Podcasts about gina you

In this episode I spoke with Gina Visram. Gina is a career coach and podcaster. The main format of this episode was as follows: 1. Who Gina is and what she does 2. What careers Gina was interested in when she was younger 3.What are some of the challenges that graduates and university students face when job hunting 4. How the media's portrayal of employment affects students and parents and can at times impact the job hunting process 5. Work experience and Gina's thoughts around this and how Parents can get work experience for the young people who need it 6. Gina and her reasons for using Tik Tok to help create careers content 7. How can you connect with Gina You can get in touch with Gina in the following ways 1. TikTok -https://www.tiktok.com/@yourcareerandfuture 2.Instagram-https://www.instagram.com/yourcareerandfuture/ 3. LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/ginavisram/ 4. Website - https://yourcareerandfuture.com/ If you have any comments or questions about the podcast please email us at soma@thecareerhappinessmentor.com or soma@somaghosh.com  

The amazing Gina Conley from MamasteFit joins Meagan today to answer your questions all about perinatal fitness! Gina is a birth doula, perinatal fitness trainer, and founder of MamasteFit. ​​In partnership with her sister, Roxanne, who is a labor and delivery nurse and student-midwife, MamasteFit is a place for women to find education courses and fitness programs to be their strongest selves during each stage of motherhood. Gina shares her expertise on how exercise affects babies during pregnancy, labor, birth, and postpartum. She also touches on topics like when to start prenatal exercise, what to do if you didn't exercise before pregnancy, how late into pregnancy you can exercise, weightlifting, and which movements to incorporate to create more space in the pelvis. Gina's comprehensive prenatal fitness book, Training for Two, will be released in September 2024. It is a fantastic resource for all pregnant women!Link to Gina's Book: Training for TwoMamasteFit WebsiteHow to VBAC: The Ultimate Prep Course for ParentsFull Transcript under Episode Details 01:00 Review of the Week03:59 Is it bad to exercise during pregnancy? 09:00 How will exercise affect my baby's development? 13:40 Better pregnancies, better birth outcomes16:23 What do I do if I wasn't active before pregnancy?19:30 Movements to incorporate20:59 Three pelvic levels 23:19 The mid-pelvis and outlet25:56 Being told that your pelvis is too small30:36 How late in pregnancy is okay to work out?32:31 When is it too late to start exercising during pregnancy?34:43 Postpartum fitness39:20 Weightlifting and pregnancy45:51 Training for TwoMeagan: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the show. We are going to be talking about prenatal fitness today with the one and only Gina Conley. Gina is the founder of MamasteFit, a prenatal fitness training company based out in North Carolina. Gina is a fitness trainer specializing in pre and post-natal fitness and a birth doula. She combines her expertise in both to prepare her clients for a strong pregnancy and birth. Fitness in general is one of my all-time favorite things to do and talk about. I do notice a difference when I'm not moving my body, but when it comes to pregnancy, there are a lot of questions surrounding fitness. Is it safe? When is it okay to start? Is it really okay to start later on? How to start? And so much more. I can't wait to dive in on all of the amazing information that Gina is going to share after the Review of the Week. 01:00 Review of the WeekMeagan: Just a reminder, if you have not left a review, I would love for you to do so. You can leave a review on Apple Podcasts, Google, Spotify, Facebook, or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Today's review is by Janae Rachelle. It says, “The Best There Is.” It says, “I am so happy I found this podcast. After having two prior C-sections, I was convinced I would have to have another C-section for my birth this November. I feel empowered and educated and hopeful I can do this. Thank you for all of the true facts and the safe space where we can all talk about our birth trauma and space where we don't sound ‘crazy' for wanting to do something God created our bodies to do.”Thank you, Janae Rachelle, for leaving that review. You are right. This is that space. This is the space where we do talk about all of the crazy things, where we talk about the trauma, where we talk about the things where in the outside world if we were to discuss them, people would and sometimes do look at us like we may be crazy. But Women of Strength, if you are wanting to pursue a VBAC, if you are wanting to learn about the evidence about VBAC, this is definitely the place. All of these stories here are going to share so much information, guidance, facts, and all of the things, and definitely leave you feeling inspired. 03:59 Is it bad to exercise during pregnancy? Meagan: Okay, it's been so fun. We've actually had just a couple of returning guests from the show who have also been on 2-3 years down the road. Before we started recording, Gina was like, “I just had someone say that they listened to my episode that was on your podcast before”, which was 3 years ago. It's fun to see that people one, are still listening all the way back to 3 years ago and then two, have you back on the show. So welcome. Gina: Absolutely. Thank you for having me. Meagan: Yes. It's such an honor. You know that I just love you to pieces. I'm so excited to talk about fitness, prenatal, postpartum, and all of the things today because this really is a topic that as a first-time mom, I didn't really know much about. When I was first pregnant with my daughter who is now 12, I was just determined. I was like, I'm going to run. I'm going to run a half marathon. This is going to be so great. I'm going to be one of those running through with a big belly. I was so excited to be fit and active. Let me tell you, I was the opposite of that. When I was training, I started having round ligament pains and pelvic pains. When I talked to my doctor, he actually told me to stop. He told me to stop which is kind of crazy to me looking back that it wasn't even just like, “Maybe do less miles or don't train for a half marathon right now, but do a 5k.” It was just like, “You should just stop. It's too much.” I don't know why I took that advice as, Okay, I should stop and I should eat Chinese food every day because orange chicken sounded amazing and I should really just not do anything besides be unhealthy.That's truly how I felt like I was in my first pregnancy. I don't think providers all over the world are telling people not to work out necessarily like mine did 12 years ago, but I think that it's a very daunting topic and we don't know what to do. I think a lot of people who may not be very physically active before pregnancy are unsure what they can do during pregnancy, if it's safe, and all of the things. We have a big list of questions today to ask you and really, number one is Is it bad to work out during pregnancy? My easy answer is no, but I think it's a real answer. Can we talk about that? Working out during pregnancy– is it bad? Is it good? Tell me all of the things. Gina: There is a lot of fear-mongering and fear involved with exercise during pregnancy. There is this really long list of things that you shouldn't do so it gets really overwhelming to know, Well, what can I do? when the majority of the things that you see are Don't do sit-ups. Don't do this. Don't do that. If you lift weights, you'll have a miscarriage. A lot of fear that comes with fitness during pregnancy is, Is it going to affect my baby's development and growth? Am I harming my baby by exercising? And then the second is, Is it going to affect my pregnancy length? Am I going to have a miscarriage or go into pre-term labor because I was exercising during my pregnancy? The answer to both of those is generally no. Just as a disclaimer, there are absolutely complications in which the benefits of exercising do not outweigh the risks of exercising. These are usually folks who have preexisting heart and