Navigating Entrepreneurship with Ashley Menzies Babatunde

[00:00:00] Emily Thompson: Hey boss, Emily here with a little ask for you. It's time for our annual audience survey. If you're listening to this, I want to hear from you taking the survey only takes a few minutes and it helps us understand what type of support you need from this show. Tell us more about yourself and you better bet

[00:00:16] I read every single one to help us shape a whole year of content at beingboss.club/survey. Welcome to Being Boss, a podcast for creatives, business owners and entrepreneurs who want to take control over their work and live life on their own terms. I'm your host, Emily Thompson. And in this episode, recorded live in front of an audience of I R L human beings.

[00:00:40] I am interviewing Ashley Menzies Babatunde, a lawyer on sabbatical to pursue her podcasting dreams about how to embrace the not straight path of entrepre. In order to fuel your future, you can find all the tools, books, and links. We reference on the show notes at www.beingboss.club. And if you like this episode, be sure to subscribe to this show and share us with a friend.

[00:01:07] Navigating the blend of work in life is a big one for business owners and entrepreneurs. And if you feel yourself stumbling through that dance, or just looking for inspiration, then I have a podcast recommendation for. Work at life, hosted by Sanja Licina and Maddie Grant brought to you by the HubSpot podcast network. In this podcast, Sanja and Maddie explore the gray areas between work and life.

[00:01:30] As they share data on relevant topics, around workplace engagement and culture. One recent episode titled how to be optimistic when the world around you isn't discusses the simple and complex things you can do to keep your head up when the world feels dark. Check them out and listen to work at life wherever you get your podcast.

[00:01:56] Hello, everyone. Welcome to this live recording of the Being Boss podcast for anyone who's listening live, thank you for coming to hang out with us. If you are listening to this recording at home or on your drive or on your walk later, we are sitting in front of a live audience in this massive, insane room that I just

[00:02:21] I haven't even been to all the corners of it yet. We are live at Inbound 2022 powered by HubSpot. This has been such a fun couple of days. We've met so many fun people. And in this interview today, I am sitting on stage with Ashley Menzies Babatunde. Also part of the HubSpot podcast network, to have a fun conversation about entrepreneurship.

[00:02:46] How are you doing you ready for this?

[00:02:48] Ashley Babatunde: I'm excited. Thank you so much for having me.

[00:02:50] Emily Thompson: Of course, I am so excited to have this chat, Ashley and I have had a couple of chats previously. So what you're gonna see today is a bit of a continuation of a conversation that we've been having. We've been connecting with each other and learning more about each other's paths, which will be a common theme that we talk about

[00:03:08] together today. We are here to talk specifically about navigating the path of entrepreneurship. Which you'll find is not always a straight line, and we're gonna be diving into that to hopefully assist anyone in here who sees themselves as an entrepreneur to get into a good vibe for making what you want to happen.

[00:03:32] Happen. If you don't already know me, if you were, if you've never listened to the Being Boss podcast before, my name is Emily Thompson. I launched the Being Boss podcast in 2015. I have worked with creative entrepreneurs and business owners for over 10 years, helping them make money doing work they love it's work that I'm very passionate about.

[00:03:51] I'm also a business owner. I own a retail store in Chattanooga, Tennessee business ownership and entrepreneurship is something that I [00:04:00] love doing and talking about. So we'll be able to dive into some really fun stuff today. I do have a little poll to get us started. If we may, I'd love to see a raise of hands.

[00:04:12] If you connect with any of these first, do we have any aspiring entrepreneurs in the crowd? So maybe you haven't made the move yet. Perfect. There's a couple of you. Glad to see it. Welcome. Sorry not sorry, is, is gonna be a fun ride. Second, are you a new entrepreneur? So maybe you're like a year or two into it.

[00:04:32] You've made the leap, you're doing the thing. Okay. Also a couple in the crowd, welcome hope you're feeling good about it. And third seasoned entrepreneur, someone who's been into it for several years. You are really doing the thing and you're not going anywhere. Nice. I feel like there's more of you in the crowd.

[00:04:52] Congratulations. You've really stuck it out for better or worse. Perfect. That gives me some great context to really move into this conversation. And I hope we head on a couple of things for everyone in the crowd to assist you in making the most out of this crazy journey that we choose for ourselves. So Ashley, we're gonna start with you.

