← The Top 5% Method®
The Top 5% Method®
She MOPPED floors at night so nobody would see her. Now she runs a 7-FIGURE Business.
00:26:49
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- [00:00]
A
When I first started, it was $100 an episode. And then somebody said to me, I would have paid $1,000 to be on the show. And the next day I changed my pricing to $1,000 in Covid. My business in that moment was exploding.
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B
How many downloads did you have in 2020?
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A
Just under 10,000amonth. At the same time, the live streaming was starting to happen as well. So that whole year, I was experimenting with live streams, streamyard, and all sorts of things. And I was also coming up with Invent. Everybody wanted digital content, and, well, I didn't want to just do podcasts. So I was like, how do I take this live stream and how do I package it up so that a client would want to pay for that? How do I package up advertising a podcast episode? What is it that they want?
- [01:03]
B
Welcome to Driving Impact. Hello, Driving Impact Collective. I'm super excited to have our next guest. Her name is Sarah Barnes Humphrey. She's not only a top 1% podcaster, but she came bearing big news. Welcome to Top 5% Method. Sarah.
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A
I am so excited to be here. Kathleen, you know, I think you are amazing, and I'm just super excited for your show and everything that you're doing, and I'm just honored to be a part of it.
- [01:39]
B
Oh, thank you. I'm a big fan of yours as well, and I love the pink energy. And for the fun fact for people, I met Sarah on a beach in Miami. Was it Miami or Bahamas? Bahamas. Yeah, it was in the Bahamas. And then she quickly became one of my best friends. Friends and also my podcast mentor. And we've stayed in touch. She visits when she's in LA and we hang out. Yeah, you're a great human being as well. So for the audience who doesn't know Sarah, tell me more about yourself.
- [02:17]
A
Well, what is there to tell? I mean, where do you want me to start? So I am Canadian. We're both Canadians. That's the other thing that we have in common. Yes. So I've spent most of my career in supply chain, as you can probably see, with this side behind me. I've spent most of my career in supply chain. I started off as reception at a family business and then worked my way up and I started my podcast back in 2016, which is crazy to even think about.
- [02:46]
B
That's so early. And that's. I don't know. Your podcast is great. And it's. If you don't know, our podcast, it's called let's Talk Supply Chain. And especially with the disruption that has been happening since COVID I think it's even more relevant. And now the tariffs. And I feel like the supply chain is going to be. Is going to be challenged in all those ways. Our podcast is in the top 1% podcast. And you also have a second podcast.
- [03:10]
A
I do. It's called the blended podcast. Now, when I called it the blended podcast, I actually didn't realize how many podcasts there was out there for blended families. So if you're going to name something, go into your research first. I learned that the hard way, but really the blended podcast is my extension to advocacy for inclusion. I bring five different people from different walks of life together to talk about inclusion in the workplace. And the magic happens because none of them know each other and most of them don't know me either, so. And we get into some deep, hard topics, and I love it.
- [03:52]
B
Oh, my goodness. Yeah, I have to listen to this one. I don't know this one. So you. You came bearing news. You've got big news. I've been aware of the news for a long time. I've been waiting for it. But it's called I Buried her in the French Press, which sounds very. I Buried her in the French Press is the name of her new book. Sarah, you're gonna have to unpack the title. Unpack the book. What does it talk about? Tell me everything.
- [04:21]
A
Yeah, so you and I recently went to the summit of greatness, right? That's Lewis Howes event. And this all started last year. It actually started a bit before that because I. I wanted to write a book for a while, but I was like, what am I going to write it on? Am I going to write it on supply chain? Didn't really want to write it on supply Chain, I'll be honest. And when I went to the summit of greatness in 2024, one of the folks on stage, like, one of the speakers, he was like, your personal brand needs to be about one word. And I was like, how can it be about one word? I do this, I have that, I do this, I do that. Like, how am I supposed to condense that into one word?
- [05:02]
B
You know, I don't know. Now I'm just wondering, what is my word? But I think my word. People used to call me fearless at work, at Google, because, like, because it was fearless sales leader fearless. That was my word. I don't. I don't know. What is your word?