lung conditions, if you have uncontrolled diabetes, if you are actively in pre-term labor, if your placenta is detaching, or have severe preeclampsia. There are circumstances in which exercising is not safe and your provider should be very clear in communicating that to you. You will probably already have preexisting exercise recommendations if it is a preexisting health condition. But for the majority of us who are of a normal-risk pregnancy, even some high-risk pregnancies, exercise is typically very safe to do. So a lot of research supports that it does not cause miscarriage and it does not affect the length of your pregnancy which is one of the major concerns with exercising. The risk of miscarriage is highest in the first trimester and it doesn't differ whether you exercise or you don't. Exercise does not cause miscarriage. It's just something else that folks like to be blamed for when they do have a pregnancy loss. It was because I went running. It was because I lifted weights. Typically, there is nothing that you could do do prevent that pregnancy loss and it just sucks to be mourning this and then to have this additional guilt put on you like it was because you were lifting weights. There are people who are sedentary and don't exercise at all and have miscarriages. Are we blaming them that it's because you didn't exercise? No, because it's one of those things that is out of our control. 09:00 How will exercise affect my baby's development? Gina:The second thing is, is it going to affect my baby's development? Like, is it going to make them too small? Is it going to make them too large? One of the things that can make your baby too small is the placenta. So if the placenta hasn't developed properly or there's an issue or complication with the placenta, it can make your baby too small. Well, exercise helps to improve the function of your placenta, especially if you exercise in the first half of your pregnancy, which is really cool. Your placenta will be more voluminous. It'll be larger and it'll have improved functional capacity. It's going to be able to transfer oxygen and nutrients to your baby much more effectively. It's going to help provide immune function to your baby. It's going to provide hormone function to your baby. It's also going to help remove metabolic waste more effectively. It's going to be a much more efficient organ, which is going to help to support your baby's growth. The second half is like, is it going to make my baby too big? I think most folks are not concerned about exercising and making their baby too big, but exercising could decrease the risk of developing gestational diabetes. Obviously, you can still exercise and eat super healthy and still develop gestational diabetes. It's not a foolproof method to avoid it. But exercising can help reduce your risk of developing gestational diabetes by 39% which is pretty substantial. And if you do develop it, continuing to exercise and eat well can also help to reduce the risk of you needing to get insulin or medication to manage your gestational diabetes. Those are the things that are contributing towards developing a baby that's too large. So having gestational diabetes that's controlled with insulin, uncontrolled gestational diabetes, and those two things can be mitigated with exercise. Exercise can actually help your baby grow more optimally, to have really good body composition, and be a really good size.In addition, which is really cool– and this is stuff that I was researching when I was writing my new book, Training for Two, which comes out in September. I'm really excited about it. I guess it's like the twins in my current pregnancy. Meagan: It's awesome. Gina: But one of the things that I was researching because our editor was like, “We really need to highlight why exercise is so beneficial for baby because this is something that's going to help motivate people to move their body.” Something for me that has been helping to motivate me during my current pregnancy to move when I'm kind of like, But I don't really feel up to it is one, it helps to improve your baby's nervous system development, which is really cool. It helps to increase their blood volume as well. They have more blood reserve to respond to the stresses of labor and to postpartum after they are infants. When they're in the world, it improves their brain development. They have more cognitive function. And these are all things that are probably in response to the stimulus of exercise. So we're introducing more stimulus to them during exercise because of this controlled stress that we're introducing which is helping to build all these new neural pathways and helping them just start doing things a little bit earlier. What that translates to in the first year of life, they have more motor skill development, so their fine and gross motor skills. They're crawling earlier, they're walking earlier, they're rolling and doing things earlier. They have more cognitive function. That's responding with higher levels of IQ and improved language skills. Meagan: Wow. Gina: So there's a lot of benefit to just being active. It doesn't have to be go and lift super heavy weights. It can just be going for walks every day, doing yoga every day, and doing intentional movement throughout the day is exercise. It doesn't have to be like how I exercise. Then what happens is that even though there are all of these benefits to exercising and fairly little risk unless you have like a complication which your provider will ideally walk you through. Even though there are all these benefits, there's still a lot of fear involved with working out during pregnancy. A lot of it's just outdated guidance and folks. I think it probably relates to the fear of women lifting weights and exercising, too. Maybe it's a little bit of that as well. And then make it somebody who's pregnant and it's just like a double whammy. So we have this mentality of like, Well, it's better to be safe than sorry. And it's like, Well, actually, you can be sorry. You can actually be sorry if you don't move your body intentionally during your pregnancy because one, not that your baby would be less developed, but we're going to say no thanks to those additional development things that they're having with the nervous system and their brain development. Those are two really big deals, I think. We're going to say no to a larger, more functional placenta which really helps to decrease the risk of developing certain complications during pregnancy. We're going to say like, I'm good with increasing my risk of developing like a prenatal complication, which again, exercising does not equal no complications, but it does reduce the risk to include preeclampsia, gestational hypertension, and gestational diabetes. 13:40 Better pregnancies, better birth outcomesGina: And if we have a healthier pregnancy, it's going to serve us better during labor as well or in the preparation for labor. We develop complications. It increases the necessity of a medical induction. It increases the number of interventions that were being used during our birth. And yes, I am so thankful for medical intervention, for C-sections, and for these things that save lives. But if we can use less of them because we're healthier going into our birth, that's going to help improve birth outcomes as well. This is a VBAC podcast. So if you're wanting to have a vaginal birth after a C-section, being healthier during your pregnancy by moving your body intentionally is a really good way to help reduce the risk of needing these additional interventions. I'm thankful for them. But if you don't need them, let's go around that. Let's do that path. Meagan: Let's avoid them if we can. Absolutely. And let me tell you, talking about my first pregnancy where I just kind of quit, I mean, I didn't even really walk. I mean, not even like a 30-minute stroll at night. I just stopped and I really didn't pay attention to my protein intake or what I was really eating. I mean, I was literally told this at the end that I was unrecognizable. Everything about my body was trying to just make a baby and it was showing in a negative way because I was struggling. I