[00:05:15] I really wanna gain some context as to how you found yourself, where you are. So if you don't mind share your background, how did you get to where you are today?

[00:05:24] Ashley Babatunde: Absolutely. So I love to start with the fact that I'm a human cuz. I love to center our humanity in our career story. So I'm a human, I'm a storyteller.

[00:05:34] I am a black woman, so of black American and Guyanese descent. My grandparents came from Guyana to the states in the 1940s on my father's side. And on my mother's side, my great grandparents, they came from, they were in Arkansas. So the south Arkansas and Mississippi, and during the great migration moved to Los Angeles, that's where my parents met.

[00:05:57] They had little meets I'm born and raised in LA. I am an attorney and I am also a wife, a friend, a lover of champagne and babies. Uh and probably the most relevant title is that I am a podcast host and creator. And I think, I would say probably accidental entrepreneur would be the word. But yes, I have a podcast called no straight path and it's a part of the HubSpot podcast network, super excited.

[00:06:25] And we look at the human stories behind success and the way that I got here on this stage with you today, and it's so funny, cuz you asked me, you're like, what do you, did you think you'd be here a year ago? And I said, no. So I had to just take that in and be open to opportunities. But the inspiration for the podcast goes

[00:06:47] ways. So basically I was always in really overachieving spaces. I had gone to Stanford for undergrad, Harvard for law school, very competitive, and we always defined ourselves or at least the environment, it created an environment where we would define ourselves by the work we put out. And by the things we achieved.

[00:07:07] And so I thought my journey was going to be a straight path because for much of my life, it was let work hard, get this grade, get to this school and it was straight until it wasn't. And so my first big setback was the California bar exam. I had worked really hard. I failed the exam and it was really challenging.

[00:07:28] A lot of anxiety, depression. I just never really failed in life before. And so I remember that time felt very lonely. And so when I decided to, I knew that when I passed the exam, I was going to share my story. And so I did, I wrote a blog post in 2018 sharing my story and it resonated with so many people.

[00:07:48] And so I realized that there was a gap in the market when it came to these stories. And so I thought I'm gonna put out a podcast and I'm going to not only focus on the setbacks, but talk about the pivots. Talk about the human moments, the doubts, everything that we don't talk. And so no straight path was born earlier this year.

[00:08:09] And fortunately, a friend of mine sent my trailer to the HubSpot podcast network and I got invited to join. And so now I here with you, Emily Thompson on Being Boss, sharing my story. And it's been so incredible.

[00:08:23] Emily Thompson: Wild ride.

[00:08:24] How many of you think of your own path as a wild ride? Like at this? Because like, Hand all the way up for sure.

[00:08:32] And I also, another little poll, how many of you are also accidental entrepreneurs, right? You just sort of stumble into this path for better or worse. And I often find that I often find that those accidentals, they either like hold a grudge over the fact that they're like being forced to do this thing, even though they feel empowered in it and they're doing the thing, there's always like this, but like I had to do this.

[00:08:55] I had no other. Or it sounds like you took an alternate route where you really embraced it. You mentioned staying open to the opportunities and just sort of showing up and doing things. I often, relate this to, like, I'm just writing the wave. Like I'm not doing it. I show up and I do the work and I, will hustle the things out and I will stop to rest and all of the things, but I'm just riding the wave and so accidental or not grudging begrudgingly or embracing it.

[00:09:24] Entrepreneurship is a wild. It is. I love it. Okay, perfect. Then let's dive into, oh, actually, hold on. Hold on. You're also on sabbatical.

[00:09:34] Ashley Babatunde: Oh yes. Can we talk about that a little bit? Absolutely. Yes. So I was working on the podcast while practicing law. So I do white collar investigations at a big law firm. And so it was challenging to say the least to put out weekly content and also.

[00:09:52] Practice law. And so, because it's, getting started, there's just a lot of groundwork when it comes to a podcast, I talked to my firm and instead of advocating for a client, I advocated for myself. So I like went and talked to all the different attorneys at the firm that might have some insight.

[00:10:06] And then I pitched it to leadership. And I explained to them this important opportunity that I really wanna take. I'm passionate about it. And they all said, oh, we hear the passion in your voice, go for it. We'll support your sabbatical. So I have been on sabbatical for about a month and I am a full-time podcast, host creator, learning about marketing and everything right now.

[00:10:25] So it's been a month of doing that.

