Ep. 67 The Stern Truth: The Power of Being in Flow and Alignment with Melodie Dewsbury

Melodie Dewsbury is a passionate entrepreneur and founder of The Paper Fox Collective, a marketing agency in Mission, B.C. Her journey took her from entrepreneur to corporate life to teaching and back to entrepreneurship. This time around, she’s got clarity, confidence, and a whole lot of momentum.

Melodie shares how she reinvented herself after stepping back from her first business and spending years in corporate roles that just didn’t fit. When the mismatch started showing up physically, she knew it was time to listen to that gut feeling.

We get into the difference between fear and intuition and why that distinction matters for big business decisions. Melodie’s golden nugget on this? Is this a limiting belief, or is everything in my being telling me this isn’t right for me?

 We also talk about community, something Melodie has always been passionate about creating. From running knitting clubs in her first year of teaching to building an online community of 2,000 female entrepreneurs, she just gets people together. And as I always say, being around other entrepreneurs who truly get it makes all the difference.

 On the marketing side, Melodie drops a golden nugget every founder needs to hear: you don’t need to be on every platform. Pick the spaces where you can show up consistently and authentically. If dancing on TikTok isn’t you, don’t do it.

Melodie’s episode itself is a golden nugget. So if you take anything from this episode, take it from Melodie that sometimes stepping back is exactly what you need to step forward with more power.


Connect with Melodie here:

www.thepaperfoxcollective.com
Instagram: @thepaperfoxcollective
LinkedIn: @melodie-dewsbury
Facebook: @melodydewsbury 

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I encourage you to reach out with feedback, topic suggestions, and share your own entrepreneurial challenges.

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Email: marshall@marshallstern.net

Transcript

[00:00:00] Marshall Stern: Hi, I'm Marshall Stern and I've spent over 35 years leading and growing multiple small businesses. I know firsthand the struggles of entrepreneurship, feeling isolated, lonely, overwhelmed, and feeling like you have to do it all by yourself. I've been through multiple recessions, and I have felt the highs and the lows.

[00:00:24] I've been there, and I get it. This podcast is here to change that. Every week I will bring you straight talking advice, real world strategies, and honest conversations about what it takes to succeed in business without the fluff, the gimmicks, or the sugar-coated. If you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start making real progress, then you are in the right place. 

[00:00:47] This is the Stern Truth. 

[00:00:52] Marshall Stern: Welcome back everyone, to another episode of the Stern Truth Business Unfiltered, and I would love to introduce you to my guest this week. Melodie, how are you? 

[00:01:03] Melodie Dewsbury: I'm good, thanks. How are you? 

[00:01:05] Marshall Stern: I am doing fantastic. They lied. I'm glad they lied that way. 

[00:01:10] Melodie Dewsbury: It's been lovely. Just as you said that the sun literally just came out right now I don't even see the background, but… 

[00:01:15] Marshall Stern: That's 

[00:01:16] Melodie Dewsbury: It’s going to happen out here. Thanks. 

[00:01:17] Marshall Stern: I'm sending Richmond thoughts, Richmond, British Columbia thoughts over to you. You're located where? 

[00:01:23] Melodie Dewsbury: So I'm in Mission. And we get a lot of clouds and, because we're in the mountains, right? So. 

[00:01:28] Marshall Stern: I did not know that the clouds part because you're in the mountains.

[00:01:31] I never really thought about that. The Paper Fox Collective. What the heck is that? That's such a cool name. Both the Paper Fox and the collective part. Tell us a little bit about what you do. 

[00:01:43] Melodie Dewsbury: So my passion is marketing, but it's not my only passion. I have so many other passions and I also have a side company called DIY Love.

[00:01:53] And so when I was coming into the space again, I wanted something that could incorporate DIY Love if I wanted to in the future. So that's a collective piece. Also a bit about community, because I'm really community focused and so collective could also explain that as well. People into, into my community.

[00:02:10] And then the Paper Fox, I wanted something that was just really unique and, and memorable and for people to go, wait what? Not just, you know, Melodie D Consulting or something like that. because that's not memorable, but it makes people stop and go, Wait, who are you? What is that? And so with the paper representing the storytelling and the marketing piece and copywriting and things like that, and being creative on paper.

[00:02:35] And then the fox, partly because my little dog has always reminded me of a fox and I really like foxes. But the fox being, like, the creative. Foxes get a lot of negativity. They're sly and they're cunning, but they're also really creative and cute and playful. And so that's kind of how it all just came together.

[00:02:55] Marshall Stern: I love that because it's also like just Paper Fox, both, like I said, Paper, Fox and Collective. It's very intriguing, which is what we want, right? 

[00:03:03] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:03:04] Marshall Stern: So it's like when I had my sign company. I had left, I was part of a franchise for about nine years or so, 10 years, actually. 10 years. And when I left the franchise to go independent, I had to come, obviously come up with a new name.

[00:03:17] And I remember I, I had a graphic designer working on it, some ideas. And I had a whole bunch of ideas myself. And then, on the way back from Whistler, I came up with, I – I don't even, I remember we didn't even play in a sandbox in Whistler. But, somehow, beach and whatever, on the way driving back to Vancouver.

[00:03:37] My kids were young. I just thought, sandbox. 

[00:03:40] Melodie Dewsbury: I love that. 

[00:03:41] Marshall Stern: Kind of same thing. It's fun. It's, and then we obviously, like, I think we had our tagline was thinking outside the box and all this kind of stuff, right? Instead of playing in the box or create, creating outside the box, that's what it was. 

[00:03:52] Melodie Dewsbury: I love it when those ideas come to you too, out of nowhere, like you're driving or your mind come to me when I'm sleeping.

