it's just grown ever since.

07:56
But of course, as you stated too, Matt, they're one of those pivotal moments that take you out of the panic of fear into might as well just do it. I, it's so, I can relate. There's like some point and it doesn't have to be like, we're gonna talk about your event in a little bit. It doesn't have to be something super monumental, but there's like this one piece in everyone's journey where you're just like, what, you know what? I'm just gonna do it.

08:25
And it's just gonna happen. And sometimes it's like a piece of mail. I had a guest on who got a piece of mail that made her really mad. And she's like, you know what? I'm quitting this and I'm starting this. And it's just like something like that. Or like in my life shift was really like when my mom died and that was something I couldn't control. That one didn't shift my life on purpose, right? And so that was something that I didn't get a choice in and I didn't get anything to do with it because I was so young. So.

08:52
Maybe you can kind of before we tell us how you made that pivot, because I know it was something really impactful in your life. Can you kind of give us what that looked like leading up to it, how you got into like ad tech and, and why you liked it and kind of what that journey looked like. That's been a very big journey. I grew up in Miami. I transitioned actually at the undergrad. I wanted to shift and get my masters and

09:20
I didn't know where I wanted to do it. I lived in London, so I moved to London, and that was a really big eye-opener for me, even though, okay, they speak English, but it's just the aspect of being able to travel seamlessly to other countries and get other cultures and interaction. Oh, from London? Yes, as I was just, it was amazing. Yeah, compared to Miami. Yeah, Miami was very, very much so a melting pot. I love it as well.

09:45
But it was one of those things to that shift from London and coming back to the States and I was in New York and I really wanted to get more into the ad tech, martech space. So that's why the shift came into the Bay area. So that's how life just transitions naturally has transitioned naturally for me coming into the Bay area. I said, I worked in the ad tech, martech space for awhile. I had my own other company for awhile. I was doing some business there. And then it was like, you know,

10:15
I'm just, just not working for me still. A big event took place in my life directly from my mom, similar to you, my mom passed away out of the blue it seemed like. And it was just like, oh, she's sick and now she's gone. I was like, what in the world is happening? So to see a parent pass away at, if I consider, I can imagine how young your mom was versus my mom this age, because you were a child. And my mom, she still felt very young to me.

10:44
And I was like, I just don't. So what was one of those things around that time was the idea that fly wines was birth as well too. And I said, you know what, let's just do it. It was just one of those things too where like, and I think it may sound very morbid. A lot of people may resonate or not, but for me, it came the standpoint of my life will end no differently than anyone else's, meaning there will be a separation.

11:14
of my body to my spirit, soul. So what am I so afraid of? And then I think one of the main things as well to me is when my mom passed and I saw that the world kept turning. People still kept moving. I wanted the whole world of halls. And they were like, oh, we'll give you a moment of silence and now we're gonna move on to the next one. So it's one of those things to where we think.

11:40
We overstate the importance of our current existence versus realize there may be something else greater and why should you not do whatever it is you want to do? And it also made me realize I do not want to be, whether it's that better if it happens quickly, living with regrets. I'm just trying to create memories. I tell my dad, memories that I wanna see flash before my eyes before I leave. I'm wondering, growing up, were you someone that was like,

12:07
Cause like it sounds like you were moving around a bit. You were kind of chasing, were you chasing career? Were you chasing opportunities or were you just moving? Opportunities, I'm one to where, oh, if it sounds like a good opportunity, I'll just do it. I'm like, oh, where's that? They hold me back. And I think a lot of times as well too, it resonates because I am a single woman. I don't have any kids. So it, for me, my risk barrier is pretty low.

12:34
You were someone that was not necessarily afraid of risk or change or those kind of things. Like you had done it many times. There was just some kind of... There was a barrier of... Well, not even because you said you had your own business. So what was that barrier that was keeping you from launching this newer company? Like why stop there? What was the line?

13:02
The other company I had, that was just more of a sales tactic. So it was too hands-on. So I couldn't get it to scale without it being so hands-on. So it was one of those things. It's not going to work. Let's shift something or two, unless you have a ton of different engineers to back it up or pay someone. And I wasn't that much so at that point in time, very passionate about that particular idea.

13:29
I was passionate about what I do now, which is still just like with sales and marketing and interacting and networking with people. That's what I like most about it. But wine is something I have found a huge passion in, especially once I transitioned to London and experiencing all of those different cultures. And luckily I moved into the Bay, one of my good friends who's also our son, he is an Italian son always.

