039 | Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a First Generation Rancher: Mastermind with Belcrest Farms
A Mastermind with Michelle Howland, of Belcrest Farms, is now available on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
Today, we are excited to have a Mastermind episode! In these episodes, we bring on small business owners from every walk of life to help them work through some challenges in their small businesses. What we love about these episodes is that our guests walk away with tangible tips on how to grow their businesses. In this episode of Overcoming Imposter Syndrome as a First Generation Rancher, we cover several important topics including:
How to find your own unique voice when sharing online
When to know it’s time to start outsourcing in your business
How to set boundaries when advocating online about agriculture
Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
Although the conversation started with advocating, the episode takes a turn when Michelle starts discussing the imposter syndrome feelings she has about being a first-generation farmer. You can learn more about Michelle and Belcrest Farms below, but Michelle and her husband lived in Southern California and picked up everything they had to start a direct-to-consumer beef business in Montana. If that doesn’t scream dedication to a lifestyle, then we aren’t sure what will. At this point in the conversation. Tara injects that as an industry, we have to stop letting limitations of what we “should be” get the in the way of who we want to be. In addition, it’s important to note that Michelle feels that it’s more of an internal dialogue than anything else, but Natalie reminds her that her journey is what makes her story unique and to capitalize on the journey rather than doing everything the right way.
How Transition Into Advocating Online
In this episode, Michelle starts this conversation by asking about how she can transition her content online to be more educational rather than inspirational. This topic is something that a lot of creators in agriculture face because they aren’t sure how to start advocating for agriculture online. Natalie and Tara both share their own experiences with setting boundaries and advocating online. In addition, they reference the Elevate Online Course, which has an entire section dedicated to for giving you resources on how to advocate for agriculture online.
What are the First Steps to Outsourcing
Leading into the final part of the conversation, Michelle realizes that she is at the point in her business where she needs some assistance when it comes to marketing and running her business. Outsourcing to a virtual assistant is a great option for business owners that have anywhere from one to several tasks that they can hand off to someone else to complete. One of the hold-ups that Michelle is having, is the physical hand off of tasks and how to do that. Tara shares that having systems and processes in place for those tasks helped her immensely when first starting to outsource. To catch the rest of the tips in this episode, make sure to tune in!
About Michelle Howland & Belcrest Farms
Michelle and her husband Jeff, grew up in sunny Southern California and moved their family to the mountains of beautiful Bozeman, Montana in 2019. Jeff worked in the food service industry for over 10 years. Michelle worked as a Vet Tech part-time and stayed home with their 2 amazing boys, Grayson (9) and Hudson (7). They were looking for a change but didn’t know what that looked like until Michelle had the crazy & wonderful idea of leaving their busy life in suburban California for the slower pace of ranch life in Montana. Michelle grew up dreaming of living in the Treasure State. She rode horseback in the Big Sky mountains as a child and loved every minute of it. Jeff had a love for great food from an early age and dreamed of being a chef. With Jeff’s aspiration of entrepreneurship and Michelle’s love for animals, Belcrest Farms was born! This is a family business and they love working together on a daily basis. Feeding people and being a part of the Ag community is such a blessing. These days, you can find Michelle and Jeff offering premium direct-to-consumer beef available on their website as well as other ranch goodies. Make sure to check them out below!
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Visit the Michelle’s Website
Connect with Michelle on Instagram
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Sign up for our course waitlist to be the first to know when doors open!
More about Elevate Ag the Podcast
Where can I find tools and strategies to confidently and effectively share my story online? How do I monetize my brand? Where can I find community among women in agriculture and business? Can I cultivate my passion while also making money?
Welcome to Elevate the Podcast where we will answer ALL of these questions and so much more! Hosts Tara Vander Dussen and Natalie Kovarik, along with their guests, will bring you tangible advice, useful tools, and bold strategies that you can implement to drive your business forward and elevate the voice of agriculture. This business interview and storytelling podcast serves agriculture, western and rural entrepreneurs who want to excel in the social space and make their dreams a reality. Tune in every week to dig into entrepreneurs’ stories as they share the problems they encountered and opportunities they created as a way to educate, inspire and encourage the dreamer inside of all of us.
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