[00:03:57] So I was struggling with the name and I literally said to my subconscious every night for a week, tonight's the night. You're going to tell me, you're going to tell me what my new business name is because I got to get things rolling. And oh, eventually it, it came together so it’s cool. 

[00:04:10] Marshall Stern: Going to bed, setting that intention.

[00:04:12] So to win, right? Pretty easy road. 

[00:04:16] Melodie Dewsbury: Relatively. 

[00:04:16] Marshall Stern: No. Tell me, so when did you start Paper Fox? 

[00:04:20] Melodie Dewsbury: I started in the fall. I had the idea that started to come together and I about in the, in the summer, in September, around that area, and I was still with a company, and I was just so not happy and, and nothing to do with that company.

[00:04:35] I was just like, I knew eventually when I went back to corporate that I would want to come back to entrepreneurship at some point. 

[00:04:40] And I think it just got to the point where I was like, I can't ignore this anymore. It's starting to physically manifest in my body and I need to do something. And so I started having the conversations with my partner, around in the summer and I'm like, what do you think about this?

[00:04:56] What would this look like? And he was like, Ooh, I don't know. And because that's a hard thing for non-entrepreneurs to process and he was super supportive. And so I was like, well, it'll take it slow. I'll, I'll start just thinking about it and making plans and like putting together a business plan and things like that.

[00:05:12] And maybe six months down the road I'll be ready to launch, kind of, and then just circumstances happened and I just was sort of, not thrown in, I dived in, but also was just met with a lot of opportunity right away. And so it just happened that it snowballed pretty quick and it has been easy in a way, the technical setup of everything has been so easy.

[00:05:37] Which is, I want to say funny, but it's not funny because it's very intentional when I try to do things that are not meant for me. I'm hit with resistance all the time, and I'm wondering now if I should have seen that sign earlier. 

[00:05:52] Melodie Dewsbury: But so, kind of easy. Everything sort of fell into place and I started to share with, with others what I was doing.

[00:05:57] And I'm super thankful, again, to have that big community that I had before that they were, like, celebrating when I came back and they're like, great, we can't wait to work with you. So it's been, yes, easy.  I know it's not going to be easy forever. And that's okay. But I'm just riding this wave right now. So. 

[00:06:16] Marshall Stern: Riding the wave of easy 

[00:06:18] Melodie Dewsbury: Momentum 

[00:06:18] Marshall Stern: I like to call it momentum. 

[00:06:19] Melodie Dewsbury: I wouldn't even call it easy. I would call it momentim but it feels easy because it's something I want and I'm like, oh, I did that. Cool. Next step. Oh, I did that. 

[00:06:28] Marshall Stern: Well, it's funny when everything, when things align right, I always say on this podcast, and even with some of my coaching clients, growing a business is not easy, right?

[00:06:38] There are the hard times. This is not for everyone, entrepreneurship, being a business owner is not for everyone. There's – like, shit happens. Personal life, in our business, we lose clients. It's not linear. Growth is linear. It's not always easy. But when you get into moment and, and it was interesting, you said something, you said, when you're hit with resistance, that whole idea, if something's really hard and we keep – I just had a conversation with a client the other day.

[00:07:03] Keep pushing at this door. Trying to open this door and it's hard and it's not working and you can keep pushing, maybe it's the wrong door. 

[00:07:13] Melodie Dewsbury: Yes, exactly. And I am the kind of person also who's like, oh, I could do that. So then I do push the door. And I'm like, why isn't it working? That's really annoying.

[00:07:23] I can do this. Right. So I don't know how much you know about human design. 

[00:07:28] Marshall Stern: Mm-hmm. 

[00:07:28] Melodie Dewsbury: But I dived into that a couple years ago  and it was very illuminating to me to, because I'm a manifesting generator, so I am multi-passionate and I do want my hands in everything and I want to learn all the things. And then when I'm not following my passions and when I'm trying to make things happen, because my human design says I'm just supposed to wait for that, that sign or that invitation, and then I can take action.

[00:07:56] And when I try to push, I'm always met with, with resistance and frustration. So when I'm feeling frustrated, I literally, I stop now and I'm like, wait, why? What am I trying to make myself do that I'm maybe not meant for? Or – and not to say that if you're met with any kind of resistance, that you should just stop.

[00:08:15] Because that's not it either. Right? But when you're banging your head against a wall for so long, right, and, and it's still not working, take a step back. Pivot. Look at the drawing board again, because I bet you there's something there that just needs to be tweaked a little bit. 

[00:08:30] Marshall Stern: Well, it's, it might be any, right, and I love that, and it might be the right door.

[00:08:34] Melodie Dewsbury: Mm-hmm. 

[00:08:35] Marshall Stern: But you're trying to open it the wrong way or it's not the right time. How do we know that though? That's a difficult one for us. Right? Especially if you're, like, let's give, give an example. You're courting a prospect. You have a proposal out there with them. They need your help. You can help them.

[00:08:52] Maybe they're ghosting you, maybe they are not getting back to you in a timely manner or they're, oh, I'm thinking about, oh, I can't afford it this time. What do we do? At what point do you – what's the fine line? Because I know a lot of our listeners go through this. 

[00:09:08] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:09:08] Marshall Stern: I've gone through that. Where, what's that fine line?

[00:09:10] What do you think the fine line is between pushing, trying, or opening that door with that prospect and maybe just stepping back? 

[00:09:18] Melodie Dewsbury: I'm of the mindset now to step back. I think before when I was running my business years ago, I didn't have any choice but to, especially with that, pandemic times, right? But now I'm like, I just have this new trust and belief in myself that the people who are meant to work with me will come to me.

