067 – Rachel Camfield: Cultivating a Gentle Business

Sarah Tacy [00:00:06]:
Hello. Welcome. I’m Sara Tacy, and this is Threshold Moments, a podcast where guests and I share stories about the process of updating into truer versions of ourselves. The path is unknown, and the pull feels real. Together, we share grief, laughter, love, and life saving tools. Hello. Welcome to Threshold Moments, I am so honored to have you here. As Amina Al-Tai often says, the most valuable thing you have is your time.

Sarah Tacy [00:00:40]:
And so I so deeply honor your presence here. The privilege of sitting down with Rachel Camfield, who is a dear friend of a dear friend. Anytime that we have met, I’m always overwhelmed in the most beautiful way by her grace, by her generosity, by ability to be present and see me fully and see my gifts fully. And I do believe she does this for whoever she is in front of or whoever she is with. She is a dynamic presenter. She presents at Amber Lilystrom’s Ignite Your Soul Summits every year, sometimes twice a year. And in sitting with her today, I really got to appreciate, and I think you will too, her deep groundedness in herself and her decision to run her life in a way in which she can run a creative business. I wanna say from a place of overflow, but I’m gonna say that at least renewable, maybe even regenerative, in which she is not fatiguing herself by all the roles.

Sarah Tacy [00:01:52]:
And this may seem impossible both from her childhood or the way that she grew up and what she saw and what society tells us about the hustle culture and survival. But she has chosen to surround ourselves with people who are being the way that she wants to be and feel. And you can hear it in her wisdom. You can hear it in her voice. And when we stopped recording, we both kind of giggled. We’re like, woah. With both of us speaking at such a cadence and feeling so grounded, we think it may shift your nervous system. And if at any point you feel too uncomfortable with the slow and the steady, you could always listen to the podcast while you’re walking or while you’re moving.

Sarah Tacy [00:02:42]:
And if you are enjoying the slow and steady that you could even just, like, huddle up in a blanket and take note. She has so many beautiful things that she lays down. And highlighting, you know, at the end, I asked her to highlight how people can work with her, that there is room in the lab. It’s ongoing, that it’s an open door, and I will be presenting in the lab this month on the nervous system and on double binds and nuance. And last year I presented on moving from familiar to optimal. So we have a nice little relationship where we learn from each other and just really appreciate each other’s gifts. Her bio, Rachel Canfield is a gentle business and sales mentor. She helps entrepreneurs grow businesses that feel like home to them through sales strategies and core offer support.

Sarah Tacy [00:03:39]:
Her passion is for helping others with creative and profitable ideas, those with deep devotion and with authentic connections. She is a cheerleader for creative entrepreneurs and their beautiful courageous living, and has over 13 years of experience in sales, coaching, marketing, writing, and speaking, and 7 figures in career sales. She loves all things home and treasures her family. She lives outside of Richmond, Virginia with her golf pro, head lasso ish husband, 2 children, and their tiny 4 pound toy poodle, Wally, and their sweet kitty, Naomi. Enjoy. Welcome to Threshold Moments. My name is Sarah Tacy. And today we have with us Rachel Canfield.

Sarah Tacy [00:04:38]:
I was so excited, and I know you probably hear me saying this sometimes, like, so excited to look on my calendar and to see Rachel’s name here. I was walking through the woods this morning so that I could get regulated in my body and I could feel grounded and centered. And as I was doing that, I was thinking about how Rachel, for me, is also that medicine, that Rachel, to me, has such a tone of authenticity and being in her body and being present and being honest and being kind, that it makes sense. I feel like sometimes when I’m prepping for a podcast, there’s a part of me that is prepping to meet the energy of the person that I’m meeting. And so it just made sense that I was in the woods and becoming more embodied and becoming more grounded so that I could be attuned with you. And, of course, those are all feelings that I want to attune to as well. So welcome. I’m so happy to have you here.

Sarah Tacy [00:05:48]:
And maybe that also before I turn the mic over to say that I believe it’s like I believe and, of course, we met through Amber Liljesstrom. Most likely, I saw you on Ignite Your Soul Summit stage back in 2018. And I’m trying to think of, like, when we had our first exchanges to humans. And I’m not sure if I can pull that up right now. Do you know when that was?

Rachel Camfield [00:06:21]:
Well, I will think and first just wanna say thank you for having me. It’s such a joy, such a joy to be here with you. And I know that we have crossed paths a decent amount. You know, I’m down here in Richmond, Virginia, but New England feels like a second home for sure. And we maybe kind of had that first interaction a couple years ago in one of the smaller groups with Amber when you were speaking and I was speaking. That might have been the first time, but I’m not sure.

Sarah Tacy [00:06:53]:
That’s wild. If that was the first time that we actually spoke and probably because I’ve seen you so much on her feed and, like, felt like I knew you, that if if that was the first time we spoke in person, that feels really wild to me. I could be wrong. Where I would love to start is with the idea of following the poll. So how long have you been an entrepreneur? Maybe I’ll start just with that basic question. Yeah.

