Speaker 1: Welcome to Made by Women, a new podcast by the
Speaker 1: Seneca Women Podcast Network and I Heart Radio. At a
Speaker 1: moment when businesses face some of the biggest challenges in
Speaker 1: recent history, we bring you inspiring stories, practical insights, and
Speaker 1: shared learnings to help you successfully navigate in today's environment.
Speaker 1: Every Thursday, Made by Women will showcase the experiences of
Speaker 1: legendary women, entrepreneurs, fierce up and comers, and everyday women
Speaker 1: who found success their own way. Consider this your real world.
Speaker 1: N b A designed for the new Now. I'm Kim
Speaker 1: Azarelli and thanks so much for joining us today. Shila
Speaker 1: Shepherd is a master of the art of the pivot,
Speaker 1: the co founder of Bow and Arrow Brewing Company. She's
Speaker 1: a Native American from North Dakota who grew up in
Speaker 1: a rural community so small it had no post office
Speaker 1: or gas station. She went on to study economics at
Speaker 1: Stanford University and work in venture capital. Her life took
Speaker 1: a turn when she established her successful brewery and tap
Speaker 1: room no Albuquerque, and then came the pandemic. What do
Speaker 1: you do when a health crisis impacts a business that
Speaker 1: heavily depends on in person customers. If you're Shyla Shepherd,
Speaker 1: you look at the problem and see a brand new
Speaker 1: opportunity to bring your product to fans in new and
Speaker 1: different ways. Listen as Shyla talks about finding new paths,
Speaker 1: drawing strength from your roots, and learning to face the
Speaker 1: storm rather than turning away. Well, Shyla, thanks so much
Speaker 1: for joining us, Thanks for having me. So could you
Speaker 1: tell our listeners a little bit about the company you started,
Speaker 1: what you do, and where you're located. Sure, um So.
Speaker 1: I founded Bowender Brewing Company UM back in two thousand thirteen,
Speaker 1: and we officially opened our doors for business in two
Speaker 1: thousand sixteen February of that year. Um So. We are
Speaker 1: based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We have our brewery and
Speaker 1: on site beer hall here kind of in the heart
Speaker 1: of downtown Albuquerque, and we specialize in wild sour in
Speaker 1: Southwest inspired beers. Very cool. So I'm gonna take you
Speaker 1: a way back. So where did you grow up? I
Speaker 1: grew up in western North Dakota on the Fort berth
Speaker 1: Old Reservation. And how long were you in North Dakota
Speaker 1: for until I left for college? So my whole life
Speaker 1: and my whole family is still there. So that's that's
Speaker 1: my first home. And New Mexico is kind of my
Speaker 1: my second And so you left North Dakota and you
Speaker 1: I understand you went to Stanford. Yeah, I went to
Speaker 1: undergrad there. And how did you decide to go to Stanford?
Speaker 1: And was entrepreneurship always in your in your plans? So? Um?
Speaker 1: So I grew up in a very small rural community.
Speaker 1: I mean North Dakota's general is pretty rural. Um. But
Speaker 1: the community that I grew up in is called Twin
Speaker 1: Buttes and um, it's about two hundred and it was
Speaker 1: less than two hundred and fifty people. Um. And this
Speaker 1: is including people who live like down gravel roads and
Speaker 1: you know, out in the country so to speak. Um.
Speaker 1: And we didn't have a post office or a gas
Speaker 1: station or anything um like that. So, and there wasn't
Speaker 1: a lot of business or enterprise at all in our community.
Speaker 1: So we would travel to the border town for things
Speaker 1: like groceries and gas and a check the mail. Um.
Speaker 1: And I guess having that experience, UM and seeing kind
Speaker 1: of unsuccessful attempts by you know, our our tribe at
Speaker 1: sort of a government run business. UM. I don't know,
Speaker 1: I it really stuck with me and I just really
Speaker 1: wanted to understand why there was such a lack of
Speaker 1: you know, businesses there and examples of it. So when
Speaker 1: I left to Stanford, UM I was found myself in
Speaker 1: the heart of Silicon Valley, and I was really intrigued
Speaker 1: with you know what that was. UM. So I took
Speaker 1: some classes specifically on venture capital and started getting more
Speaker 1: familiar with what it was and how it could be
Speaker 1: UM a powerful source, you know, powerful economic engine to
Speaker 1: speed growth of businesses. UM. So it kind of just
Speaker 1: went back to, like, you know, understanding what those challenges were,
Speaker 1: and you know, realizing that UM a lot of reservations,
Speaker 1: not just my own. There's there's a lack of resources.
