Self(ish) Confidence

[INTERVIEW] Journey of Resilience, Remote Work, and Rural Success w/ Ingrid Deon

• Jess Clerke • Episode 254

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What if the twists and turns of life could actually pave the way for success beyond your wildest dreams? Join us on Selfish Confidence as we welcome Ingrid Deon, a remarkable woman whose path from an aspiring journalist to a thriving business owner in rural Nova Scotia is nothing short of inspiring. Ingrid's story is one of grit and grace, balancing the demands of single parenthood with the relentless pursuit of a career that not only supports her family but uplifts her community.

Throughout the episode, Ingrid shares her insights on redefining success, facing preconceived notions, and the joy of contributing to her local economy. Her story proves that no matter the hand you're dealt, with hard work and a little bit of magic, you can forge a path that not only transforms your life but also inspires those around you. Tune in to hear about Ingrid's journey, her thoughts on resilience, and how she continues to build a fulfilling life for herself and her son.

Connect with Ingrid:
IG: @wordcraftinc
www.word-craft.ca

Thank you for listening to Self(ish) Confidence! If you enjoyed this episode, please share it with a friend or on your social media and tag me @jess.clerke so I can personally thank you for helping spread some confidence + love!

Check out my website at: www.jessclerke.com

If you're on instagram, come say hi!! 👋👋
My Personal Account ---> @jess.clerke
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Speaker 1:

Welcome to Selfish Confidence, a place where we can connect and be real about how hard it is to be your damn self. My name is Jess and my goal is to help you build confidence and belief in yourself to live any life path you want, even if it's unconventional. It's time to flip off societal pressures and connect with women who've also felt on the outside by their life choices. We're here to encourage you to grab the mic and speak your truth. I know it can be scary, but we're in this together. Let's get started. Hello, hello and welcome to this week's episode of the Selfish Confidence Podcast. It's Jess here, and I have a very good friend of mine here today who, if you were at Speak Up, you saw her on our Shining Sisters panel and I just knew I needed to get a little more from her, a little more juice and just like her story here to all of you for those who weren't at Speak Up. So welcome Ingrid. How are you doing?

Speaker 2:

Thank you, I'm very excited to be here.

Speaker 1:

I'm so excited to have you when I asked you and you're like, yeah, sure I'll be, like, oh sweet, and I know you've been so busy lately, so I'm just so glad that we could have some time to sit down and to have a nice afternoon to chat.

Speaker 2:

Can you tell us a bit about you, Ingrid, and where your story?

Speaker 1:

got started. Oh sure yeah, how much time do you have.

Speaker 2:

You can start from birth if you want. Okay, okay, yeah. So I started my career as a journalist and worked for about five years in journalism and then ended up moving back home to rural Nova Scotia I live in Yarmouth County at the very bottom of Nova Scotia, so moved back here. No jobs in journalism, so I just did all kinds of different things. I worked in politics. Politics I managed a farmer's market, I worked in an art gallery, I worked in a historical village, did all these like random things, and had my son at that time and had kind of resigned myself to the fact that I was not going to be this powerful journalist, businesswoman, whatever that I always thought I would be and yeah, so I was just going to be like this mom who worked these kind of weird jobs. And then my ex-husband left when my son was three and so I really had to turn things around and pull up my bootstraps and really hustle. So I got a job as the assistant director of a museum, which sounds kind of fancy, but it paid $26,000 a year, so it was pretty low paying and in order to supplement, I got a part-time job working for the Chronicle Herald newspaper. I would call all of the fire departments and police departments in the province between 8 and 10 in the morning to find out if anything happened overnight, to write the little news briefs. So I did that and then I worked my job at the museum and then in the evenings and weekends I knit, wrote knitting patterns, sold them online, knit and sold my hand knits at different craft fairs and things. And so that's what I was doing, working three jobs while being a single mom living under the poverty line, really, really struggling.

