Navigating mindset and business with a disability with Amy Carlon

Transcript

CLARE

Today’s guest on the podcast is Amy Carlon, the founder of Carlon and Co, and Amy shares in today’s episode about her journey to becoming a successful business owner despite her disability and how using the power of mindset, she has been able to overcome. Many obstacles on her business journey today.

AMY

Thanks for having me. My name is Amy Carlon, obviously, and I run Carlon and Co, which is a photography and creative consulting company. We’re based in Geelong, but we travel all throughout Australia helping people with their photo, video, web copy and graphics for all their content creation for their businesses.

CLARE

I love that and I have gone and stalked your work and it is so beautiful. What you and the team do love, your video work as well so super. Maybe if you wanted to share a little bit about your own journey to where you are firstly living and also where you are at in business.

Amy’s experience in the workplace with a disability, and what led to opening her own business

AMY

Well, business wise I went to uni and I studied photography and did my post grading marketing but kind of cause I felt like I needed to go somewhere, needed to go to uni. Everyone else is going to uni but I was creative so I was like is this really meant for me? Do I really need a HECS debt? I just went but it was honestly the best thing for me socially, and we mainly did history, but I was working for the university, helping run their social media with a team of people. But I realised I hated an office job. It was my first ever job, and I was born with a disability, which we can go into a little bit more, but it has impacted my physical abilities and I always thought maybe an office job was my only option. And in that moment I was like, NO, I’m out of here, so I came for a short trip to Geelong and I really liked it. After being in Wagga and eight weeks later I moved down here to start my business and explore the commercial side of photos.

CLARE

You mentioned that you are a person who has a disability, so this is something you have, I guess known, your whole life?

AMY

Yes, correct. So I was born with a disability called Arthrogryposis syndrome. AMC is also what it’s known as. So shortening the tendons which can contract the joints in your body. I also have, smaller airways, smaller veins, smaller jaw lines like all. There’s so many characteristics regarding our health. But for me I was a severe case with my feet and my hands and one of my shoulders. So with my legs I spent most of my childhood in hospital growing up in Sydney to have surgeries to straighten them so that I could potentially be able to walk. The doctors basically told my parents I wouldn’t be able to, I was a bit of an experiment. For a while there, I became a case study for my specialist. I was heavily wheelchair dependant until about 20 years old and then I haven’t used one since.

CLARE

Wow. OK, let’s talk a little bit about… you mentioned that you had an office job and I know that you can only speak to your particular disability, but what was your experience of how that?

AMY

Even though I thought a stationary job would be best for my physical needs because I can’t stand for long periods of time, I can’t walk really far and uneven surfaces are hard… like you name it, it actually was bad. I was sitting there at a desk all day, not only as a creative human, is that limiting, but physically it was actually more painful than I thought it would be. And I realised that when I was also having bad health days and I couldn’t come to work.. And this is before working from home was a thing… I was struggling to do my job. So I was like if I’m struggling with this, surely I can just struggle through doing something I actually enjoy, which would be standing on my feet, taking photos instead. So it was great learning experience. Don’t get me wrong, they treated me very well. I learned so much in a very short period of time. But it opened my eyes to the fact that there’s a lot more out there and I was limiting myself to preconceived idea of what I should be doing, not what I could be doing.

CLARE

Yeah, it’s interesting. I was sharing with you off air that I was in a major car accident. I incurred a severe whiplash injury. So like you, I can’t sit for extended periods of time at a desk anymore. And it’s a really unusual experience, but I’ve been incredibly blessed that I run my own business because I think about my corporate days, I couldn’t just get up and go sit on the couch. It would have been a real challenge, and I’m glad that you made that scary decision to walk away from, I presume, a secure paycheck.

AMY

Yeah, payment within that as well, it was a thing for me, it’s like security. I’m like, OK, well, I’m a disabled individual who has other health needs, I don’t know when something’s gonna happen to me when I won’t be able to work when I can. So having that consistency just like anyone though is amazing. And for the first time in my life, because I was lucky that I had family that would support me up until that point, especially because of my disability and so to walk away from that, my parents were not happy at first. But once you don’t let money control your passion, I think that’s when you allow more in.

CLARE

It’s easier to say in hindsight, yes, you know when your business is growing, you got a bit more consistency with clients and income and things like that. But going back to those early days, what was it like going, I literally don’t know when I’m next going to be landing my next client or earning money? Or was it a pretty seamless journey for you?

AMY

It’s still almost like that. I don’t like having my schedule and my books booked out for 12 months in advance. I really don’t like living my life around other people’s life goals, so I really just take it as it comes and it was always the way, and I don’t think I’ve changed that mindset. It’s like what will come to me is meant for me, being open minded doesn’t mean you’re not working hard, but not putting pressure on achieving a certain figure, but appreciating what you actually are getting in. I was lucky that when I moved here it just kind of took off. I just put myself out there, went and showed my face, messages so many people on Instagram to get coffee. So just putting myself out there, it took the pressure off the figure amount and became trying to build something that I’m proud of… in a way that’s livable, like you still obviously want to achieve basic goals of paying my bills. But I just, I still just don’t panic about it. I’m more hopeful in my approach of income and bookings and security.