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picking him. I'm like, well, he's a fourth generation, so he really doesn't count. I'm like, it's in his blood. He's been drinking wine since he was like two. But no, he's really, he's extremely well educated. He's a high level son. He's a very, he's level three. So it's only one more to go for him. But it's one of those things to where meeting with him and interacting and understanding wines even more has just created and heightened it within me. And I see also

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how a lot of times if we can bring the mindfulness to wine as well, which is what we're cultivating in the future, you'll see how that can impact your senses on smelling different wine and different flavors, how that can impact you in a different way and heighten your senses overall. So you're, I mean, working in the sales and ad tech and martech and those areas before your mom passed, why didn't you?

14:54
Why didn't you do it before she passed? Was there anything that was like, was there like, cause I'm, I'm someone that's like, I know I should be, like I feel like I should be an entrepreneur, but I have zero desire to do any of it myself. Like I just want to work for the person. Like I just want, I just give me the box, I'll operate in it and then I'll go home and do like my podcasts and do these kinds of things. And so, you know, what was, what was drawing you, but like also like, why didn't you do it?

15:24
Why did it take your mom dying? I didn't have the idea until... Actually, the idea came, I want to say a few months before my mom passed, so she was still battling in sickness. That's when it really pushed it and we were trying doing research around it. So you didn't have the idea. You just like knew you were good at sales and marketing and technology and stuff. I was ready for something else. So my partners and I, at that point in time, business partners, we were like, OK, well, this seems like a huge lift.

15:53
on this sales idea. And I was like, I don't know. And then actually, I take that back. It was after my mom passed away in September, because I will never forget, it was November. And I said, you know what, guys? I have an idea. Maybe we should, and they were like, oh. And the idea came. Backtrack until you had the idea was found overall. I was having social distancing with friends sitting on the porch, San Francisco on the steps.

16:22
And she was like, Oh, a friend bought me this wine tasting kit. It's horrible. And the packaging was cute and the wine was horrible. And I would never forget. I told her, you know, I could do something like this. And she looked at me like, huh? And I was like, yeah. And at the time her and her husband, they were playing around with making wines in Santa Cruz and I said, and we'll have your stuff in. So I was just already starting formulating the vision that I met with the team. And I was like, you guys, I think I have an idea. And they were like, okay.

16:52
And I honestly have no idea what kept propelling me to move forward. I didn't know anything about wine. I knew I had, I was surrounded by a few friends that were Psalms and I liked wine and I liked understanding and uncovering the different senses behind it. I had no idea who ABC was. I had no idea who TTV was. I had no idea how FDA had anything to do with wine.

17:19
So it was one of those things to where I'm happy we did it, is that I took the steps for us to do it ourselves without paying a huge up cost and lift to a lawyer. Because I was like, well, we have so much time, let's formulate it correctly to make sure we understand what steps we take. And so when someone else comes into the fold, we know exactly what we're handing over. When you were like achieving and achieving and achieving in your career.

17:48
Was this just another thing where there's only so much I can do in corporate? I need to go off and build this on my own and create something from scratch. Was there any part of you that was doing this for external validation? I know I talk to a lot of people, like your parents, was it something where you were like, I wanna build this so other people can see that I can do it or that it can be done? And you don't have to say yes? No, it's not the case. Mine is more.

18:17
I just want to build something that allows me the freedom that I really want in life without the constraints of corporate, especially corporate America for me. I was just over the bureaucracy of things, and I was like, what if I could build something that would feel very genuine and inclusive to everyone without it being all the bureaucracy behind it, especially the politics? It's just too much. It just...

18:46
I was just overwhelmingly over. I've always had the inkling, even when I was younger, like, okay, I think I'm better off doing my own thing and building my own vision versus working for others. And it doesn't seem that I don't work well with others. I work very well with others, but at the same time, it was just more an internal feeling to where I knew that there had to be a transition or a shift. Had no idea what it was. This is not the first company I've started. I've had companies prior.

19:14
And it's like, okay, well, I'm going to have to transition out. But this was one of those pivotal ones because it has such a huge lift to where I knew that it was going to be very transformational, not only to myself, but to others around me. And I think the main thing is, which is very good for people to know is because going from one industry to a totally different industry that you're unaware of. Takes a lot. It takes, you have to remove fear.

19:44
How do you do that? Just focus on the first step in life. And I tell people all the time, focus on what's in front of you. For me, when I was building up Fly Lines, if I had seen the whole picture of what it would have taken, I probably would have been scared. I'm like, I don't know. But what I did and what works best for me, and I think probably works best for a lot of people when facing fear, is to just focus on the step in front of you.

