Becoming the Minimalist Baker with Dana and John Shultz

07/09/19 • 61 min

Today on The Ikonns, we have one the most fun couples we know, Dana and John Shultz from the infamous blog - The Minimalist Baker. Dana and John have been running this hugely successful blog since 2012, putting out quick simple recipes 3 times a week, non stop for 7 years.

Just like looking in the mirror of Alex and Mimi’s life, Dana and John have followed a very similar but also as unique of a journey, to get to where they are now. Which is running a hugely successful and highly creative platform that allows freedom and flexibility in their lives whilst helping others.

They both come from very humble beginnings, a few miles apart from each other, in tiny villages of around 3000 inhabitants or less, in Texas U.S. Eventually meeting each other while studying in the only slightly bigger city of Wichita. Alex and Mimi dive into the Shultz’s romance story, one that nearly didn’t exist as John was, at first, stuck in the dreaded friend-zone.

As their studies drew close to an end and they realised they wanted more to life, ripping off the bandaid and piercing their comfort bubble they decided to get married and the very next day they moved to Portland.

When they arrived they stumbled upon Portland’s creative scene, finding a community that would show them just how different life could be. This is where the couple would catch the buzz of the exciting and rewarding world that is entrepreneurship and would pave the way for their new careers.

“I used to think it would be cool to meet all these cool and interesting people, until I realised it’s much better to GO DO cool and interesting things, as you get good at what you’re interested in you start to become surrounded by cool and interesting people” - John [14:40]

Unfortunately their move was badly timed and coincided with the recession, making it very difficult for either of them to find work. This came as a blessing in disguise as it forced Dana to get creative, allowing her to find the world of blogging. She set up a lifestyle blog and John found yet another job that he hated. After not too long they returned back to Texas and John went back to studying Law even though he didn’t want to become a lawyer; as he says

“Law school is the most expensive way to find out you don’t want to become a lawyer”.

“Starting a business together was one of our best decisions for our relationship, it forces you to have difficult conversations. This gave us a better way to communicate with each other outside of work hours and strengthened our relationship” - John [41.22]

So after years of not channeling what they really wanted and falling short of their pipe dreams, they decided to visualise what they wanted and picture themselves 20 years on. They made solid plans on how to achieve their goals and set about making them happen. This started with taking stock of what was working and what wasn’t. This would mean a rebrand for Dana’s blog, now focusing on quick simple recipes - 10 ingredients or less and all prepared in one bowl.

John set about using all his geekiness to develop the perfect site, with consistency and true effort, The Minimalist Baker would prove to be a recipe for success.

Here’s what we chatted about in this episode:

What’s it like to founder a company with your partner and work together as a couple every day
How to get out of the difficult friend zone, for John and Alex
Why women should take the lead sometimes
Ripping off the bandaid and bursting your comfort bubble
The correct way to make connections in a new city
How to earn money through creativity, even during a recession
Another dropout lawyer story
Use your skills to get hired and use the money to fund your own thing
Stop thinking about the money and think about the happiness
Turning a problem into a niche marketing strategy
How to budget a bootstrapped business
Cutting your expenses to lengthen the runway for success
How to be just as happy with nothing by doing exactly what you want to do

“Law school is the most expensive way to find out you don’t want to become a lawyer”.

John set about using all his geekiness to develop the perfect site, with consistency and true effort, The Minimalist Baker would prove to be a recipe for success.

Here’s what we chatted about in this episode:

What’s it like to founder a company with your partner and work together as a couple every day
How to get out of the difficult friend zone, for John and Alex
Why women should take the lead sometimes
Ripping off the bandaid and bursting your comfort bubble
The correct way to make connections in a new city
How to earn money through creativity, even during a recession
Another dropout lawyer story
Use your skills to get hired and use the money to fund your own thing
Stop thinking about the money and think about the happiness
Turning a problem into a niche marketing strategy
How to budget a bootstrapped business
Cutting your expenses to lengthen the runway for success
How to be just as happy with nothing by doing exactly what you want to do

Previous Episode

Power of Letting Go to Change Your Life - Alex & Mimi

In today’s episode Alex and Mimi chat about a concept that has proven itself time and time again, throughout both their business and personal lives. May you might want to sing along like in the Disney movie Frozen, as we are going to be discussing - Letting Go.

Whether it’s waiting for a friend to reply to your important message, asking someone out on a date, to sending a business proposal to client or applying to go to University / College. We’ve all felt the fear of losing out on the one thing we’ve been dreaming about. Often a thought that we’ve put so much energy behind can have us attached greatly to the outcome and even more often this leads to disappointment. We see it in depressed people or people who hold low value of themselves, disappointment seems to be everywhere these days. Too much of this is wrapped up in misread expectations and clinging on too hard to your desires. Maybe you lost your partner or your job and you just can’t seem to;

‘LET IT ALL GO’

“You might fail at this at first and that is Ok, you have to keep getting up and doing it because eventually it will work out” - Alex [9:00]

Alex and Mimi share how they’ve had to overcome this time and time again, from negotiating the sale of Luxy hair to walking away from relationships that were not good for them. Mimi shares her Vipassana story and how she learnt the importance of equanimity:

Equanimity - noun

calmness and composure, especially in a difficult situation.

