Leaving Corporate and Betting on Yourself | Kiera Palmer on The Determined Society

Summary

Podcast Summary: "Leaving Corporate and Betting on Yourself | Kiara Palmer on The Determined Society"

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Determined Society with Shawn French
• Host: Shawn French
• Episode Title: Leaving Corporate and Betting on Yourself | Kiara Palmer
• Release Date: May 2, 2025

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Introduction to the Episode

In this compelling episode of The Determined Society Podcast, host Shawn French welcomes Kiara Palmer, a resilient entrepreneur from Atlanta, who shares her transformative journey from the depths of corporate America to establishing her own successful ventures. The conversation delves deep into the challenges of leaving a stable job, the emotional turmoil involved, and the strategic steps Kiara took to bet on herself and emerge victorious.

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The Catalyst for Change

Quote:
"It was so hard because there were nights where I would just lay in bed and cry because I felt helpless. This isn't going to work."
— Kiara Palmer [01:30]

Kiara begins by recounting her arduous decision to leave her high-stress corporate job in commercial property insurance. The relentless pressure and inappropriate behavior from a particularly toxic client pushed her to a breaking point. An incident where she was coerced into staying late for an unreasonable task despite prior commitments epitomized the unsustainable environment she was in.

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The Emotional Struggle

Quote:
"I had to take a step back and say, that's still me, but I am building something here."
— Kiara Palmer [43:30]

The emotional weight of quitting her job without a clear plan led Kiara through periods of intense self-doubt and fear of failure. She describes nights filled with anxiety, questioning her decisions, and fearing the financial and personal repercussions of her leap into entrepreneurship. The support from her husband, Trey, played a pivotal role in reinforcing her resolve to not let her circumstances define her future.

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Building from the Ground Up

Quote:
"You just take one foot in front of the other. You don't have to run a mile at a time."
— Kiara Palmer [22:58]

Transitioning from corporate life, Kiara emphasizes the importance of small, consistent steps in building a business. She shares her initial foray into social media management, leveraging her passion for travel to create a successful Instagram account. This side hustle organically grew as friends and followers recognized her talent, leading to her first paying client at $250/month.

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Overcoming Hurdles in Establishing a Studio

Quote:
"You have to, like, pay attention to, like, what kind of businesses are allowed and what are not allowed. What is zoned and what is not."
— Kiara Palmer [31:23]

Kiara's journey took a significant turn when she decided to establish The Social Studio, a multi-use facility in Atlanta. However, navigating the bureaucratic maze of city permits and zoning laws proved to be a daunting task. Multiple rejections and misclassifications by the city council threatened to derail her plans. Undeterred, Kiara sought legal counsel, escalated her appeals by contacting city officials directly, and persevered through additional requirements, such as hiring an architect to stamp her floor plans. After months of relentless effort, she finally secured the necessary approvals in July, marking a monumental achievement in her entrepreneurial journey.

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Embracing Determination and Resilience

Quote:
"This moment right here, this is where people quit. And you're not going to, like, this is it. This is what you read about. This is what you hear stories about. You're not going to quit."
— Kiara Palmer [39:16]

Throughout the episode, both Shawn and Kiara highlight the essence of determination. Kiara shares personal mantras that kept her moving forward during moments of despair, such as refusing to succumb to failure and reminding herself of her long-term vision. She underscores that setbacks are integral to the entrepreneurial process and that resilience is built through overcoming these challenges.

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The Power of Community and Networking

Quote:
"All of the people being so supportive and being up there for me. It's so cool."
— Shawn French [05:33]

Kiara attributes much of her success to the supportive community she built around her. From friends like Amanda and Bridget, who provided both emotional support and practical advice, to her ongoing relationship with supportive business partners, Kiara emphasizes the importance of surrounding oneself with positive, like-minded individuals who encourage growth and perseverance.

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Lessons Learned and Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Quote:
"You just fail forward. You just. It's just pushing you to the next location, your next destination or whatever you want to call it."
— Kiara Palmer [32:36]

Kiara imparts invaluable advice to listeners contemplating a similar leap into entrepreneurship. She advocates for embracing failure as a learning tool, maintaining flexibility in business strategies, and prioritizing personal well-being over societal expectations. Kiara also speaks to the necessity of adapting to unforeseen challenges and remaining steadfast in one's vision despite external pressures.

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Concluding Thoughts

The episode concludes with a heartfelt exchange between Shawn and Kiara, celebrating the latter's achievements and emphasizing the continuous journey of personal and professional growth. Kiara's story serves as a powerful testament to the transformative power of determination, the importance of community, and the rewards of taking calculated risks to pursue one's passions.

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Kiara Palmer [01:30]:
  "It was so hard because there were nights where I would just lay in bed and cry because I felt helpless. This isn't going to work."

• Kiara Palmer [22:58]:
  "You just take one foot in front of the other. You don't have to run a mile at a time."

• Kiara Palmer [31:23]:
  "You have to, like, pay attention to, like, what kind of businesses are allowed and what are not allowed. What is zoned and what is not."

• Kiara Palmer [39:16]:
  "This moment right here, this is where people quit. And you're not going to, like, this is it. This is what you read about. This is what you hear stories about. You're not going to quit."

• Kiara Palmer [32:36]:
  "You just fail forward. You just. It's just pushing you to the next location, your next destination or whatever you want to call it."

---

Final Thoughts:

Kiara Palmer's journey is a beacon of inspiration for anyone grappling with the decision to leave corporate security in pursuit of their entrepreneurial dreams. Her unwavering determination, combined with strategic planning and a supportive network, exemplifies the transformative potential of betting on oneself. Listeners are encouraged to embrace their fears, take incremental steps towards their goals, and remain resilient in the face of adversity.

Transcript

[Sean French]

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[Sean French]

Very important for everybody to understand here is that there was multiple moments that you could have stopped, that you could have just said, you know what? This isn't meant to be. I'm going to quit.

[Kiara Palmer]

It was so hard because there were nights where I would just lay in bed and cry because I felt helpless. This isn't going to work. When I tell you the emotional turmoil that I was going through during this time, it will tell you to take the risk. It'll pay off, you know, and. And that's what I was doing. I was taking the risk and it wasn't paying off. It was terrifying.

