Bryan McAnulty [00:00:00]:

In the past month alone, Candice Denise grew her Instagram by a 100,000 followers. She is a creator, speaker, coach, and social media star who helps women gain the clarity they need in life and business. Candice is an expert in content creation and her social media accounts are the proof. Her engaging community driven posts helped her reach over 260,000 followers on Instagram. Today, we're interviewing Candice to learn how she built such an engaged audience around her brand and to take her advice on self care as an entrepreneur.

Candice Denise [00:00:30]:

I think the more that we start just making ourselves, especially in a world where where we're going more into the AI space. I think when people can have just a actual person, it's like calling a customer service line and you get the answering service versus like a live person. You're almost kind of like surprised when it's like, oh, this is a person, not not a, you know, robot. Oh, my gosh. I feel like that is probably what happened. And so maybe I gave people the surprise factor. And they were like, oh, she's a person. And they kinda just, you know, stuck around.

Bryan McAnulty [00:00:58]:

Welcome to the creator's adventure, where we interview creators from around the world hearing their stories about growing a business. Hey everyone, I'm Brian McAnulty, the founder of Heights Platform. Let's get into it. Many have asked me what software I use to record such high quality video for this podcast. I use Riverside and what's great about Riverside is it records the local camera feed from you and your guests around the world, which means crisp 4 k video without having to worry about blurriness due to Internet hiccups. Riverside is also a great editor, fitting with my philosophy of making it easy for yourself to create because there is nothing that your guests or you have to download. We also use Riverside's AI magic clips to find interesting moments for our episode intros. And I'm happy to announce that Riverside is sponsoring this episode.

Bryan McAnulty [00:01:47]:

And if you sign up at creators. Riverside.fm/creatorsadventure and use code creators adventure, you'll get 15% off. You can find the link in the episode description as well. Now back to the show. Hey, everyone. We're here today with Candice Denise. She is a highly rated motivational speaker with 3 plus years of experience as a speaker, self care coach, group facilitator, digital content creator. Candace speaks with individuals, groups, and organizations to amplify and empower them to master their well-being.

Bryan McAnulty [00:02:23]:

She is the author of the Self Care for Busy People ebook and creator of the Self Care Life card deck. Candice, welcome to the show.

Candice Denise [00:02:33]:

Thank you for having me, Brian. Great to be here.

Bryan McAnulty [00:02:35]:

Yeah. Excited to talk with you today.

Candice Denise [00:02:37]:

Likewise.

Bryan McAnulty [00:02:38]:

My first question is, what would you say is the biggest thing either that you did or you are doing that has helped you to achieve the freedom to do what you enjoy?

Candice Denise [00:02:47]:

Yeah. That's such a great question. I would honestly say probably the biggest thing was to work through my own imposter syndrome and self doubt, because I feel like a lot of times it's not necessarily that you're unable to achieve the freedom that you want, and it's not necessarily others that are stopping you from doing it. More importantly, it's probably the inner critic, the person within you that is talking to you, which is, you know, yourself. And you're kind of picking away as to why you can't, maybe because of past experiences, maybe because of fear, maybe because of this comparison that you're doing, looking at others and how they're achieving freedom and maybe because your route doesn't look like theirs. And so I think for myself, being able to work through imposter syndrome and being able to really work through that self doubt and get to a place where, it's not necessarily that it's forever gone. You know, it's one of those things that I've just learned to manage it. And so when those inner critic or those voices come up and try to talk me out of that freedom that I that I have currently, I have to remember, you know, looking at where I've come from and how I've gotten here and just really learning to manage and, you know, silence those voices, at least in that moment so that I can continue to keep living this way.

Bryan McAnulty [00:04:03]:

Yeah. That's a great answer. And I like the way that you put it too because it made me think the idea of imposter syndrome and all that, it shows up in different ways. It's not just, like, oh, am I not good enough for this? But, I was thinking and connecting that to myself of how I still have times that I feel some kind of worry about something that I'm doing and I I'm confident enough in myself and what I'm doing. I've been doing this long enough that it's not so much that, but then when I take a step back and realize, oh, you know what, my my audience, like, they don't really care. So this thing that I'm that I'm too worried about right now, however it's gonna go, when it's gonna happen, nobody really cares in the way that I do. And so I could probably relax about it, and it'll all be okay.

