Starting Your Own Business(es) with Sarah Gallagher Trombley

Erin: Welcome to Hotter Than Ever, where we uncover the unconscious rules we've been following, we break those rules and we find a new path to being freer, happier, sexier and more satisfied in the second half of our lives. I'm your host, Erin Keating.

Welcome to everyone listening today. Whether you've just found this podcast or if you've been listening for a couple of years, I am feeling so much love and appreciation for your devotion to the conversations we've been having here, exploring what is possible for us in the second half of our lives when we start living according to our own rules, our own values, our own priorities. And we put aside all of the shoulds and musts and cultural messages and family pressures and all the external stuff that conspired to to drown out our intuition and our inner voices. And those have come roaring back at us in midlife, haven't they? I just keep hearing that from people. That quiet knowing, that intuition, that insight that lives so deeply in our bodies, that knows exactly what is right for us, that knows what decisions you should make and what path you should take at every moment of your life, if only you can figure out how to get quiet enough and honest enough to hear it.

Today's interview is, in a way, the result of my own inner knowing, my own intuition and compass that has been guiding me to take the wisdom that I've gained here on this podcast and turn it into my next big thing. What I'm going to be doing on the heels of Hotter Than Ever is I'm going to be making another thing from nothing. I'm going to be building something new from scratch because I love to create and build and grow and I am in my entrepreneurial era. So my next thing is a business. And that business is called Broad Collective. And I have been talking to you about it a little bit on this podcast and today we're really going to get into what that is. Broad Collective is a membership network for professional women entrepreneurs who are pivoting to self employment in midlife. And my guest today is my business partner in Broad Collective. Her name is Sarah Gallagher Trombley.

And I cannot wait for you to meet Sarah and hear this conversation. Let me tell you a little bit about who she is because she is so impressive. Sarah Gallagher Trombley is an entrepreneur and thought leader working at the intersection of technology, content, revenue and safety. And we're going to get into what that means after more than 20 years. Just like me, 20 years working in media and technology as a partnership and sales development executive for brands like Conde Nast, Time Inc. Inter Brand, Flipboard and Snapchat, which is where we met. Sarah left the corporate world to found the parent education platform Digital Mom Media. And through this platform, Sarah helps parents navigate the digital world with and for their kids.

So she helps parents with tech. And anyone who's listening who has kids is definitely going to want to hear this conversation about what feels like a hopeless and un-winnable war that Sarah is valiantly fighting. And she gives me hope around all of this stuff because she's so invested in finding solutions. So Sarah is a multi-preneur, which is a new term that we're trying out. She's an entrepreneur running Digital Mom Media. And now, because I am so lucky and because she said yes when I proposed it to her, she said yes. She is the co founder and my partner in Broad Collective. In this conversation, we talk about this reckoning that happened for both of us in midlife and how that manifested as the need to do work that is deeply meaningful to us and also work that allows us more control over our time.

We talk about the challenges of the creator economy, which we both jumped into with both feet after years in corporate media, becoming solo content creators and facing similar challenges around growth and monetization. We talk about why we are starting Broad Collective and how it will help members make money from their established expertise through the creation of content, which we are both experts at. And we talk about how we're going to lean into this idea of partnership and collaboration, power with, not power over, that we really believe will allow all boats, or in, in our case, all broads, to rise. I could wax rhapsodic about Sarah all day long, but I think you're here for this conversation and I think it's a really good one. I mean, I'm very invested, so I would say that. But I think you're going to enjoy it. All right, let's get hot.

Sarah Gallagher Trombley. Welcome to Hotter Than Ever.

Sarah: Erin, thank you. I'm so excited to be here.

Erin: I think the best place for us to start in this conversation is to hear a little bit about what your professional story is and what has led you to found Digital Mom Media. And then we'll get into Broad Collective sort of in the second half of the interview.

Sarah: That sounds great. Yeah, very good. So let's take a journey back 20 years or so. So I started my career, I would say, kind of at the beginning of digital ad sales. So My very first job out of college that wasn't an internship was at Conde.net, which is part of Conde Nast. Does that still exist? I don't think it's called that anymore. I think it's all just Conde Nast. And I worked on Vogue.com, which was so cool. We were Style.com, the online home of Vogue and W. And, you know, it was a different time. This is around 2000, 2001. If you wanted a career in media, if you wanted a career in publishing, which I did. You started at the bottom as an assistant.

Erin: Yep.

Sarah: And hope that you'd work your way up and that's what I did. My very two, I had two bosses at this very first role. I worked for the publisher and I worked for the head of business development. And it was old school. I answered phones, I sent faxes, I got coffees. I handed my boss tissues when her boyfriend broke up with her. I got keys made when she got the new boyfriend. Like, I was really in the weeds of her life in a way. I don't know that I think there are different boundaries now.

Erin: I think there are boundaries now.

Sarah: I think there are some boundaries now. There definitely weren't then and, you know, it just wasn't. That's what it was. You were paying your dues and then you would see how it would go. And, you know, I worked really hard at the job. Certainly very excited to have those sorts of roles. And then I would work my way up through publishing as the years went on. But, you know, tech in those early days was a little bit of the wild west, for sure. We were explaining the Internet to clients. We were convincing these old school publishing houses that digital was a good investment.

Erin: Yeah.

Sarah: So they should allow us to continue to try to drive revenue through a website because the magazine business might not be the same in a few years, which no one wanted to believe.

Erin: Oh, my God.

Sarah: And there was a lot of old schools there too.

Erin: I know.

Sarah: It was wild. So, you know, later in my career, and this is, you know, several years after that, I was at Time Inc. Which is another publishing house. And it was like those very last whispers of the bar cart in the hallway. So there really were people who would smoke in their offices, who would have the bar cart rolling around at happy hour on the Friday that would have the golf membership and be absolutely entertaining clients.

Erin: Wow.

Sarah: In that sort of way. But it was an exciting industry. I really enjoyed working in publishing. I always think about those early parts of my career and why I loved it. Because I was always on the business side of creative as. Enabling storytelling. Yeah, that's really what lit me up. The idea that there are really important stories in the world, whether it's Fashion Week or whether this is Time, Inc.

And we are interviewing a sitting president. We are enabling important stories to get out there and feed people's souls, feed people's interests. But those are businesses, and you have to make a business function. You have to bring the dollars in so that you can sort of light up the world with stories.

Erin: I really love that you and I sort of existed in parallel timelines, because I was also in New York in the early 2000s, but I had worked at tech companies. I had worked at digital agencies as a writer. I had worked in a technology PR firm. And then at that moment, sort of the turn of the millennium, I was a writer, performer, and I decided I wanted to work on the business side of television because that felt like a way to have a career with a capital C, which it was not happening for me as an artist with a capital A. And so I worked in what was then known as cable television.

Sarah: Right, that owned Chestnut.