[Stephen Barnett]

Sharp French. What up? This. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in. Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I'm me for the entirety. I'll put it in overtime. I'll be working Just know I'mma go for mine cause I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it. A whole society determined determin.

[Sean French]

What'S up everybody? Welcome back to another episode of the Determined Society. Once again, it's me, Sean French. Before I introduce today's guest. Yes, you guessed it. Please hit subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, Apple and share this show and the message with someone that you know love and trust that needs to hear it. And most importantly, I want to hear from you follow the. At the Determined Society on Instagram, at Le Sean French on Instagram. Let me know what you want to hear about. And if you want to be on the show, there is an application process. Please feel free to contact me and I can direct you to my. My individual that will help you get through all the applications. So without further ado, today I have a good friend of mine. I met her in a community chat while we were sipping coffee on a virtual event about two and a half years ago. Maybe it may not have been that long ago, but instantly we. We had a really good connection. It was a part of my journey when I was super lost and I didn't know where this thing was going. I knew what I thought I knew and what I felt it could go. And she poured into me immediately. And I've never told her this, but that day she really saved me from making a stupid decision and shutting the show down. So publicly edify her and thank her. Her name is Kiara Palmer and she's an amazing badass entrepreneur. She lives in Atlanta and she recently, you know, started her own studio and her social media management company. And it's just an amazing business and she has had some struggle in leaving corporate America and leading to where she's at right now. So without further ado, Kira Palmer, welcome to the show.

[Kiara Palmer]

Hey. Hey.

[Sean French]

What's going down?

[Kiara Palmer]

I know.

[Sean French]

After all this time, crazy. Never seen you in person.

[Kiara Palmer]

I know. Isn't it weird when you, when you've known somebody for a good bit.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And it feels like you've seen each other, so when you finally do, it's like nor, you know, it's like the.

[Sean French]

Power of social media though. Right. Like right away. Let's talk about that. Because there's a lot of negative, negative connotations with social. It's this dark place. Well, yeah, if you're a dark.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. Right.

[Sean French]

But if you're somebody who, like really. If you're somebody that really wants to bring good into the world and you want to meet good people, you attract that.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

And. And from there you build these genuine connections that I may not even have in person with people that live in the same city.

[Kiara Palmer]

100. Yes. And I mean, let's be honest, you can curate your Instagram feed and your Tick Tock feed to have positive things. You don't have to see the nonsense.

[Sean French]

Yes.

[Kiara Palmer]

But yes, you and I, it's been such a cool thing to. You've been. I will side note, you know, you've been such a good supporter virtually for so long. And, you know, we've had that for quite a while now, so it's. It's really cool to be able to get together and do this and support each other in that way too. So. But yeah, I mean, seeing you in person after seeing y'all for so long. Yes, it's great. I mean, I know we've talked on the phone, of course. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So.

[Sean French]

But this person's real, like this person I know, right? God almighty.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

Amazing. Thank you so much for flying down.

[Kiara Palmer]

Thank you for having me.

[Sean French]

You know, that's one of the most amazing things is like, you know, never in a million years did I think that this platform would turn into like, my friends flying in.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

Flying in to. To do this.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

And I think that's like one of the things where you. Where I just kind of realized, like, okay, we're doing something valuable here.

[Kiara Palmer]

Absolutely.

[Sean French]

Because if it wasn't, you wouldn't. Right?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah, I would say that I wouldn't just fly out anywhere, you know, to do that. I mean, because that's obviously, you know, time, resource and things like that. But this was jumped at the opportunity to see.

[Sean French]

I'm so grateful, so grateful for the audience that doesn't know you. Right. Why don't you give them a little peek behind Kira Palmer and everything that's gone on in the last, what, three, four, five years?

[Kiara Palmer]

I guess. Five years. Is it 20, 25?

[Sean French]

I don't know what year. I think it's so. Dude, it's been January for seven years.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes, it does feel like. Good God, yes. January. Like 56.

[Sean French]

Yeah, I think it's January 56 right now.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. Yeah. So I guess I've been on. It is five years, I guess, because Covid was basically when I went full time into entrepreneurship. So fun times. I started my career off in the ever exciting, high risk, commercial property insurance field. So I was a broker and I did like hurricane terrorism insurance, that kind of stuff.

[Sean French]

So fun.

[Kiara Palmer]

It was, you know, sounds depressing. Yeah, sounds depressing. So you can imagine my equipment job.

[Sean French]

Hell yeah, dude.

[Kiara Palmer]

So you'd have been in an insane.

[Sean French]

Asylum with a white padded room and a straight fucking jacket.

[Kiara Palmer]

And I will tell you. So that was actually before the COVID time. But there's, you know, there's a story that goes with that of how ridiculous life was in that corporate space. I mean, it was just a nightmare. And there was a nightmare story that caused me to quit my job without a plan. So I don't think that I would recommend that to do to Anyone. But it was my story, so I made it right.

[Sean French]

But is there ever a right time?

[Kiara Palmer]

Like, honestly, there's not. And I think people get too wound up in that part of it too. Like, oh, everything has to be perfect and has to be ready and I have to have X amount of dollars and I have to, you know, and that's, that's not the case.

[Sean French]

It's perfect case, right?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. And so mine was such a knee jerk reaction to a situation and I was like, okay, I'm done, I'm not doing this. And I mean, I literally stayed up all night, went in the next day, quit my job. I gave three weeks not notice. And at the end of three weeks, I went to Hawaii for two weeks, which was fun. Yeah, it was real fun.

[Sean French]

Wow.

[Kiara Palmer]

What part? We were in Oahu and then we did like a quick bounce over to Maui and then back.

[Sean French]

What'd you like better? Probably Maui, right?

[Kiara Palmer]

These are just so different, I think, you know, because you've got like Waikiki beach and it's very happening, you know, it's very like busy. And Maui was so much more relaxed and beautiful and Yeah, I went to Hana. Isn't that what it's called? I don't know, like this really long road that you can drive. I mean, we did like the sunrise on the top and then we biked down. It was just.

[Sean French]

You and hubby did that?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah, Trey, he, his friends lived out there for a long time, so we went a couple of times to visit them, but they, you know, so they knew all the fun things to do. But that's how I quit, that's how I spent my quitting of my job is let's go to paradise. And so while I'm freaking out about, oh shit, what am I going to do now? Um, I was getting to do that in a very pretty place.

