Getting a Grip: Occupational & Entrepreneurial Therapy

Brandy Archie, OTD, OTR/L, CLIPP
Founder, CEO at AskSAMIE 

Part session with your OT, part advice on goal setting and business management from your ET ("Entrepreneur Therapist"), Dr. Brandy Archie drops all kinds of knowledge on this week's episode. From her approach to working with those looking to age in place, to her lessons from multiple ventures aimed at improving patient quality of life, independence and self-determination, Brandy is leading the conversation for caregivers and founders alike.

And have we mentioned that she hosts the Care Lab podcast? 

Together, Michelle, Joan and Brandy discuss the benefits of accessibility inside and outside of your home. Brandy also shares her insights on what it takes to run a growing business while setting milestones that support you reaching your big, audacious goal. 

Now that the season of giving (and buying) is upon us, we'd be remiss if we didn't mention that - in addition to pro-tips for making your environment work better for you and those you care about - Brandy's AskSAMIE platform also offers unique products, used and approved by professionals that make it easier to live independently and on our own terms.

Hold on, we're chatting about:

• Occupational therapy and why it matters now, not just later
• Entrepreneurial solutions to healthcare gaps
• How to see your physical space through a different lens
• Sometimes you just need to know how to do a thing
• How to flip the script on "prevention" questions in your pitch
• Snarky feedback might still have merit
• The importance of relationships in success, and knowing what to ask for

Social Media Links:

https://www.asksamie.com

https://www.facebook.com/AskSAMIE
https://www.instagram.com/asksamie
https://www.linkedin.com/in/drbrandyarchie/
https://www.linkedin.com/company/asksamie/
https://www.twitter.com/Ask_SAMIE

Handles:

FB @AskSAMIE
IG @AskSAMIE
Twitter @Ask_SAMIE
Youtube @Ask-SAMIE
Linked In @AskSAMIE

Links:

Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone

1 Million Cups

The Baker's Body: Integrating Strategies for Physical Wellbeing and Longevity in Your Bakery

Credits:

Theme Music by Thorn Haze

Additional Music: Bop It - Audio Tonic (via Pixabay)

Podcast Cover Art by Lisa Orye

Produced by Joan Kanner and Michelle Bond

Find more at proofingstage.com
Follow us on Instagram and Threads @proofingstage

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See Buzzsprout's Privacy Policy for listener privacy and read our disclaimer here.

Transcript

Joan Kanner (00:00)
And then we can like reach across the sports aisle as Ravens and Orioles fans and have you on the show. Look at that face. Wow, looks like you smelled bad cheese.

Dr. Brandy Archie (00:00)
That's fine.

Michelle Bond (00:09)
Well, I mean, we have some history.

Dr. Brandy Archie (00:11)
We do have some history. So, I mean, I will say that I'm very proud that I have attended a Ravens game and it was in the Ravens stadium when we played the Chiefs. And so, you know, I'm not saying, no, it was a very long time ago. I used to live in the DMV. So I came to support my Chiefs in your stadium. Let the record show.

Michelle Bond (00:23)
Was it AFC? Okay. Okay. All right. Okay. Yeah. Okay. All right. All right. Well, you know, takes all kinds.

Dr. Brandy Archie (00:37)
You

Joan Kanner (00:38)
It's about diversity on this podcast. And I also should say that

Dr. Brandy Archie (00:40)
That's right. That's right.

[podcast intro begins]

Michelle Bond
This is Proofing Stage with me, Michelle Bond. 

Joan Kanner
And me, Joan Kanner. We're queer female founders who over a decade ago envisioned and created products and services designed with end users in mind. Go figure.

Michelle Bond
Frustrated in our prior careers, we began to consider what all our energy and passion can do if we use it on our own terms. A company with karma as its driving force, a music app that put users in control, and for the last eight years, a bagel business. 

Joan Kanner
This podcast is about our experiences and the nitty gritty of being an underrepresented small business owner.

Just like we've worked to fill the gap in quality bagels, lox, and schmear, these conversations fill the gap of knowledge, mentorship, and straight talk that are missing from other business pods and success stories. 

Michelle Bond
Together, we have a lot to offer, and we have a lot to learn. 

Joan Kanner
So join us and our brilliant guests in this space between "Atta girl!" and "I told you so."

[podcast intro ends]


Joan Kanner (01:49)
On this episode of Proofing Stage, we get a grip, both literally and figuratively, with renowned occupational therapist, creator of the Ask Sammy platform, and host of the Care Lab podcast, Dr. Brandy Archie. wait, I was so excited to welcome her that I forgot the disclaimer for this episode. The Proofing Stage podcast does not provide medical or health advice. All content is provided for informational purposes only.

Listeners, as well as readers of our transcripts, are encouraged to speak to their healthcare provider for specific healthcare advice and are wholly responsible for the outcome of implementing any tips or information presented. Welcome, Dr. Archie.

Dr. Brandy Archie (02:32)
Thanks for having me and thanks for using our same disclaimer that we have from Care Lab.

Michelle Bond (02:36)
I Was like good job she's like, I totally took it from those guys and I'm like well even better more promotion

Dr. Brandy Archie (02:42)
you

Well, yeah, thanks. I'm excited to be here.

Joan Kanner (02:46)
and Michelle Bond.

