044 | Replacing Your Income and Finding Alignment with Kayla Zenner

Listen to Replacing Your Income and Finding Alignment with Kayla Zenner on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts

On today’s episode, I am joined by Kayla Zenner as she shares her inspiring story of replacing her income and finding alignment. Kayla has become such a dear friend to me through masterminds and 1:1 coaching over the last six months and I know her story will resonate with many women in this community. We dive into what it looks like to leave a career you love, replace your income from home, build an intentional life, step outside the norm, and continue to reiterate to gain alignment and clarity. 

Kayla Zenner is a farm wife and mom of two who took a step away from teaching to focus on her family.  Along the way she found a creative outlet in cooking and baking and wanted to share that passion with others. Between running a home bakery and teaching others to enjoy the process of baking and cooking she has a growing garden and chickens.

In this episode about Replacing Your Income and Finding Alignment with Kayla Zenner, we cover:

• Defining what your definition of freedom and success looks like
• Just because you CAN do something or just because you’re GOOD at something, doesn’t mean it’s good for you 
• Working through the fear of thinking you’re letting someone else down or the judgment of others 
• The power of going in 100% and how much you can achieve when you fully commit 
• How coaching and masterminds have helped Kayla gain clarity and community

Resources & Links:

• Learn more about ASCEND retreats and get on my email list to get all the updates!
• Join the waitlist for Masterminds! (registration opening in June 2023)
• Get your Monthly Mileage Tracker here
• Learn more about my speaking
• Get your YouDoYou32 tracker! (82’s little sister!)
• Get your YouDoYou82 tracker and join the Facebook community!
• Gather in Growth podcast produced by: Jill Carr Podcasting

Connect with Kayla:

• Check out her 4-week meal plans and her sourdough class
• Follow on Instagram @thefarmstyle              
• Check out her blog at kaylazenner.com

Connect with Emily:

• Follow on Instagram and Facebook
• Join my email list
• Check out my website
• Connect with on LinkedIn

Related Episodes:

• Episode 034 | permission to build a life & business that you love with jenny roth
• Episode 039 | are your goals what you actually want?
• Episode 042 | embracing your changing roles on and off the farm with annaliese wegner

More about Gather in Growth podcast: 

Where can I connect with fellow rural women who aren’t afraid to dream big dreams? How do I create and sustain daily habits that help me reach my personal and professional goals? Am I the only one that absolutely loves living in the middle of nowhere but wants to understand the world beyond my backyard? What should I do about the unshakable feeling that there’s more to life than just showing up? How do I break free from other people’s opinions and confidently live as my authentic self? 

Welcome to Gather in Growth, a show created for passionate, growth-focused rural women like you. From mindset work and building strong habits to nerding out over personal growth books through the lens of life on a backroad, this is a show to leave you feeling joyful, inspired, ready to take action, and a little less alone. 

Tune in for honest and heart-felt conversations with host, Emily Reuschel, and fellow thought leaders, to talk about personal growth and thriving as a rural woman. Here you’ll gain tactical strategies to bring your dreams to reality, real talk about the ups and downs of tackling goals, meaningful insight from fresh perspectives, and the confidence to step into the calling that’s been laid on your heart for a reason. If you crave to feel seen in a small town, you’re in the right place. 

Whether you’re currently running on a backroad, shuffling kids to town, hopping along for a tractor ride, or three loads deep into folding laundry… we’re in this together. Absolutely anything is possible and I’m so grateful to be on this journey with YOU! 

Be sure to hit subscribe so you never miss the latest episode! Reviews help us reach more rockstar rural women, and are always greatly appreciated!

Transcription

Kayla

When you’ve got so many doors open, you don’t know which one to go through. So, closing some of those doors helps to clarify your purpose and what you really need to focus your time and energy on. Because if you’re focusing it on everything, nothing’s really happening.

Emily

Hi friend, welcome to Gather and Growth, a show created for passionate growth focused rural women like you. From mindset work and building strong habits to exploring the unique joys and challenges of living rural. This is a show to leave you feeling joyful, inspired, and a little less alone. Together we’re on a journey of reaching for the most confident, healthy, and authentic version of ourselves, and I’m forever grateful to have you by my side. Whether you’re currently running on a backroad, shuffling kids to town, hopping along for a tractor ride, or three loads deep into folding laundry, grab yourself an ice coffee and let’s dive in. 

