From Maternity Boutique to Ironman: Navigating Entrepreneurship with Ciara Stockeland | RR257

Hello everyone and welcome to this week's

episode of relationships rule. My guest this week, Ciara

Stockland, is an author, speaker and four times iron woman, Iron

Man, Iron woman. She has owned and operated businesses since

her early teens. Definitely a serial entrepreneur and her

business mindset and tenacity led her to open her first shop

in 2006, which she then franchised. She has had vast

experience in retail and wholesale industries, and was

the first to launch first to market wholesale subscription

box for boutique retailers, which I'm going to have to ask

you about. And she built and sold it within 18 months,

definitely a serial entrepreneur as, as I mentioned, and lots to

bring to the table. So welcome, Sierra to the podcast. Oh,

hi. I'm excited to chat with you.

Thank you so much. I know you're a very busy

woman, and whether it's you're out running or you're helping

clients or you're driving or you're you're going to clients

that are in a different state and helping them with their

businesses. You're very busy. So I want to go back though first

and say so what was your first shop that you opened in? 2006?

Yeah, it

was a maternity baby store. So just a

high end maternity boutique. We were in Fargo, North Dakota, and

there weren't a lot of options. I knew I wanted to open a retail

store but knew I needed to do something a little bit

different. Have my own niche. And so maternity baby is where I

started. Were you pregnant at the time? Or were you just done?

Yeah. So I had a one and three year old. Yeah. Okay. Perfect.

And, and so you, you found a niche that worked

for that time in your life as well, which is great. Now, that

was retail, and then you you've gotten into wholesale as well.

So how did that come about? Yeah,

so we opened that in 2006. Six months later,

I opened a second retail concept right next door. So I had two

stores at the same time. And that second store was a designer

outlet store. So we would buy overstock off price liquidated

goods similar to like TJ Maxx Nordstrom Rack. Yeah. And we

would sell them to customers. And then I started buying excess

inventory and selling it to other retail stores or helping

particular designers offload their product. So we got into

the wholesale broker department of retail and inventory. So I've

really touched inventory on all sides of it.

So Was that intentional? Like, did you come

from a background around that? Or because? No, okay. Okay.

It just happened very much. Like if I

see an opportunity, yeah, I like to solve a problem. And so we

had the opportunity to sell overstock. And I thought, well,

I could figure this out. So he figured it out. And then I

thought, well, there's lots of people that have overstock that

need help getting rid of it, I can figure that out. So it just

grew from one thing to the next

true entrepreneur. And I say that

more than once, because we use that word too lightly these

days. You know, you that visionary? That is a true

entrepreneur. I'll figure it out later. But I can see that then.

Yes, that's

it. I'll figure out all the details

later. Yeah, I'm all about

the details. And that doesn't make me a true

entrepreneur. I get it. It's interesting. So you also became

a Profit First certified coach, and I'm guessing that fits into

one of the tools that you teach your clients or work with, with

your clients as well, correct?

Yeah. So had the retail franchise ended up

selling the franchise brand to one of my franchisees, then my

next venture was the subscription box through that I

started meeting lots of retailers. Okay, that's where I

was hearing a lot of the same questions, how much inventory

should I buy? How do I read a financial Where's all my money

going? And I was able to answer these questions because I had

built and sold and built and grew multiple businesses. And so

started doing some coaching consulting had a group

membership. And through that, then, you know, that just

catapulted had people started asking me about, you know, do

you know anything about Profit First, can you help us with

Profit First, and so got my certification in the Profit

First method? Okay.

So the, the subscription box is interesting

to me, because it's kind of the thing now, when I watch Shark

Tank, every week, everybody's doing a subscription box.

Everybody's launching their businesses that way, what was

yours?

So it was a subscription box for retailers.

So I would bring together a wholesaler and a retailer. So

wholesalers, creators, makers could put samples in the box,

which directly to the doorstep of a retailer. It's almost like

it was like market in a box. So market came directly to them,

they could purchase what they want, connect with those

wholesalers. So it was an easy way to connect

people. Now it's all influencers doing it right.

