08 Systematizing Your Work/Life Balance, People Fuel and The Bravery Muscle: Lessons Learned from an Outlier. A Conversation with Melinda Yeaman

Who is Melinda Yeaman and What is Outlier Magazine

 

Melinda Yeaman is an online marketing veteran of 15 years who unplugged from her corporate career path to become an entrepreneur and to live an authentic, passionate life.

Her experience in graphic & web design, e-commerce, social and tech enables her to fuel success in her own brands as well as those of her clients and associates.

As an Outlier herself, Melinda co-hosts the Outlier On Air podcast, and assists in the growth of Outlier Labs, Magazine and Conferences to provide a springboard for startups.

Outlier is a entrepreneurial company that helps people start, grow and scale their business. The Outlier brand not only includes Outlier Magazine but also a co-working space and destination conferences.

Melinda's Story

She started working a corporate job in college to help pay for college but it ended up pulling her away from college and she never finished college.

So she went on to get married and have kids. She first ventured into the entrepreneurial space because she wanted to be able stay home with her kids. She tried to negotiate with her boss at her corporate job so that she could work from home but the president of the company wasn’t onboard. She worked out an arrangement to leave the company to start her own business but was then able to land her old company as her first client.

Over time her client base continued to grow until it grew to the point where she had to decision.She had to decide whether to go all in on that business and hire a large staff to run the business or go back to the corporate world where she could theoretically have a more manageable work life and not have work consume her life. She dove back into the corporate world with the attitude that she was going to make as much money as possible. She had great success, worked her way up the corporate ladder, made great money and basically worked herself into the proverbial “Golden Handcuffs”

She started to feel the pull of the entrepreneurial life again. She was planning her exit, listening to podcasts and so unhappy that she literally prayed for an answer. The very next day she got laid off! She viewed it as a sign and her permission slip to go after her dreams.

She went back into consulting but this time for larger clients and really focused on networking within her own community. It was at one of these local networking events that someone mentioned how she should connect with Ever Gonzalez. She "said yes" to the opportunity and called him that night. They met the next day and Outlier was born!

In This Episode You Will Learn

• How a lay off literally answered  her prayers.
• The importance of connecting and adding value even when you are not getting paid.
• Why you should connect online. find a mentor and look for masterminds. Then spend the time and money to go meet these online connections in person at conferences and seminars.
• The importance of connecting and adding value within your own community.
• How to take advantage of ”People Fuel” and why you need to strengthen your “Bravery Muscle”.
• Why you should avoid “Social Arrogance” and add value to everyone you meet.
• The realities of dealing with the "Entrepreneurial Sickness".
• The importance of organization and systemizing your work/life balance. How Melinda learned to create  a schedule WITH her family. and the importance of managing expectations with your family and friends.
• How to focus on the quality of time not the quantity of time. Give yourself permission for small blocks of focused family time. Carve out time specifically for that purpose.

Where to find Melinda and Outlier Magazine

 

Website: http://www.outliermagazine.co/

Twitter: http://twitter.com/melindayeaman

Podcast in Itunes:https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/outlier-on-air-interviewing/id773017934?mt=2

 

Call to Action

As I mentioned at the end of the episode, I need your feedback! What problems are you having with your Second Half Comeback? What kind of Comeback are you trying to make: start a business, health and fitness, relationships, travel, retirement, other unique, amazing dreams? I want to hear about it and I want to help!

Please give me your feedback in the comments or via email to [email protected]. Better yet, Sign up for the email list!