Episode 274: Balancing Art, Family, and Creative Vision | Sarah Rhoads | Photographer & Co-Founder of We Are the Rhoads + Commbi Footwear
Sarah Rhoads is one half of the creative duo behind We Are the Rhoads, a successful commercial photography team she runs with her husband, Chris. They’re also parents to three boys, building both a business and a family with intention. In this episode, Kara and Sarah talk about choosing your own path, navigating the demands of creative work in Los Angeles, and what it takes to build a life that feels both full and free. They explore joy, ambition, and how partnership—both in love and work—can be a source of strength and clarity.
“I get to pick up a camera and capture beautiful things. How lucky am I?”
-
-
Follow along using the Transcript
Chapters:
(00:00:01) – Losing Her Dad and Finding Photography Through Grief
(00:05:00) – How Sarah and Chris Built We Are The Rhoads Together
(00:09:15) – Moving to LA, Creative Growth, and the Sony Breakthrough
(00:16:30) – Why No One Is Coming to Save You as a Creative
(00:20:15) – Choosing Risk Over the Illusion of Safety
(00:26:00) – Building Commbi: From Orthotics to Original Design
(00:33:10) – Feminism, Motherhood, and Redefining Power
(00:39:45) – Daily Habits, Reading Rituals, and How She Stays Grounded
What I had left of him was my memories, which were really just sifting through my fingers like sand, and I had imagery. So I saved up my babysitting money and I went and bought like a nice Canon camera, whatever I could afford. I went to Wolf Camera and I went and I bought it. Put together all my cash and I bought this camera.
That's Sarah Rhodes. I'm Cara Duffy and this is the Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Welcome to the Powerful Ladies Podcast.
Thank you. Thank you for having me.
I'm excited you're here. This is such a great example for everyone listening of opening up a magazine, seeing people that looked interesting and being like, I want to talk to them. We're inviting them to the podcast.
Well, thank you. I love it. I'm curious which magazine you opened.
The Santa Barbara magazine.
Nice. Oh, that's great. Yep. That was a fun story to shoot.
Well, before we go any further, let's tell everyone who you are, where you are in the world and what you're up to.
So my name is Sarah Rhodes and I am one half of the photography duo.
We are the Rhodes. It's me and my husband. And we've been working commercial photographers in Los Angeles for the last. We've been in L. A. The last 10 years, but we've been working in this space for the last 15. So, yeah, that's, that's me. We have three young sons and we actually have a another entrepreneurial endeavor that I can talk about later as well. So, yeah.
If you go back to eight year old, you would she imagine that this is your life today?
No, I truly, you know, when I get, there's always times when we can focus on the wrong thing. Something's frustrating or a client's frustrating or this or that. But the moment I look around at my life and I see all that I have, This beautiful family that I have.
I live in Los Angeles. I have this gorgeous backyard. I get to do something creative for my life. I get to work with my husband. My job takes me around the world to do that. I get to pick up a camera and create things and make the world more beautiful. I truly am astounded by this life and I feel so insanely deeply grateful that I get to, that I get to live this life.
It's, it's very fun. And exciting and I, I don't know that my eight year old self would have dreamed that this would have been my life. I grew up in outside Chicago in a suburb called Naperville in a very just kind of middle class, like, suburban existence in middle America. I really didn't know anyone who did something creative or, you know, Even entrepreneurial people had pretty like standard corporate jobs, but I always felt like there was something deep within me that was like, I want to do something different.
I want to live differently. And I feel really fortunate that I get to get to do that.
You know, there's so many people who think that they can't have that life. You just described like that. They can't be creative. They can't make a living that way. And then the idea of working with their partner. Is a whole other level of that'd be great, but we might kill each other
And some couples might.
Yeah So when like did you have the photography business before you met your husband? Did you guys create it together? How did that all start?
I'll kind of take it one step further back to kind of talk about how I sort of ended up doing this. You know, I lost my dad in a plane accident when I was 14 and my mom and my sister and I had a really large life upheaval.
As you can imagine, and I feel like I realized when I was 14 and going into high school and and losing my dad. I realized like What I had left of him was my memories which were really just sifting through my fingers like sand and I had imagery And so I saved up my babysitting money and I went and bought like a nice Channing camera, whatever I could afford, I went to Wolf camera and I went and I put together all my cash and I bought this camera and I really had no idea around the technicals of how to use it.
And I had no idea that this would be something that I would be doing professionally in my future iteration. I just knew that I wanted to document my life that felt really important to me so that I think it's probably as a means of processing pain as well as. Holding on to something that felt quite ephemeral when I realized like life is so it just it happens very quickly and I wanted to be able to hold on to elements of those of my life.
And so Yeah, I, I just started shooting and I always had like a good feel for photography composition, that sort of thing. And what I wanted to put in the frame, but I really didn't have the technicals. And then we met in college freshman year at Oklahoma state. And you know, Chris and I kind of started collaborating from the very beginning.