Yeah. So many. Yeah. So like I just watched a clip on

Instagram. Before this call. I was having lunch and I was

flipping through and there's a girl that lives here in my area.

She lives up in Cologne Want to BC but she's from Vancouver area

not very far. She was the Bachelorette, like the third one

or something, something like that. And she made she did. She

is probably one of the most successful people that came out

of that franchise in that she created herself as a business

very well. And she had and she's always She's always got new

products. I swear that the photographer's the videographers

live in her house because she's got new videos all the time.

Right. But and this one was something about partnered with,

right this luggage company, whatever it is constant. And

that seems to be the way so many things get sold. And she's she's

a smart cookie. So I'm always curious to watch how she does.

So I'm also curious about what makes the retailer the person

who has inventory, that you work with these types of businesses

that have a lot of inventory? What What's the like two or

three key things that are really an issue for them that you

usually find and have to solve? Yeah,

I think when most businesses or all

businesses come to me for help they come with one or two,

either one or both of these questions. First one, Where's

all my money going? I have a lot of sales, there's lots of money

coming in, I don't know where it's at. I don't have my p&l

says I made money. But I don't have that money. So where's it

going? Well, the second question is I have a lot of debt, how do

I get out of it? How did I get here? What do I do with the

debt. And both of those things, we really have to dial down to

the root of the problem and build a strong foundation. So

most entrepreneurs are very artsy. They're, you know, art

focus versus science, scientific focus. So meaning like they're

creators, they're great at products, they're great at

display, great customer service, not so great at operations, the

numbers, the financials, and they can be quite intimidating,

you know, so they look at numbers and think I don't know

how to do that. I have no idea what my p&l says what it even

means it seems foreign. So I help them break that down and

figure out where's the money going? Looking at the root? So

how do we figure out what your margins are, what you're

charging for product, what it's costing to operate your

business. And from that, then we set profit goals, instead of top

line revenue goals. So okay, that's great if you want to be a

million dollar business, but if you don't take a paycheck, who

cares? So that's where we start.

So explain that again, top level versus

Yeah, so profit goals, setting net profit

goals versus top line revenue goals.

So not how much you're not how much you want the

business to make, but how much you want to keep to

keep? Yes, yes. And then we work backwards

from there. So you know, the thinking like, you hear this all

the time, I'm a seven figure business, I'm a six figure

entrepreneur. That means nothing if you don't understand where

the money is going, and how the money is working. And so I want

you to be a six figure salary entrepreneur, I want you to take

a salary and pay yourself and pay off your debt. And so we

build the profit goal. And then from there we work on what does

that look like in top line revenue? And

just profit? I'm not I've heard of profit first.

And the fellow that that wrote it is what's his name? Mike.

McCalla wits? Like, yeah, and does it necessarily mean pay

yourself first? Is that what it basically means? Yeah,

so profit versus a cash management system,

it just tells you or it helps you understand how to tell your

money where to go. So instead of just saying I have $10,000, in

my bank account, so I'll buy a little this, I can afford rent,

I can do this. You look at what the sales are, what the cost of

those sales are. And then the difference of that is what you

get to divide up between your paycheck operation of the

business. It's just a way it's an envelope system, essentially,

for entrepreneurs. Yeah, yeah. Okay.

I like it. I like it. Yeah, I remember one time

going to Millionaire Mind. T Harv. Eker. I don't know if

you've ever heard of T Harv Eker. He, he was a he was around

for a long time. With you know, thought leader, Tony Robbins

type, that kind of thing. So, Damn, he wrote a book called The

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind. And he used to have these huge,

you know, sessions for people free. Then they come and then

they sign up for all his expensive courses. And he lived

here for a while. And I remember I went to his free webinar or no

seminar, three day thing or whatever it was. And now I've

forgotten the point of motors. Oh, yeah. So in his book, The

Secrets of the Millionaire Mind he talks about having In fact,

it's funny. I've got one of these jars here right now.