[00:09:39] And I'm pretty much living that up to the universe at this point. So I still have things in place. I have follow-up emails, I have reminders. I'm following people on social and I'll engage, not just to get a client, but because I want to support them.

[00:09:53] Hey, I'm thinking about you. That's kind of my approach. I'm here if you need me. I'll still support you. And when you're ready, come on back. I've had people come after two years of sitting and waiting. Great. If it's, then it's the time. And if it's not, that's okay too. But I generally don't try to push, I can only control what I can control. I can't control if you're going to come work with me.

[00:10:14] Right. So why would I stress over that. I'm here doing my thing. So when you're ready. But actually, I'm thinking back to everyone that I've talked with since starting the Paper Fox Collective and the people who stalled and there haven't been many, but the few people I've just said, that's okay.

[00:10:32] Come back when you're ready. I'm here. I haven't given it another thought. 

[00:10:36] Marshall Stern: There's something powerful about that. Being in, in that mindset and, and that state, and I know like, and I fall into this trap and many of our listeners have – we're, we're like, for me, I'm very just like you. I could tell, very purpose driven.

[00:10:53] You want to make a difference. You want to help, but it's also, it can lead you to wanting to help so badly. Maybe you're not seeing the signs or maybe you're not pushing too much. I, I remember a mentor of mine or a coach of mine once said, needy is creepy. 

[00:11:08] Melodie Dewsbury: It's so creepy. It's so true. 

[00:11:11] Marshall Stern: Right? And there's a lot of needy people online.

[00:11:14] Just go on LinkedIn. Right. LinkedIn's a great platform. If you use it like AI, it's, it's a great tool if you use it properly. A lot, unfortunately, a lot of people are using it the wrong way. I remember when I first - I tell the story on the podcast, I might have even told you this once before, when I first started this podcast, which has been a year now, one of my first.

[00:11:35] It's because it's also here on YouTube. And one of my first comments was really exciting. On the video I was like, oh, you have a, I really enjoyed your podcast because I get an email from it. I went, oh, I got a comment. This like video or, or episode two or three. But then within five minutes, this person who's overseas commented on the video, fine.

[00:11:57] Cool. Then she commented again saying, I can help your YouTube channel rank higher, blah. Then she sent me a, a LinkedIn connection request, a Facebook connection request. She followed me on Instagram. She emailed me and she phoned me on WhatsApp within five minutes. Obviously, I didn't answer that. That's a little creepy 

[00:12:19] Melodie Dewsbury: And desperate does not sell. 

[00:12:21] Marshall Stern: Well, it, it, first of all, it's creepy. Is she going to show up at my front door next? That's what the next step was. Right. I moved because of it. No, but it, it just also shows that, and if our listeners are listening, if you're listening, don't do that. 

[00:12:36] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:12:36] Marshall Stern: It also devalues you. 

[00:12:38] Melodie Dewsbury: I always laugh when I get the, in my notification, so and so, like, you get 20 of those and then you're like, when's the DM coming?

[00:12:46] And then you get the DM like, don't do that. 

[00:12:50] Marshall Stern: So. You started your business back or your new business in the fall. 

[00:12:56] You've reinvented yourself with this business. How did that really, again, this is all about the Stern Truth and giving golden nuggets to our listeners. So what could you say to our listeners who maybe are considering doing something different or doing what they're currently doing, but doing it differently, but maybe they need to reinvent themselves?

[00:13:15] What does that look like? 

[00:13:17] Melodie Dewsbury: That's a good question. So for me, I started my first business in 2019 and, or 2018, something like that. And I was heavily into personal development, self-development, all the way. And I kind of burnt out from that. And when I burnt out from my business, I was like, I don't want to listen to another self-help podcast.

[00:13:39] I don't want to read a self-help book for a very long time, I was done with it. And I started working for a couple other companies and slowly moved away from the coaching space that I was in and lost myself a little bit, partly because I felt like it was a failure for not making that business work, for needing to take a step back to, for needing to just get a paycheck for a while and not think about anything else.

[00:14:06] And so I had allowed that person to take over. For a few years and at the same time I was in a new relationship. I was learning what it was like to live with someone else. We moved twice. I have a stepson now. There was a lot of new things in my life that I was like, I can't even think about anything else.

[00:14:23] Like this is priority number one is me and the family and just making money right now. And when I realized last year that I was really unhappy, I started to think. I'm going to go back to what were my goals? What did I want to accomplish back then that I didn't accomplish? And I actually sat down a couple times and the first time I wrote out what my perfect day would look like if I was working or not working, and I wrote the whole page.

[00:14:50] I just started and I was like, oh, got it all out. And read that a few times back to myself. The second thing I did was like, what do I want? What do I want to accomplish again? What do I want in my life? And I don't know if you're into Law of Attraction, but Esther Hicks, who is Abraham Hicks, or, I don't know how you would explain that, but she has this exercise where you sit down and you, what's in my vortex?

[00:15:10] What are the things I want? I want happiness. I want to help others. I want to paddleboard. I want to spend time with my dog. I want to go for walks. And so I did those two exercises and after that I was like, I can't believe I'm just coming to a nine to five every day when I could be doing all of these things.

[00:15:30] So it was the visualization piece for me. 

[00:15:32] What would my life look like? Oh, I did have days where I had my perfect day. I got up, walked the dog, had some tea, then started work, worked with people I really love, and did the day with another nature walk or by the river, whatever. I did that, why can't I do that again?

[00:15:49] And for me it was the visualization piece that was like, oh, right, that's who you were. That's who you want to be. Why are you pretending to be this corporate girl doing her nine to five happy working for someone else? And that's what did it for me. So I think my advice would be, visualize, because that's hugely powerful where you want to be.

