From Shy to Spotlight: Caroline Biesalski’s Inspiring Entrepreneurial Leap

[00:00:03] Welcome to the Business Chop Podcast, where our guests speak on meeting the challenges of entrepreneurship, as well as offer tips and advice on business, marketing, technology, and more. Whether you are a newbie or seasoned professional, this episode is for you. I am your host, Audrey Wiggins.

[00:00:24] Let's chop it up.

[00:00:28] Chops Squad, it is great to be with you as always. And I want you to meet our guest today, Caroline Biesalski. And she's coming to us from Germany. I'm very excited for her conversation with us today.

[00:00:43] Caroline is a dedicated, generous German consultant, as was mentioned, based in Germany. She serves as the president of Reflection 8 Incorporated, with a rich career background in accounting, organizational management,

[00:00:57] and community psychology. She highlights entrepreneurs, free thinkers, bestselling authors, artists, and anyone who says yes on her inspired podcast. It's always great to have another podcaster talking to get a different perspective, you know, from her. So we'll hear more and learn more about Caroline on the other side of this message.

[00:01:19] Hello, fellow entrepreneurs. It's the Tech Diva. If you're like me, it's been a long year. Are you ready to elevate your business?

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[00:01:51] More about Caroline. She provides coaching for individuals, corporations, guiding them from thinking into results to achieving the highest levels of success.

[00:02:03] Caroline is known for her unwavering persistence in remaining present during the challenging phases of any business and for being a supportive presence when needed.

[00:02:14] With her extensive skills, practical application and a passion for realizing her own and others' dreams, she is committed to empowering both profit and nonprofit organizations, propelling them to the pinnacle of fame and success they inherently deserve.

[00:02:32] Caroline, welcome to The Business Chop.

[00:02:34] Well, thank you so much for having me.

[00:02:37] I'm excited that you said yes and you're here today. So looking forward to learning more about what you do and how you're helping others along the way.

[00:02:46] Now, before we get started, let us know that fun thing that you like to do or an accomplishment that you'd like to shout out for yourself.

[00:02:53] Oh, thank you so much. So the fun thing about me is that you never know what happens, what will happen the next day.

[00:03:01] So I change my mind. I change myself. And this is also the subtitle to my podcast, Stories of Change and Success, because only through change we get to success or to new things.

[00:03:15] Right. And you mentioned the podcast. So I was not speaking until 2021 and not in school, not in at university.

[00:03:27] I did my exams in writing because I was so shy.

[00:03:33] And when I started my podcast last year in December, so I had a calling and I recorded yesterday.

[00:03:40] I recorded episode 508.

[00:03:45] Wow. Congratulations.

[00:03:48] That's all right. Yes. Oh, my goodness.

[00:03:52] Yeah. It's crazy.

[00:03:53] I cannot stop. Everyone is saying yes, you know, and my goal was 506 because I committed to 1111 episodes.

[00:04:05] And this is the half, the 50 percent I wanted to do.

[00:04:08] And I accomplished already in after 11 months instead of 12.

[00:04:15] That's crazy. So do you broadcast every day?

[00:04:18] Yes. Daily episodes with interview guests.

[00:04:22] Wow. That is amazing.

[00:04:24] That is awesome. Yes.

[00:04:26] You definitely did be applauded for that for real.

[00:04:28] Oh, my goodness.

[00:04:29] So anything else you want to share?

[00:04:33] Oh, I can share my I had an accounting business for the last 16 years and it was not what I really wanted.

[00:04:41] It was boring at the end.

[00:04:43] I had employees, but I wanted to see the world, you know.

[00:04:47] So I I shut that down.

[00:04:50] I don't know if you if you say this.

[00:04:52] And last year and and then I went to travel the U.S.

[00:04:58] It was so nice for a month or so.

[00:05:01] And I had road trips and I saw eight states.

[00:05:06] Wow.

[00:05:07] So how did that how did that feel when you made that decision?

[00:05:12] OK, I'm done with this accounting career.

[00:05:15] I'm just going to get out here and sell my wealth, so to speak.

[00:05:20] Yeah, it was the worst moment in my life, but also the happiest because it is so close together.

[00:05:26] You know, I had employees and I had to tell them that we are going to close the company within four weeks.