Michelle Bond (02:46)
How are you doing today?

Well, thanks for joining us. I know there's a few different things that we want to get into. And I was almost going to save this question for the end, because as you know, we like to ask our listeners what they're proofing on in their world, ruminating, getting ready to launch personally. But you have big news that has just happened. So I wanted to just lead with it at the top if you wanted to share it with everybody.

Dr. Brandy Archie (03:13)
Yeah, so things are changing all the time. I guess people don't probably know what we do, but I'm an occupational therapist. And that means that we help make sure people can be safe and as independent as possible taking care of themselves, whether that's a kid or whether you're 85 or anywhere in between. And the form of practice that I have participated in for my career has been working with older adults. And so Ask Sammy helps people find the right adaptive equipment, services, and resources so they can

age well in their own spaces, wherever that is. And so that is awesome and a great resource. And so we're really excited about welcoming occupational therapists to the platform too. And so my very first business was called Accessible Living. And we would send an occupational therapist to the home to do the same thing as Sammy does, figure out what's needed, help them get it, get it installed, and have that concierge service.

And there are OTs all over the country that do that kind of work or want to get into that kind of work. And we already have people coming to ask, they have me to ask questions and look for those people. So now we're excited to be able to welcome OTs to be a part of the platform too, so that we have a big network and directory of OTs. So anybody that needs to access one can find one easily, hopefully in your community as we grow the network, but definitely virtually so you can lean into our services. So yeah.

Michelle Bond (04:41)
Awesome, awesome. No, congratulations. That's a very integral additional piece for just connecting people with that. It seems like wraparound services really in terms of, you know, equipment to that kind of connection and network. So congrats on that.

Dr. Brandy Archie (05:01)
Thanks, yeah, it's been a long time coming. And we're just trying to answer the calls that we hear from people who need us. So the older adults that we're helping really are not the people who come to AskSamie, to be honest. It's like us, it's the adult children that they have who are like seeing all these problems happening and like, can I do? The sandwich generation as you're demonstrating. And they're using AskSamie to...

Joan Kanner (05:24)
Yeah

Dr. Brandy Archie (05:27)
to find those answers and then get solutions for their parents. so people, we have tools to make it easy to do for yourself anytime you want to, but it's also really nice to just have a person come tell you what to do and make it specific to you. And so people are asking for that. So we wanna make sure we're connecting the things that already exist. We don't even make up a new thing. People do this work. They're there. You just don't know they're called OTs and you don't know where to find them. So we're making out, making a little match here.

Michelle Bond (05:47)
Right. Yeah. I love it. Well, and one of the things that came through to me in just looking around your website and, you know, your values and the things that you all stand for, you know, that overlap of justice and self-determination and compassion and in

And the thing that struck me is, you know, it's not always like what people need. It's not always the piece of equipment or it's not always, you know, adapting their physical environment, but it's the how it there just might be a different way of doing something that they don't know about. And so that strikes me as like, you know, that this wealth of this, this brain collective, this experience collective that you've built with those OTs now, I feel like maybe that's a lot of, of where they can come in and make that a much lighter lift without.

having to even spend a lot of money.

Dr. Brandy Archie (06:44)
That's 100 % true. Sometimes you just need to know how to do a thing. It's not that you need a thing. You just need to know how to do it. I mean, you've been getting dressed the same way for 40, 50 years. If you're an 80 year old, you've been doing it for 80 years. I mean, you just ain't never even conceptualized doing it differently. Cause why? We haven't had to, right? So then when you need to do it differently, it's like, well, I can't do it, help me. And you're like, well, actually you probably can't do it. We just need to do it this other way. And so learning those skills from...

and OT who's a master at that, like that's like what we do can make your life a lot easier.

Joan Kanner (07:21)
I saw that the platform also demystifies what you're doing in terms of that pinch point and that rub of like, is this relevant to me or my family member? Like by the time someone gets connected to one of the OTs through your platform or through some sort of product through your platform, you've already broken down that wall.

Dr. Brandy Archie (07:41)
Yeah, because, you know, I guess I'll use this as good example. Somebody recently posted on socials that I know that, hey, Ask Samie will be a great resource for my dad in the future and was like sad about it. And, you know, I don't like to take that approach to it. To me, if you're doing your life right, you're going to get older, right? Because the alternative is bad. So let's not act like it's not happening and let's embrace that and then let's build in.

Michelle Bond (07:54)
Mmm.

Amen.

Dr. Brandy Archie (08:10)
some things that can help us smooth that process along the way instead of waiting until it becomes horrible and then reaching out for help. And so by aggregating all of the things that could make anybody's life easier, frankly, into one place, especially when they're beautiful and look nice, it doesn't have to feel like adaptive equipment. I mean, that's the word we use so can define it, but like, it doesn't need to feel like a hospital in your house, but a grab bar can look like a

can be a shelf for your shampoo. It can be a toilet paper holder. A rail by your bed can look like an extra hook to hang something else on. It can hold your remote control so you can find it instead of being in the covers. These are all beneficial to all of us. They don't have to feel like aging tools. But I don't think people know that, right? Because there's just, like, why would you? And so we're into that. So we're just trying to bring that forward so you can be like,

we can incorporate this thing now and maybe we can prevent the fall that causes the hip fracture that causes all the downward spiral, right? know, humans are not very good at prevention. We don't like to think ahead, but I'm just still trying to push that ball up the hill.