[00:16:11] And if you don't know, start with doing small things that you think you might want to try or go out for dinner by yourself or try a new sport. Or meet a new community and just do those small little things and figure out what makes you tick. 

[00:16:25] Marshall Stern: I like that. So it's, it's similar. I talked with my clients all about getting clear on your why, right.

[00:16:31] Simon Sinek obviously is the big why person, but it's just being clear on why you do what you do. Why first of why you start your business and why you're doing your business. And you have to be – I , obviously, your why, really – again, I heard this a while back, your why needs to make you cry and, and that sat with me, right?

[00:16:47] It stuck with me because I truly believe, especially corporate, right? In the business world, that's like, no, you just, logical where, but I think we need to be a little bit less logical at times and a little more emotional. And again, I think there's a fine line when not to be emotional for sure. But I think we need to bring more emotion back into our business. Could you speak a little bit about that? 

[00:17:15] Melodie Dewsbury: I, for me, there has to be the logic, there has to be the, the purpose and the technical and the business and the whatever. But there also has to be, because we are not solely this, we are emotional beings.

[00:17:27] We are spiritual beings. And so, for me, I'm, yes, we have to have all this stuff in place, but we also need to believe in what you're doing. You need to believe in yourself. We need to have a little bit of woo and believe in the universe that you're on the right path, that things are going to roll out the way they are, because the purely logical person.

[00:17:46] Sure could make all this happen, but at the same time, if you let go of a little bit of this control and let a little bit of this in, it's a hell of a lot easier. That's, that's what I think. Did I answer your question? 

[00:17:58] Marshall Stern: My question was, it was a very, it was a big question. No, that's, that, agree with everything you're, everything you're saying.

[00:18:05] How do you think, because you were into personal, you're still into personal development obviously, like, but you were really heavily into it before. How much does our mindset and our thoughts play into our actions? Sorry? 

[00:18:18] Melodie Dewsbury: Everything. Sorry I cut you off. Yeah, everything. It determines whether we are good enough to reach out to that prospect.

[00:18:26] It determines whether we think we have value in following up with someone or even working with them, or it's everything. The confidence to get on video and talk like this, or the confidence to go speak in front of someone if you don't have that self-worth and that mindset that. This will make my life better.

[00:18:46] This will push me in the right direction. I can do this. I'm capable. I'm worthy, you, you're stuck in your position where you are. And that's really detrimental to business. So yes, mindset is everything. 

[00:19:01] Marshall Stern: What about just – 

[00:19:02] Melodie Dewsbury: And then, 

[00:19:02] Marshall Stern: Oh, sorry. Continue. 

[00:19:03] Melodie Dewsbury: Well, I was just thinking, but then there's also business owners who are super successful and don't have any kind of, that they're just all business. How happy are they? Right? I don't know. 

[00:19:17] Marshall Stern: Right. 

[00:19:17] Melodie Dewsbury: Can’t speak to that. But for me, what's different this time is that I know without a doubt that I will make this work and I can make this work and I didn't have that before. I didn't know what I was doing. I, I was post-divorce, I was an educator. I quit teaching. I pretty much just jumped out of the airplane and built my parachute on the way down, not knowing what the hell was happening.

[00:19:37] And I did pretty good for someone that didn't know what they were doing. And then I needed to take the time to step back, learn a little more, believe in myself a little bit more, hone some skills, do it again. And I still have that voice sometimes that comes and says, but what if you fail again?

[00:19:54] What if the leads dry up? And so my challenge right now mindset wise is to be like, Nope, I've got this. Shoo. Get out of here. Because I believe in everything is going to happen the way it's supposed to. So everyone deals with the mindset stuff, but I think sometimes it needs to be a bit more of a priority.

[00:20:13] Because it can really hamper your progress. 

[00:20:16] Marshall Stern: Oh, absolutely. I'm going to read something. So I don't know if you watched – let’s see if I still have it – if you watch any of the Olympics, 

[00:20:22] Melodie Dewsbury: I actually didn't. 

[00:20:23] Marshall Stern: So, this is going viral. She, Eileen, Eileen Gu. I don’t know if you've ever – 

[00:20:27] Melodie Dewsbury: Oh, I did see that. 

[00:20:28] Marshall Stern: She, she's beyond amazing.

[00:20:29] She's 22 years old. She won multiple, I guess, gold medals I guess for the U.S. I think the, so one of her quotes, because they have so many clips of her, this – she's 22 years of age wise beyond, beyond her, beyond our, my years. She said, she was quoted, you can control what you think, you can, because, she talked – sorry, you can control how you think and therefore you can control who you are.

[00:20:56] And then she talked about, continued to talk about neuroplasticity and how she's rewiring her brain and, and, and you can become who you want to be. 

[00:21:04] Melodie Dewsbury: That's amazing to have that awareness at 22. Wish I had that awareness at 22. Wow. 

[00:21:10] Marshall Stern: Because most people, most my kids are that age now and they're like, it's all their university.

[00:21:15] It's all now, what's going to happen tomorrow? What's so much anxiety for someone at any age to have that insight is amazing. 

[00:21:23] Melodie Dewsbury: I agree. 

[00:21:24] And, and, and we talk about mindset and you talk about visualization and the law of attraction. And, and I know that's deeper than what we're talking about, but a lot of people think, oh, it's just a matter of mantras, morning affirmations.

[00:21:37] I am worthy. Right? There are no weeds. There are, you're looking at your garden in a metaphorical speaking, I think Tony Robbins talks about this. There are no weeds. There are no weeds. No, there's fricking weeds. 