Erin: Right. In New York, but was very adjacent to all the digital companies. All my friends were working at places like nerve.com and Razorfish and all of this sort of tech meets content zone. One of my best friends ran digital for Comedy Central, and I remember there being, like, a sort of internecine war between who would own the digital team, always within the company. So all this stuff was really heady, and everything was kind of getting figured out. But you and I are aligned in that it was all about making great content and telling great stories at the end of the day.

Sarah: Yeah. You know, was always an avid reader. Was a history major in college. Like, I felt comfortable with stories, and I wanted to be around it. I never considered myself someone who would be the creator, which we'll talk about what I do now, which is so different. And I've owned that piece of my life, but only as an adult, as a grownup, in midlife. But at those times, I felt like, well, no, no, no, no, no, I couldn't be the creator. I couldn't be the storyteller. But I can help make it possible for storytellers to share.

But it's always been sort of a love of that story that has driven all of my decisions throughout my career. And I've taken some different twists and turns along the way, which I also think feeds the perspective I have today. I didn't have a super linear career trajectory in some ways, and it used to bother me, but certainly in the last decade, I've realized that those varied experiences were super important to being able to take control of my career now as the adult that I am.

Erin: Yeah, we were raised with like our baby boomer parents, who are certainly. My dad was on a very linear path as an attorney and he sort of worked his way into his career, but I watched my mom pivot and pivot and pivot. And I do think it's something that women do with a kind of fluidity. Maybe we were raised to expect that a career would be linear, but certainly because of the impact of technology on our generation and our working lives, I think we have all gotten really good at being agile a thousand percent.

Sarah: I mean, some of the roles I think is probably that both of us have held didn't exist at points while we were in the working world. The idea that you would do media partnerships for a social media platform was not a thing when I started.

Erin: There was no social media.

Sarah: No, exactly, it didn't exist. And then that technology and publishing would come together in that way was inconceivable at the time. You know, and even parts of digital publishing, even if I go back to the beginning of my career, I remember building the sales planning team at Conde Net because that needed to. We realized we needed someone to crunch the numbers on the pricing for the digital banner and there's a strategy to it that just didn't exist. So that was a thing that got invented while it was there, which is kind of cool because, you know, you see a need. And I always felt grateful, I think being in digital spaces at that time, because if you were young and ambitious, you could make a pretty big impact. Like, I remember not feeling shy, going to the head of our department and being like, you actually need a sales planner.

You actually need someone to do this. And then they were like, okay, you do it. And I was like, what? Oh, okay, I'll do it. But you know, you don't often have opportunities in industries or, you know, very traditional companies where you can be entrepreneurial like that within and say, you know, what we actually need is this and actually have the space and opportunity to make it happen. And I so grateful for sort of being in digital in a traditional part of publishing. Afforded us a little bit of a bubble. I think to be bold was cool.

Erin: Yeah. And also, like, your youth was a huge advantage because you were not afraid of the tech. You were not afraid of change. And you were not, like, coming from a conventional workplace or work life that had you sort of checking boxes we all learned to. It took me a long time to realize how to be entrepreneurial inside of a company. But being in worlds that were connected to tech really required that of us.

Sarah: Yes, absolutely. You had to have initiative, and you had to be able to think on your feet and also not be afraid to come up with those ideas, whether it was a partnership or just a new process, because all of it was changing so quickly. I found that a lot, particularly when I'd find myself in rooms with folks who would come up through prints, which is such a traditional and structured way of doing business and hadn't changed, you know, in decades, really.

And the reticence to adapt was really striking to me. Anyone? I remember when this would happen all the time. You'd have like a print sales team and a digital sales team, and then they would merge them and matrix them and separate them and all of that. And the digital folks were like, okay, if I have to learn print, I will. I mean, I don't see whatever, but I'll learn it. And I remember print folks being very hesitant and not wanting to have to learn the new thing because they hadn't had to learn something new for so long. And that ended up being, I think, a real moment when digital publishing evolved to be. You know, there was a moment where it started to take over print. And it's crazy to think about it now, but, like, you go to a newsstand now, there. Well, there are no newsstands really.

Erin: What's a Newsstand?

Sarah: Right, but 10 years ago, that was still the thing. That was still the predominant revenue driver for these types of companies. And now it's just this small piece of it. So being part of those conversations as it was transitioning was really fascinating. You realized a lot about the importance of entrepreneurialism within a company. And I think that's largely informed my ability now to pivot, think that way, you know, whether for a company in my most recent roles or for myself, current, currently.

Erin: Yeah, I mean, when I was starting out, I remember it feeling like conventional media, which was in my case was. Was cable television versus the digital side. And it was a versus it was, like the Internet was competing.

Sarah: The Internet was a threat.

Erin: It was a threat instead of additive supportive, or it was just marketing. And so anytime the digital team wanted to do some original programming, original content, they would get these like tiny little budgets and they would hustle to make whatever they could make, but they were so much more agile and flexible and they could iterate and get the data immediately. That was real information about how they were doing, how their content was performing. And I think it's only really recently where the, the digital piece of it for the conventional platforms, which are now, you know, in the second position.

Sarah: Right, right.

Erin: It has really flipped. And the Internet, anything that can be distributed across the Internet, which is, you know, streaming basically is now re aggregating to become cable again. It's, it's fascinating to me. And then also print publications are video publications, you know, everything that used to be the written word is now video.

Sarah: Absolutely.

Erin: So what we have seen in our lifetimes and what we have navigated professionally has been such an incredible pace of change. And you know, it's, it's interesting to me that you have found your way so successfully through this world and then come out the other side and been like, yeah, no.

Sarah: Yeah, well, you know, it's interesting and I think always finding roles that you're excited about is, is a huge part of it, but you're, you're battling other things through your career. I think particularly as a woman and at the phase where I was having kids, that was a battle too, so hard. And a lot of that changed my optimism, I think, about working for companies over time. I'm definitely the type of person that has to love what I'm doing to keep going. I think most people are like that, although maybe not everyone. But I had some real like crisis' of the heart around the time I had my kids. I didn't exit corporate at that moment. I did switch jobs, but I found that was, I think for me, the first inkling that me and corporate weren't on the same page. Maybe that, you know, it all works really well. I think when you're young and hungry and you don't have other significant constraints.

Erin: In your life and you don't have to set boundaries.

Sarah: I didn't really, I mean, I remember being in my office at timing, eight and a half months pregnant at nine o' clock at night, being like, huh, I wonder how this is going to work when I have a kid totally. And like actually not knowing how it was going to work. We had a kid and you adjust, you figure it out. But I did. It was from that moment on where I started to feel tensions and started to feel like, oh, well, when, now that my reality has shifted, it's not so easy to do this the way that I once did, and I'm not being maybe evaluated the same way that I once was, or certain things are being assumed of me that aren't necessarily true.