Michelle Bond (09:19)
Right, I was gonna say.

Yeah, well, and you're in, you know, it's directly related to stigma too, but, and I know Joan, that's a piece that you really, you know, immediately went to. And, and I know I always like to also say like, we don't just have like random people on here. So I would like, you know, if Joan, you want to say about a little bit about how you all got connected and, and what, you know, how you immediately saw, cause Joan, Joan is great at this, like immediately sees the connection between the work that you're doing and also your

your journey as a founder and we'll get into that too. But for our audience specifically with the content that you provide and the services that you provide.

Joan Kanner (10:06)
I believe it was through the get shit done community, which if you're not already startup founder, you're going to want to be part of it just because who wouldn't want to be called something like that. you know, Alex Batdorf, Michelle and I have actually spoken with her once before about some business questions. She's just like this really sage, very direct human being who

Dr. Brandy Archie (10:16)
It's really good.

Joan Kanner (10:29)
has such practical applications for moving the needle for people like all of us. And I include like our listeners and transcript readers when it comes to that. So that is how, but we've never met in person. think in part, I mean, I've touched down like a little bit in your area, gotten to your airport, it's in the Kansas City area, and then been alarmed by, please don't do that. And then, and then been alarmed.

Dr. Brandy Archie (10:33)
Mm-hmm.

You

Joan Kanner (10:54)
by how both the Kansas City Chiefs and the Royals have thrown up all of their merch all over your airport.

Dr. Brandy Archie (11:00)
Well, of course, because this is Kansas City and we care about our sports teams, including the KC Current, our women's soccer team, which is awesome. And so like we're about that life in Kansas City.

Michelle Bond (11:08)
Hmm.

Joan Kanner (11:09)
Ooh.

That may get me there though. If there's like a women's team, that would do it.

Dr. Brandy Archie (11:15)
Yeah. Rumor has it we're trying to bring a WNBA team here too, because there's been such good support. Yes. Yes. No, but first let's just get them here. No jinxing, no thoughts about what we're naming them. Let's just get us a expansion team for the WNBA. Make my life better. That'd be great.

Michelle Bond (11:19)
I heard that rumor I was gonna add, okay.

Joan Kanner (11:20)
What? This just in and they're called the OTs?

We can all write in different potential names, I think. That sounds great to me.

Michelle Bond (11:37)
I'm here for it.

Joan Kanner (11:58)
I appreciate so much what you've been putting out there consistently, Brandi, that I was really channeling my inner Susie Myerson This is a callback to Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and also prior episodes of the podcast. And I was trying to get you on one of my favorite comedy podcasts, Nobody Listens to Paula Poundstone, but it's their loss. never, they have such great guests on such a questionably comical pod. And even though they've had not one,

Michelle Bond (12:22)
Bye!

Joan Kanner (12:23)
They've had not one but two of their four main people on the show have issues with slips, trips, falls, and like hip surgery. And I'm like, hello?

Dr. Brandy Archie (12:34)
You need, listen, they've been using it OT. They've had, they've used an OT. They don't know that they need an OT on their podcast, but they've been using an OT, from a hip fracture or hip replacement. Yeah.

Michelle Bond (12:37)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Joan Kanner (12:44)
No, exactly. I was like, yeah, it's like, and like, either that or like a knee injury. And then another woman, she was shaving her legs in the, why did we hear from the pot? don't know. But Toni Anita Hull, I'm calling you out. she was shaving, she was using some sort of like, you know, like, what do you, what would you call those things? Like make it greasy in the shower. We're like going with this. It's like, no, it wasn't shaving cream. That's, that's like normal. And that's like soapy. Yeah. Like, like, like a scrub that involves like, you know, like oils and shit like that.

Dr. Brandy Archie (13:04)
Like shaving cream?

Michelle Bond (13:08)
no, like a oil.

Dr. Brandy Archie (13:11)
gotcha like a body scrub.

Michelle Bond (13:13)
Pathoil. Yeah, okay. Greasy.

Joan Kanner (13:14)
and she busted her ass in the tub. She ended up having, I said greasy, I'll say it again, greasy. And she slipped in the tub and then she ended up being concussed.

Dr. Brandy Archie (13:19)
Hahaha

Mmm.

Joan Kanner (13:26)
And she's like, she's a millennial. She's younger than me. And foolishly has not wanted to have Brandy on.

Dr. Brandy Archie (13:28)
Mm-hmm.

Michelle Bond (13:30)
Yeah, it can.

Well that's... go ahead, Brandy

Dr. Brandy Archie (13:35)
I mean, I just gonna say, think that that's definitely their loss, but I'm available anytime. Just let me know if you want me to be on there. And I also think that points towards, we talk about, I know I say that deal with older adults, but all the stuff that is available is helpful for everybody, right? You don't need to be 80. They just need it more frequently than maybe a 40 year-old does. in decreasing our fall or limiting...

making things easier on your life is great at a young age and older age. One example I like to use, why doorways and doors that open for you or ramps are helpful for somebody in a wheelchair is also helpful for me with three little kids and my arms full and trying to get through the doorway with a stroller. And so like this stuff doesn't have to feel like it's only for the worst of the worst.

Michelle Bond (14:20)
Mm-hmm.