[00:10:27] Emily Thompson: Talk about jumping into the thing, right? Again, you have to ride the wave. What wherever is going take you and make room for you to embrace the opportunities as it comes, comes along. I also think it's really interesting that you were investigat. White collar crimes. Is that what you just said?

[00:10:43] Yes. Yeah. And you chose to do a podcast yeah, I know that sounds incredibly interest, but like I also, I get it. I get that. When you get these callings, you just have to drop all of the things. And ride the wave.

[00:10:58] Ashley Babatunde: Yeah. And what's interesting too, though, there actually is some overlap, right? So I do white collar investigations.

[00:11:04] So I am doing a lot of fact development. I do a lot of witness interviews, so I'm interviewing people and might not be in the most, comfortable setting. little bit more intense trying to get certain information, but there's a lot of the skillsets definitely.

[00:11:21] Emily Thompson: Yeah, I would say, and I, that interviewing these that is quite the switch.

[00:11:26] You have great skills, but can do it in a much more comfortable and pleasant environment.

[00:11:31] Ashley Babatunde: Yeah. And more aligned with who I am. I would say, even as an attorney, they're always like, you're such a nice attorney. I'm like, thank you guys.

[00:11:38] Emily Thompson: okay. Well, I feel like we're gonna be talking about some more alignment a minute, but let's, let's dive into a bit more of the meat of this because I really wanna get into.

[00:11:48] These windy paths and, and help some folks find some, some ease moving forward at Being Boss, we have a, a whole community of creative business owners. And every time we show up to any of our live events and we're hosting events, all week we do virtual coworkings, we do all kinds of things. So I'm, I'm on screen or in physical space with creative entrepreneurs and business owners all the time.

[00:12:12] And we're always, talking. We take quite a holistic approach to entrepreneurship. We're often talking about, intentions and making sure that we are aligning with our values and those sorts of things. And we're often asking, what do you wanna get out of the session today? What, how do you wanna feel when you leave this space?

[00:12:32] Ease is something that entrepreneur ease and clarity. Those are, if I were to like make a t-shirt of the most important things to entrepreneurs, at least into my space, it's ease and clarity. So I love that you just brought that one up as well, because I do think that's something that we are all searching in some capacity or another, but oftentimes when we are navigating these really windy paths of entrepre.

[00:12:57] We stand in our way a lot. There's lots of expectations. And there's lots of people, nagging you that you should be using that degree that you have, or why would you quit this great job to go pursue this sort of side project or this weird idea that you have, whatever it may be. There's a lot that can come up whenever you leave your straight path.

[00:13:17] And embrace the windy one at Being Boss. I have done hundreds of episodes, interviewed hundreds of really amazing entrepreneurs and, and artists and creatives, and almost every single one of them over the years has shared their story. And it's never a straight line. And we're talking about people like Lisa con.

[00:13:39] Or Melissa urban and Brene brown. These people have amazingly windy journeys where they started doing what was expected of them and ended up doing something completely different with about 18 stops. In between. And so I've learned the importance of really diving into and, and riding the wave of the windy path of entrepreneurship.

[00:14:03] It's something that we've been uncovering over the years at Being Boss on the show, but you have literally created your entire show. Around this topic of windy paths of, of not taking the straight path. So I'm wondering from you as you've dove into these interviews with all of these people, why do you think that sharing the not straight journeys is important.

[00:14:26] Ashley Babatunde: I think it's important because you wanna help people feel less alone. I think that when you are taking the straight path and still, I really don't think anyone's journey is straight, but especially the entrepreneurial one, you can feel really lonely. And I think. Storytelling is such an important vehicle to help people get going and continue to go on their journey.

[00:14:49] So I think when it just comes to helping people feel less alone, I think that's really important inspiration. I don't think we realize how important storytelling is. I just, it is like it is life changing. When you can just see that someone else has done the thing that you're trying to. It's so inspirational.

[00:15:05] So I think that's number one. I think the other thing the outside looking in is also empathy, right? So for the other people who are perhaps not taking this windy path, if they understand the human side and the ups and downs and the struggle that a person is going through, then we can create more empathy in this world.

[00:15:25] And I know it sounds really corny, but I think we can make the world a better place. I really do. And I think sharing our stories opens. And so I think that's why we do it. That's why we have these conversations on no straight path. And then you also see the commonalities in all of our journeys. So on my podcast, we talk to lots of entrepreneurs, but we also talk to like the doctors and the lawyers and the athletes and the create content creators, everyone, and you see the commonalities, which brings us all together.

