From Mrs. to Ms.

Ep 74: | Crafting Wealth and Authenticity with Cayla Craft

• Andrea Knoche • Season 6 • Episode 1

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What if you could transform a career filled with chaos and unpredictability into one of financial empowerment and abundance? In this episode, we welcome Cayla Craft, who did just that. From her challenging beginnings with parents battling addiction to working as an ER nurse, Cayla's journey is a testament to resilience and reinvention. She shares how her leap into network marketing not only financed her education but also sparked an unexpected entrepreneurial spirit, ultimately leading her to build a personal brand that resonated with thousands and propelled her to millionaire status.

We unpack the emotional and mental shifts that accompany a transition from a modest income to considerable wealth. Cayla candidly discusses the importance of self-education and due diligence in investing, sharing her own experiences with financial pitfalls. There's a focus on breaking free from societal pressures, particularly those magnified by social media, and the vital inner work needed to move from scarcity to abundance. Through Cayla’s insights, we learn about the power of living below your means and the importance of investing in cash flow-generating assets.

Cayla's passion for empowering others extends beyond her own success. She emphasizes the importance of authenticity as she navigates her path to financial freedom, sharing lessons from her podcast, "Crafted Entrepreneur," and insights from her book, "What Do You Really Want." We discuss the potential of leveraging personal expertise to create new opportunities, especially for those feeling financially stuck. By embracing change, taking calculated risks, and pursuing true desires, Cayla inspires listeners to seek a purposeful life filled with genuine fulfillment.

Instagram: @cayla.craft
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Andrea Knoche:

Welcome in you, guys. I am your host, andrea, with From Mrs to Ms, we are being joined by a wonderful guest today. We have Cayla Craft here with us today. Hi, Cayla, how are you? Hi I'm so excited to be here. I'm so excited to have you. We were chatting right before. We were talking about kind of where we live and stuff, and you were talking about you moved to Minnesota.

Cayla Craft:

I am in Minnesota because my oldest plays hockey and we were in California kind of by you, and it was just so much travel constantly for him and we just decided, hey, if we're going to help this kid follow his dreams, we're going to go to the state of hockey. So that's what we did.

Andrea Knoche:

I love that. I totally love when somebody just supports their kids' dreams, no matter what. We did the same thing and we moved here to California for my kids that are in the entertainment business. So kind of the same thing. I love that. So let me do a quick intro of you so everybody knows who we're talking to.

Andrea Knoche:

So, from ER nurse to multimillionaire investor, kayla Craft's journey proves that financial freedom is achievable for anyone willing to pursue it. As the founder of Crafted Entrepreneur, kayla empowers ambitious women to build assets, achieve financial flexibility and create multi-generational wealth, starting with no financial mentors and zero investment knowledge. This is fascinating. She learned through trial and error, recognizing and rewriting her own unhealthy money habits along the way. Now, through her exclusive mentoring groups and one-on-one consulting, she teaches women to take control of their finances, build successful businesses and live abundantly. Kayla is also the author of what Do you Really Want? Seven Questions that Can Unlock the Answers to a Life Full of Abund. Full of abundance, meaning and connection. A powerful guide to helping readers find purpose and fulfillment. Wow, that was. That's a lot.

Cayla Craft:

I paid a lot of money for that bio right there, as you should.

Andrea Knoche:

It's great. It's a great bio, and I love hearing. Why I really wanted you on here is because you went from nothing to where you are today and without, like I said, without the investment, knowledge, without the mentors. You just took life by the horns and you went with it, and I love that. I love that. So let's start from the beginning. Okay, so I'm very excited about this. What inspired you to transition from working as an ER nurse to pursuing a path toward financial freedom? Tell us how this all started.

Cayla Craft:

Right. So I chose to be an ER nurse, and I talked about this in my bestselling book what Do you Really Want? I chose to be an ER nurse because I wanted to help people. I grew up, was raised by a single mom who was also an alcoholic. My dad was a drug addict. They got divorced at a very young age and I was just used to chaos everywhere. So then, of course, I go into the ER, right when it's just chaos.

Cayla Craft:

That was what my nervous system was used to. Then I became a mom very quickly. I mean, I had my first son and I was working in the ER and I was like, oh my gosh, I don't want to live like this, because the ER is not something that you could just, you know, not think about. When you leave, you're constantly worried. Did I do everything? Did I, you know, make everything happen? So I knew that it wasn't going to be a long time fulfilling career for me and I don't know, there might be people like that listening in right now too, where, like, all I wanted to be was a nurse my whole entire life. And then you get into it and you realize, oh man, I don't know if this is actually what I want.

Andrea Knoche:

Yeah.

Cayla Craft:

And you know it's. That's a scary thing to to be. But I said decided okay, I'm going to go back to school and I'm going to get my master's because I'll be a chief nursing officer. Okay, so I go back to school and at the same time I start a network marketing business to actually help me pay for getting my master's.

Cayla Craft:

Okay, so that was the whole reason why I was like, okay, I'll do this so I could pay cash for this schooling, yeah, and then I had no clue that I was going to make six figures in six months in network marketing. I was selling protein shakes, protein shakes and cleanses.

Andrea Knoche:

Wow, and what year was this? This was 2011. 11. So I feel like now in the last probably 10 years it's just been crazy with health and wellness and protein and getting your body all that stuff. So probably back in 2011, it was kind of just starting to get into that.

Cayla Craft:

Because people will tell you it doesn't matter, timing doesn't matter, it absolutely matters right Like it absolutely matters.

Cayla Craft:

Now I can go to Amazon and I can buy any protein shake I wanted, but back then, I mean, you really couldn't get protein shakes unless you were going through a network marketing space. You were going to some specialty health food stores and then at that point you didn't really know what you were getting into. So it was right time, right, right opportunity. And also that was back when Facebook was not even popular yet. And what I did was I just started a personal brand without realizing it. And I love to tell this story because it this this strategy still works today if you follow it. And what I did was this story because it this this strategy still works today if you follow it.