CLARE

OK, this is a perfect segue into the topic of mindset. You mentioned that you were wheelchair dependent until you turned 20. Do you wanna talk to me a little bit? About what that journey was like?

Amy’s incredible mindset when it comes to money, business and life and dropping the security blanket

AMY

I spent so much time being able to walk then not being able to walk, learning to walk again and then having another surgery and it’s on repeat and I got to having kind of my last surgeries by my early teens and then trying to work on for the next literally six years. That mindset, do I need to be reliant on my wheelchair? Is it a mind over matter aspect if I push myself enough? If I build my fitness enough, obviously I can’t stand up and go for a 5k walk but, if I can really push through and see my greater potential, what could I achieve?

So I think once I got to university and was surrounded by all these people that didn’t have this pre knowledge of my life and my previous limitations that they were like, why can’t you do that? Give it a try! I’ve learned so much from them being. I didn’t drink before I was 21. Like all these things that people influence you because they’re like, give it a go! If you don’t like it, you don’t have to do it. If it hurts, get back in the chair.

So it was really, I think a lot of great people I met that really helped me push past that anxiety, that security because we all love security, which I guess comes down to work again where you’ve got a security blanket. Can you leave it? Yes you can. Because you’ll probably achieve greater.

CLARE

Such an interesting topic. Specifically in this space of the medical world, because obviously doctors do have a responsibility to say to you, hey, I really want to manage your expectations, around whatever it might be. And then equally to your point, when you get told something again and again and again and you start to think like that, this is what your subconscious mind. Because it starts to become a true. And I know on my own recovery journey, so much of it has been how much of this is a story and how much of this is a very real limitation on what I’m capable of. I don’t have all the answers and I’m sure you don’t either, but yeah, it’s really curious how people with that different mindset, different perspective have really empowered you to try to stretch yourself outside your comfort zone.

AMY

You don’t really think that you have that mindset until someone wakes you up to the fact that you’re in this tunnel vision. My whole life was about proving people wrong that I could walk. It was about having all these surgeries and doing all these things so I could walk. And then it got to a point where it was like, well, why can’t you let go of that last thing and it was like, that’s just a personal growth that can be anything in your life, but it’s like that realisation of like, OK, I’m moving on to the next phase of my life and maybe I need a little bit more freedom. And while I have that, I should harness that work on it and use it to my advantage.

CLARE

Well, this is exactly what I do. People always have stories around I can’t do that or that’s not possible for me and a lot of the time it’s not our fault. It’s something that’s been shared with us or a message that’s been given to us or perhaps it also has been our own experience. I’m sure there are plenty of times where you attempted to walk or do something and you were like, whoa, like body might be saying no, so there is also that very, real 3G experience of it as well.

In the space of business growth and money so many people are like, well, I don’t want that or I can’t have that or that’s not for me or I can’t do the things that I need to do to create that outcome, and so much of that is, is me being like your friends were for you, just, like, challenging and saying, you know, is that a truth, maybe it is a story or a limitation that you’ve placed on your potential. And can we look to reprogram that?

AMY

Yeah, and new environments, new people obviously help with that a lot. We all need different perspectives, even if we all have unique perspectives on life.

CLARE

I love that you were so open to exploring that potential as well because a lot of people would just say don’t be ridiculous, it’s not possible or I’ve had this experience maybe once., twice, three times before, and I think that’s the other challenging part of navigating through discomfort, through changes. Sometimes it’s like, well, this is a real limitation that I do have and I need to honour as well.

AMY

Yeah, 100%. I agree with that.

CLARE

So as a business owner now how does your how do you, you manage your disability and running a successful business?

How being transparent and building a team has helped Amy grow her busines

AMY

Look, not always well. I think transparency is key, which, I already try and be. It’s like I tell my audience, my clients, people on social media… when I’m having a bad day, this is happening, beyond my disability as well. We all have other health issues that happen. I’m just so transparent with where I’m at and I think I also got to a point early last year where I realised I couldn’t do it by myself anymore. Coming out of COVID and the pandemic. I noticed that my mobility had really declined in some ways, I had more arthritis in my foot and I was struggling to stand for even longer periods of time again. And that’s where I bought on subcontractors. So by having that subcontractor, initially it was to take on that extra load at shoots, in terrains that are too hard for me to do. To still be able to do what I love, and just facilitate a creative project and feel involved even when I can’t be there or stand for long, I can still create an income for myself through that and then we introduced video, web copy and graphics to try and help, obviously with income, it’s helpful to have another stream, but for me it was about having an ease for my clients to have everything in the one spot. So my needs for being disabled and having people to help me is also now benefiting my clients, which is amazing.

CLARE

Absolutely. And it means you can deliver a really cohesive experience as well that they can not just have these beautiful images, but also have beautiful graphics to accompany it along the way. How do you ensure the cohesiveness now that you’ve grown a team of? You know the look and feel of your brand or the parent brand rather.

