Scaling a Franchise: Transcript of the interview with Gara Post, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of The NOW Massage for The Failure Factor Podcast.

From Executive Assistant to Jewelry Designer

Megan Bruneau: Gara, welcome to the show.

Gara Post: Thank you, Megan, I’m so happy to be here.

Megan Bruneau: So happy to have you. And you have had quite the entrepreneurial journey, which I am so excited to get into today. Most people will probably know you as the co-founder of The Now, but before that, it sounds like you were in fashion and a jewelry designer.

Gara Post: I was, it feels like another lifetime ago. In fact, actually, prior to even that, my first job out of college, I worked as the executive assistant to the president of Universal Television Group. So that was really my first experience in the corporate world. I was this corporate girly, and it was a tough job. You know, you’re coming out of college. I think I turned 22 there because I was a young October baby girl, Libra, by the way. And I remember just being super intimidated, but also working with a boss who was so kind and empathetic and compassionate, which you really didn’t get back then. We’re talking like 1999. You know, the entertainment space was not like that. And that’s actually where I taught myself how to make jewelry.

Gara Post: My background is in jewelry design now, of course, you know, but I grew up around that with my dad working in the fashion industry, my stepmom as well, and my mom working in the wellness industry. So I had, which by the way didn’t even exist or didn’t exist. So I had this kind of experience through, you know, my childhood. But it wasn’t until I started working at Universal and sitting at the desk that is exactly when I taught myself how to make jewelry, quite literally sitting there and just bead like a collection. It was wild.

Megan Bruneau: That’s incredible. So you came out of school. I understand you studied marketing.

Gara Post: I mean, I have to say I probably barely studied in college, but yes, I did get a degree in marketing.

Megan Bruneau: Yes, exactly. You got the degree in marketing. And then did you want to go into entertainment? Is that why you decided to become?

Gara Post: I did. So, you know, back then you’re talking about Los Angeles. What did you do in LA? It was all entertainment. You know, there weren’t influencers, there weren’t creators. You know, there weren’t those types of opportunities. So my goal was really to get my foot in the door. And I had done some internships in the entertainment industry as well.

Gara Post: So when I got hired for this role, I was completely flabbergasted. I was like, how am I at this age working for the president of Universal Television Group? You know, super intimidating. It was definitely a big step for me. And I have to say, I learned so much, I really did, you know, a high-profile boss and you’re rolling calls and you’re staying hyper-organized, and you’re just on top of things. Like, I was sitting at the desk, maybe from 8 a.m. sometimes to 8 p.m., 9 p.m., and I wasn’t complaining at all.

Gara Post: And we were working actually in the reality TV space a lot. And this was when reality TV with Sally Jessy, Jerry Springer, Maury Povich, it was craziness. You know, it’s not like reality here. You turn on TikTok and obviously Instagram, and it’s just like reality, YouTube, etc. This is a whole different space. While things were happening, I was introduced to their stylist, and I was able to actually showcase my pieces, and they were really the first people who bought that. And I’m like, you know what? This is unbelievable. I actually can do this because, remember, I was 21. You know, they weren’t entrepreneurs like they are now at ten years old. We just didn’t have managers. And it wasn’t like that. It was very, very different. So even being 21 and kind of ideating on what a business concept could look like was extremely challenging, really challenging, you know, and I really want to credit my then boyfriend, but now husband, who really kind of still to this day, he pulls me out of my comfort zone all the time.

Gara Post: And he said to me, you know, we can make this work. You have something here, you know? And I was scared, you know, and I took a leap of faith. And I actually walked into Fred Segal. I’m not sure if you remember that. Hopefully your listeners do. It was like the best of the best. And John Asher, who was the buyer at the time, had said to me, I love your jewelry. I love your necklace. I need the whole collection. I really do have an entire collection. I said, I don’t have a collection. He said, well, you need to see.

Megan Bruneau: It make one.

Gara Post: Exactly. So I went home. I made about 25, 30 pieces. I brought it to him. He bought the entire collection, introduced me to buyers, introduced me to different showrooms. And that’s really what kicked off the launch of the original jewelry.

Megan Bruneau: When you first were doing it at your desk, you know, at Universal, you’re like, I’m just going to make some jewelry, right? Like for myself or for other people. You weren’t thinking, this is going to be a business at the time.

Gara Post: Oh, definitely not. You really never think that way. I think especially when you’re young, you’re kind of just like going and moving through it. And also, you know, if you talk about just being fearful and, you know, failure in your head, the impostor syndrome is constantly getting at you, you know? So I’ve worked through that with a lot of therapy, but back in the day was like, who am I to be able to launch, you know, a collection? Who am I to be able to do this? Now, of course, a lot of these teens and, you know, I’ve got kids as well. And, you know, it’s much easier to launch a business. You can just launch something on social media, you know, like what do you need with AI and everything?

Democratizing Entrepreneurship and Taking Risks

Megan Bruneau: We have the resources, right? Like entrepreneurship really has been democratized. I hate to use that term, but it has been in a way that it wasn’t then, right? Like you did not have the resources available to you. And so having your boyfriend at the time, now husband, be like, hey, there’s actually something here, like, you can do this, sounds like it gave you the empowerment you needed to take that next step.

Gara Post: Absolutely. He’s always believed in me, you know? Then you could be really scrappy. And that’s so much about what I love about being an entrepreneur. Just being scrappy, throwing things at the wall, seeing what sticks. You know, it’s a little bit different now. You can still be scrappy, but you’re right. You have a lot more resources. You have more support. But that also, I think, is a little bit more intimidating too, because now you’re going, oh wow, am I going to succeed? Am I going to fail? It just, it’s a little more challenging now.

Megan Bruneau: You know, too much in a way. Right? Like that naivete is oftentimes what gets people to move across to the next step versus like, oh, like I have to do this, this, and this.

Gara Post: And that’s so important. You know, it really is an important moment to remember, you know, just being naive and taking those risks and just kind of putting on those blinders and just going and getting stuff done, totally.

From Gara Danielle Jewelry to Scaling a Franchise: The Now

Megan Bruneau: Well, just to like, fully understand the Gara Danielle jewelry journey, you know, you met your husband young. Did you get married quite young and have kids quite young as well? Like where was this in the journey of developing Gara Danielle, and how did that impact your entrepreneurial identity?

Gara Post: So picture this. I’m working as an EA for the president of Universal Television Group. I take the risk, I take the leap of faith, and I go ahead and launch Gara Danielle jewelry. And at my heyday, I’m selling to 500 stores globally, selling. You know, I’ve got nine different showrooms globally. It was incredible, you know, and this is all kind of pre 9/11, you know, which is a different world. This is pre-internet life, pre-cell phone life. You know, things were really, really different. So what ends up happening is my husband and I get married in, oh my gosh, ’03. I almost just forgot that. Sorry, Jay, I love you. And then we actually have our son Gavin in 2006. Okay. And then we decide to move to Austin for a hot second.