He was a professional musician at the time like playing bass on the road with people and he just was a very good problem solver and with photography it's art and it has like this technical element of like aperture shutter speed and lighting and all that kind of stuff and i just started shooting the bands he was playing in that kind of thing and we started just collaborating like he really taught me what all the technical Aspects were of photography like this is how aperture works.
This is shutter speed which really unlocked and then the ability to be able to take my photography to the next level. And we just started collaborating. We always have been collaborating since we met. So that's kind of how we, we started working together.
Yeah. There's such an interesting approach when it is a creative collaboration, because I imagine that you're using that in photography, you're using it in your home in how you kind of do everything. Like your entire life becomes this team collaboration. What are the pros and cons of? Just having a partner who is that core collaborator with you.
So, you know, I always tell people Working with your spouse is definitely not for everyone, but it's always been just a natural Outpouring of Chris and I's unique makeup.
That's from the beginning like we just naturally started collaborating together and we really fill in each other's gaps. So what I mean by that is we joke that like Chris is the head and I'm the heart. And when you put us together, we make one really superhuman, you know what I mean? Like we're just kind of like subhumans.
And then you put us together and our unique sauce makes a really good sauce. That's nice on things. So it works to compliment each other. And I'm really grateful for that because we kind of stay in our own lanes because he needs me and I need him for various things. And we both can do each other's work as well, but we also, it gives us a greater respect for the other partner because it's like, Oh, you, that part of this is so easy for you.
And this part of this is so easy for me. So we are able to like capitalize on what, what we are good at. And I think that's a real key to working with With your spouse, but you asked about, like, the hard parts, too, and I would say, you know, Chris and I have been married now for, I think, 16 years, which is crazy and working together that, that entire time. I will say the first part of working together in our marriage, like the first four years, you're really working out a lot of kinks and four years sounds like a long time. I will say the things that we work out together in our work life always serve to benefit our personal life too.
And I will say that it just makes for a deeper, more full relationship in our case, but it can be hard at times to not take the work into the personal life. Like that is definitely something we've had to like set boundaries around. Especially now that we're parents too, because you can just get talking about it all the time.
So so yeah, that's what I would say it's not for everybody, but it's definitely for us. It's like, we love it, but it's. We're those weirdos that can spend copious amounts of time together and not get sick of each other. So I would say that's a really important part of working with your spouse.
So it's not easy having a business, whether you're with your spouse or not. What is the kind of rollercoaster been like for you guys as professional photographers? And did you, I'm going to back that up with a pre question of how did you guys end up in LA? Cause I think LA is such a unique place for creatives and for small business. So how did you get in LA? And then what has it really been like running a business that is also your creative outlet?
So we ended up in LA from Seattle. We were in Seattle after We got married, we moved out to Seattle, and we chose Seattle because it was sort of one of those smaller markets. We knew we didn't want to be in LA or New York right away, because we wanted to really figure out our voice as creatives, as artists, and not be, you know, On blast we wanted to be able to have the space to mess up and to fail and not be having everybody watch us And that was a really good I'm, super grateful for Seattle and that time in the pacific northwest and what that was for us.
It was a very nice nest before we took off and we moved down to la after we we had been developing our portfolio shooting anything and everything Because we didn't go to art school. We didn't go to photo school. We really went to the school of like you learn By doing you learn by like throwing yourself in the hardest situations And figuring it out and We started developing our portfolio and we got a call from sony when we were 25 and they wanted to bid us on this huge commercial campaign that was global.
And we had never bid on something as big as that with a client, a client as large as that, and we shot it. It was over a four day is, and it was one of their most successful campaigns to date. And then we started working with Sony again and again, and then, you know, Facebook called now meta, like. Motorola, Samsung, Apple, like the brand started coming because we had kind of, we started putting this work out and then all of our work was shooting either in LA or New York, most of it LA because it's a lot of lifestyle work on location.
And so we were spending so much less time in Seattle. So we ended up here in LA. And that was 11 years ago. We moved here. I will say I was really nervous about moving to LA because I love nature and I like not being in a concrete jungle. I really liked the pace of my life that liked the pace of my life in the Pacific Northwest, things like that.
But I will say it has totally surprised me. And I, Love it. Now the creative community here is incredible just in terms of like the people you rub shoulders with that are also on this path of they've chosen the road, less traveled a lot of the time, whether it's in the creative space or whether it's in an entrepreneurial space or a lot of it's transplants and you can be like, there's a relatability on that level.
That's helped me just on my creative journey and my path. And I, I'm really. And grateful that we took the leap and moved here, so I can't remember if that answered your question. You asked how we got to L. A. Is that? Yeah. Cool. Yeah. That's what we thought. I've been here 12 years, I think, now. Yeah. Which is the longest I've lived anywhere, so it's kind of crazy.
