Join us for an exciting journey with Megan Anderson, the COO extraordinaire who's rocking the startup scene while juggling her corporate gig and personal challenges. Believe it or not, Megan's foray into the side hustle world was inspired by a podcast - you gotta love the power of podcasts! Get ready for some real talk as Megan spills the beans on her resilience and the game-changing lessons she's learned along the way. We're diving into the wild world of innovation, so grab a seat!
Tune in as we discuss:
Her motivation to start a side hustle while working a corporate job she loves.
Why innovation is so important to every business. Ever heard of Blackberry? Yeah, they've got a story to tell about why staying innovative is non-negotiable. Megan breaks it down so we can all learn from past mistakes.
How to love failure: Embracing failure ain't easy, but it's all part of the game. Megan's got the lowdown on bouncing back stronger and setting your sights on the future—especially in the crazy world of health tech, where AI and customer experience are changing the game.
Join us for an exciting journey with Megan Anderson, the COO extraordinaire who's rocking the startup scene while juggling her corporate gig and personal challenges. Believe it or not, Megan's foray into the side hustle world was inspired by a podcast - you gotta love the power of podcasts! Get ready for some real talk as Megan spills the beans on her resilience and the game-changing lessons she's learned along the way. We're diving into the wild world of innovation, so grab a seat!
Tune in as we discuss:
Her motivation to start a side hustle while working a corporate job she loves.
Why innovation is so important to every business. Ever heard of Blackberry? Yeah, they've got a story to tell about why staying innovative is non-negotiable. Megan breaks it down so we can all learn from past mistakes.
How to love failure: Embracing failure ain't easy, but it's all part of the game. Megan's got the lowdown on bouncing back stronger and setting your sights on the future—especially in the crazy world of health tech, where AI and customer experience are changing the game.
Did she really do that? You, betcha? She did Hello and welcome back to you, betcha. She Did the podcast for women entrepreneurs and leaders, especially from the Midwest, share their wit and wisdom. They share their stories. We can get inspired and we can lift more women up. I'm your host, rainer Kickey. Today I have Megan Anderson in the studio. She has a corporate job where she's a COO in a startup division. She works a lot in innovation and she's also deciding to start her own side hustle where she's going to help with entrepreneurship innovation. In other words, she's going to be your business co-pilot.
Speaker 2:
And on the show I like to talk with women in all stages of their journey. Sometimes women have worked in their dream career for years. Sometimes they're just opening up that dream and Megan is a great example of someone who's starting to open up that dream. So welcome to the show, megan, thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, I'm glad you're here because, like I said in the intro, it's nice to hear about what are the processes that women go through when they're forging new paths, and I know you know, before we started recording, you were talking about how you had a crazy morning this morning. Tell us a little bit about that.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I mean, it has been a wild day, wild heat, and this might be getting a little bit vulnerable, but I think it's important to share, like, what real life is about it. Before we get into business talk. I'm going to bring my husband up. I know this is about me, but I'm going to bring him up quickly. He has been a teacher for 14 years. I'm a big champion for teachers and you know public teachers, so cheers to him and all the public teachers out there. That's right, he's been a teacher for 14 years, but this is his first year at a new school. He actually is in our community where we live and unfortunately they're having to go through some cuts.
Speaker 1:
So this morning I was like waiting for the text because he had that meeting. So I was like, oh my gosh, is he going to have a job next year or what's going on? Thankfully he is safe. We got like a thumbs up text, so that was a little bit wild. Additionally, our water went out a couple of days ago, so like I'm showering at my mom's getting ready for this podcast, just like literally outside my normal, like routine, day to day routine. Yeah, so for this crazy text, that could like very much change our lives. Right, my mom's like really spiritual and into gospel music. She like had gospel music on in the TV this morning and so, like I don't know, I even though it was crazy, it was like I was put into this environment where, like that happened to be on, like on Eagles wings was the I don't know if you're familiar with that Like one of my favorite gospel songs, and that came on and I was just like, okay, this is a little bit calming, everything's going to be okay.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, deep breath, here we go, yes, and hale honey.
Speaker 1:
There was a little bit of a discerning.
Speaker 2:
I was gonna say I appreciate you sharing that, because it's true. I mean, any day I feel like in the life of any woman it's just kind of like what kind of weird shitstorm is coming my way and how am I going to handle that? Yeah, and you just got to roll with it. I'm glad to hear your husband still has a job, because teachers are so needed. I used to be a public school teacher. My husband's a public school teacher. I'm glad that's. You don't have to worry about that in your court. Well, speaking of that, jobs and transitions I know you're keeping your corporate job, but you're starting this side hustle. Where did this come from? Where did this desire to be like I want to kind of do my own thing Come from? Talk us through it.