- [05:19]
A
So anyways, I was thinking about it. I was thinking about it for, like, several days, and I got on the airplane to get home and it suddenly came to me because I was like, okay, what is it that I actually do? It's not that I talk about supply chain, but I create safe spaces for conversation where people feel seen and heard. On the blended podcast, I'll press the. The stop recording button and people will say, thank you so much. I felt seen and heard today. And so I was like, how do I package that? Because that is what I do. I'm a conversationalist. I create the space. And it came to me. And the word is self worth. And when I took it back to my team, they were like, nope, you're crazy. I don't know what to do with this.
- [06:08]
B
That's a good team, though. A team that can give you real feedback and can say, no, that is a great team. They're keepers. And I met them. They're keepers. If they pushed back. And. Okay. And then what happened after they pushed back?
- [06:22]
A
I started to explain it to them. I was like, you know, I don't necessarily want to be known as a supply chain expert. I'm known for creating safe space for conversation. Fireside chats on stage, panel discussions on stage. The keynotes that I do are interactive with the audience. They're not just me standing up there with a PowerPoint. And then I talked about blended and the experience of being part of blended as a guest, as the host, the environment that I create. And once I started putting everything together, they were like, okay, I get it. I see it. I can get behind it now. And now I know what that voice has been all along, because really, it's been there the whole time. I just didn't really know how to define it. Right.
- [07:12]
B
I think that's amazing. No, it's like. It's kind of. You push your brand to the next level. That person who asked told you that you need to have one word forced you to crystallize your magic, your superpower.
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A
Yeah.
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B
And it's giving people self worth. So I buried her in a French press, and I'm going to go get something. I'll be back.
- [07:30]
A
Okay. So the whole title. I'm going to keep talking even though she's not here. The whole title is actually, I Buried her in a French Press. A memoir about finding the. Finding my voice and the power of being heard. And that's an excellent French press, by the way.
- [07:47]
B
I don't even use it. But. But why? Okay. I just. I just. I feel silly today, and I had to bring. Every time I see my French press, I think I think about your title. Right? Yeah. Or maybe that's how I'm gonna get.
- [08:00]
A
Everybody to buy my book.
- [08:01]
B
Okay. So I was being silly, so I missed. What did you say? Exactly.
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A
So the full title of the book is I Buried her in a French Press. A memoir about finding my voice and the power of being heard.
- [08:13]
B
That's amazing.
- [08:15]
A
I know. And the reason why I called it I Buried her in a French Press is because I actually buried my best friend, my step grandmother, in a French press. What do you mean the story is in the book? I can't give it all away.
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B
Oh.
- [08:32]
A
Because the story is in the book. But I promise you, it's a story of listening to your gut and being resilient in the moment. I promise.
- [08:44]
B
Oh, my God. This is like the major tease. Now I have to read the book. I mean, I will. I will. I will read it. I will purchase it. Imagine. I'll buy it. I hope you're gonna have an audible version so I can listen to it as well when it's dry.
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A
I get to go in the studio to record my audiobook at the end of November. I'm super excited.
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B
I'm excited. I'm excited because sometimes it's one of the easiest ways to read it. So you buried your best friend in a French place?
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A
Yeah, my step grandmother.
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B
Your step grandmother. Okay. Can you tell us more about it or is. Because it's in the book, we can't talk about it? So basically, I'm doing an interview with you where I can't talk about squats because I can't talk about the book. So what are we going to talk about?
- [09:28]
A
You can talk about the book? Absolutely, we can talk about the book. I've even got some abstracts that I could probably pull out of it that we can talk about because I just recently did a. A talk for a woman's group at a logistics company, and we started off with a fireside chat, and then we went into some experts of the book and asking the audience some questions, and they talked about it in small groups, and the impact was amazing. I'd have to find it, but, yeah, it was really, really great. So what I'll tell you about the story is that my grandmother, my step grandmother, she unfortunately passed away during the pandemic, and I wasn't able to see her. And I had seen her every single year, I think, since I was 11. So it had been a really long. It was just very traumatic. Right. And I was in charge of her burial. From Canada. All the way from Canada, I was in charge of her burial.
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B
So what did she Live.
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A
She lived in England.
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B
Oh, okay.
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A
Yeah, yeah. So most of my extended family is from England.
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B
Okay.