Candice Denise [00:04:52]:

Absolutely.

Bryan McAnulty [00:04:56]:

Cool. So can you share with us a maybe story of the early days of your career and when you decided to become a motivational speaker and self care coach? And maybe how did you take the first steps towards that?

Candice Denise [00:05:10]:

Yeah. So getting here, started because I was a creative director prior to this. And so my journey had a few steps even before here, but the last step prior to switching over to this motivational speaker And they would tell me about their business. You know, things are going great with And they would tell me about their business. You know, things are going great with work. Everything's awesome. And I would say, well, how are you? Right. How's the person who's running the business? And it was a little harder for them to answer or when they would answer, I would hear them say things like, you know, I need to take better care of myself, etcetera.

Candice Denise [00:05:57]:

And so that right there kind of sparked this whole self care coaching piece of me because I understood where they were. I was once them. I used to be that female entrepreneur who didn't take care of herself, and I was handling the business of the business, but not the business of myself. And so I understood where they were coming from. And a lot of it is just because we're not taught to really take care of ourselves as people. You know, we're taught to take care of everyone else and everything else. And so that really kind of prompted me into moving out of where I was into what I now call more purpose driven work. The motivational speaking part of me was more about me accepting that part because I feel like I've always had the gift of encouragement.

Candice Denise [00:06:39]:

It wasn't something that just popped up on the scene. As far as childhood, I can always remember speaking to people even when I didn't know that I was saying things that were inspiring or encouraging or motivating them, but I was. And so it's always been there with me. It was just me being able to get to a place where I started to own it and started to say, okay, maybe this isn't just a fluke or, you know, I just happened to say the right thing. Maybe this really is a gift and actually really happened to it. And so it just kind of merged at the same time of recognizing being able to, coach these these women on their self care, which allowed me to really start being able to motivate them in on their self care too. And I think that's what helped me to accept that this is this is a part of the purpose, not just the coaching, but the motivation too.

Bryan McAnulty [00:07:28]:

Yeah. Okay. So self care is definitely an important part of entrepreneurship and avoiding burnout, especially for, anyone in business. But how would you, integrate that self care into your daily routine, especially given the busy life that an entrepreneur has?

Candice Denise [00:07:51]:

Absolutely. The first thing I always say is let's define self care because it looks different for everyone. But my definition of self care is very much so. It's about the small decisions that you make to help manage you every day. And so if that small decision is as something as simple as what I have right now, which is a bottle of water next to me while we're talking because I know that I may get dehydrated. That's a decision that I'm making to take care of myself versus trying to, you know, go through this interview and this podcast with my throat dry. I said, let me plan ahead and make sure that I have, you know, ample enough water to keep me hydrated. That's self care.

Candice Denise [00:08:32]:

You know, I've been on back to back calls today, and so I knew it was important to stay hydrated. And so I planned ahead and put my water bottles where they were accessible. That's the same thing that I say to entrepreneurs. It's not about finding more time. It's about managing yourself with the time that you have. And so if you know that you have a full day that you're going to be on the go and you're going to be in your car all day, making sure that you keep snacks in your car, you know, things that are going to fuel you so that you can keep going, planning ahead with things like that. If you know that you want to get some, you know, body movement or exercise in and you're like, I don't have time to get to the gym. Well, when you get up while you're brushing your teeth, you can do squats or you can do stretches standing right there while you're taking care of yourself and getting yourself ready for the day.

Candice Denise [00:09:19]:

It's really simple. While you're while you're sitting at your desk, you can do breathing exercises. You can take, you know, a few minutes and build into your calendar and say, you know, every 2 hours I have a reminder go on my calendar that says take some deep breaths. So it's not really about trying to do these big gigantuous things, but it's really about how do I look at my day and see where are the pockets that, I can add self care into.

Bryan McAnulty [00:09:48]:

Yeah. That's that's helpful. And I think it's very easy to neglect those things as an entrepreneur that we might realize, oh, okay. I should get an assistant, and you you've got somebody helping you. But then still, we kinda let ourselves suffer through these other things where we probably shouldn't

Candice Denise [00:10:07]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:10:08]:

Not only for our own health, but also our own just performance and and well-being and everything.

