Product Boss Besties: Building Supportive Friendships with Minna Khounlo-Sithep & Jacqueline Snyder

00:00:22 - Maelisa Hall
Welcome to season two of the My Biz Bestie podcast. I'm Melissa Hall.

00:00:28 - Amber Hawley
And I'm Amber Hawley.

00:00:30 - Maelisa Hall
And today we are doing another Biz Bestie interview. I'm super excited. And today we are interviewing Mina Kunlo-Sitep and Jacqueline Snyder. Welcome, ladies. Hi.

00:00:43 - Jacqueline Snyder
Hi. Thanks for having us. Yeah.

00:00:46 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. So Mina and Jacqueline are Biz Besties and they also have a podcast. So we will definitely share their podcast with you and have links to that. But first, let's get to know them a little bit. We're going to ask them all their deepest, darkest secrets.

00:00:58 - Amber Hawley
We forgot to tell you that part. Share your saddest story. On this episode of My Biz Bestie.

00:01:09 - Jacqueline Snyder
And then it's just crying. Yes.

00:01:12 - Maelisa Hall
So, Mina, why don't we start with you? Why don't you just tell us a little bit about yourself and your business? And then we'll get to know Jacqueline and talk about how you guys met. Okay.

00:01:20 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I'm the owner of Low Labels, which is their waterproof labels for baby bottles. So I sell mostly on Amazon and Walmart and Jet. So a lot of retail marketplaces. And in that process, really became an Amazon expert. Like I... literally deep dove into Amazon and learned as much as I can.
And then I met Jacqueline and then we started the product boss. I'm one half of the product boss. And I have two little girls and I live in the Midwest.

00:01:47 - Maelisa Hall
Wow, that's a lot. That's pretty much the gist of it.

00:01:49 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Do you mind sharing how old are your little girls? Seven and two. So they were pretty well spanned out. But the second one is kind of the inspiration behind my products because it literally is one of those moments where I was like, why haven't they figured this out in five years?
of me having a second child. So that was my inspiration right there.

00:02:07 - Maelisa Hall
Awesome. Awesome. So you got into Amazon right when it was starting to get all hyped up, Amazon private labeling and selling.

00:02:15 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah. So I've done every type of selling for Amazon. So I started in 2013. I don't even know if Jacqueline knows this story, but I self-published a book Then in 2000, no, that was 2013. I'm getting my years mixed up. So in 2014, I did private labeling.
2015, I did my own product. And then I've done basically every single way that you can sell on Amazon. I've done it. So some of them I'm still continuing. And we're working on new ways to monetize on there.

00:02:43 - Maelisa Hall
Of course.

00:02:44 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
We are.

00:02:44 - Maelisa Hall
The Amazon stuff is crazy. It's a great opportunity. But my husband had a little mini foray into Amazon selling. It was a very interesting experience.

00:02:53 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah, it's a lot of fun. It's a lot of like they're not connected, which is interesting. So then if you sell on a certain platform or onboarded in a certain way with Amazon, it's not so much that it's through the other way either. So even if you get kicked off of one, you can just work the other way.
I love it. I have to know what was your book? Um, it was planning. Look at, I have her here because this is like the final and last copy. I pulled it from Amazon. Tap your bride, a guide to happiness and planning your wedding. So I've since pulled it because the information is outdated.
It's when Pinterest, you didn't need an account to get on there and things like that. So yeah, I did that for a little bit.

00:03:31 - Amber Hawley
You're a true entrepreneur at heart.

00:03:33 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah.

00:03:33 - Maelisa Hall
For real.

00:03:34 - Amber Hawley
Yeah.

00:03:34 - Maelisa Hall
Right. Well, Jacqueline, why don't you tell us a little bit about you and your business?