Gara Post: I’m still designing jewelry at the time, but the world is a different place. I’m a new mom. I’m pretty young. I’m only 30 years old at the time, you know, and it was challenging, you know, so I go from designing costume jewelry, and then I sort of make a pivot into fine jewelry because the world was so different at the time.

Gara Post: And then we hit this recession in 2008, and everything just kind of combusts. And now I’m a new mom. And, you know, I was, I was definitely, I don’t want to say I had postpartum. I did not, but, you know, I’m an emotional person. I, I really needed to step into a space to understand, am I going to stay and focus on my Gara Danielle jewelry or what is going to be, you know, my next move. And my husband and I at the time had launched a Post Investment Group. Okay, so my husband works in real estate, and we launched a Post Investment Group in 2007. So that was right around all of this happening. And entrepreneurs are just, you know, people are just pitching us ideas and we are serial entrepreneurs. So, you know, we invest and we build different businesses, you know, so we go from getting married to having our first child.

Gara Post: And then we moved back to LA. And I’m still dabbling in jewelry at the time. It’s still a different world, but I’m still dabbling. But I’m kind of like, what is what I really want to do? Where am I going? Where do I see myself? You know? And the idea for The Now is actually pitched to us back in 2013, because nothing like The Now existed. You know, you’re talking about the affordable luxury space. It was very, very new. So where are we going to get massages? I know if I’m going on vacation, getting a massage, it could be expensive. It might not be amazing. And then if you don’t have the budget, where are we going? To a local mom and pop. It’s certainly not aspirational and certainly not inspirational.

Gara Post: So the idea was really birthed out of the necessity for this affordable, luxurious experiential massage without the cost or time commitment of that traditional day spa.

Megan Bruneau: Then it sounds like you were sort of faced with this decision. Like, do I keep leaning into Gara Danielle jewelry, the fine jewelry that you run in this place? Or wow, I see this opportunity here with The Now. Your overhead, I’m guessing, wasn’t as high obviously, as it would be with something like The Now.

Gara Post: At my heyday at Gara, we did have an office. We did have a lot of overhead, you know, we did have, we were making everything in Los Angeles. So we did. And then when we shifted, you know, I was working at home. It was different. There wasn’t a lot of labor, you know, there wasn’t a lot of overhead. So you’re talking about, you know, going from this, this, you know, consumer goods business to a service space business, which is a totally different experience. Completely different, completely.

Megan Bruneau: What was that like for you making that shift? Was there grief in kind of wrapping down the practice of Gara Danielle, or did it feel like it was kind of right, like you’re like, you know what, this has had a beautiful life cycle. It’s still going to live on in this smaller way, but this feels more right for us. Yeah, tell us about that experience.

Gara Post: So, you know, the idea was really pitched to us. We did have two other co-founders as well. So there were four of us, and Jason and I were really the money behind it initially. You know, I was still dabbling with Gara Danielle. Now I have my son and my daughter. You know, it’s a different world, so it’s hard to juggle everything, you know, and we talk about failure. Obviously, and we’re here to talk about that. And you know, we started developing The Now. And gosh, it was like a week into opening The Now. And we were having prior to that a lot, a lot of problems with our partnership. And I think a lot of people are a little bit fearful because there’s a lot of shame associated with that to talk about that.

Gara Post: And I had to jump in, you know, before I was a little bit behind the scenes because I was really helping with the interior design. I was really helping. It wasn’t day to day necessarily, but, you know, look, there are challenges with partnerships. You talk about marriages. It’s the same thing with building a brand. You have to understand who your partners are, and you have to understand what their skill sets are and what your skill sets are, and identify that so you can be successful.

Gara Post: We were sold just like fast, fast, fast. Let’s go, go, go. And by the time we went and opened our first location, we realized, you know, we do have a problem here. And we went. And then we actually bought out our two other founders, and Jason and I went to scale from 1 to 4 locations in 18 months.

Gara Post: And, you know, going from a jewelry business to a service-based business was really hard, but at my core, at my heart, and bringing it back to being a New Yorker, I am a people person and I love people, and I love challenges and I love opportunities. So when Jason was like, we got to get in, you got to get in and you got to work day to day, I was there. I had no idea how to run a massage business, again. It was, right? Ignorance is bliss, like we say, you know, and it is very true. Looking back, you know, we made so many mistakes. And I think that’s important. You know, I think people are so fearful of making mistakes. And I always say to my kids, no, don’t be fearful of making mistakes. You learn and you grow from making all of those mistakes. And here we are. I mean, we have 77 locations open. We’ve sold 175 plus franchise licenses. I mean, we are growing and we are excited. And, you know, it’s just there’s something to be said about understanding who you’re working for and understanding when you have something, a real quality concept, and understanding what it takes and surrounding yourself around people that can help you scale and build this business.

Megan Bruneau: Such wise words, and I want to get more into some of those like challenges and failures you went into. But first, just a couple of questions. So I’m curious about Post Investment Group. So how did that come about and start a family office like, “Hey, we’ve got some capital here.” Like, we’re going to start investing in various different businesses.

Gara Post: So fun fact, my husband started his entrepreneurial journey. He was a DJ in college, then he started, then he started purchasing laundromats. Okay. And then I remember he purchased his first, or we purchased our first four-unit apartment complex in LA, and we were just going side by side. It was wild to see him just going and growing and teaching himself too.

This isn’t a family run business up until, you know, we launched it. So in 2007, we launched Post Investment Group, and that is a vertically integrated operating platform. So under Post Investment Group, and we’re located in Beverly Hills, under Post Investment Group, we have three different verticals. We have a real estate platform. We have a consumer goods platform. And then we have a wellness platform, which is The Now and then our dog grooming concept that we’ve [called] Bowie. So when we launched it again, we didn’t have an office like this. You know, we started in our house. And what we realized is, you know, we grew and grew and now it’s 2025, which is even crazy to say. But, you know, we love entrepreneurs. We love working with them. We love, you know, helping people. We are people pleasers in a way, but we love watching people thrive and watching people be successful. So, you know, oftentimes we get a lot of people pitching us concepts, pitching us ideas, and we like to, we’re risk-takers, you know, at the end of the day. So that’s really how it came about. And it’s kind of morphed into so much more, you know. So we’ve got people, you know, we’re taking meetings all the time trying to help people, trying to find the right investments, and we’re really excited about that, you know.

Megan Bruneau: Incredible. And so how do you decide which ventures to be really hands-on with, such as The Now, where it sounds like you’ve really invested your energy as well as your money? How do you make that decision?