Hi friends, welcome back to Gather and Growth. Today I am joined by Kayla Zenner, someone who has become a dear friend over the past, oh gosh, I don’t know, six months, more than that, of working together through masterminds and coaching. And I just think that she has one of the most incredible, inspiring stories, especially just knowing what so many women in this community are working through and working towards. So, I’m excited for you to get to know her if you don’t know her already and just really dig into what it means to build an intentional life and go outside of the norm of anything you’ve ever done before and every step of the way be reiterating and getting closer to what alignment looks like. So, Kayla, welcome. Thank you so much for being here with us today.

Kayla

Thank you, Emily. Yeah, it has been a crazy six months of working with you on one on ones and masterminds and I’ve just enjoyed it so much.

Emily

I appreciate you. Alright, well, if someone is just getting to know you for the first time tell us a little bit about who you are, what your life is like, where you live and how you even got to where you’re at today. Loaded question, I know.

Kayla

Ok. Yes, so so much. Ah yeah, so my name is Kayla, and I was actually a high school math teacher up until oh gosh, it’s been two years now. After I had my second child, I stepped away from teaching. So, a little bit of back story. My husband and I live in Idaho. We are crop farmers and cattle producers. So, our life is pretty hectic in that regard. We have two boys, Brody just turned 5, and then Weston is almost two years old, which kind of is I feel like the beginning of this kind of new chapter of my life.

I had full intentions when I was pregnant with Weston to continue teaching and that was going to be my path. I never in a million years thought I would be staying home with two kids, but when I was nine months pregnant with Weston, our daycare provider decided that she was going to take a step back and no longer do daycare. And living rural you don’t have very many options for daycare. So, we were kind of stuck between, I was either driving an hour in the morning and an hour after school to get the kids to and from daycare. Which just did not sound fun. I was already gone from the house from 7:00 to 5:00 and the thought of adding an hour to both sides of that was not good and being nine months pregnant at the same time trying to figure this out was lots of crying. 

So, the school that I worked for gave us the option to take a year maternity leave and so when faced with that decision, I took the year maternity leave and took the year to kind of figure everything out. And at the end of that year, I still had full intentions on going back to teaching. It really wasn’t until May of last year, almost a year ago, that I started actually thinking, do I want to go back to teaching full time and had some hard conversations with my husband and with myself and decided that for right now in my life, I want to stay home with my kids while they’re little and kind of do the whole mom thing a little bit more than I was.

Emily

Yeah, so at what point did you, because obviously the first year that you were home in your mind was like maternity leave, like this is bonus. Like I get to be home with baby. This is so fun. So, at what point did you really start sharing online or even considering like maybe I don’t have to go back to the classroom and it’s not a choice of teaching or momming. Maybe there’s something that I can do from home that, like meets us where we need to be financially while also providing this flexibility and freedom to be with my family.

Kayla

Yeah, so while I was on that year maternity leave, I was just kind of experimenting with different things to just supplement income. Since I was no longer getting my teaching income while I had this year off, not really thinking that it was going to be permanent, and I tried several different things. And then around Thanksgiving, I decided to start offering like some baking stuff to local people. And it was like a huge hit. And so that kind of started my kind of home bakery type business, but again, I still was thinking this was very, very not going to be full time.

As far as sharing online. I feel like I have been doing that. I’ve been sharing online since Brody was born. Just kind of here and there and it really started taking off when I finally decided that I wasn’t going to go back to teaching. I felt like very conflicted when you’re teaching high schoolers in a small town and you have a public Instagram it makes it a little bit awkward because they all find you.

Emily

Right.

Kayla

And so sharing online, I felt a little bit more freedom there after I decided I wasn’t going back to teaching, so I don’t need to worry so much about what my students and students’ parents were thinking when they inevitably found me online.

Emily

Right, so I guess that shift happened and within the last six months, like that has really exploded and taken off. So, what did that process look like and what is it that you honed in on that went from, oh, I’m casually sharing about some things to wow, I’m actually growing a platform here.

Kayla

Yeah, I think really during that time off I was able to really figure out what I enjoyed doing for myself and clarify that with what I was sharing. Previously I had been sharing like style type stuff like outfits and stuff like that. Looking back, I don’t know why, because that really isn’t something that I feel really confident in, like putting together outfits and stuff like that really was like a forced thing that I felt like I was doing. 