Erin: That's so interesting. I mean, I worked until a week before my twins were born, because what was I going to do? Sit at home? I felt, okay, totally, you know, and people were like, you should really start your maternity leave now. And I was like, why? That's a waste. Like, sit around the house and wait for my water to break. Like, it doesn't seem conceivable to me. And I have heard so many stories of people working in the hospital while they were laboring, you know, because if you are a woman who achieves to a certain level professionally, you have gotten there through. It's like by hook or by crook, you've gotten there. And for me, I felt like I had someone say to me when I was having my kids, they said, you're not gonna come back.

Sarah: Oh, my God. I had the same thing.

Erin: Yeah, you're not gonna come back. I was like, have you met, like, what? Yeah, of course I'm coming back. Because I knew I had worked my way up to a place where there were 20 people in line for my job.

Sarah: Like, and also, I like to work a hundred percent.

Erin: Yeah, our identities as Gen X women got so forged in the fire of our professional accomplishment.

Sarah: Huge part of my identity, absolutely. Not my whole identity, but a huge part of it. And I enjoy it.

Erin: Yes, and it feels good to do well and to be a leader and to make money and to do all those things. But those structures really start to fall apart for us when they really do become moms.

Sarah: They really do. And I had similar questions, you know, well, you don't have to make your mind up, but, like, you probably aren't. And I was like, no, no, I'm pretty sure I'm coming back. And I remember for me, with my first, there were a couple of other women pregnant right around the same time, and I was the only one who came back. One other woman came back and she was there for probably another couple of months. She hung on, and then she's like, I can't do it. It's too much. It's too hard. And it was hard. Everything about it was hard. And I remember being grateful for the 11 week maternity leave that I had. That was a generous maternity leave back then. My kids are not that old. But so much, thankfully, has changed for women even in the Last decade or so. But I had 11 weeks. You go back to work, you're not healed.

Erin: I had 10. I had 10 and I had twins and I was not healed. But also I was like, thank God, I'm going back to something I understand because I did not understand how to be a full time mom milk machine and like the level of selflessness that was required in motherhood. I was like, what the is this? Like, get me, get me help.

Sarah: It was a big change. I mean, your interests and all of that, it all expands to fit what you've got, but it's a lot to process. And even just not being physically ready to go to back mentally. I mean, you have helpless tiny creatures and you're like, they're not even really babies yet. They're still aliens when they're that age. They can't. They're so helpless and they're not, you know, they don't smile yet. None of those things. It's a very odd moment to be leaving if you think about it.

Erin: Yeah. It's crazy. And like, I agree things have really changed, like a lot in the last decade around maternity leave, but also, I think they've only changed in a certain tier of company.

Sarah: I think that's true.

Erin: The federal policies are the same, the state policies are the same. That has not evolved because no one's making any laws. But you know, when we were at Snapchat, the maternity leave was six months paid.

Sarah: I know it sounded, I know, I was like, I'm so jealous. I mean, I'm done with having, but can you imagine, could you imagine six months?

Erin: No. No, I cannot imagine six months, no. When I had two and a half months, I mean, it's extraordinary and it should be that, but it, it takes a different generation of leaders and a different level of competitiveness for women in the workforce that companies will offer these incentives.

Sarah: I think that's right. And I also think, and I used to say this a lot and people would sometimes roll their eyes, but I think it's true. Everyone has to take the leave. The paternity leave is as important as the maternity because you have to normalize the fact that anyone can leave. And so it doesn't become this thing you factor into only your female employees. And that was a big thing. They look at your age and they look at. She just got married, so she'll probably have a kid. People are doing the calculus, whether they realize it or not.

Erin: And they're not allowed to.

Sarah: No, and they're not supposed to. And I think it's unconscious in a lot of ways, but if at any given moment any one of your employees could go out on a family care leave, that does even that aspect out a little bit and make it a little less biased against the women who may or may not be getting pregnant anytime soon. Yes, but dad's had it hard, too. I remember my husband taking his full two weeks of paternity leave and being given a really hard time about it.

Erin: It's so deranged.

Sarah: And also him being like, I wish I had 10 weeks and I wish he did, too.

Erin: Yeah, I mean, when I had direct reports at Snap who had babies who were guys, I would be like, please take every minute of this time. Please. You can split it up, you can use it however you want, but, like, please take every minute of this time. This is going to be so valuable for you and your partner and your family. You know, and I think people give millennials a hard time, but you and I have talked about the fact that we worked with some extraordinary young people. And those guys did take their leave. Yeah, they did take it because it was given to them as a right. And they were like, thank you very much. I'm participating as a parent. And, like, that really gave me a lot of hope for the next generation.

Sarah: Yeah, yeah. I think this generation is doing it differently and largely and in a good way.

Erin: Yeah, yeah, I agree. So tell me about how you came to start Digital Mom Media. Because you were a leader in a big tech company, you had an even more senior title than I did. You were, like, in the upper echelon of management, and one of the few women in that space at Snapchat, along with my boss there. And, you know, that's a really big change to decide, okay, I'm going to forsake this big paycheck. I'm going to forsake the status of this role. I'm going to step away from working in this prestigious world of tech. What happened?

Sarah: Yeah, I mean, a couple of things happened. It was definitely a bit of a existential crisis for me. So the first thing that happened was at Snapchat, we were starting to talk about parental controls. We were starting to talk about whether Snapchat should have them. So this is back in probably 2022, and my kids were, they're still too young for Snapchat. My kids were pretty little at the time, so it wasn't like a directly relevant conversation, but something I was very invested in. I was conscious of the types of content that we have on social media platforms and kind of grateful. My kids were too young to be on the planet.

Erin: Yeah, mine were too. Yep.

Sarah: Right. But there are times things would, you would see things, and you're like, not great.

Erin: And they were working on content guidelines.

Sarah: While we were there and I was in, I was actually in a lot of those conversations as well. I had a lot of input into content guidelines, so. parental controls were something that I got excited about when I heard we were finally going to start figuring it out. And this was early days for most of the plat. Most of the platforms at this point were like just dipping their toe into parental guidelines, which seems crazy, right? It was only three years ago, but what it's relatively new that we even have them at such a time.

Erin: And for the listeners who maybe aren't aware of, like, how these platforms work, what are parental controls?

Sarah: So parental controls are a way for parents who have kids on a platform, so in this case Snapchat, to have some sort of levers and tools to manage their experience on the platform. And it depends on the platform, depends both what you can control and how detailed it is. So for Snapchat, the main focus on Snapchat is sending messages, and then there's also content. Parental controls on Snapchat will either allow you some way to manage those conversations or some way to maybe filter the content that your child sees.

So in the beginning days, those are the two concepts. And time, I would say also maybe there's a way to look at how much time they spent or notifications that they get. The are all, in theory areas you could have a control on as a parent to manage your child again. So Snapchat started having the conversations about it because it was high time that we did. And I just didn't love what I was hearing. I just, I wasn't aligned, I'll say I wasn't aligned with the direction of travel. It felt to me like we could do and should do so much more to make it possible for parents to have a role in their child's experience than I believe they were willing to do. And I didn't love that.

