A Word To The Wise
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A Word To The Wise
140. Empowering Women Around The World Through Fair Trade with Angela Melfi
Travel has a way of weaving the fabric of our lives into a richer tapestry, and who better to share this with us than Angela Malfi, CEO of Threads Worldwide. Our heartfelt conversation unwraps how Angela's adventures across 56 countries have not just influenced her, but how they've become the backbone of a company that intertwines the empowerment of women with the fair trade of artisanal goods. As we share laughter and candid moments, Angela's stories reveal the profound impact of cultural connections, the power of presence, and the unparalleled joy of co-creating a business that changes lives globally.
Angela opens up about the seismic shifts in family dynamics and societal structures when women step into economic roles, particularly in developing countries. These aren't just tales of business; they're narratives of escape, respect, and the legacy of women who reinvest 90% of their income back into their communities. Angela's accounts, steeped in the principles of fair trade, shine a light on the fundamental changes that ethical business practices can kindle, from safe working conditions to fair wages.
The pandemic has rewritten the rulebook for many entrepreneurs, and Angela is no exception. Listen in as we explore the recalibration of work and family life, the substitution of promises for boundaries, and the lessons learned from the pressures of running a business during unprecedented times. Yet, it's not just about the struggles; it's also about the victories, the moments of self-discovery, and the incredible power of consistent support.
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Hello everyone and welcome back to the A Word to the Wise podcast, a space where we curate conversations around mind, body, spirit and personal development. I'm your host, jumi Moses. On the show today is CEO and co-founder of Threads Worldwide, angela Malfi. In 2011, angela founded Threads Worldwide with her two best friends, cara and Lindsay, and they had the intention to create life-changing work and connection with women around the world through the fair trade of artists and jewelry, bags and home goods, and in our conversation, angela and I discuss the why behind Threads Worldwide more in depth. We talk about what it means to be a global traveler and why that is important. We also discuss what it means to be a social prenuer navigating comparison, purpose, work-life balance and boundaries. Let's get into the show. Threads Worldwide was something that you started about 10 years ago. It's been a decade now since you've been working on this and it started off as a side hustle. So how did you develop a passion for Threads Worldwide and what is it?
Speaker 2:first of all, yeah, so what we do is what we are is we create work with women in eight countries and I would actually say nine, because women here in the US work with us to create the work around the world, and everything that we sell is fair trade. So we have fair trade jewelry that's our main staple. Then we have home goods and we have handbags as well, and the model that we use is called direct sales, so women can come on as a side hustle Everyone's looking for a side hustle these days and earn an income by creating impact and work with women around the world. So that's what we are, who we are. And then how I developed this passion is I've traveled a lot.
Speaker 2:I've been really fortunate and it's also been just a major priority of mine to travel, and I've been to 56 countries around the world, and I did that through quitting jobs, taking sabbaticals, whatever it was that I needed to do to be able to travel and it was on these travels that I would be a lot of times with my two best friends that I started with, and we would be sitting in a coffee shop and we always joke that we were just killing time between meals.
Speaker 2:When you travel, there's not so much to do, and so we would be sitting in the coffee shops dreaming about how we could work together and thinking about a bunch of ideas that we could do, and luckily none of them worked out before Threads Worldwide. But it was really on these trips that we would look and we would see all of these beautiful things that people made, and then the way that they were living was just not correlate. They had so much talent and yet such a small market, a limited market selling to tourists, and so we thought, well, if we could connect this amazing talent to a strong market here in the US, it could really make a difference and it could be a really fun way for women here to create community by joining in and doing it all with us.
Speaker 1:The thing I like about Threads Worldwide is that you created it with your friends, which I think is amazing. Through traveling, or by traveling, traveling all over the world kind of sparked the idea within and you guys were great, which I think is amazing. I'm also fascinated by people who travel the world, because I do think it's very important for people to travel as much as possible, because you get to immerse yourself in different cultures, you get to see how people are living all over the world and it just gives you a new found perspective. So I'm curious to know what were some of the things that you kind of learned, or what are some values or insights or aha moments that you kind of picked up along your journey through these 56 different countries that you've traveled to so far.
Speaker 2:Yes, what a good question. Let's see. I think the thing I'll start with what I learned about myself is that I really like myself most when I'm traveling. When I'm in travel mode, there's no agenda, there's no deadlines. I mean, maybe it's catch a flight, catch a train, but that's it and so everything.