[00:21:47] Melodie Dewsbury: There's weeds everywhere. 

[00:21:48] Marshall Stern: There's weeds. Just pull, pull the damn weeds. But you have to, so it's not just about the saying, it, it's about, or planting or, or having that vision.

[00:21:57] It's about doing it. It's about believing it. 

[00:22:00] Melodie Dewsbury: Thought, belief, action. That's the – I feel like the affirmations themselves, I'm strong, I'm capable and whatever. Those don't work if you don't believe them. 

[00:22:09] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:22:09] Melodie Dewsbury: So how do you make yourself believe them? That's what I used to work with clients on is great. Oh. 

[00:22:15] Marshall Stern: Oh, so, thank you. So how do you get yourself to believe those? 

[00:22:19] Melodie Dewsbury: You have to provide your brain with evidence that it can see and hear or perceive to be true. So when I worked with clients with limiting beliefs, I want to say that I am really successful at business, but I don't feel that way. I could say it 10 times and I don't feel it in my gut.

[00:22:38] We've got to work on that. So we write a list of all the reasons why. You are good at business. Where's the proof? Where's the evidence that shows that you are actually good at this? Well, you started one. That's great to start. Because a lot of people who want to be business owners don't even get to that point.

[00:22:54] So you did that. You have two clients. You are putting yourself out there. You have the system in place, all these things that prove, oh, you know what? You got on that sales call, and you actually got a client. You have four sales calls coming up. These are all reasons why you can disprove the, the thing that you're not good at business, right?

[00:23:13] You're not successful at business. So it's coming up with that evidence to prove to your brain and then reading that over and over and over to really solidify. Most clients when they pull up that list, they get to the bottom and I say, now go back and read it out loud. They do and they stop halfway.

[00:23:28] They're like, this is ridiculous. Why do I think this? I'm like, I don't know. Why do you? 

[00:23:33] Marshall Stern: Yeah, 

[00:23:34] Melodie Dewsbury: Right. It's very powerful to do that. 

[00:23:36] Marshall Stern: I, I love that exercise because it's the opposite. It's sort of complimentary to the exercise I, I do sometimes with my clients and it comes from a therapist, or, it’s not a therapist, but a therapeutic tool.

[00:23:49] So it's with people with anxiety. So if you are worried about something, if you don't think some even in business, this isn't going to happen. I'm going to fail. Limiting beliefs, I'm going to fail. So there's three powerful questions to answer and these are probably the questions to answer before your questions.

[00:24:06] Because you could turn around. So the questions are, do I have proof? Do I really have proof? Sorry, I just screwed that up. I'm not editing this. Sorry. Is this really true? And do I have proof? 

[00:24:16] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:24:17] Marshall Stern: So then you could take it to the next step. So I'm not successful. I had this conversation with her, actually.

[00:24:23] She, she owns a, a counseling practice and she, she was doubting her leadership and I did the same thing with her. I flipped it around. Where's the proof of that? Right. And so it is important, and that's why I know you came out to one of our ONtrepreneur Inner Circles. That's why it's important to be able to be around other entrepreneurs and to, and, and to share your wins.

[00:24:45] And I know you’re building an amazing community yourself, it's important for people not to just always think about just selling their services or their product, but just also being around other entrepreneurs and celebrating the wins. And talking about the struggles, for sure. And the challenges. So you're not feeling alone. That's why I do this podcast. 

[00:25:05] Tell me a little bit about your passion for community. 

[00:25:10] Melodie Dewsbury: I don't really know what to say about that. Wherever I go, I'm always trying to, like, create community. When I was educating, when I was in the school district, I would, I would just try to connect people, well, you should chat with so and so because she's dealing with the same thing.

[00:25:25] Or let's get together and work on this thing together. I think at one point I was running the social community club, I created even a – oh, like my first year of teaching. I was so young and new and I created a knitting club after school. I had 50 kids show up from ages grade four to seven, I think, and that became its own little community.

[00:25:51] There's something about community that just makes you feel like you belong. And I think I can, when I go into the new space and I'm like, Ooh, culture here kind of sucks. I want to fix that. So when I moved here, I didn't know anybody out here. I knew a couple people. I'd go to a class there, we'd go for walks, go to the dog park, and it's really hard to meet people.

[00:26:13] And so when I started my business, I was like, oh, I know what I'm doing. I'm creating this community out here. When I was coaching before, I had created an online community of 2000 female entrepreneurs from around the world had had joined this Facebook group. I was doing weekly lives. I was educating, I was connecting, and it was just such a positive, beautiful place to hang out.

[00:26:36] And I think I just love that I really felt like I belonged, and I felt like others felt like they belonged. And I, even now, I see connections made from that group way back when and women supporting each other years later. That's cool. I don't, I don't really have anything to say except I just enjoy it. I like to connect people and have fun and support each other, and maybe it's about me wanting to belong.

[00:26:59] I don't know. I think it's also just me knowing that I was made for something a little bit bigger. If I have the skill – I have a girlfriend, she's like, you're so good at this creating this community and making people like commit. And I don't, maybe that's my purpose. I don't know. My boyfriend says, you are always taking on so much.

[00:27:18] And I'm like, but it's fun. 

[00:27:21] Marshall Stern: It's not work. It's not work. 

[00:27:21] Melodie Dewsbury: This isn't. 

[00:27:22] Marshall Stern: It's not work. Well, it's interesting. So Tony Robbins, whether you like him or don't like him, he's got some really good points and he has the six human needs and we all have six human needs. And so I think you and I are very similar. We haven't even talked about really what you do now, which we're going to talk about before we end this podcast because it's really important.