Joan Kanner (14:27)
Michelle, I think that there's some other type of occupation specific that we can speak to a little bit and get your thoughts on it Brandy. for over eight years, Michelle and I have had a bagel business and we come from more of like an office life situation. And as we started building the business and I was still working a desk job in grants and contracts management over at Hopkins, I started to get like a standing desk.

I started to like exercise certain parts of my body. Obviously there's things that we're not talking about directly maybe today in terms of like changing like your sleep schedule and other things that based on what you're making may be critical to you. But I found that different parts of my body were feeling different. There's a lot more repetitive motion going on. And I do want to say before getting your thoughts on it that the Bread Bakers Guild of America, which is a tremendous resource.

Dr. Brandy Archie (14:53)
Mm-hmm.

Joan Kanner (15:21)
for commercial bakers and for people who do cottage law baking out of their house and just really prefer arts and stuff in their home has had a number of different classes that are relevant to the, basically to everybody. And one of them specifically is about the baker's body. It's an upcoming class. I'll see if I put in the show notes based on the timing of your episode, Brandy. If not, we'll post about it sooner. And they have someone who went from professional dancer to baking.

And he's running a class in terms of like how to hold your body in ways to promote health and stability. Cause I know I have slipped in a kitchen before.

Dr. Brandy Archie (16:00)
And like, there's a lot of repetitive motions. Actually, my very first job was in a bakery. And so, I know just in, I don't know if just in were like 16 years old, but you know, every job, especially if it requires repetition, you're doing the same things over and over, which means you're getting one part of your body stronger, sure. But after a while, you're also putting it at risk.

Michelle Bond (16:05)
Mmm.

Joan Kanner (16:06)
This just in.

Michelle Bond (16:09)
haha

Dr. Brandy Archie (16:27)
for overuse injuries. And so one of the, I told you the definition of OT is we help people be as safe and as independent as possible doing their everyday things. And that's very broad and very on purpose because if your everyday thing is being a baker and you're in a hot oven, bending down, lifting heavy things up on a regular basis, you wanna optimize your body for doing that preventatively.

Michelle Bond (16:51)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (16:52)
And then if you do have an injury, we need to come up with an adaptation or a way for you to keep doing your work or get back to your work despite that. so occupational therapists work in this setting all the time of helping people optimize their work settings, whatever that is, so that you can prevent additional injuries from happening and make sure that you can do your best work.

Michelle Bond (17:16)
Absolutely. And that it kind of ties to some of the follow up I was going to do when we when you were talking about being a little bit more proactive or prevention based, even though you know, nobody likes to do that. So how do you like from Ask Samie's perspective? How do you do that? I recognize like people call you when they have a question or when they're, you know, faced with the situation. But, you know, in obviously on your blogging and pod your...

You know, you're out there as a person speaking about these issues. So I recognize that itself is part of it. is there, I guess, how do you, how do you get that message across to people who you're trying to reach regarding your services?

Dr. Brandy Archie (17:54)
Yeah, I think that everybody has a person, right? You have an auntie, you have a parent, you have a grandparent that you see their life is changing a little bit because they're getting, as they get older. And so our information and content is relevant to pretty much everybody. And whether, even if you can't think about it for yourself yet. so the listening to the CareLive podcast is like a great way to like learn passively and like apply that to that person.

and maybe come up with a few ideas that can help them do better now or prevent something in the future. Or even if it's just for you, you know, like, and you want to think about your long-term vision, you're buying a house that you want it to be your forever home. Like what things should you look for so that you don't have to adapt it in the future? The podcast is a great way to get that information. And then also the reason that the platform is called Ask Sammy is because the point is

that you ask Sammy. And so if you have a question like, can I help my mom decrease her fall risk? You can just type it in to the AI chat bot and it'll guide you to some of the resources that we have there. So that way you can find some things that maybe you can do now instead of only just do things later.

Joan Kanner (19:16)
Are all your clients in the US?

Dr. Brandy Archie (19:20)
Yeah, we don't ship overseas as of yet. I can definitely see the need for that. I've even had a person whose parent lived in a different country that didn't have access to even some basic stuff like a wheelchair buy the stuff here from us and take it with them over there. And so I see the need. We're just not logistically ready for it yet.

Michelle Bond (19:36)
Hmm.

Yeah, yeah, that makes sense.

Joan Kanner (19:42)
Because of more Western individualistic mentality that sometimes we can have here, and that self-determinism.

Dr. Brandy Archie (19:51)
I think that's a really good point because, and that's why it's really important to like ask what the, that's self-determination is a core value for us. Because I'm not saying everybody needs to be a hundred percent independent with everything they do. If that's what you want to do, great. But if you are fine with having somebody do the cooking and help you scrub your feet and that's what you want to do, then that's what you want to do. And that's also fine. We don't need to find solutions for that. You got a helper.

Let's find solutions for the things you want to do more independently. Or let's find ways to make the caregiving a little bit easier. So when they are doing that for you, it's easier for you to do. That's the most important thing. Because sometimes from a Western perspective culture, especially as a clinician, we take the approach that everybody needs to be independent because I want to be independent. And then you're pushing solutions onto people that don't want them. And then you get labeled as like not...