Rachel Camfield [00:07:23]:
Since 2015.

Sarah Tacy [00:07:25]:
2015. And I think somewhere in there, there’s a thread with Kate Northrop in b school. Yeah. Yeah. Can you take us back to feeling the pull of entrepreneurship and what that felt like? And if there was a threshold from following where you thought you were gonna go to taking the course that you did take. Yeah.

Rachel Camfield [00:07:49]:
I hope that this whatever I may share today, I hope that it does speak to the creative, to the entrepreneurial heart, to the person who is perhaps a bit more sensitive and attuned to all of the things around you, including the things that you feel like you’re supposed to be doing, And also attune to the fear of the what if, you know, what if I do do this or what would it be like? Or can I leave this behind? Or can I try something new? What if I fail? So that’s my heart for this conversation is really for that space. And maybe it’s not for the person who’s just beginning, but for a person who is continuing forward. That’s I feel like where my entrepreneurial door really did open. Although the entrepreneurial spirit has been within me for as long as I can remember from as an artist, you know, making greeting cards, selling them in local stores. My little tiny town I grew up in had like an annual Oyster Festival and I was in high school and I entered the competition to do the poster for the art and won, and they actually reused that art for like the 20 year anniversary or something. And so, like, it’s just it’s always been there. But I would say in 2015, the door swung wide open for me in the culmination of, you know, my own background in sales, in marketing, my career is in the wholesale home decor and gift industry, so product based and B2B business. And alongside of that, my own journey of transformation, you know, working with my first therapist by choice at 15 years old, having this 20 year therapy journey alongside a business background and business career kind of sets me up in an interesting way to understand what it’s like in the world we’re living in, this digital online space, the way we have this ability to connect with one another, to sell our goods, our services, share our gifts, and the threshold of crossing over into this world fully.

Rachel Camfield [00:10:00]:
You know, I’ve I’ve shared this quite openly before, but it it honestly came from a place of somewhat despair. You know, this feeling of, like, I’m not it wasn’t just a I’m not a happy thing. It was a true plummet down into the depths of, like, I’m not where I’m supposed to be. And there’s nothing wrong with what’s happening on the outside, but I just knew I wasn’t in the correct location for myself.

Sarah Tacy [00:10:26]:
Can you describe what that feeling feels like?

Rachel Camfield [00:10:30]:
A heaviness? I don’t wanna just throw the word, like, dread out there. I wasn’t dreading anything particular. It was just, I didn’t have the lightness of my own being in the equation of my life. And I just felt like I I can make this work. I can keep going in what I was doing. I loved the company I was partnered with. I love that industry. Like, America’s smart if you’re a a a buyer, if you go there, like, there’s so much creativity infused in the product based world and community and camaraderie.

Rachel Camfield [00:11:07]:
But standing on my own, bringing in my own resources for myself was an important thing for me to believe in and go for. And I and I always like to say, kind of jokingly, I am so good at making other people a whole lot of money. And I really wanted to give it a try for myself.

Sarah Tacy [00:11:28]:
Can you describe your path from so I I like to highlight even though you’ve already Sarah, you’re living a life that looks great on the outside. You’re making another company a whole lot of money. You can find places where you say, oh, I’m aligned with this. There’s community. There’s creativity. But underneath it, there’s a sense of dread, of heaviness. I love you said something about, like, what was lacking with the lightness of your spirit. And so wanting to take that risk to stand on your own 2 feet, to make money for yourself.

Sarah Tacy [00:12:06]:
And I know that there’s something more to that as well. I can imagine this is reflective of my creativity. This is like having ownership and nuance in what you’re putting out. Can you talk to us a little bit about that journey of going from something that most likely does have, like, here’s your paycheck that you can count on every 2 weeks. There’s some stability to that, to moving into a place that there’s more unknown.

Rachel Camfield [00:12:38]:
Right. It’s the the place where are you willing to be more in the unknown space and be happier? Or are you willing to be more in the known space and be less happy? And there is that such a personal choice that every single person, you know, if they’re deciding that, has to make and look at the numbers and different levels of access and support and all of those things play into it. And, you know, my husband and I was, before we had children, it was just kind of like this, let’s grab each other’s hands and run towards the horizon line and just try. Let’s just try. And we don’t know what will happen. And if I need to pivot or make a change, then we’ll have more information. But we don’t have that intel and that information if we do not just run towards that.

Sarah Tacy [00:13:33]:
I’m gonna throw in a little asterisk there to say, just from some of the stories I’ve seen and from the some of the people I’ve worked with is that there can be and there often is because there’s often this thought of, like, the courage to become an entrepreneur. The that one could be happy once they’re doing their own thing, and that then safety would sometimes be overcoupled with feeling dead inside. And that I’ve worked with and spoken to people who have been in the entrepreneurial space for, say, 10, 20 years and they go through a dark night of the soul. And that sometimes the thing that could be most stabilizing, that then has to, like, be uncoupled with shame of to go back to something that’s 9 to 5 where it’s like, oh, because there is stability here, now I can have a moment to find my breath. Like, now is not a time for risk taking. Now is a time for survival, but also of, like, finding out who I am and so needing space. So for listeners, I’m just wanting to put in that, like, this is where Rachel was at this point. And all of us could be at different points and really tuning into, like, what does my nervous system need now? And when I say nervous system for me, nervous system means, like, the embodiment of myself.