Gara Post: I think at the end of the day, you have to find something that you’re passionate about. If we are not passionate about anything, it’s just not going to work. We’re authentic people and we have to love what we do. You know, with The Now, I remember I thought to myself, this is an incredible concept, you know, and I said, nothing like this exists, you know. Am I going to be involved day-to-day? I don’t know at the time, but when the opportunity came and I jumped in, I realized I am passionate about this. I’ve always loved wellness. You know, I love working out, I love self-care, I love taking care of myself. I love taking care of people, I love people, and that’s so much about what The Now is about. It’s a community-driven brand, you know? So you, it’s not about just, you know, you can have all the money in the world, you know, and have opportunities. But for us, we have to be passionate about it. And that’s what really is that, that really has to check the box at all times.

Megan Bruneau: Yeah. So in this case, you’re like, you know what, we want to get more than capital. We want to be partners here. We want to be co-founders.

Gara Post: Correct.

Megan Bruneau: Amazing. And then at the time, did you know it was a franchising concept or was it initially just like, let’s just build one of these and kind of see how it goes?

Gara Post: Megan, absolutely not. We’re like, let’s get in. Let’s see if this concept works. You know? And that’s what’s so great about our relationship. It’s like let’s just get in the nitty-gritty. So we jump in 2015 into West Hollywood. We opened our first location November of 2015. This is, this is just on the precipice of Instagram like booming. You know, creators are just starting. They don’t even exist. Influencers are just starting, you know, and gosh, we see ourselves. This is actually working. We open our doors. And quite literally, people are landing at LAX and coming to The Now because not only were we offering this exceptional massage experience, but we’re also content hub. People want to share the love. You know, it is unbelievably elevated, beautiful aesthetic. So they’re able to share their experience. And that’s how we were able to grow.

Megan Bruneau: And had that been part of the pitch and the concept was like, hey, this is going to be really Instagram worthy. It’s going to be this like beautiful space. Like you kind of mentioned earlier that you’re both inspirational and aspirational as opposed to the mom and pop prices somebody would experience otherwise.

Gara Post: That’s exactly it. You want to marry this elevated aesthetic with this exceptional experience is that really was, and of course at an affordable price point. So that was really the convergence of all of that, which helped, I think, drive success for our first boutique. And then we went to scale from 1 to 4 locations, because again, my husband is just a driver. We got to go. We have this concept. It’s working. We’re cash flow positive. So we’ve opened, West Hollywood, we opened Santa Monica, we opened Silver Lake. And this is, you know, Silver Lake was just gentrifying at the, at this time. I thought my head was going to spin off, coupled with sitting in weekly therapy, maybe, maybe twice a week, bi-weekly therapy, you know, crying about the loss of this partnership and the challenges associated with that and feeling a little bit like a failure. And, you know, there were struggles for that. There really were. And franchising, just back to your question, was not even a thought. It wasn’t even a little seed, you know, until that 2018, we started kind of dabbling, having these conversations. You know, after we opened our fourth location, we sat back to look at proof of concept, and we realized this is really working. What do we want to do? Do we want to open more corporate locations or do we want to go the franchise model? And I took 25 steps back and said franchising, you know, you have so much pride of ownership. You’ve worked so hard to build this brand. And how can you then align with franchise owners who have the capital and say to them, you know, here you go. Please go. Please go. Take this beautiful brand. Please go execute this vision as seamlessly as we can. And it’s risky. It’s really risky. While we were having these conversations, we were also developing our product line. Because I’m a consumer, I love products, and that was really important to us as well. So we’ve got a lot of things going on. And what we realized is, you know what? Where there’s challenges, there’s opportunities, and we have got to take the risks. So we started doing a ton of research. And then in 2019, we kicked off our franchising journey. And then guess what happens?

Megan Bruneau: Covid. Yeah.

Gara Post: I even hate saying that. But you know, it’s just another quite literally massive challenge in the massage space because you’re talking about this high touch massage concept in a global pandemic. And people are saying you need to stay six feet apart.

Megan Bruneau: Right? Although because you had franchise, in some ways I imagine that would have been the better option than if you decided not to at that time because you weren’t carrying all the liability.

Gara Post: I think that’s the silver lining to that? And, you know, you think about the fact that we had to close all of our locations in Los Angeles. That was really challenging. However, to your point, if we weren’t selling franchises, we didn’t have the capital there, so we were able to pull our team from our locations in LA, and we were able to scale that way, utilize our team members, you know, to really help get our franchise locations up and running because everyone else was able to have massage open except for California.

The Pros and Cons of Scaling a Franchise

Megan Bruneau: Yes, of course. A few more questions on, on just the franchising front, because I think a lot of listeners, maybe they’re not totally familiar with the model or the pros and cons, and it sounds like you really did a deep dive, went into it and were like, oh, it doesn’t feel good at first, but then it was the right decision. So would you be open to just sharing just off the top of your head? It doesn’t have to be a comprehensive list, but kind of like pros and cons of franchising. And then ultimately, what made you make that decision?

Gara Post: I think if you’re looking to scale a model. So if you’re looking at corporate versus franchise, when you look at a corporate brand, a corporate business, you have all the control, everything at the corporate level, okay, that’s a pro, but it can also be a con, right? In many ways. You know, you’re not really open to feedback. You know you’re not actually so what you’re doing is you’re hiring managers to go to locations to live in locations, you know, but they’re still hired. They’re not, they don’t have a vested interest. So with franchising, they’re actually investing their own money, their own capital. You know, there’s a term in franchising for people that want to become franchise owners. They call them corporate refugees. They spent a lot of years in corporate America, and they have this capital and they want to invest. They might not be entrepreneurs, or maybe they want to be entrepreneurs. They have a passion for wellness. They have a passion for community. They have a passion for team building. So you have all these pros. So you work with your franchise owners. It could be challenging because again, you have other people literally at the table, you know, and because it’s their own capital, they’ve got opinions too.

For someone like myself who, I wouldn’t, you know, I am a controlling person. You go back to building this brand and the risks associated with handing over a brand and asking franchise owners to please execute this. Please hold on to this baby so tight. Please don’t let it go. You know. And that is risky. It really is. But you know, with the franchise model too, we have something called an FRC, which is our Franchise Advisory Council, and we have quarterly meetings, and that’s about 5 to 6 different franchise owners from the entire network that we sit with. And we make decisions that benefit the entire network. That is so critical to the success. It’s one thing for us as franchise owners or a corporate, you know, entity to give direction. It’s another thing when you have the voice of the network. So I would say that’s a pro for our other franchise owners to say, okay, we can hear it from corporate or we can hear it from you guys. And it really just, I think it’s one of the biggest pros that, you know, that has happened and that exists in our space. And I’m excited for that as well.