got super swollen. I gained a lot more weight. I really was not in shape. When labor came, it was harder. It was a lot harder. And then postpartum was really hard. And then having to catch up to all the things that I did to my body, but then not even to think about all the things that you just said about the baby. I mean, I was one of those people that signed up to the “no thanks”. I mean, essentially, right? It wasn't in my head that I was saying that. And then after my, that pregnancy, I was like, I will not do that again. I did. I started changing my ways and doing intentional movement. I became a Barre coach and really wanted to be active. It was a night and day difference, night and day difference. I don't think my baby's less smart or whatever, but I will say that like what you said, I can look back and be like, Oh, oh, I can recognize those things. So that's kind of interesting. Gina: So it's not like if you don't exercise, you're screwing up your baby's life or anything. I don't know how to feel the differences between the two, but if you can do things to help improve your baby's growth and development, I think we would want to do that. Even if it's just going for a walk, just move your body. 16:23 What do I do if I wasn't active before pregnancy?Gina: I think one of the things is the next question that's on the list is like, Well, what do I do if I wasn't active before pregnancy?Meagan: Yes. Gina: Because I do have folks that'll either come to my gym– we're located in Aberdeen, North Carolina. We have an in-person training facility. And so we'll have folks that show up and be like, “I have never exercised before in my life, but I heard it's really good for me and I'm pregnant. Help me.” You can absolutely start an exercise program during pregnancy. This is hard to know because you get told, “Whatever you're doing before pregnancy, you could just continue during your pregnancy, just do a little bit less.” What if I was not doing anything? How do I do less than that? Like what does that even look like? Meagan: Right. Gina: You can absolutely start an exercise program during pregnancy. Yes, it will look different than pre-pregnancy workouts. If you were an active person before pregnancy, there will be some sort of modification that needs to happen because workouts can't look exactly the same when we're pregnant. But if you're like, Okay, how do I even begin? Just pick 20 minutes where you go for a walk. Pick 20 minutes where you choose a Peloton on-demand video. They have prenatal ones on there too where you just follow that. We have prenatal on-demand workout videos as well. We also have a prenatal app-based program, so we have some different options as well. Just choose a 20-minute option and just move. Just move your body. Use lighter weights. We're not trying to get super sore. You probably will be sore the first week or so. It's just part of getting used to the program.Meagan: It's not normal, yeah. Gina: It's normal, but don't be working out so hard that you're incapacitated the rest of your day, start for 20 minutes and do that three times a week, and then the next week do it four times and then increase it to 30 minutes. Then maybe it's 40 minutes and then you're walking more. We're just going to start really slow and manageable, and then we're going to just slowly increase during pregnancy. The main goal during pregnancy is 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week. That's the minimum goal. So if you exceed that, that's totally fine. Research supports that even higher-intensity activity is perfectly safe during pregnancy. A higher volume of exercise is perfectly safe. But the bare minimum that we're trying to aim for is 150 minutes. That's five days a week for 30 minutes or whatever the math is for the other one. But you can also do more than that. I would start with 20 minutes of something that feels manageable for you and do that and if it's, “Hey, I need to follow a program,” we've got programs for you. We've developed them for pregnancy specifically. There's Peloton on-demand. There are so many workout programs out there for pregnancy too. They're going to have safe modifications for you. You can hire a personal trainer. You can join an in-person gym. We're just looking for you to move your body in a way that feels manageable for you and it's okay if it's not perfect pregnancy workouts either. Now if you're an active person or you're like, Okay, I have done my month of exercising. I'm feeling more confident, this is where we can start to really ensure that our workouts are not only keeping us active and moving us during our pregnancy but also helping us actually prepare for birth. 19:30 Movements to incorporateGina: Common workout programs are really focused on front-to-back type movement patterns. This is the sagittal plane. This is like squats, deadlifts, cleans, clean-and-jerks, box jumps. Everything is very front-to-back because this is the way that we move our bodies. When we walk we typically walk in a front-to-back movement pattern. However, we also need to be moving laterally and rotationally as well which is another myth. Can I twist during pregnancy? Yes, you can twist. It's necessary to twist. If you don't twist, your back will hurt. I promise you it's okay to twist. Now we don't want to do such deep twists that we're compressing our belly because it would be really uncomfortable. Not because it would be harmful for you, but we want to we want to be comfortable during our pregnancy. We want to also be incorporating movement patterns that are in other planes of motion ot just front-to-back. We also want lateral movements like lateral band walks, side lunges, and movements where we're just we're going in this direction. And then we also want rotational movements. So like when I'm doing lunges, I'm adding an internal to an external rotation or I'm doing a rotation with a core exercise. We want to think about what type of movements are we incorporating or are included in our workout programs because that is really important to creating space in our pelvis which is not the point of this episode, but fitness can really relate to labor in that aspect as well. It's keeping you strong during your pregnancy. It's helping to support your baby's development. It's helping to decrease your risk of complication but we can also use it to help prepare for our birth. 20:59 Three pelvic levels Gina: And so there are three pelvic levels and I'll go over this super quick. The top opens in one way, then we have the middle, and then we have the bottom. We have inlet, mid-pelvis, outlet, and they all open with different types of movement patterns which is where moving in different planes of motion is going to be really helpful. The top of the pelvis opens with wider knee movement patterns like an external hip rotation with an anterior tilt with abduction. Legs are moving out. Think knees out, ankles in so really deep squats for example. An anterior tilt or arching your back is going to be really helpful because this makes it easier for you to find external rotation. It also changes the pubic bone angle and makes it easier for baby to enter into the pelvis. The good news is we already do that during pregnancy. That's a common postural tendency that we have. We like to live in that position. It's comfortable for us. We have more weight on the front. We're just extending in our spine and just loving that spot. However, we also need to be able to find other types of movements such as a posterior pelvic tilt or rounding in the back. This one is really important to opening the top of the pelvis in addition to an anterior tilt. So with a posterior pelvic tilt, we have this big chunk of bone on the back of our pelvis called the sacral promontory that moves backward when we tuck our butt underneath or we round in our back. That anterior pelvic tilt creates a little bit more space in the front half of the inlet and then that posterior pelvic tilt creates more space in the back. We want to be able to shift between the two but because we always favor this extended position, it can be really hard to find that rounded position. If you had a prior labor where baby just never entered and they were like, “Your pelvis is just too small. Baby just can't fit in your pelvis,” it probably was more related to whether or not you can find– and I don't want to blame anybody for what happened with labors but just helpful tips. If you're having a hard time finding a round in your back or tucking your butt underneath, it's going to be harder to create that front-to-back space in the pelvic inlet and it can make it harder for baby to enter. So during our prenatal workouts, we want to think about, Okay, what can we do to help me find more of a rounded position? We can release tension in our lats or musculature. We can release tension in our hip flexors. We can incorporate pelvic tilts into our movement patterns. Those are some things that we can do to help us find this more rounded position. 