Because I was doing a draw I'm presenting and I had their names

in the drawer, but he made you get these, these jars and

labeled them for all the different things that you would

put your, you know, divide your money into, and it was similar

kind of thing to what you're Yeah, yes. So needless to say,

I'm not doing that anymore. But But anyway. So I would think

that because you do have the work that you do you work with a

client for a long, long enough period of time that they must

become like your babies like, yeah, does it you have a long

Yeah,

I mean, it's typically at least a year, like

I asked for a year commitment, because when we have

foundational cracks in our business, we cannot fix those

overnight, if you have a lot of debt, if you had a lot, if you

have a lot of financial issues, it just takes time to course

correct to change habits. And so we work together for at least a

year, but a lot of clients will stay for two to three years, you

know, get a really good foundation, we turn the ship

around, and I get to know them, you know, I very relationship

focused, as you know, and so I get to know them, I understand

their hopes, their fears, I get to know about their family. So I

just this this last week graduated out three ladies that

have been with me for three years each. They all know each

other, I know them and we're off, you know, I was on the call

with one of them. And she said don't want to hang up. But I'm

like, I've heard

her that decided that it was time or was it you,

I

would say both of us, probably more me. I've

had a couple of gals, I'm like, I've helped you as much as I

can. Your business is in order, you know how to do the work. And

so you need to you need to go on, you know, and find other

areas that you want to improve in your business and find

coaches and consultants that can help you there.

Yeah. But definitely I can see where the

relationships become very strong. Have you ever had and

you're

talking about money a lot. I mean, that's a

really intimate conversation. I know everything about their

finances, sometimes things that their husbands or their business

partners, they haven't told them because they're so ashamed. Or,

you know, and so I just know a lot, I see a lot of tears, you

know, and we're able to fix so many things. And then you grow

close to someone who's with you through those storms. Yeah,

of course, that's very, very satisfying. Yeah, I

would think Yeah. Have you ever gone into a business and realize

that, if there's no fix that they better cut their losses

and, and just Yeah, it's

more, if the mindset of the entrepreneur

isn't there, and they're not meaning they're not ready or

willing to do all of the work, you can't do 90% of the hard

work and expect the results. And so I've had a couple of clients

where I said, you know, I just don't think I'm the right fit

for you. What you're looking for isn't something like I don't

offer a quick fix, I offer a complete change in habits in

giving you the confidence and giving you the skill set that

you need, but you have to be willing to do the work. And so

if someone isn't willing to do all of the hard things, it

doesn't work. Sometimes I've worked with business owners, and

often I'll give business owners the permission to close their

doors or to change course, it's really hard if you're an

entrepreneur, because you're you feel like your person is tied up

and your reputation is tied up in your business. And so a lot

of times they'll say, Well, if I close people think I'm a

failure, or if I close that store, I'm working with a client

right now. And we're looking at closing one of the locations,

that's just, it's not beneficial to the business as a whole. And

she Why is she said, Why is this so hard? You know, because we

get emotionally attached. And so a lot of times I give my clients

permission, show them the black and white and the numbers of you

know, what's really happening in the business. And that can give

them just like, Oh, that feels good. Someone finally told me

it's okay. To keep going as I am.

Yeah. Yeah. And you have a book, the inventory

genius book. Is that what it's called? Yes, yes, yes. And

that's your method of how you help people in in with the

coaching that you do so people can get a sense of you from that

book of

Yes, I have my stories woven in my clients

stories are woven in, which makes it easier to read about

numbers. We have some anecdotes, so yeah, yeah. And it's a simple

easy to read about two hour read. And is it

is it for the do it yourselfer? Or is it just to

get a sense of who you are, and before they decide whether

they're going to work with you? I

think both. It really depends. So there's a lot

of people that have read the book can take the method and

it's like that made so much sense that gave me clarity. And

then I do have a lot of people that will read the book and then

they listened to my podcast inventory genius, and then

they'll take a free course you know, every person's path is

different. Some will read the book I have one client Right now

she read the book and came right to me like, I want to skip to

the front of the line, I want you to tell me what to do. Yeah,

it really it really depends. Yeah,

it's true, isn't it and doing these podcasts and,

and speaking to groups of people, somebody will just

resonate right away. I did a webinar the other day. And I

think before I finished the webinar, this girl had signed up

on connected with me on LinkedIn and booked a time to talk to me.