But while staying home and actually being given the freedom to be a little bit more creative in the kitchen, I really found a joy in baking and sharing recipes and just doing all of the stuff in the kitchen that I’ve always enjoyed doing but felt like such a chore before because, like I said, I was gone from 7:00 in the morning till 5:30 or 6:00 at night. And then I had to get home and get everybody fed and then bedtime and then repeat and do it all over again. So, I wasn’t able to, I guess, find the joy in doing something that I actually like doing.

Emily

Yeah, so then as that grew and you started to be like, ok, I’m staying home and what does this mean financially? Like, what were some of those different things that you tried? Because I think this, this is where a lot of people get hung up. Is we see people who are, I don’t want to say at the end point, but have kind of found their groove and found that where their flow is and now they’re growing and they have a like thriving business around it. But even six months ago, like you were doing twenty things before you really honed in. So, I would love if you could really talk through that journey of that full span of all of the things that you tried before you reiterated and narrowed down to like, this is what’s really working and I love it.

Kayla

Oh gosh, yeah, I literally six months ago before I started doing masterminds, was doing so many different things. I had play dough kits that I was putting together. I was doing the baking that we were talking about. I was doing kind of the Instagram thing. I hadn’t really figured out exactly where I wanted to go. So like my content, there was all over the place. I was doing some part time bookkeeping for a little business that was right in town. I was doing virtual assistance. I was teaching part time online. I just was going in a million different places and my brain felt that so much.

And so when we started masterminds, I feel like the first mastermind that we did, we were all just talking about what it is that we really wanted to do and I didn’t know, like I had so much going on that I could not narrow it down to figure out what is one thing that I would really like to focus in on and through all of this I’ve been able to just slowly, I feel like, let pieces go as we go and I don’t even know how this process even started. Too, just every single time we met, I felt like there was something else that I was ok with letting go and really determining what I wanted to focus on.

I think our most recent conversations really had been, I had narrowed in that I really loved doing the baking and bakery and wanted to kind of go all in there. And so when I started thinking about like building a business, everything around me was a six figure business. And so when I was like, hey, I’m going to build a business. I’m going to do this. That’s all that kept coming into my mind, but at the same time, I quit teaching to be a mom and be able to have the flexibility with my husband’s crazy farming schedule to be able to spend time with him when we could and spend time with my kids. Not be working a nine to five anymore and really figuring out a way that I can balance both and let go of the idea that I need to earn $100,000. Because in reality, even if I were to earn $1,000,000, it’s not like, would that change what I want my life to look like? If I had to trade earning $1,000,000 for the time I have with my kids right now, it’s not what I want to do.

Emily

Yeah and I think you’ve said before like, it’s not like I’m going to be one of those people that retires my husband. I married a farmer.

Kayla

Yeah, exactly. Like if I were to earn $1,000,000, the best thing that will come out of that is maybe a combine. 

Emily

Which, like, that’s just more work. 

Kayla 

Exactly

Emily

More land means he’s not home more.

Kayla

Exactly, exactly.

So, it’s not like more money is going to earn more family time in the end. Me having the flexibility is going to get us more family time.

Emily

Right, right. Well, and I think what is so powerful about what you did is, is defining what actually gives you that freedom and flexibility. Because your baking side of the business did really take off and was very, I put this in air quotes, successful, but you recognize, well, if I really want to grow that and I want to scale that to like a big sustainable business it’s going to mean like going into a commercial kitchen and getting a babysitter and all of these things which are all good and well. But taking that step back to be like, like you said, like, well, that just feels like another nine to five and maybe one that I enjoy differently, but that’s not actually the reality of what I want our days to look like. That’s not the flexibility that I want. That’s not my definition of freedom.

Kayla

Yeah, so much all of that when I was thinking about I had narrowed into wanting to dive into the baking. What my next steps were for that and then I started looking at the time commitment that would take away from what I really want to focus my time on now and took a step back from that. I was looking into like getting into a commercial kitchen and doing all of that, but once I kind of clarified that I still want to have that flexibility at home with my kids, with my family, I have explored different options. In order to do that, like digital downloads are a great way. I’ve been doing baking classes, are so fun and it, it made me realize that just because I’m saying no to what I’m seeing other people in my like, I guess category do, doesn’t mean there aren’t going to be other opportunities that pop up.