Michelle Bond (20:44)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (20:48)
... following with the plan of care, yet you didn't ask them what their plan was. If they're fine with their spouse putting their socks on and their spouse is fine with it, I don't need to give you a sock aid. Just fine. Y'all doing it. That's fine. Just keep doing it. But if you want to do it independently, here's a tool. So that's why independence is not a core value, but self-determination is.

Michelle Bond (21:09)
Yeah, yeah.

Joan Kanner (21:10)
That breeds dignity, I feel like.

Dr. Brandy Archie (21:12)
Mm-hmm.

Michelle Bond (21:15)
But what's a sock aid? Tell me about a sock aid.

Dr. Brandy Archie (21:18)
Okay, so a sock aid is like a piece of plastic. Think of it like a half circle and you slide the sock on top of it. And so now your sock is opened and stretched out. You slide your foot inside that plastic half circle and the sock is on it. And then you pull on the strings and the sock is on your foot. And so it really helps for people who can't reach down to put their socks on or can't use both hands to put their sock on...

Michelle Bond (21:43)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (21:44)
... in a very easy way without like technology.

Michelle Bond (21:47)
Yeah, yeah. Fascinating. Kind of like a shoehorn, well, same idea, I guess, but further elevated. Gotcha. Cool. Well, thank you. Yeah, you mentioned it. And I was like, that sounds, you know, probably like exactly what it is, but

Dr. Brandy Archie (21:54)
same person who needs a shoehorn needs a stockade. Yes. Yep.

But you know, the funny part about that is for OTs, this is like a very normal thing. It gets recommended all the time. People use it all the time. But nobody's ever heard of it until they have to need it. And then everybody has the same response. wow. Okay." You know, like they see it work and they're like, that's slick. And it's just like the oldest. I don't even know who invented it. It's like the oldest thing ever. It's like Kleenex now. It's kind of like everybody has one. Every brand makes one. It's not like unique, but it's very useful.

Michelle Bond (22:30)
Yeah.

Joan Kanner (22:34)
I think I need those for when I put on my compression socks.

Dr. Brandy Archie (22:37)
Yes, there's special ones for compression socks too.

Michelle Bond (22:41)
Yeah, rather than that process now, which needs to be filmed for comedic purposes.

Joan Kanner (22:48)
And to be clear, the patterns of compression socks have gotten a lot better.

Dr. Brandy Archie (22:49)
Yeah, that would be good.

Like how they look. Yes, yes. We have those on Ask Samie, too. Flesh tone or like cool, like the argyle and different like colors and like fun ones. That's why like function doesn't have to be design-less. You know, that's definitely a principle that we have at Ask Samie. It's just like represent the things that feel good and look beautiful. Cause otherwise you're not gonna use it. And then how good was my recommendation? It's trash cause you didn't do it. So.

Joan Kanner (22:54)
Oh hell yeah, totally.

Michelle Bond (22:57)
Whatever like flesh tone.

Joan Kanner (22:59)
Yeah, whose flesh?

Michelle Bond (23:22)
Hmm. And you and they're all tests. I mean, they're all things that you have used and that your team uses and that work well, if not above and beyond that you're like you're endorsing essentially.

Dr. Brandy Archie (23:36)
Yeah, we have three principles. Everything on Ask Samie, it's a curated marketplace. So every option in the world is not there. The things that are there, they're easy to use. They solve a real problem. It's not just like, "it does this thing," but that's not actually a real problem. And we've used it. And so we can vouch that it's useful to as many people as possible.

Michelle Bond (23:59)
Love it.

I'm hogging the mic here.

Joan Kanner (24:11)
Michelle, I would be remiss if we didn't talk about the startup circuit. No, I mean, I think that we are great on time, is beautiful because we're so practiced, but also attractive and smart. Anyway, with some questionable sports team affiliations, but we can all see eye to eye at some point. yeah, it's out completely. And it certainly smells like that.

Dr. Brandy Archie (24:22)
Exactly. Exactly.

We can all, you know, get over it.

Michelle Bond (24:32)
You bigger fish to fry.

Dr. Brandy Archie (24:36)
You

Joan Kanner (24:37)
So I definitely want to touch upon something that you seem to have from the outside, Brandy, just masterfully dealt with. it's for me, as someone, I created back in the day a mobile app that was meant to help people connect to their Spotify and other streaming accounts. It was called Fugue, and it was meant to people basically block music that they didn't want to hear and save space for something new in their lives.

And through that, I had to deal with all kinds of other tech and music tech related conferences and startup groups and mentorship, which at some point I'll need to write the book about because it was in no way helpful to me. Just, I mean, was really not the best. When some advice includes, "Do a Google Alert to see what Spotify is up to." I'm thinking, I just need to get users and I have a background that includes doing focus groups and survey research.

Maybe this is not what need to do. Anyway, so my connection with startup stuff, even startup stuff for Bottoms Up Bagels that we worked on together, I feel like also had like its limitations. But I feel like you, Brandy, that like, I just, don't know if it's just what you're posting, but it just seems like you are working those networks and whether it's like a shark or a dolphin or a narwhal, any tank that you go into, you're adapting to very well. You have found Nemo. Go on.

Dr. Brandy Archie (25:39)
Yeah.

Joan Kanner (26:06)
Tell us more.

