We are so excited to have Heather Boschke on this episode.
We are raving fans of her books and her eye for marketing … looking forward to partnering with her on many things to come!
Heather Boschke is a marketing leader with experience ranging from Fortune 20 companies to non-profits.
In 2021, she founded Vogel Venture, aiming to boost growth for small businesses. The name ‘Vogel,’ meaning bird in German, reflects her heritage and strategic marketing approach.
Heather teaches undergrad marketing at Metro State and serves on the board of Harley’s Hounds dog rescue. Her love for birds inspired her to start drawing birds, leading to a children’s book series.
Heather, known as “Heather Feather” since childhood, is driven by helping others discover what sets their soul on fire.
Resources:
Vogel Venture Website
Buddha Birdie Website
LinkedIn
Transcript
John Simon Sr. 00:06
Music. Welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon, SR and I'm Dina Simon. Our guest today is Heather boschke. Heather is currently teaching at the College of Management at Metro State University, where she's been teaching marketing 300 principles since 2008 Heather, welcome to our podcast.
Heather Boschke 00:31
Hi. Nice to see you guys. This is fun.
John Simon Sr. 00:33
It's great to meet you. Why don't you take a minute or so and just tell the audience a little bit about yourself and maybe where it lives and what you do in your spare time.
Heather Boschke 00:43
That sounds good. Yeah. So I am from Wisconsin, so go, pack go. I am from a small town of 10,000 although I think it's probably larger now called Pewaukee, and just had a kind of typical growing up. I've got two parents that are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, which is really, yeah, we're actually celebrating by going on a cruise together to Greece and Italy this summer. So fun, nice. Very excited about that. And I went to the University of Wisconsin for college. And there is where I found my love for marketing. I had a marketing class that just sort of hit on all cylinders. And I remember thinking, I could do this. This sounds like fun. And so I studied marketing, got my degree, never looked back. And my first job was Miller, Brewing Company. Before it was Coors, they moved me to Minnesota, so I've never left I love Minneapolis and St Paul. I think that the cities have so much to offer. And here's also where I finished my master's. So I went to the U and that is what allows me to teach. And then I worked for several different companies here in town. I was with Verizon for about 10 years, Radisson Hotel Group. I worked for shop NBC. And so my experience has been with a lot of different industries, which is what I didn't know at the time was giving me a masterclass in what good looks like when it comes to marketing and building brands and leading teams. And in 2021 when I was just applying for jobs like I've done my whole career, when I'm ready for something new and the universe sort of had different plans for me. I would jump on a call and be catching up with someone, and at the end they would say, so could you help me with this marketing and could you help us with strategy work? And before I knew it, I had like five people willing to pay me money to do marketing. And I've never once considered being an entrepreneur or owning my own business. And it just felt like, okay, things are happening here. I've got demand. Why not try this? And if I don't have clients in six months, no big deal. I'll just get a job. And so I'm still waiting for those six months to happen. I'm year three into my into my marketing consulting business, and I think part of the reason it's worked is because I have had zero expectations of what this would be. I am a type A overachiever, right? Can I just get an amen for the rest of us? And it just feels like leaning into something with no expectation or attachment of the outcome has really served me in allowing it to be what it needs to be, and not getting down on myself for not hitting certain goals or doing certain things. It's as long as I've got clients, I've got work coming in, and I'm just kind of letting that flow. And then the drawing kind of started. Shortly after I started my business, I sort of found that I had all this energy and creativity combined with the fact that the pandemic had us all indoors, I just really clearly heard this voice in my heart telling me to draw again, which is something I hadn't done since middle school, and then that is really what led to this whole drawing birds and finding birds out in the wild, and then writing these two, soon to be, three children's books about birds. And so I feel for the first time in my life, instead of, you know, being a cab with its lights off, going to the airport, you know, I can't pick anyone up. I'm I've got one place to go. I feel like I'm just flowing with the opportunities that come and very open to experiences. And I feel like that's where all the magic has happened.
Dina Simon 04:12
Oh my gosh, I just love it. And so almost like free as a bird, right? Like flying, so the bird reference, and you're just in, Yeah, you're
Heather Boschke 04:20
good. That's good.
Dina Simon 04:22
Love that. So John talked about you are an adjunct professor, and then you have your own consulting company, and you are an author of these wonderful books, and you keep doing that. So you do have a plate that's pretty full. How much does the teaching take up for time?
Heather Boschke 04:37
The teaching, you know, since I've been teaching the same class for 17 years, which is crazy. It's been that long. The first time you teach a class is the hardest, because you've got to set up the curriculum and you've got all your content, and then it's getting familiar with the content. And so I mean, I've got one class I teach every semester in spring and fall, and I'm actually doing some work for st Kate's, helping them with their. Therapy program this year, because I love teaching so much, because the gift I got when I was in my undergrad of falling in love with marketing and that unlocking this whole future career path for me, that's the gift I want to pass on to students. And there's so much you learn from students. It also it keeps you honest, like I have to know what's going on if I'm going to be teaching this. So it really is something that fills my cup, in a way that's very soul filling. Awesome.
John Simon Sr. 05:27
I took a minute, and I was reading a little bit about your class, and not only is marketing, but supply chain, operation management and international business. So you cover, you know, a wide area of marketing, yeah,
Heather Boschke 05:39
you know, what's interesting is a lot of people, and you say, what do you think of when you think of marketing? They think of advertising or digital ads or social media, and literally anything that comes between a customer and a company that's happening through marketing. And so some of the fun with teaching is really opening people's minds to there's so many different paths and parts of marketing, and a lot of it is also, how does it fit with an organization and work with finance and HR and manufacturing, marketing is a critical part of any organization, and helping people understand it so much more than advertising is a lot of fun.
Dina Simon 06:15
Yeah, yeah. I don't know if I shared this with you last week, Heather or not, but five of the businesses that I'm working with here in town. I did a workshop last week, and it was on recruiting, and my two questions that we got started with is, who owns recruiting in your company, like, Who is that seat, who is that person? And then, who owns marketing? Because recruiting is, you know, at least 50% marketing, if not, and how are you showing up and how are people finding you? What does your brand look like? All of that
Heather Boschke 06:45
that is so good and so important, yes, because part of marketing is your outward expression and the expression that your employees have of your brand. So if you're not doing right by them, that reputation is going to get out. And so what a great question, and also a reminder that, yes, marketing is part of so many facets of a business.
Dina Simon 07:02
Yeah, yeah. John Heather is also a new dog. Mom, yes,
John Simon Sr. 07:08
a first friend.
Heather Boschke 07:10
No. We lost our best boy last year, and we had him for 16 and a half glorious years, and so we finally got a little puppy. We named him beans, and he's half Shih Tzu, half Yorkie. He's three and a half months old and six pounds, and I love him so much already.
John Simon Sr. 07:28
Wow. The reference to beans Nina fits right in with you.