[00:15:55] So, yeah.

[00:15:57] Emily Thompson: And one of the things that I find in this as well is that for you to get to the level of impact and, necessary effort to grow amazing organizations. And when I say amazing, I don't mean necessarily large. So if anyone here is a solo entrepreneur or, you own a micro business or whatever it may be, it's about the impact, not the size whenever you are doing that.

[00:16:26] When you aspire to create that kind of impact. Oftentimes you need more out of your experience to get there than just the degree that will obviously equate to, you being able to create the solution. You need to go out and try lots of different things and pick up a myriad of skill sets in order to really show up, to create the kinds of organizations that will have the kind of impact that you most

[00:16:55] want to make. Yeah. So it's necessary. It is. It's necessary. I also love that you are talking about this almost like relatability, right. Of, of, sharing the stories. You're able to relate more easily. I wanna go back to that piece about people being a little, having a bit of a grudge on their path.

[00:17:18] Maybe you are using a degree that you paid for or you're not using the degree that you paid for, or you spend a lot of time in that job that wrecked you or whatever it may be when you can release those and really see how the skills that you picked up in those spaces have added tools to your tool belt to get you to the place.

[00:17:41] It's really important. And so whenever you're sharing stories like you do about people who are experiencing these really windy paths, it's easy to see the necessity of those windy paths and you getting to where you are.

[00:17:55] Ashley Babatunde: I totally agree. I really don't think there are any mistakes [00:18:00] in our journeys.

[00:18:01] Like everything that, I have took this straight path and I, now I'm making this pivot and I'm seeing how the skill sets translate, how even some of the more intangible things, just like the work ethic and the resilience and the grit, all of that. I built going through my journey as an attorney, and it's certainly something I need on this more entrepreneurial journey.

[00:18:21] So no wasted past experiences.

[00:18:25] Emily Thompson: No, no wasted past. If anyone needs any permission to forgive themselves or others for expectations or maybe decisions that you feel were maybe bad ones, no mistakes. It all adds to the experience that gets you to the level that you want to be, to make the impact that you most want to make.

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[00:20:29] We've talked about how some people feel a little bit of shame around their paths. Other people embrace it. I think at some point along your journey, you sort of make that switch. I remember for me, I don't use my degree. So I talk about it often. Not technically though, once it's in there, it adds the skill set.

[00:20:49] Right. I was a little annoyed about those due loan payments until they were gone. And I was like, no, now I can actually legitimately enjoy that experience. And so there's switches that happen along the way that help you to embrace your path significantly easier as you go along. In your experience, having all of these conversations, though, why do you think that we need to do the work to embrace all of those experiences?

[00:21:18] No matter like how difficult or traumatizing or seemingly useless they are, why should people work to embrace them? And do you have any mindset shifts or any, any ways people can think about those things, to help them make that switch?

[00:21:35] Ashley Babatunde: Yeah. So I think it's good to embrace them just because you need to embrace your whole journey.

[00:21:39] Right. That's gonna help you build the confidence to continue to move forward. I know it's a pretty like short and simple answer, but that's really how I feel like looking back. Can just kind of hold you back is what I would say. I think the mindset shift that's really helpful and it's been helpful for me now that I'm entering this new space is to be a lifelong learner.

[00:22:00] If you're entering the journey and we've discussed this actually a bit on my podcast about curiosity. So, if you're looking at your journey, as I need to achieve this next goal, I need this next, this venture to be successful. That's great. Have goals is so important. I'm all about goals. I have lots of them, but I think if you have the mindset shift where you're just going in.

[00:22:24] With the thought that I just want to learn, I want to grow. I want to get better. Then there's a difference between that curiosity and then like that expectation that you might have when you, when it might not work out the exact way that you want it to. And that helps you just move forward. So I think that's a big mindset shift and that's something you've helped me with.

[00:22:45] So thank you.

[00:22:46] Emily Thompson: Well, curiosity is a really big one. You're welcome. I'm here to encourage everyone to be curious about everything always, because I think that's one of the, one of the most important tools that we have to put in our tool belts. If anyone was here for my session yesterday with, John Lee Dumas from entrepreneur on fire, you heard me mention test and change.