AMY

That’s a really good question. I think I attract like people. so for me it’s not about always the outcomes. There’s so many people that can create great projects, there’s trends and styles that everyone is doing and wanting. So that’s determined by the world, not just my company, but, finding people that I get along with. And that respect me and my values as a company and that I can relate to as well. So have decent conversations with on a personal level and in a professional sense, just generally understanding each other. And I think that really helps the team environment to make it cohesive. Like the way that we’re showing up and talking to our clients over email or showing up to a photo shoot or a video shoot is… they’re getting the same essence and personality, and that was my goal.

I will say, especially with a bunch of health issues I had last year that, the people I work with just run with it. They pick it up, I can say this is happening and they say, I’ve got it. And that’s a perk of subcontracting too. They are also their own boss. I’m not their boss, boss, you know, or I can say this is what my client needs and the ability for them to take that and run with it and have that respect and the authority to go ahead with things when I’m not doing well is amazing.

CLARE

Who are your role models? Perhaps people in business, with a disability…?

Where Amy draws her inspiration from

AMY

I would probably say my parents, they always had businesses growing up and I don’t think about them too. Much because I get emotional, so bear with me. They’ve always been supportive, like sacrificed so much to do whatever I want to achieve, so grateful…

CLARE

And they obviously are so incredibly proud of you as well, obviously they’ve supported you and probably initially were a little bit scared when you were moving away, going out on your own. But I’m sure they’re incredibly proud of how you’ve been flourishing, and having moved away.

AMY

They still help me a lot with my business, like I suck at numbers, numbers is not my thing, right? But my dad is an engineer. He’s just always been great with numbers. My mom helps me with a lot of my accounting stuff. They they’re very involved in my business and supportive for the needs regarding my business, not just my personal life and my health. So having that support really helps me excel.

CLARE

Outside of your parents… is there anyone else in the business world that you look up to, that are really inspirational.

AMY

People always say oh who are you inspired by, in these general questions? I think I’m just so observant of everyone’s journey, which sounds like half an answer, but I don’t fixate when someone else’s goals are achieved. They’re paving the way for that, like Dylan Alcott and what he’s doing in the disability space, even in the ads, the commercial ads…. Have you seen those where they’re trying to have more diversity and having people with disabilities in ANZ ads and stuff like that, that’s amazing to see. I feel like it’s quite inspiring and then seeing other photographers, seeing someone’s photo and be like, wow, like, how did they do that? Appreciating that moment of work, that moment in time.

CLARE

Fantastic. Anything else that you would like to share with the listeners of the podcast?

How to approach someone with a disability and create an inclusive business.

AMY

I would like to touch on like inclusivity in the work force a little bit more. As subcontractors, I feel like a lot of us are working for ourselves these days and bringing other people in to, say, have a photo shoot for their business. So and I think a lot of people wonder how to approach someone with a disability when it comes to a job because as a subcontractor, you’re not expected to know my whole health story. If you were my employer, you would know because I have to disclose. I think that’s where it can get a little hard sometimes working as a disabled person in the creative field, in commercial aspects as well. And I think that people should maybe take note of thinking regarding whether someone has a disability or not. Saying in an email on a phone call, how can I help you with this project? How can we best assist you? And that opens that conversation. It allows you to allow space for someone’s needs, which we don’t know, they could be anything. Someone could be pregnant. Like the simplest things. It could be that someone is colour blind. That’s a factor too. But it helps a mile by just opening the conversation without assumptions without judgement, so that someone can then have the confidence and build conversation.

CLARE

Yeah, I love that. It’s something that I’ve started doing, on my journey, to try and create a more inclusive business is that when we’re hosting a retreat, we ask the question, you know, are there any special needs that we need to be aware of? Obviously, dietary requirements as well, but also even things that we need to be aware of because there might be some situations that people suddenly like, Oh my gosh, I don’t wanna be doing this.  I know that I’ve got a lot of work to do in my own business, but I love that you’ve opened that up as a suggestion or recommendation for for business owners to create a more inclusive space, even if it’s not your actual employees, if it’s people that you are working with.

AMY

Because I always say to people like I’m no expert on everyone’s disabilities or needs or phobias, you name it. So even I myself, I learn a lot from people and their limitations.

CLARE

Well, thank you so much for joining me on today’s episode of the podcast. I have loved our chat. If the listeners would like to come and check out some of these photos that. I showed that I. Love and find out a little bit more about you and your team. How can they?

AMY

They can find us on Instagram, Carlon and Co. carlonandco.com or Amy Lee Carlin on LinkedIn.

CLARE

I will share all of those links in the show notes for today’s episode. Amy, thank you so much for joining us

AMY

Thanks for having me, appreciate it.

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I hope you are feeling inspired and excited about what is possible for you. When it comes to money. It takes a lot of time and energy to create a podcast, so I’d be very grateful if you could take the time to hit subscribe, write me a review and share any of your favourite episodes with your audience on social media. The more people that we can reach, the more people we can empower to earn more in their business because you can and should be earning more money.