Candice Denise [00:10:13]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:10:14]:

Yeah. Thinking about that for myself, you're mentioning, like, the exercise part and everything. And I realized that, like, I try to go on walks at least when it's nice out nice weather, try to go on a walk with my family every day. But, I realized that sometimes while I don't think I'm overworking myself, I'm still just sitting a little bit too long at the desk, and I've got a standing desk, but still it was just a little bit too much. And so I want to be able to move around a little bit more, but I have to be at my computer for things. So I got, like, a a desk, treadmill. And some ways I feel like it's a little bit strange of, like, a mouse in a cage in some ways, but I do go for walks outside as well. Long story short is I do think that's helped me as well to make sure that I'm I'm staying, flexible moving around

Candice Denise [00:11:03]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:11:03]:

While, being able to still work.

Candice Denise [00:11:05]:

No. That's great. And, I mean, I I have the same I, at one point, I had a standing desk with the walking pad underneath that I can move around. You know, they have the bikes now that you can move up to your desk too. So you can actually kinda, like, exit or, I guess, you know, cycle while you're working. And I do agree that fresh air is always great, not just from a standpoint of movement, but just from a mental standpoint. Point. There's something about fresh air that helps you to just kind of release and, you know, clear your head a little bit versus looking at a screen.

Candice Denise [00:11:36]:

I personally suffer from dry eyes. So I have to, I'm forced now to have to step away from my computer because if not, my eyes are literally hurting and burning. And so I always tell people, you know, make sure that you're taking care of yourself by choice rather than by force. Because a lot of times, especially as entrepreneurs, we wait until we're forced to have to meet the need to take care of ourselves versus doing it by choice when you can stay on top of these things. And so kudos to you for, you know, prioritizing yourself. I think it's really interesting that we're so serious about the business, but the person who runs the business, we don't see the value in that because honestly, if you're no good, then the business is no good. And I always feel like genuinely what you appreciate appreciates. And so the more you appreciate yourself, the more your, appreciation and value goes up.

Candice Denise [00:12:27]:

Right? The more your family will value you because you're a happier person. You're a more likable person. Your friends will wanna be around you. Your employees will wanna, you know, tolerate you, just because you're you're better, you know, at being your best self for you.

Bryan McAnulty [00:12:41]:

Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree. And, yeah, I've I've spoken with, like, athletes and and coaches on here before where, like, I find it interesting that entrepreneurs don't consider themselves as, like, an athlete in their business, but you really should. Like, if if someone was was playing professionally or in the Olympics or something

Candice Denise [00:13:00]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:13:00]:

You've gotta believe that they're really paying attention to make sure they got sleep, to make sure they're eating healthy, and they're ready to go for when they have to perform.

Candice Denise [00:13:07]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:13:07]:

But as an entrepreneur, we should why not be doing the same things? So because if you're not, then maybe your competitor is. And so you're you're putting yourself at a disadvantage by not taking care of yourself, plus everything else that you mentioned that Yeah. If you are taking care of equals residual income. I mean,

Candice Denise [00:13:28]:

I think, you know, equals residual income. I mean, I think, you know, understanding how to go from this burnout to bank type of energy, because when you're burned out, you're not at your you're not at your most optimal self. And so you may be making decisions that are costing your business money. It could be something very simple that you're like, oh my gosh. It was an oversight. But that oversight happened because you were neglecting your rest, because you felt like, you know, I just gotta go one more hour. I just gotta just keep, you know, pushing myself versus pacing yourself. And, honestly, if you wanna have a business, you know, that is sustainable, a sustainable business is going to start with a sustainable you.

Candice Denise [00:14:08]:

And so the more that you take care of you, the longer your business will be around as well. You know, a lot of times businesses fail not because the business isn't good, but because the person running the business failed at taking care of themselves first. And so they just weren't able to keep things going. And so if you actually want to see some long standing in your business, then self care is about self preservation. So it's important to preserve yourself now.