Speaker 2:I find myself coming into situations with pure curiosity and where, if I'm standing in a checkout line in Denver and somebody's taking too long, I get frustrated. When I'm standing in a checkout line in Hanoi, Vietnam, and somebody's taking too long, I'm interested in what's happening. I wonder what they're talking about, because obviously I don't speak Vietnamese, and what is their money like and what interesting things they have on the shelves and what interesting footwear people are wearing. I mean all the things. There's just time to really be in awe and be in wonder, and it's something I work on here in my day to day, and it just comes so naturally when I'm traveling, which is one of the things that I love and I've discovered while traveling, and then just the way that people greet each other, I mean just the day to day elements.
Speaker 2:I find so intriguing the way that they celebrate different events, like we were speaking of Vietnam, we were in Vietnam and it was the new year, and I mean it was I don't know, it was 20 years ago or so, so I can't remember exactly but it seemingly was a five to six week holiday where everybody was off. They were on different schedules for everything. There was the regular schedule and then there's the New Year schedule and just this appreciation for, oh, wow, really celebrating life, celebrating the New Year, celebrating everything you know, just being together with family, and when in the US do we ever stop for five or six weeks? I can't think of a time, and so that's something else that I find interesting is to see how people relate to time, relate to celebration and gathering and getting together. Just every aspect when I'm out of the country is fascinating to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, something I've learned in the little travel that I've done I'd hope to travel more is that people are a lot more patient in general overseas and really take time to be more present and enjoy life and celebrate life in a way that I just don't think it's the same in the US. Can't speak for every state within the US, but we have this go, go, go, go go mentality, whereas in a lot of different countries it's pause, enjoy, celebrate, being the present, which is something that I really, really appreciate. So I'm glad that you brought that up.
Speaker 2:And it really takes something. You know, if you compare it to food or something, it's hard to eat foods that don't have preservatives. Here it's hard to eat healthy, just naturally, like what we have at our fingertips so easily, is fast food that comes with preservatives and all of that, and in other countries they just don't have that. They go to the grocery store daily because their bread will rot. You know, I found I'm a mom of two and more than once I found a string cheese at the bottom of my bag in perfect condition that it's actually grosser to me to find it in perfect condition than to find it all moldy, which is what you would expect and hope of food that you're giving your kids. So just like that with health. Here it's the same. It's hard to get out of the culture of go and I work at least 40 hours a week and I only have two days a weekend and I only have two weeks a month and even when.
Speaker 2:I'm taking my vacation, I'm still really on and it's hard and it's something that I'm working on and really taking on this year. Well, I've been taking on really for the last, I'd say, almost two years, but even leaning into it more in 2024, because my gosh, especially my kids, they're growing up and I do not wanna miss it. For even for something as passionate as I am about threads, I still have the rest of life to save her.
Speaker 1:Yeah, something I wanna ask you because I'm curious about this, how you background in psychology and something people always say when they travel overseas is that, although in the US it seems like we have a lot more resources no place is perfect, obviously, but although in the US it seems like we have a lot of resources, people scribe people that they're observing in other countries while they travel as having better mental health. Have you observed that as well? Do you think that there's some truth to that?
Speaker 2:You know, I don't know if I have had that lens anecdotally when I'm traveling. I mean, like sorry, I didn't say that, sorry, but I don't know if I've had that lens and been looking for that when I'm traveling. And when you ask the question and like looking back anecdotally, I would say yes also. I mean statistically. They talk about how much more people depend on each other in other countries.
Speaker 2:We have so much space here, we have so much wealth, most a lot of people, and it's all relative but that we can spread out and we don't live in our family homes and when I think about when my kids grow up, I want them to have a home or a condo or whatever next door to me and that's just not predictable about how that's going to go and in other countries. When we were in India I went to visit one of my friends. She was born in the US, most of her family lives in India and she connected us to them when we were visiting and their whole generations lived in this one building that had an open courtyard and everybody faced in, and to just think about the level of community and connection that you have with people who you grow up with, you could only imagine that that would improve your mental health. So yes, I observed it, but really it's sort of in retrospect that I can answer and say, yeah, I think they do.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's such a huge emphasis on family and community and a lot of other parts of the world, so I think what you said there makes a lot of sense that leaning on community is it's not. People are not as hyper individualistic as they are in the United States. So, and speaking of traveling and also threads worldwide and the concept of threads worldwide, especially connecting with women or empowering female entrepreneurs, I wanna know why women? Why did you guys zero in on helping or giving a voice or giving opportunities to women entrepreneurs in these eight other countries that you work in?
