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Speaker 1: Welcome to my first official bonus episode of twenty twenty six.

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Speaker 2: I don't know about you, but I am.

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Speaker 1: It's going to take me a really long time to

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Speaker 1: get used to saying and also writing twenty twenty six

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Speaker 1: and get out of the habit of writing twenty twenty five,

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Speaker 1: although I will say I'm really glad that it's very

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Speaker 1: easy to turn twenty twenty five into twenty twenty six

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Speaker 1: if you make a mistake. We are back in the

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Speaker 1: studio recording Big Business.

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Speaker 2: We had a little bit of a break.

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Speaker 1: Producer X had a break and we came out with

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Speaker 1: some of our best of episodes. I think there was

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Speaker 1: like three or maybe four of those over the break.

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Speaker 2: Be sure to go to listen to those if you

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Speaker 2: haven't already.

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Speaker 1: We pulled them out of the archives and they are

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Speaker 1: some of the best episodes that we have done across

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Speaker 1: the last couple of years of Big Business. I think

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Speaker 1: we're coming up to our two year anniversary. I don't

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Speaker 1: remember exactly where we started. Maybe it was like May,

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Speaker 1: but we're coming up to two years this year. Also

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Speaker 1: side note, if you can you probably can't. I always

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Speaker 1: say this, but if you can hear some noise in

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Speaker 1: the background. I have decided to record this episode at

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Speaker 1: home while AJ is whipper snipping and muwing out the back,

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Speaker 1: So my apologies if there are any sound effects, But

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Speaker 1: this is just a little bonus to kick off us

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Speaker 1: being back for twenty twenty six. I'm gonna share with

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Speaker 1: you a few thoughts of mine, and I'm also going

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Speaker 1: to be announcing the winner of our twelve Days of

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Speaker 1: Big Business. I apologize that it has taken us so

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Speaker 1: long to get this episode out, but Producer X had

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Speaker 1: a plan and everyone has been dming us over the

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Speaker 1: holidays like who won, and he wanted me to put

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Speaker 1: it in this episode. So I'll keep this one short

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Speaker 1: and sweet, and I'll be letting you know just in

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Speaker 1: a little bit who our lucky winner is. So just

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Speaker 1: for a little recap of my time off over the holidays,

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Speaker 1: AJ and I had two two ish weeks off when

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Speaker 1: most of our HQ staff had their two weeks off,

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Speaker 1: although I will say this year we had quite a

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Speaker 1: lot of staff working across our office and warehouse throughout

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Speaker 1: that two week period, and I've really found as a

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Speaker 1: founder that when you have staff on, it's hard for

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Speaker 1: you to switch off. And I've spoken about this in

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Speaker 1: previous episodes and how I've kind of had to unlearn

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Speaker 1: this mentality. I guess I even remember, and I've said

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Speaker 1: it in episodes before, when we very first opened our

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Speaker 1: first Fate store in twenty nineteen. I remember when I

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Speaker 1: wouldn't work on the weekends, but I knew that our

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Speaker 1: store was open on the weekends. I'd like mentally not

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Speaker 1: be able to switch off from the thought that the

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Speaker 1: store was operating. Obviously, as we've grown and we've opened

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Speaker 1: more stores that are open seven days a week, I

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Speaker 1: very much come to terms with the fact that it's okay,

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Speaker 1: you know, if our stores are open on the weekend

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Speaker 1: and I'm not there. But it feels a little bit

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Speaker 1: different when it's like Christmas Holy time. So we had

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Speaker 1: some like skeleton staff working throughout the two weeks over

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Speaker 1: Christmas and New Years. But I spent that two weeks

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Speaker 1: at home, and I think I probably had like fifty

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Speaker 1: percent off and fifty percent on. But obviously I was

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Speaker 1: just working from home, and I'm not gonna lie. I

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Speaker 1: really struggled this time around last year was the first

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Speaker 1: time that I'd ever stayed home in that two week

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Speaker 1: break since we started Fate.

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Speaker 2: And I feel like last year. I don't know why.

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Speaker 1: Maybe it's because everyone was definitely off for those two

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Speaker 1: weeks and no one was. Oh, I can't remember now,

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Speaker 1: but I remember just feeling a difference like this Christmas

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Speaker 1: gone to the one before, and I kind of really

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Speaker 1: struggled being at home. And the only reason I struggled

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Speaker 1: with it is I struggled with my own thoughts. And

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Speaker 1: I think a lot of other Founders will be able

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Speaker 1: to relate to this. I just find it really difficult

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Speaker 1: to switch off.

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Speaker 2: And I figured, and.