Sarah Tacy [00:14:52]:
So when I am honoring what it takes to feel aligned with myself where I am now, that’s what I’m talking about when I often talk about capacity or what does my nervous system need now. And I think the society we live in, so many of us are having a calling towards something more creative, more our own, something a little more risky. And sometimes there’s that other place where it’s like, oh, but having stability allows me to risk getting to know myself or risk getting other layers of support that I wouldn’t have the capacity to do if I was running my own business.

Rachel Camfield [00:15:32]:
Right. And and I I appreciate you throwing that asterisk in there. And who’s to say, this is what I do for forever. You know, I don’t think that that there’s one right answer and that this almost 10 years ago was where we were and what was where I was. And I did have the support of a partner who was cheering me on And that feeling of, I have to make this work financially for myself, that was good pressure for me. That was clarifying. And I didn’t have, you know, a family to support in that moment of time. I dreamed of creating what I could before they came along so that I could be the mom ultimately that I wanted to be here at home and realize I’m offering support in a lot of different ways to people, including my family members.

Rachel Camfield [00:16:27]:
And the path of entrepreneurship is going to allow me to weave a little bit of everything into my week and into my days. And that autonomy felt like support, if that makes sense.

Sarah Tacy [00:16:41]:
A 100%. Yeah. Thank you. So before I took that big, like, swerve to both left and back, I was gonna ask you what your path looked like into entrepreneurship.

Rachel Camfield [00:16:54]:
It looked like first starting a blog, a very simple blog before, you know, a lot of these amazing, beautiful resources that exist that make it, I would say, a smoother transition to get your work out there. It was WordPress, it was patched together and it was, it was clunky. And it was the first act of me sharing my ideas professionally with the world. And that put voice to my gifts, to my insights, to what I thought, not just what I knew, which as a woman, sometimes that right there is the risk to overcome first a lot of the time. And by sharing my ideas and sharing my voice, it connected me with my current network who, some people, not a ton, it wasn’t like people were banging down my door, but enough people were coming forward asking me to help them with their brands that I was able to patch in a couple of clients and learn alongside my full time job. And, of course, I was doing this on my own time. I was very, very clear about that. It made me really uncomfortable to think like, I don’t want anyone to think I’m mixing, mixing things here, but no children.

Rachel Camfield [00:18:05]:
My husband who works on the weekends and stays out, you know, at the golf course, he’s a, he’s a golf pro. Sometimes for a long time, it was good for me to have this creative outlet. It was really healthy for me to have something that was exciting to me outside of my job and learning how to run my own business while having a full time job allowed me to have that stability, that exhale, that reassurance that I didn’t have to force anything creatively. And that was really the on ramp for my own, company, which is a coaching company and inspiration studio. And once I did leave my job, which was honestly like a 2 or 3 month process because I wasn’t looking to like leave anyone and it’s some kind of alert or anything. I wanted to, to make sure that my territory, my customers, the responsibilities I had were handled. It was such a good, kind, loving, respectful exit. In fact, they became one of my clients at the beginning of my business.

Rachel Camfield [00:19:11]:
We kind of switched places a little bit and it was beautiful. You know, I, it was great to leave on such good terms and to have the respect of these other creative people who are also entrepreneurs. They recognized this was my path.

Sarah Tacy [00:19:31]:
I hear a lot of small doable pieces, resourcing, open communication. I hear so much help in that transition. And I’m thinking of various people I’ve interviewed. Regina Sarah Foster was saying it was a 10 year process from recognizing, like, oh, shoot. This isn’t the right fit. You know, after going to law school and then, like, starting up on the job on day 1 and feeling. And the 10 year process of transitioning. And you say 2 to 3 months.

Sarah Tacy [00:20:03]:
And I’m like, Oh, that’s, I mean, that’s like a blink of an eye and that it was right pacing for you. And I hear the excitement and I can think back to my own maidenhood and just how much energy I had back then and how, for me, sometimes, it was hard to write a blog

Rachel Camfield [00:20:20]:
on the weekend. Talk about this on the weekend.

Sarah Tacy [00:20:22]:
Totally. When Steve would come home at 5 o’clock, I was like, shoot. Oh, I mean, and yay. But, like, I could work all evening. Like, I could get home from my clients. And I was working on anatomy manuals, which so exciting for me, and program development and some newsletters. And that stuff was just is so exciting. I just that phase in my life, which is so different than now, I wasn’t super interested in having a huge network of girlfriends, which seems silly, but I was just so impassioned by my work.

