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So I really wanted to share this story,
because there are so many young people like Rachel
out there, who are not sure what they want to do.
They have gone to school to study one thing
and realize that it wasn't quite what their passion was
after they graduated.
And Rachel is here to share her story on how we connected
and what has transpired since we met-- what,
a little over two weeks ago?
I think it's been five weeks.
OK, five weeks ago.
Time flies so fast.
Five weeks ago.
So Rachel, why don't you let the listeners know
how you stumbled upon the YouTube video?
Yeah.
So I graduated from Framingham State University
last May with a degree in Food and Nutrition.
And for the entire time that I was there,
I pretty much was super into food and nutrition, gung ho.
But then I kind of always knew that I
didn't want to really work in a hospital.
I didn't want to work clinical, which
is what most people typically do when you're
in a Food and Nutrition program.
So I decided I really wanted to get into event planning
and marketing events in a food industry, that
was kind of my way into the food world.
But I couldn't find an organization
that was right for me.
So I ended up getting this really crappy job.
It was horrible.
And I don't even know how I lasted four months doing it.
But I left in January, like six to eight weeks ago.
And I kind of did a little soul searching.
I knew that I didn't want to end up like a lot of people,
getting up in the morning, you didn't want to go to work.
And so many people think they have
to suffer through that first job, just because you're young
and you don't have experience, and all of that.
But I knew that I didn't need to do that.
So I was going to try and make the right decision.
I was on YouTube.
I love watching YouTube for pleasure and for learning.
So I googled Using Instagram for Business.
And what came up?
This gal over here, the Instagram Gal.
A video with Sue B. Zimmerman and James Wedmore popped up.
Oh, my Google Hangout interview with James.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So I was like, oh, it's interesting.
I think it was an hour long.
And I was entertained the entire time.
That's how I kind of knew, I was like, well,
I just didn't even watch the clock go by.
So I watched-- the entire rest of the day,
I watched every other video that Sue had on her YouTube channel.
And then I stalked her everywhere else she is online.
So Facebook, Twitter, the usual.
And I decided, well, I at least need to just talk to her.
So I sent her a message in Facebook,
because she's so accessible, always.
It's really awesome.
And I pretty much just said, do you mind chatting?
I just want some information, where to start in the industry.
Is there some schooling you really suggest, what people
should start out doing?
And in chatting with her, she responded and said,
yeah, give me a call.
So we chatted that night.
And she said, by the way, I live 20 minutes from you.
Why don't you come work with me?
And I was like, bingo.
So yeah, I kind of just put myself out there
and reached out and took a little bit of a leap.
And that's kind of how I [INAUDIBLE].
So I think what would be nice for the listeners
to hear now is what has transpired for you
since you put yourself out there.
You reached out to me.
And by the way, I hired Rachel to be my intern.
And I have thrown her into every aspect of my business,
and even have been bringing her along with me
to networking events, because I love
having people come with me.
And also, I love having someone taking pictures all the time,
so that we can Instagram them.
But why don't you share with them, as a young-- 24?
Yup.
--24-year-old, what mind shift you've had
and what skills you've gained in the very short time
that we've been together?
Well, it's really kind of crazy how
all this happened over five weeks.
I feel like I've learned more in the last five weeks
than my entire college career.
OMG.
And not to say that I didn't learn stuff
while I was at school.
Obviously, I did.
But just the thing that I-- the types of things
that I want to be able to use in a profession,
I didn't learn in school.
Things like how to engage online,
things like where to start if you
want to do personal branding, how
to connect with people that you admire online.
Reaching out to those thought leaders,
people that you want to be in their space,
how to get into the space, how to leverage
your own products that you already have online.
And just the way that Sue talks to people
is so natural and authentic.
It's not about being perfect all the time.
Like we have spelling errors in every other thing that we do.
We're like, whatever.
No.
We do care about that.
But now we have a copy editor, so we
have someone to take care of the things that we're not great at.
Also, this progress, not perfection.
I just want to jump in and talk about that.
And I really think this is important
for entrepreneurs is that things don't have to be perfect.
They have to be helping moving you forward
so you get to where you're trying to go.
For example, this set up that we have here in my living room,
we do have lights to our right, here, and to our left, here.
And we're trying to make the video as great as we can.
But it's not high quality video.
And what I'm trying to teach Rachel
it's more about the content that you give out,
so that people who are looking for your content
will be attracted to you and find you.
And that's exactly what happened with Rachel.
It was just so ironic.
A couple things.
First, I want to say, I, too, am a Nutrition major.
I went to Simmons College.
She went to Framingham State.
I live in Wellesley, which is 20 minutes from where
Rachel lives.
The fact that she in-boxed me on Facebook
with such a cute little message about,
I've been watching your videos, know all of your videos,
and I just wanted to reach out and connect with you.
I'm like, where do you live?
And when she said, Framingham, I'm like OMG.
I just need someone by my side that
can keep up with me and all the awesomeness
that I have going on for my different businesses.
And what I love so much about Rachel is that she's so nimble.
She's so willing.
She's so enthusiastic.
She's so appreciative, appreciative for what
she's learning and leading with that and not
how much are you going to pay me,
and what's the compensation?
It's more about the value of learning and doing
what really makes her passionately happy.
And she even shared a story with me.
Recently, she went home to visit her family.
And they immediately noticed a character shift
in her whole persona, because she's so much happier.
So this video is really brought to you
all in the spirit of entrepreneurship,
and really pursuing your dreams and doing what you love.
I've always had that life where I have been an entrepreneur.
So discovering a place to go and be
and surround yourself with like minded people
that you really admire hasn't been something
that I pursued, because I've always been doing what I love.
But I love attracting people into my community
and into my tribe that really have
the same fundamental values and goals
and ambitions that I do.
And Rachel is that exact type of persona
that I am so blessed and happy to have entered into my space.
And now she's become part of my team.
And quite frankly, I don't know what I'd do without her.
So we are both mutually happy, right?
Oh, absolutely.
So if you were going to end with one tip or suggestion
that you can give other graduates who are not
quite sure what direction to go in to follow what they thought
was going to be their career path after they graduated,
what would you say?
Two quick things.
Definitely, don't be afraid to do what feels awkward at first,
because you never know.
Like Sue-- I'm like literally a stranger, and I just said, hi,
can you help me?
And that was all it took.
So if there's something that makes
you feel super awk-- you feel super awkward about doing
but you know really could lead you in the right direction,
do it.
Give it a try.
What's the worst that could happen, honestly?
And also, just a little mantra that Sue's
been planting a little-- she says this all the time.
Don't lead with the money, and the money will come.
Yeah, always.
The money always follows.
It's exactly what I'm doing.
I'm leading with the desire to learn and know
the people that she knows and being her energy sphere.
And it's been five weeks, and the money is coming.
The money is coming.
It's coming.
My clients want a piece of her.
She is doing a lot of great Instagram management
for clients, and so much more.
So anyway, so I hope this video has inspired you.
Please subscribe to my channel.
And we absolutely would love for you to leave a comment below.
You can find me at SueBZimmerman.com.
And you can tweet this.
You can share it to Facebook.
And you can find Rachel at RachelPolish, P-O-L-I-S-H,
on Instagram.
And where else can they find you?
I am on Twitter @RachAPolish.
Somebody else has my name out there.
And yes, you can find me on Instagram at RachelPolish.
And she will be-- she will have a website soon.
But anyway, so we just wanted to share this story with you,
because I think it's amazing how it all came together.
OK.
See you next time.