Speaker 1: UM there's challenges in terms of access to capital, and
Speaker 1: you know, mentors, people who've been there, done that. Actually,
Speaker 1: my first job out of college was also in venture capital,
Speaker 1: and I was also interested in trying to understand how
Speaker 1: small businesses in particular worked and how they got capitalized.
Speaker 1: But I didn't stick with it as long as you did.
Speaker 1: So what kind of what kind of companies did you
Speaker 1: cover in your VC days? I entered the industry here
Speaker 1: in Albuquerque, so UM I joined a group I learned
Speaker 1: about this sort of subset of venture capital. It's has
Speaker 1: many names. You know. Back in the day, I think
Speaker 1: it was called like Community Development Venture Capital UM, and
Speaker 1: now it's known as like social impact investing. So the
Speaker 1: the organization I joined was just getting off the ground,
Speaker 1: New Mexico Community Capital, which was this community development financial
Speaker 1: institution focused on venture capital. So UM I joined the
Speaker 1: founding team. UM did all sorts of things due diligence
Speaker 1: on companies, deal sourcing, and our initial fund was a
Speaker 1: New Mexico centric fund, so geographically focused on the state
Speaker 1: of New Mexico. UM. So we were kind of we
Speaker 1: took a generalist approach but basically focused on businesses that
Speaker 1: we're meeting basic needs. So UM we invested in clean
Speaker 1: water technology, green building products, UM. Some focused on agricultural
Speaker 1: sector safety and security. So over the course of eight
Speaker 1: and a half years, I had, you know, just an
Speaker 1: amazing UM education kind of across the whole spectrum of
Speaker 1: the space. So you're in the VC world. You, as
Speaker 1: you said, had a great education, You're you're active and
Speaker 1: all a bunch of different kinds of companies, and then
Speaker 1: you decide that you want to start your own brewery.
Speaker 1: How does that happen? Well, it went back, you know,
Speaker 1: growing up where I came from. I was fortunate not
Speaker 1: to have a family or or a mom that was
Speaker 1: like pushing me in any one direction. But she was
Speaker 1: just very supportive of, you know, whatever it was I
Speaker 1: wanted to do UM, and so that was really helpful.
Speaker 1: But you know, I guess looking back, I still felt
Speaker 1: sort of an obligation to do something that was quote
Speaker 1: unquote very like professional and you know, and so you know,
Speaker 1: and I did that. I enjoyed it. I learned a
Speaker 1: lot UM, but I did know that I wanted to
Speaker 1: start something from the ground up, and I didn't know
Speaker 1: exactly what it would be UM, and honestly didn't like
Speaker 1: connect the like passion interest I had in craft beer
Speaker 1: that started back in college to that ultimately, so it
Speaker 1: took some time to figure that out UM. And then
Speaker 1: also in in some of the deals we were doing
Speaker 1: and interested in doing UM with the fund, I definitely
Speaker 1: got sort of tuned into the slow food movement, and
Speaker 1: I eventually was kind of seeing that intersection of you know,
Speaker 1: locally produced craft beer UM, the connections that we as
Speaker 1: breweries can have with the local agricultural community as well,
Speaker 1: and how we can support each other. Um. So it
Speaker 1: all sort of started to come together in my mind.
Speaker 1: And then also, um, just paying attention to the regulatory
Speaker 1: environment alcohol can be really like weird and all over
Speaker 1: the place as far as laws and restrictions from city
Speaker 1: to city, state to state. UM. And I was recognizing
Speaker 1: that here in New Mexico at the time, you know,
Speaker 1: it was pretty craft beer friendly. Um. You could have
Speaker 1: multiple locations where you could serve, you know, your product,
Speaker 1: and have kind of a central production facility. UM. So
Speaker 1: I really was drawn to that because I enjoy curating
Speaker 1: a space and an experience around the product. Um. So
Speaker 1: all of that made a lot of sense um to me.
Speaker 1: But I got my introduction to craft beer and Paulo
Speaker 1: alto Um at the time, there's a Gordon Biersch, and
Speaker 1: that's where I had my first half advice and and
Speaker 1: sort of just got drawn in, and my curiosity kind
Speaker 1: of got the better of me and just kind of
Speaker 1: kept digging deeper and deeper. Um and all the while
Speaker 1: you know, pursuing my professional career. UM. Yeah. And then
Speaker 1: back in probably two thousand twelve is when I was
Speaker 1: like realizing we were at a point in our funds life.