[Sean French]

It's so funny because like I've, I've been to Oahu. I went with my, for my senior trip, I went with my ex girlfriend who has passed away since then. We were, we stayed really close friends, but we went to Oahu. Everybody told me, like, dude, it's like San Francisco on the beach. Yeah. You know, I'm like, well, it's Hawaii, so we're gonna go. And it was a blast. I've never been to Maui, but I want to go now. I'm all the way over here in Florida, so it's like, that's like a 10 hour flight. It is like I'm. Yeah, come on. I might as well go to Australia.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

That's a thought.

[Kiara Palmer]

You should. I went to New Zealand last year.

[Sean French]

Did you?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. It was unbelievable. It was beautiful.

[Sean French]

It was awesome. Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

It's just a really long flight. Wow.

[Sean French]

God almighty.

[Kiara Palmer]

It's rough.

[Sean French]

I want one of those beds to sleep in and like, you know, like maid service.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes. Yes. Those lay flat beds.

[Sean French]

Did I say made? Is that degrading?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes. They're like, I mean, yeah, probably.

[Sean French]

It's probably.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. I was like, maybe not.

[Sean French]

Yeah. Well, you guys know my intention.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

You don't turn the show.

[Kiara Palmer]

But I know what you mean. But yeah, especially if you can when you're on is literally, I mean, especially from where we are, you know, Florida or whatever. It's a good 36 hours of a travel situation.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Cuz you have to. Because you have to fly to LA first and then the layover and then LA into Auckland and if you want to go to south island, then you got to take another flight.

[Sean French]

That makes me anxious.

[Kiara Palmer]

It was a lot.

[Sean French]

Okay.

[Kiara Palmer]

So anyway, yeah. Wow. Back to. We are going to the.

[Sean French]

The dual ADHD is.

[Kiara Palmer]

We're both like that.

[Sean French]

I know. It's like, oh my God. Okay, so situation happened.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

Your job. Are you open to talk about the situation? Like what happened?

[Kiara Palmer]

Oh, gosh. I actually talk about it frequently because I think it's good for people to hear. But the industry that I was in, I really, the last few years I was there, I hated life. I just, I could not believe that I'd spend so much time building this career for something that made me so miserable. And you know, they have that. The gen. What is the latest young people that Gen Z. Gen Z, they had these words like quiet quitting.

[Sean French]

Okay.

[Kiara Palmer]

And may have been a little bit of that.

[Sean French]

What's a quiet quitting?

[Kiara Palmer]

We're like, you're not, you're just not performing at your highest.

[Sean French]

Oh, you're just disengaged.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah, you're disengaged. And I was pretty disengaged. But I also was in that moment of like, I don't know what I'm going to do. You know, you, you had that old school mentality of, you know, you went to school to get X degree and you're doing all these things. So I don't know, I just was having like that inner crisis of I don't, I don't know what to do, but I'd know that this is not my life. I don't want this to be my life. And I ended up going to work for one of our clients who had known for eight years. And he had a terrible reputation. But I was coming from a boss that was. Also had a terrible reputation because he was so tough and I mean, just make you cry all the time. So I'm like, if I could do that for eight years or nine years, I can handle this guy. And it was, it was awful. I mean, I was only there for 10 months, I think it was. But just very inappropriate behavior. And I'll let you go with that, but several occasions, very inappropriate behavior. But when you get to be, you know, in your 30s or whatever, it's really hard to get your friends together, especially women, because they all have children. I don't have children, but, you know, they all have children. So if you want to get all five or six of you together for a night, it's just difficult to do. So we had planned. This is some girls I used to be friends with. And we had planned this night out together like six months in advance because we were going to see the Lion King at the Fox Theater, like a show, a dinner and a show. So we bought tickets. And I remember all the way back then telling him, hey, I have to leave early this day. And mind you, like, I'm like, number two level in this company. It's not like I'm a college kid who needs permission to go to the dock, you know. So I was like, hey, you know, I'm putting this on your calendar. I need to leave the office by 4, 4pm that day latest. Because I'm like, I'm going to see these girls. I haven't seen them forever. So excited. And reminded him about a bajillion times. And not to mention, it's on his freaking. Yeah. And that day I remember like reminding him and one of our clients who was coming up for renewal, like in, you know, six to eight weeks on it, we were working on a project with them. And I remember about 3pm he walks into my office and basically gives me this assignment that's going to take five to six hours. And he tells me I can't leave until it's done. And I'm freaking out because this is like my biggest client, you know, and it. But it wasn't a big deal. But of course, you know, he make it a big deal.

[Sean French]

So I know that game.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. Yeah. And so I, you know, I kind of got in line and gave the yes sir salute and stayed there. And I missed the dinner and the drinks and all that stuff. And so I finally get out of there, I'm texting them and I'm like, I'm so sorry. They're like, we ordered you a glass of wine so that when you get here, you can have, like, down it and we'll go.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And I was so in Atlanta, for those of you don't know. Atlanta traffic is a nightmare. We're known all over the country for that. And we were. I was driving in the Downtown Connector, and he calls me, like, just berating me about a cell on a spreadsheet. Like, you know, yeah. There's formulas not right on them, and there's thousands of cells. Right. And all these pivot tables and things like that. So ridiculous. And I'm like, I don't know. Just check it. You can just click on it and see what the formula is and just fix it. I don't know. I mean, I've spent hours on this.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

He's like, pull over the side of the road and check this. I'm like, I am on the middle of the Downtown Connector. I am not pulling over the side of the road. Pull up your laptop and connect it to your cell phone as a hotspot and just fix it. And what do I do? I mean, this is so dangerous. Oh, my God, I can't believe I'm in this. But I pull out my laptop, I sit it on my console, I connect it to my phone. I'm trying to manipulate a spreadsheet as I'm driving in stop and go traffic in downtown Atlanta to do this. And I fix it. And I remember doing it, you know, valet my car, walk into the restaurant, and I just tears because I've been looking forward to this night so much. I missed the entire thing. And we're not going to talk to each other at the play, you know, so it was just enough. And I know, I will tell you that one of my good friends, Amanda, who's also an amazing entrepreneur, she looked at me and said, kira, you know, working at Starbucks would be so much better than what you're doing.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

You know, and I'm like, you know, you're right. This is a. This is egregious behavior, you know, and why am I participating in this? You know, and at this point in my career, this is like, this is unheard of. I can't believe that this is my life, you know? So we went to the show, we got out of the show, and when I say the inappropriate behavior, he had an alcohol problem. And I had this email that was all misspelled and caps and all this stuff. Just basically at 11, something at night saying, I hope your personal life is more important than your job and blah, blah, blah. And so I remember I came home that night and waited for Trey, was still working nights at the restaurant at the time. And so I waited for him to get home. And he came in. It was like three in the morning. And I'm sitting at our dining room table.