I haven't been in the same town or same house that time, but I do, of all the places I've lived. I think LA and Southern California is the hardest place to break into. So putting in that time and effort, I was just at my sister's birthday party and a guy had just moved from Chicago actually.
Where are you?
I moved around a lot. I consider Boston home. So I lived a lot in Philly New York, New Jersey, Boston, but I've also lived in Colorado. I've been lived out here previously.
A lot of places, a lot of lives.
Yeah. And then moved here from Germany. So it's, I think it was a shock for me to get here after moving so much and being like, wait, people just don't like make new friends and hang out and like what's going on. It takes so much effort.
It takes so much effort. It takes a lot of time. Like I remember when I first moved here, people were saying it's going to take six, six years, Six years to get ingratiated in LA, and I was like, six years? That is a lifetime! What? And now, I, I moved here in 2012, I rented an apartment, and we bought our place in 2013.
And I do finally feel like yeah, I have a community here It's like but it takes a long time that first five years was not easy And so I would tell anybody That's on and this city is complex It's not and what I mean by that is more like when you're creative in this city and you're working freelance It can be, yeah, it can, it can, it's a city that can eat people up, you know, so I feel like it's important to have that solid group of people that you can go to that are like, hey, keep going.
You know what I mean? Because it's not always easy.
No, it has such a, just a unique physical layout as well. That doesn't really encourage meshing, like people interacting in the same spaces, there's so many different neighborhoods, so many different coffee shops, people go to in those neighborhoods. So. It's even just like living in Venice versus Orange County versus Los Feliz can be completely different planets.
Totally. Like, it's funny because if you told me I live in Venice, I'd be like, Oh, well you might as well live in Montana because I'm a police sider and you're a Westover and like we're never going to see each other. Yeah. Yeah. It's like, that's the mentality here. You find these amazing people you like, and it's like, well, I can't drive an hour and a half. Like we're not sitting in traffic. So it's versus New York or someplace where you're like going to dinner. It's so walkable. So yeah, it's, it's a complex acquired taste for sure.
Running any business is complicated. So how have you guys managed the ups and downs? How have you stayed motivated? What are some of the core things that you wish you knew when you first started working together and honestly just having the business? It's not even about you guys together. I think it's you guys first everyone else.
Yeah, I think The biggest piece of advice that I would give myself and I think I gave it to myself and on some level maybe intrinsically is when you pursue something on your own whether it's creative or entrepreneurial e Outside the corporate scope.
No one is coming to save you No one is coming to save me and chris like and what that what that does is it? It really shifts the perspective of like I have to figure out new things I have to challenge myself. It takes a lot of intrinsic motivation to do this and I don't think that's for everybody, you know, but for the people that You Have that kind of curiosity to know themselves on a deep level, that determination, that openness to be totally challenged because it is, it's like esoterically challenging.
It's also like challenging on a mental level. There's times when I just feel so out of my depth, have felt so out of my depth, but guess what? Like I've built confidence through the times I have felt so out of my depth and stepping into it and saying, you know what? I did that and now I can do it again.
And guess what? I can do hard things. I can do other hard things, you know and so for me, I, I feel like that's been a really, I don't know. It's challenging, really challenging, but like, I feel like all remarkable things are hard on some level and then you just get better at them and they get easy, you know, but a lot of people don't, don't stay the course.
I feel like through the hard parts and I'm really glad. That we have because if you would have told me I was shooting large scale, global ad campaigns, picking up my camera. For these fortune 100 companies. When I was a 21 year olds, 20 year old girl from living in Oklahoma, going to journalism school, I, I knew I wanted to do photography.
And I was like, there's no way I can do this. All these kids are going to art school. I don't have the pedigree. I could have like, let myself go down that path. But instead I said, what if. Like, what if I am able and capable to do this? Like, what's the worst thing that could happen? I buy this and I fail, like, I just learn, you know?
So I feel like there definitely takes a An intrinsic motivation, and I feel like a ability to have a perspective on life that I think is a unique one, I think.
Don't you feel that way a little bit, just in terms of your experience? Yes. You have chosen road less traveled as well.
And, and that it's why the podcast got created, because, I wanted women and just people in general to see how many ways you could have a great life and how many ways you could step into your power.
And, like, I never thought I would work for anybody else but I did for a long time and it was great and I took full advantage of it, but then once I was fully doing my own thing, it, like, people think it's so scary to go out on your own, but I had so much less fear once I said yes and jumped all in.
The only, when you're in a corporate environment, there's so many things to worry about. There's the politics. There's all the dumb things you're doing that make no sense. There's plus the rest of life. And then when I went out on my own, I'm like, Oh, the only thing I have to manage is making sure I have money. Like that's it. Yeah. Yeah. Everything else is, is a creation and it's fun. And I like, I think people don't realize how risky working in a corporate space can actually be. And it creates this false sense of security. So I just, I, I can't imagine doing anything, anything else. And I love helping people figure out how to grow and scale and just make more money than they thought possible doing what they love because it gives you access to creating whatever else you want.