Emily

And so many have by saying no. 

Kayla

Yeah, so much.

Emily

That’s where we get paralyzed.

Is like, oh, in this scarcity mindset. Well, if I don’t do this or if I say no to this, or if I don’t pursue this thing, then I’m, then I’m screwed. Then I’m not able to do all these things that I want and the reality is, is a lot of times doors close so that new ones can open. And a lot of times we can’t even see those other doors, when we’re so busy managing the rest of the hallway.

Kayla

Yeah, when you’ve got so many doors open, you don’t know which one to go through. So, closing some of those doors helps to clarify your purpose and what you really need to focus your time and energy on. Because if you’re focusing it on everything, nothing’s really happening.

Emily

Yeah, that’s a lesson I’ve had to learn over the past year is like, just because you can do something or just because you’re good at it doesn’t mean it’s good for you anymore. Which I know we’ve talked about that too and like what it looks like to re-identify who you are as your seasons change. Like what did that look like for you of when you left the classroom and like, I’m no longer a teacher, who am I if I’m not a teacher? Like who am I to say that I’m a business owner. Like what did that process of changing identities look like both good, bad, and ugly.

Kayla

Oh gosh I felt like, I don’t know, just like this huge flood of emotions because as soon as I entered college I knew I wanted to be a teacher and that was like going to be my path forever. I was going to be a teacher and I was going to retire being a teacher. And so I felt like I had this huge identity crisis when I decided to take a step back from teaching and pursue something else that really brought me a lot more joy and flexibility in my life, never expecting to be where I am now.  

Like in the back of my mind when I quit teaching, I always had, ok, well, I have a math degree, math teachers are far and few between, like you can’t find them, so I can go and find a math job if I really need to. And as we’ve been doing all of this process of elimination and just focusing and getting clarity and just peace in my life, I don’t think about the fact oh, I can get a job anytime. Like if I need to go back to teaching, I can. That thought doesn’t cross my mind hardly as much as it used to.

Emily

Yeah, and I think there’s a lot to be said of not only redefining that in yourself but taking ownership on what you’re doing in a new chapter, especially being in a small town.

Kayla

Oh gosh.

Emily

Yeah. So, can you talk about what that was like?

Kayla

Yeah, so when I decided, there’s so much fear that was encased around when I decided to quit teaching. I felt like I was letting so many people down. I felt like I was letting my coworkers down, my students down. People in the community down, because every time I would talk to somebody in the community that I taught in, they were always talking about how excited they were for me to come back and be done with maternity leave. And so when I decided not to go back, I felt a lot of fear around that and a lot of judgment, whether there was judgment or not, it really doesn’t matter. It was all of the thoughts that I put into my head around what everybody else was thinking about me when I decided to take this, what I felt like a scary step to staying home permanently at this point and letting go of that fear and judgment has been a lot of this process in me finding clarity in what I’m doing.

I feel like in small towns everybody knows everybody and you hear people talk about other people. And so when it comes to you doing something big and scary, you just have a tendency to think that everybody is talking about you doing this thing and it doesn’t matter if it’s negative or positive. It’s that fear that they’re talking about you and what are they saying about you, because word is going to get around regardless.

Emily

Right. And especially when you’re doing something that people don’t understand. Like, what do you mean you’re running a business online through Instagram? What do you mean like, ok, selling, selling cinnamon rolls is tangible. But, you know, doing virtual courses or selling an eBook and people are like, oh, that’s a nice hobby. And you’re like, no, I’ve replaced my income like this is my job and I love my life. That is mind blowing for someone who doesn’t understand it.

Kayla 

Yeah, for sure. I actually had a conversation with my little sister a while ago, and she’s just like, I just don’t understand what it, how you’re making money. She’s like, I know that you’re like, I understand that you’re making money, I just don’t understand how. And it’s even though, like work from home jobs exist, they’re still not, they’re still tangible, right? You’re still working from home for another company. So when you are working from home, doing something for yourself that’s outside of the norm, people don’t understand it and it’s scary to them to think about the opportunities that could be there that maybe they have thought about doing but have been too afraid to pursue.