And she said, like, I haven't done social media, I've avoided

it for so long. Now's the time I want to do it. Right. And so

obviously, she saw something in me that I could help her. So

it's just it's very cool when that happens, right? So what you

said about Yes, you can't do 90% of the work, you have to go all

the way and do it. I imagine that's the same with your Iron

Man training because you are a master Iron Man person. Not I

don't mean master in terms of age, I mean that you are a

master at it. So tell us a little bit about that journey.

Because I find it I'm fascinated, and I'm impressed.

Totally. Oh, thank

you. Yeah. So I never did sports in high

school or college. I started running after the kids were

born. They were toddlers and I had a friend that said, let's

run you know, let's and he encouraged me to run. I remember

I couldn't run a block. The first time I went, I thought oh

my god, I can't breathe was going on. But I would do 5k

races, some sprint triathlons, just shorter distance had zero

interest in anything long at all. But my husband immensely

you're

a competitive person, because you had to find

something to push you. Okay.

I did. Yeah. I wouldn't be someone that would

just go to the gym if I didn't have a reason. Yeah. Yeah. And

my husband did his first Ironman in 2021. And while he was

training, I thought there's an I would never like I literally had

zero interest said no, no, thank you. No way. When I saw him

compete, the wheels started turning. And then I thought,

what if I did this as a learning teaching lesson for my coaching

clients, that you really can do what you want to do if you set

your mind to it. And so that was a big part of why I signed up

for my first Ironman, but I was 43. And I was training for 5k at

the time. So I went from 5k race training to full Ironman

distance triathlon training. And yeah, and have been doing that

for the last four years. Had

you been a swimmer? Or a cyclist?

recreationally only? Yeah,

that's a huge difference, too.

Yeah, for sure. Swim 2.4 miles and an

Ironman. So it's a little different than having fun at the

pool. Yeah, exactly. And

how long is the bike ride? 112

miles, and then a full marathon at the end?

Yeah.

Unbelievable. And now you've done one with your

daughter. Yes.

So you can compete an Ironman when you're

18. So when she turned 18, she did her first full Ironman last

summer. I think in that one she placed third. She did really

really well and qualified for World Championships. And I had

also qualified for World Championships. So we were able

to be a mother daughter duo. We got to train together last

summer. And then we went to World Championships in Kona,

which is the icon like Ironman Kona race, it was the first all

female World Championships they've ever done. So that was

really unique. So we were able to do that in October.

I didn't see any pictures of that on your website

or their pictures there. So

that I have an Instagram page, you'll have to

take a look at Jen's try to TW o g n s t ri. So like two

generations try and we post and share our journey there. Because

we're still training together for something else. Yes.

That's so cool. Very, very cool. And this might

be irrelevant to anything but I am curious what Why did you move

or how what was the reason to move from? Fargo, North Dakota

to Nashville, Tennessee. Weather. Oh, rather

tired of freezing cold. nine month

winters in North Dakota.

Yeah. Okay. Yes. And so you're in. Are you in

Nashville? You're in? Yeah.

In a suburb of Nashville. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Okay. Yeah.

So that's really interesting, too. Okay, so I

like to ask my guests sometimes a little off the side questions

and one of the ones that fascinates me sometimes is okay,

with how much information is thrown at us at such a rate a

raving pace these days? How do you how do you take it do you

like to read books still like the old fashioned way? Do you

read on a Kindle d rather listen to books. Do you watch videos?

Do you listen to podcasts? What do you do for your?

Yeah, hi, I kind of do everything. I love a

book. So I always have two or three books going at the same

like a physical book. Yes. See a lot behind me. Because I like to

underline I like to, you know, bend the pages. I like to share

books. I don't really read on the Kindle often I have one but

usually don't do that. I do love audiobooks, though too, because

I drive quite a bit. And so then I can listen to and some things

are just easier to listen to then to read. So I like to

listen, I love watching TV. I like movies. So I do that a lot

in the evenings. I love sitting outside and reading a book. We

have a beautiful back porch. It's just so nice here in

Tennessee. We can sit out almost year round really?