Speaker 2:

And my other job was to try and get a job. So I was constantly applying for jobs in communications, pr, marketing, journalism, whatever. But of course there was nothing here in rural Nova Scotia. So I applied for a lot of jobs in Halifax, which is a three-hour drive one way. So whenever I applied to those jobs I would say like ideally I would work here one day a week and then work from home the rest of the week, and this was before the pandemic. No one wanted to do that. So I got rejected a lot, a lot, a lot. And for a year and a half I applied to a lot of jobs, got a lot of interviews and got rejected a lot, until eventually an agency in Halifax hired me as a social media coordinator. So it was a very entry level but it put me above the poverty line. So I was just so happy to be to be there and on my first day I my my boss was taking me through what we would be doing.

Speaker 2:

We were answering comments and messages to all of the different Nestle brands. So like Kit Kat, aero, smarties, coffee Crisp, nescafe, perrier, san Pellegrino, gerber all of the different Nestle brands. The comments and messages would come in. I had a response matrix. I would answer them. It was the most satisfying job I've ever had because it was like ticking things off of a to do list all day long. So you would answer and it would disappear from your screen. Answer disappear just all day long like hits of dopamine all day long loved it. And I remember looking at my boss and saying I love this. And she said no one's ever said that.

Speaker 2:

But I really felt like I had found like this is, this is what I want to do and I worked my way up to manager of social really quickly and was managing a team in Halifax and in Toronto, working in Halifax one day a week, being in Toronto almost once a month and then working from home in the Armitage County the rest of the time, and I was, you know, doing all kinds of different things. It was really great. And eventually I hired someone in Toronto and when I saw their offer letter I saw that they were getting offered $15,000 a year, more than me and I was their boss. And so I went to my boss and I asked if I could make that much money or more because I was this person's boss, and I was told it's not going to happen. And at that moment I thought, oh, I wonder if I could like have my own business Never something that I wanted to do ever but I was not getting ahead. Like I was getting promotions and I was above the poverty line but I wasn't making a whole lot of money. And everyone knew that I used to be poor and that I was scrappy and they knew that my cost of living was pretty low. Like I had bought my Grammy's house, did not pay a whole ton for it, and people knew that and they took advantage of it and so I started planning.

Speaker 2:

My exit Took me over a year, but I would meet with anyone who ran their own business that I knew and would try and like absorb some entrepreneurial spirit or something from them, just by having tea with them. And I eventually left and started WordCraft in October of 2019. And when I did start WordCraft, nestle came knocking and they became my first client. So having a national client as my first client, a multi-billion dollar business, as my first client, was rocket fuel for the business and was really proof to any other potential client that I was not just some hack.

Speaker 2:

I knew what I was doing and large companies wanted to work with me. So my other first client was Manulife Bank, another multi-billion dollar business that was a national bank. And then I just started amassing other clients and through the past five years we've now become a team of five. We're headquartered in Yarmouth, nova Scotia. My mission is to hire in rural Nova Scotia. I'm so proud to say that all of my team is either from rural Nova Scotia or living in rural Nova Scotia, and it just feels amazing to be able to create those opportunities that I didn't have. So that's it in a nutshell.

Speaker 1:

I love it and I remember, even when you're talking at Speak Up, about that moment of asking for that extra income. It's like you weren't even asking for that much and for them to say no, I think everybody in the room's heart just stopped. They're just like wait, what the Like? How could they say no? Like, if you saw this other offer letter and it was quite clear that someone was going to be making more than you and you were going to be their boss, I think it would be one of those like oops moments. Like oops, we messed up. Yeah, we definitely should be paying you more.

Speaker 1:

So the fact that you left and you said like bye and took, you know, their biggest client with you is the coolest thing ever, like the best. I love this story so much. But, ingrid, how did you deal with that rejection over and over again? Like that rejection with the process of looking for a new job in the city and them saying like no, and also like not altering your plan to leave a rural town, to leave Yarmouth, and to just say, well, I got to move to the city because that's where the jobs are, which I think a lot of people tend to do so like, how did you deal with the rejection and stick with the vision that you had for your life?

Speaker 2:

So because I shared custody of my son, I could have moved. We didn't have a clause that said that I couldn't. But I just thought it would be so unfair to my son to make him travel three hours to visit his dad every other weekend. Three hours there and three hours back. You know that's not fun for a little kid. So that was the main reason that I didn't do that. It was all for my son. And the reason that I kept persevering, despite all of the rejection again, 100% for my son, having another little human that was relying on me, was the push that I. You know, I was always quite ambitious and quite confident, but not nearly as ambitious and confident as I was after I became a single mom. Something about that just really really lights a fire in you. So that's why I was working so hard and just kept pushing and that's why I had the three jobs, because it was. It was rough, like it was hard to keep food on the table.

