Episode 292: 10 Lessons to Learn from EPCOT for a Woman Entrepreneur

This is an AI-produced transcription of the Purpose and Pixie Dust Podcast.

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(00:00:00) - Hey girl, welcome to the Purpose in Pixie Dust Podcast. The podcast where we dive deep into our passions, our purpose, and really unlock our potential With some pixie dust thrown in. What is pixie dust, you might ask? It's the fun and joy that gets unlocked when you're creating and owning your magic. I'm Lindsey Dillinger, Dog Mama, Disney lover and high school Spanish teacher who has used my magic to grow my businesses while also working full time. I'm on a mission to help other women create and own your magic by building not only the business of your dreams, but also the life of your dreams while still juggling life, your full time job, and all the things. So if you want more than this provincial life, let's use our glass slippers to break those glass ceilings and sprinkle lots of pixie dust into our lives. Hey friend, welcome back to A Purpose and Pixie Dust podcast. My name is Lindsay Dellinger. I am your magical business coach, so to speak, and we haven't done an episode that has had a lot of like Disney theming lately, so I wanted to bring one out.

(00:01:08) - Not well, it's out of my vault of podcasts that I have had planned for a while and I just haven't yet recorded. This one is especially fun for me because I just got back from Disney World. I hosted my magical Disney business retreat. This was my third Disney business retreat, actually, and it was by far like every retreat that I do, I feel like was better than the last one. And, you know, the vibe is always different. The women are different. There are some repeat attendees, which is always really fun to and also then I get to hear their perspective, like which one did you like better? Yada yada. But I also like to do different activities at each retreat that I do and different I guess focuses maybe. But anyway, we just spent an amazing four days down at Disney World, specifically with the women at the retreat, and then my sister and I went down a day early. We went to Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and then we left very late.

(00:02:11) - After the women left the retreat on Monday morning. We then headed to Animal Kingdom and Epcot to finish our day. It was pretty exhausting. I'm not going to lie, but we flew back. Our flight was supposed to be at 10:00 and we ended up leaving Orlando at like 1230 in the morning, getting home at like four. It was all kinds of long day, but we hit Epcot in Epcot is tied with my favorite park. I love Magic Kingdom, but I also really love Epcot. So I would love to know if you have been to Epcot, if you also love it, or maybe you don't. I know some people have some pretty hard feelings. Not big Epcot fans, but today I want to dive into ten things that Epcot teaches us as women entrepreneurs. So? So in no particular order because, you know, I don't like to put things necessarily in order of like importance or what's not. But in case you're not familiar with Epcot, it is one of the four theme parks at Disney World, and it is a theme park dedicated to the celebration of human achievement, innovation, culture.

(00:03:14) - And like I said, that's one of my favorites. The back part of Epcot has different countries around the world, and then the front part is based on different elements like water. Fire is the new theming of it, but very heavily based on science and education. So anyway, I've always really loved it, especially as an adult. And so we're going to dive into ten things we can learn from Epcot as women entrepreneurs. The first one is to embrace innovation. So like I already mentioned, Epcot, dedicated to innovation, creativity, new ideas. And as a woman entrepreneur, we get to do the same. So we get to embrace new technologies. One of the newest ones this year that's been a really hot topic is ChatGPT. And just overall, just the use of AI. I feel like artificial intelligence, AI is being used across the board. I use it now for podcasts, translation, not translations transcriptions. I guess you could use it for translations as well, but transcriptions helping me come up with show titles, show notes, turn things into blogs, you know, literally anything.

(00:04:18) - Now there's video AI that I have just learned a little bit more about and want to dive into a little bit to help me basically repurpose the ideas and the knowledge that I already have. And so, you know, I would love to encourage you to ask yourself, are you embracing this new technology and these new ideas and ways of doing things, or are you kind of stuck in your ways? And and I say that and it kind of comes off as a negative connotation. And I don't mean it to be because there is something to be said for that in a time and place for that as well. But I also know that if we don't jump on the train to start utilizing these tools in this technology that's coming to us, it's going to take us longer to do things. And, you know, I don't know about you, but I'm all about productivity and systems and streamlining so that I can have the most free time in my day and do the things that I really love to do. And so I'm embracing these new technologies.

(00:05:11) - So, you know, are you embracing innovation as well in your business? And if not, what could that look like? How could you do that? The next thing that Epcot teaches us is to celebrate diversity. I am all about diversity and, you know, supporting you for being you no matter what you is is like. And so Epcot really showcases diverse cultures and traditions around the world. And as a woman entrepreneur, I think that we also get to embrace and celebrate that diversity in our team and our customers and the people that we collaborate with, the people that we support, the people that we shout out. And so just keeping that top of mind, how are you doing that in your business now and how. How can you improve in that area? Be future focused. Epcot has a strong focus on the future and what's possible and really allowing those dreams, that creativity and. Just the possibility, I guess that's the word there. All the possibilities that are open to you and as a woman entrepreneur, being future focused, allowing ourselves to dream, allowing ourselves to believe and really step into those possibilities and have a clear vision of where you want to take your business is so important.

(00:06:24) - Another thing Epcot teaches us is to showcase our strengths so the different pavilions around the world at Epcot are showcasing the best not always well known, but definitely the best parts of different cultures and what different countries have to offer. So as a woman entrepreneur, and this is one thing that I talked about in my last training of mermaid influence school is to showcase your strengths. Like what is your superpower? What is the thing that makes you different in your unique value proposition? What do you bring to the table that separates you from other people? Really thinking about that is kind of like your secret sauce. So showcase your strengths in your business, your personal brand, and in your life. Know your strengths and focus and really hone in on them. The next one is being customer centric. Epcot and really all of Disney is really about the customer experience. And so as a woman entrepreneur, I would like to encourage you to think about prioritizing the needs and the ones of your customers to really build that loyal following, because we've talked about that loyal following before.