[00:23:08] Right. There's this, I say it on the podcast all the time. It's something that we've adopted very much so in both of the organizations that I run, this idea of testing and changing does a couple of really important things and entrepreneurs in general, actually, how many of you identify with being Type A, slightly control freaks?

[00:23:26] Couple. Yeah, same. , it's quite, quite, normal in this crowd to have a lot of those. If you are one of those and you feel the need to control all the things around you, I encourage you to consider adopting this idea of testing and changing as much as you possibly can. One of the really important pieces of this is that you are going at everything incredibly experimentally.

[00:23:53] Right. No expectations. Actually, this has become a personal mantra of mine. No expectations, none. I'm I'm writing the wave. I'm here to see what happens, embrace the opportunities, all of the things. And the idea of going into anything with a test and change mindset is you release the expectations.

[00:24:08] You're just here for fun. You're here to be curious to try the things and everything is incredibly experimental. And I do this across the board and the team, or my teams are on board with this as well of maybe it's a marketing tactic. Let's just test it and see what happens. We're gonna review it in a couple of weeks.

[00:24:26] And if we like it, we keep going. If we don't we'll change it or you can totally scrap it, you can do this with, Literally anything in your business, anything in your business, anything that's like going on in your head, whatever it may be, test and change that mindset switch or that like way of going about the world opens you up to explore things you're curious about it helps you release expectations and it assists you in having a lot more fun in what you do.

[00:24:55] Are you gonna fail more along the way, but. Absolutely, but it's not a failure. If you go into it with no expectations, it makes everything significantly more fun. And I think you find the unusual solutions that no one's offering you in a blueprint, right? You're finding them for yourselves. You're having fun along the way.

[00:25:17] I think it's a really great practice, especially for you super type a. Who need it. When you are making plans, making decisions, go at, go at it with a test and change mindset. And I think you'll find some good things come out of it along the way.

[00:25:31] Ashley Babatunde: I love that. I need it. And it's been it, it works. Yeah, it really does.

[00:25:34] It really does.

[00:25:35] Emily Thompson: It does. I have built two organizations where we are testing and changing all the things. All the time. It also releases that really hard place that we can get into, especially as people at the top of our organizations where you think or Type A's, where you think that when you make this decision, it's the last time you'll ever get to make this decision.

[00:25:57] This decision is final. This is it. It either succeeds or it fails. If you're testing and changing, you're gonna make this decision 15 more times in the future. So this one kind of doesn't matter. It's just a fun mindset switch that I think can really get you to fun places. I love it. Right. Cause I don't know about you guys.

[00:26:13] I'm here to have fun. Yes. Right. Even though entrepreneurship show can be very serious. We're doing lots of important things. I'm also here to have fun doing the thing that I'm doing. And if you go at things a little more experimentally, you go on a Wilder ride for sure. But it's a lot more fun. Does that freak anybody out?

[00:26:32] Did I just freak anybody? Little show of hands? Okay. Couple of you. love it. Love it. Okay. Perfect. All right. The next question for you. What's one action that everyone listening to this either live or just the recording later can take to make the most of their journey for fueling their future.

[00:26:56] Ashley Babatunde: Absolutely.

[00:26:57] So, one thing that I've done recently is defining my why, because this is a hard journey. It's a fun journey. It's an exciting journey, but it's also really challenging. And so when you can articulate why you're doing this, actually write it down and on the hard days, go back to it. I think that's going to really help fuel your future for your journey and help you keep going.

[00:27:21] So. For my circumstances in particular, my why is centering humanity when it comes to careers and corporate spaces. So I do that on my podcast and I'm doing it also at my firm as an attorney, trying to make sure that we put the human-centered work there. And I think when I'm having a hard time, like, why am I doing this?

[00:27:42] Okay. And so I articulate that. And then I also think. There's layers to the why. Right? So some entrepreneurs it's like, I like the lifestyle. I wanna be the boss. We talk about this as well. Talked about it as well, where, I don't like Emily. I don't really like being told what to do. I do it if I have to, but my whole life I've been like that.

[00:28:02] My I'm an only child. My parents. Yeah, you don't like when we tell you what to do, I'm like, yeah, cuz I know what I'm doing guys, but not always, but I was pretty confident and I, some people are committed to the lifestyle, so that's the lie. And there's a, there's a lot of why. So mine is that I think the lifestyle as well of just being in control of my journey and my mission.