Speaker 1:

And you know.

Speaker 2:

I was baking. I would bake three loaves of bread every week. On the day that I wasn't working at the museum, I would bake bread free loaves because we ate a lot of peanut butter toast, a lot. That was like our main meal and sometimes, when I thankfully my mom and dad lived like a 12 minute walk away and still do so a lot of times I would just be like are you making supper? Can we come?

Speaker 2:

over and eat your food. But yeah, it was all for him. All for him, A hundred percent. I don't know if I would have worked that hard and took the, the rejection as openly as if it was just me.

Speaker 1:

It's so interesting how, like, when there's another person like, that is the thing and I know a lot of people say that with, like having children and of course, I don't know that experience yet, but I will soon and it's just so interesting how like we'll do it for other people, and this could be like your staff, your, your family, your partners, anything but we often forget to just be like, oh well, I'm important too, like I should probably do this for myself. Um, so I just I love how you showed up and that you kept going and you kept pushing, um, even to be such like an interesting time to start a business, right Like fall of what was it? 2019, you said Like what an interesting time to just be like, yeah, let's do this. And the world was going to change very soon.

Speaker 1:

So I'm so curious, too on how you overcame just all of the things that the world tells us when it comes to building WordCraft, when it comes to building a business in general in a rural community, so like in a small town, and for those of you who are listening who are like I don't know what yarmouth is or where yarmouth is or what you're talking about. I don't even know where nova scotia is. Uh, it is a smaller area of our small, already small province and, for those of you who are in the states, who are listening, you can take a ferry from maine to to yarmouth so you can go visit Ingrid there if you wanted, but I feel like most people like I have no idea where this is, but this is like a small town in an already small province.

Speaker 1:

So how did you build this and focus, so true, on staying with rural, staying with a small town?

Speaker 2:

yeah, and for context, it's three hours drive from the nearest Starbucks, so that's how rural we are.

Speaker 1:

Or sometimes I like to tell people like there's like a cost, like three hours to Costco or something. Like people are like oh wait, you don't even have a Costco.

Speaker 2:

Three and a half hours from the nearest functioning airport. Yeah, yeah, so it's, we're far. We're far from things and that is definitely a challenge to running a business. But that being said, because of the timing, when I launched my business, you know, I didn't know that the pandemic was going to happen and that everyone would be doing things remotely. Had I known, maybe I would have been a little bit more optimistic about how my business would have grown as it was. Pandemic happened and everyone was suddenly. Everyone suddenly needed a social media strategy and extra social media content because they weren't running their brick and mortars. So it was, you know. As much as it was not great for a lot of businesses, it was actually quite a positive experience for my business.

Speaker 2:

But today I find a lot of business development is really hard from such a rural area because I'm not meeting potential clients here, like I'm not meeting Nestle here, potential clients here, like I'm not meeting Nestle here. We do have some local clients and I want to retain that because it's fun to be able to work with some locals here, but a lot of our clients are not here, they're across the country. I've also done some business development in the United States, so we're trying to get some clients there as well. So, yeah, I do have to spend a lot of time driving to an airport that's three and a half hours away in order to do some business development, to meet some other, some potential clients. It's a challenge.

Speaker 2:

It's a challenge that I'm willing to take on, though, because I I want to create those opportunities that I did not have, and today you can live in your own earth and you can work at an award-winning marketing agency, which is not something that has ever happened before. This is a place that is very reliant on three different forms of economy we have tourism, we have fishing, we have forestry. That's kind of all we have here. So to be able to create a new industry uh, even though you know I'm only employing five people however, hopefully we'll keep growing, we'll start employing more people, but just to be able to diversify the economy a little bit, um, and have that little impact is like a big deal to me, as someone who used to make three loaves of bread in order to eat peanut butter toast every day.