Cayla Craft:

And what I did was I was just authentically myself online. I started the protein shakes and the cleanse and I actually said, oh my God, you guys, this stuff just made me threw up, but it's supposed to help me lose five pounds, so I'm going to keep drinking it. And it was that honesty, the authenticity that people go. Oh, I'm going to pay attention because she's obviously not just like trying to sell me something, you know. And I kept pushing through, I kept posting just real and raw stuff and people started to follow along on Facebook and that's how I built my first million dollar. I don't like to call it a business, because I learned that's not a business. It was really commission and it was great. I learned so much, but I made a million dollars in commission in less than three years and I realized that that was again okay. That was great career, but I needed to do something else that I truly owned. I was having my third kid. I was still in the nursing world because I was scared to give up my RN license.

Cayla Craft:

And so I said, okay, if I could make a million dollars in commission for somebody else in three years, could I do that for myself, selling something that I'm passionate about, which, at the time, was social media? And so I gave my resignation for nursing and I completely focused on building out the Kayla craft brand. And this is what's so cool, andrea. Okay, because people don't realize this. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars to get a Kayla craftcom built and, you know, hired all these developers to make this membership cool. And this was back in 2014, 2015.

Cayla Craft:

And I spent all this money and everybody was always asking me for help. So I thought, oh, this is going to blow up, and I only charged I want to say it was I can't remember, it might've been a hundred bucks a month or something to join this membership. Listen to me, not one person bought. Not one person bought. I had a team of 90,000 people at that point. I mean, I had a ton of followers, not on Instagram yet, but specifically on Facebook, and nobody bought. And it was my first real failure, you know, online, and it was the best thing that could have happened to me, because I realized, okay, like I have to learn a whole new set of skills in order to build my business, not sell somebody else's business right.

Andrea Knoche:

So you're kind of just taking whatever you learned with this network marketing and everything and trying to almost just duplicate it and start your own and hope that people just come to it because they were following you in what they had seen before.

Cayla Craft:

Yeah, Well, people were always asking me for help, and so I said okay, I'm going to put it all in a membership. I'm going to teach you guys how to brand yourself, and I I of course thought because people asked for it that they would buy it, but that was and why do you think that was?

Andrea Knoche:

what? Do you think it was about it that they were?

Cayla Craft:

was it too early, too soon for something so profound? What I've learned is that you always have to present the need before you sell something. Right, so just because people are asking for it doesn't mean that they have a true need for it. And so what I should have done in the months? Instead of spending thousands and thousands of dollars on my website getting built, I should have spent months in the pre-launch phase putting out reasons why you need mentorship, why you need branding help, why a personal brand, investing in a personal brand, is important.

Andrea Knoche:

You know like all of these things to start seeding and then launch, once you have that foundation of everybody knowing what you can bring. Wow. So what did you do? So how soon after? I mean, what was your turnaround? What did you do?

Cayla Craft:

Oh my gosh. So then I just said, okay, I'm not going to, I'm not even going to like try to put effort into that, I'm going to invest in myself. So I just started to learn from mentors, you know like get different certifications and just take different courses and classes and just glean wisdom all around marketing and life coaching. Because obviously I was like I need more tools in my tool belt here. So I got educated for like the next year and was still making a lot of money in network marketing and things like that and I I then also started taking on some clients one-on-one to practice what I was learning and things like that. And then that's kind of I did a social media agency. I mean I've done so many things. I did a social media agency. After that, I have a social media agency now and yeah, I mean I think that the lesson there was just like I needed that like little failure to humble me. You know it was like oh, okay, you know, not everything you touch is going to turn to gold.

Cayla Craft:

Yeah, I know that now, cause I've had other failures since then but, you know, you can kind of get a God complex when you're in network marketing, so it was really good experience for me.

Andrea Knoche:

No, I love that and I think it's really important, like you said, to have those little failures to recognize the wins as well, and you can take those and turn them into something really positive. Totally so good, totally so. You kind of already answered this about the moment that you realized you wanted to change your financial story and start building the wealth. So it was kind of like that mind shift that changed it. It was pretty much when you were you had your first child and you thought this is not a good mix for me. I want something that I can be there for him but still be financially independent. So what would you say to others that are thinking of that? They're kind of on the fence because that is such a huge step, and if you're not in a space financially to make that change, what kind of things would you suggest to somebody? Do you just say just go for it. I mean, what's the worst that can?

Cayla Craft:

happen. Well, okay, I would say you have to get educated. So that's one thing that I wish I would have done immediately back in the day. And what's so cool is that there's so much more information than there was, you know, 13 years ago. I mean, I mean, if you just listen to podcasts from some of the great investors, you understand their mindset, you know, and it'll change the way you think about things and think about opportunity and it's all free, you know, I mean and most people put all of their goodness into a book, and so you can learn so much from them as well.

Cayla Craft:

And I always like to say you know, I've been mentored by you know, robert Kiyosaki. I've been mentored by a Tim Grover, and it's just. I've never met them, but I've read their books, I've listened to them on podcasts and it's helped me change the way I think. And so get educated, because the more educated you are around a certain investment genre, the more empowered you're going to feel when you do have the money and when you have the right opportunity in place. Okay, so what I did was I blindly trusted people in the beginning. When I first started making money, somebody would say, oh, kayla, this is a good investment, you should do this with us, and even financial advisors. And I just did because I was making so much money. I thought, well, if I lose the money this is how we all think when we're younger right, if I lose the money, it'll be easier to, you know, make it up because I make so much money.

Cayla Craft:

So I mean, at this point I've lost millions of dollars and it's actually mind blowing, but you just have to laugh about it now because you know it is what it is. So and really do your due diligence on people and if you're ever going to invest with somebody, or if somebody brings a really great investment opportunity, I always ask how much are you investing into it?

Cayla Craft:

So, I don't like to mess with capital raisers that don't put their own skin in the game, because they're only getting paid on the amount you're bringing in Right, which is a lot of financial advisors too, by the way, yeah. So always ask how do you get paid? And that's really important. I don't know. I could go on and on, but that's what I would say is get educated and always do your due diligence on the people you're investing with.

Andrea Knoche:

What's their?

Cayla Craft:

track record. How are you legally protected as the investor in this deal?

Andrea Knoche:

Oh, that's great. That's great. And so what were some of your biggest obstacles from going from this ear nurse to millionaire? Was it the best? I mean, I'm sure there's quite a few. What would be some of the biggest ones that you've said, and how did you overcome those? Okay, what would be?