I didn't walk out the door the next day. I didn't like putting it down on the table and say, you know what, it needs to be this other way. But I just was getting this sense that as a platform, this was going to be solved as purely a business problem and not really--well, they're literal children affected by the decisions that we're making here.

Erin: And is that like, because there is eight, you're supposed to be 13 to get on the platform. But there were many, many kids who are younger somehow figured out a way to get there.

Sarah: Well, that was part of what, you know, and this isn't necessarily specific to Snapchat.

Erin: No, any platform.

Sarah: The age of adulthood online is 13 for some God knows why reason. And up until recently, there was no way at all to verify it. There's more tools rolling out across different platforms to do age verification, that's all very new. But certainly in 2022, there wasn't even a way to do it. And so it was the honor system, which just, even though you're saying you're for 13 and you're built for 13 plus the fact that anyone under there could get on there too, is uncomfortable.

Erin: It is uncomfortable.

Sarah: It's uncomfortable. So Snapchat did take the assignment seriously, hey did work on parental controls. They did roll out parental controls, I want to be clear about that. I just was starting to really dig into this as a topic with my kids starting to get a little older. And I really felt like I wanted it to go a different way. And it wasn't necessarily, after a time, something I wasn't able to advocate for what I wanted and what I needed.

My voice wasn't necessarily being chosen in these conversations and that happens. And, you know, it was a point for me perhaps, where maybe Snapchat and I had outgrown each other. I was thinking about things in a different way. If I wasn't be able to affect the change I believed was true, then perhaps it was time to part ways. But that was only really one piece of my story. So I was feeling like, you know, maybe misaligned with the company I worked in. And I think a younger me, that wouldn't have been enough to make such a replica change.

There were some external influences as well, and some internal. So on top of that, all of this parental safety conversation was becoming national at this moment. The Surgeon General at the time was Vivek Murthy. It was the first time he was saying out loud the things that we talk about now so much more often, that there are real mental health impacts on young people, especially when they use too much technology, and that social media was an area of concern. So that was now a national conversation. I was struggling with technology with my kids at home. I remember looking up one day and my kids had like, melted into the couch watching YouTube and I didn't know what they were watching. I realized they'd been sitting there for a really long time. And I, like, did. I had to fix it, but I was also at a point with my career where if I was going to leave Snapchat, I didn't want to just go do more of the same. I wasn't looking like, okay, so I don't want to work at this tech company.

Erin: But I'm going to go to TikTok now. Yeah.

Sarah: Yeah, exactly. I didn't want to do the same thing at another platform. I didn't really want to be in this space anymore. I just felt like my conviction was growing in a different direction. And I felt so strongly about the safety concerns online that I couldn't ignore the voice that I had to do something. It felt so urgent. You know, every conversation I had with other parents was like, I can't figure out X or Y or my child is sneaking this, or, you know, we're fighting over technology. And I just felt like this conversation was everywhere around me.

As a technologist, I had some perspective. I understand very well how platforms think about these problems, literally figuring it out at home. And I wanted to be a voice that helped in the world. I wanted to put information out there that could help other parents. I wanted to reassure parents that felt overwhelmed. And it really just sort of struck me between all of those factors that this was the moment to do it. I was at the top of my game as an executive. I had so much relevant information. I'm literally solving the same problem at home for my own family. If I'm ever going to strike out and do this in a different way, this was the moment to do it.

Erin: I love hearing that, and I love the sort of rise of your conscience and wanting to do something meaningful and knowing that you were the person to do it, that you were the person who had the experience, the inside knowledge, the perspective, the long runway of a career in this space. And that if you didn't do it, like, you wouldn't be able to sit with yourself. It's so interesting how in midlife, you know, I think we women move closer to the things that are meaningful to us and we want to move the meaning into our professional lives in a deeper way.

And we want to take control, especially if you're a mom and you're trying to juggle parenting and making a living and having a professional identity. Like, I think so many of us really struggle to reconcile all that stuff with the sort of expectations of employment in corporate America. And how, like, you did have a voice there and you did say what you needed to say, and you weren't the boss, so your word was not going to be enacted and so what do you do with that? When your conscience tells you, you know, one thing and then your checking account tells you another thing, and it's like, it's a tricky, tricky place to be. And it's a very bold and empowered move to say, actually, like, I am going to make this change and I am the person to lead this conversation.

Sarah: I think that's right. And I think I did. And I do still believe that I had this singular perspective that certainly wasn't out there at the time. And I felt like if I didn't do this, it wouldn't happen. I needed to do this. This voice, this perspective that I have, this inside knowledge that I have is so necessary and it needs to get out and needs to get out there now, and parents need help, so I gotta do it and it's exhilarating and terrifying.

Erin: Yeah, look, I hear you. I mean, we've been on very similar journeys in that, you know, I needed to talk about what it felt like to be in a totally different headspace at age 50 than I had ever thought I would. You know, being newly divorced, being newly a single parent, being newly out in the world dating and you know, rediscovering myself in a thousand different ways and also, and I think very aligned with you. Needing to speak in my own voice, needing to create the space in my life and in the world where I could say what I needed to say to the people who needed to hear what I had to say.

Sarah: So well put. And it strikes such a chord, I think, you know, and particularly for me. I was, I always was like a good girl at work.

Erin: Me too.

Sarah: I did the assignment. I did what was expected. I read rooms correctly. I didn't speak out of turn. I was not a controversial person. You know, part of that, I think, was surviving the dot com boom and there were more computers, grateful to have a job, just hanging on and not wanting to rock boats. But, you know, it all kind of came to a head at the end of my time at Snapchat, where I found myself not able to be quiet on this topic. I felt so strongly it was a huge deal for me to speak up when I did in those meetings, because that wasn't really my normal MO.

And then to realize it wasn't going to go anywhere was a bummer. But, you know, I was at a point in my life where I was like, okay, then. I think in a lot of ways, it makes it clear what I have to do next. I think, you know, a different reaction, even a more like favorable reaction where nothing actually ends up happening would have been worse because then I would have stayed and I would have kept trying. And the truth is, I don't think the outcome ever would have been different. I think, you know, look, tech platforms are not going to over-invest in parental controls, it hurts their bottom lines. Of course they're going to treat it like a business problem. Like, I don't actually I understand that, but I just realized I didn't want to be a part of that. That's not for me.