Yeah, so I love doing that. So yeah, cumin there

isn't quite human in this. Yeah, not like

Florida, but it is a more human than like

North Dakota would be

for sure. Yeah. So what you just said about

reading books and marking them up and so forth. I love to do

that too. And I interviewed a gentleman yesterday or the day

before, for my podcast who I asked him a similar question.

And he said a similar answer. But then he said, what he said,

sometimes what I do is, and I thought it was strange, but I

think he's gonna send me one. So I'll see what it's like. But he

said he'll be you know, he'll mark up a book that he loves.

That is probably a business book or a self help book or something

like that. Yeah. And then he'll get somebody like an assistant

to buy a new copy of it. And he'll mark that one up to

highlight this exactly the same as his book and then send it to

somebody. Oh, interesting. I know. Because I said, I don't

know. I said, if you send me a book, and you've already marked

it up, I'm not sure I would highlight the same pages. It

might distract me, he said. So I thought that was really

interesting. You know,

I button a couple books. Actually, I see

one behind me. I saw there. Yeah. Off and like used, you

know, off Amazon. And it'll have sometimes they'll have someone

else's markings in them. And I don't know if I don't know if

it's distracted me. But I don't think it had the same emphasis

for me, you know, because our brains what we need and how we

process is different. So it's interesting. Yeah,

I thought that was really interesting, too. And

about buying it used on Amazon. I that I don't even like to get

books out of the library anymore. Yeah, see, like a new

brand new book. Yeah. Terrible, really. But I mean, I did go the

library with my granddaughter, we'd get books for her. But I

don't know. Anyway. It's that I think it's that COVID residue

that stay or something, whatever. But anyway. And then

the other thing I like to ask, and by the way, I'm so glad you

said you love movies and TV, because I do too. And the Oscars

are coming up. And I just wrote a little bit about that.

Actually, yesterday that, you know, it's not the same as it

used to be. I used to definitely go to make sure I saw all the

movies. So I could have my ballot, and oh, who was going to

you know, and have a thing, but now, I just watched them on TV.

Yeah, I did see Oppenheimer in the theater. But that's the only

one I saw in the theater. And I haven't seen them all. And it's

not killing me the way it would have in the past. Yeah.

Yeah, I would way rather stay home than the

theater. Yeah, cuz then I have, you know, wear my comfy clothes.

Make my own popcorn sit on my own couch. I take a break when I

want. Yeah, we

have big screens now. Right. Yeah. Go

and you can? I don't know. It's just nice. You

can watch with your own people. And yeah,

I agree. So will you watch the Academy Awards?

I'll

probably just pop in just to see the dresses.

That's what I care about. Yeah, I just want to see what they're

wearing. Yes,

yes. Oh, okay. All right, because I do too. So

my, my question is my last question before the last

question is. My favorite word is curiosity. And I curious to know

whether you think curiosity is innate, or learned. And second

part is what are you most curious about these days? Yeah.

Oh, that's a wonderful question. Interesting,

you should ask because I tell my clients quite often, to stay

curious about their business. I literally say that because a

good entrepreneur is constantly curious about why why did that

work? Why didn't that work? How could I do this better? Why did

the people think that way? Why did they come in that side of

the store, go to that side of the store? Curiosity is what

creates change, like good change. As to whether or not

you're born? I think you're born with it. But I don't think you I

think you can learn it. You can teach yourself to be curious.

But I don't think everyone is naturally curious. I'm a very

curious person. So I like to ask, How can I do that better?

Why is that not working? How could I fix that? Yeah, and I'm

constantly just interested in understanding and understanding

why people think the way they do and why they process Some

information the way they do and yeah, lots of questions always I

can see your mind is probably never turns off,

you're always thinking of different things. Yes.

And I've had to train that a bit because that

can also be an Achilles, right? Like, to not be able to just

rest. So talking about reading, I used to I read all the time,

but I felt like I can only read books that will teach me

something that I thought, You know what? I watch TV, which

teaches me nothing. So why do I not enjoy books? You know, so or

I start a book, if I don't like it, I don't have to finish it.

Like I used to be so regimented. So I think we have to also work

on not being constantly on because that's, we need to learn

how to relax. Yeah. And slow down as well. Yeah, for sure.