20:12
I would say what's paperwork needs to be filled out? ABC says you have to fill out X, Y, and Z. Okay, let's just fill out the paperwork. Now what do we need to do? We need someone to make a box. Never even realized how much it would cost to make boxes. You think, oh, it's just a box. Like how much do you want for a box? So it's one of those things to work. And how many do I have to order? Yeah, and like 100,000 what? 100,000 boxes? Is everyone a corporation?

20:39
It's one of those things to where if you focus on that direct step in front of you, it will allow you to face your fear a lot better and not be overcome. Just focusing on the step and don't let your mind wander because a lot of times we get discouraged and want to see the full picture. I want to see this completely successful before I step into it. Most of the times, especially when it comes to big ideas.

21:06
You're not going to necessarily see there's going to be a level of risk involved in it. And luckily, I'm grateful to where I'm not one of those people that are very risk at first. I'm more of it, does it make sense? If it doesn't work, we'll just pivot. And that's one thing I can think that I can teach people is that learning to pivot. Don't be so afraid to pivot. I think it's hard though. Yes. I think that society has taught us that when things don't work out, we can be seen as failures or...

21:35
the outside world might see us as a failure, when it's really not. I think we've just absorbed that. I'm wondering like how watching your mother, I'm not sure how she passed, but it sounds like she had some kind of disease or some kind of illness, and then you kind of watched her pass away. Was there any part of that journey that lit the fire more or like that changed you? Because it sounds like in your journey from Miami to London to New York to the Bay Area,

22:04
you were always kind of seeking and feeling confident in your decisions. Like what was it about, you know, seeing someone that you saw as young and still so much more to go? What was it about that journey that like changed you to be like, let's go? I think just the passing in itself when someone dies that that is near to you is just like the passing just affects you. Like, Oh wow. Life just shifted drastically. It's

22:31
one of those things to where I still find myself trying to identify, well, what was the feeling? I was like, it's just, as you will know, having a parent just passed, it changes you in ways that you can't even necessarily articulate. But for me, that main thing that I focused on was, what am I so fearful of? What if, oh, and I think a lot of times, oh, people are very much so afraid of failure.

22:59
I actually have to have stated to my friends even this year, I said, you know, I'm taking trying to shift the word failure out of my vocabulary. These are just learnings. We're conditioned, especially just within our culture and society wise to see success or failure. And even if you want to say, I want to see success or failure, you determine your success or failure and what's success for you. Does that matter in comparison to anyone else?

23:28
But for myself, eliminating that word failure and shifting it to learning opportunities is very beneficial. I had a friend recently ask me, she's like, oh, well, what are the highs and what are the lows? I was like, the highs are progress, meaning anything that takes us a step further into what we're looking to go in. And I said, the lows are hurdles. And I was like, the thing is, you don't turn a hurdle into the mountain. That's what I realized overall. And a lot of times,

23:55
especially with side of pressures and norms, we turn just everyday hurdles of a situation and now it's become a failure to someone's mind and now you're less than, and now we're worried about what others think about you. And it may sound very morbid, but I'm like, you're gonna be gone. And someone's gonna think about you, yes, some will think about you longer than others, but.

24:20
Try to do more things on what makes you feel good and focus internally and listen to your intuition. That is a very much so indicator and guiding factor to me than what it was in my 20s right now. Did you find like while you're doing this journey, you're kind of ideating, you got this idea, was there a point in that journey where you're like, yes, this is it. Like I've never felt this way before. Like what was it that was part of that journey where you were like, yeah guys.

24:50
I know this one's gonna work in the way that I want it to. It was seeing the boxes and the wine all put together. That was an aha moment to me. It would be with our one of wineries that we work with in Garibald 14-0 and Garibald and seeing the boxes and the bottles together. And I was like, oh my gosh, this is different. Yeah, and I was like, I was very overjoyed. And again, you don't wanna put so much pressure on the future.

25:18
I even shared with friends, I was like, you know, if nothing else happens from here on out, I am very excited about just putting this together and putting it out there. But my inkling was telling me that, oh, it's definitely going to grow and shift. And the way that it's grown and shift, even until this standpoint is amazing. And I'm extremely happy about where we're going. But that was one of the pivotal shifts, just having everything almost basically completed.

25:48
Like, oh, this is from an idea that I had till now. Wow, look at this. And it's real. Did you think about that moment on your stoop when your friend was talking about, like, look how great this marketing is, but how terrible this wine is? And you're like, look, we've solved both problems. We got beautiful and good wine. Definitely. And that was another pivotal moment at first, how she spoke of my mom was very much number one, my friend on the stoop.