Speaker 2:The main reason is this statistic and it is that women reinvest 90% of their income back into their families and communities. Men, it's around 40%, and I wish I could remember who to quote, but it's a very popular quote, so you can go and look up that stat. I think it's even by maybe the UN or something like that. I used to know it. But men are about 40%. Now, men, sometimes you could think, well, they're spending on all these awful things sometimes, but not always. And in fact we went and we observed this. So when we first started, we were working with two groups in Guatemala and one of the groups we thought had more women than they actually ended up having. We've since completed that relationship because it was mostly men in the workshop. And so we went and we interviewed the men and it was really interesting. So they were saying thank you so much for the work and for your orders. What we're doing with that is we're able to expand, we're able to buy new machinery to make what we're making, thank you so much for expanding, whereas we're interviewing the women and they're saying thank you so much for ordering. Your orders make a difference. I'm able to add eggs to my kids' meals so I can send my kids to school, and it's that level of investment back into their families that really makes a difference.
Speaker 2:And then we have so many stories about what happens when women get that money and how it really changes generationally. And then, if you think about it back, we've as evolved as a species. Men were out there expanding us. They were the reason we went and went west and we were the reason that they got on boats and discovered all around the world. And good, thank you, yay, we expanded and we, you know, to some detriment, expanded a little bit too far and too fast, but that's not what we think is needed.
Speaker 2:We really think that what is needed is turning into the families and turning into community and investing in each other. And so that's the reason and we've seen it over and over and over again what happens when women earn an income along with the voice that they get you mentioned their voice. They get a voice and get a level of respect and partnership if they're in a marriage from their husband. That's not typical. In a lot of the cultures Women, particularly in Ecuador and then Guatemala, share about how they're no longer in abusive relationships because they actually are bringing money to the table and seeing it as valuable, which there's a whole crappy side of that that. That's what it takes, but it does in some places, especially when money is so scarce.
Speaker 1:So not only are you an entrepreneur I think there's a specific word for it Is it a social? I think I wrote it down.
Speaker 1:Yes, social impact, entrepreneur yeah your social impact entrepreneur, which is a lot of work because you're, you know it's on a global scale that you're doing your work. So I just want to know you said a lot of things there about empowering women and just making sure that they have the necessary tools and resources to make a living for themselves and potentially get out of very toxic situations. So I know that you consider your company a fair trade company, correct? What does it mean to be a fair trade company and how are you able to balance doing work on a global scale and partnering with women in all these different countries?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so we are part of the Fair Trade Federation and you can look them up I think it's well, just Google Fair Trade Federation. There's that organization and there's one called World Fair Trade Organization, and they're overriding bodies that you have to become a part of to show that you're really well, that you're part of that. You're using fair trade principles. So there are nine principles, but the three that I talk about the most are that there's no child labor in any of our products, that there's healthy working conditions and safe working conditions and then, third, that our partners are paid fairly and paid on time, which means that we're paying them what they ask. It's a livable wage and there's a lot that goes into this. So it they. You know, one of the things that they consider when giving us their pricing is what does it take to live, to have medical, you know, not insurance, but like coverage for transportation, all of these things that actually go into living a life, that goes into making our products, into pricing our products. And then they come to us with the price and we don't negotiate. The only thing that we might say is, if it's too high, excuse me, if it's too high, we might say, okay, we can't do that. What would it take to get it into this price range? So we're not asking them to lower the price without them reducing the amount of labor or material that it would, that it would adjust it so. So that's really important to us, and that's the whole supply chain. So we have some products that are made from seeds. We have some products that are made from bullet casings. Everybody who's involved in terms of harvesting the seeds, drying the seeds, dying the seeds, every part of that process, they're being paid fairly along the way. And so, when you think about it, though this is what sort of shocks me awake is like, wow, how cool, that's so great that that exists. But what about all the other products that we're using every day that don't use those principles? They're not saying anything like oh, this and this is made from slave labor, but a lot of times it is. If people aren't, if companies aren't intentionally going out and making sure that the, that the factors are great, we don't even work with factories, but that the villages are working great, whatever, whatever part along the supply chain, there's probably something off there.