00:03:39 - Jacqueline Snyder
Well, I'm so excited to be here. So thanks for having us, ladies. So I'm Jacqueline Snyder and I'm the owner of Designer Consulting Co-op. So I am a fashion designer by trade. I went to design school and about 10 years ago launched a business to help people design, develop and produce clothing lines.
And that's what I've been doing. And I met Mina also sort of in the middle of having my own. I have my own line called Cuffs Couture, which is a wearable, fashionable wrist wallet. And since I have two little kids and designer consulting co-op and Cuffs Couture, I had reached out to Mina with her Amazon expertise.
to try and sell on Amazon. So we'll get into that story later. So I've got two little ones and Oliver and Willa. And Oliver's just turned five and Willa's two and a half going on 16. I have one of those.

00:04:26 - Amber Hawley
My three-year-old, she could be, yeah, 16.

00:04:28 - Jacqueline Snyder
We're edging onto the threes and I'm like, oh my goodness, we're in for it. And so, yeah, and I'm bi-coastal. So I'm from LA and I live between like I used to see in New York, but now I'm officially in New Jersey. So between New Jersey and LA and I'm married to a Broadway actor.
And so that's why we're on the East coast, but then my business and my family are in LA. So me and I have a long distance relationship as biz besties.

00:04:49 - Amber Hawley
Isn't that the best kind though? Unrequited love. Distance makes the heart grow fonder.

00:04:55 - Jacqueline Snyder
We just saw each other in Vegas for a trade show and we did some seminars and then we left and we're like, I miss you. And she's like, I miss you. Yeah.

00:05:02 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I know. I know. You get used to seeing each other. You forget your long distance a little bit because I talk to her every day and quite often. So, you know, it's like, when do I get to see you again? Actually, we forget we're all the way across the country.

00:05:17 - Maelisa Hall
I know. And I feel like with technology and everything, a lot of times it doesn't feel like you're so far away.

00:05:22 - Amber Hawley
Right, if you're talking all the time and you can talk every day pretty easily, well, I think that's exciting because I think we've interviewed so many biz besties that don't talk all the time. And so we're. We never feel like we're weird because we know we're awesome.
But it is nice to hear that somebody else does that because we will spend a weekend together. And then I'll drop her at the airport or whatever, and then maybe two hours later, we're already back on the phone. It's like there's something, nothing wrong.

00:05:45 - Maelisa Hall
Every time my phone rings, my husband's like, Is that bestie? is that your best? yeah.

00:05:51 - Jacqueline Snyder
So cute. Yeah.

00:05:58 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I was like, you're the other woman in my life. Like, you know, I know. And then I took her back and I was like, you're my work.

00:06:07 - Jacqueline Snyder
Person who gets it. You know, there's not a lot of people we can talk about work with and all that. So that's why I think we, that was a good person to find. Cause even our friends grow out of it with us, right? Like there, you've got your friends that are moms and you've got your friends from before you were moms.
And then, then you need that one for business.

00:06:22 - Amber Hawley
Yes. And so tell us a little bit more about how you guys met and then how the progression of your BizBestie relationship happened.

00:06:29 - Jacqueline Snyder
So we actually met because of the BizChicks podcast. So... And that's sort of, I think maybe how we have all met. So I was listening and Natalie Ekdahl was doing an episode. I think it was the VIP episode on your VIP day. And she mentioned Mina as an Amazon expert.
And so I decided to go on our community online and reach out to her and have like a coffee chat with her about my product and what to do. And so we chatted and Mina, I don't even know how we continued to talk after that, but we really vibed. And then did we become friends on Voxer?

00:06:59 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
On Voxer. Actually, Jacqueline was the one who introduced me to Voxer. And so I downloaded it and I was playing around with it. And I thought, this is pretty neat, this Voxer thing. No, actually, I had already heard about it, but there was nobody for me to really Voxer.
I hadn't really connected with a lot of people. But I had done tons of coffee chats. So when I suggested a coffee chat, Jacqueline was like, well, what's that? I was like, well, we get on and we just chat and you can, you know, we'll talk about Amazon or whatever you want to.
And so I was I've been immersed in kind of like the online world and connecting with people and stuff like that. So I had done tons of coffee chats in different groups. And so I have been an entrepreneur for like 12 years. So I was used to like the online world.
And I thought, okay, let's just coffee chat it up and knock this one out, you know? And then it was funny because I actually, we hit it off really well.