26:15
she actually ended up passing away out of the blue, very young as well too. And both of those just kind of like, I was like, what is happening? Impacted me in such a way to where again, it just keeps pushing you forward. Do you ever feel that you are doing any of this in service to those two that you lost that were so close to you?

26:40
Like you want to do it for them or you're going to succeed because you want to make sure that they're honored in some way? I want to make sure that they're honored, but I don't want to do this in name of anyone else. Meaning is still you honor your people. Cause a lot of times, especially in American culture, we're propelled for into, oh, I'm going to do this and honor them. That means that we now set ourselves up for some type of possible disappointment for someone else. Versus if...

27:10
we focus more internally and say, I'm doing this for my gut, my intuition, my feeling makes me feel whole as a person and I'm going to honor these people along the way. That's a different avenue. But when you put so much pressure around, I'm doing this for them. And then when things don't pan out or you don't see the progress expectations, then there comes a point and I feel like that's kind of spiral for sadness and depression.

27:40
I can't even understand it. I mean, if we're being honest, if people listen to the LifeShift podcast and they hear me, they're like, Matt, you and Stephanie have nothing in common because, you know, like I, and a lot of it probably stems from, you know, my mom died in 1989. So around that time, no one was really talking about mental health. No one was really talking about how do you properly help someone?

28:09
especially a child grieve this loss. And so a lot of my things that I assumed at that time and took on the responsibility of was to prove to everyone that I was gonna be okay, that I was going to succeed, right? Whatever that meant, like you said, it's like, you kind of have to define that for yourself, but I think when you're that young, I assumed that I just had to be good. I had to be better than everyone else so that everyone around me was like, oh, he's okay. His, you know, like he's not gonna fall into.

28:37
deep despair. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, I was a big hot mess. And so all of your talk is so like, you talk about how you have to fuel yourself from the inside and it's all so foreign to me. And I'm like, I wish that I could feel that way. And so I'm sure you encounter people in your space. I encountered my own self. I felt certain ways before I am the way I am now where I'm growing to be. As how did you?

29:05
How did you transition from this external validation type thing to be like, no, that doesn't really matter? Was there a moment that made you do that? Was it the loss of your mom? It was one of those pivotal moments was the loss of my mom. And then the loss of a friend who originally idea that I sat with and cultivated that idea with, that it grew from there as well too. But it's one of those things to where I had to shift from.

29:34
how would it look? I'm personally not a person that loves to be in front of the camera. I do sing, I can sing and do like different things like, but to say, oh, let me sit down and do a podcast or just to chat for an hour is not me. So I had to get beyond my personal likes and dislikes and to honor what I was looking to grow. And to again, making sure that I bring my mom and my friend Lea and honoring them along.

30:04
away with me. So again, it's not putting them and saying, doing this for them. But hey, we're on this journey and honoring, I'm honoring you as we grow together. Yeah, I, I, I don't know. I feel like for so long, I was just like afraid of not doing it right, whatever right was, you know, like nobody actually knows. And I was just like chasing things and, you know, you know, losing my mom so early and

30:32
struggling so hard to grieve the loss of her, just because I was young and people didn't know what to do, taught me a lot because when my grandmother got sick and was dying, I feel like I did everything right. And when I watched her take her last breath, a lot of those similar feelings happened in which, we had a lot of these talks towards the end of her life where she was like, you know what? I wish I hadn't worried so much.

30:58
Because none of that matters now. Like, we're just sitting here and I'm dying and you're all watching me die. And like, I wasted so much time worrying about that. And immediately after she passed, I was like, you're right. I screw this and like quit my job and moved to the mountains and did all these things. And it was really, really refreshing in a way. But then somehow I got back into a little bit more into this. We waste so much time.

31:25
worried about how it looks. I can remember we had, when we first got started, and it was this cringe video, it wasn't edited right properly. And I was like, oh gosh, we couldn't take it down. It was one of those things, all right. And then all of a sudden, it started like spreading like wildfire. And I was like, what is happening? And I'm like, oh my goodness, I wish I could edit. And it was one of those pivotal moments in myself. I had to say Stephanie, stop. So.

31:52
things don't look perfectly and maybe that's what resonates with people. We're trying to make things so profound and so perfect. A lot of times don't get me wrong. We change what we can. My standpoint is I do the best I can now with the current knowledge I have. Tomorrow I'll do better with more knowledge. I gained from the day before. So giving myself that grace has been so pivotal for me and where I am now.