Speaker 2:And then, especially, you know, if you think about, you know, back before I started threads, I heard myself saying this too. But you know, as women, you mean people always. You know, if they compliment you, you can't just say thank you, right, you have to tell the story, right, like, oh thank you, I got it here. Oh, thank you, I got it for a gift. Oh, thank you, I got it on sale. You just, we just do, which is another reason, by the way, that I love that we sell jewelry, because then when women compliment our jewelry, now our customers have something interesting to share, educational, to share about where these are made.
Speaker 2:But I digress. So if you go back and say, hey, jimmy, wow, I love your other, so pretty, thank you. What I would say, too is thank you, I got it for like $12 at Target. But if you stop and think about that now, when you hear people say that, and if the price sounds too low, it is. And who's not being paid? It's not Target, it's not Walmart. They're getting their money.
Speaker 2:So where is that money coming off of? And oftentimes it is the people who spend all their time creating that product. So I don't even know what question I'm answering because I'm going off so much, but this is something I'm so passionate about and it's something that I've really taken to heart and something that's changed in my life. You know how I shop. I in the last eight years I think, I've bought now four things that were new and this is for my kids too and we're in a good position where people are able to pass things down to us. I shop secondhand so much more fun that way. But I'm just something I'm really really passionate about that we're looking at where are we spending our money as a very influential country where we can spend our money, it makes a difference in the world if we're starting to pay attention. But what was your question?
Speaker 1:No, you answered it because I wanted to know why you know social impact, entrepreneurship, and I think you answer that so well because I think a lot of times when we think about business, it's about profit, profit, profit, generating as much profit as possible, and why I respect the work that you're doing. It's, yeah, profit is involved, but it's about empowerment, it's about equity, it's about fairness, and I think that that's important because, as we, you know, do businesses, like you said, like you said, a lot of these companies going to different countries and literally exploit the people, exploit the natural resources, and I think it's important that we have a more fair, equitable and ethical way of doing business. And it seems like that's what you're doing, which I really respect. And I also wanted to know how are you able to do this work while also being a mom and a wife? Right, because I assume you probably have to travel to a lot of these different countries in which you work, with all Sorry.
Speaker 2:Get to travel, yes.
Speaker 1:Yes, you get to travel to a lot of these amazing countries, which I wanted to ask you, by the way, what are those countries? But how are you able to balance entrepreneurship, especially the type of work that you're doing, and also being, you know, a mom, wife, friend, daughter, etc.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's a good question and I mentioned earlier that I'm really focusing on on my mental health and all and all of that in the last and my pace of things in the last 18 months, because it's not something I've had a good perspective on the whole time. Before COVID, we were on this really great trajectory where we were growing fast and then, with COVID, everything stopped because everything that we do is in person. So women will host, get together with their friends where we come and we share about the jewelry, share about the artisans, and we really did that intentionally because we want this to be out in community and we want to be having fair trade warriors all over the place sharing about about this and so women can start to think about because women make the most of them. The purchasing decisions start to think about. Oh, I see fair trade bananas and they're 19 more cents a pound than these non fair trade, but I learned about that at that Threads Gathering. I'm going to buy the fair trade bananas, like we want that kind of conversation ripple happening.
Speaker 2:And in 2020, it all shut down. I mean it just, you know, shut down, and those probably two years, two and a half years, I mean, I just was sweating through my clothes on a daily basis Like, yes, we're social impact and, just like you mentioned, we need profit, we need to be able to make money to be able to pay for all the things that we have, and and so it was very, very nerve wracking time and I was working to the point where I was. I would only go to sleep almost when I got that like I don't know if you get this, but when I get really tired, I get nauseated a little bit. That's when I would go to sleep every night and I would lay down to bed just swirling for a while and finally fall asleep and it just was not healthy. And I remember it was July. It was July, not 2020, so July 2022.
Speaker 2:And we're, I was outside of our office talking with my, my bestie business partner and I just I just remember looking at her and saying I can't do this anymore. I just can't. I. My kids were even younger. My son was like probably two, two and a half, and I just I was realizing that I was missing the most fun, squishy moments of their life, where they want to be around me all the time. And I was missing that and and I was trying to squeeze them into my work life versus the other way. I really they're they're my number one and two, number ones, I should say, and my husband number one, number two, and then then the workers after that.
Speaker 2:But that's not how I was prioritizing my time, and so I just had to stop and make, start making promises to people, specifically my husband, about I'm going to go to sleep earlier. You know, for me I'm sort of a night also like 1030 is still earlier. I am not staying up this late anymore. I am working only these hours and just start making promises and and sharing with people what I'm committed to. And you know, you know, when you speak things out loud, they start to to happen. And so I started doing that over and over and over and just prioritizing that.
