Today we’d like to introduce you to Rachel Gardner.

Hi Rachel, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

I am a musician, a record store owner, and a passionate supporter for the arts and nature. I have a degree in Botany and yet I’m terrible at keeping house plants. I love performing music on stage and yet have stage fright. I am an extrovert who loves people and yet I struggle with social anxiety. A constant contradiction and yet I have clarity on my path and what I can offer my community.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

It has not been a smooth road. I can’t imagine anyone would look back at their journey of accomplishments and say they faced no obstacles. I think it is human nature to face challenges on our paths, whether we create them internally or they are presented externally.

The challenges I have faced in building my business (and continue to face) are a mix of internal and external. In any entrepreneurial situation you must be willing to take risks if you are going to stand out amongst your peers. Those risks can position your business to succeed or fail. To take these risks you have to feel confident in yourself and your ability to handle any outcome. Having dealt with many failures and challenges in my life I do feel I am equipped to trust my ability to weather the ups and downs of business ownership, but I still have my internal struggles. The challenges and failures I have faced in my life have also brought with them elements of self doubt and imposter syndrome as I have had to rebuild and be willing to try again.

To allow myself to take risks I have to approach my decisions with accountability and integrity. I know that there are many forces outside of my control, whether with my customers, my competition, or with macro trends in the economy and culture that can impact my business. I take that information in and make decisions daily from a framework of “is this best for my customer, my employees, my brand, and myself”. Being able to use those filters to determine how to move forward allows me a North Star to guide towards.

My biggest internal challenges at the moment are to continue to trust in my vision and my instincts, to trust in my team, and to not let self doubt get in my way. I care deeply about building a community as an aspect of my business and I try to prioritize that above any personal gains to keep myself centered and aligned with my goals.

As you know, we’re big fans of Musicology Co. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?

Musicology Co is a woman-owned record store and music boutique that is a hub for local music. The store has weekly live music that is free and open to all ages, and a monthly songwriter open mic. In addition there are a variety of signing events and workshops open to the public. It is a place for all who want to connect to music.

Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?

Growing up I was born with significant damage to my ears which impacted my ability to hear and affected my balance. I was a very curious and tenacious child. Many things that were easy for other kids were challenging for me, which meant trying over and over to learn them. Bike riding, roller skating, etc would often leave me having to pick myself up time and time again.

I grew up in a musical family and loved to dance and play all sorts of instruments. After multiple surgeries my hearing and balance improved, but the tenacity and picking myself up again and again never went away.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.musicologyco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/musicology_co_
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1YVHJgB8Ec/

Image Credits

Photography by Karen Mason Blair