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A
And so I made all the arrangements because my grandfather's urn was in the house as well. And so I was going to bury them together. And so I had to pick the plot and I had to get the stone and I had to do all the things. And a week before I got there, her niece emptied out the house and pulled it down to the studs. So anything I had in that house went into a garbage bin. I didn't even get a chance to go through it. And when I got to England, it was still the pandemic. Like, I had to stay at a friend's house and I had to quarantine for five days. And then I went to my cousin's house. And then on the day of the burial, we had to drive to the house. And when we got to the house, I walked into the kitchen and my grandfather's urn was on the counter, and my grandmother's ashes were in a plastic bag in a white box. And I had 20 minutes until I had to get to the cemetery. Plus, it had been raining all day. And I was like, this is it.
- [11:32]
B
What a day. What a day.
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A
What am I supposed to do? I mean, what a week. But, like, on that day, I was like, what am I supposed to do with this? And I'm going to stop it there.
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B
Okay. And that's when you go and you purchase the book called I Buried her in a French Press.
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A
And it's a story of suffering in that moment. It's not like I could show up to the cemetery with her in a plastic bag and a white box, and I do not want to marry her in a plastic bag and a white box.
- [12:00]
B
No. And then it's. I mean, everybody has their wishes of how they want to be buried. I think that's so important. But I think I do agree that you're somebody. Like, the title is so visceral, which makes me think of, like, destruction and, like, also, there's kind of a ritual there. So that's where I was like. And when I told people about the title, they said, oh, is it a murder and mystery type of book? I was, no. What are you talking. It's about self worth. So I want to see, like, how do you explore self worth in this book without revealing the plot?
- [12:33]
A
Yeah. So really, I wanted to talk about all of my life experiences. I've been through quite a few things. I've thought outside of the box when it came to overcoming Fears.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And so I want. And I also, when I think about self worth, I think a lot of us think about it like it's a destination. It's something that we have to have figured out every single day of our lives. And if we don't have it figured out, who are we?
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B
Yeah.
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A
And I wanted to dispel that myth because sometimes, and I talk about this in the book, we put too much power to words because of how we've been, like, how society around us has sort of taught us to be.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And one of the chapters is around labels and how the amount of power that we put behind labels is tied directly to our self worth and how we think about ourselves.
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B
Yeah. It's. I feel like it's so limiting that like labels like your relationship status, your job, your job title, where you live, and people always ask the same questions. And I like to be online and watch videos and people like, if people ask you what you. Where you live, it's because they want to know in what revenue bracket you are. And then if people ask you, and I'm like, no, there's always an influencer who's going to give you some tea about what people have in their mind and how to understand what they're trying to get at and get to. And I think it's so important what you're saying in terms of labels, because labels can be uplifting, but they can also bring you down and then bring you down in terms of like, could bring you down in terms of how much, how worthy you think you are. You think you're more worthy because you have a nicer car, a nicer house, because you have. You're married or whatnot. So I think that's a very deep. And I think everybody needs a little bit more self worth.
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A
Yeah. Yeah. And one of the stories that I share. So I worked for the family business for like the first 20 years of my career. And then around my 37th birthday, we closed our doors and I was out on my butt with nowhere to go. I had no team because I had this podcast. Right. But I had no team, I had no co host. And so I talk about how I went from director of sales and marketing to having to do all of these things and learn graphic design, social media, website design, you name it. And people weren't paying that much to come on the show. Right. So I had lost all of these things. I had lost my title, I had lost my identity because I. It was 20 years of my life that I had. I had been at this Company and I could not find a job. Like, I could not find a job anywhere.
- [15:14]
B
And then what year was that? Was this something happening in the economic context?
- [15:19]
A
No, I just could not find a job. I tried to get a job at Canada Post. You know Canada Post?
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B
Oh, there you go. I know.
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A
And because my background's in supply chain and logistics, I was like, okay, you know what? I'll go work there part time. And they wouldn't hire me because the lady thought I was going to take her job.
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B
Yeah. Oh, yeah. Feeling insecure.
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A
So anyways, I finally got a job as a receptionist in an indoor tennis club.
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B
That's great. You were director of sales to receptionist.
- [15:49]
A
Well, and I take it even further than that because part of being the receptionist of that tennis club was mopping floors.
- [15:58]
B
Oh.
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A
Oh, yeah.
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B
I think mopping floor I could do, but not. I don't clean bathrooms.