Cayla Craft:

some of the biggest ones that you've said, and how did you overcome those? Okay, so I'll just be really real with you, because you know that's the only way to be. But when I first started making a lot of money, you have to remember I was a little poor girl and that little poor girl was still inside of me, and I talk about this so much in my book. What do you really want? Because the little poor girl inside of me wanted to make sure everybody knew I was no longer poor.

Andrea Knoche:

Okay.

Cayla Craft:

So I had to buy everything for everybody, right? If we were going out to dinner, I mean I was buying everybody dinner. If we were walking into a you know a store, I'm buying everybody. You know that came with me in the store. I'm buying them something like.

Andrea Knoche:

Did that give you any sense of like that you were growing or there was any you know, like you just felt good and confidence, or did it kind of it was like a moment?

Cayla Craft:

I don't even honestly remember that's a great question I have to. I would have to take more time to reflect on that because I don't know, because it almost felt like a whirlwind, um, because I just started making so much. I mean, you have to remember, have to remember I was making good money as a nurse. I was making about $8,000 a month as a nurse, which was good. Our house payment was like $1,000 a month and me and my husband both worked.

Cayla Craft:

So we were already doing good in our normal jobs. So then you go to making $10,000 a week pretty quickly. $10,000 a week Exactly. It's um, it's like that, and I was 23 years old, I mean. So it's like, yeah, and I didn't have, you know, parents. I could say what, what should I do with this 40 grand a month I'm making? You know, I'm just going, oh, keeping up with the Joneses. So that's what I would say is the biggest challenge for me is I look back and go, oh my gosh, I wasted so much money on crap I didn't need to impress people, I don't even care about anymore. You know what I mean? Like it's wild to me and it that I just have to have compassion for that part of me because it's like you know, it's all a part of the process and now I get to teach people fricking. Learn from my mistakes, you know.

Andrea Knoche:

Amazing. I love that. So something that stood out to me on your videos on Instagram, you have a lot of really great videos, so for the listeners listening and we'll give her handles at the end that you can go and check out everything. She's got so many great videos, but one of them you said that stood out to me was being in agreement with a lie is what is stunting your growth. That was really powerful. So talk to us about that.

Cayla Craft:

So we fall into agreement with lies that we are completely unaware of. One lie that most of us are in agreement with is that we're not good enough, and it happens very quickly. If those of you that are listening in right now have been on social media at all in the past 24 hours, you know that feeling of not feeling good enough. Yes, but we fall into agreement with it by starting to believe this lie and it looks like actually comparing yourself. Yeah, it starts with the moment moment you think, oh, I wish I had that. Or she does this better than me, her pictures look better than me, her voice is prettier than mine. You know all the things it's like. Okay, you're in agreement.

Cayla Craft:

When you start to agree with the lie, well then, guess what? You start to fall out of your true identity, the one that God gave you, gave you, he made you. A certain way, you come over here into your false identity, which is lack, it's scarcity, it's there's, you know, it's comparison, it's competition, it's all of the things over here that just feel icky and gross, and then you start living life like this. This becomes your frame of reference for absolutely everything in your life, and so I always like to tell people we put. We put a lens on every single day. We're always constantly putting different lenses on and what we want to consistently pick up is our true identity. So if we could look at what we're going through in our life right now through our true identity abundance everything's always happening for me, there is more than enough time, money, resources, people to help me achieve what I want to do Then we always that's when you look at life, as with the glass half full right.

Cayla Craft:

You're looking at it and going gosh, there's so much opportunity. Yeah, this didn't work out, but there's something better ahead of me. But you have to choose to put that lens on, to look at life that way, when most of us we just wake up and we kind of roll with it, you know, instead of actively choosing to see different and I think that is one of the hardest things.

Andrea Knoche:

I'm going to kind of go off my questions here because I know we talk a lot about people trying to really manifest and put themselves in that particular place in the future praying, meditating, all of those good things.

Andrea Knoche:

And I know you're religious, you're very much a Christian, and how do you feel and I don't want to get too much into that side of it, but like, when you pray in the morning or in the evening or whatever time you pray for those that are out there that do pray for things, what is it exactly that you are kind of asking for and saying to God when you're praying for these things? If we can just kind of go down that route a little bit because I do, I know I know it can be a really touchy subject for people of all different religions, but I do in the mornings I try to do a little prayer, a little meditation, and I feel like I struggle with it because I'm I feel like I'm just kind of asking for all of these things and maybe I feel like I'm not quite asking the right way.

Cayla Craft:

But see, that's also a lie too, cause it's like I'm not good enough. I'm not even good enough to pray, right, right.

Andrea Knoche:

Exactly yeah.

Cayla Craft:

And God. So how God looks at us is he looks at us Like we look at our kids, like he loves us so much, like we're obsessed. Yeah, I mean you probably remember when your kids were little, you just would look at them sleeping, you would look at them eating. I mean, I find myself doing it now. My kids are teenagers. You just you adore your kids. That's how God looks at us. We are all children of God and so we have to remember that and give ourselves some grace. That like we're kind of cool, like God made us, you know. So, like know that, right. But I am obsessed.

Cayla Craft:

In Luke 11 in the Bible, it talks about the Lord's prayer. Like Jesus is on earth and he's saying this is how you pray, okay. And he says, father, hallowed be your name, which means like I honor you, god, I honor you, and so. And then it says your kingdom come, your will be done, your kingdom come, okay. So let's talk about what the kingdom is. Kingdom is like heaven, okay, in heaven and even I know people might believe different things, but everybody might believe something similar to this Like I don't know, but in heaven there is peace, there is joy. There is no, there is no comparison, there is none of this stuff, it's none of the yep, there is no sickness, there is no death, like there's none of that, right. And so, like Jesus is teaching us to say, kingdom, come to earth. And so that's actually what we're praying for is like, okay today, like how can I bring the kingdom of heaven to earth? I need to be joy, I need to be peace, I need to be loved, I have to be the change I want to see in the world, right? And so, just by simply saying these things, what we're doing is we're shifting out of the physical world and we're going into the spiritual world. So this is the number one way to pray, because we're putting God up here in his rightful place. He already knows how this is all going to turn out for us. He's already wrote the story for us and and he didn't write us here to fail, like he didn't make us to fail because hello, like us and our success is good for his reputation.