Speaker 1:

And it's interesting that you say, like little impact, like I don't think the five people that you employ would say that you make little impact in their life, right, like it's huge and to be able to have jobs like that in their community that they could, you know, be proud of and be excited about is so cool. Because, yeah, I understand the small town lifestyle.

Speaker 1:

My husband's from Clare which is about 20 minutes from Yarmouth and you don't always get to have your choice in in careers and in jobs. Right, you pick fishing, right, or you, you know work at the local store. Like there's not really many options. So the fact that you've created really cool, fun, exciting jobs for people in your town is like so cool and I feel like there are many people who are really proud of you for that.

Speaker 1:

But I bet the people who work for you are, like exceptionally proud to be able to have something like that at home, like and if their parents too right to not have to move to the city will be a benefit, because Yarmouth is beautiful for those of you who are listening it is. There's some great tourism there, you could go check it out. But it is beautiful and if that's your home like, moving here wouldn't be all that like great, just for a job like and a jobs that are also like highly competitive here in the city too.

Speaker 1:

so I think it's really cool that you've been doing that. And, as a single mom, too, like blows my mind every time I hear that to think you had a little three-year-old running around and you're like how am I going to make this work? Well, I'm going to knit at night and I'm going to bake this bread on my day off and I'm going to work with you Like just wild. So how did you rewrite?

Speaker 2:

Honestly, I don't know. I don't know how I had the time to do all of that.

Speaker 1:

It's like when we look back we're like, wait, what did I do? Yeah, Do you still knit Good?

Speaker 2:

question. I do, yeah, all the time?

Speaker 1:

Yeah, that's awesome. How did you rewrite your story and access this confidence in you early on, like back when you know, when your son was little, for this future version of yourself and for your family?

Speaker 2:

I so, yeah, and I mentioned earlier that I had this vision of being a journalist like a working woman, a professional woman, and I always saw myself in that role, you know, getting dressed up nicely and going to an office and you know that kind of thing. And then when I, when my son was little and I was working all of these kind of weird jobs and I just kind of resigned myself to, ok, I'm just going to be like a mom who, you know, works at a historical village in the summers and, you know, is on unemployment in the winter and whatever. I guess this is my life, that's fine. But then when I, when my ex-husband left, it was kind of a new like. It was like a clean slate. It was like, oh okay, I can, I can change things, like I don't have to keep doing this, I don't have to be stuck here. So I thought that I would probably move away.

Speaker 2:

And then I had that thought about my son traveling to see his dad and how, how important I knew it was for him to see his dad and I didn't want to do that to him.

Speaker 2:

So then, when this opportunity to like have a hybrid working environment where I could work at a marketing agency and also work from home and have like a professional job, that was like it was a new realization that I could maybe still have. I could still be that Ingrid that I had always dreamed of, being, this professional Ingrid. And then, when it occurred to me that I could have my own business which is never something that I ever thought of and that was like, oh, she's like a powerful like, she's a businesswoman, like running her own business, wow. So, yeah, I don't know how that all worked out, but I was really striving for to get that, that, that businesswoman, that vision that I had, and having that clean, clean slate and being able to just do whatever I wanted after my ex-husband left, just seemed like a new opportunity. Um, hard to describe that because I was also facing so much adversity, being a single mom and having to work three jobs. Um, but yeah, I I don't know. I don't know if that's the right answer.

Speaker 1:

Um, yeah, they say that the visions that we have, it's like you have this vision. Because, yeah, I don't know, I don't know if that's the right answer. They say that the visions that we have, it's like you have this vision because a future version of you already has it. And I often try to hold on to that, because I have these visions that I see and I'm like, well, that's crazy, like that's never going to happen, right, but like they say, these come to you because a future version of you, like is totally going to get it, because a future version of you like is totally going to get it. And I just imagine you as, like a younger version of yourself seeing this.

Speaker 1:

You know, beautiful Ingrid that I see now in a suit going and talking to Nestle and traveling all over and speaking on stages and like, yeah, if only like you could see that, then right, it would be so cool. But even as you were talking too about like, be like you know, working in a tourism place and then like being unemployed for the winter, it's very common in these smaller towns for that to be the reality. Did you ever?