Sarah Tacy [00:21:01]:
That to, like, spend all the hours on it was so amazing. And that’s just not what life looks like these days with the allowance of time, but I can really see that for you. Before I ask you more questions about your job, and I feel like there’s another threshold that happens in 20 19. I wanna go back to when you Sarah, at 15 years old, you started with a therapist. Is there anything that you’re willing to share or wanting to share with us about what called you to that and how having that as a layer of support has been influential in your life?

Rachel Camfield [00:21:40]:
The 20 year journey, mental health journey, therapy journey, I talk openly about it because when I was growing up, it wasn’t openly talked about. And I love seeing so many more youthful people embracing this inner work and having support and having professional guidance. Because whether you grew up in a way that was supportive and helpful to you, or you grew up in a way that was hurtful to you. There’s still so much to navigate from one end to the other and all in between. And making that decision and advocating for myself in that way was a moment I could try to think back to 20 years ago where I knew I couldn’t help myself with the challenges I was navigating in my home life. And that if I wanted to live the life of my dreams, which looks like it does today, I would need to have help. That this was so much bigger than me. And as the years have gone by, that’s looked like therapists, that’s looked like life coaches, groups, trainings, you know, just really being willing to look at what is my part in this, in the life I wanna live and what do I need to work on and work through so that I get to be the person that I wanna be? In my experience in my childhood growing up with parents who baby boomers, their parents were in the great depression.

Rachel Camfield [00:23:18]:
You know, there was just a lack of emotional intelligence in so many ways. And I did not want to pass that on. I did not want that to be the walls that I continued, the 4 walls that I brought with me. And there’s just no escaping yourself. I’m willing and was willing at that time to say, I have a lot of work I need to do.

Sarah Tacy [00:23:43]:
Is there any revelations, anything about yourself when you said, like, what role do I play in this idea that we can’t escape ourselves? Are there is there anything in particular that has changed for you? And I know that it’s a million small things over time, so it may be a question that doesn’t have an answer. But I’m curious if there is anything that pops out.

Rachel Camfield [00:24:06]:
You know, as a mother, Sarah, I can see the formative years until age 7 or so. That’s when so much of the programming internally, that’s not even you’re not even being instructed. It’s just internally what you’re picking up based on your environment, based on the reactions and the responses of the adults around you, based on the conversations, based on, you know, the moods of the home. And it’s one thing as an adult, as a caretaker, to take responsibility for the things that you say and do. It’s another to take responsibility for the person you’re being. So that’s my number

Sarah Tacy [00:24:52]:
one. If you would elaborate on that, when you say what you’re saying and doing, when you say the word being, what does that mean to you?

Rachel Camfield [00:25:02]:
Your mood, who you’re being in your walls, how you’re reacting, how you’re responding, what you’re prioritizing, your self care, how you’re regulating yourself, your coping mechanisms. There’s a lot of responsibility there.

Sarah Tacy [00:25:18]:
Yeah. And how do you work with that?

Rachel Camfield [00:25:23]:
You have to know yourself. So that’s huge. And if you’re gonna go into building a business and supporting other people outside of the people in your family and in your life, That’s some big work.

Sarah Tacy [00:25:37]:
Yeah. And I’m guessing that that’s why this morning, as I was kind of feeling into the field of this coming conversation and feeling into the sense of who you are, that is really makes sense that that sense of someone who’s grounded and kind and consistent and honest. Those traits that you have been working on since 15 are traits that just when you say being is just the sense that I feel from you. So congratulations. It’s working. And I’m also wanting to highlight and celebrate that at a time I’m going back to your 15 year old self whom I did not necessarily know. I’m just saying necessarily because I’m sure there are some strands of of you that are continuous that at a time where things may have had chaos around them and ways of knowing, like, that’s not how I want to be or continue. That we can be in a place of the path of not here, that we can be in this place of this is not where I want to be, and have a thread of our intuition that would pull us to do something that if a responsible adult is not there to do it for us, that you had it within you to know this is the thread that’s gonna save me.

Sarah Tacy [00:27:11]:
This is the thread that’s gonna help get me towards the life that I wanna build. The wisdom that you had in you at that point feels like a miracle. And and I’ve, again, I’ve pointed out this to some clients too of, wow, so great that like we’ve grown this capacity. And and if we look back a year ago at the beginning of this time or 2 years ago, that in that dark place, like you knew to reach out or you knew to get get to a friend’s house, Even at times where intuition is not as strong when our capacity is smaller, we often have a whisper of the next right step. Mhmm. Yeah. I’m just over here celebrating and in awe of that miracle.

Rachel Camfield [00:28:02]:
It does it does feel like that. And it’s it’s reminded me over the years that I’m not I’m not here on accident, you know, and there is a reason. There is a reason for us all. And now my number 2 would be through that journey to get around people, to be around people who are being in the ways that you want. And that is so powerful. I’m

Sarah Tacy [00:28:29]:
smiling right now because I’m going all the way back. My third podcast was with Amber, and I’m having this memory right now where she was talking about her childhood, and she just had the question, is happiness a thing? Like, does that exist? And just asking the question of is this there and then seeking it out and searching it out. And so as you’re talking about being around the people who are being what you perceive as like how you want to be and feel. And I’m just loving that you guys found each other.