Totally. Absolutely. Absolutely. I love that. I love what you just said there in terms of like the risks. In doing what's safe, a lot of people don't evaluate that, the risks there, like, I feel like sometimes it goes against what our souls really need and want for growth and raising our consciousness in this life, like those kind of things, I feel like this path, not always easy, but I wouldn't trade it for anything, you know, like The rewards of the very, very generous and in my life.
Well, and I hated the idea that work was getting in the way of the life I wanted.
Yeah. So much time, so much of our life. Like that's the thing. It's like, we have time is that one resource that we just can't, I can always make more money. I can always. I can get more stuff, but I can't make any more time.
I can never make time. So like if I, if that's sort of the treasure in life. Why are we spending it in ways that aren't serving us and like our true selves and for some people that true self might be benefited on that path. I'm not saying that this path is for everyone, but I do think that us asking ourselves the hard questions and saying, What, what do I really want to spend my time doing?
What makes me come alive? You know what would benefit my growth as a person? You know, I don't know. I think we'd probably all be a little less stressed and happier.
I think there is such a correlation between doing work that feels good and purposeful and aligned. and the general temperature of the world. Like so many people are just upset and angry and it's because they don't think they have power to make the choices they want when they so do.
Yes totally. Yeah, I agree. How do you feel like you realize that for yourself? I'm curious like you because I feel like in many ways So much of it as people look around them themselves and they see one way of doing life, right like and they say well, that's that's the way that I should do life. What made you say I can do it different or give you the courage to like something different? Or, I don't know. I'm curious.
Well, that's a great question. I've never had it asked that way before. I think I've told, I've talked before on this podcast about how growing up reading, it was like all babysitters club and Nancy drew and Jim the holograms. And these are all, I didn't realize it at the time, but these are all fictional female characters who were way too young to have actual jobs that they were doing, but it, but it was just normal to be like, sure. I'm nine. I can babysit, which I was doing. I started my babysitting business at nine, which in hindsight, I'm like, what, who would trust a nine year old today to watch their kids?
But it was, it was the eighties, it was very different. And so I think starting in that mindset of like seeing all those, Like having that be my fictional kind of world that was interested in but then also I've always been a collector of Like power couples like that's when I saw you and Chris in the article like you guys just had a little blurb about you did The shoot that was in the magazine.
I'm like wait, they look cool What are they doing? it's like I went on a whole rabbit hole of like what are they doing and how and what it's like look like because I've always been attracted to that kind of more bohemian, doing it your own way lifestyle. And I think I've just been looking for it. I think I was also given freedom because we move so much that I didn't have, like, I don't have a childhood home. I wasn't in the same position and my parents also always told me like, just don't settle. That was like what they kept saying. And so the idea that I could do whatever I wanted and I didn't have to have the normal life, I think gave freedom to do that. And then just also, you said a keyword earlier of curiosity, I get so thrown off guard when I meet people who aren't curious.
Same. To me, that is the secret sauce to life. To my life. Yes. I am deeply, genuinely curious to like, uncover like, who is this wonderful Kara Duffy? Who is, what does this life look like over here? Like, if I didn't have that, I don't know what my life would look like.
Well, when people say they don't have that curiosity, it makes me think of people who don't have the inner monologue. Like I can't comprehend it. Yeah. And so it's, for me, I've always just been curious at what other people were doing. I also, I've traveled a lot, which I love doing. And so I think I've just been collecting these ideas and people throughout my lifetime who. did choose their own way. And even people who've stayed in the corporate space and had great careers, they've still done it with their own rules versus they've stepped into their power in whatever space they were in.
And yeah, I just, I think it's just been what I'm attracted to and drawn to in life. So it's, I've never understood like not maximizing our time while we're here.
Same. It's like, I've always wanted to have a rich, big, beautiful life. And I feel like I have that. And I'm, I'm happy. I will only have more of it. Because I feel like I'm really curious about life and people and uncovering things, and like, I feel like that's the key ingredient to me for how we have that, because we are here for just such a short amount of time in the big scheme of things, so like, why not That's Experience all the things we can experience, you know, and sort of my camera has given me the opportunity to do like, you kind of touched on peek into people's lives and ask questions and be able to go in and explore those curiosities in a really unique way that I'm, I'm super grateful for.