32:21
and hopefully to the person I'm growing to. And that's one of the things I always have, keywords to myself, and I think it was like a year or two ago, that was one of my guiding keywords is grace. Give yourself grace, Stephanie. You give everyone else grace. I would give everyone grace. It's okay, but then it comes to myself. Oh no, Stephanie, I cannot believe you.

32:44
So it's a process. You're not like in this place where every day is like sunshine and rainbows and you're perfect with yourself. The hurdles that I deal with every day, looking at my inbox. I didn't expect that. What is that? Oh, wow. That's a new, that came out left out of left field. It's for me, the keeps it balanced is I don't see them as failures. I don't see them as mountains. I see them as hurdles.

33:14
and learning experiences. Exactly. I always say this, nothing is insurmountable. And it really is not. Oh, no, it is. No, it really is not. Because it's a life, we're an experience. I think a lot of times we get so focused in our head and in our feelings that we're taking away from our existence, which is just to be within ourselves and to enjoy our time here on this earth.

33:45
and to do what makes us feel hold on this earth. And for me, that was the pivotal moment of starting Flylines. I felt, okay, this is something I wanna do. I'm feeling more in control, not even just in control, but hey, I'm building something that makes me happy. I'm working more hours. I actually, Brandon said, she's like, how many hours you work? I'm like, we don't ask questions like that. I can just do it. I can't count that high. Yeah, it's just, it's enjoyment of it.

34:11
And I realize it's not the working aspect. You want to do things you enjoy, and you count the hours less because you're enjoying it more. Right. You're not dreading getting to the end of the day. Maybe some days you are. But in general, you're not dreading the next step because it's all because it all feels right in the right space. So what's the timeline? If we're looking, you left corporate America when you built.

34:40
to when and when did you get that box in the hand? Like, what does that timeline look for you? It was really at the end of last year, corporate America shifted when the whole shifts happened with the layoffs and from then on, I was like, okay, no, going full time into Fly Once. Like, oh, you should, yep. And we were at that point to where the boxes hadn't arrived yet, but they were in route and everything was in motion.

35:07
So we were in a really good spot place. Oh, and then funny enough, Out the Blue realized that we were gonna launch, thinking we were gonna launch it in November last year. You should change your license. Okay, okay, ABC, let's upgrade the license. Oh, that requires another department. Oh, oh, and more money. Oh, wow, but I didn't expect that. So again, here's the hurdle, hurdle that set us back six months because it takes.

35:36
a long time for the approval process back and forth paperwork to get it approved. I can say unless you want to pay a lawyer tens of thousands, which is not, what was an aspect that I was looking into, especially after venturing and starting in full time. So finding those little hurdles along the way come about March of this year, seeing and having that box in hand, it was about March or April. Wow. This is, this is great.

36:04
We're ready to go to our launch day in May and to see that be the anxiety behind that as well too. You know, if you've been at the podcasting, you said you're on 110th episode, is that a lot of times when you're putting it out there, you're like, oh my gosh, I hope this is well received. It's not. I don't know. Yeah, because you put in a lot of work. Yeah, you put in a lot of work, but then you have to remind yourself, even if it's not well received, it's something that I'm very proud of.

36:34
than myself and it doesn't matter because that's what wholeness for me is important and does is it takes out, it takes a little bit of the anxiety out of it to present it and how it looks to people but saying, hey Stephanie, even if no one likes it, you like it still, right? Yeah, you're right. So am I conditioned to only like things that other people like? Am I training myself to like things that actually I like as well?

37:03
Yeah, well, and I think that that is the big difference there is that, you know, you've developed this company and you've developed this product and whatnot with full intention and wholeness in what felt right for you and the direction that you want to go. And I say that because I think there are a lot of businesses out there. There's a lot of entrepreneurs out there that are building something. Because they heard the market wants this or they heard so and so made

37:32
bazillion dollars doing this, so now they're going to make it slightly different and offer, you know, in some way. But the way you've built Fly Wines is really heart-centered building from within so that whatever happens feels good. If you build things off of passion and things that come from you, they're more likely to succeed. And even if there isn't a community out there for it, a community will form.

38:01
I mean, and I will say something so funny, you could cut it out if you like. Like even people that are like, oh, these foot fetish people, there are so many websites and everything out there that you would never think a community of these people exists. And they do. So even whatever you're offering, there's still a community of people that your message resonates with. And that's what I had to come to terms with with Flywines is when I built, I said, you know, who knows if what will grow too, but...

38:31
It may be a community of people. And the community started to form. And it just makes me extremely excited to see where we are and even where we're going to and growing to. Yeah, so people listening now, we're recording this in November 2023, probably won't be out until early 2024 when you're listening. But at this point, you've had it like officially launched now like five or six months, right? Is this true? So what does that trajectory look like? Is...