And I was like, hey, yeah, we should continue talking. And then we just started VoxRing, basically. And you know what, Jacqueline? It's almost our one-year anniversary, I think.

00:07:54 - Jacqueline Snyder
Really?

00:07:55 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. Oh, yeah.

00:07:57 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Sometime around here we met last year.

00:07:58 - Amber Hawley
You have to look up that coffee chat. Yeah. Make sure you set expectations. Is anyone expecting flowers?

00:08:06 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
We are each other's valentine this year, so we're good.

00:08:13 - Maelisa Hall
I love it. Well, Jacqueline, I think... Because I think what's scary for a lot of people when they're thinking about getting a biz bestie is that initial reaching out. And I know you weren't reaching out to get a biz bestie, but... It sounds like whatever you did must have been appealing to Mina because you weren't just like, hey, let me pick your brain and suck all your information.
Because it sounds like you were excited to meet with her. So would you talk a little bit about what did you put in that email? Or how did you phrase it? Because it sounds like you were both looking at this as mutually beneficial from the beginning.

00:08:44 - Jacqueline Snyder
It's funny, actually, you asking it that way, because now we have the Product Boss podcast together. And it's product based. So we were in this online entrepreneurial community together, listened to a podcast online. And I think why we clicked is that we got each other on the product world.
So manufacturing, design development, all of that. And we hadn't connected with anyone yet on that because we weren't doing online services. It was actual product. And would you agree, Mina, that we kind of connected on speaking the same language?

00:09:10 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah, totally. And I think that Jacqueline had mentioned that she liked the advice I gave her instead of Steering her towards Amazon, I was like, well, if you're not going to really build the brand, you're just going to try to get out of inventory. You should do flash deal size.
And really, it was just like a, you know, hey, that's a really good strategy. And then she started talking strategies to me. And then I was like, oh, my gosh, I love biz nerds.

00:09:33 - Amber Hawley
That's so sexy.

00:09:34 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
That was really how we hit it off. was just talking strategy to each other, I think, on product stuff. Other kind of pillow talk.

00:09:47 - Jacqueline Snyder
Yes, yes. And that was the thing, right? Because I think we also probably felt isolated too. We're entrepreneurs and that's why we reached out and then Product entrepreneurs and getting that and getting manufacturing. And so it's that person that commiserates with you and also kind of lifts you up and says, it's going to be okay.
And so I think the voxering, we just went back and forth, back and forth, and then we were, I mean, we realized that there's a limit to Voxer. On how long you could leave a recording. It's 15 minutes, because, oh my gosh, 15 minutes. And like it would.
and my car ride to work, I'd Voxer her, she'd Voxer me back. And I'm like, oh, 15 minutes is the max. And so it was like literally instead of watching TV, I listened to Voxer messages from Mina.

00:10:25 - Amber Hawley
That's hilarious. We hate it. Is that what you guys use? We tried.

00:10:31 - Jacqueline Snyder
Oh, do you guys just Voxer them?

00:10:32 - Amber Hawley
Yeah, after BizChicks Live, because everyone talked about it, we're like, okay, we'll try. And we're like, yeah, this is lame. Let's just call each other. We're very old school. That's literally so when her husband sees the thing, it's because I'm calling IRL.