[00:05:34] And I stayed there because I wanted to to motivate them.

[00:05:41] But it was not a good idea.

[00:05:44] So I got depressed or something.

[00:05:46] And I yeah, it takes a little time, but it feels good when you make when you make a committed decision and then you act on it.

[00:05:56] Yeah, that's awesome.

[00:05:58] Yeah. Thanks for sharing that, because even even in that there is a lesson and, you know, something we can we can glean and learn from from from your experience on there.

[00:06:07] That that is awesome.

[00:06:08] So is that how how did you come up with the name of the podcast, Inspired Choice to kind of come out of that?

[00:06:15] I think the name was already in the field in the beginning of 2023, but I did not think about launching my podcast.

[00:06:27] I had this in mind for, I think, 30 years of my life.

[00:06:32] And you would say, hold on a second.

[00:06:36] Podcasts were born in 2007.

[00:06:39] That's right.

[00:06:40] So my dream was to have my own radio show.

[00:06:43] And then when the podcast arrived, then I thought this is the right medium for me.

[00:06:48] But as I said, I was too shy to speak.

[00:06:51] And then I would not dare to to start this.

[00:06:55] But the name was already there, Inspired to inspire people and also to take inspired action instead of like like unconscious action or something,

[00:07:06] if you want to call it without thinking in a in a in a hurry or so.

[00:07:11] This is not a good advice.

[00:07:12] So the the idea for the podcast came overnight when I was in San Diego at 3 a.m.

[00:07:19] in the morning.

[00:07:20] I woke up and I had the word podcast and I knew exactly what to do, because this was what I always waited for or was waiting for.

[00:07:29] And the name Inspired was at that time the name of a daily coaching group I had with my business partner.

[00:07:38] Yeah, because I think the name is really powerful.

[00:07:41] It is.

[00:07:42] And then I changed it over the months into Inspired Choice today, because when you want to make a decision and you are between two or several alternatives,

[00:07:54] you first you have to know that you have you have a choice at all.

[00:07:58] You get to choose.

[00:07:59] And then from from there, you make a decision.

[00:08:03] And this is powerful.

[00:08:05] Yes, definitely.

[00:08:07] Thanks for sharing that.

[00:08:09] Now, Carolyn, what was the biggest lesson you learned when transitioning from the dream of entrepreneurship to the reality of building a business?

[00:08:18] So I think there are two words or one word.

[00:08:20] My first business that I had 16 years, the accounting company, it was static, like like accounting itself.

[00:08:29] It's always the same, the same numbers in a different order.

[00:08:34] I always say this accounting is very simple, even though people think, oh, it's complicated.

[00:08:40] No, it's not.

[00:08:41] We we only we only pretend that it's difficult.

[00:08:46] It's always the same.

[00:08:47] So it was static.

[00:08:49] The people were the same.

[00:08:50] I was the same.

[00:08:51] And my mindset was I had a fixed mindset and it was like safety and protection, like survival mode a little bit like, oh, it has to stay the same.

[00:09:03] Then nothing can happen to us.

[00:09:05] And then when I made this decision, no, I want it differently.

[00:09:08] I want I want more excitement in my life, more salt and pepper, so to say, more spice.

[00:09:16] Yes, of course, more traveling, not working in the cave anymore.

[00:09:21] So the transition was from static.

[00:09:23] And this is your the answer to your question to dynamic because life is dynamic, not static.

[00:09:29] And I learned it from a coach.

[00:09:30] So what when you ask what evoked my transition, it was I came across this TikTok guy during the pandemic.

[00:09:39] I followed him and he he had a daily study group.

[00:09:45] So I learned English.

[00:09:46] I learned English.

[00:09:48] That so that I speak now or how I speak now.

[00:09:52] Of course, there's always a better way.

[00:09:54] I learned English.

[00:09:55] I learned mindset and I learned persistence as well.

[00:09:59] Yeah, that is that's awesome.

[00:10:02] That's amazing.

[00:10:03] And we can end right here and just sit at your feet from you all learn from you at that point.

[00:10:09] So, you know, and sticking with your podcast for a moment, but then how do you ensure your stories, you know, that are shared on your podcast, inspire authenticity and provide practical takeaways for your listeners?

