Episode 103: Chelsea Chatts

ChelseaChatts-Episode 103

Intro: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Pretty Powerful Podcast, where powerful women are interviewed every week to share real inspiring stories and incredible insight to help women or anyone break the barriers, be a part of innovation, shatter the glass ceiling, and dominate to the top of their sport, industry, or life's mission.

Join us as we celebrate exceptional women and step into our power. And now here's your host, Angela Gennari.

Angela Gennari: Hello, welcome to another episode of the pretty powerful podcast. My name is Angela Gennari, and today I'm here with Chelsea Chatz. Hi, Chelsea.

Chelsea Chatts: Hi, thank you for having me. I'm so excited to chat with you today.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. My pleasure. So Chelsea Chatz is an author and content creator using her voice to explore the beauty and complexities of living in America's Southern states. Chelsea will debut her collection of Southern poetry, Mudwater Will Rise, this fall. [00:01:00] I'm excited to talk to you because number one, content creators to me are like magicians.

Uh, I always feel like they are like, I have a couple of friends who are content creators. I'm like, ah, their Instagram is so good. The other thing is talk about the Southern states, because I mean, I grew up in the North and I've lived in the South for 25 years now. And so I consider myself a Southerner, although Southerners won't claim me because I'm not, you know, born here, but I consider myself a Southerner.

And so I can probably relate to a lot of what you're going to say. So

Chelsea Chatts: I'm from California originally. I mean, we've been here over two years now. We're a base. out in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Um, and similarly, we, we actually actually have a great community here. Who's been very welcoming, but there are definitely some folks, you know, they're born and raised here.

So they're true Southerners, um, and you know, being a transplant, you're not always, um, You know, considered a full Southerner, [00:02:00] but you know, you're part of the community. You're part of the culture here. Um, and so I consider myself myself a Southerner as well.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So tell me what are the biggest eye opening differences that you have found moving to Chattanooga or moving to the south in general?

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. So. Um, originally again, I'm from San Francisco Bay Area, but, um, a while ago, I want to say 2018, 2019, uh, we actually started traveling a lot throughout the United States to see what else was out there. Um, you know, different types of communities there were, and we actually stopped first in New Orleans.

Um, and I was just enamored by the culture there, which New Orleans does have its own Uh, it has its own culture there, right? Um, but it's so vibrant. The people are full of life. They're so welcoming. And that was my first real entry into southern culture. And I was just obsessed with the people. And so we started traveling more throughout the [00:03:00] South and ended up on Chattanooga.

Um, actually just to back it up a little bit during our honeymoon, we did a, um, a road, a cross country road trip ended up in Nashville. Um, in Memphis and we had started chatting with some other honeymooners there and people from the area. And they had mentioned, you know, you really got to check out Chattanooga.

If you love community, if you love nature, um, there's so many cool things to do there. It's an up and coming city. So we just fell in love. We came here, um, and we stayed for a full week and we actually put an offer in on a house while we were visiting. Wow. And we, uh, got that house, which was just mind blowing.

So on our way back to California, we're flying and we're like, Oh my gosh, we're, we're Tennesseans now. Like we're doing this. We're moving. So that's essentially how, um, we ended up in Chattanooga and we just love it here. The community is outstanding [00:04:00] and that's really been the biggest draw, honestly, is the people.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. I, I can agree with you as a Southerner myself. Um, You know, it's something I just, I love being here. And when I go back up north now, it's funny because I think to myself, like, probably what other southerners think when they go visit people up north, like, it's just not the same. The, the, the welcoming is not the same that you get going to the north as it is coming in south.

And so, yeah, I love, I do love it here. It's, it's my home. So,

Chelsea Chatts: yeah, I appreciate that. It's funny because, When we go back to California, we start waving to everybody on the streets now because that's just like what you're used to being in the South. It's like you waved to all your neighbors, you waved to people you don't know, you know, people are just happy to be around.

Um, and back on the West Coast, I have to remind myself like, Oh, that's like not the norm here. You know, people are Do I know you? Hello.

Angela Gennari: I know it's funny because literally as I was just coming home just [00:05:00] now, I, you know, of course it's an automatic and if you don't wave to your neighbors and they think, oh, that person doesn't live here.

