Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Brittany Wheeler. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Brittany, appreciate you joining us today. Parents play a huge role in our development as youngsters and sometimes that impact follows us into adulthood and into our lives and careers. Looking back, what’s something you think you parents did right?

My parents/grandparents modeled love and kindness. As far back as I can remember kindness being spread from each of them in their own way. There were several times visiting my mother at work in which a customer or client would praise her. Her acts of service and kindness played out in her job leaving a legacy in her community. My dad was a man who could make anyone feel like a million dollars. We used to travel through toll booths in the state I grew up in. When my dad found out that tollbooth workers had high depression and suicide rates, he became determined to be a solution. After that revelation every time we drove through the tollbooth ready to hand the attendant money he would look the person in the eye, thank them and say, “I hope today is better than your best day ever!”. In those moments I watched as the toll person smiled and I knew that even for just a couple of seconds that person felt love and kindness.
When I was in elementary school and I had a teacher workshop or day off my Papa would take me with him in his purple Chrysler with tan leather seats to go visit clients. On our way we would stop at a local bakery and pick up pastries to bring to each client. He made everyone in the office feel special. I wasn’t just his helper those days carrying pastries. I was Bob Anderson’s granddaughter and that felt like my Papa was a King. The more I went with him I noticed that while he would bring pastries for the office to share, he brought specific pastries to the secretaries and support staff. He made money on copiers and printers but made a living by being kind. He knew the power of being kind and treating people with respect regardless of their role. It is a practice that has become a part of my own framework.
Witnessing love in action was my Nana’s forte. She was a teacher and her hugs could cure any heartache. As a child shadowing in her classroom I witnessed her love and how she made her students feel. It was a love that was so pure and it never mattered who they were, what they looked like or what clothes they were wearing. My Nana had a heart big enough to love them. It is one of my most precious testimonies of her and a quality I am so honored we share. Growing up watching kindness displayed through my parents and grandparents made a profound impact on my life. It has helped me love people well and create space for those who maybe don’t know they’re loved. I never miss a chance to smile and look someone in the eye or use someone’s name to greet them at the grocery store. Kindness is not hard and in fact costs nothing. Being a light and loving others inspired me to create a pillar in my podcast called “being kind”. I interview guests asking them for their own testimonies of being kind or receiving kindness. I pray that by modeling kindness and using the platform of my podcast that many more people will see its power and choose kindness over anything in everything they do.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I was born and raised in New England for most of my child hood. I was a product of divorce and moved around a lot. Which led me to Binghamton, NY where I spent my senior year of high school. I am a plant mom who loves to cook. I am a “born and bred” New England Patriots fan and I love small business. I am so passionate about supporting small business, I have chosen not to live in places because there weren’t enough small business options. While national brands are our reality I want to always have the freedom to support men and women who are filling a need and are the backbone of our communities. Ok, end rant. As a child I was baptized Catholic but didn’t have a relationship with Jesus. I became an entrepreneur in my 20’s starting a health and wellness business with Arbonne. I found myself surrounded by incredible men and women who locked arms with me in life and helped me to step into the best version of myself. Ultimately choosing to follow and walk the way Jesus does, with love and light. My journey and the path I have taken is absolutely not the norm. I am 34 years old and have finally begun the climb in my career and ambitions. In my 20’s I had finished college, gotten a masters degree but floated around careers that didn’t showcase my talents. I am proud to say that all of my careers have built a portfolio that has equipped me to deliver results and serve people in each of my endeavors. But it was a long road of holding onto a desire for more. The traditional “9-5” or J.O.B (just over broke) lifestyle wasn’t satisfying. Even though I had stable income and at times promotions I was hungry for something different. In 2021, after a three year career in higher education I made the decision (with God at the helm) to walk away from my J.O.B. I had nothing lined up but thankfully my sister had suggested I talk with a boutique owner in town who could use my retail experience. I prayed on what to do with this opportunity. I have always been someone who believes if you walk away or leave something it is because it was meant to be left behind. So going back to a retail career that I held prior didn’t feel right. But God presented me with the idea of consulting with small businesses. It was a way for me to take my years in retail, operations, higher education and more and as my own boss create growth and success for business owners. Due to my capacity for running million dollar businesses or 100k+ square foot spaces I have been able to scale my experience to help small business owners. In 2022, I founded Local Motive Collaborative with which I advise small business owners how to grow and scale their businesses in order to create a sustainable presence in the community. I am so grateful that God has put business owners in my path who want to fill a need and make a difference. I have since realized that small business advising has been a vehicle for some of my biggest dreams and desires to help people. My first client helped me discover my talent and passion for panel moderating as a result of hosting and moderating a panel series in her shop during the spring of 2022. In 2023, I started my podcast The Brittany Wheeler Show. I interview ordinary people who live extraordinary lives. It’s these everyday men and women whose stories will inspire others to live to their potential. In this last year I have unlocked an incredible gift of panel moderating and showcasing individuals through raw and authentic conversations. Ultimately, I am in the changing lives business. I love when I help someone step into their greatness. When I can help an individual unlock layers of doubt and disbelief and guide them to take a step in faith. I have been able to do this using the vehicles of my Arbonne business, Local Motive Collaborative and The Brittany Wheeler Show. In my early 20’s maybe even right at the end of high school, I wanted my name to mean something. I envisioned Brittany Wheeler being a household name. People would know me and my work. Over the last 5 years I have realized my name is not about my work, but about the lives I impact for the better. No matter whther it is a friend I just met or a business agreement I want everyone to feel respected, loved and empowered by me. My brand is me, Brittany Wheeler. No matter what “vehicle” I pursue I am the special sauce. Uncovering this potential inside me is what I am most proud of. I am equally proud of the lives and businesses I have changed and I am on the edge of my seat for what God has next for me. I encourage you, whoever you are, to lean into your potential despite fear or doubt. Don’t worry about what you have done or what you haven’t. If you have a burning desire to be and do something with your life, don’t wait. I push through, not past but through fear every day. I have determined that fear I can handle but regret I cannot. So push through your fear so you have no regrets of who you could become and the lives you could change.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