Speaker 1:

have a judgment from people who were like why do you want more, ingrid? Like this is good, we get the winners off. Like this is good, like you're making enough, you bought your grandmother's house or you have peanut butter toast. Like how could you want more? Like did you ever have that judgment from people in your town?

Speaker 2:

I don't think so, but I did. I do still get this once in a while. If I'm at the grocery store or something, Sometimes people will say like they'll see what I'm doing and they'll say, wow, like things really turned around really fast for you, Like this happened really fast. It doesn't feel like it happened really fast for me, but from what people see on the outside you know, on social media or whatever they see, you know, okay, she used to be just working at that historical village half the year and drawing unemployment in the winter, um, and knitting, Um, and, and then, oh, now she's running her own business and she's like working with Nestle and she's speaking on stages, like you mentioned. Um, wow, Things really just turned around.

Speaker 2:

And it's true, it is a short time. Like 10 years ago I was that poor single mom. Today I'm running this business. That's, you know, doing great things. But from what you see on the outside is not like that. There's a lot of struggle, busts on the way there and it's interesting how people see it just from the outside, looking in. So I don't think I ever felt judgment, but just people being really surprised that I turned it around so quickly and seemingly so easily. But I can tell you it wasn't quick and it wasn't easy.

Speaker 1:

That's always what we see on the outside, right, because we'll just see like even I feel that with this pregnancy, everyone's like oh, your pregnancy is flying by right, and you're like shut up, it is not.

Speaker 1:

But, from the outside. People only see the snippets. They only get to see what you share with them, or these glorified pieces of it. And if you could give someone who's listening to this right now a piece of advice that they could change their story, they could change their whole life, they could shift their entire world in a year or 10, like what would that advice be for them?

Speaker 2:

I think the cards that you have been dealt are not necessarily what you have to keep. Yeah, that's really how I looked at it. I was dealt these kind of shitty cards. I acknowledge that I've had a lot of privilege. You know, I did not grow up poor. I ended up poor eventually. But I grew up with a lot of privilege and I had my parents a 12-minute walk away who could make dinner if I didn't have any toast left. So you know, I definitely had a lot of help along the way.

Speaker 2:

But yeah, the cards that you've been dealt are not necessary. They don't dictate the rest of your life. But yeah, the cards that you've been dealt are not necessary. They don't dictate the rest of your life. You can pick it up and rewrite your story. It does take a lot of work and if you have another little human that you're helping along, that you're their only source of life, then it makes it a lot easier to push yourself. But yeah, you can. You can totally turn things around and you don't have to keep those cards that you've been dealt. You can throw them away and make some new cards.

Speaker 1:

Burn them, burn them down.

Speaker 2:

Oh, I love that.

Speaker 1:

And Ingrid, do you still like peanut butter toast?

Speaker 2:

I do, yeah, yeah, I do.

Speaker 1:

And my son does too. I bet I eat a lot of peanut butter toast this pregnancy. That's the staple, so I love it. It's so easy, yeah, and it's like almost a full meal.

Speaker 2:

It's delicious.

Speaker 1:

There's a little bit of protein in there, especially if you're making your bread homemade like mama.

Speaker 2:

That's, that's great yep, lots of bread, brown bread, molasses, brown bread, yeah, delish, I love it yeah can you tell everyone listening where they can connect with you online?

Speaker 1:

where can they find you? Get to know?

Speaker 2:

what wordcraft is doing and all of the things so, yeah, we have, we have a website, uh, word hyphen craft dot ca. Um. But I'm also on instagram, uh, at wordcraft inc. Um, and you can find me on linkedin, just ingrid dion. So, yeah, those are the main places to find me hanging out and feel free to to connect. Yeah, oh, and it's wordcraft, not not woodcraft, not worldcraft and not swordcraft oh, swordcraft, that would be a good name I know it's, I think it's my next business.

Speaker 2:

Like, uh, I will get into um custom swords, yeah can't wait.

Speaker 1:

Keep me posted on that one, I love it. So I have a few questions that I ask every guest that comes on the podcast. You ready, yep, okay, what is?

Speaker 2:

your favorite compliment to receive. Anytime someone compliments me on my son, those are the best ones. Like, yeah, not necessarily for me, but they're like, oh, he's such a nice kid, or, you know, he's so polite. I'm like that's the best compliment I can receive.