Like, why are they here? And so you immediately get suspicious of the person that doesn't wave to you. And so I'm waving at neighbors. I'm like, oh, I don't recognize them. They must be. No, but it's like, you just have to, you have to, you have to wave. It's a thing.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah. Exactly. And I love it. Honestly.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. I mean, it's like I said, it's just, it's a welcoming environment.

It's, it's different than anything I experienced growing up in the North. For sure.

Chelsea Chatts: Definitely. So,

Angela Gennari: so you tell me about becoming a content creator and an author. Tell me about that journey and what led you there.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, that's a great question. So I just going back to my childhood, I've always been a creative, um, you know, my parents would buy me journals when I was younger to write in because I just loved writing stories.

Um, and throughout my. schooling career, I really geared myself [00:06:00] towards becoming a writer. I attended University of California, Berkeley, and graduated with an English, uh, literature degree there. And I had this dream of moving to New York, um, getting into editorial, writing my books on the side, and then kind of moving into authorship that way.

Um, but being in California, especially Northern California, where you're in Silicon Valley, I ended up getting sort of, the tech scene, um, right out of college. And actually, weirdly I got recruited to a tech, a startup tech company in Southern California. Um, and I ended up moving over to Silicon Beach instead of Silicon

Angela Gennari: Valley.

Okay.

Chelsea Chatts: And I really worked my way up in that company, um, ended up working up into internal communications. Human resources, recruiting, which actually led me to, um, back to Northern California where I did a lot of executive search recruiting as well. Um, and [00:07:00] as fulfilling as those jobs were, and I learned a lot because I, I worked in tech startups that were acquired by fortune 500 companies, and then moved to big firms where, um, you know, our leaders were, you know, running their own business.

So I learned a lot during that time about how to run your own business, but I really missed the creative side of things. Um, and this past year I decided I wanted to take a chance on myself and, um, really dig into the Chattanooga community because Something else here that's really special is we have a really big art scene and people are really supportive.

There's a lot of locally owned businesses, small businesses, and everybody wants to see you succeed here. Um, and I was in a position luckily where I said, you know what, I'm going to take a chance on myself. I want to get back into writing. I actually ended up submitting. a piece of poetry over to, um, Walnut Street Publishing, which is a local independent [00:08:00] publishing company here.

Um, and thankfully, you know, they gravitated towards my work. We started chatting and now I am a full time author with their company as well. Um, and that's really how I moved over into, um, authorship. And as for content creation, I've kind of always done it on the side. I used to do California lifestyle. Um, but it wasn't something I did.

consistently, I would say, just because, you know, you have a full time job and then you've got your life outside of your job. And there's just so much to do. Um, but now that I'm in my authorship phase, it very much ties back into the content creation piece and the marketing piece. And I do have people who help me with that as well.

I have a lot of, um, Great consultants and teammates who, um, again, they're, they provide their expertise and they're so fun to work with. Um, so they're helping me a lot with the content creation piece, as I'm also writing a lot of my book and kind of getting those final edits together.

Angela Gennari: Wow. [00:09:00] That's amazing.

So how, how has your book, um, what inspired your book and tell me about a little bit more about it and how the poetry, um, like what inspired you? The type of poetry and how you've put that together.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. So just backing up a little bit. I was still a California resident. 2020 hit a global pandemic.

Um, a lot of people were suffering with mental health at that point, including myself. Um, I've always had high functioning anxiety since I was a kid. Like I was the kid who was like, mom, I'm going to be late for school. And she actually ended up getting a ticket speeding to school, um, to get me there on time because I was having such bad anxiety.

Um, so. Obviously that amped up quite a bit during the pandemic. And that's when I started getting into therapy and they said, you know, are there any outlets? And I kind of returned back to my craft of writing and started getting into poetry that way, because it was just this [00:10:00] therapeutic outlet for me.

And at that point I was still working in recruiting and tech. And, um, so it kind of, you know, Got me back into that creative headspace. And then fast forward, we end up moving to Chattanooga in 2022. Um, and that's when I said, you know, Oh, there's this great art scene. Um, and again, started just dabbling back into poetry and said, you know, I'm going to put this out there and just see what happens.

Um, and that's really led me down this road. Um, but I, Before that, I wrote a lot of fiction and short stories. So this has really been my first entryway into poetry and moving to the south. Um, as we talked about, there are a lot of cultural differences. Um, and you know, there's always good and bad everywhere.