Speaker 1: You know, limited partnership is usually ten years cycles, and
Speaker 1: so we were having discussions of course on fund too
Speaker 1: and what that would look like. And given I was
Speaker 1: involved in some of these conversations with limited partners, I
Speaker 1: just you know, my heart wasn't in it anymore, and
Speaker 1: I was ready to move on and not commit to
Speaker 1: another fund right right, So it kind of it pushed
Speaker 1: me to then take the leap um and go out
Speaker 1: on my own. I was just gonna ask you something
Speaker 1: related to that, which is a lot of people have
Speaker 1: ideas UM, and they even might have a passion, but
Speaker 1: it's really hard to make that leap. Was it hard
Speaker 1: for you to do that? And what were the early
Speaker 1: years like in starting this business. It was scary because I,
Speaker 1: you know, I really enjoyed what I did UM, and
Speaker 1: it was you know, I had the security of my paycheck,
Speaker 1: my compensation, and so it was definitely scary to start
Speaker 1: something from the ground up and walking away from that.
Speaker 1: But again, I just felt like it's now or never,
Speaker 1: and you know, the landscape changes very quickly, and so
Speaker 1: I just felt like the time was of the essence
Speaker 1: and we needed to just focus of my time on it. So, yeah,
Speaker 1: it was definitely scary, but I had, you know, the
Speaker 1: support that the moral support of of my partner and
Speaker 1: now wife, UM, and she was working her way through
Speaker 1: med school in residency and I think at the time
Speaker 1: she had just finished residency, so she was kind of
Speaker 1: on her own track, and so I felt like we
Speaker 1: could take on the financial risk of me quitting my
Speaker 1: job to pursue this. So it was thoughtful and strategic
Speaker 1: about like, you know, the finance side of it is
Speaker 1: a big part for people and can be the gating factor,
Speaker 1: you know. But I dove in and uh and things
Speaker 1: worked out. So yeah. Well, I mean in all the
Speaker 1: people that I've spoken to, and of course in my
Speaker 1: own experience was of course always ups and downs, and
Speaker 1: and the struggle of entrepreneurship is real. I mean, what
Speaker 1: do you what do you rely on in those difficult moments. Well,
Speaker 1: I was fortunate to grow up, you know, with a
Speaker 1: family that kind of grounded me and kind of my
Speaker 1: my grandma in particular, my mom's mom. She's still you know,
Speaker 1: such a strong, um tenacious figure and has always been
Speaker 1: an inspiration to me. Um. She's she always says, like,
Speaker 1: where there's a will, there's a way, and I've seen
Speaker 1: her exercise that, you know, time and time again. So
Speaker 1: I'm like, so that I feel like, and I'm her granddaughter,
Speaker 1: so I need to, you know, take strength from that,
Speaker 1: and so I do. And there's just many examples, I mean,
Speaker 1: especially just being a native person, seeing the resilience that
Speaker 1: our people have had to UM exercise, you know, throughout
Speaker 1: the year. So I mean, I take a lot of
Speaker 1: strengthen that. So you're you're building your business. You took
Speaker 1: the leap and and it became a success. Tell us
Speaker 1: more about the nuts and bolts of the business. Yeah,
Speaker 1: so it's the way we got started is really the
Speaker 1: bread and butter of our revenue was through the beer hall,
Speaker 1: so people coming in and buying beer by the glass
Speaker 1: or filling growlers. UM. And I was actually in the
Speaker 1: process of opening our first off site location in the
Speaker 1: Four Corners area UM when COVID hit, So that that
Speaker 1: led to a huge pivot for us. UM. So that
Speaker 1: was that was the model, and just over the last
Speaker 1: couple of months, UM, I put the Four Corners tap
Speaker 1: room on pause. So that's still I'm still figuring out,
Speaker 1: you know, how and when that happens. UM. The current
Speaker 1: public Health order restrictions are allowing for only patio sales,
Speaker 1: and that location has no patio. So yeah, so it's
Speaker 1: it's it's definitely this time has you forced me to
Speaker 1: not let uncertainty paralyze my decision making. But it's I
Speaker 1: really try to focus on what can I control, you know,
Speaker 1: what can I do? Um So, over the course of
Speaker 1: the last couple of months, I've you know, folks re
Speaker 1: kind of focused our efforts on purchasing a canning line
Speaker 1: so we're able to get more product into customers hands,
Speaker 1: not just through our locations, but we're in you know,
Speaker 1: the three Whole Foods here in New Mexico and the
Speaker 1: Total Wine and some of the more popular bottle shops
Speaker 1: as well. Um So that's been a huge pivot for us,
Speaker 1: uh during this time, and I'm just having to, you know,
Speaker 1: think about things I didn't have to before. Um But
Speaker 1: I'm like, these are the challenges I want to have.