Dr. Brandy Archie (26:08)
Okay, I do really think that a strong network is what makes or breaks your ability to achieve what you want to achieve in business. Just bottom line, that's it. And so I mentioned earlier that I first had a service-based business that was local and I saw a need in my patients because I was working in the hospital and there was no way to solve what...

Michelle Bond (26:21)
Mm-hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (26:34)
I saw the problem being within the healthcare system. I couldn't create a program at my hospital that was gonna solve what I thought needed to be solved in the way I wanted to solve it. So that pushed me into entrepreneurship. And the way I got customers was by word of mouth. And so I spent all my time or as much time as I could networking, right? And that was beneficial. And you never know what people introduce you to the next thing. And I felt like...

Michelle Bond (26:40)
Mm.

Yeah.

Dr. Brandy Archie (27:01)
... all of the important things that happened was because I knew a person who knew a person who told me to do a thing. And by following that pathway, I kept taking more steps forward. And so I took that similar approach when we pivoted Accessible Living into an online platform Ask Samie. I'm not a tech founder, I'm a clinician, I'm an occupational therapist. know, and so like, I know even less about tech than I do about running a service-based business. At least I know how to do the service, right?

Michelle Bond (27:22)
Right.

Dr. Brandy Archie (27:30)
And so because of that lack of knowledge, I just sought to learn and I use the ecosystem here in Kansas City for startups. That was really tailored towards that. There was even a whole class about, being a non-tech founder and starting a tech business, which really like got me started. And so I was like, yeah, that sounds like exactly what I need. Let me go do that. And while I did learn information in that class, and there was also stuff that I didn't need, you got to

Michelle Bond (27:45)
Hmm. wow, yeah. Duh.

Dr. Brandy Archie (27:57)
take what you need and discard the rest. The people that I met were invaluable, right? And they say, hey, you should consider going to this thing or this class or applying for this thing. And, you know, I don't do everything everybody says, but it definitely opened my eyes and doors to the things that were the most useful and helpful. And by leaning into that very hard, it really helps to have us grow both like financially as a business, but also for me as a business owner...

... and a leader. And so I can't, I cannot stress the importance of relationship in business.

Michelle Bond (28:34)
Yeah, absolutely.

Joan, you look like you are.

Joan Kanner (28:36)
I'm Just having a moment about ecosystem. I'm definitely processing some interesting words that even though we do curse in the pod, I don't want to say out loud about my experience trying to do a music app in Maryland. ultimately, so many different points come up for me in hearing you and before asking you about some of the prevention questions you've most likely gotten because you're a woman when it comes to these ecosystems. Have you had a guide or a principle that helps you...

Dr. Brandy Archie (28:37)
processing.

Joan Kanner (29:05)
... determine what's good advice to pursue or things to follow up on versus things that are just kind like, "yeah, thanks, but no thanks, have a good one"?

Dr. Brandy Archie (29:15)
Yeah, that's a great question. I think you need your mission and vision established for yourself. And so first you need to know what your long-term end goal is. I don't care how big and audacious it is, and it should be big and audacious. And so that's where I'm trying to get to. Okay, so now what are the steps I need to do to get there? Because that's the part that you need help with, right? You don't really know how to get there, but you just know what you're trying to get. And so I've tried to filter everything through that lens. Does this help me?

Michelle Bond (29:27)
Mm-hmm.

Right.

Dr. Brandy Archie (29:42)
reach a milestone that's gonna help me reach the main goal, right? And if I can see a pathway to that, then great. The second filter is, do I have the time to do this right now? Is this the most important thing to do right now? Because while this recommendation might help me get to milestone three, I'm still at milestone one and I'm gonna log that, save it, put it in some way to remind myself to come back to it. But right now, that's not the thing I need to do because if I don't do one and two, I can't get to three, right? So...

Michelle Bond (30:00)
Right.

Dr. Brandy Archie (30:13)
Time, because those are your two things. And then money, because the two limited things are time and money, right? Do I have the time to do this? Is this the right time to do this thing? Yes or no. And then if it's yes, do I have the money to do it? And that's a little more flexible, I actually think. Sometimes you don't have the money, but then it's like, what resources can I access that will allow me to get to it without the money or get the money to get it? And then that puts you on the pathway to achieving...

Michelle Bond (30:13)
Yeah.

Dr. Brandy Archie (30:40)
... the goals that you want to achieve, I think.

Michelle Bond (30:43)
No, so well said. You know, we did the first episode of this season was about grants and, you know, that very idea, which is like, be clear on what you need, what it's going to help you do, and does it make sense right now? And it's kind of like, you know, it's adjacent to what you're saying about just using those filters to go through either advice or...

Dr. Brandy Archie (30:57)
You see that?

Mm-hmm.

Michelle Bond (31:12)
... opportunities really, because I think that the time piece, I think right, even more so than money. Because for so many founders, it's about bandwidth. And especially if you are in, you know, I mean, we're in a very hands-on thing. But I mean, so are you, you're working with clients, you know, I mean, it's like you're doing the thing. You're not just running the administrative part of your business. And it's imperative. Yeah, no, I appreciate you succinctly...

... giving those tools, because I think like a lot of our audience too, I mean, we have folks who are founders or considering starting something, but we also have mostly women, but not only, who are just leaders, you know, they run teams, they have important jobs, they run households, you know, and so that kind of thing is a rubric that for most things, you know, can serve you.