But look, you know, you’re talking about building a brand. It’s risky. You know with the brand’s integrity. There is not one thing that I don’t get my eyes on. And it is, it is, it’s scary. You talk about social media when we have influencers activated, when they’re going into the boutiques and they’re filming and you see that things are not in the right place. Look, it’s important you need to recognize that this is now a franchise model, and we need to protect the brand at every single point. You know, it’s not about us policing people. It’s about us saying, this is a brand that everyone has a piece of, and I am there because I have this crazy attention to detail. It’s sometimes painful that we notice everything. I can notice, even if a wick on a candle is not trained properly, you know, it’s really for the benefit of all of our franchise owners because we need to ensure success.

Megan Bruneau: Yes. How are you managing this number of franchisees and ensuring quality control, all of the massage therapists that are working for them and the front desk staff. And like you said, they’re walking in and having that experience that you’re envisioning that they have. What are some things that you do to ensure that?

Gara Post: Well, I definitely go to therapy and talk about it.

Megan Bruneau: Yeah, it’s great.

Gara Post: But we have a set of processes and protocols. So, so cut back to we start franchising, we start opening locations in 2020 and we still don’t have the right franchise support. You know, Jason and I on our team we can open locations, but we don’t. Do you need to have people on your team who have franchise experience? So enter Jeff Platt who’s our current president. He’s my cousin. He comes from the world of Sky Zone. He was the CEO and founder and he scaled it, you know, all the way up to 200 plus units. So he has a ton of experience. In 2020, he comes to us with the idea of Bowie. He pitches this as a concept to invest in. And we say, look, we need your support. You can help us scale The Now and we’ll help you scale Bowie because I’m a hyper creative person. So he jumps in and, you know, you’ve got to surround yourself around people that understand how to scale.

A franchise model is very different than a corporate entity. You’ve got to have these SOPs in place, and you’ve got to have, you know, just every single thing in place to ensure their success. You’ve got to have the right people, the right SOPs, and the right attention to detail. You know, we talk about a massage therapist that is important to hiring. Retaining all of those processes are so critical. We have a solid learning and development department. You know, our team goes out a week before opening. We’re training everyone to ensure the success, to ensure that when someone walks into a Now, maybe in Orlando, when someone walks into a Now and they’ll meet, they’re going to feel exactly the same way they feel when they walk into one of our corporate locations. And that is so, so critical. Having the right people in place and having the right, you know, right structure in place and SOPs, that’s number one.

Flexibility Within a Framework: Balancing Control and Growth

Megan Bruneau: Said that you’ve spoken a lot about it in therapy. And I just love that you’re so open about that, Gara. And I’m curious, there’s an amount of desire and control that is serving and helpful. And then there comes a point where it’s not helpful, right. And creates a lot of anxiety or causes us to micromanage. And so I’m wondering for you, how do you find that balance? How do you know when that control is, again, something necessary for the success of the business? And when it reaches a point where it’s more like pathological and causing you suffering and preventing you from scaling.

Gara Post: So, you know, when Jeff came on, he had taught me the term flexibility within a framework. And he said to me, we are going to have to learn how to be flexible. I being a true, tried and true New Yorker, it was a really hard one for me. You know, you’ve got to be able to push yourself out of your limits. If you cannot grow, you are not going to make it in this space because you have people in your ears all the time telling you things. You have got to be open to hearing the hard, challenging conversation. So listening to those conversations, you know, coupled with my self-care practice. So there’s a balance here. You know, I’m meditating. I’m working out all the time. I’m constantly taking care of myself. But you have to surround yourself around people who want to set you up for success and drown out that noise. Learn to become flexible, learn to become uncomfortable, whatever that means. A coach, a therapist. Those are my coaches. People that you trust all the time not to just, I don’t want a “yes” person. I never want yes people. I mean, those are fun and fluffy. Of course, I want honest people around me at all times telling me the truth, because that’s how you learn and grow and that, that really is something that I always recommend to people that are trying to get into the franchise.

Megan Bruneau: Yes, amazing. So I love that. Learn how to be flexible within a framework. Do you have like an example that you could walk us through of how you really apply that?

Gara Post: Yes, of course. So for instance, you know, there’s a give and take, I think, to, you know, you’re walking into a boutique and if the pillows are not right, if the candles are not right, you know, if the merchandising isn’t right, if the massage isn’t correct, how do we work through that and understand these are franchise owners and they have an investment and they need to be successful. So, you know, if you’re walking in and you’re seeing things that might not look right, might not be up to brand standards for me, sometimes I would go from 0 to 100, and I would get really frustrated. That doesn’t benefit anyone, right? So understanding what that trigger is, taking a step back, taking notes, and being less reactive, you know, sitting in the franchise, sitting in our office, our Franchise Advisory Council, when you’re hearing hard words, having hard conversations, knowing, okay, I’m going to take a deep breath, I’m going to give it a minute and I’m going to be less reactive. I mean, it’s psychology 101. You know this because I have to learn. I was an emotional person. I am an emotional person. But taking a beat, going into a headspace where you can really get grounded, understanding people are only doing this to be successful. Not, it’s not an ego thing. It’s not a personal thing. It’s all about business. So that’s really, you know, those are the, the real examples in my every single day life trying to be less reactive and really holding on to, yes.

Megan Bruneau: Tell us more about that journey. So you said you’re an emotional person. I can very much relate. I think a lot of people listening can relate.

Gara Post: You know, I think you’re talking about growing up, you know, in the ’80s. I mean, everyone’s sweeping things under the rug, onto the carpet. You know, you’re not being conversational baby boomer parents. No one’s talking about us. Now we’re like, gosh, we can’t stop talking. So there will be obviously repercussions to this as well. So I didn’t really get into therapy until, you know, I was 30 years old, and I’m 48 at the time, and I wish I did because I think I’d be even stronger and probably even more successful at a younger age. But I’m glad that I did, because my therapist is my everything. And, you know, I think for anyone looking to kind of pursue a career, any career, or start a brand, or by the way, just become a better, more evolved human being, that is the right way to go. Understanding how you can peel back the onion and really knowing, you know, who you are at your core. How did that adolescence, you know, how did that experience really define you? And it doesn’t always define you. And then how can you work through that to become a more emotionally evolved individual? So you know your triggers, you can recognize your triggers. You know what that is. And ultimately you’re not making the same mistakes.

Megan Bruneau: Thank you so much for saying all that, Gara. I just like love therapy. Evangelist. I’m going to like, record that and play it over and over again. Would you be open to sharing any of the lessons that you’ve learned personally through therapy, and what as you peel back the layers, what you’ve learned about yourself?