23:19 The mid-pelvis and outletGina: The next pelvic level the mid pelvis is asymmetrical movements like side-to-side, hip shifting, and so we have a little bit of external rotation and a little bit of internal rotation. We're just going back and forth between the two. Then the bottom of the pelvis with the pelvic outlet is essentially like the opposite of the inlet where we have an internal rotation at the hip where knees in, ankles out is creating more space side-to-side. A slight posterior pelvic tilt can help to make internal rotation easier, but we're not necessarily rounding in our back as we're pushing because it's not really that comfortable. Anterior pelvic tilt or a little bit more lat tension can kind of pull that sacrum back so we're kind of back to that pelvic tilting a little bit in the outlet, but we're really focusing on that internal rotation to create space. But if we recall, our favorite positions during pregnancy are extension and external rotation. That rounded position is harder and internal rotation is harder. In addition, that prenatal posture tends to make the back half of the pelvic floor really tight so we need to one, be able to release tension in the posterior pelvic floor and help us find more internal rotation. We can do that with our prenatal workouts as well. This is where hip-shifted exercises can be really beneficial like finding internal-external rotation with our single leg movements. These are all things that we incorporate within our prenatal programming because we have been observing birth and people working out for a really long time and we want to help you move through your pregnancy and through your birth. We also have a free birth prep circuit that I'll give you the link for that you can put in the notes as well. It has six movements that help you release those common areas of tension. We also have our prenatal fitness program if anybody's interested in working out. We have lots of different options for that as well. But when we're looking at our prenatal workouts, we need to look beyond just one– we just want to be active and intentionally active and then two– we want to think, Okay. Well, how does my workout help to support my birth preparation? How is it helping to create more space in my pelvis? How is it helping me release tension in my pelvic floor? Those are things that are going to help us to support us during birth. Yeah, that was a really long answer to you. Meagan: No, it was an amazing answer. It's interesting because I never really thought when you were like, “Front-to-back”, we focus so much on front-to-back. There's that lateral movement that a lot of the time we skip and I didn't even think of that. I know in your book, we've got a couple of little teasers online within your book. You've been showing different ways to work those sides and move your body in different ways. That is amazing. 25:56 Being told that your pelvis is too smallI love that you talked about the pelvis, the inlet, the middle, and the outlet because I'm pretty sure you probably have known this within the VBAC community. How many times are we told that our pelvis is too small? I mean, all of the time. Gina: It makes me so mad. Once you get told something really random or a fun fact about your pelvis like, “You have a really prominent sacrum or pubic bone.” What does that mean? Meagan: Yes. What does that mean? Gina: How can I take that information and do something with it? Instead of acknowledging that yes, each of us has different types of pelvises. Similarly, we're all from different ethnic backgrounds. Of course, we would have slightly different pelvises. We have different femur lengths. Meagan: Right. Gina: However, we can all still figure out how to squat and figure out how to do movement patterns that make us functional humans even with differing bone structures. It just blows my mind that we don't acknowledge the fact that the pelvis can change shape and diameter and displacement with movement. Our baby is also shape-shifting and wiggling their way through the pelvis as well. But the only person to blame is you. It's because your pelvis is just too small. Meagan: Right. I know. Gina: Maybe you didn't know how to support me. Meagan: I know I have those same feelings. It's very frustrating. I think it's probably a little extra salt on the wound because I was told that. I was told that I would never get a baby out of my pelvis. Like you were saying, you're like, “Well, maybe I just wasn't supported well enough. Maybe I wasn't given the tools or the positions,” like what you're describing. I mean, with my first labor, I just sat there in the bed, clinging to the side, and then got an epidural and sat there. Really? Like, so I wasn't moving my pelvis. I wasn't doing those asymmetrical movements. I really wasn't working with my body to get my baby out. Okay. So a question that I know that we have received is the anterior placenta. So does fitness change if or what we're doing change if we have an anterior placenta? Gina: Really, if you have an anterior placenta, a posterior placenta, it closes out on the side, it doesn't really matter where it is unless it is covering the cervix. At that point, like, there will probably be some sort of modification, because we don't want to have any sort of cervical dilation or cramping or urinary irritability that can cause the cervix to begin to dilate which may cause the placenta to start to detach which would not be ideal. So typically, if you have any sort of placenta previa, potentially like a low-lying placenta in the third trimester, after 28 weeks, we probably want to modify it to where we're not doing super deep squats. We're not exercising at a high intensity. It's low to moderate. If you are experiencing any bleeding or cramping during your workouts, you're stopping immediately. But in regards to the placenta being in the front or the back, there really is no difference when it comes to exercise. The baby is pretty snug as a bug in a rug. Meagan: Snug as a bug in a rug. They are pretty protected in there. They are pretty deep in there. Gina: They are. They are. Now when it comes to certain birth options, sometimes an anterior placenta– usually with an ECV if baby's are breech, providers don't want to do it if you have an anterior placenta. It may be harder for you to feel your babies. You should feel your baby but it may be muted. You would be like, I kind of feel you, when in comparison, if you had a posterior placenta, there's a little alien rolling around in your belly.Meagan: Right. Or you might not feel kicks until them later on in your pregnancy when someone with a posterior placenta is feeling those little butterfly kicks early one. Gina: Yeah. It will be more muted. But in regards to exercise, the only placenta position that would result in modifications is a low-lying or placenta previa where the placenta is covering the cervix. But usually for those, if you found out at your 18-week anatomy scan, they usually resolve within a few weeks so you can always ask for a repeat scan, but typically, we don't need to modify until the 28-week mark. But again, if your provider has given you specific guidance on what they consider to be safe for you with exercise because again, they are looking at your medical records. They are looking at you as an individual and this is just a