Erin: Right, and it's a whole other conversation about morality and capitalism and all of that stuff we could have on another podcast. But it feels to me like what I have seen across, you know, all of the conversations that I have had with women on this podcast who are incredibly accomplished, who have, like, deep, deep expertise at whatever it is they have expertise at, like, something changes in midlife, where you kind of go, yeah, okay, I see what the rules of engagement are in this particular way of working, this particular way of living, this particular way of being and I need to do something different than that. Like, I actually need to listen to not the good girl narrative, but what do I actually want? What is actually meaningful to me? And I think the meaning, the wanting work and meaning to be inextricably connected like that is a theme that I have heard again and again with women in midlife.

Sarah: Yeah, I do. I think you're right. I think there's a reckoning for a lot of us. That's a great way to put it. You've done the corporate experiment for probably close to two decades or two decades. And, you know, in my case, it was the understanding that it wasn't really built for me post-children. I think for other people, the reckoning comes for different reasons. And not wanting to play in that structure anymore, realizing that structure ultimately wasn't for me, and just feeling so strongly in this mission that I wanted to be on sort of drowned out the doubt of, like, well, what am I doing? I really should just go work for another job like this. And I'd never, you know, I'd had other ideas for businesses at different points in my career. I never had the moment or the compulsion to do it. I thought about it, I love the idea of entrepreneurialism. I wrote all sorts of business plans in business school, just as like for fun, like a nerd, but I never did anything with them.

Erin: Love that about you, Sarah.

Sarah: I don't. Who does that, but didn't do it right. And then I was like, no, no, I'm doing this one actually. And it was it, I never looked back. I never doubted that what I put out into the world was needed. I never doubted that I was going to figure this out. Still figuring it out. You know, it's hard to be an entrepreneur. It's hard to be an entrepreneur in this environment, this moment. On the other side, not being the social media executive, but actually having to use the tools been very humbling.

Erin: I hear that 100% of not being the, not being the person with the checkbook writing the checks for the content, but actually being out in the creator universe and having to throw your video and your. Whatever you've made out into the void, your podcast episodes and see how you sink or swim. So how has it been going for you?

Sarah: Yeah, so I'm an optimist. I'm always going to say it's going well, but it's not a linear thing, definitely highs and lows and fits and starts along the way. But it's a business that is steadily growing I would say. Yeah, I started as a substack almost, almost three years ago, expanded into events. There's a lot of need, I think, for community groups to have education, so that was a natural extension.

I do online courses and most recently, I would say for the last several months, I've been working on what I think will be the biggest component of this business, which is working with the HR and benefits organizations within larger companies. There is no shortage of interest in the type of content that I share. I do a lot of how to. How do I set up a parental control, how do I make a choice about social media? How do I figure out what devices parents need this information. It's just trying to find the places where I can get to the most parents has been really the biggest business problem I've been needing to solve. But along the way it's been a lot of learning. So had to put myself on social media platforms and learn how to use all of those tools for myself instead of directing teams that were directing creators to use them.

So that was different, you know, needing to figure out marketing funnels and figuring out, okay, I'm talking a lot, but is there an actual product here? Is there a way to monetize this? What's the deal with affiliate marketing? That sounds interesting. So all of those sorts of micro decisions, and then it's sort of the level up from that is how do you manage all of those micro decisions so that you don't spend your whole day, you know, like a squirrel running after all these little different things you should be doing or think you should be doing or someone else told you you should do and remembering what you're here for? Like, what is the right?

Erin: Right, how do you stay out of operations? And because you could live in operations and logistics all the time and sometimes, I love that stuff. Sometimes I'm like, oh, I'm figuring out that. How to do this, I'm learning a new tool. Oh, look at my output. Like, I'm like a junkie for the new. So, I like to make a thing from nothing. I like to learn a thing, I like to grow a thing. Like, yes, but you really can easily lose sight of, like, wait a minute, I'm doing this in order to spread the gospel of this thing. I really believe that is meaningful to me and meaningful to other people. And how do I keep my eyes on that focus? Because that is really the meat of what you're offering.

Sarah: That's right. You can lose days trying to figure out some operational piece of something or, you know, and forget what you were supposed to be creating that day. And I think it's really important to have the balance. I think I'm in a phase right now where I'm looking for more tools for efficiency because I figured out a bunch of systems for things, which is great, but none of some of them are not very efficient. And so I do get lost in those details sometimes. And then I can look back in a week and be like, that was not time well spent because I wasn't actually working on growing this business in a meaningful way. I wasn't actually creating. Creating the content that is the core of everything that I do. So it's, constantly a rebalancing and figuring out where you are with your business, you know, it changes so quickly.

Erin: Totally. I mean, this is a very different kind of conversation for Hotter Than Ever, because, you know, the focus of this show has been about giving women permission and ideas for how to do things differently in the second half of our lives. But I want to talk a little bit about how we've come together to start a second business for you, the second Business for me. I love when you told your husband that you were going to start another business, and he's like, you really doing that? And you're like, so you and I had been sort of once a month getting on the phone and talking about what we were doing. I was doing Hotter Than Ever, you were doing Digital Mom Media. You were evolving your business, I was evolving the podcast and the brand. We were trying various things in our. In our businesses, and we were just like, acting as sounding boards for each other. We had not worked closely together at Snapchat, but we sort of always saw each other across a crowded room and would be like, you, I see you.

Sarah: Yes, I think you're okay.

Erin: Yeah, yeah, I think you're cool. And Oh, my God, are you drowning? I'm drowning.

Sarah: Yep, precisely.

Erin: Especially because you were always in from New York and, like, frantically running from one thing to the next.

Sarah: Yeah, I think it was a pretty frantic vibe there.

Erin: Yeah, yeah, it was crazy. It was crazy times. Heady and exciting, but also bananas. And I think, you know, we both, like, two years into our businesses, were really struggling with similar things. You know, for me, I have, last year, I spent so much time trying to build partnerships, trying to figure out routes for monetization of the podcast, how to turn it into some kind of more produced video content, maybe events. I did this dating in midlife show called Swipe Club with my friend Amber Jay and that she is now still doing. Like I was writing. I started a book twice. Like, I was trying everything because I wasn't cracking the code on growth, I wasn't cracking the code on virality on social media. I was not cracking the code on exponential growth. The podcast has grown bit by bit by bit, incrementally, but not to the place where I can make a living at it and you were having similar challenges.

Sarah: Yep. Yeah, I think that's right. I think for me, I started off always with monetization in mind. But arguably tried to stand up too many different experiments at once. So started a Substack immediately, put on a paid layer to my subscription without having that--

Erin: What is that Substack, by the way?

Sarah: What is it?

Erin: What is the sub stack for?

Sarah: So my Substack is called "Thoughts From A Digital Mom". Subscribe if you're interested, it's really the core of what I do. I always come back to this as, like, my home base. And what I love about it is it's an opportunity. I publish every two weeks to catch parents up on the tech headlines because there's so many of them floating around. These are the ones you actually need to focus on and then deep dive into a topic.

