Finding Your Hive with Connie Zeller

Susan Crews
Are you dreaming of having the time and energy to create a life you love? Is your calendar full of events? And you’re thinking, there’s no time for me? Do you look like you have it all together on the outside, but on the inside of your a hot mess, you are frustrated and tired all the time. Suzy Cruz shines the light on successful women and a few men who have busted the exhaustion cycle by prioritizing herself, released any guilt and have found inner peace while creating a life they love filled with harmony. Join Susan’s candid conversations to learn how these successful women illuminated their inner life to create a radiant life. Welcome to the radiant soul sisters.

Susan Crews
Listeners I am so excited about my conversation today with Connie Zeller, I met Connie at an E women network event and I got to meet her in person. And have you ever seen that person that just has a magnetic energy and their smile lights up the room and you think I got to know her? Well, that is how I felt when I saw and I met Connie, her energy is so magnetic. And she just has a glow about her. And I was honored to get to know her. Connie, welcome today.

Connie Zeller
Susan, thank you so much that is so kind of you, I feel the same way I love getting to know you better in person and through the virtual events that we’ve attended together. So it is it’s wonderful when you have friends that you just you just feel comfortable with. It’s lovely.

Susan Crews
Exactly, exactly. And you know, Connie, it’s one of those things that you’re one of the few people over the past couple of years that I actually met first in person and then get to see in the Hollywood Squares, right. And but yet, you know, I know you I feel like I know you better because I’ve gotten to hug you and look into your eyes live in person. And I just love that. listeners. Cami is the founder of salt V events, which as you can imagine, she puts on amazing events. However, during COVID, she had to figure it out very quickly, and switch to virtual events. And she was able to do that and support her clients in having incredible events that were successful and meaningful connections were created. The good news is live events are coming back. And I think Connie is excited about that. I am so

Connie Zeller
excited about that. But you know, I’ll be completely honest, Susan, virtual events are not going to go away. Because we were able to adapt so quickly. We’ve been able to make those connections internationally around the world, you and I wouldn’t have gotten to know each other better had we not been participating in virtual events. So even though live events are back and I’m so excited, we can see each other, we can hug each other. We can share a meal, we can get coffee together, I love all of that. I also love that we’re still going to be able to have those relationships and those events virtually.

Susan Crews
I am in total agreement with you there. I do not think virtual events are going away. And I know as a member of se e women network, one of the reasons that I was able to build so many relationships over the past couple of years because I joined ie women in February of 2020 not knowing what was getting ready to hit us right. But because it ie women switch to virtual pretty quickly. We were able to I call them the Hollywood Squares be in the Hollywood Squares. And then you could always take a connection to an offline meeting or a connection not offline out of group I guess would be

Connie Zeller
just said, yeah, so many virtual coffee dates. And I think a lot of people really embrace that phrase virtual coffee. Yeah,

Susan Crews
I I agree with you wholeheartedly. Connie, one of the things that I love to do when I am interviewing and chatting with so many amazing women is I love to get to know just a little bit of your childhood or your history or you know so much of this creates the women we are today right? And the majority of us have some great meaningful events. Bring forth, what is one of your favorite childhood memories?

Connie Zeller
You know, one of the biggest things that really I always gravitate back to, I would spend summers with my grandmother and I grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah. And I would always call it the highs because we lived doors from cousins, aunties. And if we weren’t doors, we were actually walking distance to their houses, maybe a short drive. And we were in and out of each other’s houses all the time. And then my parents, my dad took a job in rural Nevada. And so we moved and I missed that hike. So I would come back to Salt Lake and spend the summers with my grandmother, which was great because then I could spend time with my cousins, we would go to this, you know, we’d spend all day swimming, we would, you know, ride our bikes, we do all of those things that kids do in the summer, but I spent so much time with my grandmother. There are two things that she was the queen of, and we would always laugh about it. She loved soft serve ice cream, and she loved getting Pepsi with the pebble ice.

Susan Crews
So I call that church ice. Church ice. Yes. Because that’s what we used to have a church, but my other friend calls it snowman poop.

Connie Zeller
I like that one. We get antsy. We just call it Sonic ice because someone always has it to the back of it.

Susan Crews
Yes, exactly. I know exactly where you’re coming from. So we now have three names for it.

Connie Zeller
Yes, yeah. I like the snowman poop. That’s funny. Yeah,

Susan Crews
I chuckled when my friend Carol told me that I’m like what? She said, Yeah, we call it snowman poop. I’m like, Oh, that is hysterical.