Speaker 2:And now, from time to time, like we just had our annual conference and I told my husband I'm going to be up every night this week. It's just, it's just what I'm going to do, and that's okay from time to time, but it's not the norm. And and I really I think it was like just making that declaration of of, of bringing my priorities back into alignment. That shifted my whole experience at our business and we've been growing. Like me, burning the midnight oil and being nauseatingly tired turns out didn't Do anything more than what we're doing right now. I just get to prioritize my time in a better way.
Speaker 1:I Love that you said that, because I think sometimes If we're not stressing about something, we feel like we're not moving the needle, but actually what we need to do is step back and relax and rest and actually To be able to move forward even faster.
Speaker 2:Do you know, just maybe think of this like I used to be scared of flying and sometimes, when I'm not scared, I think it's like a superstition, like oh no, the plane's gonna go down, like as if my worry is what's keeping it up in the air. It's that illogical to compare to what you just said. Yeah, if I'm not stressing about this company, then it won't be growing, and that's not true, and that's something else I'm really Working on and I would give myself like a C-minus on, you know, like how do I get into this ease and flow? But at least it's like on my radar to really really Focus on in 2024. This is my year, jimmy, to become a woman that I've always wanted to be. Like this is it?
Speaker 1:I'm declaring it now and you will, you will. Something that you mentioned that I wanted to ask you about is you said that you started making promises to your husband about, you know, taking better care of yourself and getting your rest, and something that you're very passionate about talking about is the notion of Promises promises versus boundaries and I kind of want to get into that a little bit. What do you mean by people should start making more promises and not just focus on boundaries?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I, I think.
Speaker 2:So boundaries and I haven't talked about it a lot, so I'm gonna stumble a little bit here, but but you know, with boundaries I think that that's a big term right now is, you know, set your boundaries and keep your boundaries, and it's important and and and I, just when I think about boundaries is sort of like it is meant to keep people out, right, and so like, like, keep something at bay.
Speaker 2:And so I think, when you say a boundary, it's like this is me and you should not step over that boundary, or otherwise, x, y, z, whatever there's some kind of almost consequence. And when I think about a promise, it's like we're in this together, like I'm saying, jimmy, I, I promise that this is how I'm gonna show up in our relationship. Or Even like a request, like Jimmy, I'm gonna show up this way and I request that you Show up this way in our relationship. So now it's like we're co-creating it and you actually have a say in accepting my request or Not, whereas the other way, the only way that we can have a relationship in a boundary, is you crossing it or not crossing it. But I don't know what do you think about that?
Speaker 1:I actually really like that notion because Boundaries seem so daunting for the person enforcing it and the person receiving it, because it's like, oh my god, this is, this is a hard line here and you know I can't cross it it. It adds some sort of tension to it, not always, but a lot of times. I think that's what comes with boundaries. But I like what you're saying about the promise thing, because it seems like you said co-creating, both people kind of have like have a say in some sense to do better and there's room to kind of adjust it. There's also room to adjust boundaries, but it feels less do or die and there's something about upholding a promise.
Speaker 2:Yeah and yeah, and you're like accepting the promise or accepting the request or whatever, and then if you don't do it, like you have a say in it as well, versus like you cross my boundary.
Speaker 1:Yes, I like that, I think. Yeah, I do like that. It seems a little bit more collaborative. And if someone cannot, if you promise someone something and they cannot uphold their end of whatever promise they need to make back to you, then that's for the person or Both parties to decide whether or not they can tolerate that. But I do like what you're saying about the promise thing. I it's a new way of thinking about boundaries are looking at it from a different angle. I really like that. You didn't stumble at all. Something else I wanted to ask you to is this whole idea about comparison. You obviously working as an entrepreneur I'm sure this happens to a lot of people. We tend to kind of look at what other people are doing and how fast other people are growing. So have you ever struggled with comparing yourself to other people and why do you think comparison is more of? Why do you think it's important for people to use comparison to kind of Be better rather than use it to kind of feel bad about themselves?