[Sean French]

That's like scary.

[Kiara Palmer]

And he's like, oh, my God, what did I do? Are you leaving?

[Sean French]

Where is the suitcase?

[Kiara Palmer]

Right? And I just looked at him and I was like. I just was in tear. You could tell I've been crying. I'm like, I just can't do this anymore. And he was very supportive of it. And he was like, you do what you need to do. And I stayed up the rest of the night to put a ball. Kept on and went in the office and quit. So that's badass. I just couldn't do it.

[Sean French]

What did the boss say?

[Kiara Palmer]

Oh, he's so immature. My goodness. He was like, okay, okay. You know that and no emotion. And I said, I'm giving you three weeks because I leave for Hawaii on X. You know, like, I'm going to work this. This client is important to me. It's a big company. You would know him when I. If I say. And so it was important to me leave on good terms. And so I said, I'll give you three weeks. I'll be here, you know. And I. I didn't see him after that day come out of the office the whole time. I'm not. Have not spoken to him since.

[Sean French]

Good. What an asshole.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

Like, really?

[Kiara Palmer]

So.

[Sean French]

So for the audience, like, listen, everybody's going through shit in corporate America. And I'm not saying leaving corporate America is your answer. What I'm saying is you need to find a situation where you can not just be yourself, but you can feel supported and truly led by your leader. Do not work for anybody that is going to cross boundaries and break commitments. Like, that is not okay. What part of somebody would literally say, like, this has been on my calendar for three weeks. And then say, you know what, an hour before you're supposed to leave, you need to stay. But everybody. I say that. But we've all been in that situation. So many people I've worked for some big Fortune 500. 500 companies, like, big ones. And you always want to, I would say, perform for your direct leader no matter what. Right? You want to show that you're the good soldier. You want to show that, you know, I am the top producer. This is my responsibility. So come Hell or high water, I'm gonna. I'm gonna do what he asks or what she asks. I'm gonna show that son of a. But at the same time, when we do that, we're giving them permission to do it again.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

You know what I'm saying?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. Well, and I think, too, if you're. If you're the kind of person who is really determined, you know, and you really want to be whatever that is that you're. You're looking to be. Right. You know, if you want to be the leader of the company, if you want to be the best at something, you know, you. You. You understand that it's going to take certain things to get there, Right. But I think it gets really messy when it's outrageous behavior and outrageous demands and things like that. Because, I mean, I think so many of us in our 20s, we work hard, we work long hours, we come in the weekends. We do. We do what needs to be done to get to the level that you want to be at. Right. And. And I think that's just such an interesting thing, I guess, now being on my own for so long, that you don't have to work like that. You don't have to have a culture like that.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And you know. You know, my friend Bridget, who, you know, we're really good friends, she's an, um. She was ex corporate too. And we talk a lot about just the culture of personalities and things like that. Of what? You know, the place where I used to work and how really not great things would go on. And, you know, you get caught up in that too, sometimes, and drinking too much and doing things like when you're out entertaining stuff. I just, you know. You know, there's. You had that. Those moments where you look at yourself in the mirror and just think, what am I doing? This is not me, and this is not who I want to be. And this is not who I want to be ten years from now.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

You know.

[Sean French]

Yeah. I have a. I have a question for you. And it could be controversial, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. Do you think that boss would have treated you like that if you were a man?

[Kiara Palmer]

No. Well, okay. Well, there's two different ways here, because the men who.

[Sean French]

Because I hold on real quick time because I see that as bullying like.

[Kiara Palmer]

That was, but they would bully everyone.

[Sean French]

Okay.

[Kiara Palmer]

But I mean, there were some inappropriate behavior that was. I mean, I was female, of course, and young and blonde. Just really inappropriate stuff. I mean, you know, you look back and you're like, oh, he did that cringe? Like, specific things. You know, there's actually this. I remember very specific. And it wasn't me that he was talking about. I remember one day where he was walking around the office with his phone, and he was showing pictures of this female that used to work for him who had had some plastic surgery.

[Sean French]

Oh, my God.

[Kiara Palmer]

And. But it just. And he's like, you know, and he, like, showing it to people, and I'm like, does he realize that this is. It's just not okay?

[Sean French]

Well, that's harassment. Even if you're in the area.

[Kiara Palmer]

Still harassment.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

But I mean, and then that industry, too, is definitely, like, bro driven.

[Sean French]

Okay.

[Kiara Palmer]

Very rare driven. I remember being out in Vegas at our, like, high producers conference one year and our office one for, like, office of the year, and say we all go piling up on the stage and, like, all the producers, and someone looks over. There's literally, like, two women on stage and 45 guys, you know, like, they're like, oh, that doesn't look so good.

[Sean French]

That's a disparity there.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. Like, oh, like, well, yeah, that's basically how it is.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

You know, you almost, like, get to the point and you're like, well, I mean, I think they may have gotten. I think they've gotten a little bit better over that, over the years, because it kind of had to.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

But, yeah, again, I've been out, so see.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

This is all interesting to me because all of this happened, and I think that what I want to connect for the audience is that all these things happening in your life, right? Like the. The disrespect from the boss, the inappropriate behavior, the. The egregious asks. Right. The behavior. It's like everybody has that version going on in their life. And what's important is to really highlight the fact that you decided to make a move. And when you make that move, you don't have to have everything figured out. And I think too many people. And before I started the show, I was constantly saying, well, I don't have this yet. I don't have that yet. Like, I need to have all these different things in place before I make that decision. And in some ways, like before you leave corporate America, you do have to have somewhat of a, you know, maybe a financial plan or a cushion. Right. But too many people are waiting for the right time, and the right time never comes, and they're stuck. And you know who gets to suffer from that? Their spouse and their children, if they have children. So, like, how did you, you know, I know it was just finally done, but, like, how long did it take you to find what you were going to do and go on this journey? Because I think this is the beauty part.