[00:28:20] So I wrote that down as well. And I also think my particular position, the. Being inspirational to others, like as a black woman in my position, not everybody gets this opportunity. And so sometimes I just think of like the little girls that I might see that come up to me and who are, inspired by the work that I'm doing.

[00:28:39] So define your, why, write it down, go back to it. When times are getting tough, cuz it'll help you get to the next day and get to the next step.

[00:28:49] Emily Thompson: Love it going at the why at, at Being Boss, we call this your inner mission. It can be your why. I think a very important part of this too, that I even wanna like pluck out because I feel like this can even make it a little more concise and maybe easy to remember is defining your personal values.

[00:29:07] We define business values. I mean, that's like part of the branding process, you show up, you do it, it informs it should be informing everything that you're doing in your business, but do you know what your personal values are? Like? What do you hold super true to yourself? What is those driving decisions that you're making unconsciously?

[00:29:26] If you don't know what they are, I find that if you can define your values, We actually have some support on this at Being Boss, beingboss.club/values. There's a couple of podcast episodes about it. We even have a quiz if you wanna fast track it. But I don't actually rec step number one is the quiz.

[00:29:45] Step number two is really finding them for yourself. Fast tracking is not recommended when it comes, defining your values. If you can really pinpoint what's important to you. I think it's really easy to look back at your journey, especially any parts of your journey that have been difficult, or you have a hard time sort of coming to terms with professionally or personally, and you can see how they've either played into your values, how they were important for you to cultivate those values for yourself or how getting out of those.

[00:30:15] Situations, we're fed by you showing up and being who you are based on these values that you are making decisions around unconsciously, even if you haven't really pinpointed them for yourself. So, absolutely yes. To your why, but like a little nugget of this is also your personal values. It's really important.

[00:30:35] Do you know what your song.

[00:30:37] Ashley Babatunde: I was just actually gonna ask you the same thing I was gonna turn around, but it's okay.

[00:30:42] Yeah. I mean, I think there's an overlap right with that when it comes to my personal values, I think, I mean, something that's really important to me and we talk about it on the show is integrity.

[00:30:53] Right? I think that's really important. I think being human centered and people centered is also super important to me. So when it comes to the people that I always work with, I wanna know who they are, why what's their why specifically, and then about the work and how like their, why informs the work that they do.

[00:31:36] So I always wanna like check in on people that's really important to me. And I think also another there's a lot of values. Okay. How much time do we have are we got time? All right. Another thing too, is just the diversity and inclusion part of that. I think as just in every space I've been in, I'm usually one of the only black women there.

[00:32:01] And so I think I really try to make sure that I mentor people that I talk about my experiences, that I'm open, that I call things out if they need to be called out. And then I'm brave in that way. So I think those are three values I've got, that's beautiful. And my family for forgot about my family. Oh, I'm so terrible.

[00:32:20] I'm so sorry, parents and my husband and my whole we're so close. My family's probably like the most important thing I should say that. They've been so supportive my entire life. So you can put them back up at number one. Okay.

[00:32:32] Emily Thompson: That's fine. Yeah, that's fine. Perfect. Okay. I have like, I have three that I like pinpoint really dig into anytime I'm making decisions.

[00:32:40] And that's another really great thing about values. Both for your business or personally is once you know them, once you can just like pull them out of your hat, whatever. Out of your tool belt, we'll use the same metaphor. It's really easy for you to make decisions. Entrepreneurs often really struggle with taking in the right opportunities that come to them saying no to the things they should not be doing.

[00:33:02] I find that if you are making decisions through the lens of your personal values, as well as your business values, it actually becomes really. To say no to the opportunities that are not for you, which then puts you on the path, right. That is more, beneficial to you than you just saying yes to everything that comes along.

[00:33:20] So I have three, one of minus freedom, which entrepreneurs usually share that one. It's something that as I look back at my life and the decisions that I've made freedom has been a common thread throughout most of the decisions that I have made. It's how it is that I show up. It's also how it is that I build a team.

[00:33:37] All of those things, it really informs a lot that I do. Another one is adventure. I'm down to have fun. Are you guys seeing the threads here? I'm down to do crazy things. Let's go try something. Interesting. Let's go on an adventure. I love to travel whenever again, I think back at the things that I've done, also, my degree is geography.