Gara Post: I think, you know, being an emotional person, I was always hyper-triggered. You know, my parents got divorced when I was two. I was raised by both my mom and my stepdad and then my father and my stepmom. So, you know, but it was challenging. I had to go from one house to the next every weekend. So, you know, dealing with a little bit of that abandonment issue has really come, separation anxiety. All of that stuff has really played a big role for me in who I am now and understanding, you know, how I can be the best version of myself as a parent, as a wife, and then as a franchisor. So, you know, those are, that was really a tough time for me. You know, and remember, we didn’t have cell phones growing up, so abandonment was a little bit tough.

Gara Post: Separation anxiety was tough. You weren’t able to call your kids all the time, check in on them. I had to sit in my feelings all the time, and I didn’t have someone really talking about that either. So you’re sitting in your feelings. You’re trying to understand. Do those feelings define you? And they don’t. But when you’re ten, 12, 15, 16 years old, you don’t know.

Megan Bruneau: And you don’t know how to cope with them. Right? Like especially if you don’t have that parent there to support you through it.

Gara Post: Exactly. So the reactivity is really high and the emotional stability is really low. So how do you really get to this place where you can feel comfortable? And I think I’ve worked through that. You know, I went pretty far to college. You went from New York to Arizona. I kind of wanted to escape. And I realized that now. And it felt good to escape, you know, because if you put yourself in a situation where you’re in front of it, that’s challenging too, you know, it’s just you are constantly challenged. So I felt the need to escape. And then I had moved to LA, where my mom and my stepdad were at the time, and my stepdad had passed away. And then when I was about 19 years old, which was really hard because then, of course, you’re dealing with loss, you know, and again, and that was really difficult. It was a difficult time. And I was still not seeing a therapist. And, and by the way, anxiety wasn’t even a word back then. I mean, Megan, think about it now, it’s overused. Hopefully you’ll find that balance. Like I’m anxious. You’re like, oh my gosh, let me save you. You know, depression was really like wasn’t a thing either. You know, if you were depressed, you were just getting medicated, lazy, unmotivated, correct. All of those shameful words that sit with you, which is very, very troubling. I actually had, when I was graduating, I remember, you know, having what is now obviously a panic attack, but not knowing what that was. I was very anxious. I was very scared, and I didn’t know. And I thought that I was sick, and I, my friend, took me to the hospital because I couldn’t breathe. And my mom was like, you should breathe into a bag, which is what she was. She only did her best to, you know, so I went, I went to the hospital, and I was, they didn’t even diagnose me with that either, which is so crazy. They actually diagnosed me with pleurisy, which is the inflammation of the lining of your lungs. And I did not realize that I actually had a panic attack. And so many years later, you know, so I think that we just didn’t know, you know, we were naive, we were ignorant to it. And now we have the tools and we have, you know, the opportunities. And I’m so grateful for that. It’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out with, you know, my kids and all of that, because the helicopter parenting is wildly, yes.

Megan Bruneau: So yes. And we really have overcorrected, I think, in many ways. But there’s still so many people who really just brush everything under the rug or kind of push it down and bury it. I think oftentimes for fear that if they pay attention to their emotions, they’ll be more emotional, when in actuality it’s the opposite, right? It’s through that suppressing that you were more reactive or experiencing the panic attacks, or people end up experiencing some sort of psychosomatic illness, or back pain or headaches or stomach aches or whatever. And actually, as we learn how to attend to our emotions, we can learn how to process them and move them through us. 

Gara Post: Massage to be able to work it through. I was just going to say, Megan, you are teaching it up, girl. You got it. Exactly. It’s all about the mind-body connection. You know, that is so accurate.

Emotional Intelligence and Entrepreneurship

Megan Bruneau: It’s interesting, as you were talking about your journey, and thank you for being so open about growing up with the birth parents and the challenges that came along with that. I very much relate to that. My parents divorced when I was eight. One of the things that I think was a result of that was I became like a real people pleaser, right? Let me try to prove myself to you and get your attention, because maybe they weren’t as present, or my mom was going through her heartbreak and my dad was going through his stuff. Then, of course, that shows up in our careers. I became a therapist, and a lot of that was because I was being a therapist to my mom from a young age. And for you, I heard you saying earlier that you are very much a people person, a service person wanting to please, wanting to like, really know a person and I’m curious, do you see any connections there between what you experience growing up and how you show up as an entrepreneur today?

Gara Post: Absolutely. I think that, you know, I’m a way more empathetic, compassionate leader because of my childhood. In my adolescent experience, I think, you know, in my 20s, I was very reactive, maybe even in my 30s as well, because I didn’t have the tools. But yes, I think that my empathy and my compassion go a long way, especially in the franchise space. You know, it’s interesting. I can be a people pleaser. I could be a people pleaser as well. I’ve learned to kind of work through that, you know? But, I mean, I am a connector. You know, I sit down with people and I give energy and I receive energy, and I think that’s why people do feel so connected, because I really do see people, and I meet people where they are at. And I just have that inability because it’s almost like, you know, to talk psychologically. You know, you’re really kind of trying to, you know, help and care for the younger version of yourself, that childhood. And, you know, because I’ve had so much therapy. I understand that. And, you know, being kind to yourself too. And that is so critical to the success of, of just yourself, of being a really successful leader.

Megan Bruneau: Totally. I mean, not being kind to yourself, that self-compassion is really how we can allow ourselves to step into discomfort. Right? And that discomfort is so necessary as an entrepreneur especially, but really just as a human, because inevitably we’re going to experience discomfort in life. So it sounds like you develop those tools as a result, are able to kind of like step into some of those difficult conversations or these places of uncertainty or all the necessary spots that we need to be able to grow one.

Gara Post: Hundred percent. And also be forgiving of yourself and other people, because at the end of the day, we’re only doing our best. Everyone has so much trauma, you know, we don’t have to sugarcoat it. You know, in the way it shows up, it can be difficult. So taking a step back in the moment and saying, okay, well, this is someone’s trauma. This is not, this is just a reaction and letting people kind of and yourself sit in that and understand maybe this isn’t the right time for a conversation. Let’s just take a beat and come back. And that, that really has been helpful and useful and, and, you know, leading that, the success of the, of the brand.

Megan Bruneau: Absolutely. I mean, your emotional intelligence is just palpable. I can just feel it radiating through the screen. I love it, as you know, on the show, we talk about like challenges and failures and things like that. You’ve alluded to some. Is there one that you’d be willing to go into a little bit more deeply today?

Gara Post: I mean, I know I talked about, you know, the challenges of starting a business with business partners. I can get into that. I can talk a lot about scaling a business without franchise experience, without franchise team members. If you want, I could talk about opening location after location and crying my eyes out when it wasn’t right during Covid. You know, you pick and choose. You tell me.