[00:27:40] Because I know you have some golden nuggets to share. But to the human needs are significance and contribution. And not everyone has it to a certain point, but you everyone ranks some higher – security, love and connection, adventure, but contribution's huge with you. As it is with me, and that's where the community aspect and, and the giving aspect comes from.

[00:28:02] Wanting, wanting to bring people together and get to people. Tell me about the market – before we wrap this up, tell me about how you contribute to your clients in the marketing space. 

[00:28:13] Melodie Dewsbury: So I could sit here and say, well, I do web design and I do paid ads and blah, blah, blah. But I think what I love so much about what I do is the fact that I help people get results.

[00:28:27] I help them get unstuck. I help them get from A to B. Like, I love to create websites, and I love to sit and analyze Facebook ads and see, oh my gosh, this one's doing really well. Okay, we're going to – but at the end of the day, it's helping someone else. 

[00:28:43] Marshall Stern: Mm-hmm. 

[00:28:43] Melodie Dewsbury: It's being in their corner and supporting them and lifting them up and inspiring them to do other different things and sitting going, okay, that’s your whole strategy, but have you thought of this?

[00:28:55] And they're like, oh my gosh. Right. Like, businesses through creative ways and, and that contribution, now that you say all this, I'm like, that's why I like it. That's what I do. So yes, I do web design, I do paid ads, email marketing strategy, fractional support. But it's that connection. I'm very connected with my clients.

[00:29:16] I want to be their best friends. 

[00:29:18] Marshall Stern: And that's when it becomes easy. It can be difficult parts. There's going to be like, okay, we'll have a follow up in maybe six months, eight months, and we'll talk about some of those. But you're still young. It's new, but there, but it is easier. 

[00:29:30] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah, 

[00:29:32] Marshall Stern: You are, you are in alignment with where you should be.

[00:29:36] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:29:36] Marshall Stern: You're no longer having to push that door, kick down that door. And so in some areas we need to. 

[00:29:44] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:29:44] Marshall Stern: But if it's constantly and it's heavy and it's like, why is it not working? 

[00:29:49] Melodie Dewsbury: Mm-hmm. 

[00:29:50] Marshall Stern: Right. Yeah. A little resistance right now for you, 

[00:29:54] Melodie Dewsbury: And I was talking to someone else earlier this week about when you kind of stuck in that spot.

[00:29:59] You can't afford not to try something different. If I had stayed in the company, I probably would still be very sick right now, like, could hardly walk my back, like, came out in back pain and depression and again, had nothing to do with the company. It was the fact that I was just not in alignment with where I was supposed to be.

[00:30:18] So you can't afford not to do something different if you are in that space of, well, like just banging my head against a wall. 

[00:30:26] Marshall Stern: You're in flow. 

[00:30:27] Melodie Dewsbury: Yes. 

[00:30:28] Marshall Stern: We talked about earlier about moment. So that's, I always say, you know, builds traction, which builds momentum, which is flow. When you're in that flow, it's easier.

[00:30:38] It's when you are constantly fighting it, and, and you fight back and – talk about resistance. And talk about resistance. And again, it's, finally, we can have a whole episode talking about the difference between, like, what is it resistance and when do you need to be resilient? Do you need to be resilient to get through and push through resistance?

[00:30:59] And maybe sometimes yes, sometimes no. And it's only for the individual to figure out. Okay, here we go. On the marketing side, our listeners have businesses. Maybe give us, maybe it's not marketing, maybe it's mindset. I don't know. Give us one or two golden nuggets for our listeners who might not quite be, like, the level of their business that they want. You're on. 

[00:31:22] Melodie Dewsbury: Oh God, no pressure. 

[00:31:24] Marshall Stern: It's the pressure now. 

[00:31:25] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. Golden nugget. What can I give marketing wise? Well, okay, I wrote a blog post the other day about what's the best marketing strategy. Because I get that question a lot. I get two questions I get, I say, oh, I'm in marketing. And they go, what is that?

[00:31:40] That's the one question. The other question is, okay, what should I do? And my answer to that is, do so many people think they need to be on all the platforms doing all the things? First of all, if you aren't lit up by something, you don't have the time, for example, to be dancing on TikTok at eight o'clock at night or lip syncing.

[00:32:02] Like, that's not, you don't do that because your audience probably isn't there either, right? But do what works for you. Do what's sustainable for you. Make sure you're looking at it differently these days, but you still need a social presence. You need email marketing. You need SEO, you need a website, right?

[00:32:22] You don't need paid ads necessarily. A lot of people don't. I actually turn away a lot of people that want paid ads. I'm like, no, you're not ready, to the detriment of my own business. But you don't have to be everywhere. But pick the few spaces where you can really put the effort in and that you can be sustainable.

[00:32:40] So that would be my golden nugget for marketing. 

[00:32:42] Marshall Stern: Okay. I like that. And now I'm on TikTok, but no, I don't do dancing videos on TikTok because it's not me. And I would feel silly and my my, yeah, my people would find it silly. 

[00:32:53] Melodie Dewsbury: We'd be like, Marshall, why? Why are you dancing? 

[00:32:55] Marshall Stern: Well, but it's, no, you're a hundred percent.

[00:32:57] So I know I've, I have a colleague, or not colleague, a friend of mine who about five years ago became the head or the, I guess, the executive director of a very big,  nonprofit organization here in Vancouver. And he was a pretty businesslike, nice guy, like, amazing. Businesslike. All of a sudden. And there was a campaign for this nonprofit fundraising campaign.

[00:33:18] He ended up doing TikTok videos, all throughout and on Instagram, on Facebook, everything like silly stuff. And it was so not A) professional, it's a professional organization, B) so not him. It looked ridiculous, right? You just know when someone's trying to be something they're not. 