39:00
is the passion and the heart and all the legwork that you put into it, how does that feel now that you're six months into this? It still feels amazing. And again, even there are hurdles along the way, but my mindset is don't turn a hurdle into a mountain, Stephanie. Just take it step by step. Especially upon this entrepreneur journey, you cannot afford.

39:27
to let things deteriorate in you and become mountains because you have a team underneath you that's looking to stay, okay, you're the guiding factor. And with that guiding factor, you have to make sure that there's a balance, meaning is, don't you acknowledge, don't act as if, oh, everything is great. Everything is not great every day. But at the same time, we accept the problems or whatever challenges, and then we start focused on a solution.

39:55
So we're changing, we're not giving our hurdles and our problems much of our focus. We're giving 95% of our focus to focus on the solution. And that's where you can stay out of the, I like to call the pity-party spiral, the mental spiral that happens because now your mind is just going, it's gone, it's gone, it's gone. And it's like, that's not gonna work. My main thing, I remember you stated something about even with corporate America.

40:24
What main thing difference is I'm not waking up with panic attacks, thinking about Slack and emails. I'm thinking about things in a more maturing and a growth factor. Yes, I still dream and think about my company, but it's more or less, Oh, let me get this done without all the panic that come that's come along with when I experienced when I worked in corporate America.

40:47
I can understand that. I mean, and it's also, again, it's different because your why is different than, you know, than if you were to go to a job where someone was paying you to do that particular job. That's just like, your why at that point is to make a paycheck, you know, is to like afford your bills. But now that afford your bills and get a paycheck is now intertwined with this really positive why of your company. So, I mean, I see a box behind you. Is that one of your boxes?

41:16
That is, that's one of the beginning, the labels of our box. So you'll see it when it comes out. What do you guys offer? Is it like a subscription box? What is it? What is the general sense of your business? We offer wine tasting kits that you go to our website, Flavwines.club. So that comes a little bit from your friend's idea of, or like that little sparked idea. Yes, that was where the spark started.

41:41
And then from there, we're actually launching our wine subscription program this month. So the wine tasting has many bottles, 187 milliliters. So people that just kind of want to sample different types of wine in a comfort of their home. Our wine subscription program is what we're launching this month. That's our international end. There'll be four bottles of wine we have in our wine subscription model. And within that, all of the wines that you find on our site can only be exclusively found with us.

42:09
in the US drew us. So that's when we set ourselves apart within that aspect. So all of the wines that we have coming in, we have an Italian one coming in, that's more launching first. Then we have a Turkish wine that's coming in. So we're getting that and people love to hear Turkish wine because a lot of people don't taste it. I've never tasted Turkish wine. So our goal is to focus on a lot of those underrepresented wine regions as well too.

42:37
We're looking into Georgian wines, Armenian wines. Those are the types of wines that we're cultivating and want to bring in. And that's why they can only, a lot of most of them can only be exclusively found through us. That's awesome. And so you said you're launching like a subscription service soon. Yes. It's coming soon. So probably by the time that this episode is out, people can kind of find that information. I think it's, you know, that's another layer. Have you seen...

43:04
this interest grow in the first offering that you had of this tasting kit and you're seeing a community build, you kind of talked about the foot fetish people, but now international wine fetish. Exactly, exactly. I have seen that, we have seen it grow, especially with the experiences, because we do have a luxurious product, but I think a lot of times when people...

43:27
get are offering, they're extremely surprised. Like it's like, oh, this is really nice. I'm like, oh, we want you to feel luxurious. We want you to open it up and feel like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. That's awesome to hear that people are being surprised by the quality because that tells me like they're getting a bigger value than maybe what they feel that they're giving to you.

43:54
And so like that's a wonderful feeling as a consumer, right? And that kind of keeps you like, oh, you know, I want to try again, or I want to try something new. And I guess you're- Exactly. I mean, a subscription model right there and then is all about return customers and repeat customers. And so- Yeah. And another thing we're doing as well too, we're going to start our virtual wine events by the time this loads, that'll be pretty much up and going. Our virtual events just for everyday consumers too. So if you come to our website,

44:23
you'll be able to check out with our wine tasting box and then actually check into a virtual experience if you like. So you can do a virtual wine tasting with a community of other people. But this is just one thing of what we do consumer wise. We do virtual events for businesses, virtual wine tastings for companies. So we're extremely, extremely excited about where we're going to. What's your favorite part about you these days? Not your business, but you.