Megan Bruneau: Great. I mean, it sounds like there are a couple. Well, why don’t we start unpacking slightly more around the partnership challenges? Because it sounds like that was one that, yeah, probably brought up a lot of conflict and was messy to navigate wherever you can go, just to let us know sort of what you were going through and then how you extricated yourself from it.

Gara Post: So it’s 2015. We’re opening The Now. And Jason says to me, you know, and I knew for six months, maybe four months, there were a lot of partnership challenges. I wasn’t so day to day then. And I’m a highly intuitive individual, and I could just feel that something was wrong. So when Jason said to me, we need you to jump in, we need you to fix this. You know, it’s like a joke. We would call me the fixer. I jump in, you.

Megan Bruneau: Know, and I’m just curious. The other two, were they the ones who had pitched to you originally with the idea?

Gara Post: Yes.

Megan Bruneau: Yes. And we don’t even know who they were. But, like, was it two men?

Gara Post: Woman, two females, highly creative, you know. So I had talked a little bit about understanding your skill set and partnering with people that provide different skill sets. You can be successful. So there were really three of us that were highly hyper-creative. I mean, what are we missing here? We need an operational, you know, guru, you know, so, so I jump in day to day. It’s November of 2015. And there were some hard conversations to be had. There were a lot of tears. I had not one clue what I was doing. I had to hire a massage therapist. I had to have conversations. You know, there’s a, there’s specific jargon in the massage space. What you say massage therapists are massage therapists. We don’t call them “misu*s”, you know, because of that sort of sexual connotation. So we want to be very mindful of this. So I had to have, I mean, it was like, let’s get in this and let we need to have like high level key learnings going on, you know. So I was working the front desk. I had to learn the POS system. And I also had to deal with the challenges associated with working with your husbands.

Gara Post: You know, my husband is, he’s challenging, he’s tough. You know, he’s a driver. So, and I’m an emotional person. And so while he is too, he can compartmentalize a lot. I sort of had challenges with that back in the day. So everything would bleed into our personal life as well. So when we would go to therapy, it was really hard. It’s like, I don’t want to talk about this at 6 p.m. at home. And I’m like, but I can’t, I can’t compartmentalize like you, you know, being hyper emotional has its benefits but also has its challenges. So, you know, jumping in and and Jason, just saying to me, we got to just deal with this. You got to just we’re buying them out. Just go, go, go. But on the flip side, one of the challenges was we had all this press coming out and it was messy, Megan. It was messy. It was hard. And, you know, I’m a compassionate person. I feel for people, you know, and I had to put this hat on and act a certain way. And that was hard then, because this is almost ten years ago, I didn’t really have the tools.

Megan Bruneau: Even at the best of times, if you’re an authentic person, it’s hard to like, put on the mask and fake it, right? Yeah. Again, thank you for going into this. I think a lot of people can relate, and I can only imagine how messy that was getting as you were getting press and how the narrative might have been spun. What was the point where you were like, this isn’t going to work?

Gara Post: There was a lot of frustrations around the build-out, around specific design details. A lot of what people would think of, like minor issues, that became much bigger issues because we’re all emotional, you know? So having arguments about the thread count, the types of sheets because we’re the money behind it. So you have a balance of this is an affordable, luxurious experience, right? We have a budget, and we can’t have maybe sheets that, you know, are this price point. So those conversations bled through to every aspect of it. You know, of the brand. And that became challenging. And when you’re having disagreements at this level prior to opening and you’re launching a massage concept in the self-care space, it’s like you have to be mindful. You have to be able to communicate. If you can’t communicate and have open and honest conversations, and you have people that are coming from a place of ego only, that is the biggest challenge in and of itself.

Megan Bruneau: So it sounds like Jason was like, we got to cut it, let’s move. You know, you got to do it. And you understandably were feeling some hesitation, maybe afraid of that conflict or how it might be perceived. What was holding you back from just moving forward? I mean, like, guys, we’ve got to figure out a way to end this engagement here.

Gara Post: Well, they were my friends, which is always challenging to do in business. Yes. You know, I think that I had a lot of empathy and compassion for both of them. And, you know, one of them had brought us, had actually brought the other one the concept. And the two of them came to me. So there was a lot of ego going on and understanding that, you know, guys, there’s a lot of capital that’s being invested into this business. This is not a game. This is not a toy. We have got to get this up and running. So we kept pushing, opening, opening. And Jason had said it’s got to be open. It has got to be open and you’ve got to jump in. And I jumped in and we just got it open. And being okay with the fact that it wasn’t 100% maybe, you know, ready what it was. It really was. But you know, looking back, there were things, you know, but you’ve got to be okay with that. You’ve just got to go and you’ve got to open and you’ve got to get guests in the door, because we have got to start operating. And, you know, you cannot be a perfectionist in business. You have got to be okay with you just being a little tiny, tiny, tiny bit messy. And that’s okay, because half the things people don’t notice. So you have to understand, you know, just get in, open the doors and let’s go and let’s figure it out together, you know? And they just didn’t really want to. And that was that was a challenge for me.

Megan Bruneau: Did you end that relationship or that business relationship after that first location before you scaled the others? Yeah.

Gara Post: So we went out to buy them out after the first location, went on to open the second, third, and fourth location. And it was messy too, because we’re trying to wrap up ego, trying to wrap up, you know, wrap up the documents. And I sat in therapy and it was challenging because Jason and I, when you’re working with your partner, and what I mean partner or your husband, who you’re literally going home to, it’s very hard and all of your stuff is coming out of therapy, all of the messy stuff, you know, and it’s, it was hard. There were many arguments in therapy. There are many challenges, you know, within our relationship. But we stuck together and we were really able to persevere. And he’s the best person in the world. He really is. And he’s pushed me out of my comfort zone. And there have been challenging times, no doubt. And that’s what makes a successful marriage no different than a successful partnership. You can’t be quitters. You get in and you work it out. And especially when there’s a, you know, a capital investment involved, you’ve got to put your professional hat on and understand. Let’s compartmentalize for a minute and let’s, let’s have these conversations elsewhere. And that’s really what’s driven, you know, us to more of an even more successful marriage, being able to kind of say, you know what? Not right now, you know, and not getting emotional and not getting hyper-triggered and understanding when your spouse or your partner needs a minute. It’s not a personal vendetta against you.

Megan Bruneau: You know, and I can very much relate because I, too, have married a man who is very logical and rational. I’m the emotional one in the relationship, but we have that same conflict. I’m curious for you, what is your internal process like in those moments? Really, for either of you, when you’re like, my spouse needs a minute, rather than following that urge, which I think people can relate to it, not just necessarily spouse, but really anyone. They might have that urge to kind of be like, no, like, let’s keep talking or I need to figure this out or we need to talk about it now, what happens for you internally that allows you to like, take that pause and honor that space?