podcast. Definitely go with their guidance, but typically, they do move. There usually is not an issue into the third trimester with that either. Meagan: Yeah. Okay, so good. 30:36 How late in pregnancy is okay to work out?Meagan: Another question is, How “late in pregnancy” is okay for me to work out? We're talking about early, what we're doing. We may be started to feel really good. We may be increasing our physical activity. We might be more mindful. Now, it's on top of intentional movement. It's on birth prep and really getting ready for this birth journey. Is there a time when we should cut off physical activity or is it okay to be doing squats and lateral movements and yoga one day and go into labor the next day?Gina: You can workout until the day that you give birth. Now, how intense your workouts are will probably decrease toward the end of the third trimester. For us, around the 36-37-week mark, we do certain tapering in the program which means we start decreasing overall volume and intensity of workouts because one, we are just more tired at the end of the pregnancy. We still want to move and be active, but we also need to be in the mind that, Tonight, I might go into labor so I don't want to be super sore from my workout. Similar to if I was training for an athletic event, not that birth is a competition or anything, I wouldn't want to be doing my hardest workout the morning of the competition. Again, birth is not a competition but with that type of fitness mentality, you're like, Okay, well birth is probably going to be physically demanding even if it's super fast. It's still physically demanding. I probably don't want to be super sore or super fatigued going into that. So around the 36-37-week mark, you can decrease overall volume. If you were working out at 200 minutes a week, maybe at week 37, we are only doing 150 minutes a week, and at week 38, we are doing 100 minutes a week and then maintaining that so whenever your baby decides to come. 32:31 When is it too late to start exercising during pregnancy?Gina: We also get folks who ask, When is it too late to start? I would say if you gave birth, it's too late. It's probably too late for prenatal fitness at this point. Kind of like, When is it too late to get an epidural? It's when your baby is born. When your baby is born, it's too late to start a prenatal fitness program. We will have folks who are 35 weeks. They are like, I'll just wait for postpartum. I'm like, You might have 2 months left. That's a long time. 8 weeks, that's a whole fitness challenge or whatever. You know those ones where it's like, “6 Weeks to a Bigger Booty”, it might be 6 weeks until a baby. That's still a good period of time to move your body. It doesn't have to be training for a PR, it's just learning how to release tension, starting to build up some stamina, some endurance for the big day. Now, if you're 38 weeks and you're in that, I could go into labor anytime, I probably wouldn't start a lifting program at that point. I would probably be focusing more on yoga and mobility-type things. Walking, just trying to release tension in my body. I wouldn't be like, Let me go squat and deadlift for the first time in my whole pregnancy. I would do more breathing and stretching. That would be more reasonable to me. Once you hit the 36-37 mark and you're like, Can I start something now? Absolutely. A prenatal yoga program would be my recommendation. Going for walks and things like that. If you're 32, 33 or even to 35 weeks, I would say that you can start a lifting program. I would say to start our prenatal program at that point because we do have a monthly option. You can just grab the months that you need. We also have a just third-trimester program on demand. You can still intentionally move, but it's just going to be a little bit more mindful to the fact that we are kind of at the end of this journey, but it's definitely not too late to start unless you gave birth. At that point, it's probably a little too late. But what can you do? Meagan: Now you're going into postpartum after your baby is born. Gina: Yeah, then we can focus on postpartum stuff. 34:43 Postpartum fitnessMeagan: Which is also a thing. There are postpartum programs. There's a lot after birth that we can do. I know this wasn't in the questions that we were talking about but it led into this where a lot of people don't know when they can start working out after birth. For my second C-section, at that point, I was a Barre instructor and at 4 weeks, I went back before I was technically cleared. I was just following my body doing the very minimal. When is it appropriate to start a postpartum training program? Gina: It depends on the program. We have a free early postpartum recovery course that is intended to start within a few days after birth which is just breathing mobility and some stretches. It's really, really gentle stuff just to reconnect with our body but it's not like, go lift weights or anything. Usually, I would recommend doing a gentle program like that for 4-6 weeks. I'll give you the link to that as well as another. It's just a program that we offer. After the 10-week mark is when most folks can start to return to fitness. This will vary from person to person, whether you had a vaginal birth, whether you had a C-section, whether you had a hemorrhage, how much support do you have postpartum, and how your healing has been so far. It can really vary from person to person. I can't even say 4 weeks for unmedicated vaginal birth, 10 weeks if you had a labored C-section because even within that is a whole realm of where you might be. Meagan: It is. Gina: So just giving yourself some grace and knowing that there is plenty of time to return to fitness. Obviously, we don't want to wait 5 years, but it's okay. Meagan: You don't have to jump into it. Gina: Yeah, it's okay if it's 12 weeks before you start a program. It will be fine. Again, we don't want to wait for 5 years. That's a long time to live with whatever we are having postpartum. Usually 4-10 weeks is when I say if you feel ready and you want to start moving your body, that's usually a good time to start. We're looking for bleeding to pretty much be stopped. We're not having any issues still lingering from birth so we are not having any infections from birth. We are not having post-birth surgeries or anything like that. That may delay things a little bit longer. If you've had a hemorrhage, that will delay you a little bit just because your blook is trying to replenish itself from all of that. Sometimes a C-section blood loss or hemorrhage can be a little bit higher, but you can also have severe hemorrhage from a vaginal birth as well. Just honor how you are feeling. Then when you do return to fitness, it is a gradual slow process of reconnecting with this new body. I know there sometimes is this mentality of, I want to bounce back. I want to get back to who I was, especially if postpartum is hard, which it is, or if birth wasn't what you expected, which it can be for a lot of folks. There can be this, Let me get back to something that reminds me of myself and who I was before so I'll do my workouts and get back to my workouts. Meagan: That was me. Gina: I love working out. That's a part of my identity. I can sympathize with that desire, but if we rush that process, it's going to delay you in the long run. You'll be 4-6 months postpartum. You'll be like, Why am I still leaking? Why do I still have a diastasis? I just feel unstable. But when we take the time in the beginning to really reconnect, really focus on the foundational core work, and really rebuild slowly which is painful to do sometimes. Not painful physically, but painful mentally, it really helps so, so much in the long run. So take your time. Again, we have a program to support you if you want it but there are so many programs out there too that suit everyone's individual needs depending on the sport that you are trying to get back to as well. Meagan: Right, I love how you talked about mentally it can be so hard. It was for me. It just was so hard. I just needed to get out and move my body. I did follow my body, but so what you were saying, mentally it is hard and can hurt us but physically it was too much for me. I did have to take a step back. I went to this hour class. I cut it back, but it set me back 3 more weeks because I was like, Okay, I probably shouldn't have done that. Noted. Thanks body. Gina: It happens. It happens to the best of us. Meagan: Thanks body for letting us know. I was able to return. I love how you talked about reconnecting with our pelvic floor and all of the things. Breathing in itself is so powerful, so I love that you are focusing on that. We'll make sure to put in the show notes the link for your program. 