Well, and I think my past, I worked in foot apparel for 20 years like Puma and Reebok and Quicksilver. So all these brands that have connections to interesting musicians and athletes and other brands. And so I think like you with how you've gotten access to people and things that were like, not supposed to in quotes, and that's why one of our taglines is a ridiculous and extraordinary life because that ridiculous component of, do I belong in this room? Like, I'm sorry, you want me to do, you want me to do a collab with the Wu Tang clan? Okay, hold on. Right back, let me collect myself and I'll be right back. Yeah. So like, when I moved to LA, we when the first week I was here, I moved to work for DC, the skate company, and we were going to the premiere of Waiting for Lightning, which if you haven't seen it, it's an amazing documentary about Danny Way and his skateboarding career and jumping the Great Wall of China. But I go into this. I'm in an LA theater. I forget which one to see this LA premiere It already feels weird and out of out of body But it's all skateboarders and people from the action sports community I remember sitting down and in front of me were all these skate legends that I had known of For all these years and they're like turn around and be like, hey, I heard you're new. I'm like, what is happening?
Yeah, oh my gosh.
And it just becomes normal. And I think that's what one of the weird things about following a life that you once like Just, yeah, the people that you've met and got exposed to. And I think realizing early on in my life that the people that everybody wants to hang out with sometimes are the least interesting. And then the people who are the most interesting aren't always the ones getting the screen time and the attention.
So what do you, what do you think that is?
I think that we have a really good marketing PR storytelling machine. And anyone can look super interesting. And I think that sometimes the people who are, I've met some amazing creatives who are at the top of their game or some amazing athletes at the top of their game and they're so laser focused. That their life is a little bit one dimensional.
Totally. That's, I wanted to get for the group, like what you were saying, because I was like, I kind of agree, but I don't know that I fully agree. And I do, I do agree with that. Like to, to achieve what a lot of those people have achieved takes an immense amount of sacrifice and focus and they can get so one dimensional in that process. Yeah, totally. That's interesting. What were you doing in footwear and apparel? Was it like creative direction or what kind of stuff?
I was head of products, so making products and then moved into operations. So I was never the designer, but I was the like strategist briefing design. I dropped out of design school after my MBA. Once I realized designers didn't make any choices, I was like, no, I wouldn't be choosing. So, yeah.
Oh, and that was at Puma. You were, yeah, I was at
Puma, Strideway. I was at a lot of places. It's a, it's you move around a lot, I think in that world, but it was great. I loved it. It was really fun to make things. I worked with super cool people. I got to travel the world without using my own money.
Amazing. Check, check, check. I love it. I am asking because the Chris, what we've been working on over the last year and a half, and we'll be launching in August is a footwear company. I love it. It's sort of funny that you like mentioned that you, it's a lifestyle footwear company. I'm wearing one of them now. It's like all like slides, clogs, needles, things like that. Yeah. And yeah, so it's just small worlds. The footwear world is very like small and funny. But yeah, very cool.
Well, what made you guys want to start a footwear company?
Honestly, it came, I would never have said like, I want to start a footwear company.
It actually came from a place of like the type of shoes that I like to wear. I found that there was that we're like can you hear me? It's it says, okay. There was none that met my Style mates supportive comfort profile and i'm like on my feet Campaign and typically what I wear is all like slides It's all like I want to slip into my shoes and I want to feel really good about and like oh, this is supportive and I would get done with a shoot after like wearing my gucci slides For example the mules and i'd be like my back is so in pain and yeah, anyway, chris and I basically set out to You Create a company that he was laughing at me because I had I would put my orthotics into these type of shoes and it looks terrible and so Chris and I was like, we can do this better.
So we developed a unique way that you can basically completely customize your footwear. Based on what you want creatively and otherwise. So I'm really excited about it. We have our patents going and we'll get, we've been in production mode and design mode and all that. Yeah. I didn't ever set out to go into footwear.
It was more just like, Hey, we could do this better. Let's try. And it's just been fun because now we can really utilize our skillset for our own brand as well. So, which is cool.
I love that the universe. Again, I had no idea that you were making shoes. You had no idea it worked in shoes. And then I'm just like, we should talk. And I'm like, okay, now I know why.
How funny I really do feel. Like, it's so crazy, Kara, because you know, when we set out to do this, it was very much like just him and I, we got a 3d printer, we started 3d printing things and just playing with things. And I swear the universe has just put the right people like at manufacturers or other amazing founders that are women that I like have shot with shot their campaigns.
Like, yeah, they've helped me like, they've been like, Oh, this is an amazing idea. What you have is great. Let me help you. Let me introduce you to this and this. And I feel like. Again, it's just played on my insatiable curiosity for life and I'm learning so much. And again, out of my depth in many ways, but also learning in the process and rising too.
And it's been, it's been a wild ride. I just actually got back from Hong Kong and China and meeting with some of our suppliers and all that good stuff. So I'm sure you've made many trips over. That area of the world, because everybody's, my hotel was in footwear.
Yeah, no, it's, I used to go two to four times a year and it's, I haven't been to Asia in a long, since I started this business, actually, I haven't been to Asia and I need to go back.
Like I miss it. And I have friends that live there. A lot of people have been moving to the factories from the big companies instead. So, wow. It just makes it faster and easier where you can design something that 8 AM and see a prototype by lunchtime.