Rachel Camfield [00:29:04]:
Another miracle. Another miracle.

Sarah Tacy [00:29:08]:
So for listeners, they’re just like best of friends and have been so supportive of one another on their individual journeys and their business journeys and their mama journeys. And so I’m just imagining these 2 15 year olds who are, you know, states apart, living different lives, but both seeking out, like, I know there’s a better way possible and that reticular activating system phrase of show me, like, show me a better way. And I will seek out those that are being the way I want to be. Here you are surrounded, I think, surrounded by people who are how you want to be.

Rachel Camfield [00:29:52]:
My life is so beautiful today. The relationships are so deep and kind and respectful and compassionate and thoughtful and not one part of it is on accident. And so when I was younger being around those people, those were a couple of my best friends and their families and going over to their houses and being around their moms and their parents and their siblings and seeing how they do dinner, how they do the weekends, how they do the morning, you know, just, yeah, show me. Right? And taking all of that in, making my own little formulas in my head of like, okay, it can be different And I can be a part of that solution. And so that really became so much of my spirit was how can I be the solution to my own desire, to my own experience, to my own dreams, not doing that on my own? Oh my goodness. No. Like, don’t hear me when I say that I am the number one solution. Not at all.

Rachel Camfield [00:30:53]:
But just realizing I play such a part in this from my environment, to my habits, to my inspirations, to the things I’m reading, to the things I’m listening to. I have so much influence over my own being. I have shared this song lyric over the years, many different times in many different instances. I love music. It is a song that says hold on loosely, but don’t let go. Hold on loosely, but don’t let it go. And to me, that’s just like the theme of when you’re when you are dreaming and when you are anticipating that threshold and when you’re being around the different people and you’re trying on new habits and you’re trying to change patterns and do that re patterning work, it’s like, yeah, you can’t force yourself into these new ways and into these new places and into these new states and, and different goals or different relationships. It’s like, but you can hold on loosely to them.

Rachel Camfield [00:31:51]:
Just don’t let go of them. Like trust the timing of of whatever it is.

Sarah Tacy [00:31:57]:
That is reminding me of the exercise that I led the group through at Amber’s where you have the goal on the other side of the room in the first time through. And the room is divided, say, 50 people on one side, 50 people on the other, and there are all the chairs and tables in the middle. And you say your goal is on the other side. Decide what your path is now, how you’re gonna get there, and get there as fast as you can. And people get to experience what it feels like to say, like, well, this is my path and that I need to get there as fast as I can to be successful, and what it’s like and what your interactions are like when you inevitably bump up into people and somebody else is in your path or your lane. And then we did multiple times of, like, okay. The hold on loosely, but don’t let go. Like the thing you want, it’s over there.

Sarah Tacy [00:32:47]:
The vision is there, but you may have an idea of the path you want to take, but you get to change it along the way and see what comes and people might go backwards or sideways first, and somebody stands up on a table and somebody smells of flowers and suddenly you’re having conversations. And isn’t it interesting that maybe the person you have the conversation with is somebody who may kinda pull you forward or catch you at another time in life because you chose a pace that was in honor of what was presenting itself in the middle, like as we go. And I just think it’s so reflective of how life can be for forcing something or saying like, okay, what is, what is presenting itself now? And what about now? And what about now? Can you give us a lived experience of that?

Rachel Camfield [00:33:39]:
Oh, I’d say right now, you know, continuing forward that to get to a certain place. And I am always, I’m such a visual person. I’m always thinking of hikes. And when you’re, you’re gonna go, you set out for the day, you pack your lunch, you have your water bottle, your sunscreen, your plan. This is the trail you’re going to go on. This is, this is the mountain or the waterfall you’re going to go see. And that you actually don’t know what’s in between your starting point to that reached point. And so to try to figure it out and guess exactly what it is, that’s actually not the point.

Rachel Camfield [00:34:18]:
The point is that you start and you go on this journey and you see things that you didn’t think you’d see, or you maybe you miss something you thought you were gonna see, but you just can’t encapsulate it into this fully controlled thing. And my entrepreneurial journey is like that for me. There have been so many twists and turns and changes and things that have not turned out the way I thought they would and things that have. And so where I am today, almost 10 years later, this is exactly where I dreamed I would be. Truly right here, this little pin on the map, you know, that I’m sitting here, I’m talking to you. I love your podcast so much. I’m so inspired by the work you’re doing, Sarah, and we’re getting to have this conversation. Would I have loved to have had this conversation like 3 years ago? I don’t know if your podcast was out 3 years ago.

Rachel Camfield [00:35:08]:
Sure. It’s now, you know, so it’s like the beauty is right now, today, right here that I get to revel in this moment with you.