Speaker 1: If Whole Foods wants to buy out most of our batch, well,
Speaker 1: you know, we need to figure out how to how
Speaker 1: to ration it and make it stretch and figure out
Speaker 1: how to increase our production. Wow, you actually went out
Speaker 1: and bought a canning operation. We did and that's been
Speaker 1: and that's you know, that was kind of a wild ride.
Speaker 1: I had lined up a used canning line here UM locally,
Speaker 1: and unexpectedly that deal fell apart after you know, we
Speaker 1: had made a commitment. So that was really stressful. So
Speaker 1: suddenly it's like, well, we're buying a new canning line
Speaker 1: and kind of through that process and you know, this
Speaker 1: decision is one that usually takes like a year or
Speaker 1: so of planning because there's so many manifest actures these days.
Speaker 1: So we just dug in and did a lot of
Speaker 1: due diligence, talked to a lot of people, visited some
Speaker 1: other UM breweries and one sidary in town to see,
Speaker 1: you know, what they were doing, what they liked about
Speaker 1: their systems UM, and then just moved on it. Thankfully.
Speaker 1: UM we've done We've only done like four canning runs
Speaker 1: so far. We had my goal was to have our
Speaker 1: first cans roll out by July one UM. So we
Speaker 1: met that deadline and we were able to make the
Speaker 1: huge Fourth of July weekend UM, which is a big
Speaker 1: weekend for beer sales. Yeah. So so it's that's been
Speaker 1: kind of a roller coaster, but it's it's kind of
Speaker 1: funny just in sitting down to think about and reflect,
Speaker 1: you know, it's kind of it's just a lot of
Speaker 1: just looking like, Okay, we passed, you know, we got
Speaker 1: over that obstacle, and it's just like keep charging forwards.
Speaker 1: So it's it's interesting to stop and kind of reflect
Speaker 1: on the bump us in the road because I'm not
Speaker 1: one to focus on them, so I have to really
Speaker 1: like think about it in a deliberate way. Do you
Speaker 1: find that, you know, over time, uh, you know, hitting
Speaker 1: at these different bumps along the way, you kind of
Speaker 1: have a mental resilience where it doesn't seem as bumpy
Speaker 1: over time once you've gone through a few of them. Absolutely. Yeah,
Speaker 1: it's like, why why get worked up about something, Let's
Speaker 1: just focus on the solution and keep moving forward. Um My,
Speaker 1: one of my grandpa's raised buffalo and as kids, this
Speaker 1: is another one of those lessons that has really stuck
Speaker 1: with me. But he would take us out on the
Speaker 1: prairie and we'd all be like standing in the back
Speaker 1: of the truck and he'd be out with the buffalo
Speaker 1: and he would talk to us and tell us about
Speaker 1: He's like, you see, how thick you know the buffaloes
Speaker 1: fur is on, you know, the front of their body.
Speaker 1: And did you know that in the fiercest blizzard and storms,
Speaker 1: they turn and they face the storm. And so he
Speaker 1: taught us that in life you're gonna face challenge nges.