00:10:49 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, because the phone is ringing and I'm picking it up. Yeah, we do that. Although there's a new app that some people might be interested in called Marco Polo. And it's kind of like Voxer, but it's video. And the cool thing is So while the person's talking, you could set up notifications and a little pop-up will be on your phone like, Jacqueline's on Marco Polo right now.
So you'd be able to pull it up and literally watch her live, kind of like a Facebook Live. And then whenever she clicks end, it would be there as a recording. And it remembers if you've logged in or not. So if you didn't know she was on, then you'd be able to watch it.
And then you can just click play and you can kind of talk to one another that way. So that's one I've been using as part of a... a group I'm in, like a program I'm in, they're using that for the accountability group. And it's actually kind of cool. But you know, you have to then like be on camera.

00:11:39 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
There's another one too. It's called, there's a competitor, I'm guessing then. It's called Rover. And it's really a cute icon, just like, you know, how Voxer has their little walkie talkie guide. This is like a little doggy. And it's the same idea. It's video, but it's with Vox, you know, like the walkie talkie video.
So I think people are thinking that that'll be the new, the new thing.

00:12:00 - Amber Hawley
You might need some recorded videos of me. You might need that, right, Melissa?

00:12:04 - Jacqueline Snyder
So that might be true.

00:12:05 - Amber Hawley
That's true.

00:12:07 - Jacqueline Snyder
The funny thing about us on Boxer, though, is we hadn't talked on the phone. So I remember maybe the first time we called each other, we didn't know how to speak to each other. We were kind of talking over each other. You did a 15-minute soliloquy. We weren't used to waiting for the other to speak.
We were just used to brain dumping each other.

00:12:25 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
But we were so excited to that. So I like every time I get around Jacqueline, I'm like so pumped, you know, so I'm just like, Oh my gosh, I have so many ideas, you know, and then every five minutes, every five minutes.

00:12:36 - Amber Hawley
Maybe that's why we don't like it. Because I think poor Melissa would have to listen. It would be like 15 minutes, part one, 15 minutes, part two. It would be painful. We do call each other now.

00:12:47 - Jacqueline Snyder
I'd be like, I never get to listen to podcasts.

00:12:49 - Amber Hawley
No, it's true.

00:12:49 - Jacqueline Snyder
We do call each other. She's now on my favorites list. So we do. But that's also because we have a business together now. So we have to call each other. Sure, sure.

00:12:57 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah. For Voxer though, that's actually what made me comfortable with talking and becoming familiar with like podcasting. Like it's not much different than podcasting. You know, you're literally getting on there and just talking it out.

00:13:10 - Amber Hawley
How long have you guys had your podcast together? Since January. Two months. Well, I was wondering because you said you're coming up on your one year anniversary. So I wondered how quickly you jumped in. That's probably smart to make sure there's, you know, a good solid connection there.

00:13:27 - Jacqueline Snyder
So the funny thing is, is when we first met, We just randomly, cause like she said, we can kind of like get excited off of ideas together. And so I was going to LA to do the LA textile show and to do a seminar. And as I was trying to figure out the purpose of the seminar, I was voxering Mina.
I was like, Hey, do you think this is when we should launch? We're thinking about doing a mastermind for product entrepreneurs. And I was like, do you think we should do this for this or that? And she's like, sure. And so we just Literally came up with the idea, put it in.
She went on the computer and booked her flight for 24 hours and flew to LA. And it was the first time we met each other. And I remember my brother, he was gonna let us stay at his house. And I was like, Okay. So my friend Mina, I'm starting a business with her, but I've never actually met her in person.
And we're sleeping in the same room more or less. He's like, Jacqueline, I need you to stop for a second and think this one out.

00:14:19 - Amber Hawley
That, the couples therapist in me has so much to say. I mean, but that's so, I love that story and how other people can feel concerned for you.

00:14:28 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
But my husband was like, you've talked with her on video. It's like, that's true. Like this is, I'm not getting catfished, you know, let's hope not.

00:14:40 - Maelisa Hall
I love it. How quickly you can build a connection. Cause I feel like I mean, Amber and I, it was similar. And other people we've talked to, it's similar where it seems to click very, very quickly. And a lot of people do kind of like jump into having a business venture together.