[Kiara Palmer]

That's the part. Yeah, that's the significant part, I think, because the five months that followed, I didn't do anything because I was in that analysis paralysis situation. Like, what if I do this? And then, of course, I had not yet established that I could be 100% on my own. I was kind of like, where career path I'm going to take. So that was an interesting time. And what happened was, you know, I was going. And we'll get to that in a second. But, like, I was going through all the things that I know how to do and all what do I enjoy and what kind of lifestyle I want to live and, like, all that stuff, too. But what you were just saying, which I think is important and was a process of mine, is that so many people, like you were saying they're so afraid to start because of X, Y and Z reasons. Right? Whether they're not prepared and if they don't have financial situations, whatever. Now, obviously, I had some savings and things like that, and I was able to support myself through that. But you, you literally just take a step. And I think that when you. When you're looking at the path ahead of you, it can get overwhelming because you think that you need to know what the end of the path lies ahead looks like. And you don't.

[Sean French]

You don't.

[Kiara Palmer]

You just. It's every day, you just put one foot in front of the other. You don't have to run a mile at a time. You could take two steps, and it's propelling you in the direction that you need to go. I mean, I think that that might be the overall message that any entrepreneur would tell you, is that you don't know what you don't know. And that is perfectly okay. You figure it out as you go. Still learning exactly what I did. I figured it out as I went. And so how I got into where I am now is if you guys remember how awesome Instagram was back in, like, 2014 and 15, when it was just pictures.

[Sean French]

I didn't execute it.

[Kiara Palmer]

Okay.

[Sean French]

I didn't. I barely was on it.

[Kiara Palmer]

Okay? So it was for me back then. I'm like, this is so fun. You just take pretty pictures and you grow and you have friends, and I loved it. And so I'm a big traveler. I love to travel. And that was also part of, you know, corporate career. It just didn't allow you to do that very much. So, you know, you'd have like one big trip a year and then maybe a few springs sprinkled in and. But anyway, I loved taking pictures of the travel and all these places, so I ended up starting a travel Instagram account and blogging.

[Sean French]

You did tell me about that.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

Yeah, it was.

[Kiara Palmer]

It was so cute. It was the blonderer instead of like the wanderer, which I thought was so clever at the time, you know, and just taking really pictures of wherever I traveled. And back then, social media was so easy because that's all you had to do is like the perfectly curated picture.

[Sean French]

Now it's a.

[Kiara Palmer]

Right. Yeah. So it was really easy to grow back then. And so that was doing that on the side just for fun. I didn't even, like, tell my friends I was doing it. And so. And I started, like growing and we had this little community of like travel bloggers and. And then Delta Airlines started picking up my content and.

[Sean French]

Stop it.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. I mean, they used it in flight videos. Remember the sky magazine used to be in there. There are paid advertisements on social media, email marketing, I mean, everywhere. And so, like, my followers shot up. I got up. I think it was like 50,000.

[Sean French]

Oh, wow.

[Kiara Palmer]

And I mean, back then, I was so excited.

[Sean French]

Right. Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And so what happened from there was people were asking me to run their Instagram for them because they wanted to get followers like that. And so this is really funny, but my first client paid me 250amonth.

[Sean French]

Been there to run there.

[Kiara Palmer]

Right. Then I'm like, yes, hell yeah. Client or something, you know, side hustle. And so, yeah, so I started doing that. And so meanwhile, all that was happening when all this other stuff was happening. Right. So I knew that I had that, but I didn't know because right at that time was kind of the infancy stages of that being a career path.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

You know, like it was very new. Sure. And now it's all the rage. Right. So I took. I did take a job and then move to another one. And this company that was a marketing company that hired me and I still have a really great relationship with the owner of that company. He's so supportive. I talked to him a couple of days ago, sends me referrals and has come to see the studio and all. He's just a great guy and. Which was such a change from previous. Right. But in 2020 around Covid, like, that wasn't super successful and all that stuff. So it was kind of one of those times where, okay, you got to make a decision. What are you going to do? This is not. This is not working.

[Sean French]

This is.

[Kiara Palmer]

You got to make a jump. So I had enough side hustle clients that could sustain my bills, you know, like half the mortgage or, you know, like all of that. It covered that.

[Sean French]

That's great.

[Kiara Palmer]

So it almost became a. All right, maybe I have to lessen my lifestyle a little bit, but I can do this.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And so I went headfirst into that and started my company, the Social Project. And we do, you know, all digital marketing stuff. So website development, branding, social media management strategy, things like that. So I've been doing that now. I guess it'll be. It's five years, the spring, dude.

[Sean French]

So freaking wild. Yeah, you know, it's. You know, it's funny because it's like every conversation I have with people and every time I break down when someone says, hey, how'd you build this? Like, I need you to help me build this. And like, here's my goal, and if I could just get there, if I could just get there, if I could get to that spot. We talked about steps like, you don't need to know what's at the end of the rainbow or into the road or whatever, you know, but everybody wants to focus on that macro result. And I think, you know, and I know what is going to pay massive dividends for those of you listening and watching right now is pay attention to the small steps. Because in those small steps, that is you and your process and doing what you need to do strategically every day to move the potential brand, potential business revenue forward. And it doesn't happen overnight. So if you're wanting it to happen overnight, you're doing it for the wrong damn reasons. Focus on the impact. Focus on the process and dive into it. And understand in those small micro steps every single day, that's when you're becoming that person you're supposed to be. And then when you are. When you become that woman that when you come that dude, now it starts to open up. And now you can finally. You're like, I'm not there. But like, dude, I'm knocking. I. I'm like 25 miles away. Like, I know where I'm going now, and I just kind of feel that in my own life right now, it's like I'm not there.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

But like, I'm getting closer to the destination.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes.

[Sean French]

You know what I'm saying?

