Season 2, Episode 4: We Are Badassery
Kathy Rasmussen and Samantha Parker are co-founders of Badassery Magazine and co-hosts of the Badassery Podcast. They work to put on events, conferences, and women empowerment movements in both their online and in-real-life communities. They’re touring the US in 2019 to host events where they live and where they’re traveling.
Host Jordan Lacenski is the founder and Chief Innovation Officer at Brandboss Creative, and co-founder of SheWolf Collaborative.
Host: Jordan Lacenski
Guest: Kathy Rasmussen and Samantha Parker
Show Notes:
4:02 - “The traditional way of working is becoming obsolete.” - Sam, Kathy and Jordan discuss how working has changed dramatically in recent years. Sam and Kathy are business partners, but live in different places and don’t work a typical 9 to 5. They talk about how that is the new way of the world.
6:28 - “We’re both involved in all the things… we just roll through it.” - Sam describes how she and Kathy work together, the division of labor (or lack of division) in their partnership, and how they have figured out how to work best together.
8:12 - “I think we really just focus on being kind to everyone. Kindness goes such a long way, and if you have that as the forefront - if you run your business with kindness, if you interact with kindness, even with your sales pitches, you pitch with kindness! If that is the forefront, then I think it really helps a lot.” - Kathy talks about how she and Sam stay involved and manage the Badassery community, enabling positive and productive communication between members.
13:49 - “We really just wanted to bring women together in the community, that’s all we ever want to do, is give women this home and a place where they can feel amazing and don’t feel like they’re going to be attacked. A lot of times, people come to our events and they’re like I have found my people!” - Sam talks through putting on the first conference through Badassery Magazine, Love your Damn Self. Where the idea for the conference came from, the mission behind it, and the opposition Kathy and Sam faced when pulling it all together.
20:49 - “So, how do we make money?” - Discussion of the several business models Kathy and Sam have, from the start of the magazine to the community, the establishment of their events, to how they’ve decided to keep expanding and growing.
27:45 - “People ask us all the time ‘How did you grow your community’ and now I’m like ‘Here’s a book, you can buy it.’ But competition is an urban legend, it doesn’t exist ” - Sam on why sharing secrets of how people can start their own communities is important, and not harmful, to their business.
29:04 - “Keeping things like common courtesy at the top of your mind, that’s a lot of it. But competition, it doesn’t exist in the business world, there’s no need for it… if you’re competing, then maybe the only person you’re competing with is yourself.” - Sam, Kathy, and Jordan talk about competition in the business world, and how what everyone has to offer is different, even if it’s similar.
34:28 - “Anyone, if it’s a woman or a man, and they want to make big differences and big strides and be around supportive people who understand this outside-of-the-box thinking…. the change-makers, the action takers.” - The ladies talk about who the ideal Badassery community member is, but really, it comes down to empowering badass, driven people.
36:28 - “We want it to be $17, we chose that for a reason. Everyone deserves to have that level of support, regardless of their income capability” - Kathy on why the Badassery community won’t raise membership prices, and how inclusion for all is critical.
38:40 - “I think our #1 message that we love to tell people is that they don’t have to settle for what society dictates what success should look like.” - Kathy and Sam’s parting message and words to live by.
Links:
Badassery Magazine: http://badasserymag.com/
Kathy and Sam’s book: Badassery Style Community: A Step-by-Step Guide to Party Planning Your Way to an Ultra-Engaged Community.
She Wolf Collaborative: https://shewolf.co/
Brandboss Creative: https://www.brandbosscreative.com/
Also mentioned:
The Wellness Rookie: https://wellnessrookie.com/
Quotes:
“You need to stay inspired as a human being. This world is dark, this world is rough, if you turn on the news it’s even more rough than what’s actually happening, and so it’s really important to stay full of that positive, get inspired, motivated to take action even if it comes from a negative place. You’ve got to keep moving forward. ” - Sam
“Ultimately, I think that a lot of the change that’s going to happen here in the US and other places, is in those small, tight knit communities, because there are so many of them and they have that impact, they have that passion, so if they can feel supported and come together with what we’re doing, I think that’s where real change it going to happen.” - Kathy
“The way that society is run, this patriarchal energy that we all live in has forced us to compete with ourselves, when it’s not necessary at all. If you’re competing with other women in your space, it’s like why, what’s the point? If someone else goes out and builds a community that’s about supporting other business women, that’s amazing! Like you go, you go on with your bad self because they’re going to be doing it differently than we are.” - Sam