Speaker 2:themselves down.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you've really done your research. So, with the with that, I I did a talk on using comparison as a guide to joy, as opposed to the thief of joy, and I was just noticing I was talking with one of my friends and I was noticing that when I was jealous of somebody, or when I was comparing myself in a way that made me feel bad, it was when I really, like, looked back and like, like could break it down. I I saw that I was only doing that with people that I admired something about, and and it was in a way that I thought that I could or should be that way. So, as compared to, for example, if I was talking to an ultra marathoner or, you know, opera singer, I would only be, you know, amazed at them. I would only be enthralled at what they were doing, and with curiosity, no comparison, because I don't, I don't have the voice for an opera singer, I have no desire to be ultra marathoner, there's nothing to compare there. And so then, when I looked at the people that I was comparing myself to, it was because I thought, oh, I could be that way, I should be that way. Now, I know should not a word that we want to use and all that. But when I looked at I was like, oh, it's because I think that I possibly could. So what could I do that actually has me take a step more towards what they have or who they are, who they be in the world or situation that would. That would actually feed and have me expand myself in that way.
Speaker 2:And just recently, like as in Sunday so this is hot off the presses in terms of my breakthroughs I was in this at our conference. We had this woman come in and speak about quantum jumping. Jimmy, she's somebody that you should interview. Her names Ali Duncan. Oh my gosh, she's amazing. I can introduce you, but she Was did this meditation with us and one of the things that she was talking about is going towards joy and going towards gratitude in life and pleasure in life.
Speaker 2:And I was thinking about all of a sudden in this meditation. My two besties, who I started this company with, are Some of the funniest people you've ever met, so fun, so funny. Just met those magnetic personalities and Sometimes, when I was around them, I would feel not that like, oh, I'm the boring one, oh, I'm the lame, right, something like that, and then I didn't want to feel that way because of my besties and okay. So you can see the whole spiral and I got in this meditation oh, being around people like that and they're not the only ones in my life, but like being around people like that it's, it's me going towards pleasure, going towards joy. The fact that I have attracted those kind of people in my life is actually a testament to me and that I'm doing what brings me joy and pleasure in life by surrounding myself.
Speaker 2:So that was just another slice that I got as of Sunday on looking at comparison and how, how to actually not have it beat us down because we're going to have it, trying to avoid Comparing ourselves. And you know, you're good, yeah, everybody run your own race and it's the thief of joy. Well, good, yeah, how much has that done for us? Not a lot. So how can we actually sort of leverage comparison to focus us on what's really most important to us?
Speaker 1:I Love everything that you just said and as you were talking actually I think you said the word expand, and there's this woman that I listened to. Her name is Lacey Phillips, I believe. She has a podcast called expanded. She's like a manifestation expert and one of her Lessons or tips when it comes to manifestation Is that whenever you see someone doing something that you want to be able to do or you like the way they're doing it, they're your expanders. They're basically showing you that whatever you want is possible.
Speaker 1:And I was like, oh my god, that's so true. I've I've always kind of had that in my mind is like you know, whenever I see someone who has the number one podcast in a specific space that you know looks like me and you know All of that stuff, I'm like, oh okay, I can do this. They're, they're my expander. They're showing me that this reality is possible. And, like you said to with your besties in your life, with how Amazing they are, is really a testament to you, because your energy had to match their energy, and if you're saying that they are these wonderful people, it only means that you're just as wonderful as they are. So I love everything that you just said there.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yes, I mean again our expanders. I love that they they're showing us that, that we can, that that's possible, we can do that.
Speaker 1:I love that, yeah, okay, so I have to ask, because I had a conversation with a guy recently I'm forgetting his name, brett Mac magpiong, and he is a coach that specializes in purpose right, and he says purpose can be defined with three Ps passion, priorities and principles. Do you feel like, with the Reds worldwide right now, you are working in your purpose?
Speaker 2:So passion, principles and priorities, yes. If I define it by that, I would say yes, except for. I'm really looking Except for, like what I talked about with my kids. My kids are my priorities and they're not in the business yet, but I am thinking about ways. My daughter's seven and so I'm thinking about where my sons four and a half, but but my daughter, I'm thinking about ways to incorporate more kids into what we're doing and and I think when that happens, like the sees will part and I will ascend, it will be like the, the perfect company when all of that comes together. And Except for that, I would say yes. I mean I get to work in a community of women who are big-hearted, you know, mission-driven, up to something, women and willing to Grow themselves. This last weekend we were at our conference and it was all about just stretching ourselves and growing ourselves and getting out of that comfort zone, and that's who I get to spend my time with.