So at any given point, there might be a crisis on YouTube or Instagram. Just updated their parental controls and, like, what does that mean? Or, you know, for me, two weeks ago, trying to figure out, like, an appropriate music streaming option for my kids, which I know is an issue a lot of parents have, especially if you've got middle schoolers like me. Like, Spotify is a little bit dangerous, and Spotify kids is for babies. So what. What goes in the middle? Um, so that was the start of things, but immediately I was like, all right, how do I make this money? So I started a paid layer, I charged for events, I made my online courses.

I figured out all these affiliate deals. But I did a lot of those pieces before I had scale, before I had a particularly large audience, hoping that I could sort of catch a wave. Once the audience grew, all these sort of pieces would be in place and they would just start to generate revenue. But I focused so much on the monetization. I wasn't doing the work I needed to do to actually grow the baseline audience. So I found myself two years in with, like, a lot of possibilities and nobody to really put them in front of. I shouldn't say nobody. But a very, very loyal, but very small audience that was really seeing them and not growing. And I realized that there is a whole playbook for content marketing that I hadn't allowed myself to really explore. I kept thinking, well, they'll find me, you know, yes, it'll be fine. My people will find me. And the truth is, it is so crowded in all of the places where we show up. And so if you aren't really clear and organized and strategic about how and where you show up, you can lose opportunity all the time.

And that was a hard lesson. I'm still kind of working myself out of that and realizing just even if you make. You know, for me, I didn't want to start making reels because I didn't want to be on camera. And I finally got over that hump, but I wasn't really doing them in a strategic way until recently. So I wasn't even taking advantage of the insight that I had had. I'd sort of gotten halfway there. So it's a lot of learning to really sort of figure it out. But, yes, I think for both of us, two years in there were. You could see pathways, but they weren't as well lit. And you weren't like on the superhighway yet and, you know, a little bit was like, what do you mean? I'm not growing this fast, you should be able to figure this out.

Erin: Yeah, totally. Because we know what we're doing is high quality and we have 20 years of experience in the media business. If we can't be successful at this, who is?

Sarah: That's exactly right. If you and I are having this problem and we're, quote, unquote, insiders to this game in a lot of ways, including working at Snapchat on content, then who has a chance, really? And that felt existential, that felt, you know, urgent, not only for our own businesses, but I think for you and I, who are naturally interested in connecting with other folks and enjoy the networking piece of it, it was a conversation I was bumping into everywhere I talked to people trying to figure out their own thing. We were not alone.

Erin: Yeah. And, you know, for me, I always like to talk about, like, the origin of the idea of Broad Collective. I was really struggling for about six months of, like, what am I doing? Like, I had this grand vision for the brand of Hotter Than Ever and all the things that it could be as a media creation entity, as something that made media as its product. But all the signs were leading me towards, oh, you should be a coach. Oh, you should run workshops. Oh, this is how you can make money. Media as a business, media as a product.

And now with AI, I mean, that is a pretty low dollar value proposition. And because the marketplace is so flooded, I was really coming to the realization that I was hearing a lot of I don't wanna in my head, I really wanna make a podcast. I really wanna have these conversations with extraordinary women. I really wanna empower women in midlife. But I didn't want to do all the things you're talking about with affiliate marketing and sales funnels and all this stuff. I'm a creative, I'm a development executive. I want to make content. Like, at the end of the day, I want to tell stories like you were saying. And I had kind of a dark night of the soul and I was standing out on my deck at like 10 o'clock at night, just really feeling like what am I doing? Like, is this a waste of my time? Is this what I should be spending my energy on? And I really had this thought, like, Sarah and I have been doing the same thing on a parallel path. We were having the same struggles.

And all the women that I have interviewed on Hotter Than Ever are experts at a thing, and they are figuring out how to monetize whatever it is that they're selling through the creation of content, through being a guest on podcasts, through having their own podcast, through doing TED talks and writing books and, you know, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. And I think I have genuine pain that could be solved if I could be in a community with other women and we would all figure out these problems together. And I had run a networking group in New York in my late 20s, when I was an actor and a writer, and I was putting shows on in basements, in basement theaters on the Lower East Side for many years. And all my friends were trying to make films, trying to sell TV shows, trying to, you know, start a jewelry line. And we thought of ourselves as artist entrepreneurs. That was like a phrase that I had come up with, and I had come together with a group of other women to throw networking events and workshops and do kind of very similar stuff. But it was really focused on, like, how do you do the business side of being an artist, and how do you do the art side of how do you run an art business? Like visibility, credibility, how do you bounce back and forth between those things? And I had called that Broad Collective, and I had kept the domain name alive for 20 years.

Sarah: It's amazing.

Erin: And I didn't know why I was renewing it every couple of years. I just thought, fucking love that name, it means something to me. It was a chapter of my life that was really meaningful. I felt in community with other women who were ambitious and trying to make something of themselves and trying to put stuff out into the world. And in this sort of dark night of the soul, when I was thinking about Hotter than Ever and I was thinking about you, I thought, oh, my God, this is Broad Collective. This is Broad Collective, that's what we need to do this. And now I'm a broad. I was not a broad. I was a young woman. I'm now 54 years old. I've always been kind of a broad, but now I really, like, I would be cast as a broad.

I am now living into the person that I have always been, which has been a broad. And so I had a fever dream of creativity in the next couple of days, and I made a presentation, a slide deck, which is what I learned to do in corporate life, put all your ideas into a slide deck. And I like a crazy person sent it to you. And I said, what do you think of this? Do you want to do this with me?

Sarah: Yeah, it was that simple.

Erin: And you were like, huh? Yeah, I do.

Sarah: And I said, yes.

Erin: And I was like, really? Because I had been looking for partners for Hotter Than Ever for a year, and I had gone down so many paths that were dead ends. And I knew I needed a partner. I knew I needed a partner. And I knew that you were someone who came from. From a business perspective first, where I come from the creative perspective first. And I thought I had seen it work really well in television networks where the general manager was the creative lead and the president was like the head of ad sales or something. Had come from that path where they kind of had different lanes of expertise and therefore could come together really beautifully and not feel competitive, but actually feel complimentary. And I thought, I think Sarah's that person.

Sarah: And it, you know, if you remember, I had pitched you on an idea probably six months before, which we weren't ready for, but when you came to me with this, this was the step that was missing to the thing I was thinking about, because I was thinking about how do we consolidate so many different women's creative pursuits and create partnership and ad network out of it?

Erin: Right, which we may yet do, but we can still do that piece of it.

Sarah: But I couldn't have done that idea without this. And this feels, by the way, way more 360, way more fulfilling. My idea was like an end game play, which is great, and I think we will still explore it. But I think that conversation probably at least made you feel confident that I was primed to listen to your dash a hundred percent. I was also trying to think of, how do we. What else is there here? Is there a bigger play? You know, again, because my single creator experience was going slowly, and you were right. Like, we were both, I think, itching for what is the bigger play that can sort of take meaning and turn it on its head and not just be about meaning for me and the thing I make, but meaning in a broader context that can help other people. And yeah, obviously, here we are.