00:14:54 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I like to call it we became fast friends because then people are like, oh, I get it. Instead of being like, well, we started a business. We're biz besties and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I think it goes over their head a little bit where when you say we became fast friends, they kind of...
they understand it a little bit more. They don't think you're quite so weird and crazy, you know?

00:15:13 - Amber Hawley
But we're on a mission to make everyone feel like biz besties make sense and it's normal. So, but I feel you.

00:15:20 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I know. And remember at BizChicks Live when Ray, do you guys keep in contact with her? She was like, I'm on the search for a biz bestie. She got on the microphone. There was a response though where someone's like, I just Facebook messaged you.

00:15:33 - Jacqueline Snyder
We were in the same space, but someone sent her a messenger.

00:15:35 - Amber Hawley
Oh my gosh. I love it. I love it. Yeah. I didn't hear that part, but I remember her asking or saying that. And I was like, God, I like that girl.

00:15:45 - Maelisa Hall
And you would be like, Oh, I think I connect with her. Right. Now for both of you, is this your first time having a biz bestie or have either of you had other biz besties or maybe you have other biz besties right now too?

00:15:58 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I used to have a business with one of my friends, but she moved away, had kids, got divorced. She's basically, I don't even stay in contact with her. So I guess you would call us biz besties, but it wasn't nearly as fun as what Jacqueline and I have. I think maybe because we were young and doing our hustle and all that stuff, but this is actually real life.

00:16:20 - Jacqueline Snyder
But you guys were partners, weren't you?

00:16:22 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah, but that was kind of like we were just, we did like a scrapbooking clothing business at scrapbooking expos. And I don't know, we didn't know anything about business, I felt like. And we didn't know anything about, it was just like one of those things that you do in your 20s that you're just like, hey, let's do this and blah, blah, blah.
And we didn't take it seriously, I guess. Like we didn't even see each other as like business partners or biz besties. And we didn't see the benefit of having the other person I felt like, you know, like quite like we do now.

00:16:48 - Amber Hawley
And I think that's a great and interesting like kind of question is, can you have somebody be a business partner and not be a biz bestie? Because I think the biz bestie relationship is different because it does get There is a more supportive personal level.
And I know lots of people that own businesses together, but that's not necessarily their go-to support person.

00:17:08 - Jacqueline Snyder
Right. I agree. So for me, it's funny because Mina and I had a similar background in terms of when I started designer consulting co-op. I started it as well with, she was kind of my mentor-ish person. biz bestie, we were in two different companies. And when I left that company, we were going to start a business together and then started consulting.
That worked out also very similarly to Amina. We don't speak anymore, any of that to someone she's talked to. But I tend to be... I used to say it was like Facebook, like the movie for Facebook where I hired all my friends. So as a couple of my really good friends were in advertising and they were being let go.
And so one was my best friend. We grew up together. We lived together. I hired her on to manage my business. And then... I had met through her, this girl, actually, her name is Janice, and she has a very similar background to Mina coming from a creative side.
And she, I would say, was my first biz bestie because she came on and we collaborated together and we shared clients, but we never partnered together.

So we would innovate together. We would come up with ideas. We really jived. Her and I also really got off on coming up with businesses and ideas, but not together, but helping each other. But then seasonally... She moved actually to Seattle. I had two kids.
So our lives took different tracks. And that's sort of when I think she didn't really get where I was as much either. And so it turned into more of a professional relationship. And then when Mina and I met, it was that we were moms, similar age kids, like one of her daughters is older.
But that was the reason why I think we also jived because we were entrepreneurs as moms. And so we got all of it, you know, like the guilt that goes with it, the joys, the daughter in the background, like crying that she wants to be held or like...

00:18:42 - Amber Hawley
Clushing to us. So yeah, and that can be it's that reason season or lifetime thing, right? That sometimes people you come together, or it clicks because you're going through a certain season of life.

00:18:53 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
And I don't think that's the way it is with everybody. Like I said, I had done a lot of coffee chats. There is a lot of there's a lot of people requesting me. Okay.