That's just kind of how it is. Um, but what really inspired me was again, the people and the You know, focusing on the [00:11:00] community aspect of this book, because, um, the last several years of, um, our political landscape here in the United States, there's been a lot of tension between people, but The more you talk to people, and you would initially think that, you know, they have a different background than you, you're not going to have that much in common, you actually have quite a bit in common is what I've come to discover.

So, what I'm doing with Mud, Water, Will, Rise is really focusing on what we do have in common and creating nonpartisan solutions for our communities here in the South for some of the things that we are still struggling with, um, and really focusing on getting our community together, um, in unity and just moving forward together.

Angela Gennari: Yeah, I love that because I think you're absolutely right. I think, you know, the media wants us to think that that we're so divided. And I don't think we are. I really don't think we are. I think we have so much more in [00:12:00] common than we allow ourselves to believe sometimes. And, you know, the people that we think are so divisive, you know, we all have certain things in common.

You know, we're all somebody's daughter. You know, brother, sister, mother, you know, like we, we have so much of that. We still want the best for our families. We still want, you know, to be able to put food on our table at the end of the day, we, you know, we have the same desires for our life and then we've all been through struggles, you know, and I, I say this time and time again, that our commonality is not our success.

It's our struggle. Every single person I know, no matter what level of success you have achieved has been through some kind of traumatic detrimental struggle and they have overcome it. And that is one of the things that I feel like is our it's our connector is, you know, having to overcome obstacles because it takes tenacity and grit and strength.

And, you know, you feel like when you've come through that, nobody else can relate to you, but everybody else can relate to you. And I think [00:13:00] that that's where we really, we miss the boat on that. We, we look at, well, they have more than I do, or, you know, they've been given more opportunities, but you have no idea what's behind that.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. Everybody has a struggle. And just because you don't see that, like, for example, as a content creator, you see the highlights of my life, right? You're not seeing the struggles. I think I'd mentioned to you earlier, I have a 16 month old at home, which is amazing. I'm so blessed to be able to have my daughter here and to be able to work, but it's a challenge, you know, you don't see the challenges behind the scene.

Um, you don't see the challenges of trying to. Really start your own company while being a mother to a 16 month old. Um, you know, my husband, he's also in a startup as well, and they're getting things off the ground. So our life is really chaotic in the best way. Um, again, we're really blessed, but you know, Again, people don't see the struggles behind the scene.

And then in addition to that, [00:14:00] a lot of people, um, don't know, but I was hospitalized actually in May with Crohn's disease. And that's something else I've been working through. It's about at least a six month recovery, if not longer. So I've been pushing myself through the sickness. So trying to obviously take care of myself, but I also have these responsibilities as a mother, as a wife, as a business owner, as an author.

Um, and just trying to get the business off the ground while all these things are happening behind the scenes. It's, it's challenging and, uh, you know, that goes for everybody. There's always something, there's always a struggle and a journey you don't know about. Um, so I love that, you know, you recognize that as well.

Again, I think you're correct in our struggles are really what connect us. But a lot of people don't necessarily want to talk about that, which of course, you know, you want to keep things light and, um, you know, have fun with your conversations. But when you [00:15:00] dig into it, you really do realize you have so much more in common, which I think is something that really unites us as a community.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So when you're, when you're writing your book, tell me a little bit about some of the things that you've put into, uh, your poetry and, and where that inspiration has come from.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. So there are a few different sections of poems. Um, the first one is really about nature. Um, I'm really big on preservation conservation.

We actually lead a volunteer group here called keep chat clean. Um, and we, been recognized by our Chattanooga Parks Department, and we actually adopted a park called Renaissance Park here. We do monthly trash cleanups, landscaping initiatives, and we're planning to do river cleanups at some point as well in the coming year, which we're really excited about.

That's great. A lot of my poetry focuses on Mother Earth, [00:16:00] nature, treating her with respect and making it, uh, better for future generations to come, but it also taps into spirituality as well and, um, you know, communing with nature and, you know, what can happen when you insert yourself into the natural world and kind of take away all these advancements we've been through.

Had um in society, which again are great. We're able to connect like today. We're able to connect and sure chat via podcast, but It's really rounding to get back into nature. So I have a lot of poetry that focuses on that, especially the southern landscape. That was another thing that drew us here. It's just so green, so luscious.