(00:07:29) - You know, when people love you, they love what you're about, they're all behind your brand and they are all in. They are more likely to refer you out, to talk about you to other people and to keep coming back to you as a customer. And that's what we want Focus on sustainability. So this might be one that we don't necessarily think about top of mind, but epcot's dedicated to environmental sustainability. And so, you know, in your business, is there a way that you could prioritize sustainability even more than you already are doing in your business practices and operations, You know, carpooling, walking, not having like lights on and you don't like all these different things, you know, and taking care of our environment in general is, is something that we can think about even more. I think as business owners, the next thing that we can learn is collaboration. So Epcot's World Showcase Pavilions showcase the collaborative efforts of different countries and this is really fun, has been really fun for me as I travel as well, is how different but how alike cultures are.

(00:08:38) - I see it a lot in foods, in art, architecture, and I'm like, It's so interesting that there is like a version of like a pierogi in all different kinds of foods or noodles or, you know, dishes that are very similar. I'm like, This looks like a taco, but it's not called a taco, you know? So that collaboration, maybe it's not in the ways that I just spoke about in regards to countries like with foods and such. But just collaboration in general. And this is another thing that I just talked about a ton with the women at my retreat, with the women in the membership and my mastermind, you know, all the places is this word collaboration. This year has been one of my huge focuses because collaborating with other businesses and entrepreneurs is an amazing way to expand our reach and our impact. This can look like a variety of different things. This could be doing lives together, hosting free events together, hosting paid events together, doing freebie swaps, doing blocks, blog swaps, not blocks, blog blog swaps.

(00:09:43) - That's actually really hard to say, by the way, if you say that ten times fast. But you know, the way that you can collaborate with others is really endless. So I want to encourage you to step into that, be future focused. What could that look like for your business? Next up, take risks. Epcot's attractions showcase daring feats and accomplishments. One of my favorite rides at Epcot is Soarin. And it's so funny because I don't love flying, but it's a ride where you're like flying. And so I always and you're like feet dangle. You go around the world to different countries and sites, and I always kind of think like, try to imagine myself as though I'm actually flying to help me when I am actually flying. Like, Oh, this is just like on Soarin. So, you know, as a woman, as a woman entrepreneur, how can you take calculated risks to push your business forward? Last two leveraging storytelling. So if you have been at Epcot, especially around the holidays, they have amazing storytellers that are out at the holidays.

(00:10:46) - But you know, Epcot's attractions and their pavilions and the storytellers they bring in and the different performers really tell compelling stories. And you have heard me say and you've heard guests on the show say that knowing your story and really knowing and bringing that story into your brand and into your content, into your messaging, using storytelling to connect with your audience and create a strong brand narrative is really important. As a woman entrepreneur, if you want to make those connections with people, you know, create those raving fans, those customers that are going to really connect with you. We get to leverage storytelling and always be improving that craft, because I do think it is something that we can all improve on all the time, myself included. And just remembering too, that just because you have shared your story one time doesn't mean that everyone has heard it. We know that hardly anyone sees your social media posts, right? Like the percentage is very low. So keep telling the stories over and over and over again. And last one.

(00:11:48) - And I really kind of love to end on this one. Focus on continuous improvement. Epcot is constantly evolving and improving. There has been construction signs up at Epcot. I don't even remember I've got without construction signs, to be honest. They have been working on their new Moana area of Epcot. They're at the front of the park, which is opening super soon. It might even be open by the time this release is. But they're always evolving and improving. And that is one thing that I am committed to as a woman entrepreneur and I hope you are as well, is to really focus on that continuous improvement, that self development testing things. You know, you might have heard it referred to before as like failing forward and that there is no such thing as failure because we're learning to refine our business strategies and grow our businesses in ways that work for us. So really, you know, constantly improving. What could that look like for you? So one thing that I like to do with this is really envision like myself, when I have reached all my business goals and I'm like living that life.

(00:12:51) - How does that version of Lindsey show up? What are her habits? Does she work out? When does she work out? What time does she go to bed? What does she eat? What's her energy like? Who does she talk to? How does she surround herself? What is her living environment like? What's her work environment like? Who are her customers and her clients that she's working with and then focusing on being that version of me now. So I would love to encourage you to do that exercise as well. You can visualize it, you can write it out, you can do both, meditate on it, but really focus on how we can continue to improve ourselves every day. I mean, and that's not just even business related. That's just becoming a better human right. And I'm all about becoming a better human. So I hope you found these lessons from Epcot really helpful and inspiring. I love putting together these lists and being able to connect our businesses to the magic of Disney. You know, whether it is Walt Disney himself or products of his empire, because it truly is that it is truly an empire that brings so much joy and happiness and positivity to so many people.

(00:13:58) - And I don't know about you, but that's what I'm hoping that people feel for my brand as well. So I hope you enjoyed the ten things that Epcot teaches us as women entrepreneurs. If you have a friend who you know would love this episode, please share it with her. Like, go ahead and just right now like click the share button on your podcast app, Text it to her, to her, take a screenshot and share this in your stories. And I hope that I will see you back here next week. Thank you so much, friend. Go out there and create and own your magic. And that's a wrap on today's episode. I hope you're leaving today. Inspired Princess to create, own and spread your magic to the world. If you found value in this episode or know a girlfriend who needs to hear it, would you screenshot it and send it to her? And if you're feeling really generous, pop it up on your IG stories and tag me at Lindsey Dillinger so I can see you loved it and tell you Thank you.

(00:14:50) - I appreciate you. Now let's go do some amazing things. Bye bye.