Erin: So what is Broad Collective? Broad Collective is a network for women entrepreneurs who are pivoting to self employment in midlife, which is really our story. Where, you know, so many of us have had such extraordinary careers, unprecedented careers. I always like to say on this podcast and listeners will be totally familiar with this, we are the most successful generation of women who have ever lived on Planet Earth. We have accomplished so much. We have achieved so much, we have broken through so many barriers, and yet we've been operating in systems that were not made by us or for us. And so the thought behind Broad Collective is like, it's a membership organization. You apply to be a member, you join and, you know, it's really for people who are taking their expertise that they have won over, putting in the step by step, brick by brick, work across decades, and then are saying, you know what? I would like to be the expert. I would like to monetize my expertise. And in order to do that, I need a lot of things. I need support, I need community. I need people to bounce ideas off of. I'm sitting alone in my house all day, or I'm in a co working space. Like, you know, I'm isolated.

Maybe I'm a solopreneur and I'm just starting out doing my own thing. I want to be able to talk to other people, and I need the tools and the expertise for how to figure out, like, what should I do? Should I do a substack? Should I do a podcast? Should I write a book? Should I go be a public speaker and try to get paid for public speaking? Should I guess on podcasts, like, the opportunities for getting the word out are so the list is so long of what you could be doing. How do you figure out? What do you like? What are you good at? Where's the most ease and joy and flow for you? And then also, where's the biggest opportunity for growth for your business, for your revenue?

Sarah: And then how do you do it?

Erin: Right, and then how do you do it? So we're bringing in experts. We're having people come and talk about LinkedIn and talk about how to monetize podcast appearances and how to build a strategy for growing your client base. And we have been doing focus groups since the spring. We have a group of founding members who have joined us and really helped us figure out what this whole proposition is going to be. And we are launching a community space online that will be the hub and the home for our membership. So we've been enjoying building that out and doing all the design work and figuring out what the brand is and the messaging.

And we have a gorgeous website broadcollective.com and so people will be able to come in they'll be part of a group that meets on a regular basis on Zoom, and then they will have this place where they can post their questions, their challenges, their wins, the vendors that they've loved, the designers they've worked with, the people who have helped them, and they will be able to contribute to other people's businesses, careers, growth. And we can celebrate each other, we can encourage each other, we can collaborate and become partners with each other. We can amplify each other's reach. I could not be more lit up about the experience of making Hotter Than Ever, leading me to this business that is going to be in service of our generation of extraordinary women who are taking their professional lives into their own hands, because we are going to be working into our 70s. And I can't see working at a place like Snapchat or a television production company at that phase in my life. I really want to take control over my time and the way I work and who I work with and the kinds of things I work on, But I want to figure out how that makes me a good living and provides for my family at the same time.

Sarah: So well said. But, yeah, it just, it's our moment to shape how we want to show up in our working lives. And I really believe this platform that we're building together gives the tools you need, the connection you need to do that. I feel fortunate that I am on the building side of this extraordinary thing and then also getting to kick the tires on it as digital mom media going back and forth has been so fascinating. So I feel like I get double benefit here because every time we figure something out or somebody has an insight, I can go back and apply it to my other business and also bring what I'm figuring out in that business into Broad Collective to help share it with other folks. It's been wonderful as both a participant and as the builder, co-builder.

Erin: Yeah, for sure. I have loved watching that happen. And for me, you know, I think Hotter Than Ever, I love the brand, I have loved making the podcast. There will be a Broad Collective podcast. I will not stop podcasting, I love it. It's such joy for me.

Sarah: So good.

Erin: Thank you, thank you, thank you. And thank you to all of the listeners who have come along on this ride. But I think there are a lot of women in the midlife space now who are having the kinds of conversations that I have been having for the last 130 odd episodes. You know who I was? I was kind of out there. I felt like on my own for a while, and I feel like I tend to be ahead of things and I feel like the culture catches up with me and not to say that I'm replaceable. But I do think there are a lot of people whose voices are out there speaking to midlife women who are reinventing themselves, their lives, their careers, their libidos, their relationships, their, you know, all of the things that we've been talking about on this podcast. For me, the next step in my professional journey is really to build a business that, in a nuts and bolts way, supports other women. Like, I'm going to put my money where my mouth is, literally, and work with you, Sarah, to create something that is going to have great meaning, and not just meaning, but practical value for our peers who are deeply, deeply invested in living meaningful lives of their own design.

Sarah: And, you know, the women that we've already gotten to work with have been so inspiring. The different businesses that many of these women have launched out of conviction, out of deep experience, and just a real desire to put good and necessary work out into the universe is so exciting and invigorating. The conversations that we've been able to have. I have left so many of them just in awe of these women. Their creativity, their intellect, their drive, all of these things and sometimes that's what you need. Sometimes you come to conversations because you need a little bit of, I need to see it to remember what my value is. And then other times, it's just a problem with Instagram.

Erin: Right, like, how do I capture those email addresses?

Sarah: But whatever it is, I've been so delighted and enamored of this group that is so willing to share, so coming to this with their best game, with their wins, their challenges, the like, this is how I figured this out and also my willingness to cheer you on, too. I have felt that so many times. And that also, sometimes you just need another woman across from you on the zoom being like, what you're doing is amazing, because it is. And I think as solo-preneurs, you forget sometimes or you get discouraged, but coming back to that and being able to see yourself through the lens of other folks that are cheering for you, it's really wonderful.

Erin: Ugh, I love it. I mean, we get off of our group calls and call each other right away and go home.

Sarah: Totally.

Erin: Oh, my God, that was so amazing. And what she said and what she said, and that was so cool. And she's doing such a cool thing. And, oh, my God, did you see how, you know, these two were connecting? And, like, we're like proud parents. It's so, so awesome. And, you know, I mean, I remember being in corporate life and texting with my female colleagues during zooms, totally where that was. We had to back channel to support each other and in Broad Collective, that's what we're there for.

Sarah: That's the whole point.

Erin: Yeah, and I think, like, you know, I've said a lot on this, on this podcast that I really pro power for women. I really believe in our power. And I think we're like, scared to say that we want power. Like, women are like, like, secretly you want to win. Secretly you want to be the boss. Secretly you want to be in control of your destiny or the destiny of the organization that you're a part of. You want it to align to your values. And we don't have to do that in secret in this space. You know, we can do power with, we can support each other rather than feeling like we're competing with each other, even if we're operating in the same vertical.

And as listeners might imagine, there are sex-perts in Broad Collective, there are therapists in Broad Collective, there are people whose business is divorce and mediation. There are people who do all the kinds of things that the guests that I've had on this podcast, he expertise that they bring, like, those are people who are joining this group. And, you know, I don't want to be too grandiose about it, but I, you know, it could be a movement. You know, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say who are joining this movement?