[Kiara Palmer]

Like, I'm feeling that. I mean, I think you and I've talked about that a little bit, you know, just kind of both of our past years and all that. And you know, I was joking with. So my aunt is a super successful woman. I mean, just, she's a total badass. And I was talking to her a couple weeks ago about wanting to grow the Social Project so that the Social Studio is not. I don't view that as one of my income streams right now because we're trying to build and we want to expand and all that too. And I laughed at her, you know, to her, and I said, you know that I'm not really done business development for this company. And she's like, really? I was like, every client that's come to me has been a referral.

[Sean French]

Wow.

[Kiara Palmer]

And I keep people long term. Wow, great. And so I said, no, I'm putting a new hat on. Like, I've never actually been in that position, but that's something that, you know, I'm putting one step in front of the other. Like, okay, let's go build this. How do I do this? You know, because I've never, never had to do it before.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Which is really cool. But you know, when you talk about that and just taking steps, which, you know, I've had a few successful years with my own company and, and expanding and doing all that. So it led me to a new venture which is complete. I mean, they're separate companies, you know, and so. And then I opened the Social Studio which is so. I mean, I'm so in love with this space. It is. And for those of you listening, it's a multi use facility we have. It's really beautiful. So you can come in and create content, create, you know, record your podcast like we're doing right now and photo shoots, we have all the, you know, backdrop equipment and stuff like that, but you can also rent it for small events. And that is so cool.

[Sean French]

That's amazing. That's great for Atlanta.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah, it's great.

[Sean French]

You know how many badasses are in Atlanta that can take advantage of that space?

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes. Yeah, we actually, you know, when I thought that it would be more geared towards the content creation part of it, but the events are really taking off there because, and this is part of the reason why I wanted to include that is because I've also been someone who's hosted events for many years. I ran a breast cancer charity for many, many years and women's entrepreneur networking group. And the. When you're hosting an event like that, you it's, you have two choices. You are either in a bar or a restaurant and private rooms or something like that, like that kind of scale, or you're in those big event venues that cost a fortune. And so there wasn't really anything in the in between, you know, that. That where you max out around 75 to 80 people in terms of the venue size, but you can still host an event for 20 people.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And so that's kind of where I wanted it to be, to have that middle in between where you can rent it by the hour, you can bring your own food and beverage. You don't have to use our vendors. You don't have to spend a minimum. You don't have to, you know, spend X amount on alcohol. And, you know, all this stuff, it just make it really easy. And that would benefit so many people in Atlanta, especially entrepreneurs. Especially people who are trying to do their own thing because it's affordable.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

To come and do your own thing. So, you know, with that said, I had no idea. And when I say zero idea how hard it would be to open a brick and mortar business.

[Sean French]

Yeah, I bet.

[Kiara Palmer]

I mean, when I started the social project that's on my house.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

You know, you. You file your llc, you get your bank account set up. This. You start, you know, your little QuickBooks and things like that. It's. It's in your online systems. That was a breeze.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And I mean, it's not like it's not easy, but it's. That was a breeze, but it's easier to. What I've been going through. So all of the things. It was just opening the studio, which now it's great. You know, it almost makes you forget how hard it was to get it open. But that was a nightmare.

[Sean French]

Talk about that, though. Like, top of the fear.

[Kiara Palmer]

Oh, my God. And that's my. One of my favorite subjects because when you were talking about. You just. You just go. You just take the step. I think that fear. And even if it's like a hidden fear, if you. Even if you're saying, oh, I'm not afraid, you probably are. And that's probably one of the reasons it's holding you back, because you're. There's a couple of things, like a. What if the business fails and you lose all your money?

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

What if something fails and then you're embarrassed in front of all these people who have watched you go after it? Right. It's. It's a little bit terrifying. So I like to say, hey, I mean, if any entrepreneur you're looking up to or business owner, they've all failed, and they've all failed a lot of Times. So you just. You just fail forward.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

You just. It's just pushing you to the next location, your next destination or whatever you want to call it. So I thought. So silly for me to think this, but I thought that I would. Silence. Do the construction, paint the walls, do all things, and then open my doors in five to six weeks.

[Sean French]

And everybody would just come. And everybody just, like, if you build it, they will come.

[Kiara Palmer]

So February 24th, I'm, like, ready to open my doors. Like, March 1st. Here we go. And we still don't have a co. Like a business license. And, like, well, it's coming. It's fine. And so I remember we had, like, this little, you know, come check out the studio thing where we invited our friends and family, and, you know, we couldn't open the doors yet, but we're close.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

And we are not close. I followed up with the city. You know, what's going on? Like, oh, we're missing a page from your application.

[Sean French]

Thanks for letting me know.

[Kiara Palmer]

Cool. It's been six weeks. Why wouldn't you One. One page. And then I even went back. They never sent it to me. So it wasn't an oversight on our part. Right. So we get it done, whatever submitted. Two more weeks go by, and then I get my first decline for the business license. And they declined our business because they put us into the category of movie production. And, you know, Atlanta is, like, a really big hub for, you know, Hollywood competition. Right. They're like, you can't do that there. I'm like, well, I don't know what you were looking at on my business application, but I have no idea what movie production is. This is not my businesses, and not what we're doing, you know, and then resubmitted it. Another decline. And so then I started going up to city hall and, like, trying to speak with people in the planning department. Cause all zoning and explaining to them what this concept was. And so one of the people there said, well, resubmit your application and call it a photo studio first, then list the other things. Cool. So I do that.

[Sean French]

Oh, no.

[Kiara Palmer]

Two weeks later, maybe three weeks later, I get another decline. And they added on photo studio as one of the reasons. And they're like, it's not allowed. I'm like, what are you talking about? It's not allowed? Because it went.

[Sean French]

Just told me to do it.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. So you. There's this thing, like, when you're opening brick and mortar, you have to, like, pay attention to, like, what kind of businesses are allowed and what are not what is zone, what is not? And, I mean, I just don't think they knew who they were messing with. I'm like, you. I will fight to the death for this, Sarah. I'm like, researching and, like, all this stuff. And the year prior, this list is pages and pages long, and it is very specific about what is allowed and what is not allowed. So, like, you know, adult entertainment, not allowed. You know, Surprising, right? So the year prior photo studio was on this list, checked as approved. One year later, it's not on the list at all. It just skips over the number. So it goes from like 5.20 to 5.22. So I'm like, where. Where this go? I would like to have the minutes of the city council meeting to where this was voted on and why it was removed. Because you're declining my business because of this. They couldn't provide an answer. And then. So then I went down there. I was like, okay, this is not an actual photo studio because I'm not a photographer. I'm not taking pictures. People are just coming in with their phones and record. They're like, that's not allowed either. So that was actually told to me after I resubmitted it with content creation, and they told me that content creation was not allowed.