Bryan McAnulty [00:14:35]:

Yeah. Yeah. I totally agree. And if you think of maybe if someone watching this or or listening to this, if you think of where you wanna get to, if you think of those businesses that are 2 times, 10 times, a 100 times beyond where you're at right now, you you have to believe that the person running that business, they're not where they are because they spent, like, one extra hour really pushing to get something done. But because they had the flexibility to be able to step back and think clearly about what's the best next action that I can take rather than just forcing through what whatever they're currently working on.

Candice Denise [00:15:13]:

Yeah. I tell people all the time, I'm no longer in my college days where I would push through, you know, cram the night before and stay up. I'm like, that is not how life works for me anymore. And so I have to have rest.

Bryan McAnulty [00:15:27]:

Yeah. Yeah. Me too. Definitely. Yeah. I I make sure that I get as close to 8 hours of sleep as possible every night. And I don't maybe I'm different, but I don't understand how people go for a sustained time not having that. I feel like I I just cannot perform at nearly the same level.

Candice Denise [00:15:45]:

At all. And I mean, hey, you know, to each his own. I'm not here to knock it. I just have learned myself. And I think self awareness is really important because some people are able to, you know, run their days off of maybe 5 or 6 hours of rest. Some people really are. And so who am I to say? No. You can't.

Candice Denise [00:16:04]:

You know yourself better than anyone. I think the biggest thing from this conversation in this moment is to be self aware. So if you know that you need 8 hours in order to be productive and you're only giving yourself 6, then you're already cheating yourself out the next day. You've already started the day behind because you're not giving yourself what you need. So you're starting in a depleted place. But if you know, okay, I can operate off of 6 hours well, you know, I'm I'm good on this, then that's great. So really be self aware about you and what works for you.

Bryan McAnulty [00:16:39]:

Yeah. Can you share a story of where your advice significantly transforms somebody's approach to their self care and well-being?

Candice Denise [00:16:50]:

Yeah. So I have an aunt who is currently I believe she's 73. Right? I'm sorry. 75 now. But, maybe about 2 years ago, she we were going to Thanksgiving with our family. And so, I was she was driving with me or riding with me, and we were having a conversation just about life. And she's she looks at me and she says, you know, I'm driving. She's in the passenger seat.

Candice Denise [00:17:14]:

And she says, can. She calls me can, short of Candace. And she says, Can, I just want you to know I'm better about my boundaries because of you? And so it came out of the blue. I literally was not expecting my 73 year old aunt to say this to me. And I said, really? I said, you know, do tell more. And so she's like, honestly, because I watch you on Instagram, which is I think a tickle in itself. But she's like, I watch you on Instagram and I hear you talking about boundaries and just, you know, really knowing your worth and making sure that, you know, people aren't taking advantage of you and things of that sort. And so she said, whether you know it or not, I was like listening.

Candice Denise [00:17:54]:

And, you know, I have been able to kind of set more boundaries when it comes to my grandchildren and not feeling like, you know, I have to always be the babysitter for my kids. And so because I still have a life. And I just thought, wow. You know, I in no way, shape, or form expected it. But I think it was more surprising because sometimes we think after a certain age, people are no longer trying to learn. Right? They're just where they are. But it goes to show that we can forever be students and we can always be learning and we don't always have to learn from someone that is our peer. We can learn from people that are younger than us.

Candice Denise [00:18:31]:

And so she showed me that in that moment that because of it, she now, feels like she's kind of gotten her time back. She's gotten, you know, her piece back a little bit because before she was feeling very overwhelmed, and she's like, I'm retired. You know, I should be enjoying my retirement. I shouldn't feel like I've picked up another job at just being a babysitter. But because I kept hearing this rhetoric that you were saying, and it was just really resonating with me, I felt like, you know, now is a good time to set some boundaries. And in her own way, you know, she did that. And so she's better off for it because, again, she has her time back. She has a sense of peace, and she feels like she was advocating for herself.

Bryan McAnulty [00:19:11]:

That's great. What would you say, if if any, are maybe common misconceptions about self care self care for women in business maybe specifically, and and how do you address those in your coaching?

Candice Denise [00:19:25]:

Yeah. So the first thing, goes back to something I was saying earlier is that oftentimes when we hear self care, we define it as I have to find more time. So I feel like that's a myth. People feel like they've got to find more time. And so that's a lot of the reason why they don't practice self care because they're like, I don't have the time. Right. Especially female entrepreneurs. They're already juggling all of these different balls, whether personally and professionally.