[00:33:37] Melodie Dewsbury: Yes. Yeah. 

[00:33:38] Marshall Stern: So just be who - be, be you.

[00:33:41] Melodie Dewsbury: And if you have to be on the platform, do something more that works for you, like you're in consulting. Okay, Sarah, just talk to people. 

[00:33:46] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:33:47] Melodie Dewsbury: And if you want to dance, okay, that's different. That's more you. But, like, if you like my get done and dancing, like no one's ever going to see me dancing again. Like that was a thing for my twenties and we don't ever need to see that again.

[00:33:58] Like, we'll not be dancing on social, but I'm really good at talking on social and I'm good at storytelling and that's why I show up that way that’s authentic to you. What is your audience like too? 

[00:34:10] Marshall Stern: Yeah. That, that is authentic to you, for them. 

[00:34:12] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:34:14] Marshall Stern: Well, one more golden nugget before I let you go.

[00:34:17] You're not getting away with it, with this yet. We're not done. One more golden nugget on your experiences, whether it's mindset, resilience, reinvention, just something, throw it out, let's go. 

[00:34:29] Melodie Dewsbury: Okay. So as soon as you said that, I was like, Ooh, intuition. Because I want to say that, that's a skill that I have not developed until recently.

[00:34:38] And when I was sitting potentially looking at other jobs, I got this like, sense, of dread. Like, I just, like, make me, like, I don't want to apply, I don't want to, and they're like, money's great. But I was like, I don't want it. And as soon as I thought, okay, what if I did this? It's in my core, was screaming at me to do it.

[00:34:59] Some people aren't great at listening to their intuition. I find women have an easier time of doing it. I think it's a little bit more hardwired in us, but men have it. Men have that capability as well. And even if it's just a little gut feeling, I really, that's my golden nugget. Like, myself, I'm starting to lean into that more.

[00:35:18] So as soon as you said that, I was like, intuition, I think that's what I want to share. Because that was the biggest thing for me. That's the, like, the only driving factor in me starting my business was that everything in my being was like, do it. 

[00:35:31] Marshall Stern: Okay. Not done yet, because you've opened up this whole can of worms.

[00:35:35] So I get it. So, let's go circa 1993, or no, 1991 or 1992 actually even. I interviewed with a, I graduated from BCIT. I wanted to get into ad, ad business. I wanted to be like Mad Men, right? This is before Mad Men, and I wanted to be an ad guy. Recession. No one was hiring. All my people, all the people I went to school with were looking at Home Depot, Safeway, whatever.

[00:36:00] I was at BC Lottery Corporation. Great, great company, but I needed to go to the next stage. I got hired by an investment firm to be, like, an advisor. Or not. I wasn't hired, sorry. I was recruited and I met with them and I remember driving home after the interview and it was like seven o'clock night, pouring rain.

[00:36:20] It was gross out. I was sick to my stomach because I remember them saying, you get a list of a hundred closest friends and family, you're going to contact them. This is what you do and you have to turn an order to accept. I mean, on so many people it was just like a revolving door. Right? 

[00:36:34] I remember driving home sick to my stomach thinking to myself, I'll never forget this. This is, Melodie, this is like 35 years ago. All I wanted to do was go to my apartment, order a pizza, crawl upon my couch – and there was no Netflix back then – watch something and cuddle, like just down under a cover. Like I was my intuition saying, this is not right for me.

[00:36:59] Melodie Dewsbury: This is not for you. Yeah. 

[00:37:01] Marshall Stern: However, what if it's fear? And, and fear is not a fear of your safety –  different. Don't get me on a diving board. 

[00:37:12] Melodie Dewsbury: Diving board, yeah. 

[00:37:13] Marshall Stern: But intuition, fear, what do you think? 

[00:37:15] Melodie Dewsbury: To me that feels different. To me, the fear is like, well, safety, fear, that's another thing. 

[00:37:21] Marshall Stern: Or limiting belief, fear kind of thing. 

[00:37:23] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah.  

[00:37:23] Marshall Stern: Like the job, for example. 

[00:37:24] Melodie Dewsbury: The limiting belief is different. The limiting belief is like, oh, I shouldn't really apply for that one because I'm not qualified. But that's not a gut feeling. 

[00:37:33] Marshall Stern: Okay, 

[00:37:33] Melodie Dewsbury: That's a, okay, I'm going to try to push open that door. For me, it's – there's a huge difference between this is meant for you and, oh, I'm scared of doing this, but it's still meant for me.

[00:37:46] Like, I'll skip that feeling. 

[00:37:48] Gotta speak at an event in a few weeks. And I had that fear, but it was still like, but this is on your list. This is on your Bingo card. This is a, a, what you've wanted since you were young, so do it. Right. That is a totally different feeling for me. 

[00:38:06] Marshall Stern: Mm-hmm. 

[00:38:07] Melodie Dewsbury: Some people may not be able to differentiate, but that's a good question to ask yourself.

[00:38:10] Is this fear or is this my body telling me like with the inch of my being that this is not meant for me? 

[00:38:17] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:38:18] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:38:19] Marshall Stern: Love it. Yeah. Back to, and, and I think it is easier to distinguish if you really think about it. If you're getting, maybe not. I mean, for myself, if you're getting the ick factor. Might be the right thing.

[00:38:31] And also, like even my client, I, I always say, ask yourself, is it in line with your values? Is it in line with where, who you are and where you want to go? 

[00:38:40] Melodie Dewsbury: Exactly. 

[00:38:41] Marshall Stern: As long as it's not limiting beliefs holding you back. So you can even ask the question, is this just a limiting belief? 