Emily

Hey friends, I’m going to be totally honest. In the past four months, my habits have gone out the window. Pregnancy be humbling like that sometimes. But now that I’m starting to feel like a functional human again, I am so ready to get back to the things that I know make me feel physically, mentally, and emotionally healthy and strong, which is why I am jumping into a new round of You Do You 82. 

You Do You 82 is a habit challenge where you get to choose six habits to intentionally build or break through the lens of progress over perfection for 82 days. This challenge is 1000% free and anyone can start anytime. However, I know it’s always more fun when we do something like this together. I’m jumping in within the next couple of weeks and I think you should too. If you are ready to bring some intentionality into your life and truly take care of you throughout the summer I invite you to join us. Tap the link in today’s show notes to download your free journey through You Do You 82 workbook today. 

Whether or not you’ve done this before or anything like it. I believe that any time is a good time to invest in yourself. There’s no need to compare yourself to where you’ve been, where you wish to be, or what anyone else around you is doing. This is for you exactly where you’re at today. Again, you’re going to tap the link in today’s show notes head to youdoyou82.com to get started. I am so ready. Let’s do this. 

Emily

Ok, I think that’s like a perfect opportunity for you to bestow the life lessons that this past year or so has had in store. If someone is in a position where they are wanting to make a change and it doesn’t have to be starting a business. Could be a change in your health. It could be a different change in your career, something different for your family, something different for your farm, but are really sitting in that like, who am I outside of this thing or who am I to think I can do this? Or what are they going to think or nobody’s going to understand or nobody gets it, or no one believes in me. Like, how would you speak into that person based on what you’ve learned over the past couple of years.

Kayla

Oh gosh, I think a lot of it has just come down to me really sitting down and taking an honest look at myself and what I am capable of. Because when I sat down and really looked at what I’ve done and what I have achieved, I realized that everything that I’ve ever put 100% of myself into, I’ve been able to make successful. And anything that I haven’t put everything into isn’t successful. So, any kind of excuse that I could come up with why I can’t pursue this was something that I never really had my whole heart and effort into in the first place versus what happens when you do have 100% of you going towards something. Like what can you actually achieve, and be really honest with yourself. Like, if you want to pursue something, can you give it 100% and go for it without the fear of everybody else, whether they are talking about you or aren’t talking about you, to hold you back?

Emily

Yeah, I know for me, I think there’s a lot to be said when you are so passionate about what you’re doing and once you get to that point of clarity, because I do think it’s a journey, I think that oftentimes we get paralyzed by not having the right answer right away. And ultimately, both you and I wouldn’t be doing what we’re doing right now if we didn’t start somewhere that looks totally different. So there is something to be said with taking messy action and trying different things and you know, had you not been sharing online about style, you might not be where you’re at right now. But once you get to the point that you know you’re in your groove and you are doing work that matters and you care about it and it’s providing for your family. That whole other people’s opinions starts to have a lot less weight. Oftentimes we put these expectations on other people that actually shine a light in our own insecurity and our shakiness in it. And the more that we flex that muscle within ourselves to prove to ourselves time and time and again that we can do it and that it’s working and that we love it. All of a sudden, those like external factors don’t feel so overwhelming because it’s like this is me, this is my job, this is what I do and I’m happy. And if you’re not happy about it, then go check yourself.

Kayla

Yeah, yeah, exactly. Like I’ve said before, my biggest issue to overcome where my fears of what everybody was thinking about me when I wasn’t around and in reality that doesn’t matter. What’s the saying? Like if they’re not funding your lifestyle, they have no input in your lifestyle.

Emily

I love that. I love that. So, I know you touched on this a little bit, but how has being a part of something like a mastermind helped you not only from the clarity standpoint, but also that confidence and problem solving and gosh, just any other way along this journey.

Kayla

Oh gosh, yeah. So, the masterminds I feel like have been so incredibly helpful for me. They have given me the room to not only talk through things that I am doing and struggles that I might be having, but I also get to hear other peoples struggles or other peoples, like how are they building their business and what are they doing that’s working and what’s not working and doing awesome things together has been so impactful. I mean living rural and being one of the few stay at home moms that I know it can get really lonely, so having a group of women that you I don’t know how it all works out, but that you just you come together and you click with and you just enjoy the conversations and are able to cheer each other on. Regardless of how close you are and what you’re both doing in business or in life, just all of the different challenges that all of us end up facing and working through those and hearing how other people get through them has been, I just can’t put into words how impactful that it really has been for me and finding that clarity and peace and where I want to go in the future.

