729. A Wild Ride With Detours and Bumps Along the Way

Courtney Blair

Courtney Blair, Founder and Owner of Zippy Content

“Walk through the fire….just do whatever it is….if what you want to do is start your own company….do what you have to do to make that happen….it might feel like a step backwards at first, but it’s like 10 steps forward really…”

Courtney Blair, Founder and Owner of Zippy Content, started her business out of necessity and willingness by the universe. When she was pregnant, desperate for work and unable to find it (people don’t like to hire pregnant women when they know they’ll soon need a couple of paid months off for maternity leave), she began contacting anyone and everyone she knew for work she could do from home. Lo-and-behold, someone had something for her to do. It was her dad. He had his own online business in the psychology realm, and he wanted to be featured on podcasts. Fast forward three years, and Zippy Content was born. She now represents almost 100 entrepreneurs, authors, coaches, and consultants from across the globe, and finds them interviews with the coolest podcasters on earth.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“When I was pregnant and desperate for a job my dad, a psychologist, offered me work getting him featured on podcasts, which I did for a year and a half. Then my dad and I talked and I realized I was sitting on a service that all kinds of people would pay me for. I learned how to offer booking services, track interviews with all their details and started building up a network by asking podcasters I had already worked with if they would be open to receiving guest suggestions. From there it grew like crazy.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

“When I was 17 my parents sent me to a wilderness program called the Anasazi Foundation in the Arizona desert. It’s for troubled teens—kids who are having a hard time—which I certainly was. We were in the wilderness for 42 days, many hours from civilization. Of course we were guided by a group of highly trained professionals the entire time. It was a tough experience but so powerful because there were no distractions to clutter your mind. You would have these ‘moments of awakening’ where you would learn these incredible life lessons. I realized that I am a leader, and while it’s been 11 years since that experience, I reflect on what I learned regularly.”

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

“Most of us have not had the opportunity to figure out what exactly our special talents are. We have been conditioned for such a long time to feel negative and fear-based. Our subconscious is attached to past experiences that keep us leaning a certain way. You have to walk through the fire a little bit and take steps that others in your life might not like or understand and that may be painful. Walk through the fire. Just do it. Do whatever it is. There is a step that needs to be taken and it might feel like a step backwards at first, but it is really like 10 steps forward.”