Um, and the people really, really respect, um, nature around here in Chattanooga. So it's just so uplifting to see. I also have some more poetry that focuses on, um, southern history, haunted lore, some, some fun things. Um, and again, a lot of it is [00:17:00] local Chattanooga legends. Um, but I do dig a little bit more into the southern region and some other stories.

And then I had some, my, some of my own inspired stories as well. Um, just, um, you know, just having fun with it as I was going along doing a lot of research. Um, yeah, the third is, um, again, just kind of tapping back into political reform and it's really focusing not so much on the political parties. It's focusing on nonpartisan solutions for issues that we continue to struggle with today and getting everybody to unite.

Thank you. Um, as a community, and that leads me to my fourth section of the book, which again just talks about community and coming together and focusing on the things we do have in common. Um, so it really has a wide, uh, a wide theme, if you will, but all relates back to Southern culture in some way or another.

Angela Gennari: Oh, that's fantastic. I love [00:18:00] it. So tell me some ideas about how to unite us because I, I'm a big believer in that too. I, you know, that's why I do the podcast. The podcast is kind of to bring to light some issues that women are dealing with that we need to just, we need to be talking about out loud. Um, and you know, to, to make them known, you know, so many, I have so many men that I just have to, So much tremendous respect for, but sometimes, you know, when, when they hear things on the podcast or like, I had no idea, like I had no idea women get less than 3 percent of venture capital.

You know, I had no idea that, you know, it wasn't until the seventies and eighties until women were able to get a bank account on their own and get a business loan and like really truly be a business owner without a male partner. Like they, sometimes they just don't know. And that's perfectly okay.

Because, you know, Maya Angelou, who was one of my favorite poets. has always said, uh, you know, you, you do the best you can with what, you know, and when you know better, you do better. And I think that's one of the beauties of learning. [00:19:00]

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. So my book has a little section where it's action items you can do or that you can take into, um, into this year, especially because it's a, uh, a political election year.

So, um, One of the things is vote. Um, it's, I, this is, uh, strictly Tennessee that we're talking about, but, um, we have one of the lowest, um, voter turnouts in the country, if not the lowest, actually. Yeah, we, we ranked last. Um, we have a high of 22%. It dropped to 14 percent this past, uh, primary election, actually.

So a little, yeah, a little disappointing to see. And I think A lot of people don't realize their voice has an impact and we're not really getting a real sense of what the people want at a mere 14%. Um, so getting, just encouraging people to go out and make their voices heard is [00:20:00] really the biggest hurdle right now.

Um, second, there are some organizations, again, a lot of them are Tennessee based and Tennessee focused. Um, one of them is Voices for Safer Tennessee, and then we have The Best of Tennessee. The Best of Tennessee focuses, um, again, on getting people out there to vote and, um, they, they kind of break down the, the political aspect of what's going on in Tennessee that the super minority is actually what Is represented in our leadership today because not enough people are voting and are making their voices heard.

Um, so just making sure that we can dig into what type of leaders we really need and want to continue to progress forward here in the state. Um, Voices for a Safer Tennessee is, again, a non partisan. solution for firearm safety. As you know, there was, um, in our area, especially closer to you, there was the Apalachee shooting just a few days ago.

Um, it's [00:21:00] something that continues to plague not only Tennessee, uh, you know, Georgia, the south, it's a big, um, It's a big issue across the United States of America, right? And you want to make sure that you're not infringing on people's rights, but you still want to progress forward and make it safe for our children in our communities.

So that's. Really, um, what that, uh, organization focuses on, and they have a lot of different ways you can get involved, volunteer, um, donate. Um, but those are just a few of, uh, the highlights in my book, and there are a few other things. I have a lot of resources that people can look into as well, again, nonpartisan, uh, because this really is focusing on getting everybody on the same page and making sure that we can move to move forward together as a community.

Angela Gennari: Right. Right. Absolutely. Yeah. The Apalachee shooting is tragic. I mean, just, just tragic. And, you know, it just goes to show that, you know, we need to heed warnings a little bit [00:22:00] better. Um, you know, I know the FBI had investigated him a year prior and, you know, nothing was really done. So it's just, it's tragic what's happening in, in the world.

And, um, you know, having our children have to do, you know, school shooting drills, um, is scary. But I do believe that the school shooting drills save lives because, you know, when, when it started, I think it could have been a lot worse. But the teachers reacted very swiftly as did the resource officers. So, thankfully, it was not to the scale of like the Uvalde shooting, for example, um, Because there was such swift action and, um, you know, there, there was a very, very immediate response, which was, which was great, you know, unfortunately, I wish it never happened at all, but the, the fact that we can, we can move quickly, you know, even though we hate doing these, these, uh, you know, active shooter drills, it, it does save lives for sure.