- [16:05]
A
No, I didn't necessarily have to clean bathrooms, but I did. Like, I kind of did. I had to mop the floors in the bath. So anyways, so I talk about this story because I myself had to figure all of this out. I would mop the floors after everybody left and there was no way anybody could come in because of how I felt about the label, what the. What I was doing and how I felt about myself.
- [16:34]
B
So, like, just unpack this for us, please. So you went from like, I mean, I couldn't do it. I couldn't do it. I couldn't. I would find something else to do. So you went from being director of. I would find something else. I don't know what, though. But director of sales. Right. In the family business, generating. I'm sure it was like a six figure type of salary to. You had a podcast on the side and then people were not necessarily paying to be on the show enough for it to run. Then you decided to be a receptionist and then it included cleaning the floors, mopping the floors, and sometimes the bathroom. So how did you feel?
- [17:13]
A
Well, and that's not it. So that was one of two jobs that I had at the same time. I was also scoring men's basketball at the same time.
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B
When is that? I'm sorry, what is scoring?
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A
So, like men's recreational basketball. They have someone there with the whole thing and you have to press the button for the buzzer and.
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B
Oh, that's. That's cool.
- [17:35]
A
To change down the score. Oh, no, it was terrifying. No, they think that they're in the NBA and they get very mad at you when you don't do things fast enough. Oh, no, and the reason why. And I want to sort of bring this back to the reason why I did those things, why I, why I took those jobs and why I did them.
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B
Yeah.
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A
Being a receptionist at the tennis club allowed me the opportunity to work on my business while I was there. So in the quiet moments, in the moments where I didn't have to take payment when I didn't have to, you know, I didn't have to do something with a, with a customer or answer the phone phones or mop the floors, I was able to work on my business.
- [18:17]
B
Which is a podcast that's now like top 1% podcast. I looked at the website, look at all the stats, and I'm like, girl, that's amazing. So, yeah, then you were able to work on your podcast, which became a full blown offering, like for, go check. Let's talk supply chain. And with Sarah Barnes Humphrey, you're going to see the, the little empire she has built.
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A
So, like I worked two part time jobs while building the business and I didn't pay myself for the first three years.
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B
But the jobs were enough for you to be able to sustain yourself.
- [18:53]
A
Yeah. I mean, there was sacrifices and there were things that we needed to, to do as a family. You know, there were conversations I had to have with my husband and the step kids and everybody and, you know, we had to just sort of figure out how to make things work.
- [19:10]
B
So I want to understand, so I want to know how you felt because you haven't told me how you felt. Is it rock bottom for you? Is it like, I don't know, are you just a happy, happy Canadian?
- [19:24]
A
I'll tell you, there were days that I was exhausted because there were some days that I was going from one job to another and they were like 14 hour days. Right. And I was doing, I was being a receptionist. I was being a receptionist. I was scoring men's basketball. So there were days that I was really, really tired. There were days that I sat on the couch and did some work and wallowed.
- [19:52]
B
Yeah.
- [19:52]
A
Because I was like, what am I doing with my life if this thing doesn't work? I don't really have a backup. And I'm not really looking for jobs right now because I am spending 100% of my time on this business and on this podcast and figuring out how to grow it and how to make money. And, you know, and I was breaking glass ceilings because I didn't really know what was possible and what I was building.
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B
Yeah.
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A
And part of that was great because not knowing what was possible and not Possible. I didn't really set limitations on myself either. So on one hand, I'm working these, like, you know, these jobs that, you know, do mean something in a different way. But also I'm mopping floors and I feel deeply insecure about it because I'm like, if anybody saw me now, like, I don't even. I don't even know. I don't even know what I would say.
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B
Yeah, what are you doing here?
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A
But I think how I balanced that was the work that I was doing on the podcast and the strides that I was making and the money that I was able to start charging and seeing the followers go up and knowing that we were making a difference and making an impact in the industry. And I was getting messages all the time from the audience.
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B
Right. What I'm hearing is that you're building community, and also you were able to charge people to be on the pod and that generated revenue. How much did you charge at the time?
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A
When I first started, it was $100 an episode. And then somebody said to me, I would have paid a thousand dollars to be on the show. And the next day I changed my pricing to a thousand dollars.
- [21:32]
B
Oh, that's. That's gold. That's. And how much you charge now, I'm.
