Interview of Callie Murray

InPowered Women Podcast

Episode Summary:

In the latest episode of the InPowered Women's Podcast, host Sharon Lee interviews Callie Murray. Callie Murray is a serial entrepreneur who has run Big Fake Wedding, been in consulting, and now writing a book! She currently runs a HR company, Same Page HR, with her business partner, Matt Tanner. In this episode, she shares her journey in HR, and what the company does from onboarding, payroll, employee issues, and offboarding, and who their ideal client is. With no HR background, Callie shares how she landed in this field through a connection with Matt Tanner, and her deep love for building businesses. While she looked at this venture from a business perspective, Matt knew of her business acumen and asked her to be his business partner.

Starting as a wedding photographer, Callie branched out and started The Big Fake Wedding and its success. Callie highlights running the business and why she started the business to inspire brides and grooms, promote small businesses, and encourage healthy marriages. While she later sold the business in 2016 to a lovely couple who continued to do well with the business, she explains how burnout led to this decision.

Finally, Callie talks about writing her book, her love for historical fiction, and how it morphed into her journey which acted as a form of therapy. While they want to grow the company, Callie says they might sell it someday.

Sharon Lee

Sharon Lee is an accomplished entrepreneur and marketing expert dedicated to empowering female leaders. With a diverse background in sales and marketing across industries like advertising, magazine publishing, and solar energy, Sharon's journey showcases her versatility and determination. As the principal of Pinnacle Strategic Advisors, she assists businesses in enhancing their marketing strategies. Sharon's entrepreneurial spirit led her to establish her own consulting firm, reflecting her commitment to excellence. Alongside her professional pursuits, Sharon co-founded the InPowered Women's networking group, fostering mentorship and support for women in business. Through the InPowered Women Podcast, Sharon will share stories of resilient female leaders with listeners encouraging them to pursue their aspirations fearlessly.

Callie Murray
Callie Murray is an entrepreneur and grassroots marketer whose work has been covered in dozens of news outlets, including The TODAY Show and The New York Times. She writes a series called Project Person for others pursuing businesses, side gigs, and passion projects, and she is currently pursuing publication for her debut novel. She lives in Norcross, Ga with her husband and three daughters where they are probably hosting a potluck right now.

Insights from this episode:

• Callie’s journey into the HR field with no background in HR after running Big Fake Wedding
• Pivoting from one business to another and setting clear career choices. Callie also highlights working with a founder (Jeff Shinabarger Plywood People) and helping many small businesses as an incubator
• Lessons in businesses from running a successful business
• Transferring lessons learned from Big Fake Wedding to a new venture with Matt Tanner where she is looking for a debt-free, no burnout, recurring revenue, and healthy business
• After experiencing burnout from her first business, Callie has goals and directions she wants this new venture to take
• Emphasis on running a healthy business and the journey to ensure that the business remains that way, avoiding burnout and staying debt-free
• Finding a sweet spot between running a business, consulting and family, Callie tells of her love for potluck

Quotes from the show:

• "It’s probably the last thing in the world that I thought I would be doing (HR), but also, I absolutely adore it!" – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• "I liked the idea of having a partner, the previous business was just me in the ownership role. And then I also loved that I couldn’t do the work. It’s so easy in a small business to get sucked into doing the work." – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• "This is what I would say to anyone, ‘I promise you, you can do anything in business if can actually provide a living for multiple humans" – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• “We wanted to inspire brides and grooms, promote small businesses, and encourage healthy marriages.” – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• "The big goal is we wanted to have a healthy business and to be healthy business owners. I mean we wanted to grow it: I mean if you’re not growing you’re dying" – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• "There is objective staff to writing and then there is very subjective staff, and I have to take feedback” – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• “Were you mad at me, the author, or were you mad at the character? Because if you ever get pulled out of a book till you’re frustrated with the author, that’s not good. I don’t want, when you’re reading, for you to be thinking about me, the author, but if you’re mad at that character, fantastic!” – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• “I remember somebody saying start writing! The first draft is you telling the story to yourself, get it all out. Second draft is when you start telling it to somebody else.” – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

• “They call writing a craft, and I think it is because you’re just building and layering and it’s not just this black and white, which is how it goes.” – Callie Murray, InPowered Women, Episode #9

Sharon Lee

Email: [e-mail]

LinkedIn: Sharon Lee

Callie Murray

Website: Callie Murray

LinkedIn: Callie Murray

Instagram: Callie Murray

Email: https://project-person.beehiiv.com/

Same Page HR: https://samepagehr.com/

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This episode was produced and managed by Podcast Laundry.

Thank you to this episode's sponsor, Oxygen XL: Oxygen XL.