Speaker 2:And you know we've had multiple opportunities to shift the business model. Direct sales doesn't always have the best reputation, you know. So not often, but sometimes people say isn't that a pyramid scheme? It's like no, pyramid schemes are illegal and this is the best way to have women Involved and really to have everyone paid Based on their talents, you know, not based on where did they interview? Well, or or whatever, you know, I don't know certain, certain person has to leave the company first. It really is the best way for women to be able to be in community. And so We've had so many different times to change the model and I just keep coming back to it and thinking I do not want to do this on my own. If this model goes away, I think we'll just we would shut down threads because that is the model.
Speaker 2:Like, yes, it is about the women that we work with, but it's so much, so much of it and so much more shifting towards what women here in the US get. You know, women need a little bit extra money. Women are we're chronically feeling disconnected, like we talked about earlier. I just read the study 85% of women or no, sorry if people 85% of Americans say that they are Generally satisfied with life, which at first I thought, well, that's a lot more than I thought, like that's high. But then, when I thought about generally satisfied, that's like saying fine, that's like how's work fine, how's your marriage fine, harry, kids fine. Like how's life? It's fine, when only 20% said that they're passionate about work, and I want to change that number. I want to find, I want to be a place where women can come in any way that they want, to plug in and be led by their passions. Instead of this trajectory, this life of fine. And so, yes, I would say that it has all of it has my principles, it has my, my passion and 90% of my priorities.
Speaker 1:I Mean 90% is huge. So, yeah, I'm happy that you're working in your purpose and you know purpose looks different, different stages in life and we can have multiple purposes running at the same time. But I was just I what. It's nice to know that you're passionate about the work that you're doing and you're making change with it. So in the ten years that you've been doing this business, what Things have you learned about yourself? So, for example, in podcasting now for the last two, three years, I've learned that I'm able to be consistent in something that I really enjoy doing. If you had asked me that prior to podcasting, I probably would have been a lot harder on myself and thought, oh, I don't, you know, stick with something, but I've learned that I can stick with something. Um, I learned that I love connecting with people and having profound conversations. So in the ten years of you doing this work, what are some things that you learned about yourself that you didn't know before?
Speaker 2:Well, can I ask you a question back first is how has that trickled into other areas of your life, like the being consistent? That's such an incredible Thing to be. First of all, that's I mean, there's some quote I think is maybe Woody Allen, at 80% of life, is showing up. Okay, so that's huge. But then it's also like where to know yourself as somebody who's consistent. How is that affected other areas of your life?
Speaker 1:Wow, that's an amazing question. So it's affected my self-esteem. I have Grown so much in that self-esteem space, in that self-love space, because I've shown myself that I can show up and Honor the things that I'm passionate about. It's also trickled into health and wellness. So Making a promise to myself and staying consistent with working out and trying to eat better All of that it's just been a snowball effect in that as well being consistent and showing up in my Friendships, in my family relationships, keeping my word Right. When I say I'm gonna do something, I'm going to do it. So it's really affected my relationships in a positive way and my relationship to self has Dramatically increased. So that's such a beautiful question because I had never thought about it until you just said that just now.
Speaker 2:Yes, and now you can claim that for yourself like that's who you are. Yeah, from podcasting.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's amazing.
Speaker 2:It's amazing. Yeah, it's really cool. Yes, yes, yes, I love that, I love it. I love it. So, so for me, I would say I think I've been tested with my perseverance and my ability to focus. I do not always, and I do know that I can focus and get things done. I've also learned that I really I've learned that I love being around people. I don't know if I wouldn't have said that before, but just more and more making that choice and being so lit up when people win themselves that again, I think that this model is the perfect match for my personality of what I don't.
Speaker 2:I don't. I don't love being in the limelight, and I love being in the limelight if it's me shouting somebody else out, cheering somebody else on, which is more comfortable, and so one of the roles that I say that I play is I fan people's flames around me Like I want other people around me to do well, and I've, I've, consistently seen myself do that sort of organically and again, I don't know that I thought I would have said that before. It's, it's fun when you can see and claim that I had a coach who said this, like when you can claim something for yourself, then that's that's who you become and that and that's who you start showing up as consistently in other places, like you talked about, and so, claiming that for myself, even publicly here with you, it sort of makes it more and more true. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. I think they're not a lot of people who, well, I don't want to be dramatic, but I you don't run into a lot of people who don't want the spotlight for themselves necessarily and want to champion other people just because of the society we live in. You know, I think we don't feel like we're successful, we don't feel like we're doing the right thing or reaching a certain level on this. We're in front of the limelight but I love that you have found that you really like uplifting people and you know making and highlighting other people's light. I think that's a profound and amazing quality to have as a person.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and on, truthfully, like you just said, I think it's probably also compensating for something of you know I don't know what the term is imposter syndrome or like not good. It's like compensating in some way. I think I'm like don't look at me, I'm not great, but look over, there they're. You know, they're great.