39:20 Weightlifting and pregnancyMeagan: Okay, so last two questions. Weightlifting is a big one. I love weightlifting myself and I follow quite a few accounts who have gone through pregnancy like yourself and weight lifted. I am flabbergasted to see some of the negative comments on pregnant people lifting because it bugs me. It bugs me that people are so negative about it and judging them like, What are you doing? You kind of touched on that earlier. I don't know why lifting sometimes with women in general, but then add pregnancy to that is really hard. You kind of mentioned that maybe at the end you're not going to join a weightlifting program, but how can someone start with a very gentle approach to weightlifting? I do feel like especially if weightlifting is not something you are used to, it can be very, very intimidating. I know in your book, you have a section where you're like, Instead of doing this, try this. Instead of doing deadlifts, try these, which is awesome because it can give us an idea. But can you guide someone who is like, I really want to weightlift but I'm so intimidated to start? What is a gentle way to start approaching that? Gina: If you live by us, you can just come to our gym and we will walk you through it which is usually the easiest way to learn how. If there is a lifting class somewhere or an intro to lifting or even a women's fitness-type class, that could be a good way to get introduced to, How do I lift safely? Some CrossFit gyms will have Intro to CrossFit which can or cannot be great for starting during pregnancy, but they can at least teach you how to squat, how to deadlift, how to bench press, and there are barbell gyms out there that might have lifting classes. Even just box gyms like Planet Fitness or Gold's Gym might have lifting classes. Hire a personal trainer to walk you through what to do. That can take some of the intimidation out because you don't have to walk into this gym into this section that is male-dominated and be like, “Hello. I am pregnant. I am trying to squat. Can you hand me a dumbbell?” So it can be really scary to do that. You can also purchase some weights for your home. Dicks Sporting Goods has really good deals on gym equipment that is very inexpensive. It is cheaper quality so they won't last you a long time, but if you're like,  I just need to get started, that can be a great place to go. Amazon has really good sales pretty frequently to get cheap equipment that is still a moderate quality. Rep Fitness is one of our favorites for higher quality equipment that is still affordable then Rogue would be the super expensive brand. I would say them and Rep Fitness are the same quality. It depends on how much you want to invest. You can get the stuff and have it at your home as well. Usually, I would say to grab some dumbbells. If you want to explore barbell, buy a barbell and some bumper plates. They have sets that you can get for that. You can buy yourself a squat rack. That's if you want to do barbell stuff. You can also do a ton of stuff with just kettlebells and dumbbells. I really like resistance bands. Those are huge in our programming. They are really un-intimidating. They are very easy to use. They are an attachment point for resistance bands. A box to step up on. You can also use a stool. It's easy to get started, but you just have to figure out what type of environment you want to get started in. Do you want to start with a coach-type environment to guide you through it or do you want to try to figure it out on your own? With our programming, we walk you through how to do each movement especially with the on-demand one so you can see, Okay, this is how I'm supposed to do it, and then there will be some experimenting to figure out what feels good for you in your body to be like, Okay, when I squat, I have to spread my feet out a little bit more and that feels better for me, kind of thing. That can be a good way to get into it. Know that it is safe to do. I think that is probably the first fear that it is safe to do. I think that's what you were saying. Folks love to comment some hateful things on people who are lifting weights during pregnancy. The comment the same shit on a female just lifting weights who is not pregnant. I don't know if it's dudes out there who are feeling very inadequate with themselves that they are like, I cannot stand that there is a strong woman out there so I'm just going to comment and critique her, then like I said before, you add on the additional layer that now she is pregnant and we have this overall belief that exercise is dangerous, people say some horrible things. I'm like, You do know you don't have to comment on things, right? Meagan: I know. You can actually just swipe on. Gina: Those can be inside thoughts. Meagan: Yes. If you don't have a nice comment to say, leave me alone. Gina: Yes, because you know what happens? You comment and then you get more pregnancy content on your feed then you're like, Why is this pregnancy post popping up on my feed? It's probably because you commented on this pregnant woman who was lifting weights and you said some nasty shit. That's probably why it's popping up on your feed, bro. Meagan: I love it. Oh my gosh. I know, but it actually makes me very angry and it's not even just men. It's women too. Why do we have to berate people for being active and choosing to lift weights during pregnancy or run marathons during pregnancy or do whatever they want? It is their body. Let them do it and honestly, we need people to share like what you guys do. We need these videos because it does offer us inspiration and also offers us a sense of, Oh, what they're saying over here isn't true. I want to learn more about this. It's so frustrating, but it's possible. So if you want to lift weights, Women of Strength, and you're listening, go for it. Go for it. Check out their program. Get the book which we're going to talk about right now I'm hoping and learn more. Learn more about fitness in pregnancy and the benefits for both mom and baby which we were just talking about in the beginning of this. 45:51 Training for TwoMeagan: Let's talk more about your book. You said earlier this is like the twin to your current pregnancy. I'm sure this is like another baby. I'm so excited for you. I'm so proud of you. I hope everybody in the world gets it. So tell us more about it and all of the things. You've got three parts, right? Gina: So right now, this is just one part to the book. Hopefully it turns into a three-part series so I need your pre-orders so that we can make a second part and a third part. Meagan: Pre-order everyone. Gina: That's how we get the next two parts. The first part which will hopefully be a three-part series is all about how you can use prenatal fitness to support a strong pregnancy, a pain-free pregnancy and then also use that to prepare for birth because prenatal fitness is not just a list of pregnancy-safe “exercises”. It's not just take out all of the sit-ups and crunches and all of the jumping and now it's a pregnancy program which is what the majority of pregnancy programs are. It's just a bunch of random exercises that just don't involve crunches and sit-ups. Cool. That's a great first step. But we can take it way further by ensuring that our workouts are also helping us to prepare for birth. We're taking the pelvic floor into account. How are we integrating that in the overall system? How are we learning to release tension? How are we increasing mobility within our hips so we can find that internally and externally pelvic mobility. What movements are we incorporating