Speaker 1: But he said, be like the buffalo. You don't run
Speaker 1: away from it. You don't turn away from it. You
Speaker 1: face it. And so that's something also that i've It
Speaker 1: makes a lot of sense now and I really try
Speaker 1: to emulate that. And it's such good advice. You know,
Speaker 1: you have this background and venture capital, it's probably served
Speaker 1: you very well. And when you're thinking about expansion and
Speaker 1: how to buy a canning operation or how to really
Speaker 1: access capital in your own business. Do you have advice
Speaker 1: to other entrepreneurs about accessing capital? I would say, like
Speaker 1: one of the biggest ones is, you know, there's lots
Speaker 1: of different flavors of capital, lots of different sources. I
Speaker 1: think having a sense for what ultimately you want to
Speaker 1: do with the business, because you know, as a former
Speaker 1: venture capitalists, if if we were looking at a company,
Speaker 1: there has to be some sort of like exit strategy, right,
Speaker 1: what does that look like? And you know the expectations
Speaker 1: of a VC for returns are much higher. So if
Speaker 1: if you're pursuing that's flavor of capital, you know you
Speaker 1: should have a and sort of growth plans. So I
Speaker 1: think sometimes people get sort of caught up into, you know,
Speaker 1: the idea of of raising and securing that sort of capital,
Speaker 1: but it's not always a good fit. So I think
Speaker 1: really understanding what your goals are as a business is
Speaker 1: really important as you think about the types of capital,
Speaker 1: whether it's whether it's an s B, a loan, you know,
Speaker 1: or institutional money or friends and family. So just sort
Speaker 1: of managing and understanding, like what are your goals for
Speaker 1: your business, does that align with the type of capital
Speaker 1: that you're wanting to raise. That's great advice because I
Speaker 1: think you're so right. There's so many people and because
Speaker 1: venture capital and kind of these unicorn type businesses have
Speaker 1: been in oppress so much. I think people think if
Speaker 1: they need capital, they think they need venture capital. And
Speaker 1: it's such a good point that you make that people
Speaker 1: need to understand their long term goals because PC is
Speaker 1: a very specific kind of capital. If there is specific expectations. Yes,
Speaker 1: So is there anything that you wish someone told you
Speaker 1: about running your business that you wish you had known
Speaker 1: before you started. I can't remember who it was, UM,
Speaker 1: but it was you know, some one of the entrepreneurs
Speaker 1: I've worked with in the past. You know. The advice
Speaker 1: was like, just be comfortable that you can't know everything.
Speaker 1: You can't have all the answers, but you know, be
Speaker 1: good at seeking out you know, the resources and sources,
Speaker 1: and don't be afraid to reach out to people to
Speaker 1: you know, find answers. So I think just having some
Speaker 1: comfort and knowing it's okay, I can't know everything. I
Speaker 1: you know, this is new territory and starting something from
Speaker 1: scratch comes with so many moving parts, and especially in
Speaker 1: you know, highly regulated industry like alcohol, you know, and
Speaker 1: I think being okay with that was was really important
Speaker 1: and sort of pushing pushing forward. UM. I also think
Speaker 1: in the early days what really helped me was being organized.
Speaker 1: I had, you know, I'm a voracious checklister. I still am,
Speaker 1: and I have all of my little mole skin notebooks
Speaker 1: UM from early days, which is actually really fun to
Speaker 1: look back at and sort of page through. It's like incorporate,
Speaker 1: you know, or decide on a legal structure, you know,
Speaker 1: get a tax i D or your FBI N and
Speaker 1: it's interesting to look back at that, but also in
Speaker 1: the moment, there are, like I said, so many moving
Speaker 1: parts that it really helps to make it feel more
Speaker 1: manageable if you have like a game plan. So I've had,
Speaker 1: you know, multiple spreadsheets where they're literally called the game
Speaker 1: plan or might to do list, and one might be
Speaker 1: related to corporate decisions or you know, financial um. But
Speaker 1: at least I sort of put it down and then
Speaker 1: it seems it just seems a lot more manageable. And
Speaker 1: there are times when you can, you know, get distracted,
Speaker 1: but if you have your game plan, your list in
Speaker 1: front of you, it can really help you remain focused.
Speaker 1: That's such great advice. Again, great advice. I was thinking
Speaker 1: when you were talking earlier about being comfortable with the
Speaker 1: unknown and then combining that with what your grandfather told
Speaker 1: you about facing challenges head on, I feel like that's
Speaker 1: a really powerful combination. And then if you add the
Speaker 1: checklist to it, I could see how this could be
Speaker 1: a very successful company. Yeah, and I was I felt
Speaker 1: like so validated when I read a tool gowandhi's a
Speaker 1: checklist manifesto. I'm like yes, and so yes, this is
Speaker 1: this makes so much sense to me. So I know
Speaker 1: that the business that you're in doesn't have a lot
Speaker 1: of women. Actually, are you finding that you are kind
Speaker 1: of one of those pioneers and is there a community
Speaker 1: of women in the brewery business that you can relate
Speaker 1: to or trade ideas with. I think we're getting there.