Candice Denise [00:19:51]:

And so they're like, where am I supposed to add that in? And that's why I, you know, coach from a place of, well, let's look at the time that you're working with and let's see where we can fit it in, where we can, as I like to say, layer the things and versus, you know, feeling like you've got to squeeze it. Because I also don't want this to feel like you're shoving it in or you're making it work. Right? You're trying to put this square peg into a round hole. I wanna look at realistically where can we fit this into where it feels organic, for you and your schedule? So, like, let's look to see, you know, are there moments that you're not eating? Are there moments that you, you know, are just not hydrating yourself? Are there places and spaces where you're not getting your exercise in? So instead of you, you know, taking the elevator to the 2nd floor, maybe you need to start taking the stairs when you go into work, you know, just to kind of give yourself some of that cardio that you're in need of since you can't get to the gym. So we look at, you know, those things, but I feel like that's the one of the biggest myths I hear. I need more time. The second thing that I feel like I hear a lot is being not being clear on self care versus self pampering. So I'll hear people say, well, I did some self care, you know, and it's like, well, what did you do? I went to the spa and I got a massage and I got my mani and my pedi, which are all awesome.

Candice Denise [00:21:09]:

Okay. So, dear listeners, I am not saying that you cannot do those things. I'm not saying that you shouldn't. What I am saying is that those are more considered self pampering, which is a part of self care. Self care is dealing with your well-being, right? Your emotional, your physical, your spiritual, your financial, all of these different things that make up you. And so self pampering is great, but it's short term. It's a quick fix. You know, you go in, you come out better.

Candice Denise [00:21:37]:

So you went in with, stress. You came out feeling stress free because of that massage. Whereas though self care is not a quick turnaround, it's something that you kind of have to work at. And I think that's why a lot of times we find people will go to self pampering more and think that they're self caring. Although they're doing a part of self care, you're not really doing the things that are going to be more sustainable. So that's why you feel like, well, why is it that I'm still feeling burned out? Because you got rid of the stress in that moment with the massage versus learning how to manage it over time with self care.

Bryan McAnulty [00:22:13]:

Yeah. You mentioned how you you keep the water next to your desk. Mhmm. So if you go to to a spa, get a massage or something, and you don't have the water next to your desk, you're still not doing okay. So Exactly. You you fix something for a moment, but then what happens to everything else?

Candice Denise [00:22:28]:

Exactly.

Bryan McAnulty [00:22:30]:

Yeah. That that's a a great comparison, I think. I I it's kinda similar to to even more like going into health and, like, medical sense of somebody who who takes care of themselves so they don't need to go to the doctor versus somebody who has to go to the doctor and then take some pill to fix something. But they're gonna have to keep taking the pill over and over because they're not fixing the underlying problem.

Candice Denise [00:22:56]:

Perfect. That's exactly it right there. You're not fixing the underlying problem. And so, therefore, this thing will keep coming more and more. It's going to keep coming to a head. And that's when we start getting into the space of by choice and now by force. And that's when, you know, you're like, man, I had to go to the doctors. You know, I just this stress headache just wouldn't go away.

Candice Denise [00:23:17]:

Like, I just having these headaches, these chronic headaches. And so it's really, really important. And that's kind of honestly in my own story, how I discovered having dry eyes because I was giving too much time to the screen and not really creating this separation. And so, you know, not just your computer screens. We're on our cell phones. We're looking at television. So there's so many screens around us. And I was I was forced to have to deal with it.

Bryan McAnulty [00:23:47]:

Yeah. So on Instagram, you've got more than 250,000 followers. I'm curious what strategies have been most effective for you in growing and engaging your audience.

Candice Denise [00:23:59]:

Yeah. Oh, goodness. This is, like, a famous question I feel like I get, which is which is really interesting because, you know, everybody wants, like, what's the magic answer? And it's different for everyone. I feel like for me, to be quite frank, Brian, I think when I started creating what I call more of FaceTime conversations content, meaning that my content stopped for me, stopped being about, you know, everything else and just me talking to my audience, just really having, as I like to say, those space time video call conversations. And so that right there, I felt like started creating this level of relatability. And so that really helped people to feel like they could connect because they felt like they were engaging with a person, even if it was me talking to them from my screen. Just talking, you know, made it more relatable. Changing up where I was recording, I started recording from my car primarily.