Connie Zeller
I also like church ice. My church didn’t have that good ice. We just had regular cubes like everybody else. So

Susan Crews
we did we have when we still have it, one of those big tall machines, and you lift it up, and you scoop it out. And that’s so that’s what my family always called it church. He loved her choice. So it’s always fun. But what great memories and what a treasure to be able to grow up with your cousins. And then to be able to go back home to stay with your grandmother. And learn from her. I can tell you your grandma and I would have hit it off. Ice cream, soft serve, scoop, whatever. And church ice we would have been good to go. We had fun. Oh, yeah. And you know, it didn’t matter

Connie Zeller
what we were doing. We had run to the grocery store and on the way home, it’d be either getting a drink, or getting a soft serve. And you know, I just laugh because somebody said, I don’t know, they don’t have as many soft serve as they used to. I’m like they don’t and it’s not as good. But it’s making a comeback.

Susan Crews
Yeah, I actually Jimmy and I were in the New Orleans area not long ago. And the hotel in the buffet on the buffet. Jimmy loves a buffet and I don’t but I’ll do it every now and then. And so on the buffet, they had soft serve ice cream. I’m like scored this works.

Connie Zeller
I felt like a buffet. But they went into myself, sir. That’s right. That’s right.

Susan Crews
Well, Connie, you know you you own your own business. And you’ve done lots of different things I know. But from being an entrepreneur, what is one of the biggest lessons that you have learned about yourself? One of the

Connie Zeller
biggest things I’ve learned about myself is and people have known this forever and ever about themselves to a certain degree. You never stop learning. I mean, if you we know, as an entrepreneur, you’re wearing all the hats. I laugh because, you know, I came from corporate, I was able to, you know, take my ideas and give them to the marketing department or give them to the sales department, you know, and I’m the Marketing Department. I’m the Sales Department. So I need to figure it out. And the flexibility to know that in the confidence to know I can figure it out. I you know, I know there are people I can ask, they will help me figure it out. I don’t have to do it all by myself. Right. But I have been amazed at the things I have learned on my own. And I I am always heartbroken now as an entrepreneur. When I see people who don’t want to learn new things, because I’ve learned so much and I almost feel like you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Because you don’t have that mindset of always be learning always see what’s new. And that really has been a big thing for me that you know embrace what is new and learn something new because you know if I’m going to be a Every department in my business, I better be prepared for those software updates. And what those changes are new new programs, you know, podcasting. I’m sure when you started all of this season, you didn’t think I am a podcast expert. Oh, you have to learn it.

Susan Crews
Exactly. And I’m in I’m still learning, you know, well, listeners, you don’t know this, Connie. and I were going to be the first ones to record on a different platform than we’re recording on. We got over there. And one of us got cut off, and the sound sounded terrible. And I’m like, oh, Connie, we’re going back to zoom in, I’ve got to go back and figure out the tweaks that I have to make. But, you know, that also came from a lesson that I need to ask my guest for phone numbers, because I texted you and said, Hey, we’re gonna hop on Zoom. And this is where you’ll get the link. So what a great explanation or or continuation of what you’re saying we’re always learning. Yes. And I think it doesn’t matter whether you’re an entrepreneur, or you’re a stay at home mom, or what if you are a successful person, a successful woman? You’ve got to always be learning something. And you know, my dad was so right. Yes, yes. My dad used to call me the most educated undergraduate he knew. Because I have a plethora, well, I have three college degrees, but then I also have a plethora of certifications. Right? But it’s because I want to learn, right?

Connie Zeller
And, you know, this is always so amazing. When I was an undergrad, and I was getting close to graduation. I remember one, there was a woman I worked with, and she had, you know, multiple degrees, she had advanced degrees. And she had said, you know, your education, your your degrees, your certifications, always learning. It’s something that can’t be taken away from, you know, your house, you can lose your car, you know, your family, they pass away, they change that education, you always have that. And that really stayed with me.

Susan Crews
I really like that. I like that a lot. Connie? I do. Are there any other big lessons that you have learned about being an entrepreneur? Not necessarily about yourself, but what other big lessons have you learned?

Connie Zeller
You know, we all like we said, we’re always learning. But you know, there’s some hard lessons as an entrepreneur, and, and it’s heartbreaking. And I never want to see people make the same mistakes that I make. But I think I think to a certain degree, we all do. And I, you know, I was really, when I started out, we know, entrepreneurs bootstrap everything. And that issue of hey, let’s trade work for trade. Yeah, that is not a good idea.