It's insane. Like how quick they are. Like it's totally insane.
And I, I feel like my world just opened up because I wanted to go and see every part of how our, it's called combi, how our combi shoes will be made. I was like, I want to see. Take me to the Logo Factory. Take me to all of the parts I wanted to see for myself from an ethical standpoint as well as all of it, but also understanding how many hands touch something to get made.
I felt like I was like pulling back a curtain that so few get to see of like how things, how tangible things are. Are made in this world. It was it was really powerful and illuminating. So yeah. Anyway, we've been totally Off the rails of this interview, but I love it. This is there's no rules here
Yeah, well I think so a segue back into the theme of the This podcast right is what are the words powerful and ladies mean to you? And do they mean something different when they're next to each other versus not?
Oh, man I have so much to credit to women for Me being here right now, like powerful ladies means a lot. Like when you reached out with that, although I hadn't listened to your podcast yet, and now of course I have, and I'm going to send it to everyone because it's amazing. I was like, Oh, I want to, that's something that I smash that subscribe button. Yes. Powerful ladies. Amazing. Because I feel like for me, it's the women that have gone before me and my close friends that are women. Like, there's just this intimacy that I feel like I have with other women that is, is very deep and really powerful.
And I feel like, I don't know, I feel like women can do anything. I really, like, I love, like, if I could hire just women, I love men, too. They're great, too. Obviously, I work with one, and I have three boys, so I have a house full of what will be men one day. But powerful for me. Is a word that isn't just about strength.
It's about vulnerability. It's about courage and bravery and For me the ladies part is really key because I feel like upon becoming a mother I also feel even more deeply rooted in my femininity and my Sense of being a woman and what that means and that's been really powerful for me just to step into that and own it, you know, so yeah, I love that.
Great. I wish that there was just like I think women are Incredibly powerful and badasses really at the end of the day. I'm like, so good. For the podcast.
Well, I was I was watching a show the other night that was talking about trad wives I had never heard of that phrase before i'm like, wait What is this and like? I was just so intrigued by this idea and these women who had advanced degrees, who had careers before they got married were saying that they weren't feminists. And I was like, I think you don't know what the definition means. And I think it's so interesting that most of the powerful women I know have really embraced All the components of what makes them a woman like it's it's you're not losing femininity by stepping into your power. You're not losing the hearts and the caring and all the traditional female descriptors. Because you are taking up the space that you are capable of taking up. And I was just looking at the, watching these women talk about why they've chosen a traditional housewife role. And it wasn't that they chose a traditional housewife role because that is like, cool. You want that? Great. But it was the, Letting it was how their husbands were treating them and giving them an allowance and not letting them make the final choice and decisions. And like, there wasn't an equal partnership.
It was a disempowered place to work empowered one. And like what you're saying it's yeah. Like if you want to work from the home is what I call that because it is. It is work.
Yes. Family CEO.
Family CEO ing is not anything to slouch at. That is more than full time job. But there's a difference between coming at that from an empowered place and coming at it from a disempowered place. And I feel like that's Yeah, I think for me the the rub there is sometimes it feels like it it's coming from a disempowered place.
Mm hmm. Yeah.
I agree. Yeah, there's a really good book I don't know if you've read it called we should all be feminist yes, I have it on my bookshelf. Let me get it I don't know where it is, but but yeah, it's a, it's a very short book and all of my boys will read this when they turn 10. You know, I'm going to be like, it's just such a quick read and it's so powerful because I think, and I made my husband read it too, who is a feminist. Obviously we're partners, like, but there is still this, there is a patriarchy in our society that we live within. And I think that's part of the bond I've been able to create with other women Is sometimes without even being aware that you're playing into the patriarchy, like there's an experience of a woman that you are attuned to.
And so I feel like having other women to say, Hey, I felt this way and how can we work from a place of empowerment versus garment? So book is very, very powerful. It's great. And he read it too and was like, Oh, cool. This is a really fresh, hot take on what it means to be a feminist because I feel like that term has gotten pretty politicized over the years.
And it's unfortunate because it's really just about equality, like making, not saying this, I don't want to be a man, he doesn't, I don't want attributes of that. It's just about valuing human beings on like the human level of like, how can we value life? Yeah, you know, like on that level, that's to me what it means to be a feminist, you know, like, which I feel like everyone I would hope would agree with that if you remove the politics and the dogma and the associated, you know, so anyway. That's my feminist soapbox.
So we ask everyone on the powerful ladies podcast, where you put yourself on the powerful ladies scale. If zero is average everyday human, and 10 is the most powerful you can imagine, where would you put yourself today? And on an average day
Honestly, I say this with absolutely no ego. I say it with absolute humility, but I feel pretty empowered as a person, really grateful and empowerment to me means freedom, freedom of choice, freedom of time, freedom of yeah, like being free to move through my life in. A way that I, of my choosing, and I feel really empowered in that way so I would probably say I'm at an eight with room to grow, you know, always And, but that always hasn't, that hasn't always been the case, like, I will say I, I really am intentional about trying to, Work on myself in those ways, like so that I can be more courageous that I can face my fears with like more courage and say, you know what, like, how can I step into this?