Speaker 1: I mean there's big discussions I mean, especially just in
Speaker 1: across in the world right now about sort of racial
Speaker 1: like inequities and inequalities, and I think what's and there's
Speaker 1: been a conversation also just within the craft beer industry
Speaker 1: recently that's starting to take place. The Brewers Associateation, which
Speaker 1: is for the national UM advocacy advocacy organization for brewers
Speaker 1: here UM in the United States, they created a position
Speaker 1: UM the Diversity Ambassador, to kind of have some of
Speaker 1: these and facilitate some of these difficult conversations about, you know,
Speaker 1: questions around why aren't there more people of color, more
Speaker 1: women UM. So that's happening right now, and I at
Speaker 1: a national conference stood in line to talk with one
Speaker 1: of the presenters who who is in that role the
Speaker 1: brus Associations UM Diversity Ambassador, and so I've connected with
Speaker 1: her and she continues to do a lot of that
Speaker 1: work and has connected me with other people. So I
Speaker 1: think the more you reach out to folks, you know,
Speaker 1: just build that network and create awareness that you know, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm in the industry and here's what I'm doing and
Speaker 1: being curious about you know, learning what other women and
Speaker 1: people of color are doing is a start. UM. So
Speaker 1: that's something you know, that's important to me. But also
Speaker 1: just at the end of the day, it's like, hey,
Speaker 1: I'm a small business owner and I face the same
Speaker 1: challenges that other you know, non people of color are facing,
Speaker 1: and you know, it's important that you don't put the
Speaker 1: expectation on yourself that you have to save the world.
Speaker 1: And I feel like sometimes as a woman of color,
Speaker 1: a Native American, they you know, there's some expectation that
Speaker 1: you are, you have all of these other things that
Speaker 1: you're expected to accomplish. Some of it I feel is
Speaker 1: a little unfair because it's a young company that I'm
Speaker 1: running into, lots of challenges, there's COVID, lots of things
Speaker 1: going on, and so it's like, you know, seeing more
Speaker 1: people like myself in the industry is something that I
Speaker 1: want for us. UM. But I've also recognized just representation
Speaker 1: and UM putting yourself out there and sharing your story
Speaker 1: can be powerful in and of itself. We totally agree
Speaker 1: with everything you've just said, and really it's why we
Speaker 1: have made by women. Just to share these stories is
Speaker 1: so important. So I guess my last question is, in
Speaker 1: this very difficult time and we're obviously all facing uh
Speaker 1: pretty unprecedented times, what is keeping you optimistic or making
Speaker 1: you optimistic? I think the resilience of my team. Uh,
Speaker 1: we're definitely having to make a lot of difficult decisions,
Speaker 1: but I feel like they've been very understanding and recognize that,
Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot of things that are out
Speaker 1: of our control, UM, but their faith in me in
Speaker 1: leading our company through this has been really wonderful, you know,
Speaker 1: because not everyone deals with these uncertain times. Well, so true. Well,
Speaker 1: we would love for the world, as the world is
Speaker 1: already beginning to know about Bow and Arrow, and we
Speaker 1: love to tell our listeners how they can support you
Speaker 1: and and get access to your product. So how can
Speaker 1: they do that? Sure, so as far as UM folks
Speaker 1: outside of New Mexico goes, they can purchase merchandise from
Speaker 1: our website at Bow and Arrow Brewing dot com. So
Speaker 1: we have you know, t shirts and hats and pins,
Speaker 1: and for folks in New Mexico. UM, you can find
Speaker 1: our product by coming to the brewery here in Central Albuquerque.
Speaker 1: Or you can find our cans or wild and sour
Speaker 1: beers on the shelves of Whole Foods, Total Wine, Jubile
Speaker 1: Achian Susan's the seller up in Taos and a few
Speaker 1: other places. Fantastic. Well, I really appreciate you coming on
Speaker 1: the show. I've really enjoyed the conversation and so thanks
Speaker 1: so much for being unmade by women. Oh Kim, thanks
Speaker 1: for having me. It's been wonderful. There's so much to
Speaker 1: learn from Shila Shepherd. Three pieces of advice really made
Speaker 1: an impact on me. First, find the solution and keep
Speaker 1: moving forward. Shila's grandfather, who raised buffalo, holder that even
Speaker 1: in the fiercest blizzard, buffalo don't turn their backs on
Speaker 1: the storm. They face it. In life, we're going to
Speaker 1: face challenges. Be like the buffalo and face life's storms
Speaker 1: head on. Second, be comfortable with not knowing everything. You
Speaker 1: can't have all the answers, but you can seek out
Speaker 1: resources and contact people who can help you figure it out. Finally,
Speaker 1: value your uniqueness and operate from authenticity. As Shilah says,
Speaker 1: putting yourself out there and sharing your story can be
Speaker 1: powerful in and of itself. Have a great week. Made
Speaker 1: by Women is brought to you by the Seneca Women
Speaker 1: Podcast Network and I Heart Radio, with support from founding
Speaker 1: partner PNG