Speaker 1:

Oh, I love that, and even when we were just talking before we hit record, it was the same like just chatting, but like he sounds like a really great kid, Sounds like you have done a really great job, so I think that that's awesome.

Speaker 2:

The fact that you have a teenager, though blows my mind.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, I know it's crazy. What is your favorite thing to do to?

Speaker 2:

boost your mood when you're feeling grumpy. A cup of tea, oh yeah, it usually boosts my mood, yeah.

Speaker 1:

What kind King.

Speaker 2:

Cole is my brand. Yeah, king Cole.

Speaker 1:

Nice, that's pretty simple. Earlier, when you said tea, tea too, I was like that's what I've been drinking, so a little chai over here today.

Speaker 2:

It's a good day for chai King. Kohl's are a client, so that's why I have to say that they're the ones I would drink. I also enjoy them. I was like because you have to say Not just the president of the hair club for men. I'm also a client.

Speaker 1:

We like King Cole. King Cole is pretty cool yeah, do you have a song or a quote that boosts your confidence?

Speaker 2:

um, I was thinking about this one. This was the only one that kind of stumped me. Um, but my, my former boss actually the one who told me that he wasn't going to give me a raise um, who is not a terrible human. I believe that that direction came from above his head. I still he would. He is one of the most influential people on my career. He gave me that opportunity when no one else could or did, and he taught me everything I know about social media and running a business pretty much, but he used to always say stay hungry and stay humble All the time. He would say that, and those are words that I will live by. He's also our client twice now, his business and an organization that he's in. So I still have a very close relationship with him and I know that he would have given me that raise if he could have, but I believe that it came from higher up and they didn't want to give me that raise so he's not a bad guy and his quote stay hungry and stay humble.

Speaker 2:

I will always stay hungry and stay humble.

Speaker 1:

Oh, that's a good one. Stay hungry and stay humble. I bet they're over there right now and they're just like man Ingrid, the one who got away, yeah, One who got away.

Speaker 2:

They didn't think I had it in me.

Speaker 1:

let me tell you Well, they were wrong and I often think those like no's and those rejections that you were getting, it's like leading you on this path, like there was more for you and you were in that small pot and that nope, god didn't want you in that small pot.

Speaker 2:

So challenges, rejection. All of those things are wonderful things in your life. They're gifts. So my husband leaving me was a gift. It did not feel like a gift at the time. No, not getting that raise a gift.

Speaker 1:

All of these things have been gifts and they're the reason that I'm where I am now, and I think that's a great reminder for anyone listening today who's in that season that they are getting the shit passed to them over and over and over again. It's a gift, and I know that that's sometimes. It can be really hard to see it like that when you're in it, but it is a gift and it is something that's going to lead you in the right direction. So thank you, ingrid.

Speaker 2:

In fact, whenever I interview people for jobs, I ask them to tell me about a time when they've struggled, and if they have a hard time coming up with an answer, I don't want to hire them. I only hire people who have struggled. That's my one stipulation, and I honestly don't care about your resume or what it looks like or what you've done.

Speaker 1:

I want to know about your struggle about your resume or what it looks like, or what you've done.

Speaker 2:

I want to know about your struggle. Oh, that's awesome Not that people are struggling but that we put a focus on that over everything else I love to hear about your pain. That's not why I ask. I don't want to.

Speaker 1:

We know you're a good human, don't worry, I don't want to. We know you're a good human, don't worry, oh.

Speaker 2:

I love it, Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Ingrid, for being here and for hanging out with us today and for sharing your story with us. I know that sometimes it can be hard, especially to go back and to relive some of this stuff, but you've created such a beautiful life for you and for your son. It's just so beautiful to see and, as someone who is becoming a parent to a little boy, I really admire everything that you're doing and I love watching it. So thank you for being here.

Speaker 2:

Thank you so much. This has been so much fun.

Speaker 1:

What's up, sis? I am so glad we could hang out today. If you love this episode, send it to a friend or share it on your social media and tag me so I can personally thank you for helping me sprinkle some confidence in the world. And don't forget you are magic. Let's show the world your shine.

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Jess Clerke

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