Dina Simon 07:31
Yeah, I don't even know if we've talked about that Heather, but yeah, so my nickname is beans. What? Yep, my cousin Tommy named me beans when I was young. We all have nicknames, but I'm still Auntie beans to many, and some of my friends call me beans as well. So there you go. I
Heather Boschke 07:49
love that so much. Beans what? And it's a great it's a great name.
Dina Simon 07:52
It is. It is.
John Simon Sr. 07:54
So I understand Heather that you have another job at the university. It's Associate Director of the Center for faculty development for new faculty members. So that probably takes up a little bit of your time also.
Heather Boschke 08:08
Well, that's a job that I had, I think, in 20 Gosh, when did I have that in 2020? 2021, so that was like a six month, kind of getting a little bit more ingrained in the university. And really my job at the time was to be the liaison of community faculty. So I'm community faculty or an adjunct professor, which means it's not my full time job. And a lot of times community faculty, their voice isn't always represented, because most community faculty, we teach, we do our job, we're not really in the system. So my job was to sort of do surveys and be the voice of community faculty as being one for so long so that their needs were being met and heard.
John Simon Sr. 08:47
Oh, okay, well that, yeah, that sounds like a good program. Yeah.
Dina Simon 08:51
Love that. Yeah. So we talk about life leadership and building legacies, and building legacies as things that we do while we're alive. It's not something we just leave behind. But I would love for you to talk a little bit more about the books, so we can focus in on lots of things, but talk a little bit more about your journey as being an amazing author and illustrator, and you've had a ton of press recently, like, there's a lot of great stuff going on, and you've got your third book that you're going to launch. So fill us in a little bit more on the book. Yeah,
Heather Boschke 09:22
you know, once I started drawing, you know, I think that as we get older, we bury parts of ourselves and that artist part of me, I just let her kind of slip away. And so when I reconnected with her, and I drew that first bird. I have not experienced so much flow and peace and joy, and I just it's like I just reconnected with a part of who I am, and part of me thinks that it's a little bit of my 12 year old self coming through these birds, which is why I think it not only resonates with kids, but there's a lot. Adults that love the book and love the illustrations, because I just think there's something about our inner child that's connecting through these drawings. And so I rediscovered this part of myself, and not only was it bringing me so much joy, but as I started to share the birds, the reactions I was getting from people, it was just they would smile, and they said, Oh my gosh, it's just a CHV bird. This is so delightful. And in a world that feels hopeless at times, this idea of just shining a light of joy and simplicity, I do think that is part of my legacy. You know the tagline of of Buddha birdie, which is the company under all the birds, is spreading joy one bird at a time, and I do think that that is part of of why I'm here. And so it just kind of has snowballed into and doing this thing I love and getting reinforcement from other people that it's touching a part of their heart. And then I just kept following that, and I had, again, no expectation for what. When I bought a sketchbook in pens, I had no idea what this could be. I didn't intend on being an author. I didn't intend on any of this, but it just was, I call it following the yellow brick road, when people would ask if I could put my birds on a mug. And okay, so now I'm selling mugs with my birds on them. And so it's just been this really fun unraveling of something that I let go, and I think that is part of of legacy is not only finding your voice. And I read somewhere once that if you don't know your voice, you're not speaking enough. So finding your voice and then living your truth. Because I think for so long, I lived a truth that was very much just based on what society expects of people to do after they do certain things and my family expects me to do. And in the last four years of sort of finding new and different ways of showing up and making money, I just think that I am activating and fully embracing who I really am, versus just playing a role that other people maybe wanted me to. And so that's been a big difference in the last, I think, four years. And I think that's a big part of legacy, is if you can't fully embrace who you are, you're never going to unlock all the gifts that are meant to serve the world. Yeah,
Dina Simon 12:18
right. Hey, John in listening to Heather, I'm reflecting back on our conversation with Colleen. So Mike might call her my niece, but she's my cousin, and she is always had this huge love for animals, and when she went to college, she also is, is a badger. Went to college, went on and got her MBA, and had her career and very successful career for a while, and then jumped off the corporate career ladder and now is working in the space of animals, working for a large nonprofit, and going back to like that passion of well, she was just this huge advocate specifically for horses back then, but just for anything animals, and just how fun that is to watch and not waiting until you're 50, 6070, years old to get back to that, also like so that you're, you know, super commendable to get back to that younger self and that creative piece of what you're talking about. It's just fantastic. Well, I
Heather Boschke 13:16
love that story so much, and that she returned and found that. And the thing is, you know, corporate isn't bad. It serves people well, and people love it. I just think being open to other things, and I think that's been sort of just, I never really thought about another path. And so corporate is fine and everything. And if that's the decision people are making, make it knowing that there are other paths. And so sometimes we just get on this wheel, you know, we graduate high school, we go to college, and now before you know it, you're on this treadmill or this escalator, and you're not really sure what other paths are out there. And so I think you know, to really figure out what lights you up the most, you have to try different things
Dina Simon 13:58
absolutely. Yeah, and even just in the corporate world, like knowing that that's an option too. Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
John Simon Sr. 14:05
And the other great part about the book, whenever I read it, not only will the children learn about the birds, but they also learn how to read too, and that just adds so much to it. Yeah,
Heather Boschke 14:18
it's been another goal of mine with the book was, you know, there's a light message at the end of, you know, what makes every bird different? You know, because there's no one way or wrong way to be a bird. They've got different sizes and different colors and different shapes and long legs and short legs and all the things and what makes them different is what makes them so special, just like each of us. So there's this light message of, like, embrace all of the things that make you different. Because, again, growing up, you are kind of just, how do I fit in? You know, I never wanted to stand out. It was like, Don't look at me. I'm just part of the crowd. And so really looking at it, embracing all of the things that make you different, because that is your special and that's your magic, and that's what the world needs more of. And so the other part with the book is getting kids out in nature. You know, we all have way too much time in front of screens. And so the idea of that, only is it a tangible book where kids can connect with adults or themselves and really learn about birds, but then this idea of, Oh, you just learned about Bella the blue heron. Now let's go find Bella the Blue Heron and get out in nature.
Dina Simon 15:23
I love that.
John Simon Sr. 15:25
So what got you interested in it?
Heather Boschke 15:27
Well, I have been a bird lover my whole life. We had parakeets growing up, and the first really pet that I remember is a little Cockatiel that was named birdie. And my grandpa, we'd always give us his nicknames, and he nicknamed me Heather Feather. And so I just think there's something that was implanted very young. I've always had this love for birds, and if I could have any superpower, it would be flight. So yeah, they're just kind of My spirit animal.
Dina Simon 15:55
I love that. And the book, so you've got Minnesota and Wisconsin, and you're working on your third one. Now, what, what's, what state is that
Heather Boschke 16:03
it is little birdie babies. So I am breaking the mold of the states, and I'm doing a book about baby birds, and I'm also drawing the egg, and it talks about how every bird you know, gets its start in a different way, and the nests are all different. And so, yeah, it's going to be very cute and sweet. It's been so much fun drawing these little baby birds.