Speaker 1:
So I had a traditional corporate job and I really love my corporation. I love the culture there, I love the continued learning experiences that they give to us, and a couple of years ago a few years ago now I went through this program that they offer, which is kind of like an innovation boot camp so you apply, you get I was accepted you get put on teams and you go through this boot camp about learning about innovation while you're actually doing it. So you see if you can come up with this business idea and then you pitch it like a real life shark tank to like the CEO and all his like C level to people. It's pretty intense, but you learn a lot.
Speaker 1:
Our group didn't win the competition. However, that did lead to like what I'm doing now, which is like innovation in the corporate world, and I say that because we are a startup, but we are under that corporate umbrella. Corporations often, you know, look to expand their footprint. Often they promise that to their investors and it's just good for overall growth as well, and so that is what our corporation sets out to do and that's yeah, yeah, which, in that I'm in.
Speaker 2:
I like that they're investing in you as an employee too, because you know some corporations, I feel like you get overshadowed, but for yours they're really like hey, let's provide opportunities for employees. And you're like I'm on it, let's do it, bring it on, and you've learned so much.
Speaker 1:
Yes, yeah, and I have learned a ton and I just feel like there's so much to like give to others, like share that knowledge. I love helping people and teaching people. I'm a I know we were talking about teachers earlier and you will probably resonate with this but I my first job in the corporate world was being a trainer. So I was, I've always taught adults, so I've been in that teaching world as well. But I want to bring up one more thing, because it's related to podcasting.
Speaker 1:
A couple months ago I got back into the gym, and so I'm proud of myself for that but I couldn't listen to music while I was working out anymore. I just felt like I needed to be productive in like learning. I don't know, I've never been a podcast listener. I've tried in the past and just couldn't do it. And all of a sudden I went through this like transformation and I was like I'm going to start listening to podcasts when I work out. I feel like I can learn while I'm, you know, doing something good for my body, and so I started doing that, and one of the first podcasts I listened to was called the Side Hustle Show.
Speaker 2:
Oh yeah, it's a great podcast. I love that one, yeah.
Speaker 1:
He had one of the first episodes that like was interesting to me, so I clicked on it. He had this guest on named Jackie, and she did this challenge of making a hundred extra dollars a day for a hundred days. Ooh.
Speaker 2:
I love that.
Speaker 1:
And she like wanted to be accountable. So she was vlogging her journey on TikTok and I was like I think that's a really good idea. So I started doing that and it's really challenging. First, yes, and you have like a full-time job and kids and life and, oh my God, exactly. But what that opened up the door to was me being really creative in how I can make that extra income, and that kind of led me down this path to really think about, like what are my skills that I can use to generate that extra income? And then that led to what knowledge can I provide to others? And I'm like, oh my gosh, like now everything's kind of coming full circle and why not teach others you know this unique niche that I've learned in the last couple of years and help other business owners start their journey?
Speaker 2:
I love that. You know like a little boost from corporate with the education. And then I love how you we've podcasting in there got a little podcast, like you're always learning Is the best. That challenge $100 for 100 days I was like, oh, I'm really intrigued. I am kind of competitive in a good way, not in like I'm gonna take you down, but like I love a challenge and I was like that'd be a really fun one to enact and like, even if you don't Obviously reach, reach it, you're gonna make some money and you're gonna learn a lot about yourself, like you were saying. And you're like, hey, I have these skills, I can use them. So what do you think would you say are your top three skills that you can offer to entrepreneurs or people in the business space?
Speaker 1:
Yes, very good question. So I think the first skill is like that framework around innovation. That is a lot of what I've learned in the last couple of years and it's not only Relates to starting a business. But people don't realize like everything is innovation and I get like super passionate about this topic. But if you think about like changing a process, that's innovation. You have to be innovative. If you've been in your niche or your industry for a long time, if you're even a solo canoe and you've been doing something for 10 years, you still got to be innovative to stay differentiated. So people continue to want your services, right? So I really try to teach people the framework of innovation and I'll leave a couple breadcrumbs here. You can look at innovation framework or the innovation framework in a few ways. So the first way that I teach how to look at it is something that's very Normal to people. People know this framework and that's the storming norm informing like how many? Okay, I don't know that, but I like talk us through it storming norm.