Candice Denise [00:25:01]:

And that came by force because of just some things that I was navigating in life and having to manage a lot of things. And I found myself in my car a lot. And so I was just like, I don't have time to get home and sit in front of the camera and set up. I've got to create a mobile studio because if I don't, this content will never get created. And so I just did it not knowing that so many people have said said to me, I felt so much more, you know, connected to you. You seem so much more relatable because I feel like I'm always in my car. And it felt like I was just having a conversation with someone in their car. And so it kind of took this because I think it took this, you know, preconceived notion away that I was so far beyond people.

Candice Denise [00:25:45]:

You know, this and it feels like that sometimes as content creators. Like, you you kind of become, I guess, these celebrity figures to people. Not that you're trying to be, but people will see you that way. And I think it's nice in this day and age to just kinda have people that just feel like people to you. Like, she's a regular person just like me who's in her car. You know, she's eating her she's eating in her car. She's putting in her makeup. She's doing all kinds of things like I do.

Candice Denise [00:26:09]:

I really feel like that took my content, up in this place of just being more relatable.

Bryan McAnulty [00:26:19]:

Yeah. That's great advice. I I know from the, the world of, like, creating video content, people always say you should make your content like you're speaking to one person. You're speaking to a specific person and you're I I think people make the mistake of of announcing something and they're they're, like, making this video about announcing something about their business. And that works when your audience cares about you already and when they've already had that personal connection with you. Yeah. But if they haven't, then it's just like, well, what is this? Let's get this. So, yeah, they they wanna hear from a real person

Candice Denise [00:26:55]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:26:55]:

And and to have you be authentic. So I think that's really great advice.

Candice Denise [00:27:00]:

People want to connect with people. Right? They like you said, and I mean, there's this like no trust factor. People buy from people. And so I think the more that we start just making ourselves, especially in a world where where we're going more into the AI space. I think when people can have just a actual person, it's like calling a customer service line, and you get the answering service versus, like, a live person. You're almost kind of, like, surprised when when it's like, oh, this is a person, not not a, you know, robot. Oh my gosh. I feel like that is probably what happened.

Candice Denise [00:27:32]:

And so maybe I gave people the surprise factor, and they were like, oh, she's a person, and they kinda just, you know, stuck around. But I also feel like it's about being your authentic self too and not trying to be like someone else. Because there's so many people in this space that are motivational speakers and that are self care coaches. Like, I'm not doing something different new or different. I'm just doing it the way that I know how to do it in my own tone, my own, the way I say things. Right? The words that I use, my mannerisms, like all those things that we feel like are quirky about ourselves or whatever, or we try to perfect when we're editing. It's like those are the things that actually make you who you are. And so, you know, I say things like, baby.

Candice Denise [00:28:15]:

Like, that's how I talk when I'm talking to my friends. So if I say it in the video, people are like, oh, that's just who she is. You know, it resonates with them. So I think just be you. Don't try to be so cookie cutter because people, you know, you'll find your people. You're not meant to be everyone's content creator. You're meant to be someone's content creator. And so it's just really about being yourself, and your tribe will find you.

Bryan McAnulty [00:28:37]:

Yeah. I'm I'm so glad you said that because when, especially in the world of AI, as you mentioned, what I always tell people because, like, we're we're this AI powered course and community platform, and I think about it exactly the same way. So, like, we don't have AI right content for you because it's useless. It's the same as what everybody else would have then. And and creators worry about it though. They say, man, the AI is coming. Is is it all over for me? And it's not because your unique message and your unique experience, that's everything. And like you said, there's gonna be other people in your niche that are teaching about a very similar thing or coaching about a very similar thing, but nobody is you.

Bryan McAnulty [00:29:19]:

So you have to just be yourself, and that's what people value.