Dina Simon 16:26
Oh my gosh. How fun. And when do you hope to have that done? It should be out this summer. Nice. And the author experience, I mean, so right, you you started again just creating and drawing and being creative, and now you're an author.
Heather Boschke 16:40
Yeah, it is wild to think about. And for a long time I would say, Well, I'm not really an author, because it's just a children's book, and I would, you know, disqualify myself. And so I'm really trying to embrace more. Yeah, I am an author. I've written a book, and I think sometimes, especially women, we downplay our accomplishments, like, oh, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not really. And it's like, Yes, you are. You know, stand in your power. So that's one where I need to kind of practice of practice what I preach a little bit more. So thank you for that. And yeah, for me learning. I think learning for everyone is soul food. Anytime you can learn something and expand your mind, you know, and you can get, just get grow bigger and bigger in your knowledge. I just think it just activates different parts of you that you realize, oh, I really love this, or maybe I don't like this so much, because, again, how do you know, unless you try things and so learning about the author process, and what does it mean to light up a book on Amazon, and how do you get distribution and fulfillment and printing the books? It was really fun to learn a totally new world that I'm never really a part of. And on that note, also doing school visits, you know, I so we don't have human children. We've got little beans. And so being part of, like reading to kids in classrooms, this is a world that I'm not usually a part of. So it's been really fun to be parts of different worlds, because, you know, it's like the business world and and now I'm just in these different rooms, and that's been a lot of fun too,
Dina Simon 18:03
well, and now you have firsthand experience, actually, from a teaching perspective, also on how you've taken the book to Amazon, the supply chain, I mean, all that kind of stuff. You have your own personal, real life experience with with the book,
Heather Boschke 18:17
yeah, it's been interesting because I am a traditional B to B marketer. Most of the companies I've worked for, it's been business to business. And so now, being on the business to consumer side, again, I'm learning a whole different world. And, you know, running Amazon ads and Facebook ads, where I typically don't do those things. And so again, the more you learn, the more you're growing. And again, overall, just you've got so much more to offer when you are continuing to feed your own knowledge,
John Simon Sr. 18:45
and you can take everything that you've done with the books and that marketing, end of it, and probably make it part of your curriculum at school.
Heather Boschke 18:54
Yeah, yes. And you know, what's funny is I thought, you know, as I'm trying to figure out, how far can these things fly? And I had a thought that maybe my marketing this whole time was always meant to serve the birds, and we'll see. Ooh,
Dina Simon 19:07
I love that. Oh my gosh, that's very powerful. And so on the consulting side, what's kind of an ideal client for you? On that side, like, Who do you want to work with there? Yeah,
Heather Boschke 19:19
I like small businesses. I like small businesses. Or maybe somebody is doing marketing, whether it's an admin or an ops person, and they're just doing things and it doesn't really line up to a strategy. Or maybe it's someone that's been getting by just fine, and they finally realize, you know what, it's time to get serious about marketing or our website. And so I like small businesses where I can work directly with the owner or the president and make decisions quickly, and I really also am fulfilled by seeing the impact of my actions and direction. And so to me, small businesses, typically under 20 million is my sweet spot. Nice.
Dina Simon 19:55
That's awesome. Awesome. Okay, so we've talked a lot about your businesses. So what. Like leadership. So talk a little bit about, you know, leadership philosophies, either what you have done or you've seen yourself. What does good leadership maybe look like to you?
Heather Boschke 20:09
Yeah, you know when I think about and I've had good leaders, I've had some not so good leaders. And of course, you learn from from all types. And for me, my favorite leaders were the ones that they didn't necessarily know the most, but they were the ones that believed in me. They gave me runway to make mistakes. They were candid and honest with me, and also they made things fun, like that was the formula of a good leader. And I wish that I knew earlier, because I look back at my early when I you know, and I'm using leader and manager, and I'll talk about that in a second, but when I first had direct reports and I really was responsible, I thought I had to know everything, and I think about how that really maybe limited my ability to connect with people, if I always felt like I had to know everything, or knew how to do everything. And so I think that lesson is one that needs to get talked about in terms of, you don't have to know everything. In fact, it's better if you don't. And so that's a big leadership lesson that I've learned, and there's a quote I love, and it's If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more you are a leader, and that I love because you we think about hierarchy and managing people and traditional, you know, corporate lingo, when it comes to being a leader. But that definition I love so much because dream more if you inspire someone to learn more, to do more, and that way everyone can be a leader. And I think the best thing that any of us can do to be leaders is to live a life of alignment. And I know that sounds so simple, but when you live your truth, you can spark that flame of truth in other people. And I think the ability to show up and embrace who you are is sometimes the exact thing somebody else needs to see to say, You know what? I can do that too. And so I'm hoping, with my journey again, I'm, I'm a corporate marketer. Never plan on owning my own business. Now, I guess I have two. Never plan on running a children's book. Now I'm gonna have three. So like, the thing is, if I can do it, literally anyone can do it, because I don't even mean to do these things.
Dina Simon 22:24
Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. And the inspiration piece, right? As you just talked about, and that's so much about your legacy. So the everything that you're doing, not just in how you're showing up with what business decisions that you've made, but also with the book, right? So just the books and the inspiration, and think of again, the kids that you're impacting, and they're going home and telling their parents that they had this really cool lady come in and share the birdie books with them, and it's just incredible. Yes,
Heather Boschke 22:54
I love it when I get called the bird lady, and it is the best I'm like, Please only call me the bird lady. It's my favorite well,
John Simon Sr. 23:01
and one of the great parts about it is your grandfather left his legacy with you as he nicknames you, and taught you a little bit about birds and gal, you're able to pass it along to so many more people. Yeah, yeah. And
Heather Boschke 23:16
it's interesting too, because my grandpa was also a woodworker and used his hands, and he was creative in that way. So I think there's a lot of that just using your hands and creating something out of nothing. That is also I feel very connected to him when I'm when I'm drawing too, very
Dina Simon 23:32
sweet and touching. And I just love that. And talk about legacies. So knowing that you were coming on the podcast, anything else that you would like to talk about from a life, leadership, Legacy perspective. I think your husband, does he own his own business as well? No, he
Heather Boschke 23:47
works for like the man, man he works for, Wells Fargo. So he is very into that corporate world. But I, you know, for me, I just think thinking about ways you can surprise yourself, because, again, it's so easy just to keep doing the same thing, and the days go by and the weeks go by, and maybe you take a vacation, but do things that are outside your comfort zone, and also do things without expectation. I think I personally, I don't have any goals this this year, which kind of sounds counterintuitive, but the reason I did that was because I want to see what this year can do for my birds, and if I put things in boxes and always have goals and thinking about what I think I should do, and that doesn't mean I'm not planful, but again, I'm trying to flow more. And I think for so much we force things we think we're this is the door. This is the door that has to open without realizing that sometimes on that other side of the door is exactly where you're supposed to be. And so I'm trying to lean more into if there's resistance, I'm kind of just all right, I hear you, and then I'm walking through the doors that maybe are seeming to kind of open a little bit more. And so this idea of flow versus forcing is a bit of my North Star for this year. And so I encourage. Other people to think about that. Because again, and you know, when you want something so bad, it's all you can think about, you just closed fist. And I think if we can just kind of open up, let the universe do what it needs to do, and not necessarily have an attachment of what we think things should be or do, because expectations are a joy killer. So if we can take those expectations, put them on a shelf and do things that just bring us joy and peace, I think we'll all be surprised at where we'll end up.