Speaker 2:
informing no, I'm not really in the innovation space but I'm, my brain is open, I'm ready.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, usually you talk about that framework, when you're like building teams Okay, and new ideas right. So you like brainstorm and then your team goes through this like norming phase where you're like getting to know people's strengths, weaknesses Right, and then you are right. So those are kind of three stages that a lot of people are typically like heard before. Yeah, I was gonna say, now that you explain it, I do know that framework.
Speaker 2:
I've never heard it phrase that way, but I was like oh yeah, we've used that before. Okay, yes, good.
Speaker 1:
So now I bring it to like a next level and that now gets more into the innovation cycle and it's then you know you're gonna be able to get to the next level and it's then going from so still three stages, but it's exploration, creation, activation. So I use this more in not creating a full fledged business, but if you're, you know, thinking of like a new service or a new process within your business, you can use this framework so like let's explore what needs to be changed, what needs to be built right, and then let's see what that creation process looks like and start actually doing some of the creation process and then let's activate that right, even if it's like just a new page on your website. It could be anything that could go through this framework.
Speaker 2:
I like that could be tiny. You said like a page on the website. It could be huge, like a big project.
Speaker 1:
Yes, a new product.
Speaker 1:
Okay. And then for like starting an actual business in this framework is used a lot in the startup world. You use like market opportunity as stage one. So like what is the market opportunity? Is this worth our time to invest in this new business angle? Right, corporates look at that a lot. And then the second is product market fit. So what's the product? Yep, and then third stage is what's the business model around that? So that's a framework that we use kind of when you're starting a new business. So you can use these three frameworks in different stages and for different types of projects.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that makes sense as you explained it. You can easily apply it to so many things and go really in depth if you need to, or more surface level if it's a smaller thing.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, and then of course those are like the three main buckets and then you have subcategories in between each. But I think a lot of times when you get into innovation, I meet a lot of people that have like all these great ideas, I mean, the world is full of great ideas, everyone has great ideas, but then how do you activate them and put them into place? And that's where it gets a little bit challenging. And so putting even a little bit of framework around it and you got to stay loose in innovation. It can't be like this cut and dry thing. But OK yeah, put a little bit of structure helps you kind of stay on pace.
Speaker 2:
I know, I feel like what you were saying about everyone having good ideas. I feel like I fall into that pit. I have so many ideas, but then I get stuck on which one do I want to pursue? Or you almost get frozen paralyzed maybe be a better word. But you're like I have so many things, I don't even know where to go and what to do with them.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I actually wrote this down as a note to talk about this. We at Scopecreep have you ever heard of that term?
Speaker 2:
Yeah, where you keep expanding your services because you love all these things. But it's too much, right, am I in par? Ok?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, innovationists I feel like deal with that challenge a lot, or those that just have all these great ideas and don't know where to go. And sometimes have you ever heard of people also saying like niche down and like yeah, so those two things can be related. So if you keep that in mind, that will keep you from getting too much Scopecreep and then sometimes your just plate is too full and your stretch too thin and can't really focus on moving the important things forward.
Speaker 2:
Right, yeah, you have to let something go. Almost it's like the art of saying no. You know like if I really want to focus on this one direction, I need to let these other things go. Otherwise, yeah, I don't have enough bandwidth to make it happen. Do you have an ideal client you'd like to work with? You know, just because you're in the beginning stages of transitioning I'm just thinking of our audience you know like maybe there's someone out there who needs your services. Or tell us, I don't know what do you think you'd like to work with?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, I see a few different angles. So, those that are like just getting started out yes, I am getting just I'm just beginning in the coaching realm, but I've been a trainer for a long time, I've taught people for a long time and even though I'm just starting out in coaching, I do have a ton of experience in actually bringing a startup from the idea on the back of a napkin to now actually making revenue, which is a huge milestone for any startup. So if you are in that space and want to reach those certain milestones, I would love to work with people in that area. Additionally, I think there's a ton of businesses out there that want to refresh, want innovation, and, ok, let's take up, let's see what the most successful parts of your business have been, or those that you're really passionate about but just are questioning why hasn't this been so successful? And let's reinnovate it a bit so that it can. You know that success and that passion can meet.
Speaker 2:
I like that idea of brands needing to stay fresh though, because, you know, I just even think back to how much the world has changed in the past 20 years, and in order to stay useful to people out there customers you need to keep adapting to what their needs might be, especially like if you're something in the tech world. My friends and I were joking about Blackberries the other day, and that was, you know, I don't know 15 years ago. I remember everybody had a Blackberry phone and now, like they're, don't, I don't, I think they don't even exist anymore. Right, I could be wrong, but it just was a flash in the pan, right, but then it became not useful and, because they didn't adapt, they died.
Speaker 1:
So it's just how it is yeah, I think a lot of people can resonate with this, maybe your listeners as well. So if this does, solopreneurship is really challenging. Thank you, you don't have that business partner to like is this a good idea? Just talk it out. And in our startup it really has just been two of us for the last two years with a handful of consultants and other things. But I often say and we say to each other like I couldn't have done this without you. And even so, you mentioned, you know, I'm acting CEO, my business partners acting CEO, and he even has consultants that he meets with weekly to talk about business and where it's going and kind of give them their insight, and so that's the whole idea of this business. Copilot comes from you ever that year to run your ideas by. That's really when you can plug into myself or some other coaches out there that offer similar services.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, I like that. It's super important to have someone who understands that aspect of your business and the process to bounce ideas off. I'm a solar per newer, so I totally get it. Yeah, you're kind of like, is this a good idea or is it just something strange in my head? Yeah, it doesn't relate to people. You know, like I need to really test this out and my experience being an entrepreneur A lot of it is testing things out, theme, what sticks, what resonates, and you really have to be open to that. Experimenting and failing, I mean, it's just part of the learning process. It's a good skill to have. It's a good skill to be able to pick yourself up after you failed and be like all right, what did I learn? Here we go, let's now, let's pivot a little.
Speaker 1:
Yes, yeah, I really love that you bring that up, because we refer to that as like the pilot process, testing process right, and a lot of people skip that step or just don't see the importance in it, and it's so important for your business. It does teach you what you shouldn't do, what's successful when you should pivot, and I like that you brought up the failure, because some people might think like that didn't work, so it was a fail or that part, but my business partner has been really good about teaching me this Don't look at it as a failure, because if you learn something from it, that's super crucial in knowing where to not bring your business, and so that in itself like that is the purpose of the pilot process is to learn what's working and what's not and do that testing, and so you should look at all of those things as a success.
Speaker 2:
This might be a little bit of a more challenging question, but I just want to pick your brain because you are in the innovation space. What kind of innovations do you see on the horizon? Just being in that world, I just love hearing about future things that might be coming down the pipeline. I don't know industry trends, things like that. Can you speak to that question at all? It's a big, big question.
Speaker 1:
So I'm in the health tech space and so that's where I'm going to take this, because that's where most of my knowledge lies and there's huge opportunity, always for health care, I think to innovate and continue to be innovative, and there are a couple of things that I see. Ai has been a huge discussion point, I think, around the world, every industry and there's a play for it in health tech as well. We see it in our business that we're starting and using. You see it very full-fledged in, like the consumer experience. You're shopping experience, and the reason why I bring that up is, if you think about consumership and your shopping experience, that is like worlds above where healthcare is from a technology and user experience standpoint, and everybody can resonate with that, because everyone shops Almost everyone shops online, right. So think about your experience and how easy it is to search products, get products to your doorstep. I think healthcare needs to be that accessible and I think a lot of other people think so too. And how do we get it there? There are so many technologies and innovation on the horizon that I think can do that. It's a huge challenge, but I think there's a great need for it.
Speaker 1:
I know that you're my neighbor over in Wisconsin. I'm in Minnesota, wisconsin, I've been in a really small town in Minnesota and so healthcare isn't always super accessible. We have to drive, and I remember bringing my daughter to the emergency room last year and while she's actively throwing up in the car and I'm like, oh, a 20 minute drive is really not ideal right now. So how do we even just get small things accessible where in its beginning, right Like sometimes, I can get on a virtual call and say, can you prescribe me something? This is what's happening to my child and really not have to leave the house. But there's still a lot of steps to get there. So my ideal world for healthcare tech would be to have some type of similar experience in health and healthcare as we have in the consumer world.
Speaker 2:
Yeah, that does make sense. That'd be great, and I would just have quick access, immediate, well semi immediate results. That'd be awesome. May we aspire to that in the future. Yeah, innovative people, let's have that happen, please. Well, megan Anderson from Minnesota, thank you for being on the show. If you want to get in touch with Megan, please check the show notes. I will have all of her links. She's going to be a great co-pilot for your business, especially if you have an innovative idea. You want to pivot a little bit and you need that important sounding board to help get you there. As always, if you like what you're hearing on, you Bet you she Did don't forget to subscribe. Share the show with a friend, a neighbor, a colleague. You never know who needs to hear this. There's a lot of women out there who do, and you know them. So pass it on. Until next time, take care.