to help increase the pelvic space so we can create more space for baby to navigate through? What kind of movements are we incorporating into our workout that helps us for our baby's position? We're not trying to force baby into any position, but we want to make it easy for them to find whatever their best position is. We can do that with our prenatal workouts. The book is going to break that down for you. It's definitely a little bit heavier on the lifting side so it includes modifications for how to deadlift during pregnancy and how to bench press during pregnancy. All of these main lifts, we incorporate tons of accessory exercises such as core exercises that you can do during pregnancy, what signs and symptoms to be mindful of when doing core exercises, how to protect your core and pelvic floor during pregnancy. We incorporate exercises to help with pelvic stability because pelvic pain is super common but you don't have to be in pain during pregnancy. Similar to you, my provider when I told him I had pelvic pain, they were like, “That sucks. When you give birth, it will go away.” I'm like, Well, that's not true. There is a lot you can do during pregnancy to help resolve that as well. The book is a collection of all of the things I have learned through working with in-person prenatal clients and supporting in-person births. Hundreds of clients have helped me gain this information to write this book. My educational background and things that I've researched and studied have all been consolidated within this book specifically to prenatal fitness and using your prenatal fitness to stay strong and then also to help you prepare for birth. There is a little bit in there on labor. A bunch of that stuff got taken out because I write a lot. I have too much knowledge in this head of mine so that's why I need a three-part series then there is one chapter on early postpartum recovery as well. We also include how to recover from a C-section in there. It's just the first month postpartum so it's just a taste of what book three will be. So help me get part two and three by pre-ordering the book. It's on Amazon. I'll give you the link as well. It's $24-25. The book comes out September 14th so hopefully after my baby has been born. I will be very sad if I'm 43 weeks pregnant so I will be in the infancy of my postpartum with a newborn when this next baby, baby B has been born and would love your support with preordering it. We're trying to figure out pre-order incentives right now. We may have a chapter that got cut, so if you pre-order, you get that chapter as a PDF which is all of the labor stuff- how to address labor stalls, laboring positions, what a contraction is. Meagan: So good. Gina: It was such a good chapter, but that will be in part two which is going to be birth. Part three is postpartum fitness so help me get the other parts by ordering the book. Meagan: Yes. Gina: It's on right now. I am really excited about it. So yeah. Meagan: I am so excited for you. Yeah. it's $24.99. That is amazing. We will make sure like she said to have the links to all of these things including this book pre-order link in the show notes. Right now, as soon as you are done listening and you're like, Dang, that was an awesome episode, go down. Click the link and support her by buying her book. It is called Training for Two. She's absolutely beautiful on that front cover holding her sweet baby bump. You guys, I'm so excited for this book. I'm so excited for you and I'm so grateful that you were with us today sharing all of this information. Gina: Thank you so much for having me. I really appreciate it. ClosingWould you like to be a guest on the podcast? Tell us about your experience at thevbaclink.com/share. For more information on all things VBAC including online and in-person VBAC classes, The VBAC Link blog, and Meagan's bio, head over to thevbaclink.com. Congratulations on starting your journey of learning and discovery with The VBAC Link.Our Sponsors:* Check out Dr. Mom Butt Balm: drmombuttbalm.comSupport this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-vbac-link/donationsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

  Transcript: Auctions, appraisals, and the professionals who perform them are some of the most misunderstood elements of the jewelry industry. That's exactly why Gina D'Onofrio, independent appraiser and Co-Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage Auctions, joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast. She discussed what a consigner can expect when selling jewelry with an auction house; how appraisers come up with values (and why they might change); and how consumers can protect themselves by asking their appraiser the right questions. Read the episode transcript here. What you'll learn in this episode: What questions to ask appraisers and auction houses before selling your jewelry. What education and networking opportunities an aspiring appraiser should seek out. Why an appraisal includes multiple values, and why those values will change depending on the reason for the appraisal. What the process of selling jewelry with an auction house is like, and why you might choose an auction house over selling online or to a store. What a qualified appraiser will look for while inspecting a piece of jewelry.   About Gina D'Onofrio With work in the retail, auction and manufacturing sectors of the jewelry industry since 1989, Gina D'Onofrio's experience encompasses jewelry design and production, appraisals, buying and selling of contemporary, antique and period jewelry, sales and management. Gina operates an independent gemological laboratory, appraisal service and consulting firm and has been catering to private individuals, banks, trusts, non-profit organizations, insurance companies, legal firms and the jewelry trade in the greater Los Angeles area. Gina received her Master Gemologist Appraiser® designation, upon completion of appraisal studies, written and practical examinations and peer appraisal report review with the American Society of Appraisers. In addition, she was awarded the Certified Master Appraiser designation with the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. In 2013 Gina received Los Angeles Magazine's coveted "Best in LA" award for her Jewelry Appraisal Services. She conducts presentations and entertaining speeches about appraisal and jewelry related topics to private and corporate groups in Los Angeles and throughout the USA.   Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com Additional Resources: Website Instagram Facebook Email   Transcript: Auctions, appraisals, and the professionals who perform them are some of the most misunderstood elements of the jewelry industry. That's exactly why Gina D'Onofrio, independent appraiser and Co-Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage Auctions, joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast. She discussed what a consigner can expect when selling jewelry with an auction house; how appraisers come up with values (and why they might change); and how consumers can protect themselves by asking their appraiser the right questions. Read the episode transcript here. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey, exploring the hidden world of art around you. Because every piece of art has a story, and jewelry is no exception.   Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey Podcast. This is the second part of a two-part episode. If you haven't heard part one, please head to TheJewelryJourney.com.    Today, I am glad to welcome back Gina D'Onofrio, an appraiser who just returned from being an independent appraiser. She returned to the auction house Heritage as co-director of jewelry. She was also on the podcast in the very beginning, and it's good to have her on again. Welcome back.   If you become a certain kind of appraiser, let's say real estate or antique jewelry or I'll call it regular jewelry, how do you continue your education in those areas? What do you do if you're a real estate appraiser and you want to be an expert, or an antique expert? What would you do to continue education in that area?   