Susan Crews
Not always, not always. That’s right.

Connie Zeller
It can be equitable, don’t give I mean, I’m not gonna say I never do it. And I don’t still do it. But I definitely make sure it’s much more equitable. Because when I started doing that I was really taken advantage of, because the person who was trading with me, they were farther along in their business. And they also knew what they needed. I knew what I needed to get started. But I didn’t need as much to begin with as they were taking for me. So I really let my business suffer because I was too busy taking care of a trade relationship. We didn’t have a contract, you know. So those two things, if you’re going to trade, still have a contract, have an agreement so that it’s equitable. And that’s what I do from now on. It is, you know, recently I did do an exchange for I helped someone in exchange for some other services. But we also were both very transparent about our fees or pricing, and why a trade really would work for each other. Exactly. You know,

Susan Crews
yeah. It’s hard. It is hard. But do you feel like the failures sometimes or more often than not, I will say, the failures teach you more than the successes, or Yes, or even the mistakes? It doesn’t have to be, quote, a failure, right? And here again, this can go back to life. As I look back in life, I remember successes. I remember celebrating them once I learned how to do that. But were my lesson and growth came from or in those mistakes? And in the failures?

Connie Zeller
Yeah, no, you’re, I think you’re absolutely right. It’s almost like you’re, you learn so much from it, and you don’t want to repeat it. Or if they’re, you know, if you get closer and you make a mistake again, you’re like the exact same mistake, you know, you’ve maybe gotten further along to success. And yeah, absolutely. learning from those mistakes, learning from those failures. I always like to say, and when people will tell me about their mistakes or their failures, I appreciate their vulnerability, because, you know, it’s how often do we hear the, the hero story, the success story, we don’t hear what led up to that. And everybody, nobody just walks up saying, I’m gonna be an entrepreneur, and then they crush it. And then they’re making six figures, and then they’re making seven figures. Nobody does that. But you know, I think women, we are vulnerable, we want to help each other, we will share that journey, we will share the pain points of that journey. And because we want to help each other because we want to lift each other, we want people to learn from our mistakes. But also, we’re not going to judge if they do make the same mistake, we’re going to do that. I’ve done it too, you know, supportive. I’ve got you, you’re not the only one that did it. You’ve you know, yeah, we’re learning.

Susan Crews
I agree with you, you know, and I think it’s so important to have mentors, or people who are just ahead of you in the business world. And then it’s important to have people who are walking beside you, you know, who you can bounce ideas off that are in the same stage of the business. And then it’s also good just to have a person that just will listen, you know, having those those people around, I think are so so important. But you’re right, mistakes, challenges, failures, whatever you want to call them are just great, great learning spaces in, in the business world in life. Our you know, I will say, so, you know, the other one of the things that I found, Connie is that I can easily become a workaholic. You know, I was raised by Type A parents that were, and I found that oftentimes work life harmony is hard for me. But I’ve come to work with it, right. And I think of it as harmony not balanced for this reason, you know, I feel like life is this beautiful symphony, right? And we’ve got this beautiful music going. And sometimes though, you have to play one instrument harder than the other, and it doesn’t sound pretty. But you know what, it’s only for a measure. And then you can come back and have this beautiful harmony. You know, what are what do you feel about that? Or what do you do to create work life harmony?

Connie Zeller
No, I agree with you. And you know, this is one thing we I mean, well, as entrepreneurs, we did it, even before the pandemic, we are guilty of having our laptops with us, or our phones with us answering email, you know, responding right away. And as entrepreneurs, we don’t really set that boundary of I’m out of the office, because we’re never out of the office,

Susan Crews
very hard. It is very hard and hard

Connie Zeller
into what I have been doing is really working towards setting that boundary as far as I am out of office. And sometimes I’m able to really feed into it to just say, Okay, I am finished for today and walk away. Other times, I’m not as good at it. But I do find if I’m able to if I notice that I’m I’m not being effective, but I keep trying to work. I’m not doing me I’m not doing my body. I’m not doing my clients any favors, because my work isn’t stellar. So really, at that point, I just need to listen to my body and say, stop it. But my goal this year has really been working towards having sat office hours, right, honoring the off time.