Cayla Craft:

I always tell people that, like if you really walked around believing that we'd all be like, wow, you know we'd be so much happier and more fulfilled, but you know anyways. So we put God in our rightful place. We say, okay, by kingdom, come, and we say give us each day our daily bread. So what do I need today from you, God? I need money. Whatever specifically you need, for that is when you go and you ask God for it and believe that he is going to give it to you. Right, be very specific, be very specific. You have to be bold, you have to be courageous.

Cayla Craft:

I always tell people if you're in debt, then you ask for the debt to be supernaturally canceled in some way. Ask for it. Okay. I've heard some crazy stories. When people started saying that prayer over supernatural debt cancellation, coming out of nowhere, the IRS coming and saying, hey, we owe you $50,000, like crazy stuff. But because they believed like God's going to do something on my behalf, okay.

Cayla Craft:

And then then we go into forgiveness. Okay, I'm going to ask you for all these things, but God asks us to forgive over and over and over again. And this is our moment to go okay, forgive me and help me forgive those people who have done wrong against me. Help me forgive myself, cause I'm so mad at myself over something. That's when God doesn't want us to be like sitting here with all this unforgiveness in our hearts, like forgive, forgive. That's when God doesn't want us to be. Like sitting here with all this unforgiveness in our hearts. Like forgive, forgive, forgive. If you're having trouble forgiving somebody I know I have gone through this. It's like, god, help me, help me. You know that I'm like too weak to do this on my own. Help me forgive this person. It's an ongoing process. It's not like you just say that once and it's like done, you know, but help me forgive all these people you know. So I think that, and then again, it's amen, it's amen and it's done. Thank you in advance for.

Andrea Knoche:

Lord, I mean it's your appreciative for it in that moment. I love that, yeah, and I appreciate you going down that that road with me. I just, you know, sometimes when you're doing that and you're praying, I know a lot of people out there. You're just kind of saying things and and that is what it's all about, right, Just speaking your mind and whatever you're feeling in the moment. But I love that you said to be specific for what you're asking for.

Andrea Knoche:

That's great, that's really good. Okay, so we're going to switch gears and we're going to go onto your book. The book called what do you really want, and it says the seven questions that can unlock the answers to a life full of abundance, meaning and connection. So you discuss the importance of finding purpose and abundance. So how do these concepts play into building wealth?

Cayla Craft:

Well, okay, so I'll go back to the story about the little poor. I don't think I even finished that loop. But the little poor girl, right, Like she wanted to impress all these people. Well, that little poor girl can't build wealth because she is building a life from a wounded place. Right, Even though she was able to make money, she's not going to be able to create true wealth.

Cayla Craft:

So I had to go and heal the inner Kayla you know, the one that was poor and help her realize like hey, guess what? We ended up making money Like, we ended up like being more than fine, Like God totally takes care of us. Now I want you to take a backseat and let you know $10 million, Kayla, take charge, because we have to start living life in a whole new way. We got to think completely differently about everything you've ever been told. So so that's, that's why we have to do the inner work on ourselves in order to build wealth is because most people build their lives from a place of ego. Yeah, Look at me, look at me, look at me, you know, and now I mean I remember, you know, I would say, like nine years ago, like I wanted to be famous. So bad.

Cayla Craft:

I wanted to be famous so bad I wanted a TV show. I was. I was like investing in all these things I wanted to like be known it, all these things I wanted to like be known. It was so important to me. And now I like I don't want anybody to know me and it's really hard because I still have to build this public brand. But it's like the more wealthy you become, the more private you become too, because you're just I, just you know. Anyways, it's probably more inner work I need to do too, but we're always having to do more.

Cayla Craft:

But now it's like, oh, like I don't want people to know the things I have and where I live and all the things anymore, you know. So we, we grow and we evolve.

Andrea Knoche:

You need to try to build from your abundance, like your abundance and your wealth, and how you build that wealth. Yeah, Purpose.

Cayla Craft:

So then, when you figure out, okay, what your purpose is in life, right, because most of us are in survival mode, and the way that we actually reach true fulfillment in life is by giving back and serving other people, and so we have to have our basic needs taken care of in order to reach actual fulfillment in life.

Cayla Craft:

But most people are stuck down here at basic needs, especially with everything that's going on in the world right now, with inflation and everything, like people just cannot get ahead. And you wonder why you're so far from feeling fulfilled? Well, it's because you're. You're down here on the pyramid of change. You're at the bottom when your basic needs and it's really hard to get up here when you can't get these taken care of. So it's making sure, number one, that you don't live outside of your means. This is really important.

Cayla Craft:

A lot of people get really oh they, oh, I'm eventually going to make money, and then you get in some trouble. So I always say like, live way below your means, okay, until you have assets, that cashflow, to pay for your lifestyle expenses. At that point, then you can expand your lifestyle a little bit more. You can buy the fancy cars, you can get the bigger house, but you need to have the assets to be able to pay for all of these things. And an asset is not a job, yeah, so if you're still in a job right now, that's great, but use how do you live below your means to start investing immediately. Start getting those assets to cashflow, yeah, okay.

Cayla Craft:

And so that's why you have to understand your true purpose. Your purpose is not to be, like you know, paying bills and dying. Your purpose has to be something so much bigger and maybe it's going to take you 20 years to fulfill it and get to where you want to go. But when you make a plan and you're able to just follow through every single day on what that plan is, you're going to get to where you want to get a lot quicker. Honestly, Amazing.

Andrea Knoche:

And so, for women who are just kind of starting out their journey to financial freedom, what would be the first steps in order to create this wealth Like what would be something that you could say today? This is what I want you to start doing today. Let's see where that goes.

Cayla Craft:

Well, okay, the number one concept okay, this is how Chase and I have created true wealth is be the lender not the borrower and this is also a biblical principle too but always have money available to lend and charge interest on what you're lending. So Chase and I lend money to small businesses and people would call it a hard money loan, and it is because people are going to pay around 20% interest. We're taking a very high risk investing in businesses that banks won't give loans to.

Cayla Craft:

So we have to in order to protect ourselves. We do have to have a high interest rate on that, and that's something that we have done and we feel it's helped a lot of people too you know, so be the lender on that. We lend in private real estate deals all the time, so we're always we don't like money in the bank.

Andrea Knoche:

Yeah.

Cayla Craft:

Okay, trouble there too, because I push out a lot, but anyway, I always want my money to be in momentum, okay. So if you could just get started right now. It's thinking about okay, how do I put the money I have into momentum Into momentum, that's a great question.