Speaker 1:That's an interesting perspective. So do you still struggle with imposter syndrome?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean, I think you know I just in my life I've been put in various leadership positions like one I can think about in volleyball. I was asked to be the team captain on one of these teams and I just remember being like I am full of it. I'm going to go into the huddle and ask people to do a certain cheer or pump people up, like who am I to do that? And I think that that's not something, that it's not something I've fully quieted yet, and so it's something, yeah, that I work on. Of like what we have here is amazing. The community we have here is amazing. People want to participate in this like go cheer it on. This is one of the reasons I feel awful at social media, which is a big thing I'm taking on in 2024. Of like I need to start getting out there and sharing about what it is that we're doing, and it's just not, it's not natural Like I want to share again other people's posts or about my kids, but nothing about like look over here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know, I'm the same way. Funny enough, which is ironic because I have a podcast. Yeah, but I struggle with social media as well and whenever I have to like post myself, I'm like cringe in the sense of like. I don't want people thinking, oh, here she comes again, or who does she think she is. It's a lot of negative thoughts that are not true. We're meant to take up space and I think a lot of women actually struggle with taking up space. So I'm with you. This is our year to take up space, Angela.
Speaker 2:Okay, all right. All right, we have to follow it all.
Speaker 1:Yeah, exactly, we have to keep each other accountable. This has been such a great conversation with you. I enjoyed it so much. I always like to ask my guests for final words of wisdom. It could be about what we've been talking about or something completely different that you keep in your back pocket as you go through life.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think, just to go back what we said, you know, looking where you can make promises and make requests of people where they have a chance to participate. Even when you were talking about your health and well and wellness and I don't know if you said something about what you were eating or if I just brought that into my mind of like, what kind of requests and promises can we make of ourselves around what we eat and we don't eat, and when we work out and when we don't work out, and things like that. I just think that's such a powerful structure. So that's one thing I just want to reflect on. And then, when I was thinking about a quote, there's three quotes I love. One is by Tom Petty and it doesn't apply anymore because he's now gone, but he said I'm glad I'm getting older because at least I'm not dead, and so whenever I think about getting older I'm like, well, that's true, at least let's age that way.
Speaker 2:That's one. The second one is in a song by the Eagles and it says you can see the stars but still not see the light. And I don't know. There's something about it that for me it's like you can start to see what's coming but you really have no idea. And just be open into that curiosity and expansiveness of what's possible. And then my final one is if you want to go fast, go alone, and if you want to go far, go together. And that's an African proverb which is just so perfect for the work that we're doing about how do we bring more people into what we're trying to do and how we're trying to spread light around the world.
Speaker 1:I love all of those quotes. I'm a quote junkie, I'm always collecting quotes, so those are all so good. Where can people find you if they want to shop thread worldwide and if you're also comfortable? One thing I wanted to touch on but forgot to I don't think I asked you what countries do you source your products from? Yep?
Speaker 2:So I have to do it by continent. So we're in Ecuador, Bolivia, Guatemala, Uganda, Ethiopia, Vietnam, Indonesia and India.
Speaker 1:Awesome Yep.
Speaker 2:And people can shop from us at threadsworldwidecom. That's our Instagram, that's our Facebook, and then I'm on Instagram at angelathreadsworldwide. So pretty easy to find and I promise to start posting more Awesome.
Speaker 1:I'm going to link all of that in the show notes. Thank you again for stopping by a word to the wise. Thank you so much, jimmy, it was fun.
Speaker 2:Thank you so much, jimmy, it was fun.
Speaker 1:A big shout out to Angela Melphie for stopping by the show. Now, if you're interested in shopping at threadsworldwidecom, make sure that you use the discount code word to the wise for 20% off through May 31st. For more details, please check out the show notes you can follow, or to the Wise on Instagram and TikTok. At a word to the wise pod. We're also on YouTube. At a word to the wise podcast. Please be sure to subscribe If you are enjoying the show. Please rate, leave a review, share and subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. Till next time, peace and love, always, always, always.