Sarah Tacy [00:35:20]:
I’m in a pause just because I’m really receiving what you’re saying And I’m feeling a little emotional thinking how often as like the host, then it’s like, Oh, what do I say after that? Or what do I, you know, and just to actually really receive the beauty of what you’re offering and what you’re saying in this moment. I often then think of, Oh, how might this land for listeners? How might this be medicine? And I think sometimes just pausing to receive the medicine of what someone is embodying. And for me to really feel the gift of just being here with you. Yeah. There is that storytelling part of me that’s like, Oh, and, and let’s go back to 2019 now and let’s go back to where you are. And, and what actually drew me to reach out to you is more present time than it is what happened on different parts of the timeline. It’s more of how much I really enjoy following you on social media. I enjoy the way you celebrate your wins and your victories.

Sarah Tacy [00:36:39]:
And I enjoy how nothing feels rushed. I enjoy your honesty about the things that are hard and how the hard things can be right next to a blessing. I enjoy watching your creativity and how you’re really doing it your own way, no matter what society says or people who are, you know, having hundreds of thousands of followers or business coaches that say you like, you can be a mom and do this, which is great because that could be their path. But I really see you deciding how you want to be and how you want to do business next to that. And for the listeners that there can also be times where there is a reality where the creativity and the finances need to be supportive. And I’m wondering if you could talk a little bit about what it’s like to be a creative and if, or when there’s financial pressure, if that amplifies your creativity or if it stifles it. Like, do you do better when you’re feeling calm and embodied or when you’re feeling there can be healthy fast too. So just because it’s amplified and fast doesn’t mean it’s bad.

Sarah Tacy [00:38:08]:
So I’m wondering how you navigate the times that may also have pressure in them.

Rachel Camfield [00:38:17]:
Let’s go back to the beginning because navigating the times with pressure in them is who I am. Right? Story that I originally shared of being 15 and realizing I gotta get some help. And I have more influence than I have been told over my own life. And now as a creative, navigating that pressure looks so similar because it was a pathway that I created over 20 years ago. And that’s the power we have, that it might be a different placement, might be a different realm, different situation, circumstance, but those inner tools do not leave the building. They remain. And so as a creative with navigating financial pressure, which is such a reality, You know, I don’t know a lot of business owners who are doing it as a hobby. And the last 3 years have been a challenge in so many different ways for so many different kinds of people.

Rachel Camfield [00:39:34]:
So navigating them has looked like identifying what my goal is, what my target is, what being I wanna be, And then, all right, how do I get that support? How do I go be around the people? Just like going over to my friend’s houses. Who are my friend’s houses now I’m going over to. Right? Being around those folks, acknowledging, being humble about it. You know, I can learn so much from other people in all different walks of life. And then coming to a place where I can function in a way that is consistent, that doesn’t deplete me. So that was actually my challenge a few years ago. Can I grow my business from a place that’s not depleting me? Because prior that formula had been the opposite. I had really tapped out the energy, the resources, inner resources that I had.

Rachel Camfield [00:40:35]:
And I just knew that the other supportive roles in my life, you know, I am such a proud homemaker. I love taking care of our home. I love supporting my family. I love washing my husband’s shirts. You know, like, that’s important to me. I support him as he supports us. We work together as a team. So being a wife, being a mother, being an artist, pouring inspiration out into the world, I don’t wanna, I don’t wanna not include any of those things that are so important to me.

Rachel Camfield [00:41:03]:
That love and that care coming through in every little nuance there. So I had to figure that riddle out. Can I have a business that’s growing, that’s thriving without me being depleted?

Sarah Tacy [00:41:20]:
Mhmm.

Rachel Camfield [00:41:21]:
Can I actually do that? Because for me, that that was never a fruit that I had tasted.

Sarah Tacy [00:41:28]:
I think I’ve heard you say that, not in this podcast, that since the time you were 11, you were running some sort of business. You were creating something, and that hustle culture was something that you knew really well. So what I’m hearing at the threshold moving into motherhood and partnership and homemaking and creativity is this threshold of being within a range of resonance, a range of embodiment while navigating all of these things. Is it possible to be a creative, to have finances come in, to have a thriving business? Yeah. Yeah. Without depleting myself. Yes. What did you find?

Rachel Camfield [00:42:20]:
I found out that it is. It’s just gonna take a little bit longer. Right? It really had I really had to play with my own edge of patience. Right? Like tempering it back a little bit, realizing like, alright, if this is what I’m saying, if this is who I’m being, that level of patience is the toggle here. Nurturing that patience. Again, being humble, right? Just being humbled by the process. That’s a great thing. That’s a good thing.