[00:10:22] I make sure that I have the right guest on.

[00:10:25] So my guests are all inspiring people.

[00:10:30] And I also I also ask the right questions about that.

[00:10:34] So I changed the first of all, the first 300 episodes.

[00:10:38] I can tell you I had the same five or five questions to all of my guests because I was still shy.

[00:10:47] Right.

[00:10:47] I was shy.

[00:10:48] So I thought when I stick to the same questions, then the answers will differ or alter or I don't know, will be different.

[00:10:57] And I can learn from the answers.

[00:10:59] So now now I have the the questions more customized to the to the guest.

[00:11:06] So this is really around the bio and about their expertise, which is important.

[00:11:11] And then this is new as well.

[00:11:14] I have my target group, my listeners.

[00:11:16] They are all business starters like I was.

[00:11:20] And they are introvert and shy as well.

[00:11:22] And I help them to take the next courageous step.

[00:11:25] That's amazing.

[00:11:27] That's awesome.

[00:11:28] So as someone who's passionate about making impactful decisions, how do you balance your personal fulfillment with your professional success?

[00:11:39] There is no no difference.

[00:11:42] There's no balance.

[00:11:43] There's no I would say it's all in harmony because this is what I really want to do for the first time in my life.

[00:11:50] So I was I said to someone.

[00:11:54] So I realized last last year, it was only last year that I was always afraid to go in my office and to see my employees.

[00:12:04] I was afraid and I thought it was rooted in me.

[00:12:07] Yes, it is rooted in me.

[00:12:09] But the question is, do I have to continue that way?

[00:12:13] And once I've made the decision, no, that's not what I want.

[00:12:17] Then then I asked myself, what do you really, really want?

[00:12:21] And since then, it was in three years ago, exactly three years ago, I asked this question.

[00:12:27] And since then, I transform.

[00:12:30] So I take action to implement this in my life, what I really want.

[00:12:38] All right.

[00:12:39] What you really want.

[00:12:41] And that's a hashtag right there.

[00:12:44] Oh, my goodness.

[00:12:45] You had mentioned mindset or mindfulness earlier.

[00:12:48] And what role does mindfulness play in navigating challenges and entrepreneurship and in leadership?

[00:12:56] Yeah, mindfulness is everything.

[00:12:58] So first of all, you have to discover that you have a mind and what it is.

[00:13:03] So study who you are and how your mind works.

[00:13:07] And when you know this, then, of course, you have to make a decision or you get to choose if you want to control your mind or guard your mind, guard your thoughts and how to think.

[00:13:20] Because it's all about, you mentioned it, thinking into results by Bob Proctor is the program I studied and also I teach.

[00:13:29] So to say, because I'm a consultant for Bob Proctor.

[00:13:33] This came on top.

[00:13:34] So I offer this as a gift.

[00:13:37] It came for me that I can do this and share with people as well.

[00:13:43] So the question is, how important is mindset?

[00:13:46] It is when you start a business or when you are a business owner, then it's 95 percent mindset and five percent strategy.

[00:13:55] We do we have to use our minds in a better way, because a lot of times we have all that negative self-talk and all that fear up in there.

[00:14:03] So I can definitely appreciate what you're seeing there.

[00:14:07] And, you know, going into empowering others.

[00:14:10] How do you guide your audience or clients in embracing the challenges, you know, that lie ahead with entrepreneurship, staying focused on our goals?

[00:14:21] And probably still is a bit of mindfulness involved in that.

[00:14:26] Yeah, I think it has to do with the third word of my podcast title.

[00:14:31] It is today.

[00:14:32] And this refers to the now moment.

[00:14:34] So the question is not what can can I accomplish in the in the next 12 months, even though you have this vision, you have you have to break it down into little goals like quarterly, annually.

[00:14:47] We all know this.

[00:14:47] This is the strategy part.

[00:14:49] But the mindset part is to show up every day like the person you want to become and to make this decision.

[00:14:56] So the question is, what can I do today or what is good?

[00:15:00] What is good in today or something like that?

[00:15:04] And you see it when you focus on that and you see exactly the next step to take.

[00:15:10] Not not to.

[00:15:11] So I have a favorite quote.