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Speaker 1: Like, I sat with my thoughts a lot over the

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Speaker 1: Christmas period, and I realized the only time I can

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Speaker 1: actually fully switch off is if I go away somewhere

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Speaker 1: and have other things to do. Whereas this time around,

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Speaker 1: I really struggled to switch off completely just with the

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Speaker 1: fact that I was at home. And I don't know

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Speaker 1: if any of you other Founders out there are the same,

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Speaker 1: but it's because I was still, you know, with my

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Speaker 1: phone and with my laptop, and we had a lot

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Speaker 1: of shitty weather, which what a stitch up. Wise, that

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Speaker 1: always the way, like the weather goes bad as soon

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Speaker 1: as it's Christmas. But because I wasn't you know, away

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Speaker 1: on a holiday or whatever. I really find it hard

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Speaker 1: to switch off. So most days I found myself working

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Speaker 1: on my laptop, which I was fine to do, but

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Speaker 1: it just made me realize, I think, just for me personally,

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Speaker 1: if I need to switch off and have time off,

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Speaker 1: I need to go on a holiday, like I need

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Speaker 1: to even just go somewhere away for the weekend or

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Speaker 1: to the Gold Coast or you know, even just like

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Speaker 1: Fiji casually. But I really struggled to switch off. Regardless,

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Speaker 1: we had a nice time off, and obviously now we're

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Speaker 1: back into the swing of things. We are in week

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Speaker 1: three of twenty twenty six for us at Fate. Everyone

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Speaker 1: came back on like the fifth, which feels like five

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Speaker 1: seconds ago and also ages ago, because it's the weeks

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Speaker 1: are just flying, and you know, as soon as I

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Speaker 1: went back to work on the fifth and like everyone

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Speaker 1: came back. This is so like stupid of me to say,

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Speaker 1: but it's like I felt like I had purpose again,

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Speaker 1: like going to work and doing the things and seeing everyone.

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Speaker 2: And I honestly.

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Speaker 1: Feel really grateful to be able to say that, because

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Speaker 1: I know for a lot of people out there, it's like,

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Speaker 1: oh fuck, I don't want to go back to work

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Speaker 1: and they're you know, counting down the day's remaining of

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Speaker 1: holidays until you know the dreaded return to work, whereas

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Speaker 1: I feel the complete opposite. As soon as I was

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Speaker 1: back into work, I felt like I was myself again.

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Speaker 1: I felt like I had purpose, and I just was

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Speaker 1: really reflecting on the fact that I felt that way

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Speaker 1: and thought, Wow, I really bloody love what I do,

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Speaker 1: because it's just been full steam ahead in the last

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Speaker 1: two and a half weeks that we have been back

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Speaker 1: at work. We're working on so many exciting things for

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Speaker 1: Fate this year, and I've just been absolutely loving every

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Speaker 1: minute of being back.

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Speaker 2: Call me a.

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Speaker 1: Weirdo for not absolutely hating work, but I definitely feel

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Speaker 1: so good to be back and so good to be

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Speaker 1: into the thick of it all. Bring it all on

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Speaker 1: for twenty twenty six, is all I can say.

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Speaker 2: Now.

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Speaker 1: I know everyone is waiting for me to announce our

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Speaker 1: winner of the twelve Days of Big Business. Before I

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Speaker 1: get into announcing who it is, I just want to

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Speaker 1: say a very special thank you to everyone who listened

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Speaker 1: to all of our episodes and who put their entries

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Speaker 1: in every day. This was our first time ever doing

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Speaker 1: something like this. We've got to give it to producer

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Speaker 1: x X for putting this whole thing together and it's

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Speaker 1: definitely inspired us and we hope to do many many

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Speaker 1: more competitions like this this year because it's just fun

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Speaker 1: and everyone wins. So without further ado, can I please

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Speaker 1: get a drum roll, Producer X, Our lucky winner for

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Speaker 1: the twelve Days of Big Business twenty twenty five is

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Speaker 1: Kitlyn h from Red Lynch in Queensland. Let's hear it

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Speaker 1: by Caitlyn with more sound effects. This is actually so

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Speaker 1: funny because I'm just sitting here by myself and Xander

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Speaker 1: is not in the room with me, but I'm just

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Speaker 1: hoping he does me justice and puts in the sound effects.

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Speaker 1: Insert fart noise now. So congratulations Caitlin. We will be

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Speaker 1: in touch with you via email, and again, thank you

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Speaker 1: so much to everyone who listened to all of my

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Speaker 1: bonus little episodes. Even if you didn't win, I hope

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Speaker 1: you enjoyed the bite sized episodes. I know for a

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Speaker 1: fact I loved having something going on up every day,

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Speaker 1: and we might need to look into doing this more

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Speaker 1: like little fun things that we can do where I

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Speaker 1: can put out that bite size content because I know

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Speaker 1: everyone loves the long episodes, but sometimes it's good to

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Speaker 1: just have a little, you know, five minute, ten minute

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Speaker 1: episode and more often, I don't know, let me know

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Speaker 1: what you think in the comments if you're still listening,

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Speaker 1: or maybe everyone's dipped off because they're mad that they're

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Speaker 1: not kitlyn Ah. Please don't hate us if you didn't win,

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Speaker 1: But congratulations Caitlin, and thank you to everyone who entered

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Speaker 1: on the Nova win page. Caitlin, Producer X will be

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Speaker 1: in touch with you, and I thought I'm just gonna

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Speaker 1: leave it at that. For this week's bonus, we will

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Speaker 1: keep it short and simple and get excited for everything

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Speaker 1: that we have in store for Big Business in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty six. I'm so excited to see what we do

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Speaker 1: on the pod, and I just love being able to

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Speaker 1: have this platform to talk about business, which I love

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Speaker 1: so much. It's honestly concerning at this point. But that's

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Speaker 1: all from me for today, and we'll be back next

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Speaker 1: week with a Maine