So,

Chelsea Chatts: yeah, [00:23:00] definitely. That was something we started implementing back when I was in high school. And I remember just being so confused, like, why would anybody want to do this? Why would anybody want to come on campus and hurt us? Um, and it just, again, it goes back to making sure that we have, um, processes and procedures in place to make sure that, you know, responsible gun owners are the ones that have, um, Um, firearms in their hands.

And, you know, investing in mental health as well is something that we really need. That's the

Angela Gennari: key. Yeah. I mean, the mental health crisis in America is, is what I think drives so much of this. I mean, and, and, you know, and I hate to say this, but I, I blame some of that on the media and on, you know, social media and, and what's going on with pushing agendas, because I think that that also just adds to.

To the anxiety and adds to the fear and, and just creates this, this world that is so divisive. And I don't think the world is that [00:24:00] divisive, but I think if you look at the news or you look at social media, you would believe it because that's, that's, what's being pushed out there. And it's not, it's not reality.

You know, I'm, I, I don't hate any of my neighbors. I don't hate any of my, you know, like the people that I interact with. Like, I, I don't have that hatred that you see in, in so much of the media. Us. So I think that, yeah, definitely

Chelsea Chatts: people need to get out to the world. Yeah, yeah, definitely. But 24 hour news cycle has been draining people for a long time.

And as you mentioned, instilling this fear that is not necessary,

Angela Gennari: it's not reality either.

Chelsea Chatts: We need to be aware of, you know, the, the great culture we have and where we still And I think that's really what's been dividing us for a long time is, you know, we have this two party system where it's like, you have to choose one side or the other, but it's really not about that anymore.

And I think we're starting [00:25:00] to shift that culture into, okay, what leadership is really going to represent the people? Um, and again, just coming together, united as a community. So, um, that's really what inspired a lot of my book, honestly. And again, I think a lot of people are on the same page or we we are once we have those deep conversations, but you may not know it right away.

And so really, it's about opening up that dialogue. And, um, again, just. informing people that we have more in common than we think. And now let's move forward together and make solutions that, that work for everyone.

Angela Gennari: Well, and I love that your, your book really focuses on community and bringing people together.

And I think that that sets a great precedent, you know, as you, as a mother, think about the, you know, what you're doing. You know, what is the world you're leaving your children and you want that, that world to be united and not divided. And so if we can create those, that environment where we're creating [00:26:00] unity and we're creating that, you know, that we have more in common than we have different.

I think that that really kind of lends to. Bringing people together and making us understand that, you know, being connected 24 7 to news and social media is not real life. Getting out into your community, volunteering, you know, joining community groups, that's real life. Those are where you really interact with humans and you see them for who they are and not whatever it is that, you know, you're seeing on, on the media.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. And that, again, is something that drew us to Chattanooga. It's just the community is so involved here, whether you're a business owner, you're a parent, um, even like if you're just a young adult out and about, there are so many people who just want to do good and it's amazing to see. And it's not that people in other parts of the countries aren't like that, but it's just so ingrained in the culture here.

And that's something that I [00:27:00] absolutely love. And I want to promote to everybody, not just Southerners, but, you know, people across America as well and say, you know, you can do this. You can get involved in your community. You can lead these amazing, um, these amazing volunteer groups or whatever it may be.

You can make a difference. Your voice makes a difference. That's really the, the message I want to leave with. Absolutely.

Angela Gennari: A hundred percent. And I think if you just find a cause, you know, like I'm super busy, I have a lot going on at all times, you know, between the podcast and running my business and being a parent and, you know, all those things.

So I'm, I'm no less busy than anyone else, but it's still a priority to volunteer. You know, it's still a priority. I signed up yesterday to help junior achievement because they're looking for, you know, high school people or. To coach high school students and starting their own business. And I'm like, this is something I know about, like, this is, it's going to be three hours out of my day, but it could, you know, make a change in [00:28:00] somebody's life.

And it's three hours, you know, like you can't tell me you don't have three hours. So it's three hours a month. Yeah,

Chelsea Chatts: it's when you make a priority. And a lot of people also don't realize this, but for example, with our volunteer group, Keep Chat Clean, we said, we tell people, bring your kids, you know, provide water.