Rachel Camfield [00:42:55]:
So what’s so cool, Sarah, is that the beautiful words that you’ve been sharing with me in this gorgeous space that you’re holding for us together with the listeners. Cause I feel like we’re all in this very casual, comfortable conversation together. It’s so weird when you get to a place that’s like, this is my dream and it actually happens. And it’s happening in the way that you always wanted it to, but it’s not been on your own timeline. And that’s really what I’m experiencing right now is I get to do this, do this life, do my work, serve my clients, be in community, continue to grow. And I also get to spend days outside in my yard gardening. And I don’t have that absolute stress that I’ve lived with for so long. And perhaps I get to be known for this gentle way that is the only way I’ve been able to make it work.

Rachel Camfield [00:43:59]:
And of course, if it’s this gentle way, it’s gonna probably take a little bit longer.

Sarah Tacy [00:44:05]:
Mhmm. I’m imagining, and it doesn’t have to, I’m imagining that exercise we did and how and, and this idea of small doable pieces over time with the possibility of quantum leaps, which is as you go the slow, gentle way and you temper your patient and you become, like, at peace with like, oh, actually, this is what I want. And and I trust in the timeline that perhaps it continues to go this way and you could be happy and at peace with that. Going back to that exercise, it’s kind of like, who do you meet along the way and are there portals? And maybe there’s a day where there’s a quantum leap and it seems like a quantum leap, but actually you’ve been doing the millions of little steps along the way. And I also really feel like that holding on loosely, that you’re not attached either to like needing the quantum leap. And so I’m not even suggesting that. I’m just so curious of how some things can move so slow and then be lightning. Yeah.

Sarah Tacy [00:45:16]:
And I’m also curious, as you said, like, I’m living the life I dreamed. There are times I’ll speak for myself. There’s a time earlier this year where and over the last couple of years actually, where I’ve had moments where I’m like, Oh my gosh, I have the house and this gorgeous backyard and this amazing husband and these two girls. And I’ve had moments where I didn’t feel alive. Woah. I’m like, Woah, was that scary to, to really move in the direction of my dream, but to be missing a piece of my own vitality. And I’m wondering if as you create your own life and you’re stepping into the life that you dreamed by design and by listening. If you’ve ever had moments again where you can feel that you’re not, like, you’re close, but it’s not quite that you’re like, oh, this is what I thought I wanted, and and I need an adjustment.

Rachel Camfield [00:46:17]:
Yeah. I mean, those adjustments just find you.

Sarah Tacy [00:46:20]:
You sure do.

Rachel Camfield [00:46:22]:
And that’s really all I have to say about that, you know, where it’s like, that’s the beauty. That’s the beauty of doing this. When I say work, I don’t mean professional work. Doing this inward, experiential attuned work. When a challenge, when it comes up, it gets to be a place of invitation, not condemnation. So it’s not that you’re wrong or that this is wrong. It’s, oh, okay. Let’s get curious.

Rachel Camfield [00:47:01]:
Let’s explore. Let’s, what does this mean? And sometimes that response lasts for months or years, and it’s not an instant right turn around the corner. It’s just this ever present. Okay. And when we figure out what something needs, that gives us the ability to then go find ways to meet the need, to advocate, and to connect. So without that situation or awareness, then that need would have never existed or gotten met.

Sarah Tacy [00:47:49]:
I love this, the contemplation, not the condemnation. So good. And I can think of how almost directly after that moment and especially a moment that happened right at the new year for me, where I was really surprised by my reaction to something, something I thought I’d be so happy about, but instead was like moved to tears in a way of, oh, shoot. I’m off I’m off path again. How was really the curiosity. Like, that one again was like, oh, what brings me alive? What and just asking that question and then letting it go. I don’t even know in this moment of life, like, what lights me up and be able to ask that. Life then showed me.

Sarah Tacy [00:48:35]:
Like like, fully letting it go, things began popping up that made me, like, vibrate with a yes. Like, full body yes. I’m like, so I’m appreciating that sometimes, as you said, it can be a long process. Adjustment. And it’s not always that the adjustment has to be huge and that there can be these small things. And as soon as I’m aware and asking and open to receiving new information about where to turn, like saying to the GPS, like, oh, you know, we may be off course. Is there a better way to get there or not to get there? Is there another route that’s optimal and how beautifully that affected my life over the last 6 months?

Rachel Camfield [00:49:26]:
And you must be brave. Right? It takes courage to lean in to your own honesty in that way. But to me, that really is doing the work of an authentic life.

Sarah Tacy [00:49:40]:
So we are, we are at the top of our hour. And as you say courage and living an authentic life And wondering if you would like to share anything about the work you offer or what you’re doing. I don’t know if you have anything opening where people could feel like, oh my gosh. I want to be around this woman who is being how I want to be. If there are opportunities or ways that they could I mean, I’ll just say that I enjoy having you on my Instagram feed. It’s just so grounding and refreshing and real. And are there other ways that people can listen to you, be in your presence, or possibly even work with you?