I have always had a boisterous personality. As a youth I was outspoken, outgoing and sometimes out of bounds. I could talk to anyone, and still can. My personality in my opinion was beyond my years as a teen and young adult. I had grown up sitting at the adults table. But it was this personality that opened doors for jobs as a teenager and different opportunities such as being hand chosen to attend a leadership conference. I was praised by my personality and my ability to dive into conversation and get to know people. When I was 16 I was began my retail career. I could talk to people, and work for stores I loved. I was often praised for my outgoing personality and ability to sell products or open up credit cards. I believed in what I was selling and at that time I believed I was helping those I sold to. My career in retail spanned over the course of ten years where I won awards and promotions. I sold flip flops like it was no one’s business. I even coined a name for a dress that came out each year. I taught teams and individuals how to sell and connect to people like I did. When I started my Arbonne business at 24 it made sense that I would be great at selling nutrition and skincare products. But something wasn’t right. Everything I had been identified as and skills I had honed in on were not working. Everything I knew about business was coming to a halt. I was actually finding that people didn’t want to be sold to. I was rejected not because the products were bad, but because I wasn’t listening. During the first few years with Arbonne I had to unlearn everything I was taught about sales. It was hard to look in the mirror and realize I was selling but was I ever listening? I discovered that I was so good at selling that I was telling people what they wanted, not listening to what they needed. I began to work harder at listening to the needs of my customers and less to the goals or desires I had for myself or my business. My passion was contagious but it couldn’t stand on its own, I needed to be a testimony myself and be willing to recommend solutions for my customers needs. The hardest part was breaking up with my identity as an outgoing retail/salesperson. I realized that my personality is a gift and it can get me in the door, but it is listening and building relationships that keeps you in the room. In the most simplest way to say it, I unlearned salesmanship and relearned servant hearted ship. This unlearned lesson has changed my career. It has helped me grow a strong customer base and attract clients who want me to help them. It has opened up opportunities and conversations because I create space for others to be seen and heard. I am beyond grateful for unlearning this lesson because my capacity to serve and help has grown. It has also stretched me in seasons when it is easy to be me focused, but the point is always to be others focused.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

Anyone who owns their own business or defines themselves as an entrepreneur knows that you become everything for your business. You are the marketing team, payroll, sales, strategy, and don’t forget the boss. Being an entrepreneur is hard work and I thank God it’s not for everyone because it would be a saturated market. While a business owner has to be a little crazy and more than likely is not type A they do have to wear many hats and balance them. Most of our society has in their mind that small business owners don’t make money in five years and so on and so forth. While that statistic is true, it’s because we are teaching small business owners to do everything. As a business advisor I am going against the current, teaching business owners when and how to outsource areas of their business they are not good at or they don’t enjoy. The business owner is the face of their brand and the only person (besides a business partner) who can grow the business. So if a business owner is focused on daily tasks that in my opinion they can pay someone to do, they cannot grow their business or brand. My style of teaching business owners how to implement a strategic outsourcing plan helps the business owner breathe a little bit and work towards something. If you don’t like doing your marketing, then don’t. Create a line item in your profit and loss sheet to save each month so you can afford to hire and outsource. One of my clients loves their business and is on a mission to help the community. But they do not like working in their own shop. After coaching them I determined that forcing them to be in the shop would actually have a negative impact on the business. So we created a plan to implement part time help with a focus on keeping labor cost low but increasing sales. Since she has hired her staff she has been meeting her weekly sales goals, or has been just shy of them. Hiring a few employees not only created jobs but has free’d up the business owner mentally and physically to bring more revenue into the shop. My goal to help the wellness of my client is equally matched to the success of their business. I encourage date nights, time with friends and simply drinking lots of water. Time and time again it proves to yield results in each of my clients’ businesses. This approach is not the norm, and with each client I have ever worked with I have left the owner better in some way. I believe that my approach to holistic business advising has helped build my reputation. Amongst many other character traits and qualities I am teaching business not just for today’s entrepreneurs but for the next generation. I want to turn small business on its head for the little girls and boys who are selling baseball cards on the playground or selling baked goods to their neighbors and putting some of that profit to charity. I want the current entrepreneurs to make money, own a business for as long as they want and then sell or retire because they grew a sustainable business. Never compromising what matters most for the duration of the business. Don’t get me wrong, sacrifice must happen. But not in the way our society has deemed acceptable for a business owner. I am really proud of the way I advise businesses. I look forward to seeing more and more business advisors follow suit.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.localmotivecollaborative.com
• Instagram: @thebrittanywheelershow
• Linkedin: Brittany Wheeler