Dr. Brandy Archie (32:02)
Yeah, I totally think that's true. And there's just so many demands on your time and money that you can't do all the things. And that doesn't mean that the advice that said person and said ecosystem mentorship, whatever is bad. It's just not right for you right now. then the other thing is ask them, who should I know, who else should I be talking to? What questions should I be asking you that I haven't asked? And that's led to so many things that...

Michelle Bond (32:24)
Hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (32:31)
I wouldn't have expected because I didn't have any expectations. I don't know what I need to know in order to get there, you know? So this is just muddling the way through, but you keep asking more questions to try to get to the answers that you need.

Michelle Bond (32:44)
Yeah. Yeah. Especially when you, like you said, you can't, I don't know how many times I've said, like, I, I just don't know how to get there. You know, I can see it. I know what I want. I know what needs to happen, but I need, I need a way through. And so the, you know, surveying of your network and beyond your network, right? Like who are those people who can help me figure that out or help put the next milestone in front of me that can help me filter these decisions.

Dr. Brandy Archie (33:12)
And just start asking, you know, like, I think a really good example is, you know, I started a business, I started this by myself as a clinician and started a tech product. I very quickly recognized that I needed somebody who was technical to help me grow into what I wanted to be. And so everybody's like, "you need a technical co-founder." Okay, great. I can't just like magically make that appear. How do I get a technical co-founder? All my network is clinicians. I don't, I don't know any developers, you know? And so at the time...

I was meeting with a lot of people, ecosystem stuff, and everybody always asks, "well, what do you need?" Right? And I would just say, "I need a technical co-founder. I need a CTO." And most people said, "okay, here's a person" or "I don't know anybody." Most of the answers were "no," they didn't have that. But one was, and I ended up finding my co-founder that way. If I didn't recognize that I needed it.

Michelle Bond (34:03)
Hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (34:03)
So I ... knew what my need was. Like you said, you know where you're trying to get to. I just didn't know how to get there. If I didn't recognize the need and then didn't start talking about the need, then I never would have gotten to a solution. And then, you know, we could have died on the vine then, you know? But you just never know what people know and who people know. And so you ask.

Michelle Bond (34:22)
Yeah. And I think the ability to recognize what you need does mean that you need to, as whatever part of your entrepreneurial process is, to allow time and space, even if it's not a lot, to think about those things and to have them distill a little bit so that when you have that person in front of you, you can really make the most of it with asking the right questions

Dr. Brandy Archie (34:38)
Mm-hmm.

Michelle Bond (34:48)
and I think that's also a lot of places where people get tripped up and particularly underrepresented founders, which is, what our, where our passion is, is because, you know, all these things are being thrown at you and now like maybe even "resources" are being thrown at you, like in quotes, but like, you don't, you're still got to, you know, I'm, I'm working with a business now. I mean, you still need to be in a kitchen baking for 16 hours a day so that you have stuff to sell the next day.

And so the ability to just say, is a longer game, know, some urgencies are right now, like you talked about timeline, but some of them are not right now and some of them are completely false. And so what you're giving again is that like just those self checks to say, okay, you know what, I do need to make the most of this opportunity, but I don't have a clear sense of what I need. All right, I need to carve out time to do that.

Dr. Brandy Archie (35:44)
Bingo, you got to carve out the time. And I know that sounds 100 % ludicrous because you already don't have enough time, but if you are rowing a boat in the ocean and you don't have a compass or you don't know where you're going, and I'm not nautical, so I'm probably using all the wrong tools, but like you could just be, you could be putting forth all the effort in the world and you could be going in circles, right? And it's like, well, good, did all that effort do for you if you didn't go in a straight line or go at least in the direction you're trying to get to, right? And that's what you're doing.

... if you're just baking all day every day, and you have this bigger goal of whatever you want to do for your business, there's no way you can get there if you haven't had at least some sliver of time to think about what you need in order to get there and then figure out who can do it or help you get there. And that doesn't have to be like an eight hour retreat where you plan this all out and pay, you know, do this, do this big thing. It might just mean 20 minutes a week where you just turn off all the things...

... sit down and be like, "what's the biggest problem today?" "What's the biggest problem this week?" "How can I address it?" "Who can do this that's not me?" "Who can I train to do this thing so that I can have 40 minutes next week to plan?" And then also, what do I need to do to get out of my own way? I had a big trouble with that. One of my mentors was always saying, "you cannot do everything and your business is only gonna get as big as you can grow it if it's just you. So you gotta...

Michelle Bond (37:01)
Hmm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (37:10)
give up some stuff, you gotta let go of some stuff and let other people do it." Because you know, it's my baby and I want the service to happen in this kind of way and look this kind of thing and you gotta be okay with maybe some mistakes happening or things being a little bit different because you're training somebody else to do it, but that gives you the freedom to be able to grow.

Joan Kanner (37:27)
I was thinking about when we had Veronica Yanhs who is an operations expert. And to your point, Brandy, about talking about it being your baby, she's like, "you don't want a baby. You want a teen or older who can get up, make their own breakfast, get to school on time, and take care of themselves. And yeah, need you for guidance, as they should, because you're in charge, but to be able to do that." So I really appreciate you sharing that point.

Dr. Brandy Archie (37:42)
Exactly.

That's an awesome analogy. I'm going to use that now and out. That's exactly right.