Rachel Camfield [00:50:25]:
Oh, well, yes, Instagram is, is really

Sarah Tacy [00:50:27]:
the,

Rachel Camfield [00:50:31]:
just the beginning, Just the beginning. And I’m at Rachelcampfield on Instagram. I do have a podcast called the General Creative Podcast, and it’s at the intersection of creative business and culture and doing life and business in this attuned way. I do feel called to say I have a program. I don’t open and close it. It is always open. And I like to say the doors of the lab are always open. So it is a gentle business cohort and it is for those that are business owners.

Rachel Camfield [00:51:11]:
They’re growing brands and lives that they love. And it is a beautiful, beautiful, intentional space that we meet weekly. And you can learn more obviously by just going to my website. And I love communing with my email community as well and sending out meaning and inspiration and longer thoughts. The newsletter is called The Gentle Creative. Yeah. If you are a brand owner, someone who is, is intrigued by authenticity and giving yourself room and space and your brand and relationship to your brand, giving it room space and compassion and kindness. It takes work, right, to carve out that opening for you to get honest.

Rachel Camfield [00:52:03]:
But my goodness, do you have your own best answers inside? You have so much within you that no one can even top what you have within you. And so I offer an authentic brand clarity journal for free on my website. And you can grab that at rachelcampfield.com/journal. And it’ll also welcome you into my email family.

Sarah Tacy [00:52:25]:
Thank you so much. We will put all of those links in the show notes. Thank you so much for coming on today. I’m just appreciating my own little intuitive taps of, oh, see if she’ll come on because it’s like it just feels so good to be with you. And I am aware of some of the listeners. I know, you know, people who will reach out and say, I’ve been listening. This has been so helpful. So sometimes in these conversations, I have very particular people in mind.

Sarah Tacy [00:52:54]:
And I can really feel how your shares today could be grounding and permission giving and hopeful.

Rachel Camfield [00:53:04]:
I’m so glad. I’m so glad. Yeah. Be encouraged, you know, and continue to trust what’s what’s right for you. My hope after you listen to this interview, this conversation, is that you have a next step and that your next step is your own wisdom within. That there is not someone else with your own answer out there, that your next step is your own wisdom. And my life has become so much more simplified by living this way.

Sarah Tacy [00:53:41]:
Could you also share your bug wisdom or your nature wisdom?

Rachel Camfield [00:53:46]:
The bug wisdom, which came through with, a deep conversation with Amber Lilly Sarah, Life biz motherhood family bestie. We were just shooting the breeze as one does as, as entrepreneurs do throughout the weeks. And this visual came to me around all of the different bugs outside. There are cockroaches, earthworms, bumblebees, wasps, flies, crickets, and that one bug is not right or better than another bug. Because in this online space, it seems that the loudest and the biggest are the best. And when I can overlay this online world we’re living in and like the bug theory, then I realized, you know what? The cricket is just as important as the earthworm. Do you know how high and fast the cricket jumps in? It’s all above ground. But do you know how important that earthworm is down below moving that dirt in front of its little nose so slowly? Like it’s the reason we have flowers.

Rachel Camfield [00:54:57]:
You know, it’s the reason we have healthy dirt. And so whenever I know, we’re all triggered at times when I’m triggered or I feel like there’s something more I need to be doing to be noticed in my brand, then I realize, okay, what bug is that? And what bug am I? And we’re all a part of this here. And somebody’s going to be looking for an earthworm and somebody’s going to be looking for a cricket.

Sarah Tacy [00:55:22]:
I was thinking that generally in my mini musings, I end with a little, may I prayer or show me prayer. And I recently, I think I finished off the interview with Kate Northrop with one of those, and I was thinking it could be nice to close out that way as well. So may I have the courage to listen to that little twinge inside of me, even when resources seem slim. The twinge that suggest to reach out to nature, to a coach, to a friend. That little voice that knows that I can do it, that there are resources outside of me and within me. May I have the courage to be sensitive, to tap into my creativity, to hold on loosely without letting go. When a vision comes to me that there’s a better way, may I know that that way is calling me? And may I open my eyes to see who else is living that way? Let me see all the examples so that I may know on many levels that it is possible. Things that I haven’t known such that work and business and life could possibly possibly be regenerative? May I lean into that? As Rachel said that there might be a possible way to function that isn’t depleting.

Sarah Tacy [00:57:30]:
May my patience and trust go hand in hand. And may I see abundance everywhere around me? And where it lacks, may I find that trust within? Thank you. Thank you. Thanks for coming on.

Rachel Camfield [00:57:50]:
Thank you everyone.

Sarah Tacy [00:58:06]:
Thank you for tuning in. It’s been such a pleasure. If you’re looking for added support, I’m offering a program that’s totally free called 21 days of untapped support. It’s pretty awesome. It’s very easy. It’s very helpful. You can find it at Sarah. And if you love this episode, please subscribe and like.

Sarah Tacy [00:58:30]:
Apparently, it’s wildly useful. So we could just explore what happens when you scroll down to the bottom. Subscribe, rate, maybe say a thing or 2. If you’re not feeling it, don’t do it. It’s totally fine. I look forward to gathering with you again. Thank you so much.