Gara Post: I think that first of all, it’s been challenging. That has been difficult for me because I’m a reactive person, but I think that’s recognizing what your triggers are and, you know, not pushing the limit where they’re going to snap. And it’s been quite the journey for me and I’ve gotten a lot better at that. So understanding, you know, communication is key, really. So if, for instance, Jason says, you know, not right now, I really need a minute, understanding, you know, he really does need a minute. And we saying not right now. And so having mutual respect when your partner or yourself are going through something and you’re hyper-triggered is really, really critical. It really is. You have to value them and you have to understand we’re human beings, you know, we’ve got a whole process, you know, and kind of go from there.

Megan Bruneau: You mentioned having an abandonment wound, which I also share, which I think a lot of people share in some way, shape or form. And like moments like that can be very triggering for that little girl inside or that little person inside who’s like, wait, are you abandoning me in this moment? Help! I’m going to scream louder and like, make a scene so that you don’t leave me, right? I’m going to freak out and panic. And so learning how to work with that part of you. Right. That is so scared in that moment, or feels so abandoned or neglected or wronged or whatever it is, and be able to provide that reassurance while remembering like, this isn’t about me. Like this person needs some space to regulate their nervous system in the same way that maybe I feel like I need them to carry this conversation to regulate mine. I can respect that process and go do some self-soothing or focus on something else or whatever, which again, easier said than done, right?

Gara Post: It is easier said than done, exactly. Especially for very high-functioning people, because you’re like, no, now let’s go. Let’s figure this out. And, you know, it’s just, it’s exactly what you said, you know, and it’s really about having mutual respect for everyone and, and, to make it through, you know, totally.

Managing Conflict and Shame in Business

Megan Bruneau: So just to kind of wrap up the challenge story or the failure story, whatever we want to call it. So you end up buying them out. These friends and were there any concerns still about like the legal ramifications, like if they might sue or if they might try to engage in some smear campaign or something like that.

Gara Post: Always, because your ego sort of gets into your head and tells you the worst of everything. You know, I like to refer to that as like, I forget what self-care author, but they refer to them as your roommate and they live in your head and they’re telling you every negative thought and everything, you know, everything that can go wrong. And that was really, it was really hard for me, you know, that’s why we sat on, you know, our therapist couch, whether it was one time a week, whether it was two times a week, you know, and you have to move through the only way to kind of go through is to really do the work. And that’s what we realized and we really came out stronger. But, you know, we have a really good legal team, of course, to help support everything. And, and, you know, it’s really about taking yourself out of your head because, you know, lawyers are challenging too, you know, and you’ve got to kind of take some space from it and really live in your truth and live in your authentic space and know that, okay, this is what really happens, because all of a sudden you can start creating different narratives when you start listening to other people. And that’s why putting your blinders on is so important. But then if you get into another space, which is challenging for Jason and I of really, you know, kind of all of a sudden you’re arguing over it and all of a sudden the narrative is changing. All of a sudden the blame comes and all of a sudden the shame comes. And that’s where the spin goes. You’re spinning and you’ve got to know when to pull yourself out of that and say, well, we’ve got something great here, we’ve got to focus and we’ve got to be professional and we’ve got to keep it moving, because there’s a lot of capital that’s invested in this, and we have got to protect the investment, and it’s successful nonetheless, you know?

Megan Bruneau: Yes, absolutely. And so did you attempt to maintain those friendships at all afterward?

Gara Post: I don’t know if I would say attempts necessarily. Look, there’s a lot of emotions. And we came out looking like the bad people. And I can understand how we did. There were claims that we stole the business. There still are claims like that. And I know it’s very difficult to sell a business when you’re in the investment. But look, when people are emotional, I understand why they’re, you know, they create a narrative. So I wouldn’t necessarily see friends unless they’ve done the work. There’s a lot of maybe there’s hostility and maybe there’s resentment and, you know, maybe. But I can only hope that everyone has space to really work through that.

Megan Bruneau: Thank you so much for being so open about this, Gara. You touched on the shame piece, and I can understand how that would have been such a shame trigger for you at that time. And so how did you and do you navigate that shame? And it sounds like there was a lot of work to remind yourself, like, no, we have worked within our integrity or acted within our integrity. Our side of the street is clean for anyone who might be kind of feeling conflicted, perhaps about a difficult business decision they had to make that maybe has left someone feeling resentful or hostile. Like you said, what are your suggestions for working through that?

Gara Post: I think you have to live in a space of integrity and authenticity at all times. I think, like you said, it’s almost helpful to make a list, you know, whether it’s your notes app or whatever it is, make a list of really the facts. What are the facts here? You know, because you can spin out. I know I spun out, you know, even during meditation spin out. You have this voice in your head telling you no, but that’s not what happened. And then the narratives, you know, completely different from there. Surround yourself around people that also know the facts that were involved. Also, that can speak to the truth, you know, and that will help you persevere and understand when you get to a space of vulnerability and fear. Let’s just look at these facts and know I did my best. And by the way, maybe at the time you didn’t do your best. Maybe I made a million mistakes. Of course, I wasn’t happy with how I acted either, you know? But you know, taking accountability for that is so important. Saying, you know what, Gara, this is okay? We are human beings. We are accountable. Everyone is acting in a way that maybe doesn’t make sense right now, but at the end of the day, you have to know who you are at your core and understand we are good people.

Megan Bruneau: I love that, and I think, again, coming back to the trauma piece, so many of us who have trauma, everybody has trauma, right? But like on the varying kind of continuum, we can fall upon this place of like, I’m a bad person and have this trigger always. Like, I’m a bad person. I’m a bad person. Anything that I do will confirm that belief that I have about myself, that I’m a bad person. And so knowing if you defer to that at times or have a vulnerability to it. And then I love what you said about like make the list, have it on the notes that have people around you who can remind you that you’re not a bad person. Right? Sometimes we do bad things and we make mistakes and we all fuck up because that’s what it is to be human. We’re all just figuring it out as we go and doing the best we can. But remind yourself that, like, okay, yeah, maybe I wasn’t my best self in this conversation, or I could have done this in a different way if I had more information at the time, or I was just, again, doing the best that I could. That doesn’t make me a bad person, especially if I feel remorseful and I’m trying to like, do right by this person at this point.

Gara Post: I mean, I couldn’t have said it better. Exactly.

Revolutionizing the Pet Space with Bowie

Megan Bruneau: Thank you. Well, we’re close to wrapping up, but before we do, I would love to hear a little bit about Bowie and then just like a little bit more of your wisdom if that works. So now you’re into your third venture. It sounds like which is for Bowie. So tell us about that.

Gara Post: So, Bowie is, we are actually trying to revolutionize the pet space. And do you have any dogs, by the way?