We have trails specifically for kids and families so that You know, they're not getting too much into the weeds. They're not running into any weird wildlife, um, but they're making an impact and you're, you're spending time with your family. It's amazing. You're getting neighbors in your community. You're making new friends.

Um, so a lot of people don't even realize, you know, that you, you get that aspect when you get out and you volunteer or you get out into your community in one way or another. Um, and it's just so impactful and amazing to see and how excited people get once they've done it once. They want to keep coming back and they want to keep making an impact.

Um, [00:29:00] so definitely I, whatever it might be, I definitely recommend people just get out into their communities and do, as you mentioned, what you have knowledge about or what you're passionate about and just Just get out there.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. Yeah, absolutely. I think everybody should, you know, as much as it's called volunteering because it's, you know, not mandatory.

I really do think it should be mandatory more because I think people get, you get so much more out of it than you give and people don't understand, you know, the value of volunteering and the value of working in your community and building community and uniting with other people who have a common interest.

So there's just so much value to that. So. Thank you for, for, um, being so passionate about building a community. Cause I think that's really important. I think it's something that we need to be putting, you know, into the communities, you know, just the importance of it and, and letting people know that this is a way that you, you spend time with your family.

This is team building. This is company stuff. You like you, you know, there's so many ways that you can do it and [00:30:00] it. Hills two birds with one stone per se, you know, so you can spend time with your family and volunteer. You can do spend time with your work people and volunteers. So there's, there's just a lot that comes out of it.

Yeah, definitely. Um, so tell me, um, tell me some of the obstacles that you, you had when you were starting your business.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, so, um, just kind of stepping back. I, again, I have a lot of experience in tech startups and Fortune 500 companies, um, and working with small businesses as well. And I've, I've gained a lot of knowledge from that, but it's always just scary to take that first step, right?

Um, you're like, okay, I've, I've, I've. I had the lessons, but now I need to implement them and execute them. Um, but something that's made it a little bit less scary and made me lean a little bit more into, okay, I can do this. I can be successful. And this is again, just kind of going back to community. I've been [00:31:00] very fortunate to meet so many entrepreneurs, amazing.

Um, professionals here in Chattanooga, and again, everybody just wants to see everybody succeed. Absolutely. Um, and we're all supporting each other's businesses. So I've hired some consultants, um, who are helping me, thankfully, with my book launch. Um, you know, they, they themselves have been New York Times bestsellers, so I'm, I'm taking all of that knowledge in now.

I'm, I'm always continuously learning. Um, but. Just going back to the obstacles. Sometimes it's the resources and trying to figure out where do I go next and who can help me achieve this goal. And I've been so fortunate again, just to, to happen upon these people really in the community. Um, actually one of the, the best consultants that I've worked with, um, My neighbor, um, actually was the one who recommended them.

They're like, Oh, I have a daughter in law who works at this company. And, [00:32:00] you know, they do like website development and they do SEO marketing and they, and that's all stuff I know nothing about. Like I can work WordPress, I can write blog posts, but I'm not, uh, somebody who can sit there and, you know, do HTML or do any type of content.

Um, so ended up through a neighbor, just, you know, the goodness of their heart, giving me that information and that one, that one resource leads to another resource. And then once you have those good relationships and connections, you trust their opinion of other people. And then that's how you start to build this professional community around you.

Um, so really it's been. The resource part of me, but once I found the resources and then that opened so many more doors to again, just success in, you know, okay, I can do this. And it's so reaffirming to be not feel like I'm alone in this. Because I know that can be very isolating [00:33:00] being an entrepreneur. So,

Angela Gennari: yeah, absolutely.

Well, and I say that all the time. I always say one of the hardest parts about being an entrepreneur is feeling like you're on an island by yourself. It's very lonely. And so if you can start building out your tribe, you know, your tribe of people that you can consult with, tribe of people that, you know, you can share, Hey, this is what I'm struggling with.

Are you, have you ever been through this? Can you advise me through this? And so just finding your tribe is one of the most important things that, you know, entrepreneurs learn when you, when you start a business, because it is very lonely. And if you insist on doing everything yourself, you're going to take it, it'll be 10 times harder and you're going to spend 10 times more money.