Sarah: I think you can, I'm with you on it, I'm coming with you. But I think it's true, and I think that's one of the maybe secrets of being an entrepreneur and a female at our age, is that there's no need to be competitive with your quote unquote competitors. We all are doing this with success because of our unique perspective. So even if we're playing in the same sandbox, it all boats rise. Partnering with someone who works in similar types of content or point of view of you is still going to have a slightly different take on it and together you are more powerful, and it doesn't detract.

There's room for both of you. And we've seen that play out amongst our group, you know, over and over again. And it's so powerful when you have that connection that, yeah, we could just work together. Actually, it doesn't have to be me versus you. It's me and you, right?

Erin: And like, you know, there's a bunch of parenting experts in the group and like, you can amplify each other's reach because your message is slightly different. And your, what you, what, your expertise is slightly different. So you can bring your message to their audience and they can bring their message to your audience, and it's a value add for everybody. And one thing I love about you, Sarah, is that you come from partnerships. And so you don't see things in the framework of competition.

Sarah: No, you see things in the partnerships person.

Erin: Right, you see things in the framework of like, well, we can find a way to make this mutually beneficial.

Sarah: I really believe that, and I think that is at times in partnerships I've been looked at askance for that perspective.

Erin: Like Pollyanna or something.

Sarah: Yeah, or like that's not how it works. We're going to negotiate and get the best deal and we're going to win. And I think there are many situations where there's a win to be had for all parties if you just take a step back and listen to what everyone's trying to do. And, you know, there's a lot of hubris and partnerships because people like to negotiate and, you know, the win is the thing. But really that's, to me, that that sort of oppositional paradigm doesn't serve. You get so much more out of a partnership if you can think about the ways you both win and you use it as amplification. Not, this beats that.

Erin: Right, and power with, not power over. You know, I really believe in that. And I mean, I've always been a girl's girl and I never see other women as competition. That's just not me. I was raised by a feminist mom who loved her female friends more than anything and lean on her sisters. And, you know, I was raised to love and admire women and this feels like such a natural progression from sort of the conversations we've been having in Hotter Than Ever and the conversations you and I have been having sort of over our own journeys as solo-preneurs, which is like kind of a gross word, we'll have to work on the branding of that.

Sarah: It needs a rebrand.

Erin: Yeah, it's like perimenopause. Come on, gross. Can you do better? What do we call it? The spicy years. It just feels like an idea whose time has come, where there are lots of networking groups for women, there are lots of spaces for entrepreneurs. There are places, there are groups that focused on helping women raise venture capital. There are places for corporate executives to bond with other women, corporate executives. There are places for learning general entrepreneurship.

We specifically are focusing on women who have a deep bench of experience whether or not their new business is in that exact space or whether it extrapolates from what they already know into something that they're passionate about, where they want to have an impact. Broad Collective is really specifically for women in midlife who are making a change, who are changing and transitioning to a new way of working, because the old systems are not built for us. And the only people who are going to take pristine care of our professional lives, our values, our identities, our communities, our voices, is us.

Sarah: So well said. But it's true, we're the caretakers of our careers. No one's going to care more about us than us. So, yeah, it's a bit of a battle cry, but it's mostly just an exciting moment to sort of step into your own in a different way.

Erin: Yeah, yeah. All right, Hotter Than Ever, listeners, thank you for hearing our pitch. And I want to ask Sarah, what do you want our listeners to take away from this conversation about what is possible in their own lives? Around two things. Let's start with parenting and technology, and then let's talk about women and our dreams of entrepreneurship.

Sarah: Yeah, I think for parents, what I want parents to think about if they're listening to this, if that's part of your experience, that technology is a lot, but you can manage this. There is a way through it. We know so much more about these platforms, about these technologies, these systems, these devices than we did before, so the time is now to make a change. If you need to, the information is there to help you. I'd love to be the one to help you, but truly, I think understanding that you can figure this out is the most important thing. So many parents I talk to just feel overwhelmed and don't know where to turn. But there really is help. Digital technology is something you can learn. This is something that you can do in a healthy way to have, you know, great experiences with your kids.

Erin: I think that's a really hopeful message in a time when a lot of us just wish our kids would get off TikTok.

Sarah: Yeah. I mean, you can still have that feeling, and you may very well be true, but there is a way through this. There really is. And then on the Broad Collective side, what I want women to know is that there is a space for you here with us to explore this thing that you are passionate about that you've been thinking about or maybe you're already working on. And we would love to invite you into this community where we are working on our problems, our challenges, and celebrating our wins together in also by the Way. A way that works for us. So this is an incredible group of women who have so much knowledge and experience that want to share it with you and also ask your advice on things. And it is a wonderful way to get to know other women at a similar moment in their lives and have a conversation. It doesn't have to be isolating. You should take that chance if you're thinking about it, and if you do, we totally want to talk to you about it.

Erin: Yeah. Thank you, Sarah. I'm so excited for the future of all of your businesses. And I thank your husband for being on board with this wild entrepreneurship ride.

Sarah: My ultimate partner. Yes, Right.

Erin: Exactly. I'm grateful for you. I'm grateful for this conversation. I'm grateful for what we're building together, for the work you're doing in digital mom, media, and also in Broad Collective. Like, I feel really lucky to have you as a partner.

Sarah: I'm so grateful for you, too. Hotter Than Ever has been a huge. It's just been a huge part of my media diet in the last couple of years, something I really needed. And you've brought so much perspective at a moment where I was figuring a lot of aspects out, and you were right there with the information almost before I knew I needed it. So thank you for being ahead of the curve. I am so excited to be doing power with you and doing Broad Collective with you, and I can't wait to see how this membership grows. And I couldn't think of a better person to do it with.

Erin: Okay, before I cry, I'm gonna get off.

Sarah: Yeah, I'm gonna cry.

Erin: Feelings are allowed,feelings are allowed. Thank you, thank you, thank you. More soon.

Thanks for listening to Hotter Than Ever. I hope you enjoyed this conversation about technology and parenting and collaboration and midlife entrepreneurship and empowerment. I am so thrilled that I got to introduce you to Sarah and spill all the tea about what we are building with Broad Collective and what we will be launching this coming January. Is there someone in your life who needs to hear this conversation? Someone who's been threatening to start their own business but maybe just needs that extra push? Or someone who has started and could really benefit from being part of a community with other women who are solving the same problems they are. Please, please, please share this episode with them right now. They will be so grateful that you did, and you will look so freaking smarter than ever.

Hotter Than Ever is produced by Erica Gerard and Podkit Productions. Our associate producer is Melody Carey. Music is by Chris Keating with vocals by Issa Fernandez.

How's your holiday planning going, by the way. Don't get too overwhelmed. Do less. Focus more on the people than the gifts. It is not worth the stress. This is supposed to be relaxing.