Susan Crews
Yeah. And that is that’s so important and such a challenge for many entrepreneurs. But I heard one thing that you said, you know, if I just keep going going or pushing, pushing, I’m not as affected. And that is one of the biggest things that I had to learn about myself. I have been studying Human Design and I’m a projector. And for me, I’m not created to work 60 hours a week with that go go go go go, you know, I can accom pledge a lot in two to four hours. You know, so. And that, you know, that’s not the way I was raised. That’s not the way I was taught. That’s not the way society tells me. Right? So learning how to do that is I’ll just say a learning curve.

Connie Zeller
No, it is a learning curve. And you’re absolutely right. Because society has taught us. You know, my parents also would say, if you’re not making it, you’re not pushing hard enough, right? We’ve all heard variations of this, if you’re not succeeding is because you’re not working hard enough. If you’re not doing this, it’s because you’re not doing that enough. And we’ve really have, we’ve had to relearn that, you know, if we’re not doing it, well, we’re not serving ourselves and serving others. But man, it’s hard to step back and just say, no, no, I wasn’t doing very good job, I’m gonna step back and take a break. People will give you that grace. But it’s really hard for you to sometimes give you yourself that grace,

Susan Crews
I There you go, there you go. And I II, sometimes the challenge of being an entrepreneur or being a solopreneur, or, you know, having a small team with you, that is hard to give yourself the grace around, you know, creating work life harmony, or creating different hours. Now, sometimes that’s the biggest challenge that I really feel like people have to have to learn to do.

Connie Zeller
Yeah, just kind of stepping back just a little bit. And one thing that I found that has helped anybody else, if I, I love to cook, I really do. Okay. So if I say I’m gonna finish at five o’clock and start cooking dinner at 515, that is a definite break. And I’ve been able to honor it that way. Now, sometimes I will cook a lot and I will have leftovers, it’ll be one of those, I’m not going to stop at five o’clock, because we’re just going to warm up leftovers, and then I keep going. But I do notice if I’ve planned for that and my week, and what we’re going to have for dinner and I step away, and I cook it, that really is a reset. And I’ve been surprised at how much that has helped. Yeah,

Susan Crews
I love that. I love that because, you know, kind of you’re also meeting that creative need when you cook, I don’t think I don’t my, one of my undergrad degrees is food service management. So you don’t know that about me. But you know, that’s such a creative outlet, right? And a way to just let go and enjoy that moment, the smells, the colors, and then you start thinking of the taste and the community around the table. And oh, so many great things happen there. I love that. I love that Connie. And this kind of goes along with work life harmony, you know, I have founded the radiant soul sisters and which is a community of amazing women who just share their light in the world, right? Well, we do that by letting what I call our radiant souls shine. I also believe all of us do something every day to keep our radiant soul shining. What what is your tip or your activity that you do for yourself?

Connie Zeller
You know, every morning, I have a gratitude journal. And it really is. You can’t be in as negative as a play of a place if you’re grateful. You know, if you’re experiencing gratitude, you’re going to see the good, you’re going to look for the good, you’re going to embrace the good. So every morning I write you know, maybe five minutes, it isn’t a long time, I just do three things I’m grateful for. And I have to laugh because even if I’m not feeling grateful, I’ve always been something to be grateful about. Exactly. And so it goes into the gratitude journal.

Susan Crews
I love that you know, gratitude is such an important part of life, you know, and I love melody Beatty’s quote actually talked about this in one of my weekly inspirations in the radiant soul sisters Facebook group, that I love her quote on it and I can’t quote the whole thing but part of it you know, gratitude turns chaos into a what is it? She says, turns chaos into Ah, shucks. I’ll have to come back listeners off to do a whole nother episode on that because gratitude is a simple, inexpensive thing, activity you can do for yourself and journaling. It gives you something if you’re just down in the dumps, you can go back and look at right Connie.

Connie Zeller
Yes. And you know I can’t remember if somebody had talked about, you know, even if you’re just feeling miserable and you are looking for things to be grateful for. I remember somebody saying, even just be grateful for coffee or be grateful for a good snack that you have. What exactly and I thought that is really Yeah, it is the small gratitude, but it is the larger gratitude as well. And yeah, and you know, just like like you were saying, in chocolate, you know, a dove a little piece of dove you know, they’ve got those cute little messages inside Yes. And if you’re ever looking for gratitude, you can have the chocolate and then you can read the cute little message and