And it's. It's going to exhaust you. So,

Chelsea Chatts: yeah, that was something I, I tried to talk to leaders about in, um, some of my previous roles as well. You know, obviously everybody has a budget to work with, um, which it makes sense, but at some [00:34:00] point it's almost better to just hire a professional and spend that initial money versus.

trying to do it yourself 10 times over and spending even more money and more budget to get, you know, a lesser outcome than what you had hoped. Um, and that's something I've, I also just implemented into my own business is like, okay, I know this is an investment, but it's going to be worth it at the end.

And then, you know, I'm going to be able to get. 10 X back eventually once, you know, the ball gets rolling. Um, so that's something else I also talk to people about just because again, it seems like such a big investment and it is, I don't want to diminish it. It really is, but, um, you save so much time and money in the long run when you're able to build out that community and that tribe, as you had mentioned, and they can help you move things along.

Angela Gennari: 100 percent Yeah, I just hired an SEO company. But it was the same thing. It was one of those like, well, I can probably do [00:35:00] this myself, I can probably figure this out. But then, you know, if you factor in the time cost of it all, and you know what your time is valued at, and what you could be doing, instead of learning a whole new industry, and then doing it, you know, halfway what somebody else would be able to do, you know, like, you're never going to excel at it, it's not your level of expertise.

And so Yeah, somebody else is going to be able to do it a lot better. And even though it costs more, you know, you're, you're saving yourself an immense amount of time in the education of it. So

Chelsea Chatts: exactly. And, you know, that time could be spent with your family. It could be spent volunteering. It could be spent, you know, doing something else for your business.

Um, so really at the end of the day, and that's something I learned, I, I got burnt out really fast in the technology industry. Um, my time. in my balance and my mental health is worth a lot more than trying to figure these things out on my own and trying to move forward on my own. Um, and [00:36:00] again, it just goes back to community is what it is.

Angela Gennari: Yes, absolutely. So what advice would you give to your 18 year old self? Oh, boy. I have a lot of advice. I know. I want to sit myself down and have a real conversation.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, exactly. Um, I think the biggest thing is recognize your talents. Know where your improvement areas lie. Um, but also know your worth. And this was something really big.

Um, throughout my career. I again, I just going back to childhood. I've suffered from high functioning anxiety and that leads me to to a lot of perfectionism as well. Um, and there's no such thing as a perfect person. You know, we all mistakes. Um, we all have learning opportunities that we could tap into.

And, um, I think I held myself to An [00:37:00] impossible standard, um, for a long time, and I would almost make that an excuse for some of the unconscious bias and things happening in my company. I'd be like, you know, I need to pay my dues. I, I still need to learn this. I need to do that. And like, I didn't recognize all the skills that I had gained along the way and all the expertise I gained along the way.

And, um, eventually it did lead to burnout. And actually my, my superior, I told her, I was like, I think I need to start looking for a new job. Like I've, I've gotten everything I can out of this. Um, and I want to be upfront with you so that, you know, you can start looking for a replacement. Um, and as soon as they discovered that immediately, it was like, Oh, well, you can create your own role here and you can do this and that.

And. It kind of took me stepping into my power, um, in confronting that to realize like, oh my gosh, I, you know, I do, I am [00:38:00] worthy of moving up. I am worthy of doing all these things. So for a long time, I feel like I really almost self sabotaged, um, not. You know, intentionally, but I let my high functioning anxiety and perfectionism really keep me from speaking my truth and standing up for myself.

So something I would tell my 18 year old self or anybody who's really entering the workforce is know your worth. Um, again, recognize your talents, your skill set, recognize your growth as well. And keep track of the growth and provide those metrics, you know, to your superiors, uh, make sure that you're getting the opportunities that you deserve because a lot of times people are bypassed because, you know, you might be too timid or too shy, or they might think that, right?

Um, so really just know your worth and, and, uh, stand up for yourself and what you deserve.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. And they, you know, that, that is pretty directly [00:39:00] answers the, the question that I ask on this podcast all the time. Tell me about a time that you've given away your power and another time that you've stepped into your power.

Because as women, we do this all the time. We give away our power a lot. And like you were saying, you know, you gave away your power by not recognizing. The value you brought and I think that that's a very common thing for us to do and I love that you eventually saw that and not only you saw it but your superior saw it and and they said hey that's fine let's create a new role because I think that that's recognizing your value even if you weren't necessarily directly advocating for it at that time.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. And I feel like that was really the spark that, again, it just ignited that, Oh my gosh, I am worthy of this. And people do recognize all the talents I have and they don't want to lose me. And they do care if I leave the company, um, which was really empowering because originally I didn't know if they would care, you know, uh, and People are [00:40:00] oftentimes so busy and they're not thinking necessarily about your growth.