Cayla Craft:

So even if you I mean if you don't know enough right now, and let's say you have a thousand dollars in savings, okay, and you don't know something about real estate, let's say you're really interested in getting involved in real estate Well, I would take that thousand dollars and I would invest it into my education into learning more and more about real estate, so people would get scared to do that. But I'm like a thousand dollars in your savings account ain't going to save you.

Cayla Craft:

You know like it's not, it's, it's not anything there. So it's filled up and learn something you don't know. Connect with mentors that have what you want, make sure they're the real deal, do your due diligence on them and then, like you know, get to work. But you've got to start understanding that money in momentum concept that's interesting.

Andrea Knoche:

Yeah, I think that might be one of the hardest things is actually taking that first step. I think a lot of times, you know, they say take your money and invest in yourself because money makes money. Right, and so we sit here, we're all nervous to spend it. Oh, I need that thousand dollars for whatever it might be. But if you're trying to think of the future and what you can do with it, you've got to take a leap of faith at some point. Right, Take those chances and just go for it.

Cayla Craft:

And I'm never lost, you know so it's. You have to believe in the law of circulation. So anytime like I look at the, okay, maybe I've lost a million dollars in investments, right, but I've learned from all of those things, so I haven't really lost. I believe that money is coming back to me in some way, shape or form, and you know it just is what it is. What did I learn from that? Oh my gosh, so many things, right. I could write a whole book on everything I lost from bad investments or everything I learned from bad investments right.

Cayla Craft:

So, there's so much we can do with that information. So we have this extreme mentality that we think, oh my gosh, like this has to work. This is my only option and most people that have that type of mentality. They continue to fail over and over again because you're not looking for the silver lining in situations. So I'm always looking for okay if that was a failure. How can I monetize that?

Andrea Knoche:

I see, and they're putting so much pressure on the fact that this has to happen, and desperation repels creativity right.

Cayla Craft:

So we don't ever want to find ourselves in that desperate place but I always say, like okay, if you connect to the right mentor, like I know, when people work with me, I mean I will do whatever I can to make sure my people are successful, you know. So it's like connect with the right people because they're going to make sure you get into the right rooms, that your name is brought up in the right places so you can get to where you want to go. Wow.

Andrea Knoche:

So a statement you wrote said think about all the things you've wanted in your life. Where said think about all the things you've wanted in your life. Where would you be had you gotten them all? So it's kind of into what we talked about. When you're thinking about all of these things and we pray for things and we ask for things and we're so upset you know, we missed out on a job we thought we were going to get, or some something that was going to come through for us that we thought was going to happen and it doesn't, and it feels like the end of the world in that moment. But with this statement you're saying think about all of those things that you want in life and how would your life be different had you gotten all of those things. And we have to trust that one door closes for another to open, right. So what are some of the things that you've wanted in the past that in hindsight maybe you're glad you didn't get? And how do those kind of shape the experience of where you are today.

Cayla Craft:

Well, okay, you know one big thing I talked about this in this post you're referencing. Is that like I really wanted a divorce like seven years ago?

Andrea Knoche:

Yes, I read this. I'm excited to hear about this one from your current husband now, yeah, okay, and I mean we both hated each other.

Cayla Craft:

I mean honestly. That's why I always say, like, if you guys don't believe in God, you should, because just us. The fact that we, like, are obsessed with each other now is a mirror.

Cayla Craft:

Okay, like that's how you married, at the time when you started feeling this way, we started having issues about like five years in like really bad issues, and then, um, we've been married for 17 years now, so and it was like that five to 10 year range like really yeah, but anyways, I always think like I would pray because I'm so Christian I would never have gotten a divorce had God not like released me from it, right and um, you know, I mean now I don't necessarily believe that.

Cayla Craft:

I don't. I have different thoughts about that, but that's how strong my convictions were at the time. And anyway, it was kind of all just dumb stuff. It was because I made more money than him. It was like really stupid, is that hard for you or hard for him? It was hard for him, okay, and then, because I felt like he was not grateful, then I became resentful of him. So it was just this vicious. It was just like this vicious dumb thing. You know, like we loved each other and then it was like why did we let money? But this is like you know it was it was annoying anyway.

Cayla Craft:

So I prayed God, release me, release me from this marriage, like somehow, in some way get him out of my life. Like I, I don't want anything to do with him, I don't want to be married to him, all the things. I don't want to be married to him, all the things. Well, what happened was we moved to a new location in Newport beach and I've got like new friends and I started a new Bible study and I was never really open and honest with them about what was going on in my marriage, but they did so many couples things together. I was like, oh my gosh, like I'm just going to invite him. You know, we started going and hanging out with like healthy couples that like liked each other and it was like literally for the. I know this sounds weird, but it was like the first time in our lives that we saw like what healthy couples looked like. And I just, and my friends like noticed that something was going on with Chase and I. They're like you guys just don't look happy, like we're going to pray for you and stuff, and I pray but like in the back of my mind I'm like I'm still praying for a divorce. So you know, keep praying anyway, but we ended up like God, ended up completely changing our hearts towards each other and we just forgave each other.

Cayla Craft:

There was a lot of work we had to do. We got a marriage coach Like we did so much work on ourselves and now I imagine like, oh my gosh, thank God for not giving me what I wanted seven years ago, because our life is so amazing now, but we both had to drastically change and do work on ourselves. So I just want to make it really. We were both willing to do it, though like both willing to do it. So anyway, you know, I was, oh my gosh, thank God that wasn't answered, you know, and I think I'm trying to think of some other ones that haven't been answered, but I don't really I don't know. I think that's like the biggest one, honestly, but you think about all the ones that you make when you're like in high school. You know one and I wanted this to happen. I want that to happen.

Cayla Craft:

You know, that doesn't happen.

Andrea Knoche:

But for sure, I think there's just so many things along the way want this, want this, and you're so bummed and disappointed and then, looking back, you're like, what was that that I was even so upset about? Or you know, I wouldn't be here if I had done that, or you know, whatever that might be. So now that you've reached financial freedom, so like, tell me some of your next big goals. How do you plan to continue growing and inspiring others?