"she accepted both the good and the bad with equanimity"

composure, calmness, calm, level-headedness, self-possession, self-control, even-temperedness, coolness, cool-headedness, presence of mind.

“I understand you really want this and it’s your desire, but because you want this so badly, it’s probably not going to work” - Alex [8:00]

Whether it’s someone bullying you or you’re simply not happy with your job or relationship, or looking to find the perfect place to live, there’s so much you can take away from this episode.

Here’s what we get into:

Attachment is most obvious during challenging times
The truth can hurt sometimes but it’s that pain is your bodies way of showing you to change
The importance of meditation and a still mind during times of conflict
Conflict can be with yourself not just with others
How desperation seeps into your interactions, how to communicate your intentions
Sometimes you have to face losing it all to get your dream life
Outcome dependency reduces your negotiating powers
Letting go isn’t an instant strategy, it’s a mindset that takes time to become effective
Only you can set your real value

Letting Go - The Pathway of Surrender by Dr. Hawkins

Linchpin - Are You Indispensable?

Full show notes: https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/episode41

Next Episode

Alex and Mimi AMA | Passion vs Purpose, Women Empowerment, Climate Change, and more

Today we are connecting with you again through another exciting ‘Ask Me Anything’ episode. We take your recorded questions that you’ve submitted on our website and we go deep and get totally honest with our answers.

We felt truly energized by your questions, not to mention that we recorded them through our new, super professional microphones for even better sound quality. This week we are answering 4 extremely important, interesting and diverse questions.

Here’s what you guys asked:

How to win the battle with passion, is passion important to grow your business?
Where would you recommend to live and why – Portugal, France or Italy?
How to deal with environmental anxiety?
How can women obtain self value, other than in superficial things?

How to win the battle with passion?

It might sound surprising, but if you want to grow your business – you need to forget about your passion. You need to understand the main differences between passion and purpose. The first step is to always find the purpose, why are you doing this? Knowing the purpose of your business is what makes the difference and gets you results.

Next to purpose there is a need for consistency. In this episode you’ll hear more about the formula we use called QVCA – Quality. Value. Consistency. Authenticity.

“When you are creating content, you have to break it down, it needs to mirror, not your passion but what people care about, and that is the value you’re giving.” – Alex

Where would you recommend to live and why – Portugal, France or Italy?

Moving abroad is always a big step in life. To make sure you are choosing the right country, you need to make sure about your requirements and the possibilities of being there are aligned. Mimi shares her experience with all three countries – the affordable and great vibe of Lisbon, the romantic but more expensive beauty of Paris and the always refreshing adventure of Italy.

Living abroad is a great thing, however, get ready for the challenges you might face.

“Putting yourself out there, being challenged will make you grow.” - Alex

How to deal with environmental anxiety?

The environment is something we care a lot about. We do understand the limit of our planet and want to secure that our daughter Alexa will grow up with less environmental challenges than us. Even though the topic can be very upsetting, we do see that things are improving. What we all need to understand is; that every single person can make a difference. Start to shop at farmers markets, reduce the use of single use plastic as much as you can, buy only when you really need something, or maybe eat less meat – every small step counts.

What it is important to remember, is that it is OK to be imperfect. Getting more sustainable will be hard in the beginning, but it is totally fine to make little mistakes from time to time. The most significant thing is that you are trying and doing the best within your circumstances.

“There are so many ways to become mindful about changes we can create. Most importantly becoming aware and taking responsibility. Getting people into your community and create change. Nobody else can do this.” - Mimi

How can women obtain self value, other than in superficial things?

The way we look is the outside shell of a beautiful and diverse person inside. Sexy does not mean the look – being sexy means to be confident by yourself. When you find your confidence, you are becoming more attractive for people around you.

Mimi’s book: The Bingo theory can help you to find the right balance between your feminine and masculine side. If we balance it well, we will grow and become the best version of ourselves.

What is your vision of powerful person? By answering this question to ourselves we remove ourselves of the stereotype of women or men – we are all equal, with the same purpose, to love and be loved, and live better lives while helping others do the same.

“Being comfortable in your skin that is to me a vision of every woman. A strong woman, who can carry herself in confidence.” Mimi

Books and resources from this episode:

Abundance - The Future Is Better Than You Think (Exponential Technology Series) By Steven Kotler

Bingo Theory - A revolutionary guide to love, life, and relationships. By Mimi Ikonn

https://www.ikonns.com/podcast/episode43