00:19:03 - Jacqueline Snyder
I'm really lucky.

00:19:06 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
So I think Jacqueline, like, she might have been like my 20th you know, coffee chat. No, it's just like not a big deal. Like, oh yeah, let's get in, get on a coffee chat. So yeah, I think that people definitely resonate and relate and connect at all different levels.
And I'm not saying like I didn't connect with those people because I did a lot of them. They're just not quite at like the, you know, the ultimate biz bestie level like Jacqueline, you know, but we weren't looking for each other.

00:19:30 - Jacqueline Snyder
It's like that X factor. Yeah. I got the final rose though. Yes. The spark. There has to be that spark, but I never knew. I never knew about a biz bestie. You know, I had like, I just, I never knew about that. And so I don't think that we, either of us were looking for it.
You know, it's sort of, it just sort of happened. it happened naturally in terms of somebody who got you. But I think it's by networking, right? Like I think by opening myself up to more people and outside of, I actually wasn't on the internet. So by getting on the internet, being in these chats and in these conversations, these communities, like right before I chatted with you ladies, I had a coffee chat with another woman that we all know from our other community.
And that was great because I had met her in person and we never connected. And I just really connected with her now. So it's kind of like not my new best bestie, but a new friend in business.

00:20:16 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah, you never know.

00:20:18 - Amber Hawley
So this is an open relationship. No, it's closed.

00:20:26 - Maelisa Hall
But yeah, it sounds like, I mean, I'm seeing a connection between among all of the biz besties that we've talked to. And I think a lot of it is definitely being open and kind of just trying to network and expand your network in general, but then also finding that mutual respect early on.
And it sounds like you both were really impressed by one another and were offering one another value without seeking something in return.

00:20:52 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah, we laugh all the time that sometimes we're like, do you think other people think we're funny or do you think we just think each other's funny?

00:20:59 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah.

00:20:59 - Jacqueline Snyder
You know, you're like, which is probably why we decided to do the podcast. We think we're so funny when we listen to each other. Like other people should hear this.

00:21:12 - Amber Hawley
Hey, that that is the spark, right? If people enjoy other people having a good time, I think we need more of that.

00:21:19 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. I'm having a good time.

00:21:20 - Amber Hawley
It's a life changer.

00:21:22 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. I'm interested to hear you guys talk a little bit about the podcast because other Biz Besties we've interviewed have done maybe like a workshop together or they've done something that's kind of short term. So basically, if it bombed or if things didn't work out, it wouldn't be the end of the world, right?
And not that it would be the end of the world if a podcast didn't continue, but it's definitely a different type of commitment. So did you guys talk about that at all before you started it? No. One day we just started.

00:21:47 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Just kidding.

00:21:48 - Maelisa Hall
So we started with a mastermind.

00:21:50 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah, we started with a mastermind, actually. So Jacqueline was like, hey, we should start a mastermind. And I was like, I just got out of working with clients like a couple years ago. So it was kind of like not that into the idea. But then she was like, yeah, telling me, you know, I had always kind of wanted to do a mastermind, but really didn't.
There was part of me that didn't because I don't like working with clients. And so then when she was talking about it, I was like, yeah, that does sound like fun. And then we just basically opened up. We emailed people that we knew and then it filled up.
It literally was so easy, like click of a mouse. And we're like, oh, now we have a mastermind. It was... Crazy and then, so, then we did it and was like, Oh my gosh, this is the best thing ever. Like that was what really like. It was like a light switch for me.

That was like, Oh my gosh, that opened up my eyes to something that I totally love. And then? But I would never have done it without Jacqueline, for sure, and I probably wouldn't do it without Jacqueline, honestly. Because it's just not as fun, you know?

00:22:51 - Jacqueline Snyder
Yeah, because she calls herself an introvert with extrovert. What do you say about yourself?