Cayla Craft:

Such a good question. So I always kind of battle with this, cause, like I told you, I'm like now I want to just be more private and I want to just go on. I want to just turn off my social media. But it's funny Cause I own a social media agency which is like, okay, um, but what I would say is like I do want to help people be successful, but not at the sake of losing who they are. You know, just conform and fit in to be successful. You know what I mean.

Cayla Craft:

So I think that I still have to continue to show up and teach people how to be authentic to themselves and not like sell their soul to to success. You know what I mean. So I want to continue to show up for people. I'm doing that through my podcast, crafted entrepreneur Um, that's where I mean, I'm doing this whole identity series right now. I just decided, you know, I'm just going to give away everything that I would normally put in a course and I'm just going to put it in my podcast. Oh, I love that, because I just I really just want to give to people, and so that's what I'm doing on my podcast right now, and you know my husband's building out a huge lending company, and so that's a challenge as we grow, with more and more employees, just like being a leader that can, you know, grow and help everybody on the team succeed. So that's very challenging.

Cayla Craft:

And we need to do that with just the hopes of helping a lot of people on our team become successful, because everybody also gets paid a commission, so just helping everybody, you know, gain wealth that way. And I still want my huge real estate empire, I want 20,000 doors, and so I just, you know, chip away at that.

Andrea Knoche:

What is that Okay?

Cayla Craft:

So like a door, would be like a unit. So I invest in multifamily deals, so I don't buy just one single family home which would be at one floor. So like right now so I just say doors because, like you know, it counts as a house. Okay, oh, I gotcha. Okay, I should know that I'm taking mortgage forever?

Andrea Knoche:

I should know that. I've been mortgage forever. I should know that I've never heard that term, but I love it. Okay, so finishing it out, if you could give just one piece of advice to, you know, maybe a woman that's feeling financially stuck but she knows she wants more, what would that piece of advice be? Or anyone out there really that's like I feel stuck. What do I do? What's my next step?

Cayla Craft:

Hmm, well, I would say like, go to the path of least resistance. So, if you're known for something, did you say you did mortgages? Is that what you said? So what I might do is I might go okay how, if I know how, to be a successful mortgage lender how do I go and teach that to somebody Interesting?

Andrea Knoche:

So that would be a quick cash Finding your area of expertise, your knowledge, and using that for other people.

Cayla Craft:

Lean into the coaching industry and start to make money, cause even if you're struggling financially, it doesn't it doesn't negate your experience and your skills. So you still have something you can teach and help people be successful at, and I would go there, even if you're like I don't want to talk about mortgages. I'm like that's the path of least resistance, though, and it's what you know, and if you can help somebody else be successful and you get paid for it, it's going to help change your trajectory you need to do it Right.

Andrea Knoche:

That's really interesting that you say that Cause I was just going to give a quick example while you're you're going over that. So I was in the mortgage business for 20 plus years, got laid off gosh, almost a year ago Now. I can't believe it's been a year, you know, and, shocked by it, like wait what I've never been laid off, I thought I was the one doing the laying off that day but it ended up being me. And it's interesting how you take that. In the beginning you know you're sad and you're upset and it's a lot of what we said. If something had happened you wouldn't be in the place you are today.

Andrea Knoche:

But I took that at the end of last year and I thought you know what I have been wanting to really focus on my podcast. I've been wanting to get. I love, like the entertainment world. My kids are in the business. I love when people come up to me and say how did you get your kids started? And I can talk about that. I submit for myself for voiceovers for Cassie. You know all kinds of stuff as well as my kids, and I thought that's what I really love, like that's my passion, that's my dream, but the money is obviously in the mortgage business, you know.

Andrea Knoche:

So I struggled with it for a little while, going, okay, do I want to get back into that or do I take this time to really focus and do something else that I really want to do? And so I recently had an interview, you know, with mortgage that I would. I had been sitting there going I was perfect for that job. I don't know how I didn't get called for that. I mean, I'm exactly what they were looking for my resume, everything. Yet I didn't hear back and I had to look at that and go is that the universe? And is that God saying oh, we're not going to make it that easy for you.

Andrea Knoche:

Andrea, you said you wanted to try something new. You want to put your area of expertise that you do know because you have been doing the castings with your kids. You've helped them get to where they are in their field and you know you want to do that. Let's push you to do that. I'm not going to make it easy on you and just give you the job where you're going to make great money and you'll just fall back into your same routine and where you're at. But let me put you into something new and push you out of your comfort zone, and so I think that's, like you know, for me that was like a little bit of a wake up call, like I was so bummed for, you know, a couple of weeks I didn't get that job I cannot and then I had to go.

Andrea Knoche:

Did I really want that job? Did I really want to get back into that field again, or was it an easy route for it, which it would be the path of least resistance, right? But I'm also taking that now and I actually met with another mortgage company and they've talked to me about maybe coming on to consult with them and I'm like that's kind of more maybe where I would be beneficial and I could put my growth financially on an upward trajectory if I'm now doing something, a consulting over here, and I'm doing the podcast over here which is going well and I'm doing, you know, just all these little things, and so I felt like that kind of went along a little bit with what you're saying is find what you know and do well at it and take that. Is that kind of what you're saying Consulting route for you because, you still will own your time.

Cayla Craft:

You know, and you can very much be like. These are the boundaries and here's what I'm willing to do. And here's what I'm going to get paid.

Andrea Knoche:

Right, so I love that type of option.

Cayla Craft:

Yeah, but it's like you know, people will come to me all the time and they're like I've been, you know, in the corporate world, doing sales, doing recruiting, doing X, y and Z. But now I'm really passionate about fitness and I want to do this thing. I'm like, okay, how much money do you have? And they're like none.

Cayla Craft:

And I'm like, okay, great, you need to go with the path of least resistance over here, because if you're known for sales, if you're known for recruiting, get paid. Like, make that be easy. Money that can pay for your lifestyle, right, you don't even have to think about it. I mean, it is so easy, your lifestyle is paid for. Then go and start to build your brand. Then go and start to build your brand, start to become known for the thing you want to become known for it, like for you for casting and teaching, all these things. But like, still have your life be paid for by something else while you build a cushion of money to support you because the passion project of the thing you want to take on is going to, it's going to require money, unless you want to take out outside investors. You know well, hey, pay for it yourself by going this route that you might not be that passionate about again, but it's like if you're known for something, you can get paid for it, yeah.