[00:33:57] So see, see how it sort of starts making a little bit more sense. Adventure is something that is incredibly important to me, both like really small scale things, but also when looking at the bigger sort of waves in my life, and the decisions that I've made in my career, it all makes sense and really does inform how it is that I show up in the future.

[00:34:14] Third one is creativity. There are a few things that will make me geek out more than little creative details or someone who is showing up to really express themselves in their creativity or creatively. It's how it is that, I show up, it's obviously the people that my podcast is for the people that I'm helping are creative entrepreneurs and business owners.

[00:34:37] So these people are interior designers. They're artists. They're doing really interesting things in their lives. Also family now that you said that for sure. But if I were to look at my three, like really driving sort of mindsets or values, it's those three things. And because of it, it's easy for me to look back at my past and really sort of, Not come to terms with it, but really just like, let go of any sort of shame, guilt or anxiety have around the things that I've done or the decisions that I've made or things that have happened in my life and specifically in my career and move forward.

[00:35:12] It also makes it easier to pivot or make the leap. So let's say you're at a point in your entrepreneurial journey where you have to make a decision to offer something new or to leap into something else. Whatever it may be. A lot of anxiety can come with that, especially if you have put a lot of energy into the thing, but if you start making decisions through the lens of your values, it becomes significantly easier for you to get over the rumbling in your head, and make the moves that you need to make to move forward.

[00:35:41] Ashley Babatunde: I love that. I'm gonna take your quiz. Now I'm gonna report back. I'm gonna take the quiz. I'm just gonna go back and define my values a little bit more succinctly, and I think that'll help.

[00:35:50] Emily Thompson: Love it. And if anyone is here's all that and you're like, okay, I need to figure this out for myself beingboss.club/values, some really good stuff there to help you along.

[00:35:58] Okay. One action. Was that my action? I just like went off the floors. Yeah. Oh, I, I do have an action. Here is my action for every other than that one. Without piggybacking on this one. I also think that self-awareness is an important part of everything. Obviously, I feel like so many people have been becoming more self-aware over the past couple of years, we just spent two years sitting at home with ourselves.

[00:36:24] So. You've either been looking at yourself in the mirror or you've been ignoring yourself one way or the other. I think one really great practice in self-awareness if you are, sitting in this space and, maybe you've even pinpointed the thing, the, the decision that you have made in your professional career one way or the other that you just don't feel good about.

[00:36:45] Like, what is that thing? Did you leave a job? Did you take a job? Did you say something to a, a coworker or did you have, were you in a position where someone was saying something to you and you feel guilty or shame around it? Did you make the wrong leap? Did you hire the wrong person? Whatever it may be.[00:37:00]

[00:37:00] Pinpoint the one that's niggling at you because there's probably one in your head and see if you can't reframe it for yourself. See if you can't find the silver lining or see how it added something to your journey, see how you learn something from it and then put it to bed. Let it go. Because as entrepreneurs, you have more important things to worry about now, then looking back at that, that moment, big or small and worrying about it, any.

[00:37:26] I love that.

[00:37:27] Ashley Babatunde: I love that on my show. I always start with this because I've noticed that the most fulfilled, happiest, successful people, they are self aware. It's like, it's the thing that I it's like the common thread. And so the question that I love to ask people is I like for them to go back to their childhood and talk to me about it, talk to me about the childhood characteristics and attributes that people use to describe them.

[00:37:55] What did they like to do? Talk about your personality, how were you as a kid? And then see if it shows up in the work that you're doing today, because I've noticed that it does with so many people. And even as an example, we had one, person on my show. I'm not sure if you guys are familiar with the show C CWS All-American Spencer pacing, or he's the producer of that show, a friend of mine from high school.

[00:38:19] And so football was always a thing, loved sports, but he also really loved writing and storytelling. And he said that early. When in, in our conversation. And so when he made that pivot from NFL football player to writer and producer, we went back, we were like, wait, remember when you told me when you were eight years old and you were writing these stories and he's like, wait.

[00:38:39] Yeah, you're right. And so we I've been able to do that with so many of my guests, including myself. And I feel like that's a really good exercise for your self awareness journey.

[00:38:50] Emily Thompson: Oh, I also think this could be really powerful in the event that you feel like you're not where you're supposed to. Right. Like a good moment of self awareness may help you make the decisions.

[00:39:01] That happened next. Oh, I love that storytelling is important everyone.