Candice Denise [00:29:23]:

That's it. I feel like when people ask me this question, like, you know, how did you grow? And when you say, like, just be you, it's like, what? That's what you had? I'm like, yeah, that's basically what I did. And, I mean, it may or may not work for you. I can't make any promises, but I can tell you that I feel like you will find your people, at least if you do, You know? And and here's the other part. It's like, I think also what helped to grow is I stopped worrying about the growth. I just started focusing on value versus I just I just had to get over that. Right? Trying to make something go viral, trying to get the views. And I know that's a part of business and and we all, you know, need it.

Candice Denise [00:30:01]:

But when I stopped focusing on views and just focused on making sure I was giving value in my own way, I think that also helped grow too.

Bryan McAnulty [00:30:10]:

Yeah. That's excellent advice as well because my my framing for that of of how I've been able to get away from that myself is realizing that for most people, like, getting viral once, sometimes it's so big that it really can make a difference. But Yeah. Getting viral once is not going to be everything. You need a way to keep growing after that. And so, yeah, it's helpful that a lot of people see one video or something that you make, but now what? So I'd rather just be doing something consistent that I enjoy, and then it's gonna grow that way. And I think most businesses still have this this curve of growth that it's really difficult to see when you're starting out because it does take some time.

Candice Denise [00:30:54]:

Yeah.

Bryan McAnulty [00:30:54]:

But if you're consistent at it for long enough, then it it starts to to go up like this. And, most people just unfortunately give up a little bit too early right before they they hit that curve.

Candice Denise [00:31:05]:

Yeah. And it's you know, I just posted something yesterday from a quote I saw on a television show, and the actor said, good happens fast. Great happens slow. And I thought, oh, this is just gold because that's literally how this is. You know, people are seeing my numbers grow now. And I'm like, but what you didn't see if you weren't a part of my forever journey is when I sat at, you know, 5,000 followers. And granted, that's still a beautiful number, you know, whether you have one person that's still amazing. But I I wasn't at, you know, over 250,000.

Candice Denise [00:31:38]:

I was at 5,000 for, like, a few years. And just good happens fast. Great happens slow. So, yes, it's great now, but it was a slow process. And you do have to wait out the curve. And going viral can be scary, honestly, because then it's like, where else do I go from here? You know, am I going to be able to top? You're only as good as your last big video. And so now you're like, am I going to be a one hit wonder? Am I going to be able to create some more? I don't know. And so it can it can put a little pressure on you.

Candice Denise [00:32:07]:

So I'm just like, you know what? Let me focus on value because that I know how to do. And if the views come with it, wonderful. If they don't, still wonderful because I'm not here for that. I'm here to really make impact. And so hopefully, you know, that's that's something I'll continue to keep

Bryan McAnulty [00:32:23]:

doing. Awesome. Yeah. That's great advice. Alright. On the show, I like to have every guest ask a question to the audience. So if you could ask our audience anything, something maybe that you're curious about or something you wanna get everybody thinking about, what would that be?

Candice Denise [00:32:40]:

So, so many questions. I was like, which one will I pull from? Like, which rabbit out the hat? So I would probably ask the audience, okay, if you could write a letter to your future self right now and you with being who you are. What's one thing about your own self care that you would tell your future self to make sure they stay on top of? It could be anything mentally, physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially. But what's one thing looking at where you are right now based on where you want to be in your future self and future self doesn't have to be years. I mean, like in 6 months or a year from now, What's something that you would, you know, ask that self, that part of you to say, hey, what's something that we're gonna work on that we're gonna make sure that we're taking care of ourselves then?

Bryan McAnulty [00:33:30]:

Awesome. I like that question. Alright. Thanks so much, Candice. Before we get going, where else can people find you online?

Candice Denise [00:33:37]:

Yeah. So I hang around a lot on Instagram, so you can find me at Candice Denise. I'm also on TikTok by Candice Denise. I'd love to have you be a part of the community where you can stop by and say hello.

Bryan McAnulty [00:33:49]:

Thanks so much.

Candice Denise [00:33:50]:

Thank you.

Bryan McAnulty [00:33:51]:

I'd like to take a moment to invite you to join our free community of over 5,000 creators at creatorclimb.com. If you enjoyed this episode and wanna hear more, check out the Heights platform YouTube channel every Tuesday at 9 AM US Central. To get notified when new episodes release, join our newsletter at thecreatorsadventure.com. Until then, keep learning, and I'll see you in the next episode.