Dina Simon 25:29
Yeah, very well said. And I think, you know, John, you've talked about this too, like, if you're doing something you love, then you know the quote about you don't work a day in your life? Exactly, yeah, yeah,
Heather Boschke 25:40
yeah. Yeah. It's like, you think about retirement, or whatever that looks like to you, and I think retirement, you know, there's a new just reframing of money isn't the goal anymore. And I think that's when I think about retirement. It's like, Well, money just isn't the goal right now, I got we on mortgage, we got to pay for things, and retirement just means money's just not the goal. So I'm doing things without the money need. And I just think that reframing, it doesn't mean I'm not doing anything. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to stop doing any of this. It just means that there's just not that pressure of, you know, the things that we have to pay for, right? Right?
Dina Simon 26:13
Yeah. And Heather, I believe very much. I do believe in, like, manifesting. So if you know, there is something very specific, like just being really intentional and manifesting. But what I love about what you're talking about and just being open to that flow. I also go back to, like, you being a bird yourself, like you're and you just talked about that, like, if I go towards something and I feel resistance, just like a bird with, you know, a storm, right? You pull back and being open to things, and so just how extraordinary that you're on this amazing journey, and that we get to be a part of it, to watch the journey and see how it continues to unfold and and to support you, just because it just brings joy.
Heather Boschke 26:54
Yeah, and I love what you said about manifesting, because our thoughts are so powerful, and when we wake up and we're crabby and there's all the reasons to be negative that is just going to continue to spiral. And so the idea of, okay, it's going to be a great day. I'm going to get, like, already putting into motion the energy you want to get back, I think, is so important. And we underestimate just how powerful these brains are at creating the life that we think we want, but then you really have to be intentional about what is it that you actually want? And I think for a lot of us, we don't ask that question enough, and it can change just because you want something now doesn't mean in five years, it's the same thing that you want. And so there's something about checking in with yourself. Am I truly living the life that is aligned to my soul, that is the question
John Simon Sr. 27:42
well, and I think the birds and the writing and everything gives you an opportunity to, like, recharge your battery, and that puts you at a place that you're the happiest.
Heather Boschke 27:53
Yeah, that's a that's really well said, because we all have to remember to plug back in. You know, we're running and we're going and we're doing, and then knowing what are the activities that fill your cup up? Because as we serve other people, and we want to be the best we can be, you know, an empty cup cannot give and so always making sure that we recognize and are making space for the things that do bring us energy and recharge us. Yeah,
Dina Simon 28:17
awesome. Well, we're excited that you and your family are getting to go on an amazing trip this summer as well. How many people will be going on that? Well,
Heather Boschke 28:25
just gonna be the four of us. So my husband and I, and so my brother, he's got a new baby in California, so they're kind of dealing with all of that. So it'll be, it'll be the four of us. So it'll be, and I think it's a smaller ship, and so it'll be very intimate, and we'll make some fun memories. And granted, my husband and I aren't, you know, we're not at 50 years, but this year will be our 10 years, so it's a milestone year. Nice.
Dina Simon 28:47
I love that. So 1010, and 50, and think of the different birds that you're gonna see along the journey. My
Heather Boschke 28:53
gosh, I can't even tell you, I'm already going online to see, like, where are the different birds? And, yes, I cannot wait.
Dina Simon 29:00
Oh my gosh. And you've had to just like, again, where you just said, like, research and learning so much about birds. John Heather has one of those. I want one. You have the thing that sits on your window, the where birds come up and eat, and you have the camera,
Heather Boschke 29:15
yes, it's called the bird buddy. And I think there's different options you can get, but there's a Wi Fi connected camera that goes to your app. So anytime there's a bird, I'll get a little I mean, it's, it's a miracle I get anything done, because I'm constantly getting notifications saying you've got a new bird, you've got a new bird. And then you go, and there's different pictures and there's also videos, but it's this amazing bird's eye view, like of a bird just eating right there. And you get to see pattern and color and wing texture that you would never see close up. It is unbelievable. Yeah, I
Dina Simon 29:47
don't know how you get anything done.
John Simon Sr. 29:49
After I retired, we had a home in Durango, Colorado, and in the summertime when we were there, we would put the feeders out and the hummingbirds, they were just great to watch. And you would always have a dominant male that would be up in the tree and sit there and say, Okay, this whole feeder is mine, and admitted another hummingbird would go that it would buzz down and try to scare them away. So, so basically, then what you do is you put out more feeders, and that's right, but it was fun watching as they'll sit, and they'll even get on your finger. If you put your finger there, they'll come, they'll lay it on your finger, and they'll drink the sugar water out of the little container.
Heather Boschke 30:29
Wow, that is something special. And hummingbirds, I know they're small, they're so, like, beautiful and cute, and then they are, they're fighters. And it's funny, because you've got these bird feeders with five different stations, and it's like, unique, only one per bird because, yeah, another one will come over and all of a sudden it's flying away. And so, yeah, more more bird feeders. I actually think you're right. That's always the answer, yep, the
John Simon Sr. 30:53
answer is to put another one out. That's so, so good.
Dina Simon 30:56
Oh my gosh. Well, Heather, this has been such an honor and pleasure. We thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. And we will, we'll make sure everybody knows how to get in touch with you for all things, from a consulting perspective, how to follow the birds and and by the next books as they come out. But we really just thank you for being a part of this with us.
Heather Boschke 31:15
Thank you guys so much for having me. This was so lovely. And just thank you for the opportunity.
John Simon Sr. 31:20
I think that the road book number four might be an international bird book.
Heather Boschke 31:24
I like this. Okay, we're manifesting this right now. Here
Dina Simon 31:27
we go. Well, then you can maybe write your trip off too. That's
Heather Boschke 31:31
what I'm saying. That's right. Maybe birds up Costa Rica. So see one of the best places to go birding. So I think little birdie buddies of Costa Rica, we might be putting that into the universe right now. I
Dina Simon 31:41
love it. I'd like to thank Heather boschke for joining us on the podcast. She is the founder of Vogel ventures, which is a marketing company, and we didn't even talk about this. But Vogel is the word in German for bird, so the whole heritage of birds and her passion for that. So love that Heather. Heather is also a author. She's working on her third book, which we've talked about the birdies, and we'll make sure that you know how to get in touch with her for that. And then love that she is an adjunct professor, teaching others to have a love and passion for marketing. So Heather, thank you so much for being on the podcast. We love that we were able to feature you, and we'll make sure everybody knows how to get in touch with you. And as always, I would like to thank my father in law, John Simon, for CO hosting with me, and until we talk again. You
Music. Welcome to Simon Says, inspire a podcast about life, leadership and building legacies. I'm John Simon, SR and I'm Dina Simon. Our guest today is Heather boschke. Heather is currently teaching at the College of Management at Metro State University, where she's been teaching marketing 300 principles since 2008 Heather, welcome to our podcast.