44:55
I like the way I'm checking myself a lot faster than I did before. Meaning, you know, still a lot of times if I do something or I'm faced with something, I'm immediately annoyed. Like a human would be. Yeah, and it's just like, but it's like, my reminding goes into Stephanie, why are you annoyed? So it goes to take a step back and watch your actions.

45:23
So I tell people, I love this book, The Untethered Soul by Michael Singer. He tells that like you're sitting back, just watch your thoughts. So your thoughts and your feelings are just feelings. So, and it was one latest lady set up, which was perfect to me is that your feelings are just different options. They're not the resolution like the end of the day. It's just, it's a feeling. So, and most of the time those feelings can be off of.

45:52
core characteristics or just learn patterns and habits. So taking that step back in, when I immediately get annoyed with something, I take it more internally. What's really annoying you about this person? What's unsettling within yourself? Because this person is just being what their current state and energy level is. So it's not addressing it from the external with that person's actions a lot of times. Not saying all the times a lot of times, but going internally and saying, oh, I'm triggered because I'm still very impatient.

46:23
So you're finding that that time is shorter. Exactly. Your turnaround time is much quicker Exactly. of finding that. So like the before times when you were in corporate America, you feel that that's like probably the biggest change in you. Yes, of course. Cause it's like, oh, I'm still annoyed with this person from the other day when they said that at a meeting, I can't believe they said, versus now it's, okay, person says something. Oh, Stephanie, you're triggered. Oh, that's because.

46:53
You don't like to hear people talk about other people, or you're just still dealing with your impatience level. So take a breath and focus on your breathing that will calm your impatience. And now you can able to deal with this situation or this dialogue differently versus letting your feelings guide your dialogue. What do you think your mom would say if she saw all the things you were doing now? I think she'd be very, very proud. My friends say that, she'd be so happy. Oh, she'd be proud.

47:22
proud mom telling all of her friends. Even when I used to live in London, oh my gosh, she used to kill me when I lived in London because she got, I answered her phone, it's my daughter from London. I'm like, why are you saying London like that? Even though she didn't want me to go. But of course now is, oh, she's in London. So you think she would, she would she be surprised at what you're doing?

47:50
she would. Just because I have ideas and when I have an idea I want to go for something, I want to go for it. She'd be like, oh, why? Okay. But she'd be right on board. Like my dad is just saying, just they're very much so accepting people. Is that what you want to do and shift on? Okay. Great. Very apprehensive. Yes. They were like, I wouldn't do it, but you go for it.

48:16
Are they that kind of people or are they people that also take big risks? They I will say they don't take as many. But I don't come from a huge family of like major risk takers. Like I'm the first one that actually lived out the side of the US. And my grandmother almost had a panic attack. I'm like, things can happen to me here. And it's just that my parents have.

48:41
taught us to be very outgoing and to believe we can do anything. So I think they'd be very proud of the fact that, oh, you're actually believing you can do that. I don't know if you can do it, but I'm happy you believe it. So because if you believe it, now I believe it. Well, and it goes back to your point, which is very, very hard to do for a lot of people, is to just take the next best step. Just focus on this thing that you need to accomplish that's directly in front of you.

49:10
and then you can handle the next thing. And I think a lot of us, I'm gonna include myself in this, I think a lot of us think of the what ifs, think of how am I gonna get there? It's so far away, how am I gonna get there? And good on you for realizing that that part, it matters, but not as much as the thing that's right in front of you to take that next step. Because had you not done all that stuff, you could have seen jumping into the wine industry.

49:40
as a giant mountain. Exactly. But you were just building one step at a time so that you eventually you're like, oh, I'm near the top of the mountain. Pretty cool. Exactly. Like I can see what's beyond this and move through it. So good on you. I mean, I think. You just said something that sparked as well in me about just taking the step by step and looking at it. Not letting the whole picture consume you.

50:09
and just being more in the moment, being present. And that's what taking a step-by-step method does force you to be more present in the moment because we are necessarily, especially in the current way of society, we're looking externally, we're looking at the future. And they tell you, any psychologist and anyone that will tell you like, you have to stay in the present moment. I love yoga, that's what yoga is, staying in a present moment. And when you take it step-by-step, you are forcing yourself.

50:39
to be in the present moment and just like, I'm just looking over here. I don't know what's happening. Oh, I did that. Now I'm gonna look over to the next section. So being present, having those present moment type of opportunities, I found them to be very impactful. It helps me to slow my thoughts down. It helps me to slow my anxiety down. Even as we grow and things are still very much so uncertain. But again, my present moment has changed and where it was a year ago.