[00:15:12] It says you cannot do tomorrow's work today.

[00:15:17] That's powerful.

[00:15:18] It is.

[00:15:19] It is.

[00:15:20] And when you when you implement this in your in your mindset, that it becomes automatic in you, which is possible.

[00:15:26] And you don't have to think about it.

[00:15:28] You don't have to remind yourself anymore about that.

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[00:16:00] And so what is a typical day like for you with Flexion 8 Incorporated?

[00:16:04] That's my favorite question, because, of course, when I when I studied this or I started and I talked to many people and ask about their routines.

[00:16:15] So morning routine, evening routine.

[00:16:16] And the morning routine is very important.

[00:16:18] So there's a thing called 5 a.m.

[00:16:21] Club.

[00:16:22] It's a book, Robin Sharma.

[00:16:24] And you don't have to read it.

[00:16:27] There are summaries or so or the concept of what you do.

[00:16:30] 20 minutes of exercise, 20 minutes meditation and 20 minutes of gratitude, because gratitude is important to set you in that state where you can really, I would say, face others or face the world.

[00:16:45] You wake up in the morning, you say, hello, world, what's next?

[00:16:50] And then you go for it.

[00:16:52] So what is the typical day?

[00:16:53] I think there is no typical day because my what I really love is doing or experiencing different things in my life.

[00:17:04] So this the the the typical day was the bookkeeping day with my employees.

[00:17:10] And today or nowadays, it is different.

[00:17:14] And I do what my intuition tells me to do just when intuition told me to start my own podcast.

[00:17:22] So are you still doing Reflection 8 and Inspired Choice today?

[00:17:25] Yeah, I would say Reflection 8 is the is the company, the new company I formed or I built for the coaching and consulting.

[00:17:35] And Inspired Podcast is the medium where I showcase guests to help my audience and also my clients or also to attract new clients, of course.

[00:17:49] Yes.

[00:17:50] Yes.

[00:17:50] Yes.

[00:17:51] So how can we get in touch with you if we want to work with you or, you know, to get to know you better?

[00:17:56] Oh, thank you so much.

[00:17:58] Yes, I love.

[00:17:59] So my my favorite platform in the moment is LinkedIn.

[00:18:03] I love LinkedIn.

[00:18:04] I discovered it in January.

[00:18:07] So I you know, when you when you create an account and then you don't do nothing with it.

[00:18:13] But in January, I really saw the value and I met beautiful people like you.

[00:18:19] We are connected on LinkedIn as well.

[00:18:21] And yeah, this is my favorite platform.

[00:18:24] And and I'm everywhere.

[00:18:25] I'm on TikTok as well.

[00:18:28] Facebook, Instagram, of course, YouTube.

[00:18:30] But please DM me.

[00:18:32] And I think people who want to find me, they will find me by law.

[00:18:38] Yes.

[00:18:39] Yes.

[00:18:39] You know, probably get to your podcast as well.

[00:18:42] And, you know, end up following you there and subscribing.

[00:18:45] Yes, definitely.

[00:18:46] Well, Carolyn, do you on what advice do you want to leave us with?

[00:18:49] My my favorite thing.

[00:18:51] And it is so simple that it is overlooked.

[00:18:54] You know, the slogan, just do it.

[00:18:56] I would say just start whatever you have in mind.

[00:18:59] And if you have a feeling like a like a wish you want to accomplish or a desire and you you

[00:19:06] are you just don't know.

[00:19:07] Just start and ask for help and advice because I never did this.

[00:19:12] So everyone was seeing me as someone.

[00:19:15] Oh, she knows exactly where she's going.

[00:19:18] She she doesn't need help or support.

[00:19:20] And that's why when I really need support, there is no support, you know, because of my

[00:19:26] self image.

[00:19:27] Ask for help.

[00:19:28] I, you know, just start and ask for help.

[00:19:30] It can't it doesn't get any better than that.

[00:19:32] Oh, my gosh.

[00:19:33] But Carolyn, thank you for spending your time with us today and giving us your your advice

[00:19:39] and, you know, and your journey as an entrepreneur, because we can learn so much from you.

[00:19:44] And I really appreciate it and wish you much success.

[00:19:47] Thank you so much for having me.

[00:19:49] You're welcome.

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