Heather Boschke 00:31
Hi. Nice to see you guys. This is fun.
John Simon Sr. 00:33
It's great to meet you. Why don't you take a minute or so and just tell the audience a little bit about yourself and maybe where it lives and what you do in your spare time.
Heather Boschke 00:43
That sounds good. Yeah. So I am from Wisconsin, so go, pack go. I am from a small town of 10,000 although I think it's probably larger now called Pewaukee, and just had a kind of typical growing up. I've got two parents that are celebrating their 50th anniversary this year, which is really, yeah, we're actually celebrating by going on a cruise together to Greece and Italy this summer. So fun, nice. Very excited about that. And I went to the University of Wisconsin for college. And there is where I found my love for marketing. I had a marketing class that just sort of hit on all cylinders. And I remember thinking, I could do this. This sounds like fun. And so I studied marketing, got my degree, never looked back. And my first job was Miller, Brewing Company. Before it was Coors, they moved me to Minnesota, so I've never left I love Minneapolis and St Paul. I think that the cities have so much to offer. And here's also where I finished my master's. So I went to the U and that is what allows me to teach. And then I worked for several different companies here in town. I was with Verizon for about 10 years, Radisson Hotel Group. I worked for shop NBC. And so my experience has been with a lot of different industries, which is what I didn't know at the time was giving me a masterclass in what good looks like when it comes to marketing and building brands and leading teams. And in 2021 when I was just applying for jobs like I've done my whole career, when I'm ready for something new and the universe sort of had different plans for me. I would jump on a call and be catching up with someone, and at the end they would say, so could you help me with this marketing and could you help us with strategy work? And before I knew it, I had like five people willing to pay me money to do marketing. And I've never once considered being an entrepreneur or owning my own business. And it just felt like, okay, things are happening here. I've got demand. Why not try this? And if I don't have clients in six months, no big deal. I'll just get a job. And so I'm still waiting for those six months to happen. I'm year three into my into my marketing consulting business, and I think part of the reason it's worked is because I have had zero expectations of what this would be. I am a type A overachiever, right? Can I just get an amen for the rest of us? And it just feels like leaning into something with no expectation or attachment of the outcome has really served me in allowing it to be what it needs to be, and not getting down on myself for not hitting certain goals or doing certain things. It's as long as I've got clients, I've got work coming in, and I'm just kind of letting that flow. And then the drawing kind of started. Shortly after I started my business, I sort of found that I had all this energy and creativity combined with the fact that the pandemic had us all indoors, I just really clearly heard this voice in my heart telling me to draw again, which is something I hadn't done since middle school, and then that is really what led to this whole drawing birds and finding birds out in the wild, and then writing these two, soon to be, three children's books about birds. And so I feel for the first time in my life, instead of, you know, being a cab with its lights off, going to the airport, you know, I can't pick anyone up. I'm I've got one place to go. I feel like I'm just flowing with the opportunities that come and very open to experiences. And I feel like that's where all the magic has happened.
Dina Simon 04:12
Oh my gosh, I just love it. And so almost like free as a bird, right? Like flying, so the bird reference, and you're just in, Yeah, you're
Heather Boschke 04:20
good. That's good.
Dina Simon 04:22
Love that. So John talked about you are an adjunct professor, and then you have your own consulting company, and you are an author of these wonderful books, and you keep doing that. So you do have a plate that's pretty full. How much does the teaching take up for time?
Heather Boschke 04:37
The teaching, you know, since I've been teaching the same class for 17 years, which is crazy. It's been that long. The first time you teach a class is the hardest, because you've got to set up the curriculum and you've got all your content, and then it's getting familiar with the content. And so I mean, I've got one class I teach every semester in spring and fall, and I'm actually doing some work for st Kate's, helping them with their. Therapy program this year, because I love teaching so much, because the gift I got when I was in my undergrad of falling in love with marketing and that unlocking this whole future career path for me, that's the gift I want to pass on to students. And there's so much you learn from students. It also it keeps you honest, like I have to know what's going on if I'm going to be teaching this. So it really is something that fills my cup, in a way that's very soul filling. Awesome.
John Simon Sr. 05:27
I took a minute, and I was reading a little bit about your class, and not only is marketing, but supply chain, operation management and international business. So you cover, you know, a wide area of marketing, yeah,
Heather Boschke 05:39
you know, what's interesting is a lot of people, and you say, what do you think of when you think of marketing? They think of advertising or digital ads or social media, and literally anything that comes between a customer and a company that's happening through marketing. And so some of the fun with teaching is really opening people's minds to there's so many different paths and parts of marketing, and a lot of it is also, how does it fit with an organization and work with finance and HR and manufacturing, marketing is a critical part of any organization, and helping people understand it so much more than advertising is a lot of fun.
Dina Simon 06:15
Yeah, yeah. I don't know if I shared this with you last week, Heather or not, but five of the businesses that I'm working with here in town. I did a workshop last week, and it was on recruiting, and my two questions that we got started with is, who owns recruiting in your company, like, Who is that seat, who is that person? And then, who owns marketing? Because recruiting is, you know, at least 50% marketing, if not, and how are you showing up and how are people finding you? What does your brand look like? All of that
Heather Boschke 06:45
that is so good and so important, yes, because part of marketing is your outward expression and the expression that your employees have of your brand. So if you're not doing right by them, that reputation is going to get out. And so what a great question, and also a reminder that, yes, marketing is part of so many facets of a business.
Dina Simon 07:02
Yeah, yeah. John Heather is also a new dog. Mom, yes,
John Simon Sr. 07:08
a first friend.
Heather Boschke 07:10
No. We lost our best boy last year, and we had him for 16 and a half glorious years, and so we finally got a little puppy. We named him beans, and he's half Shih Tzu, half Yorkie. He's three and a half months old and six pounds, and I love him so much already.
John Simon Sr. 07:28
Wow. The reference to beans Nina fits right in with you.
Dina Simon 07:31
Yeah, I don't even know if we've talked about that Heather, but yeah, so my nickname is beans. What? Yep, my cousin Tommy named me beans when I was young. We all have nicknames, but I'm still Auntie beans to many, and some of my friends call me beans as well. So there you go. I
Heather Boschke 07:49
love that so much. Beans what? And it's a great it's a great name.
Dina Simon 07:52
It is. It is.