[Sean French]

So four declinations.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah, and content creation. And so then that's really. That's about the point where I. It was like somebody lit me on fire, was so angry. And so I sent them. I was like, oh, so does that mean that you're shutting every business in this district down? Because they're all creating content for their business? And I sent them everybody's Instagram account, and, like, I'm sorry, I expect all these businesses to be closed. Tomorrow is a mess. So I ended up talking to an attorney, and he gave me some, like, wording to use about setting precedent without. I don't. I don't.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

So you can tell that it was, like, legal advice. And he told me to send that and copy all of the city council members and the mayor. So I did. And within an hour of me sending all of that over, a city council member called me. And that was in May. And that is when the ball finally got rolling in my direction. But then it took two more months.

[Sean French]

Two more months to get to do.

[Kiara Palmer]

That, because they would do things like, well, now that you're gonna have events, you're technically considered assembly. And assembly meaning like a church.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Where you have thousands of people. Right.

[Sean French]

Okay.

[Kiara Palmer]

So then from that, the floor plan that we submitted was no longer okay because I had to hire an architect to come stamp it, which is like four grand. I mean, it's just crazy. So it was a mess. But, yeah, once that started happening, the Balsel started rolling again, and then we finally got approval in July. But what was so fascinating about that process is that for whatever reason, they didn't want me to advertise that it was coming. So I got a cease and desist thing posted on the front door. It's like jail time. Big fine. Because I was posting on Instagram that the studio was coming soon. So the day that I got my business license, it was like, oh, I have a business. I'm open. With no lead up to announcing it. It was crazy. That's.

[Sean French]

That's wild. And like, this is what I really want the audience to focus on because I'm hearing a lot of failure here.

[Kiara Palmer]

There's so much.

[Sean French]

I'm. I'm. And you know, I didn't know all this. Right. Like, I know you open up a studio, you're open, cool. Like, you're. You're executing it, you're having events, you're doing cool things. There's. But what's. What's very important for everybody to understand here is that there was multiple moments that you could have stopped, that you could have just said, you know what? This isn't meant to be. I'm gonna. I'm just. I'm gonna quit. I'm gonna quit on that.

[Kiara Palmer]

It was so. It was so hard.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Because, I mean, think about all the money that's being in the shredder. There were nights where I would just lay in bed and cry.

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

I mean, just because I felt helpless. You know, that's a really hard feeling. And I did feel like a failure, and it did. And I'm. Because it was just, this isn't going to work and I'm going to have wasted all of this money. I mean it when I tell you the emotional turmoil that I was going through during this time, I can't explain it, you know, because it's like you. Everybody take it. Will tell you to take the risk. It'll pay off, you know, and. And that's what, that's what I was doing is taking the risk. And it wasn't paying off, and it was terrifying.

[Sean French]

But you know, what's, you know, what's, you know, what's encouraging, though? It's like, you've been through this.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

And you came out of it.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

So in about a year, you're going to come across someone.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

That is going through something similar, and you're going to be able to coach him or her through it.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

And help them, let them know, hey, like, this is where I was at. These are the stages I went through. And if this is what you're feeling right now, it's totally normal.

[Kiara Palmer]

You want to know what really got me through, too, is I kept telling myself, you know, you have those moments they call them, if they come to Jesus moment or whatever, where I'm like, I'm not the person, though. I am not the person who quits. I will not do it. I will not quit. And then, you know, you have those moments of realizations where, you know, they always give you these statistics, like, X number of businesses last out of the X number of businesses that are started. And it's not a lot. You know, the ones that it becomes successful. And I remember, you know, multiple times, like, sitting in my car as I'm doing my makeup, just, like, looking. Because you could just. You could just see it in my face. I was just kind of. I was going through it, you know, But I would tell myself, like, this moment right here, this is where people quit. And you're. You're not going to, like, this is it. This is what you read about. This is what you hear stories about. You're not going to quit, dude. Yeah.

[Sean French]

There's been multiple people over the years. We may have spoken about this offline. I'm not sure if we have. There's been multiple people over the. Over the course of what the last four and a half years said. You cannot build a brand off the backbone of just a show. I was like, well, why not? Like, well, look at. Look at Joe Rogan. He was Joe Rogan. Like, look at Andy Frisella. He started first for him, and he's. I go, well, dope. I will be one of the first ones that build an empire off of a microphone and a camera. And then I will build something else that comes along with this brand. See, because to me, where I look at it is like, to me, that's true reverse engineering. Like, no, I hadn't really done anything. I did some things in sales, and I was in a top 1 to 5% of every company I was with. Cool. Neat. But I hadn't built a business. And I just feel like now we're starting to really, truly build the business aspect of it. But, like, to going from an iPhone in a car to number three on Spotify in business, that is determination. That is like being a glutton. For punishment. Because just like you. Just like you sitting in my office, I remember when I was doing the show from home, like, I would sit in that den where everybody always saw me smiling and giving the most energetic interviews. Most of the time before those interviews were shot, I was pacing around the house in tears, depressed, because I felt like I wasn't good enough because I wasn't getting the response. But what I learned is I was becoming somebody that was bulletproof. And now that I've changed other things in my life, my nutrition, my activity level, and now I'm completely transforming, not just externally, but internally. Like, nah. Like, this is. This is what we're coming on to. Like, this is what we're building. This is what we're doing. And I've become a different human.

[Kiara Palmer]

And do you think that part of that when. When you're having those moments? Because I think I think about this a lot, you know, especially when you. When you're trying to coach up somebody else like that. You know, I think because of the world of social media and things like that, people have this very skewed idea that these things happen overnight. And everybody. Everybody wants instant gratification. Yeah, instant gratification. And that's because we are conditioned to feel that way. Right? We. We. If we want groceries, we can have them delivered in an hour if we want. You know, I mean, all of these things that are.