So you need to step into that power and really advocate for yourself. Um, especially as a woman in the workforce, there's a lot of unconscious bias and people have good intentions, but sometimes again, they get caught up in their own stuff. They have things in the back of their head that. Um, they may have had, had been taught in the past and it's still, still just kind of jumbled up back there.

Um, so you got to break through that a little bit.

Angela Gennari: Yeah. And I think, you know, human nature is that you, you focus, you're very, you know, centered on what, what you're doing and your needs. And, and so when you have somebody who's. In your office, who's not necessarily advocating for themselves, you know, maybe it just, and it's very hard because you, you know, in my mind, I'm like, well, if they wanted that, they should ask for it, but not everybody's going to do that.

Not everybody's going to step into that power and say, Hey, I think I deserve a promotion, or I think I deserve this. You have to [00:41:00] sometimes recognize that, Hey, they're, they're doing a really great job. And I think it's time to move them into a new position.

Chelsea Chatts: Yeah, definitely. And that comes down to great leadership as well.

Right. Um, yeah. And making sure that you are one, not only advocating for yourself, but, um, that you have a mentor or a superior who can really back you up. That's been huge for me to just having these, uh, powerful female mentors in throughout my career has been absolutely amazing and such a blessing to, to see how they handle themselves in a professional environment.

Um, and, um, It's just been life changing for me. So yeah, definitely having the, the willingness to advocate for yourself, but also recognize, you know, um, the leadership behind it and making sure that you have somebody in your corner.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. Yes, absolutely. So Chelsea, I've really, really enjoyed talking with you.

This has been a lot of fun, but I have one more question [00:42:00] for you. What do you wish more people knew?

Chelsea Chatts: Oh my gosh, what do I wish more people knew? That's a really good question. Um, I feel like there are so many ways you could answer this. Yeah, which more new again, I feel like, um, this kind of goes back to my last answer, but just knowing your worth.

Um, and I will say I had, uh, I think I had a poster actually in my cubicle for the longest time is know your worth. And I had all these like inspirational mantras, but I never actually internalized them.

Angela Gennari: Yeah,

Chelsea Chatts: you know, they were more like. aspirational and inspirational, but I didn't actually believe them.

Um, so I think really just taking time to recognize again, yourself, your talents, um, and really dig deep into what you [00:43:00] deserve. And, you know, if there are things that are standing in your way, like it took me, for example, going to therapy to really understand a lot of the, Issues with high functioning anxiety that I had and how that led back to certain things in my childhood.

So take the time to really dig into yourself, your journey, uh, make sure you're taking care of your mental health. That I think is of the utmost importance, especially like in a professional environment, you're not going to thrive if you're not taking care of yourself. So again, take time to take care of yourself, um, really dig into, you know, if there's an issue that's bothering you, you know, figure out what the root cause of that is, and then just allow yourself, um, the grace and allow yourself to, to accept that you are worthy of all the accomplishments that you've achieved.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. Great, great advice. I appreciate that. Well, [00:44:00] thank you so much. It's been a amazing time talking with you. I'm super excited about your book coming out. And when does that come out?

Chelsea Chatts: It comes out October 16th of this year, 2024. So I'm very excited to share it with everyone.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So how can people find you

Chelsea Chatts: so people can find me at my website.

It's www. chelseachatz. com and chats has two T's in it as in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Um, and from there, they'll have a, uh, a section on my website about my books coming out. You can read all about, uh, lifestyle on my blog posts and. Um, again, you'll have links to my Amazon account, um, to my retail store and to my publisher as well.

Um, so there are multiple avenues that people can find the book and find some other Southern, uh, lifestyle goodies on my website as well, which I love and have all around my house.

Angela Gennari: Very cool. I love it. Well, I'm so [00:45:00] excited for you and I'm excited for your book launch. Um, and thank you so much for joining us today.

Chelsea Chatts: Of course. Thank you so much for having me. It's been a pleasure.

Angela Gennari: Absolutely. So you guys can also find Chelsea on prettypowerfulpodcast. com and we look forward to seeing you next time. Have an amazing day.

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