Joan Kanner (37:53)
Seriously, that's a good episode. You need to hit that episode up.

Dr. Brandy Archie (37:57)
I do, I will.

Joan Kanner (43:33)
That's so true. And I think also this is a phrase from my family, which is "consider the source." Because even with people trying to help me out with my music app back in the day in Maryland, they had no experience working with apps of that nature. They were all fintech people and ed tech. And I should have looked at that first versus assuming like, no, but they've had so much money and blah, blah. Different things like this veneer of knowing. I should have just been like, "who do you guys know on the West Coast who's doing this work?"

Dr. Brandy Archie (43:38)
Mm-hmm.

in

And just because people have money don't make them smart in all areas. I mean, I think we associate money with wisdom. And that's not at all true. You could come into your money any kind of ways. And also it might be a very narrow way that you're really expert at, but that doesn't mean you know everything about everything else. And so take everything with a grain of salt and like literally consider the source. I think it's a great example.

Michelle Bond (44:01)
it's-

Yeah. And I mean, and just to, just for like a point of information, like, so we're talking about prevention questions, which are more like, what's the risk involved in this project versus a promotional question, which, you know, statistically men tend to get more of like, like, like, what's the opportunity in this? And that's where the whole conversation is focused rather than what's the risk in this. And that's where the whole conversation is focused. And a good conversation will have probably plenty of both, but,

Dr. Brandy Archie (44:39)
Any more?

Mm-hmm.

Michelle Bond (44:51)
you're right in that you can't, you, if you recognize that, you know, you're getting mainly feedback that is just focused on risk, that can be annoying and that can be frustrating. It can also have some truth to it. Right? And so back to what you said three segments ago about just, you know, taking what you can from it, taking something from it and leaving the rest, you know, and, it takes probably a while to figure that out, but you do, it's like anything, right. Practice and

And then you can also learn how to turn those prevention questions into promotion questions. You can like start to leverage, know, somebody asks a question about a risk and you can flip it and answer it on an opportunity once you get more practice and comfortable.

Dr. Brandy Archie (45:22)
I was just going to say that.

Absolutely. And like in your example, you can say like, actually, not actually, maybe that's a little rude. "We have been doing this for eight years. We have been doing this for, we have eight years of experience doing this and we've been doing it all over the country. And we're so excited to bring this to the West Coast. Do you know anybody that can help connect us with the picket line?" And now that person, instead of thinking you're a little nobody is like, maybe I should ask some different questions.

Joan Kanner (45:37)
I would. I am rude.

Michelle Bond (45:56)
Not everybody but like you said I mean you know it's a grain of salt.

Dr. Brandy Archie (46:02)
Lots of grains of salt.

Michelle Bond (46:04)
All right. Well, I want to honor your time. And of course, I feel like we could keep chatting about, you know, business and the work and also all kinds of things.

that's the sign of a good conversation. Yeah, So I do want to give you the opportunity to answer, you know, something that you're proofing on, in your work or in your life. And that just...

Joan Kanner (46:13)
Sports. Sportsball.

Dr. Brandy Archie (46:15)
Exactly. I don't think we can talk about football actually, but yes, everything. Yes, everything else.

Michelle Bond (46:28)
is something like we like to ask folks in that spirit of giving space for thoughts and ideas and self. And, you know, that's an open-ended question. You can answer it however you like, but yeah, what's on your mind?

Dr. Brandy Archie (46:43)
Yeah, we talked about my big announcement about the things that's happening at Ask Samie, but in general, you know, the thing I'm proofing on, especially in the wake of what's happening in our political space today, is like, how can I impact healthcare outcomes for people from where I sit? And frankly, I don't think AskSamie should have to exist. I think it should be a thing that we do within healthcare and we don't yet.

Michelle Bond (47:11)
Mm.

Dr. Brandy Archie (47:11)
And so I'm always trying to think about how can I make this amenable to our government and the higher power so that we can get more top-down approach to this and it gets spread across the country in a much bigger way because people need solutions right now, not yesterday or two years from now. So I guess I'm proofing on how to make a bigger impact.

Michelle Bond (47:32)
Yeah, yeah. Again, well said and prevention, right? We'll get there someday, but no, that's great and important. And I think we can all, you know, where we sit is important. No one else is sitting where we sit. So only we can really move those things forward. So thank you for the work that you're doing. I know I'm personally excited to use it as a resource with the people in my life and to...

Joan Kanner (47:55)
Thank you.

Michelle Bond (47:59)
also share it with not only our audience, but a lot of our peer group who's in a similar situation and really help to make those connections and ultimately that quality of life, like the best it can be for all parties.

Dr. Brandy Archie (48:11)
that's beautiful.

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Joan Kanner
You've been listening to Proofing Stage. Our theme music, Bagels for the Kraken, was written and performed by Thorn Haze. Additional music from Pixabay. If you're looking for a transcript, show notes, disclaimers, and additional credits, they can be found on our website, proofingstage dot com. Want to join the conversation? Email us at proofingstagepod at gmail dot com. You can also find us on Instagram, threads, and TikTok at Proofing Stage. Visit our Patreon page to support the show and get even more great content. 

I'm your host Joan Kanner. 

Michelle Bond
And I'm your host Michelle Bond. Thanks for listening. 

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