[Sean French]

Me and Bedros talked about that.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes. I mean, and it is. It's crazy how all of our lives revolve around instant gratification. But when you're trying to build something like this, it is a long road. It is not easy, but it's so rewarding. And I, you know, I think about that, too. Some of those points where, like we. I said before, I'm a huge travel. Love to travel. It's part of my blood. It's why I want to make money, honestly, just so I can travel.

[Sean French]

Sure.

[Kiara Palmer]

I mean, disclosure, right?

[Sean French]

Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Well, in the last year, I joked to you guys that, you know, flying down here is the first time I've been on a flight in a year, which is wild. Wild. I mean, I don't think that's happened since I was in college, maybe. I mean, I lost my platinum medallion ship with Delta, which was tragic, but I'm like, it's fine, you know, but you. I literally.

[Sean French]

It was a tragedy.

[Kiara Palmer]

It was tragic. I mean, I know that sounds like such a bratty. But I've been. I've been that so long. But I had to take a step back and say, that's still me, but I am building something here. So you, I mean, so those of you listening to this, you do have to make some sacrifices sometimes. You do have to change your behaviors. You do have to change your discipline. You do, I mean, all of those things. If you want to create something bigger, you have to sacrifice sometimes. Excuse me, sometimes. And some people will tell you like, oh, it's so easy. I mean, you get, you get into that looped and trap because I mean, if you think about like, how many videos on social media do you see a week where like I make $900 million in one hour by working one hour a day a week? I mean, it's just constantly in your face about how. And I'm like, they're not. No, they're not. I mean, yes, there have been some people who have really hit it big and they are making tons of money, but it was a slow process to get there. And there's only those tiny, tiny, tiny fraction of people who. Something did just click and it went.

[Sean French]

Slow process. Yeah. And we'll land the plane here. You know, like, this has been such an amazing conversation. I just wish you were local so we could do it again soon. But like we talk about the instant gratification, like, and I mean this with complete respect because I don't want this individual to hear it and think that I'm shit talking him because I respect him. Diary of a CEO Stephen Bar. Stephen Barnett.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

Had no clue who he was until two months ago. I'm sorry, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't know. And so I look at that and I could say overnight success. I know homeboy's been grinding. He's been at it. And again, maybe I was just misinformed. And I. That wasn't in my algorithm right now. It is. The dude's amazing. Like when I. And so when I got the picture sent to me from my friend Steve over the weekend on a Sunday morning at 6, 6am dude, look at this. Like it was him. Then it was Monday morning coffee or something like that. And then the determined society, I'm like, oh my God, I'm like right there with that guy. And it was really cool. But like, nothing is an overnight success. That dude has been grinding just because I didn't know who he was. And I don't, I don't mean that as a knock, but like there's a bigger picture here. There's a massive undercurrent of, of all the work that he's done. I Mean, that dude's a G man.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

Like, I didn't know who he was now, but now I'm like, dude, I'm a fan of this guy.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

He and I should get on a show. We should. Yeah.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah. Well, that's on the. That's on the vision board. It'll happen.

[Sean French]

I mean, my people get in touch with his people. I get my people.

[Kiara Palmer]

But I mean, I mean, that's such a good point, you know? Yeah, it's such a good point.

[Sean French]

And you just never know.

[Kiara Palmer]

It's just. It's wild how those things work, you know, And. And this part of why I love your brand so much, you know, the determined. Like, if you are determined and you're dedicated, you can create some pretty epic in your life.

[Sean French]

You can.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yeah.

[Sean French]

But you can't come off it. Yeah. Like, determination, you know? Well, answer that. What is. What does determination look like to you?

[Kiara Palmer]

Well, I mean, that's part of what I experienced last year. And I was. I'm like, I'm not gonna. I'm not a quitter. Yeah, I know things get tough. I've been through hard stuff. I've been through a lot of hard stuff in my life, you know, and this is. But I am determined to live my life is full. Full as possible. And I, you know, part of that. And I think, you know, like, you know, I lost my mom when I was in high school, and that was such a. She was so young, you know, And I'm so now I have. I've always had this in my head of, like, you have got to live life to the fullest because we are only here for a very short amount of time. And I don't want to be that person who is in the office nine to 10 hours a day, barely seeing in my family, not experiencing the world, not living in a joyous way, just being happy and. And fulfilled and great relationships and friendships. I'm like, that. That that's what my life is going to be and whatever it takes to get there in a very moral way. And I don't mean the other stuff. I'm in a very determined, positive direction. I'm going to go do that, you know.

[Sean French]

There it is. There it is. Don't let up. Just don't let up. You can be the person that's going to quit. Quitting is going to be hard. Sticking with it's going to be hard. Choose your hard. That's not a proprietary statement.

[Kiara Palmer]

But.

[Sean French]

But really think about that. Like, do you want an easy life or a hard life? I would rather the easy life. So I'm going to do the hard right. So just thank you so much for coming on. I adore you. This has been amazing. Can't wait to get some food with you after this. God, what, what a surreal moment.

[Kiara Palmer]

Yes, surreal moment.

[Sean French]

That's what I love for this. So thank you for coming down here.

[Kiara Palmer]

And I can't wait until we're celebrating you being number one. I can't wait. That's going to be incredible.

[Sean French]

You know, I got goosebumps because I, I want to say that celebration for number one, not categorically, but overall it's coming. It may be five years, maybe 10. Damn it. It's gonna happen. And we will fight on those micro movements and those in that process until we get there. So with that being said, guys, please share the episode with somebody that you know love and trust that needs to hear this story of overcoming obstacles and turning it into opportunity that Kiara has done. So thank you guys so much. Until next time, stay determined.

[Stephen Barnett]

This one luck. I let the pain inspire me. I put my all in. Everything I'm doing up until it's done, I mean for the entirety. I put it in overtime. I'll be working. Just know I'mma go for mine cause I earned it. They watch and I know it's time I confirmed it. The whole society determined live on the zone worldwide. May 2nd and 3rd Garcia vs. Romero and Canelo vs. Skull. Friday from from 6pm Eastern. Garcia returns in a history making Times Square takeover. 24 hours later Saturday from 7pm Eastern. King Canelo faces undefeated Skull for the undisputed crown. May 2nd and 3rd, a knockout weekend of boxing. Pick one or go all in for only $90. Exclusively on DAZN buy [e-mail] boxing.