00:22:55 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Extrovert skills. Yeah. Introvert with extrovert skills. So I love being an extrovert, but I definitely know that I need some rest time too. And clients are hard work. They have expectations. Yeah. And it's one way. They want things from you. They're paying you to do stuff.
And so I had worked with clients for 12 years, remember, before I got into the product biz. And I liked just being at home and only having products to worry about. It's just a different life, you know?

00:23:26 - Jacqueline Snyder
But there are definitely things that we have to do to navigate around each other because we don't live in the same place and we have our own lives basically outside of Vox during each other where we could do that anytime, listen, whenever we have availability.
So we've been balancing, actually, we just had this conversation last week where we came off of being in Vegas together and doing these seminars. We met with 17, we did 17 one-on-one consultations in two days.

00:23:48 - Maelisa Hall
It was crazy.

00:23:50 - Jacqueline Snyder
We're like, somebody needs to eat.

00:23:51 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah.

00:23:52 - Jacqueline Snyder
And we were eating and drinking and we were having a great time, but working our butts off. And then we came back and I think we both kind of had this like trade show come down. And then our husbands were like, you know, you've been gone and kids and all this other stuff.
And so we had to kind of connect again and say, well, what do we really want? Like, what do we want for our lives? Cause the podcast does take a lot of time together. Plus the mastermind is how we're monetizing it all. And that we had an overwhelming response that we were like, do we open up tube?
more groups or we were only planning on one. And so we're still sort of walking through that, but I think we both respect each other enough that we want to make sure that the other person's happy because neither of us are doing this to make money. We're doing this because it's a passion project for us.

00:24:33 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah. And we're highly, highly communicative. So there's like not that much, like if I'm having a down day and I'm like, Oh, I'm feeling overwhelmed. I'll instantly tell Jacqueline and say, you know, how can we problem solve this? So then, you know, we're not feeling so overwhelmed because like Jacqueline just got done with a website project that was like massive overload project, you know?
So then things like that, where we're just like really communicative with each other, because like coming back from those 17 consultations, it was really easy when we were there, but coming home from it, evaluating all that stuff and everything, there's just a different set of things that we go through for sure, you know?
Plus, we're drained.

00:25:13 - Amber Hawley
I know that. I know after our conference spree or when we go to conferences, I feel like we might go a few days without talking to each other at that point. Unless, of course, all the ideas are coming, right? But yeah, you got to go with the flow and know when you pull back.
But I think it's good that everyone we've talked to who's really navigated having both a business with their biz bestie, it's been the communication piece. Just being really open with each other, that's... I think that's where the value is.

00:25:40 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
And we don't put pressure on each other. That's the other thing. I know the podcast is a lot of hard work, but then we already knew we were going to have the editor there. Or if we miss an episode entirely, it's not like the end of the world or anything like that, where we're not so...
Like Jacqueline said, it's nice to have it monetized, which is great because we're putting so much time into it. But we're not going to... She doesn't work for me and I don't work for her. Yeah. So it's one of those where it's just a fun project. And the podcast was just like one of those brilliant ideas.
And if we didn't get the response that we did, we probably wouldn't even continue it, you know?

00:26:14 - Amber Hawley
Right. No, it helps with the momentum for sure. So just being aware of the time, I want to just check in with each of you. If you could share either, I guess the big questions we answer are, what is the value of having a biz bestie? Although I feel like you guys have really been talking about that.
Or if you had one tip for somebody that needs to find their biz best, what would it be? So either one, whatever speaks to you more.

00:26:37 - Jacqueline Snyder
For me, I think the value is having... I've been a part of masterminds. Well, I was isolated. I've had my business for 10 years, came up with it by myself, figured it out, had employees underneath me, but didn't have a business partner. And my husband had to listen to all of it.
And so I'm like, this is our business, but really, it's my business. He has his own career. So I think for me, the value was that I had someone to offload on and someone to help me strategize that cared about me. cared about me personally and it wasn't a business partner.
It wasn't about the bottom line. It was, and that actually cared to take the time out of her day with her family to be there for me. And I don't have anyone else that I can call for that. So that's my value.