- [21:36]
A
Not telling, but I know.
- [21:40]
B
I know the answer to that. I know. I know the answer. She. What is it? Seven total right now? Are you like, in the seventh figure with your podcast? Maybe. Okay, let's be six, seven. She tells me things in secret, but she's not gonna say it at the pod.
- [21:57]
A
Oh, no, no, you're. You're about right on that one. Yeah.
- [22:00]
B
Okay. But it's a beautiful story. Listen, you went like, I don't know, I. I admire you, right, for mopping the. Mopping the floors and cleaning the bathrooms. Right. And then that sometimes life events force us into this vortex. And you became a full time podcaster while doing these other jobs. And then when. What changed? When did it pivot into, like, you know what? Tennis club. I gotta go. I have enough money now. A 20. 20?
- [22:26]
A
Yeah, because they closed. I couldn't work there anymore.
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B
You didn't even leave. They were like, bye, girl.
- [22:36]
A
I still would be there today. No, I'm just kidding.
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B
Oh, my goodness.
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A
So they closed their doors and so did the basketball as well. They all closed their doors. And actually, what happened then? My husband lost his job right before COVID Oh, Lord. So we were both at home and we weren't quite sure what to do in Canada. There was, you know, that Serb Stuff. So we were able to get in on this, the Serb stuff that they were offering, and then they would give.
- [23:11]
B
A stipend for the American audience. So they would give you some money to live during COVID because of hardships.
- [23:17]
A
Yes. So we were able to get some of that money. And then Alan was able to do unemployment for a little bit as well. But my business in that moment was exploding.
- [23:29]
B
Oh, wow. Because 2020 is the year the podcast exploded. I missed that. I missed that timing. So your podcast exploded because people were at home and then it was already like, how many downloads did you have in 2020?
- [23:42]
A
Oh, man, I can't remember. I think I was just under 10,000amonth.
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B
Okay. And then it's just like.
- [23:49]
A
Yeah. And. And so also at the same time, the live streaming was starting to happen as well. So that whole year I was experimenting with live streams and I was experimenting with Streamyard and I was experimenting with all sorts of things. And I was also coming up with inventory.
- [24:12]
B
What is inventory?
- [24:13]
A
Everybody wanted digital content and.
- [24:17]
B
Tell me more about that. I don't know.
- [24:18]
A
Well, I didn't want to just do podcasts, so I was like, how do I take this live stream and how do I package it up so that a client would want to pay for that? And how do I package up advertising? How do I package up the podcast episodes? How. What is it that they want? And so this whole year I'm creating content and I'm building the business and I'm changing my pricing and I'm like, there's so many things I'll tell you. By December 2020, I was exhausted. Like, somebody needs to give me three months because I am tired.
- [24:53]
B
It was a no. But I love the story because, like, you were willing to do whatever it took first to be able to sustain yourself and your family. And then, like, you had a podcast that some people would have shut it down, you kept it going, and then you became extremely resourceful, like generating all these different business lines. I mean, when we met on the beach, I remember you said you can have like 10 plus business lines with a podcast and revenue streams. And I'm like, what? What are you talking about? So you're the. She's the ultimate goat people. She is the goat. She doesn't teach people how to podcast though. She just taught me. Haha. No.
- [25:29]
A
Well, I know at one point I had been speaking to a company about packaging up what I do and sharing it with other podcasters and content creators and things like that. It didn't work out, and that's kind of the nature of what I do. I try all sorts of different things and if it doesn't work out, it doesn't work out. I mean, not everything's going to be a yes moment for everybody. But I will say now, in 2025, I have a team of 14 people and most of them are women owned businesses. And I'm very, very, very proud of that because it's been a long road. But I found some amazing people who are part of my team and I could not do any of this without them.
- [26:14]
B
I think it's amazing. And I met them and they're in North America. It's not like she has a team of 14 people like Far away somewhere where she's paying them. So, guys, tune in and make sure to purchase a book. I buried her in a French press. She's not going to tell the whole story. So that's a major tease. We're going to have to make you come back when the book is out to read some abstract. Thank you so much, Sarah. Barn and I'm super excited about your journey and thank you for sharing the real deal. Like the story was so real.
- [26:45]
A
Yeah. Thank you so much for having me. I love it.