So when you're training for your, the marathon

part of your Ironman, are you listening to stuff when you're

running? So that's interesting.

I don't actually I rarely listen. So my

daughter always has music. Yeah, I run in the quiet most of the

time, sometimes I'll take a podcast, but I've never listened

to music. Part of that is because I'm not very technology

savvy. And so to just figure out how to make a play, I know that

sounds silly, but figure out how to playlists and all the things

I'm like, I just have never had an interest. So sometimes I'll

listen to podcasts. But most of the time, even on a really long

run. I just think. So I just run and I think,

yeah, that's good. That's really good. I love

listening to podcasts when I'm out. Makes the time if I'm out

walking or something, it makes the the drudgery of it go. You

know better. But sometimes I hear what you're saying. And the

the nature of walk is just fine. Yeah, yeah. So last question I

would just like to ask you is, what's your best advice for the

entrepreneurs listening, the business owners listening, that

you give your clients? Yeah,

I think, um, to always look at a perceived

failure as a learning lesson. So and I say perceived failure,

because we define things that didn't work out the way we had

planned and expectation that didn't come to fruition as a

failure. And we put that on ourselves. But if we can think

about it as a learning lesson, John Maxwell has a great book.

Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn, not use, but learn. And

that's, that's the mindset, you know, great. You have a lot of

debt. That's okay. Let's figure out why. And let's change that.

Right. Yeah, that makes sense that you opened a store that

isn't doing well at all, okay, we'll figure it out, close the

store, change the ownership, add input, like, there's always a

solution to a problem, if we come at it from the idea that

we're going to learn from what didn't work the way we had

planned.

I remember seeing that about my first marriage. It

wasn't a failure with reading experience.

Yeah, you learned, you know, and you do,

it's when we don't learn from those perceived failures, that

it's a waste. Otherwise, there's no waste in it, right? We become

a better more seasoned person, more seasoned entrepreneur, we

can help and teach other people help them avoid the same

mistake. So and it just people that you meet, like that are

much richer, not wealth rich, but like their mindset and their

appreciation for life. I mean, you I'm sure you've met people,

you're like, Oh, my goodness, if I could just sit with this

person for three hours, I'd love to just listen to them. And

that's because they've learned from mistakes, they get up when

they perceive you know, fail. They try again, they're always

looking for those around us. They're remaining curious about

life. And that's the person that I want to be as well.

Well, it just sounds to me as though you are a

calming effect on whoever you work with. And you're so

positive that I can just see that. It would be a joy to work

with you. And I you know, just it's just you got these good

vibes around you. And it's amazing. You're very welcome.

Now, I cheated. I think I have to ask another question now,

because hey, I'm curious. I'm curious to know whether you have

sights on a new business still, well, when are you looking ahead

at something else that you want to do?

You know, that's one of the things I told

you a couple of, you know, a few minutes ago to learn to tame

your mind. There's a lot of things I can do. And I tell my

entrepreneurs, this too, there's so many things you are capable

of. It does not mean you need to do them. So I've gotten very

good at editing opportunities. I love where I'm at in life. I

have two grown children, I want to be available to them. I want

to be able to my husband travels a lot for work. I love to be

able to go with him if I can training depending on what I'm

doing can take up to 20 hours a week of training for Ironman. I

want that freedom. And so with that I have learned to really

say no to most things. I love what I do with my clients now

And right now in this season, I'm trying to get really,

really, really good at delivering really fast results

for them. And so I'd rather perfect that than at other

things. Well, you're,

you're a thinker. Definitely I'm, you know, you

know what you want. And I love that, that you can do that. This

has been a delight. Thank you so much for being a podcast. It's

been a pleasure. And just getting to know you a little bit

more. Each time I talked to you is is amazing. So thank you

again for being here. Thank you to my audience for being here. I

love that you. Listen and appreciate you and remember that

we'd love to hear from you. If you like what you heard, let me

know. And do check out Sierra's website which is inventory.

genealogist

My name actually Sarah stock that.com.

Yeah,

there you go. And all of her information will be

in the show notes. And again, remember to stay connected and

be remembered