And I feel like that the more I step into those fears, the more empowered I become. And so Yeah, that's what I would say. How about you?
You know, I really believe that every, it's not even an everyday thing. It's an every hour shift. Some days I wake up and everything is going the way it's supposed to, and life is just a 10. Like, And it doesn't have to be a day where it's a work related day. Like last Saturday was a 10. It, yeah, it was, it was just a great day. And I feel really privileged that I've, I know what a 10 on a 10 day feels like. And I really want other people to be able to experience that too. So it, it does really move around, but I think that I know, like, there's a difference of what I'm trying to get to versus what I'm worth as just, as you said, a kind of a human. And so I think I'm a 10 as a human, and then what I'm pushing myself and striving for can be anywhere from like a 6 to an 8, usually. I think any of us who are in that striving, curious, What else can we learn to figure out master space?
There's always something else to be exploring or working on. It doesn't have to come from a, a hustle culture space. It just comes from a. I want room for there to be more to experience and figure out as well. For sure. For sure. I love,
I couldn't agree more. I love that.
So when you, you know, having the life that you have, you're very busy running a business with your husband, having three kids, just all the things that life brings it.
What are some habits or routines that you rely on to stay sane and to fill up your cup?
For me, motherhood really really dumped my, my whole habits upside down my whole life. And now my youngest is almost three in June. So, My oldest is seven. And so I finally feel like I'm back to regaining my autonomy. And the biggest way that I feel like has gotten me back to that is getting into my body every single day. 30 minutes. That's all that I, 30 minutes. Just like if I can get outside and get in my body, I'm winning at life. So. Like today, I really didn't have that much time this morning, but I was like, you know what, I'm just going to do a short little walk around the neighborhood, just an immediate reset for me.
On good days, I actually, this was out because just before I talked to you, I was, I, I read four pages of the power of now, like almost every day I try to and I've read this book. I mean, I don't read it like reading, reading. I do it in almost like Some people would call it like a daily devotional type style. But I mean, this is probably my seventh time to go through this in that way, because it sort of just allows me to come back to something when I get caught up in my thought patterns or something frustrating happens, there's friction. It's just like a really good reset of like what's important. Is right here and now the present here and now is really all that's real and all that really matters and that's a great just been a great like changer for me is like getting in to my physical body trying to get out in nature and Having something that is sort of a just a good reset for me every day To go back to.
So how about you?
Very similar. Very similar. I, I have to get outside. I, like, some days I take my whole desk outside .
Oh, I love that. I'm like trying to picture that .
Yeah. I mean, usually it's like I will take the laptop, but also the big monitor, like the whole thing just moves to an outside table. Yeah. I love it because I, I not, growing up here, I really appreciate that we can have that indoor outdoor life and it's I'm calmer when I am outside and still able to be really focused and you know See a bird butterflies like appreciate it But I a lot of people talk about journaling every day. And so for me, it's like did I work out? Have I am I have I been outside? I love going on walks. I need a conversation with someone So selfishly, I love doing the podcast for that purpose.
But like, who did I connect with today? Like having that deeper connection matters. And then I love reading also. So I felt really relieved when I read something that said some people, instead of journaling every morning, need to read a few pages of a book. And I was like, Oh, thank goodness. I don't have to journal.
It's not that I don't believe in it, but it's not, I'm a list person. I'm bullets. I'm for me to ever write in long format is almost painful at this point. So I'm okay to come back and make a list of what I care about. Like I can make a list of what I'm grateful for and then I'm kind of done. And I'd rather.
Have someone else, like, I like the input reset as you were kind of talking about, instead of me just sitting with all the, I know it's like most of what's in my head is complete BS. Yeah. So I just want to like, let it go. I don't want to write it down.
Same. Like so many thoughts all the time. Like we are not our thoughts. I couldn't agree more. Like I've tried the journaling and I think it really works for some people to like do the thought done. And for me, I find that if I can take even five minutes to meditate, just yes, here, no mind thoughts and do four pages of that. I just find that my day is just so much better when you have some, a book that you like in the morning that you're like, do you go back to something or do you read different books? Depending on.
It's really rare that I go back to a book. The one I'm going through right now is called prosper. Create the life you really want you know
prosper. Okay. I wrote it down.
Yeah. So just kind of getting into that. I got to meet Randy Garn, one of the authors a couple of weeks ago at a conference. And I just, I want to start my day with thoughts that are in alignment with the life I'm creating.