Andrea Knoche:

And if you are in a place where you're financially okay, you're good for a while, do you just take that leap and just go for something you really want to do, or do you still focus on having something in the background, a passive income that can make you feel comfortable? I know I like to feel safe.

Cayla Craft:

I mean everybody embraces. I feel like part of living a life of faith is embracing uncertainty, but also, at the same time, it's being smart, right? So I would never say, you know, if it's a consulting type of thing or some type of you know thing where you can really control the amount of time you put into it and get paid for it, then I would say, keep doing it while you're building this thing over here, because if it's a well-oiled machine, don't throw it. Don't throw it away. That's easy money for you. Don't, don't throw it away.

Andrea Knoche:

Great advice. Oh my gosh, you had so much wonderful advice for everyone in the listeners. I just you know. It's really important, I think, for for people to understand that and to find out a way to just get themselves to that next level. And it's most of it, we're just scared. I know that. You know for myself. You're just scared to take that step, to try something new. There's many times I've been like, oh, I should take that course, but I don't want to pay for it. But it's things like that that you're like just go for it.

Cayla Craft:

And here's the thing is like um life. If you knew absolutely every hoop you were going to have to jump through, every trial you were going to have to endure to get to your dream life, None of us would sign up for it. We'd say you know, I'm going to stay over here in the mortgage industry. That's what's happening right now. If I knew absolutely everything, I was going to have to go through the last. You know however many almost 14 years, Um, I honestly could have told you right now that 23 year old Kayla would have been like good peace. Nope, I'm going to stay here as an ER nurse, like I'm good. Yeah, we can't know all the steps because the person we are today is not strong enough to handle all of it. All right. So it's just like we build up strength, Our character is refined over time, Then we're able to handle more, our capacity grows, and so stop putting so much pressure on yourself to know it all tomorrow.

Cayla Craft:

You're not going to know, you're never going to be perfect, but I would say, what are your gifts and talents? Give those a single day. If you're giving your gifts and talents every single day, you will be rewarded. You will always have more than enough, and so that needs to be our service, mind. You know we, we gotta be focused on that. And then you know, and sometimes our gifts that we have are, like you know, like for me, I love, I, like I told you I hate social media, like I really I'm really good at social media and I'm really good at teaching other people what to say, what to post, how to build their brand. It's, it literally comes like this to me, like I don't have to think about it, okay, but it's also the thing that I'm like, oh, if I could never see social media again in my life, I wouldn't do it. But God's like, hey, you know, you got to give your gift, you got it. People and it's funny.

Cayla Craft:

I did a poll yesterday on social media and I because I'm doing a bunch of different collaborations and I was like, hey, what are you guys most interested in? Anti-aging fitness, social media help or being a life coach? Right, and I know what. I want everybody to choose. Right, what does the majority of people right now have chosen? Social?

Andrea Knoche:

media.

Cayla Craft:

And it's the thing I keep trying to run from for the last you know, 13 years. It's my, it's mind blowing. So it's just like that thing, like okay, you got to give it, you got to get. It's going to change people's lives. It might not be the thing you're the most passionate about, but that money that I've acquired from teaching so many people how to, you know, create social media, brands, brands it's allowed me this lifestyle, right, because I've been able to invest, do things with my kids, do startups and like all of the things that this little nest egg continues to give me.

Andrea Knoche:

Wow, love that. Okay, so tell everybody where they can find you, what's your social media handles. Tell us about your book, where they can find that. All the good stuff.

Cayla Craft:

Yeah, so you can find the book on Audible or anywhere you buy books. It's called what do you really want. I love it If you guys got it and loved a review of it. It's really good because every chapter has a challenge, like a little workbook at the end of it. So I love it. It's interactive and you can keep taking action. It's seven steps that you can take every single day to start getting what you truly want, again, not from a place of ego, but a place of purpose. So really live a life that you're absolutely obsessed with.

Cayla Craft:

And I actually talk about in the book how many pivots I've made, and I think if people could take away anything. You know, follow me on social media because you'll see. I mean, I just want to give everybody permission to like, permission to pivot, permission to fail, permission to just like figure it out. None of us know what we're doing, even though, like hey, you know I might have some clues, some tips for you. I still don't know how the journey is going to end up, but I'm going to keep sharing you know my failures, my mistakes, some of my wins along the way, and hopefully it inspires people to just like, take the leap, like go after the thing.

Andrea Knoche:

That's what we want and it's your on social media. You're at Kayla Craft.

Cayla Craft:

Yeah, c-a-y-l-a dot, c-r-a-f-t on all the platforms, perfect.

Andrea Knoche:

Okay, before you go, I like to play this little from Mrs to Ms. Would you rather game? It's 10 easy questions. You just tell me which one you would rather do Ready, okay, number one. Would you rather have the power to instantly change one money habit for every woman you meet, or be able to grant them an instant confidence boost to start investing the first one? The first one changed one money habit. Yeah, yeah, just one step at a time.

Andrea Knoche:

Well, because that'll build their confidence. Oh, I love that. Okay, number two would you rather fall for someone who makes you laugh uncontrollably or someone who gives you butterflies every time they walk? I watch a lot of videos. I laugh at a lot of your videos. They're really good, they're fun with your husband. They're fun. Number three would you rather have a partner who's a fantastic kisser but terrible at flirting, or someone who's an expert flirt but just okay at kissing?

Cayla Craft:

Flirt because then you can teach them how to kiss.

Andrea Knoche:

See, I never think you can teach someone to kiss. I don't know, Maybe if you really really try hard, I think it's just no, maybe I've maybe kissed a bad kisser, so I haven't been traumatized by it. I guess that's right, you must not have if you're taking the plurts. Okay, number four would you rather have the ability to instantly manifest any business idea into a million dollar success, or have the power to teach others to make millions with just one single conversation?

Cayla Craft:

Have the power to teach others how to have a million dollar business with one single conversation.

Andrea Knoche:

Wouldn't that be amazing?

Cayla Craft:

Yep, but that's what I I mean. That's why you have this podcast too, right? It's like that helping other people.

Andrea Knoche:

One conversation right here. Yes, see, we're doing it, we're living it right now. Number five blindfolded surprises or playful role play.

Cayla Craft:

Oh, I like surprises.

Andrea Knoche:

You like surprises? Number six would you rather always look amazing in business meetings and conferences or have a mysterious sexy allure that makes people wonder how you achieved so much success? That answer probably has changed along the way, based on your story, I would think.