51:08
It's changed, okay, let's just get the wine subscription gone. I think that's, I mean, I think that's good advice. I was just editing an episode that my guests, he, you know, very much lived in this kind of anxious and, and also depression and, and pieces and always worrying about the future and those kinds of things, and really what helped trigger his journey to feeling a little bit better was deciding to ride his bike to work nine miles each way, because you're forced.

51:37
to, like you say, be in the present. You have to see everything that's going around you, or you could die. Exactly. People could run you over. And so it forced him to stop worrying about 10 minutes from now, two hours from now, three months from now. But stick here. And he learned to enjoy that present. And I think that's a good point for entrepreneurs, or just people in general, is to just see what's around you and not rush to the future. Because at some point, you're never going to catch the future.

52:07
Right? It's always, you're always going to be in the present, but you're never going to catch the future because it's always out there. So I think that's a really good point and something to think about, especially when you're trying to grow a company. Yes, yes. I actually said to a friend the other day, I was like, we need to keep the vision without the expectation. Expectations have timelines on them. You say, oh, I expect to get this in this timeframe.

52:35
The vision is just a vision. You don't know when it will come to pass. You just stay focused on the vision. And I tell, I had to write that down for myself when I am going through it mentally, but the expectations, leave the expectations. I don't have a timeframe of when it's gonna happen, just keeping the vision. And then you'll realize as you keep in the vision, things will happen and evolve without the whole expectations. And a lot of times self-disappointment is aligned with expectations, not the vision.

53:04
So I separated mentally the two and that's what I'm working on now. Here's a vision without the expectation. If you could go back to the version of Stephanie working her tail off and ad tech and more tech, knowing what you know now and knowing the hurdles and the successes and the trauma and the grief and all the things that you were going to go through, is there anything that you could go back to that Stephanie and tell her or give her any advice?

53:33
Stop trying to jump through hoops to meet other people's expectations to tell you them that you're worthy. Because a lot of times, especially in corporate America, I found myself doing a dance of showing that I'm worthy. I mean, you do the other dance and then you realize, actually, these people have their own thoughts going on. Maybe they just work well with somebody else, but you going through all these hurdles and jumping through things is not necessary because you're taking away or going away more from your core self.

54:03
and you're forming an identity or you're aligning yourself and identity now with that person's expectations because of how it makes you feel. Because you feel you're growing up a ladder and you feel now you're accepted. I don't want my growth internally to just be off of someone else acceptance of me. Which I think nicely aligns with the idea of not.

54:27
creating this company or whatever you do in the future for someone else, right? You can bring them along with you, but you're doing it for you. It's an intrinsic value. It's an intrinsic success. And that feeling, I think that's a good piece of advice just for anyone is to like, stop trying to impress everyone else. You're like, impress yourself first, like what makes you happy and feels right and fulfills you. I feel that same way with this podcast. The world will tell me how to run my podcast.

54:56
but if it doesn't feel right, it's not gonna work. It's not gonna work in the way that I want it to. So I appreciate you sharing your story and sharing more about your entrepreneurial journey and how some of these really hard moments in your life reminded you that this is about your experience here on this earth and not living for other people. If people wanna learn more about like fly wine or get in your circle or what's the best way to like.

55:25
be in your orbit? Definitely. Go to fly, F-L-Y, wines, W-I-N-E-S dot club, C-L-U-B. So we're the club. Are you on social or all that information's there? We have. You can find us anywhere. We want to see that cringe video. Yeah. Go to social. You can see the cringe video on Instagram, which I'm like, oh my gosh. But.

55:53
Definitely go and check it out. We're at Instagram, we're on TikTok, we're on Twitter. We're everywhere social provides, just at Flywines.club. Awesome. Well, thank you for being a part of the Life Shift podcast, sharing your journey. I know there are gonna be entrepreneurs and other people out there that hear some of the things that you've shared today. And like we said, when you read that book for that second time and you hear something new, something's gonna resonate with them. So just thank you for just being a part of this journey.

56:21
No, thank you for having me. I thoroughly enjoyed chatting today. We will share all the links and whatnot in the show notes so people can reach out to you and connect with you and check out your subscription service and your virtual events. And hopefully you still have those wine tasting boxes at the same time as well. And for those of you listening, if something that Stephanie shared today hit you in the right place or there's someone out there that you know that that needs to hear her story.

56:48
Please share this episode with a friend. I think that's the best thing that we can do to help people feel a little less alone in this journey here on the earth. And hope that you have a great day and we'll be back next week with a brand new episode of the LifeShift Podcast. Thanks Stephanie. Thank you.

57:16
For more information, please visit www.thelifeshiftpodcast.com