[00:39:05] Ashley Babatunde: Yes. Can I, can I, we have more time. Can you add one more thing? Yeah. Okay. So also when it came to my pivot, I actually had to do the same thing. So I am in a very risk averse environment, as an attorney and because I also assess risk, that was also a heightened environment for me, but it actually wasn't.

[00:39:24] With my personality and because I was a part of a certain environment, oh, I can't take, I can't take the sabbatical. I, I can't ask. I don't think they'll say yes. And then I had to go back to myself and say like, what would childhood Ashley do? And childhood Ashley was all about calculated risk. So I wasn't like this risk taker without a plant, but I was like a prac, someone who practiced and prepared and thought about every scenario.

[00:39:47] And if I felt good about it, I'd take the. And so that's what I did with this pivot, because even at this conference, someone said to me, or a few people, oh, wow. Like you. You were like big law career to do a podcast. And I was like, so I was like, yes, I did. I did. And I'm enjoying it. And I'm here talking to Emily Thompson from Being Boss.

[00:40:06] So it's working out so far, but, yeah. Yeah.

[00:40:09] Emily Thompson: I love how that moment of self-awareness that like checking in with yourself. What would little Ashley do? It really guides you along? And I think often, I mean, anytime I don't care if you're working in corporate, if you are an entrepreneur, like, you're following these expectations along and it is a

[00:40:25] process of stripping them away over the course of however much time you need to do it. That will get you into a place of alignment, which is another thing that you are just talking about here. I love it. Ashley, this has been an absolute treat. I'm so glad that I could have you on my show in this space.

[00:40:43] Thank you all also for joining a couple final questions for you. So don't run away yet. One, where can folks find more about you and your show?

[00:40:52] Ashley Babatunde: Absolutely. So anywhere that you listen to podcasts, so apple podcast, Spotify it's called No Straight Path and just hit that [00:41:00] subscribe button and take a listen. And you can also find me on LinkedIn, Ashley Menzies Babatunde.

[00:41:07] You can find me as well on Instagram, the no straight path Instagram. No underscore straight underscore path and anything on the HubSpots podcast network too. Just go, go to inbound. I'm there.

[00:41:21] Emily Thompson: love it. I'm so glad to have you. If you are listening to the replay of this, you can find all of those links on the show notes at beingboss.club.

[00:41:29] And if anyone here would like to re-listen to this episode, and it's full, post production value, you can find that at beingboss.club as well. And also wherever it is that you listen to podcast. I have my one final question that I ask all guests who come on the show and I never let them prep for it.

[00:41:46] They never know it's coming, which is my favorite. And that is right now what is making you feel most boss?

[00:41:54] Ashley Babatunde: Oh, I mean this, yeah. Speaking at inbound twice, [00:42:00] also come back at 1:00 PM. Everyone for my show. But yeah, I think being here and talking to people like you and just being in this new industry has been so much fun and just diving in and learning.

[00:42:13] So being here right now in this moment at inbound is making me feel like a boss.

[00:42:18] Emily Thompson: Ugh, perfect answer. I will say too. I love that you have made this decision so consciously to make this pivot and do this thing. And I also wanna know a little moment. We had off stage a minute ago where you just looked at me and said, I cannot believe that I'm talent.

[00:42:33] And I was like, of course you are, of course you are. And I also wanna pose this to everyone in the crowd too, because this is a really important sort of self-awareness practice as well of in this moment what's making you feel most boss and there is no like shameful answer. It can be like, I ate a croon this morning for breakfast.

[00:42:51] Sometimes that makes people really boss or whatever it may be. Think about that for yourself. Figure out your values, connect with your inner why, embrace your path so that you are more free to move forward with whatever impact you are trying to build in the world. Thank you guys for being here.

[00:43:09] Ashley Babatunde: Thanks Ashley.

[00:43:10] Thank you so much.

[00:43:15] Emily Thompson: All right boss, because you're here. I know you want to be a better creative business owner, which means I've got something for you. Each week the team at Being Boss is scouring the news the best entrepreneurial publications and updates and releases of the apps and tools that run our businesses and is curating it all into a weekly email that delivers the must know tips and tactics in the realms of mindset, money and productivity.

[00:43:38] This email is called Brewed. We brew it up for you each week to give you the insight you need to make decisions and move forward in your creative business. Check it out now and sign up for yourself at beingboss.club/brewed. That's beingboss.club/B R E W E D. Now until next time, do the work, be boss.[00:44:00]