Emily

Yeah, you said it so well, it’s really hard to put into words.

Kayla

It, it is, it’s so hard. Unless you have experienced it. Like coming together with a group of women who are all trying to figure things out together. It’s beyond words.

Emily

Mic drop.

Well, very cool. Kayla tell us about some of the things that you are working on because you have put together some incredible resources for, well, really for anyone, but I think a lot of times you’re serving women like us, like women in agriculture who are in rural communities, who are busy, maybe moms, maybe running stuff out to the field, whatnot. And also just inspiring like what that joy in the kitchen can look like around your very real lifestyle. So tell us about some of the things you’re working on.

Kayla

Yeah, so the first like major thing that I kind of put together are four week meal plans. They kind of started out of necessity for myself, on I needed quick easy meals that my family would actually eat. That didn’t take forever in the kitchen to make, and I wasn’t finding that in any kind of recipe book I would find. Any meal plans I would find like I could pick up a recipe book and find, I don’t know, like 10 recipes out of it that my family might actually eat and might actually like. And I felt like it was just a waste of my time and money to look through these. So out of necessity, I pulled together all of my family’s favorite recipes and put them into a four week meal plan that has all of the recipes, shopping lists, what to make for the week and it just simplifies it for those busy moms that don’t want to think about what’s for dinner. And so the first one was so successful, I’ve made two others and working on a fourth, it’ll hopefully come out sometime this summer because everybody that has gotten them has just said how awesome it is to open it up and know that there are family friendly meals that our kids are actually going to like and eat. 

And then I really got into making sourdough when I started staying home. And along that process, I’ve gotten so many questions. And people from my community wanting to learn right alongside me. So I put together sourdough classes. I first started doing them in person, but my online community obviously can’t always come to Idaho to learn with me. So I have virtual sourdough courses also with hopefully some more baking classes in the future because I feel like baking is one of those things that people they think that they’re either good at it or not and in reality baking is just learning an art form that you really can craft as long as you can figure out kind of the rules that go along with it. I like to think about it as like science and art put together in one to make like this beautiful, beautiful thing.

Emily

I love that so much. I’m so grateful that you were here with us today. Thank you for your willingness to share your story and the ups and downs that have come along the way. I know I’ve told you this, but I’m just so proud of where you’re at and where you’re going, because it just, just radiate this like peace and alignment that six months ago felt like spattered chaos. You know, like that process of, of trying all the things and doing all the things and reidentifying who you are and how you fit into this, and then how all of this fits into life. So, I’m just really grateful to have gotten to, to walk alongside this journey with you and, and thankful that you were willing to share it today. So, if someone is not yet following you, how do we stay connected to you, Kayla?

Kayla

So I’m on Instagram as @thefarmstyle, kind of farm and lifestyle shoved together in one word, or I also have a blog that’s kaylazenner.com.

Emily

Kayla, before we part a question I ask every guest, or at least almost every guest. When I remember, occasionally I forget. But what does personal growth mean to you right now?

Kayla

Personal growth, to me, means being able to look at my life and really figure out what it is that I want and work towards that in no matter what area it could be, it could be my mental growth. It could be my professional growth, but having the ability to look inside myself and see what it is that I need to do to grow in whatever capacity I want to.

Emily

I love that so much. Thank you so much for being here today, Kayla.

Kayla

Thank you for having me.

Emily

Have I told you today how much I appreciate you? I’d like to imagine this was a meaningful backyard patio kind of chat between friends sipping Lacroix at sunset. If you enjoyed today’s show, please take a screenshot to share or forward this episode to a friend. You can also find me @emilyreuschel over on social to continue the conversation. It’s truly a joy to hear what tidbits and takeaways made an impact on your day. As always, all links and resources mentioned in today’s episode can be found in the show notes listed below or over at emilyreuschel.com. Special thanks to my podcast manager, Jill Carr for the time and love, she puts into producing Gather in Growth for this community. What a blessing it is to be on this personal growth journey together. Forever grateful for you.