Susan Crews
Oh, lately See, I know why we speak each other’s love language you know, I get it. i We i see why we are so connected. So listeners that this episode has you thinking about how to put yourself first and create a life you love while having work life harmony? Be sure to connect with me at almost socials at Susan Cruz Co. Also, if you’d like to schedule a time to chat and dig a little deeper, go to my website, Susan crisco.com. And you can schedule a time for us to chat. Connie, I’ve got one more question for you. But before we get there, there’s two things I would like to ask you. One tell our listeners how they can find you it will also be in the shownotes

Connie Zeller
Yes, you know, easiest way you can connect with me through my web page salty B letter B events perfect.com. Or you can get to me through C’s eller events.com as well. Also, I’m on Facebook under Connie Zeller. And on Instagram, under salty be events. I’m also on LinkedIn under Connie Zeller and sell TV events. So the social, you know, but honestly just connect with me because I love you know, I, I’ve always said I love having and seeing well run events, whether I’m running them or somebody else is and and so even if you just have questions, just camp with me and ask questions, I don’t have a problem with that.

Susan Crews
I love that. Connie, I absolutely love that. So Connie, I do I’ve got two questions, I’m going to ask the one that’s more related to the podcast first. And that would just be you know, in thinking about our listeners, and these successful women who already some may have work life harmony, and some may already have created an amazing business, others are just beginning out, what would be your one best tip that you would like to leave them with.

Connie Zeller
You know, you mentioned this earlier, have a mentor have have some frameworks. Because no matter where you are in your journey, unless you and I don’t mean to put anybody down but if your family isn’t on your journey with you, and they may not be right, you need to find people who are going to support you who are going to see your vision who are going to be your cheerleader. So get those people have those relationships, because you never know when you’re either going to need them to lift you up just to give you a boost, just say you’ve got this or even to share those celebrations. Because if you’re not sharing the celebrations, what are you working for, you know, you need to celebrate it but people also want to share your joy and they will celebrate you as well. So I would say no matter where you are in business, and honestly I’m going to say if you’re further in business and you’re more successful, you probably learned that already. Probably say you’re practicing it.

Susan Crews
Most likely and I find that fascinating because I talk with a lot of coaches on the show. And we we always laugh because all of us have at least one coach and then we have a mentor and I think when you learn the difference between a coach and a mentor, it’s really amazing and and then you have friends who like you said are supporting you along the way and ladies, we’re here to tell you or share with you if you are looking for someone to celebrate you and to find joy in all the cool things you’re doing. We are here for you. Because that is what we love. I can tell you I know that’s what Connie and I both love is celebrating successful. Other women big or small wins. We will celebrate you right Connie? Yes, yes Yeah, so, so this is a little off topic, but I’ve got to ask you, you know, I’m a beekeeper. Right. So do we have that conversation? Yes. So you know, you talked about calling your grandma’s the hive, right? Pick up on that instantly. It’s salty bee events. What’s the love with the bees?

Connie Zeller
Well, Utah is the Beehive State. Ah, I’ve learned some Yeah. Yeah. And I’m a native of Utah. I’ve always I mean, you know, we have bee insignia on pretty much everything within Utah. Okay, and I always really liked I’ve always, you know, I’ve always loved you know, the, the bees and the hives and all of that. And for my 50th birthday, I actually had a hive and a B tattooed on my foot. Okay. And it won an award for the best of the beehive. So every year, Salt Lake City magazine, has an Instagram contest, and they will do what is the best beehive tattoo of the year. And mine one. Yeah, but I’ve always called it the hive.

Susan Crews
Yeah, I absolutely love that. Yeah, you know, first off, I never envisioned me having bees. And they were the first animal insect I brought to the farm when my husband and I moved out into the country. But these are fascinating. And you can learn so much from observing them. And the queen bee she is amazing at how she guides her her hive. But the interesting fact about it is she works with all the all the other bees, and if they don’t agree with her and they don’t like or they’ll get rid of her and find a new one. So there you have it, ladies. Find your half maybe. Yes, and our hive our community that loves us and loves us. Well. I love that. Connie, thank you so much for your time today. I use it and I look forward to seeing you really soon.

Connie Zeller
Yes, we’re gonna see each other in March. I can hardly wait.

Susan Crews
That was a fun episode of the radiant soul sisters. Thank you for choosing to tune in. Be sure to join me next week when I shine the light on another beautiful woman. Till then I’m Susan cruise, your host and be sure to check out my website at Susan cruise co.com where you will find all the podcast episodes and resources for our community.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai