Crystal Uncorked

Susan Negen is the other half of WhizBang! Retail Training and my dear friend and industry partner. I previously had her other half Bob Negen on the show for episode 43. As WhizBang! Celebrating 23 years, Susan shares some great tips and lessons on creating both a business and a life that you love.

Not only does Susan run an incredible business, but she also does it with her spouse! She shares how they don’t just make it work, they thrive together. For partners working together, it’s important that they be aligned with their thinking and plan to grow in the same direction. If you both don’t have the same goals for your business, you can expect problems. That doesn’t mean you won’t have differences, but Susan highlights the importance of making time to discuss your visions and blend them where they don’t match up. She also says defined roles are key! Both partners should have a specific job and own it. For Susan and Bob, she is the actionary, getting shit done and Bob is the dreamer and visionary!

Susan has a lot to share about visioning and converting that vision into focused action. Your outcomes and dreams can be planned and actualized if you just take the time to think and make your vision clear. She uses a great analogy about going out on a hike and you get to a beautiful peak but your campsite isn't there...the view may be beautiful but it was not what you wanted and you'll need to go back out and hike some more to get to the right peak. It’s so much easier when you reach your desired destination the first time, if you do the work and you plan the vision, and you read the “map” you can get there.

One thing I love about WhizBang! is their team, every event it's the same team. Susan and Bob are such great leaders that they have incredible employee retention and great culture. One thing that can cause failure in leadership and employee turnover is burnout! In today’s business world this is a big problem and a hot topic. Susan says the key is active rest...and not feeling guilty. We talk about active rest versus fake rest and the importance of giving yourself grace to do the most important thing for yourself and your business: make time for you!

With 23 years in business, Susan’s biggest takeaway from her journey is to take risks and go all in. WhizBang! is always working to provide an ever-increasing positive impact for the independent retail community. You can find out more about WhizBang! Retail Training on their website and social media!

What’s Inside:

• Converting vision to focused action.
• Tips to create a business and life you love.
• Preventing and handling burnout.
• Active rest versus fake rest.
• The secret to working with your spouse.

Mentioned In This Episode:

2018 EMPATHY RED
2019 Dreamville Blend 75Episode 43: Mindfulness and Business Success with Bob Negen of WhizBang! Retail Training
WhizBang! Retail Training
WhizBang! Retail Training (@whizbangtraining) on Instagram
WhizBang! Retail Training on Facebook
Get Listed Now - Crystal Media
EVOLVE 2023 in Denver, CO - Crystal Media
Crystal Media
Crystal on Instagram
Crystal Media on Instagram
Crystal Media Co - YouTube

I’ve recently shared about my therapy journey and how helpful it has been and continues to be for me. In a session, my therapist asked me, “What does it feel like to feel free”? Closing my eyes I was instantly taken back to a childhood memory of riding my bike. Alone or with friends, happy, no weight of the adult world on my shoulders, completely detached from the world. A memory that brought me to tears; Will I ever have this true feeling of freedom again?
Now as an adult my brain is rewired. I have adult pressures. I have a social media business. I’m constantly connected to the world online. Even if I go out and ride my bike to feel the wind on my face and leave my phone at home, it won’t be the same freedom I felt in that childhood moment. I’m different now, I’m older, and the people I know and love are older.
It’s hard to see the people around you get older. It’s hard to see life-changing. Since that memory of when I was a child, we have experienced a lot of progression as a humanity. And beautiful things have come out of that but life will also never be the same, I think we just have to grieve and accept that. I now have a new sense of feelings and appreciation for those who feel left behind by technology.
But are freedom and fun dead? No. In order to invite these feelings into your life, you have to understand what charges and frees your adult brain, what evokes that true freedom? What brings youthful fun to your life now? If you are not caring for yourself and making time for the things that bring you joy and make you feel free, you cannot perform the best in the other areas of your life.
My Freedom List:
Good Music
Self-Care
Open Day
Camping
Time with friends
Karaoke
I challenge you now to make your own freedom list. What recharges your battery? What things can you do to invite fun and freedom back into your life? DM me and let me know!
I’ll CU on the next CU!
What’s Inside:

• What does it feel like to feel free?
• The emotions that come with true freedom.
• What does freedom look like for you personally?
• Tips to create balance in your life.

Mentioned In This Episode:
Arndt Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, 2017
EVOLVE 2023 in Denver, CO - Crystal Media
Crystal Media
Crystal on Instagram
Crystal Media on Instagram
Crystal Media Co - YouTube

Have you ever wondered what could happen if you just followed your passion? In this interview with Kelly Gunn, owner of Part-Time Pickers and host of the Crazy Good Vintage Podcast, she shares how she changed careers at age 54, followed her passion, and created a job she loves.
In her early career, Kelly was a retail goddess. She was really a name to be known. She worked with A-list brands and was incredibly successful. All of this success drove her desire to start her own business in the retail world. But after several ups and downs, she still ended up working for someone else. Except for this time, she was working with lower-end B and C-list brands. She felt stuck, anxious, and miserable where she was. When you’re feeling this way, this affects not only your career, but it spills into your personal life too.
Enough was enough, it was time to follow her passion. On the side, Kelly had been reselling vintage finds as a hobby. This was something she loved, so why not go for it? Kelly turned her social media page, Part-Time Pickers, into a sensation. With over 75,000 followers between Facebook and Instagram, she has a huge base of vintage buyers. She has created something really amazing, her engagement is huge and her buyers truly feel like they won when they score one of Kelly’s finds.
Kelly is on track to make more this year than she has in her entire career and she’s doing something she loves and spending time with her family. She is a true testament to the reason to never give up. Kelly reminds us that no matter where you are in life, no matter your age, how low on the bottom you are feeling...you are in control of your destiny. She promises when you build a business you’re excited about, no one cares how old you are.
Now, as this episode airs, Kelly is debuting her brand new podcast all about her vintage passion. Crazy Good Vintage is her new show with a focus on the story behind vintage items and even other successful vintage re-sellers. This isn’t the last you’ll hear from Kelly Gunn for sure. Between Part-Time Pickers, Crazy Good Vintage, and a book in the works, her passion is on fire.
What’s Inside:

• How Kelly followed her passion and built something incredible.
• What can happen if you don’t give up.
• Age doesn’t matter in business.
• What’s new for Kelly?