John Simon Sr. 07:54
So I understand Heather that you have another job at the university. It's Associate Director of the Center for faculty development for new faculty members. So that probably takes up a little bit of your time also.
Heather Boschke 08:08
Well, that's a job that I had, I think, in 20 Gosh, when did I have that in 2020? 2021, so that was like a six month, kind of getting a little bit more ingrained in the university. And really my job at the time was to be the liaison of community faculty. So I'm community faculty or an adjunct professor, which means it's not my full time job. And a lot of times community faculty, their voice isn't always represented, because most community faculty, we teach, we do our job, we're not really in the system. So my job was to sort of do surveys and be the voice of community faculty as being one for so long so that their needs were being met and heard.
John Simon Sr. 08:47
Oh, okay, well that, yeah, that sounds like a good program. Yeah.
Dina Simon 08:51
Love that. Yeah. So we talk about life leadership and building legacies, and building legacies as things that we do while we're alive. It's not something we just leave behind. But I would love for you to talk a little bit more about the books, so we can focus in on lots of things, but talk a little bit more about your journey as being an amazing author and illustrator, and you've had a ton of press recently, like, there's a lot of great stuff going on, and you've got your third book that you're going to launch. So fill us in a little bit more on the book. Yeah,
Heather Boschke 09:22
you know, once I started drawing, you know, I think that as we get older, we bury parts of ourselves and that artist part of me, I just let her kind of slip away. And so when I reconnected with her, and I drew that first bird. I have not experienced so much flow and peace and joy, and I just it's like I just reconnected with a part of who I am, and part of me thinks that it's a little bit of my 12 year old self coming through these birds, which is why I think it not only resonates with kids, but there's a lot. Adults that love the book and love the illustrations, because I just think there's something about our inner child that's connecting through these drawings. And so I rediscovered this part of myself, and not only was it bringing me so much joy, but as I started to share the birds, the reactions I was getting from people, it was just they would smile, and they said, Oh my gosh, it's just a CHV bird. This is so delightful. And in a world that feels hopeless at times, this idea of just shining a light of joy and simplicity, I do think that is part of my legacy. You know the tagline of of Buddha birdie, which is the company under all the birds, is spreading joy one bird at a time, and I do think that that is part of of why I'm here. And so it just kind of has snowballed into and doing this thing I love and getting reinforcement from other people that it's touching a part of their heart. And then I just kept following that, and I had, again, no expectation for what. When I bought a sketchbook in pens, I had no idea what this could be. I didn't intend on being an author. I didn't intend on any of this, but it just was, I call it following the yellow brick road, when people would ask if I could put my birds on a mug. And okay, so now I'm selling mugs with my birds on them. And so it's just been this really fun unraveling of something that I let go, and I think that is part of of legacy is not only finding your voice. And I read somewhere once that if you don't know your voice, you're not speaking enough. So finding your voice and then living your truth. Because I think for so long, I lived a truth that was very much just based on what society expects of people to do after they do certain things and my family expects me to do. And in the last four years of sort of finding new and different ways of showing up and making money, I just think that I am activating and fully embracing who I really am, versus just playing a role that other people maybe wanted me to. And so that's been a big difference in the last, I think, four years. And I think that's a big part of legacy, is if you can't fully embrace who you are, you're never going to unlock all the gifts that are meant to serve the world. Yeah,
Dina Simon 12:18
right. Hey, John in listening to Heather, I'm reflecting back on our conversation with Colleen. So Mike might call her my niece, but she's my cousin, and she is always had this huge love for animals, and when she went to college, she also is, is a badger. Went to college, went on and got her MBA, and had her career and very successful career for a while, and then jumped off the corporate career ladder and now is working in the space of animals, working for a large nonprofit, and going back to like that passion of well, she was just this huge advocate specifically for horses back then, but just for anything animals, and just how fun that is to watch and not waiting until you're 50, 6070, years old to get back to that, also like so that you're, you know, super commendable to get back to that younger self and that creative piece of what you're talking about. It's just fantastic. Well, I
Heather Boschke 13:16
love that story so much, and that she returned and found that. And the thing is, you know, corporate isn't bad. It serves people well, and people love it. I just think being open to other things, and I think that's been sort of just, I never really thought about another path. And so corporate is fine and everything. And if that's the decision people are making, make it knowing that there are other paths. And so sometimes we just get on this wheel, you know, we graduate high school, we go to college, and now before you know it, you're on this treadmill or this escalator, and you're not really sure what other paths are out there. And so I think you know, to really figure out what lights you up the most, you have to try different things
Dina Simon 13:58
absolutely. Yeah, and even just in the corporate world, like knowing that that's an option too. Yeah, absolutely, yeah.
John Simon Sr. 14:05
And the other great part about the book, whenever I read it, not only will the children learn about the birds, but they also learn how to read too, and that just adds so much to it. Yeah,
Heather Boschke 14:18
it's been another goal of mine with the book was, you know, there's a light message at the end of, you know, what makes every bird different? You know, because there's no one way or wrong way to be a bird. They've got different sizes and different colors and different shapes and long legs and short legs and all the things and what makes them different is what makes them so special, just like each of us. So there's this light message of, like, embrace all of the things that make you different. Because, again, growing up, you are kind of just, how do I fit in? You know, I never wanted to stand out. It was like, Don't look at me. I'm just part of the crowd. And so really looking at it, embracing all of the things that make you different, because that is your special and that's your magic, and that's what the world needs more of. And so the other part with the book is getting kids out in nature. You know, we all have way too much time in front of screens. And so the idea of that, only is it a tangible book where kids can connect with adults or themselves and really learn about birds, but then this idea of, Oh, you just learned about Bella the blue heron. Now let's go find Bella the Blue Heron and get out in nature.
Dina Simon 15:23
I love that.
John Simon Sr. 15:25
So what got you interested in it?
Heather Boschke 15:27
Well, I have been a bird lover my whole life. We had parakeets growing up, and the first really pet that I remember is a little Cockatiel that was named birdie. And my grandpa, we'd always give us his nicknames, and he nicknamed me Heather Feather. And so I just think there's something that was implanted very young. I've always had this love for birds, and if I could have any superpower, it would be flight. So yeah, they're just kind of My spirit animal.
Dina Simon 15:55
I love that. And the book, so you've got Minnesota and Wisconsin, and you're working on your third one. Now, what, what's, what state is that
Heather Boschke 16:03
it is little birdie babies. So I am breaking the mold of the states, and I'm doing a book about baby birds, and I'm also drawing the egg, and it talks about how every bird you know, gets its start in a different way, and the nests are all different. And so, yeah, it's going to be very cute and sweet. It's been so much fun drawing these little baby birds.
Dina Simon 16:26
Oh my gosh. How fun. And when do you hope to have that done? It should be out this summer. Nice. And the author experience, I mean, so right, you you started again just creating and drawing and being creative, and now you're an author.