00:27:18 - Amber Hawley
I love that.

00:27:19 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah. I same. I mean, I think it's such a life changer when you find a biz bestie. I love, had had so many coffee chats, I wasn't going in thinking I was going to find a biz bestie either. Now that I have, I'm just like, I'm way more confident and brave and sure of all the decisions I make because I have Jacqueline to bounce it off of.
And I know that there's a lot of people I'm sure that are in masterminds where they're kind of telling you exactly what you want to hear. I know that she'll give me an honest answer and be like, yeah, I think this or I don't think that. Because she has a really good gauge of those things that I'm not seeing.
So I think I have just a trust in her opinion. And then also, yeah, it does make you just more brave. Like, hey, let's try this podcast. You can do it. Just buy this microphone.

Yeah, buy this microphone. And here I am where I'm just like... not even sure if I want to work with clients, but then I'm cranking out a podcast episode now. So then it just opens up your world to all these things that you never even knew that you wanted to do or that you were capable of or that you'd love.
So it's really... Yeah, it's life-changing. I mean, actually, when I think about it, it isn't our one-year anniversary. I think our one-year anniversary is like somewhere at the end of May.

00:28:33 - Jacqueline Snyder
Wow. Yeah, we're recording this in February. Yeah. But I will say, it's kind of like if you're a girl and you're going to a bar and you're looking for a husband, I don't know that that's going to work. Yeah. You know, when you try to, you don't try. So I would say for both of us, because we both really probably, well, I guess, Mina, you were talking to a lot of people, but Just connecting and opening yourself up to just talking to people and finding other relationships or just not you're not looking for a full time or committed relationship, but you're just chatting and then you'll hopefully talk to enough people.
You'll connect or click with somebody.

00:29:02 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Yeah, you kind of have to put yourself in a situation where you are even talking to people, you know, like I was only doing coffee chats because it's like those people. or I were like, hey, let's connect or whatever. And then you just figure out a way that you're just chatting, you know, and it was just like, I think everybody's trying to figure it out on the online world, you know, where they're just like, not a lot of people are gonna be like, hey, let's chat on the phone.
You know, I think that a video call is kind of, the common thing these days. I don't know. Or maybe it is in those communities. So I think that just being open to the idea of, hey, I actually have to put myself out there. I could have been like, no, thanks.
I'm good. I've had a lot of coffee chats this week.

00:29:44 - Amber Hawley
Yeah, that's awesome. I'm over caffeinated. I love it. I feel like you guys just gave the best testimonial as to why someone should have a BizBestie. So thank you so much for that.

00:29:56 - Maelisa Hall
Yeah. And it's awesome. And I love that we finally found a biz bestie pair. That's I think a little bit more similar to us talking every day.

00:30:07 - Amber Hawley
Yeah. She was going to say that's as crazy as us and jumps into things like we do.

00:30:12 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
Oh, let's do that. Let's do it.

00:30:15 - Maelisa Hall
Thank you for making us feel normal. But thanks so much ladies for being on the podcast. And where should people go to check out your podcast? Mina.

00:30:26 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
The Product Boss, which is on Shopify. No, it's on Spotify.

00:30:31 - Maelisa Hall
Sorry about that.

00:30:32 - Minna Khounlo-Sithep
I've got product stuff on the mind. So Spotify, iTunes, Google Play, and Stitcher. So anywhere on those, you can find it. Or you can go to www.theproductboss.com slash podcast.

00:30:44 - Maelisa Hall
Very cool. Thanks. Thank you, lady.

00:30:48 - Amber Hawley
Thanks, you guys. And if you enjoyed what you heard today and you don't want to miss out on any more amazing interviews and all of our BizBestie tips, head on over to MyBizBestie.com and subscribe so you don't miss out on a thing.