Mentioned In This Episode:

2019 Fog Land® Cabernet Sauvignon - Winc.
Crazy Good Vintage: Podcast
Crazy Good Vintage on Facebook
Crazy Good Vintage on Instagram
Part-Time Pickers on Instagram
Part-Time Pickers onFacebook
Connect with Crystal
Crystal on YouTube
Crystal on Instagram
Crystal on Facebook
Crystal on TikTok

I am finally introducing you to my dear friend, team member, and integrator, Pauline Blasetti. Pauline has been working with me for 8 years, bringing me balance and pushing our business to the next level with her anything is possible attitude.

You wanted to hear from my integrator, and she tells us about how her job came to be. Years ago, Pauline told me I was a “Bad Manager” and she was right. As I talked about in episode 003, I discovered the book Rocket Fuel, which laid out a plan that I felt was right for shifting our businesses and would maybe even remedy my bad managerial skills. Pauline was on board and optimistic about her new job title and the clarity is provided.

An integrator is the person behind the visionary, making it happen, managing projects, managing the team, managing the calendar. Pauline does it all behind the scenes, and when I say do it all, I really mean it. The job description I gave her on our retreat to hammer out the details of our new plan and her role as our integrator was 3 pages long! Adding an integrator to your team is life-changing but it doesn't happen overnight. It was an almost two-year transition for Pauline into this role and we’re still learning.

Just as the process to become an integrator was slow for Pauline, so is the hiring process for the rest of our team members. “I'm interested and I’m awesome” is the theme for our applicants. We want an email that says I'm interested and I'm awesome with a 3 minute or less video telling us why! Another unique part of our hiring process is our questionnaire, we eliminate the after interview response regret by giving our applicants time to truly use their experiences to best answer the questions with plenty of time to think and process.

Open communication and the ability to dive right in is a major benefit we see in our small business. Pauline and I’s work relationship and friendship is another benefit. Pauline is a great asset to our team and my business and her parting advice shows just how compassionate she is!
What's Inside:

• Being an integrator
• Process of getting an integrator to the desired point
• Benefits and challenges of a small business
• Our hiring process

Mentioned in this Episode:
@CrystalunCorked on Instagram
@CrystalUncorked on Tiktok
CrystalUncorked.com
Crystal Uncorked YouTube Channel
Pauline's Drink
Crystal's Drink
Central Coast Jeep Tour

Today we are celebrating me! This is my birthday episode and I’m going to share 5 things that I’m hoping to achieve over the next year. I always ask friends celebrating their birthday what they want to achieve. What’s in store for them this year? It can be a tough question but it’s worth taking time to think about it.

Here are my five things:

1. To Write More

This past year, I’ve been writing more of everything and anything imaginable. My goal for the coming year is to write a book or some short stories, maybe mystery or horror stories or even a business book. Wouldn’t it be cool to publish a book while I’m still 36 years old?

2. To Grow Crystal Uncorked

I love producing this show and I love the responses that I get to it. I want to create content that you like and is worth your time listening to. I want this show to be fun, I want to learn something, and I want to inspire people. So if you like this show and you find it valuable, I’d love you to connect with me. And if you don’t, I’d like to hear that too so please share your feedback.

3. To Grow Crystal Media

I’m working on a secret project right now. If we build this, it will help small businesses to post content on their social media in an easy, cool, and fun way. There’s a long way to go and I still need to talk to my team about it, but I’d love to grow it out.

4. To Get Engaged

If you listened to episode 3, you heard Dustin and I speak about this. He’s on his journey, working through stuff, and I’m on mine. It’s cool, we love each other, but I’d love this year to be the year I finally stop being a girlfriend and get engaged.

5. To Spend 6 Months Living in New York

We’re moving. We bought a house in Colorado so we will be leaving California. But it’s always been my dream to live in New York, so I’d love to spend 6 months living in a rented apartment, checking out the different areas, and figuring out where I’d like to live eventually. It’s a crazy real estate market at the moment so who knows if it will happen, but it would be so cool to live in New York. I’d just love that.

These are my five big goals, but I definitely have more things that I want to do this year. Taking care of my body, getting stronger, staying hydrated, all that stuff. I really want to read a book a week. I love reading but I just never make time for it. It would be cool to say I read 52 books when I was 36.

So cheers! Thank you for being part of Crystal Uncorked. It means so much to me.
What's Inside:

• It’s my birthday!
• Why I set goals.
• My 5 goals for the year.

Mentioned in this Episode:
@CrystalunCorked on Instagram@CrystalUncorked on TiktokCrystalUncorked.comCrystal Uncorked YouTube ChannelMercana, 2020 Malbec from Mendoza, ArgentinaCrystal is giving you $22 to try Winc!