So even if the book I'm reading is more of a novel, I might just even listen to a podcast for five minutes. Sometimes I'll bring my phone in the shower with me. I'm like, just give me, give me some good reminders of what life is really about, whether I'm listening to it or reading it. And so sometimes it's even Tony Robbins, like five minutes of Tony Robbins and you're like, okay.
What is the podcast you've been liking?
Right now. Do you have any?
Yeah. And my team got mad at me the other day because all the podcasts I listened to, they're all like men's podcasts. Like I don't listen to
honestly, though. That's the thing. We need more women leading forecasts. We need like Mel Robbins.
Yeah.
It's a female version of Tony Robbins a bit. I like her on her, but like, I actually Sarah Blakely would do one as an entrepreneur. I really love and respect. Like she's built, I've like seen her masterclasses, all that, but like women who are like, have shifted their perspective and are aligned and like, so it's not about that it's a man or woman.
You're just exploring. I'm the same. I get it. What? Sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt you. The podcast. Oh, no, no, no.
So not at all related to like, they're more fun, but I love listening to is Smartless . I'm always listening to those. I often, if I'm on my walk, that's what I might be listening to. So I look like a crazy person laughing to nobody but myself and walking. I love Rich Roll his podcast. I love How I Built This. School of greatness I listened to once in a while armchair expert. Yep. They look straight for me.
Yeah. Yeah. I'm trying to think there's a female one that you may like that is like a it's like a, how I built this and let me just, I'm looking it up on my phone here.
Secondly, have you listened to the that is female, completely females who have basically reinvented themselves, like had one trajectory and then had a second life. And it's, it's really great. I think you'd like it.
Okay. Awesome. And then I do the female podcast. I'll listen to it once in a while to be magnetic.
Oh, I've never heard of it.
And then I just also met Jen Gottlieb and she started, she revamped her podcast And it's, it's, it's good. Like I was listening to it the other day and met, and like met a new person through the podcast, I was like, Ooh, I'm going to start following them now. So do I know that name?
Why do I know that name?
She and her husband have a company where they're doing brand building. She's a speaker. She's right. She's been on a bunch of other podcasts. She just had like Cody Sanchez on hers recently too. She's in that mix of all these people.
Totally. That's great. Yeah. Well, this has just been such a delight.
So to make sure we don't run over too far and give you your day back. I know how busy you are. First where can everyone find you, follow you, support you, hire you if they want to?
Yeah. So we are the Rhodes. It's. We are the, and then R-H-O-A-D-S. You can find us on Instagram at We Are the Roads, our website, we are the rhoads.com.
And then to keep up with our next entrepreneurial endeavor that is combi, C-O-M-M-B-I. So it's combi dot. And our Instagram for that is combi underscore official. So yeah, so that's that. And I love talking to you. This has been such a delight. I'm like, I wish that we could just go grab coffee now and actually just, you know, continue talking. It was really, really nice to chat with you, Kara. Thank you so much for having me.
Yeah, of course. And I'm up in LA a lot, so we'll figure out a way to get a coffee or grab a dinner. But then before we let you go, how can we help you? What do you need? This is a big, powerful community, and I really believe that we never know who has the key that we want. So how can we help?
Well we'll be launching our brand in August, so I'd love to send you, I can send you guys a special coupon when the time comes for launch or, or whatnot. And that's kind of the biggest thing right now is just, is, is that, and This was great. I mean, I anything else that's like immediate, but thank you so much for creating the space for this. I think it's really important and I love shining a light on what women, all phases of their careers are doing cause empowerment looks different across a wide spectrum. So for showcasing. mine today. I appreciate it.
You're so welcome. And yeah, thank you so much for starting my, my day out. We do four podcasts in a row and I don't know often the people I'm going to talk to.
And this has been such a, it's been so nice to meet you. So I'm excited to stay connected and we'll go from there, but thank you so much.
Thank you, Kara.
All the links to connect with Sarah, We Are The rhoads, and their new footwear brand, Combi, are in our show notes at thepowerfulladies. com. Subscribe to this podcast wherever you're listening and leave us a rating and review. Join us on Instagram at Powerful Ladies, and you can connect directly with me at Kara Duffy. com or cara underscore Duffy on Instagram. I'll be back next week with a brand new episode. Until then, I hope you're taking on being powerful in your life. Go be awesome and up to something you love.
Related Episodes
Episode 34 : Kendal Riley DeLaura Destination Wedding Photographer
Episode 258: Leia Vita Marasovich Storyteller, Photographer + Videographer
Episode 104: Marika Adamopoulos Choosing Creativity & Collaboration over Competition
Instagram: @wearetherhoads @commbi_official
Website: wearetherhoads.com commbi.co
LinkedIn: sarah-rhoads
Created and hosted by Kara Duffy
Audio Engineering & Editing by Jordan Duffy
Production by Amanda Kass
Graphic design by Anna Olinova
Music by Joakim Karud