Heather Boschke 16:40
Yeah, it is wild to think about. And for a long time I would say, Well, I'm not really an author, because it's just a children's book, and I would, you know, disqualify myself. And so I'm really trying to embrace more. Yeah, I am an author. I've written a book, and I think sometimes, especially women, we downplay our accomplishments, like, oh, it's not that big of a deal. I'm not really. And it's like, Yes, you are. You know, stand in your power. So that's one where I need to kind of practice of practice what I preach a little bit more. So thank you for that. And yeah, for me learning. I think learning for everyone is soul food. Anytime you can learn something and expand your mind, you know, and you can get, just get grow bigger and bigger in your knowledge. I just think it just activates different parts of you that you realize, oh, I really love this, or maybe I don't like this so much, because, again, how do you know, unless you try things and so learning about the author process, and what does it mean to light up a book on Amazon, and how do you get distribution and fulfillment and printing the books? It was really fun to learn a totally new world that I'm never really a part of. And on that note, also doing school visits, you know, I so we don't have human children. We've got little beans. And so being part of, like reading to kids in classrooms, this is a world that I'm not usually a part of. So it's been really fun to be parts of different worlds, because, you know, it's like the business world and and now I'm just in these different rooms, and that's been a lot of fun too,
Dina Simon 18:03
well, and now you have firsthand experience, actually, from a teaching perspective, also on how you've taken the book to Amazon, the supply chain, I mean, all that kind of stuff. You have your own personal, real life experience with with the book,
Heather Boschke 18:17
yeah, it's been interesting because I am a traditional B to B marketer. Most of the companies I've worked for, it's been business to business. And so now, being on the business to consumer side, again, I'm learning a whole different world. And, you know, running Amazon ads and Facebook ads, where I typically don't do those things. And so again, the more you learn, the more you're growing. And again, overall, just you've got so much more to offer when you are continuing to feed your own knowledge,
John Simon Sr. 18:45
and you can take everything that you've done with the books and that marketing, end of it, and probably make it part of your curriculum at school.
Heather Boschke 18:54
Yeah, yes. And you know, what's funny is I thought, you know, as I'm trying to figure out, how far can these things fly? And I had a thought that maybe my marketing this whole time was always meant to serve the birds, and we'll see. Ooh,
Dina Simon 19:07
I love that. Oh my gosh, that's very powerful. And so on the consulting side, what's kind of an ideal client for you? On that side, like, Who do you want to work with there? Yeah,
Heather Boschke 19:19
I like small businesses. I like small businesses. Or maybe somebody is doing marketing, whether it's an admin or an ops person, and they're just doing things and it doesn't really line up to a strategy. Or maybe it's someone that's been getting by just fine, and they finally realize, you know what, it's time to get serious about marketing or our website. And so I like small businesses where I can work directly with the owner or the president and make decisions quickly, and I really also am fulfilled by seeing the impact of my actions and direction. And so to me, small businesses, typically under 20 million is my sweet spot. Nice.
Dina Simon 19:55
That's awesome. Awesome. Okay, so we've talked a lot about your businesses. So what. Like leadership. So talk a little bit about, you know, leadership philosophies, either what you have done or you've seen yourself. What does good leadership maybe look like to you?
Heather Boschke 20:09
Yeah, you know when I think about and I've had good leaders, I've had some not so good leaders. And of course, you learn from from all types. And for me, my favorite leaders were the ones that they didn't necessarily know the most, but they were the ones that believed in me. They gave me runway to make mistakes. They were candid and honest with me, and also they made things fun, like that was the formula of a good leader. And I wish that I knew earlier, because I look back at my early when I you know, and I'm using leader and manager, and I'll talk about that in a second, but when I first had direct reports and I really was responsible, I thought I had to know everything, and I think about how that really maybe limited my ability to connect with people, if I always felt like I had to know everything, or knew how to do everything. And so I think that lesson is one that needs to get talked about in terms of, you don't have to know everything. In fact, it's better if you don't. And so that's a big leadership lesson that I've learned, and there's a quote I love, and it's If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more you are a leader, and that I love because you we think about hierarchy and managing people and traditional, you know, corporate lingo, when it comes to being a leader. But that definition I love so much because dream more if you inspire someone to learn more, to do more, and that way everyone can be a leader. And I think the best thing that any of us can do to be leaders is to live a life of alignment. And I know that sounds so simple, but when you live your truth, you can spark that flame of truth in other people. And I think the ability to show up and embrace who you are is sometimes the exact thing somebody else needs to see to say, You know what? I can do that too. And so I'm hoping, with my journey again, I'm, I'm a corporate marketer. Never plan on owning my own business. Now, I guess I have two. Never plan on running a children's book. Now I'm gonna have three. So like, the thing is, if I can do it, literally anyone can do it, because I don't even mean to do these things.
Dina Simon 22:24
Oh, I love it, I love it, I love it, I love it. And the inspiration piece, right? As you just talked about, and that's so much about your legacy. So the everything that you're doing, not just in how you're showing up with what business decisions that you've made, but also with the book, right? So just the books and the inspiration, and think of again, the kids that you're impacting, and they're going home and telling their parents that they had this really cool lady come in and share the birdie books with them, and it's just incredible. Yes,
Heather Boschke 22:54
I love it when I get called the bird lady, and it is the best I'm like, Please only call me the bird lady. It's my favorite well,
John Simon Sr. 23:01
and one of the great parts about it is your grandfather left his legacy with you as he nicknames you, and taught you a little bit about birds and gal, you're able to pass it along to so many more people. Yeah, yeah. And
Heather Boschke 23:16
it's interesting too, because my grandpa was also a woodworker and used his hands, and he was creative in that way. So I think there's a lot of that just using your hands and creating something out of nothing. That is also I feel very connected to him when I'm when I'm drawing too, very
Dina Simon 23:32
sweet and touching. And I just love that. And talk about legacies. So knowing that you were coming on the podcast, anything else that you would like to talk about from a life, leadership, Legacy perspective. I think your husband, does he own his own business as well? No, he
Heather Boschke 23:47
works for like the man, man he works for, Wells Fargo. So he is very into that corporate world. But I, you know, for me, I just think thinking about ways you can surprise yourself, because, again, it's so easy just to keep doing the same thing, and the days go by and the weeks go by, and maybe you take a vacation, but do things that are outside your comfort zone, and also do things without expectation. I think I personally, I don't have any goals this this year, which kind of sounds counterintuitive, but the reason I did that was because I want to see what this year can do for my birds, and if I put things in boxes and always have goals and thinking about what I think I should do, and that doesn't mean I'm not planful, but again, I'm trying to flow more. And I think for so much we force things we think we're this is the door. This is the door that has to open without realizing that sometimes on that other side of the door is exactly where you're supposed to be. And so I'm trying to lean more into if there's resistance, I'm kind of just all right, I hear you, and then I'm walking through the doors that maybe are seeming to kind of open a little bit more. And so this idea of flow versus forcing is a bit of my North Star for this year. And so I encourage. Other people to think about that. Because again, and you know, when you want something so bad, it's all you can think about, you just closed fist. And I think if we can just kind of open up, let the universe do what it needs to do, and not necessarily have an attachment of what we think things should be or do, because expectations are a joy killer. So if we can take those expectations, put them on a shelf and do things that just bring us joy and peace, I think we'll all be surprised at where we'll end up.