Megan Bruneau: I have a cat. I’m a cat person. However, my husband is a big dog person, so we’re getting a dog in, like, a couple of months. Whenever we get our second cat, which was the compromise, I was like, okay, we’re getting two cats if getting a dog. So, so yes, we’ll have a whole animal farm.

Gara Post: I love an animal farm, and we love animals. I have three dogs as well, so really like, when I shoot back a little bit, [Bowie] just came to us to pitch the concept of The Now alongside our co-founder Michelle as well. You know, nothing like [Bowie] existed. It’s similar to The Now in a way, if you think about it, who is really doing this affordable, kind of really chic, elevated dog grooming concept? There really wasn’t that was also targeting to the Gen Z millennial demographic. You know, they really weren’t doing that. It’s straightforward. There’s monthly memberships. You know, you check in, you check it out. It’s just, it’s a great, great concept.

Megan Bruneau: And it’s like perfect timing too with like the doodle craze.

Gara Post: Yeah. Crazy. It’s crazy how many people have doodles. It’s completely wild, you know? But you know what? It’s a great hypoallergenic dog. So, you know, it’s, I have no qualms about that at all. And we love our doodle family, so we actually opened, we opened our first location about two years ago, and then we went on that right next to The Now in West Hollywood, which is great because you can drop your dog off and then you can come get a massage. You know, it’s, there’s, it’s a very similar concept to The Now, you know, it really, really is. And, and it was successful. So we wanted to open our second location in Culver City. And then we started, we went on the franchise model. So one thing that’s different about Bowie is that we actually built, it’s a franchise that The Now was really not built to franchise at first. So all of our key learnings and our experiences with franchising The Now we can really roll in [Bowie], which has been really, really, really helpful. So, you know, we’ve got four locations open right now, one in Chicago, one in Arizona, and then two in Los Angeles, which is exciting, you know, and we’re continuing to sell more and open more. And we love dogs and we love massages.

Megan Bruneau: And how satisfying to be able to see how much you’ve grown, right, in terms of your entrepreneurial acumen, your franchising acumen, to be like, okay, we know how this works. Now we can just do this from scratch.

Gara Post: Exactly. It certainly is a lot easier, I can tell you, because we’ve made the mistakes so our franchise owners don’t have to. And that doesn’t mean that we’re not still making mistakes for humans. You know, it’s the same, it’s the same conversation we keep having, you know, but we’re learning and we’re growing from our mistakes and we’re able to pivot so we can just be, you know, successful at the end of the day, all of us.

Megan Bruneau: And with this, another Post Investment Group, someone else had come to you with the concept. You guys have co-founders with this one?

Gara Post: Yeah. So Jeff and Michelle are co-founders with Bowie. So they came back in 2020 and they both worked at Sky Zone, actually. So they came on to help us scale The Now because they had franchise experience, which we did not have. And then we said, please come help us scale, and we’ll help you launch Bowie. And that’s really what happened. I’m highly creative,e and they’re really highly operational. So it’s this amazing partnership. And, you know, it doesn’t, by the way, there were challenges there too. You know, there’s always going to be challenges in any single thing you do in life and, you know, it doesn’t define you, but it really allows you to grow. And, you know, that’s why we welcome challenges. How can we work through this? You know, and I think that’s a really important message to everyone.

Megan Bruneau: Is there a challenge you’d be open to sharing right now that you’re working through with Bowie at this time?

Gara Post: I have to tell you, it’s not as challenging as it was. I think we’re just talking about maybe our franchise development. We want, of course, we want to sell more, maybe getting more up-and-coming, find the right groomers, and find the right franchise owners. That’s always going to be a challenge. I can say that our our partnership is stronger than ever. You know, Jeff, Michelle, and I, and Jason, which is amazing, you know, but you’re talking about a service-based business. And there are always challenges, whether it’s massage or whether it’s dog grooming, you’re dealing with people first. That is always going to be a challenge. You know, skilled labor. That’s a challenge, finding the right groomers who really care about your animals, finding the right massage therapists who are really skilled and understand what it takes to give the most exceptional massage experience. That is always going to be a challenge in any service-based business, but aligning yourself with the right people to help you scale. And that’s what we do, you know, we know how to identify talent and how to take it to the next level.

Megan Bruneau: And are you enjoying it?

Gara Post: I am. There are days that are tough, like anything else, but ultimately, conversations like this with you are amazing. And especially when, you know, I can put my psychological hat on and, you know, tap into that because I love that as well. You know, look, life is full of challenges. It just is. But, you know, finding your passion and your purpose and making an impact on your community just makes it all worth it. Really does.

Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

Megan Bruneau: I want to give you the stage if there’s anything else you want to share for listeners who are either in the initial stages of thinking about becoming an entrepreneur, they have a side hustle or maybe they’re well into whatever they’re building, and just any words of wisdom or advice you might have for finding their way through those challenges and failures and really persevering and becoming resilient.

Gara Post: Important to, you know, find your passion, your purpose, you know, and, and really ultimately make an impact. But I do want to say that you have got to have some guardrails up, okay? You’ve got to be kind to yourself. You have got to drown out the noise and take risks. The only way through is through. If you’ve got something that you’re excited about, perhaps other people are not. That’s okay. If you’ve got that passion, you can really strive for success. And I think that’s really important. And also find yourself a coach or a therapist, someone who can really be honest with you guys.

Megan Bruneau: Someone, someone.

Gara Post: That can really be honest with you. And you know how you really understand and understand your goals and define your goals and work through those challenges quite equally and just keep it moving one step in front of the other, and don’t sit on anything for too long. Go, go, go. You know.

Megan Bruneau: Yes, I love that. Don’t sit on anything for too long. That’s when perfectionism holds us back. We don’t want to share.

Gara Post: Ideas, go to die. You know, it’s. Yes. So you know.

Megan Bruneau: Yeah. Execute. Execute. I love that, Gara. Thank you so much. Where can people find you if they want to learn more from you, follow you, check out The Now or Bowie, or Gara Danielle, tell us.

Megan Bruneau: All the ways.

Gara Post:  So follow us at @thenowmassage. Follow us at @bowiebarkerbath. And @garadanielle, definitely. We have 77 locations open at The Now. We’ve got four locations of Bowie, so please, you guys, trust us. Take care of yourself. Take care of your pets. And, thank you. Megan, this was, this is a pleasure. Honestly.

Megan Bruneau: Oh, thank you so much, Gara. You are just such an inspiration. I’m so grateful to have connected with you. And yeah, I can’t wait to check out all of the above and probably bring my dog at some point to Bowie.

Megan Bruneau, M.A. Psych is a therapist, executive coach, and the founder of Off The Field Executive & Personal Coaching. She hosts The Failure Factor podcast featuring conversations with entrepreneurs about the setbacks that led to their success.