Cayla Craft:

Yeah, I would say mystery, because I used to have a full-time glam team that would come to my house, like I would never do a podcast like this with barely any makeup. But I used to have a full-time Monday through Saturday getting glam, hair, makeup, everything, and now I just I don't care, I don't care.

Andrea Knoche:

Was it just like a moment for you that switched and you're like-.

Cayla Craft:

COVID, it was COVID, okay, yeah, so my team obviously couldn't come because of COVID.

Cayla Craft:

And then, um, I just I got my implants taken out and so I had to do a lot of just like work on, like you know, loving who I was on the inside and so that helped me. Not saying glam is bad I still love a good glam moment but I'm just kind of like I don't need to prove myself, Like I do not need to prove myself at all. Yeah, and I think it came from doing so much inner work. Yeah.

Andrea Knoche:

Good for you. Okay, Number seven trying new positions or mastering the classics. Oh my gosh, I'm just thinking very vague.

Cayla Craft:

I think well, I mean, I've been married for 17 years, so I feel like trying new things is good. It's spicing up a little.

Andrea Knoche:

Number eight would you rather enjoy a spontaneous, extravagant date night funded by a surprise investment windfall, or splurge on a luxury shopping spree where every item feels like a reward for your heart?

Cayla Craft:

Ooh, the first one experiences.

Andrea Knoche:

Experiences go with it. Love that Number nine. Would you rather be a bold, rule-breaking millionaire who inspires other women, or a secret millionaire with the freedom to live?

Cayla Craft:

life entirely on your own. That is my conundrum right now. Is this whole thing right here? So I think it always does come down to I have to. I inspiring people is like in my nature. I mean I think God designed it that way, so I think I can't help it, but inspire people, even though right now I'm still I yeah. Yeah, that sounds bad, but I swear I love. You know what I mean. Just you know people always have you know. It is what it is. Yeah, I think I want to inspire people forever.

Andrea Knoche:

Number 10, slow dancing in the living room or spontaneous dance moves in the kitchen. I love slow dancing, do you? Yeah? Most say the spontaneous dance moves. I do love slow dancing too. It's very I mean.

Cayla Craft:

I just my husband's so sweet. I just um, yeah, I think slow dancing he's so fun yeah.

Andrea Knoche:

I love, love that. Thank you for playing. That was fun. I appreciate it. Before you go, I have one more question, because I did see a post that you recently did and I asked for the comment of it as well, and it was since a lot of my audience is probably going through menopause and all of this. If you started going to a doctor that you had mentioned on one of your sites about, yeah, and how it helped you with a lot, a lot of different things, can you just touch base on that just a little bit?

Cayla Craft:

Of course, do you want me, okay? So basically, I got diagnosed with perimenopause at 35, which is like people are like what? And I'm like, yeah, it's happening sooner for a lot of people because we're living constantly stressed out, which can cause our hormones to completely be imbalanced. So I did this test where you pee every day for 30 days, so it's a real, true hormone test.

Cayla Craft:

So I always like to point that out to people, because if you just do a lab test, it's it's not giving the full picture. So you really need to do a 30 day spread so they can actually see what's happening in your body. And it showed true perimenopause. Okay, I was not producing the right amount of any hormone, so at one point I was on progesterone and testosterone. Now I'm only on progesterone. I have enough testosterone, but I'm taking progesterone semaglutide, micro dosing it.

Cayla Craft:

I also take another thing called CJC and which is another peptide. It helps build muscle. And then I do NAD, which is it's a detoxer. I do that a couple of times a week too. I do everything at home with Dr Jason at Live Natural so I can get, if I have a code, it's Kayla C-A-Y-L-A, one five and you guys can get 15% off of meeting with him discussing your needs or any peptide you buy on his site. You use Kayla 15, 15% off.

Cayla Craft:

But like, we're concierge patients of him, so we get our labs checked every three months and we can check in with him for any needs like hey, you know I'm sleeping at this, that you know he'll help with that kind of stuff, but, um, I would say I shared that stuff because there's so much stuff about semaglutide, like people you know the fitness fanatics don't want anybody to know about semaglutide because it hurts their business, right, and they're like no, it's not, cause I'm like, actually it helped me lose 25.

Cayla Craft:

Wow, and the reason why I even got tested was I was not sleeping at all. I could not sleep I, and it wasn't like a spiritual thing, like I legit, like it was bad. And so I went and got tested and I always say like saved my life, because you know, when you can't sleep, you're losing your mind. So if you're having trouble sleeping, if you feel moody, if you feel anxious at all and that's not normal to your personality you need to get your hormones checked. You know, people think it's just like oh, I'm anxious and I don't know why. Well then, get your hormones checked. It's not normal.

Andrea Knoche:

It's not normal. Yeah, oh, that's great yeah.

Cayla Craft:

So, anyways, dr Jason's amazing. He has a bunch of doctors that work for him too. He's based out of San Diego, but he can work anywhere in the country and this is one important thing is that you don't want to just go online and buy peptides, because most are sourced from China, which are actually filled with crap and actually going to do harm for you.

Cayla Craft:

So you want to work with a doctor that's actually sourcing from the right places that are. It's usually you want it to be American made, because we can control how you know, so it's not synthetic, and so that's what I like about working with Dr Jason.

Andrea Knoche:

Okay, amazing, and I'll put that in the show notes as well, so that people can find that I just think that was really huge.

Cayla Craft:

I know I commented like I don't know if I got to you because I wasn't expecting the response I got, and I was like oh my gosh. I mean hundreds of people want to know Dr Jason, Like I call him right now, and he was like I don't do affiliate because I was like you better get one because I need, and so he got that for me.

Andrea Knoche:

That's amazing, that's great. I love it. Well, thank you so much for joining me today, kayla. I loved having you so much wonderful information. I really implore everybody to go find your social media, find your book, all that stuff, and hopefully we can get everybody on the same kind of path. Everybody wants to be a millionaire, right? Why not? Try, try, try, try. So thank you all the listeners out there for listening. You can find me on any major streaming platform. You can email me with any questions you might have or comments from this episode. If you have things you want to know, you can email me at info at from mrsmissnet. Thank you once again, kayla, and we'll see you guys next week. Have a good one, bye.

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