Dina Simon 25:29
Yeah, very well said. And I think, you know, John, you've talked about this too, like, if you're doing something you love, then you know the quote about you don't work a day in your life? Exactly, yeah, yeah,
Heather Boschke 25:40
yeah. Yeah. It's like, you think about retirement, or whatever that looks like to you, and I think retirement, you know, there's a new just reframing of money isn't the goal anymore. And I think that's when I think about retirement. It's like, Well, money just isn't the goal right now, I got we on mortgage, we got to pay for things, and retirement just means money's just not the goal. So I'm doing things without the money need. And I just think that reframing, it doesn't mean I'm not doing anything. It doesn't necessarily mean I'm going to stop doing any of this. It just means that there's just not that pressure of, you know, the things that we have to pay for, right? Right?
Dina Simon 26:13
Yeah. And Heather, I believe very much. I do believe in, like, manifesting. So if you know, there is something very specific, like just being really intentional and manifesting. But what I love about what you're talking about and just being open to that flow. I also go back to, like, you being a bird yourself, like you're and you just talked about that, like, if I go towards something and I feel resistance, just like a bird with, you know, a storm, right? You pull back and being open to things, and so just how extraordinary that you're on this amazing journey, and that we get to be a part of it, to watch the journey and see how it continues to unfold and and to support you, just because it just brings joy.
Heather Boschke 26:54
Yeah, and I love what you said about manifesting, because our thoughts are so powerful, and when we wake up and we're crabby and there's all the reasons to be negative that is just going to continue to spiral. And so the idea of, okay, it's going to be a great day. I'm going to get, like, already putting into motion the energy you want to get back, I think, is so important. And we underestimate just how powerful these brains are at creating the life that we think we want, but then you really have to be intentional about what is it that you actually want? And I think for a lot of us, we don't ask that question enough, and it can change just because you want something now doesn't mean in five years, it's the same thing that you want. And so there's something about checking in with yourself. Am I truly living the life that is aligned to my soul, that is the question
John Simon Sr. 27:42
well, and I think the birds and the writing and everything gives you an opportunity to, like, recharge your battery, and that puts you at a place that you're the happiest.
Heather Boschke 27:53
Yeah, that's a that's really well said, because we all have to remember to plug back in. You know, we're running and we're going and we're doing, and then knowing what are the activities that fill your cup up? Because as we serve other people, and we want to be the best we can be, you know, an empty cup cannot give and so always making sure that we recognize and are making space for the things that do bring us energy and recharge us. Yeah,
Dina Simon 28:17
awesome. Well, we're excited that you and your family are getting to go on an amazing trip this summer as well. How many people will be going on that? Well,
Heather Boschke 28:25
just gonna be the four of us. So my husband and I, and so my brother, he's got a new baby in California, so they're kind of dealing with all of that. So it'll be, it'll be the four of us. So it'll be, and I think it's a smaller ship, and so it'll be very intimate, and we'll make some fun memories. And granted, my husband and I aren't, you know, we're not at 50 years, but this year will be our 10 years, so it's a milestone year. Nice.
Dina Simon 28:47
I love that. So 1010, and 50, and think of the different birds that you're gonna see along the journey. My
Heather Boschke 28:53
gosh, I can't even tell you, I'm already going online to see, like, where are the different birds? And, yes, I cannot wait.
Dina Simon 29:00
Oh my gosh. And you've had to just like, again, where you just said, like, research and learning so much about birds. John Heather has one of those. I want one. You have the thing that sits on your window, the where birds come up and eat, and you have the camera,
Heather Boschke 29:15
yes, it's called the bird buddy. And I think there's different options you can get, but there's a Wi Fi connected camera that goes to your app. So anytime there's a bird, I'll get a little I mean, it's, it's a miracle I get anything done, because I'm constantly getting notifications saying you've got a new bird, you've got a new bird. And then you go, and there's different pictures and there's also videos, but it's this amazing bird's eye view, like of a bird just eating right there. And you get to see pattern and color and wing texture that you would never see close up. It is unbelievable. Yeah, I
Dina Simon 29:47
don't know how you get anything done.
John Simon Sr. 29:49
After I retired, we had a home in Durango, Colorado, and in the summertime when we were there, we would put the feeders out and the hummingbirds, they were just great to watch. And you would always have a dominant male that would be up in the tree and sit there and say, Okay, this whole feeder is mine, and admitted another hummingbird would go that it would buzz down and try to scare them away. So, so basically, then what you do is you put out more feeders, and that's right, but it was fun watching as they'll sit, and they'll even get on your finger. If you put your finger there, they'll come, they'll lay it on your finger, and they'll drink the sugar water out of the little container.
Heather Boschke 30:29
Wow, that is something special. And hummingbirds, I know they're small, they're so, like, beautiful and cute, and then they are, they're fighters. And it's funny, because you've got these bird feeders with five different stations, and it's like, unique, only one per bird because, yeah, another one will come over and all of a sudden it's flying away. And so, yeah, more more bird feeders. I actually think you're right. That's always the answer, yep, the
John Simon Sr. 30:53
answer is to put another one out. That's so, so good.
Dina Simon 30:56
Oh my gosh. Well, Heather, this has been such an honor and pleasure. We thank you so much for joining us on the podcast. And we will, we'll make sure everybody knows how to get in touch with you for all things, from a consulting perspective, how to follow the birds and and by the next books as they come out. But we really just thank you for being a part of this with us.
Heather Boschke 31:15
Thank you guys so much for having me. This was so lovely. And just thank you for the opportunity.
John Simon Sr. 31:20
I think that the road book number four might be an international bird book.
Heather Boschke 31:24
I like this. Okay, we're manifesting this right now. Here
Dina Simon 31:27
we go. Well, then you can maybe write your trip off too. That's
Heather Boschke 31:31
what I'm saying. That's right. Maybe birds up Costa Rica. So see one of the best places to go birding. So I think little birdie buddies of Costa Rica, we might be putting that into the universe right now. I
Dina Simon 31:41
love it. I'd like to thank Heather boschke for joining us on the podcast. She is the founder of Vogel ventures, which is a marketing company, and we didn't even talk about this. But Vogel is the word in German for bird, so the whole heritage of birds and her passion for that. So love that Heather. Heather is also a author. She's working on her third book, which we've talked about the birdies, and we'll make sure that you know how to get in touch with her for that. And then love that she is an adjunct professor, teaching others to have a love and passion for marketing. So Heather, thank you so much for being on the podcast. We love that we were able to feature you, and we'll make sure everybody knows how to get in touch with you. And as always, I would like to thank my father in law, John Simon, for CO hosting with me, and until we talk again. You