[00:38:45] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. Yeah. 

[00:38:47] Marshall Stern: Wow.

[00:38:48] Melodie Dewsbury: This is very therapeutic.

[00:38:49] Marshall Stern: That'll be $299. You could just etransfer the – but that, honestly, that is a big thing. People are always like, do I? Before we go, I know there are a lot of people out there and yes, the economy and this and, and whatnot, but even like in Facebook groups that I run, more and more in the past year, I've seen a lot of people posting.

[00:39:04] I'm thinking of giving up and, and getting a job. 

[00:39:07] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:39:08] Marshall Stern: Okay. That part like, at a point, and we're not, we obviously we're not, we're not going to go on about that today. We've covered a little bits of it. Because there is, people do need to make a living. 

[00:39:18] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:39:19] Marshall Stern: But I guess from everything you've said with what we talked about is if something's not working , change what you're doing. 

[00:39:26] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. Yeah. be – it is such a small tweak too. Like I'm working with one client and I was like, your messaging is a little bit off, like just this one. Just make a tweak. And she was like, I have three clients last week. Like it, you know, in your personal life and professional life too, like not getting clients.

[00:39:42] Marshall Stern: Yeah. 

[00:39:42] Melodie Dewsbury: Take a step back. What could you be doing differently? What needs to change to get these people in the door with you? 

[00:39:49] Marshall Stern: Well, and yeah, exactly. Are you being consistent? Like a lot of people, especially, like, with, with agencies and I've worked with them before, like clients and I've worked with them myself, and one of the biggest things I hear from them is.

[00:40:02] After two months, a client will come to them and want to cancel because it's not working. They have a Meta, you know, or a Meta campaign going. And after six weeks it's not working well, it's not now. It takes time. You have to be consistent. You have to push through. Now, maybe the messaging needs to be tweaked.

[00:40:20] That's up to you people. But you have to give it time, and you have to be consistent. 

[00:40:26] Melodie Dewsbury: You have to give it time and then you also have to look, okay, I've given it this much time. Like, I spoke with someone recently and they hadn't had a client in, like – how are they doing business, not one client. And I said, are you sure people actually want what you're offering?

[00:40:38] Where's the proof? Like, where's – that gave them some things to think about and, and should probably check in and see how they're doing. But, like, even go back to the basics like. If you’re not making progress, what is it that has to change? Because it might not even be, like, your consistent, like you're, maybe you're consistent, but like people are like, I don't want that.

[00:40:59] I don't need that. 

[00:41:00] Marshall Stern: Well, yes, and, and, and assume, and I shouldn't, that we're talking about people who have a product or service that, that is desirable. 

[00:41:07] Melodie Dewsbury: Yes. 

[00:41:08] Marshall Stern: Okay. There needs to be a need for it. Because if there's not, like, if, if you're, you know, an example like in Scottsdale, Arizona and you're selling rain gear. You're wondering why it's not selling? I just don't get it. 

[00:41:20] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:41:20] Marshall Stern: Well, hello. 

[00:41:22] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah. 

[00:41:23] Marshall Stern: One day a year, right? Or two days, whatever it is. I was going to say umbrellas, but then someone said to me, I use that analogy, they go, no, a lot of people actually have umbrellas because it's so hot to cover. 

[00:41:33] Melodie Dewsbury: For the sun. Yeah. We don't have here, we don't – 

[00:41:35] Marshall Stern: Not that problem.

[00:41:35] We have umbrellas for a reason. It's not for the sun. Okay. This has been amazing. Okay. If people want to get in touch with you. I'll put your stuff in their show notes, but what's the easiest way to connect? 

[00:41:45] Melodie Dewsbury: You can connect with me on Instagram, the Paper Fox Collective. It's the Paper Fox collective.com.

[00:41:51] I'm on Facebook. Melodie A. Dee. 

[00:41:53] Marshall Stern: Melodie A. Dee. 

[00:41:54] Melodie Dewsbury: Yeah, 

[00:41:54] Marshall Stern: Melodie A. Dee. I know, I got to – everyone, I'll put all the details in the show notes. 

[00:41:59] Melodie Dewsbury: Awesome. Thank you for this. This was great. 

[00:42:01] Marshall Stern: No, this is awesome. So you hang tight, you stay right where you are, not you people, you Melodie A. Dee. Alright. We're going to have to have you back because I think there's so much that you shared here on just the deeper stuff, right?

[00:42:14] And that people don't really think about, especially business owners. We're all just, get clients service, do the work and there's so much more involved than just that. There's the inside stuff. 

[00:42:24] Melodie Dewsbury: So much. I’ll come back. 

[00:42:27] Marshall Stern: Thank you and thank all of you. Okay, so I want feedback. You guys are quiet out there. I know it's a podcast.

[00:42:33] If you're watching YouTube, comment – and don't comment like, oh, I could help you rank higher on YouTube and reach out to me. Comment, like, what your biggest insights are. Give us a five star Google review. Actually, you can do that too. Give us a five star podcast review so other people can see this podcast and get so many insights that Melodie D has given you today.

[00:42:56] And we'll see you all again next week on another episode of the Stern Truth Business Unfiltered.

[00:43:05] Thank you so much for tuning in to the Stern Truth. If you found today's episode helpful, we would love to hear from you. Please like, share, and leave us a review. Also, if you'd like to be a guest in an upcoming episode or join us in one of our Moment Accountability Group sessions, simply email me to marshall@marshallstern.net. 

[00:43:24] That's marshall@marshallstern.net. And don't forget to hit the subscribe button so you never miss an episode. Until next time, keep pushing forward and leading with confidence.