Gina: You mentioned real estate. So, you mean you're appraising houses and all of a sudden you want to appraise antique jewelry?   Sharon: No, if you're in a particular area, is what I mean. You work in jewelry. What do you do to further your education besides going to the conferences, handling the jewelry? Are there other things you can do to further your education in those areas? In that area, I should say.   Gina: If you're working in jewelry, you're basically filling all the educational holes that you might have. When you say you work in jewelry, if you work for a contemporary jeweler, then you need to have more exposure to vintage jewelry. If it's vice versa, maybe you're working with antique and estate jewelry and you're not as exposed to what present day Tiffany and Company and Cartier and Van Cleef & Arpels are doing, then you have to self-educate and gain more exposure to that kind of jewelry. As a jewelry appraiser, anything can cross your desk. Quite often, I might receive a collection that belongs to somebody, and she may have something that she bought last week and she may have something that her great-grandmother owned and she has inherited. You need to be able to recognize and evaluate and appraise both pieces. So, you do need a very well-rounded education.   Sharon: You raised the point of Cartier and David Webb and the high-end pieces that designers make, but not everything you see is going to be that. As you said, there's the piece that the grandmother passes down. Heritage, I presume, isn't all Cartier. What do you do then? What do you do if a piece comes across your desk and it's not a Cartier or it's not a David Webb? Do you look at a David Webb as the benchmark and then go from there?   Gina: No, you don't, because a piece that has no stamp or signature doesn't necessarily mean that it's not a fine piece. That's where having an understanding of jewelry manufacturing is critical. You do need to gain an education on how a piece of jewelry is made. GIA is teaching a class called jewelry forensics. In that class, they teach appraisers and other members of the industry how to look at a piece and recognize how it was fabricated. Was it made entirely by hand? Was it made by carving a wax and casting it? Was it made via CAD/CAM design and 3D printing? Was made by using a die struck method? These are all different methods of producing a piece of jewelry, and as an appraiser you need to have an education in that so when you're holding that piece of jewelry in your hand, A) you recognize how it was made, and B) you recognize the quality of the workmanship. That plays into the value of the piece.    For example, you might have a piece of jewelry, and you recognize that it was made entirely by hand. A great deal of time and effort has gone into making it, and the workmanship is excellent. Flawless, in fact. That is going to inform you as to what it would cost to replace that piece if your client wants to insure it for another piece that has been made entirely by hand.    Or, you might look at a piece that is mass produced using CAD/CAM and 3D printing, but it's a piece that's not finished very well. It's poorly made, and the setting work is very poor, too. In fact, some of the stones are a little bit loose because they weren't set properly, or perhaps they're not straight in the piece. That's going to tell you that it's a mass-produced piece. If it's not signed, you're going to be looking at other mass-produced pieces of the same type of lower quality in order to determine what it would cost to replace that piece. Understanding production is really important.   Sharon: Can you be an appraiser without having this background of manufacturing and that sort of thing? Could you be an appraiser?   Gina: You can. I'm really sad to say that there is no licensing of jewelry appraisers. There is no regulation, no government regulation. We self-regulate. That's why if you want to become a professional appraiser and you want to be the best appraiser you can be, you should join an organization that gives you excellent education and network with other very experienced appraisers who can help guide you in the right direction to get the education that you need.    Unfortunately, anybody can appraise jewelry and nobody can stop you. As a consumer, it's best to look for an appraiser that has reached the highest level they can possibly attain within an appraisal organization that requires their members to requalify every five years. The International Society of Appraisers has a requalification program. So does the American Society of Appraisers. They do require their members to requalify every five years. Then you have the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers that have different strata of membership, different tiers of membership, so look for an appraiser within that organization that has successfully completed the Certified Master Appraiser program, the CMA, and at the very least is a certified appraiser. Someone who has sat for the exams.   Sharon: What is requalification? Is that a test on paper or a computer, or is it just that you came to class?   Gina: It varies. It depends on which organization. I failed to mention the American Gem Society, I apologize. They also have an Independent Gemologist Appraiser program. For requalification, you have to attend a minimum amount of education every year. You have to prove you have done that. There is also an exam you have to take as well.   Sharon: You answered one of the questions I had, which is what you would ask somebody you want to be an appraiser for you. What would you ask them to know if they're good or not? What should I ask? What would somebody in the public ask if they're looking for an appraiser?   Gina: Yes. Everything that I just told you. Make sure that they have reached the highest designation they can within those appraisal organizations.   Sharon: I took some antique jewelry to an appraiser not knowing that they did all kinds of jewelry, but they weren't an expert in antiques. Was there any way to suss that out in advance?   Gina: That's a great question, Sharon. That's tricky. As I mentioned earlier, I feel that it's difficult to get a formal education in jewelry history today, so you are getting it piecemeal from wherever you can, which is why I developed my courses. There is no way to look at an appraiser and have them prove to you that they are a specialist in antique and period jewelry. Unfortunately, that's something that comes by way of reputation. You may have to ask, "How did you become proficient?" You may have to just ask them to explain that to you. It's a tricky one. As a consumer, I'm not quite sure how that could be proven.   Sharon: What would you suggest the public ask if you want to know if an appraiser is credentialed, a credible appraiser?   Gina: You ask them what level of certification, what designation, they have achieved within their appraisal organization. Are they a member of the ASA, the NAJA, the ISA, the AGS? If they are a member—you could be a member and not attain any education. You could be a candidate member, or you could just simply be a member. Ask them, "What education have you completed with these organizations? Are you designated? What is your designation? What is your experience with antique and period jewelry? Are you proficient with that type of jewelry?" Just outright ask them to show you what their education and designation is.    Most appraisers who have achieved this level of education and designation have spent a great deal of time attaining it and are proud of what they've achieved, and they usually put up on their website for everybody to see. But if they haven't done that, you can ask them for their professional profiles so you can read through what they've achieved, and you can even check it. You can call those appraisal organizations to see if the information you've been provided is true and accurate.   Sharon: I'm thinking about something you said earlier. If somebody says to me, "I don't have a formal education in this, but I've handled a million and one pieces in this era, and I can tell right away if it's fake or not and who made it," what do you say to that?   Gina: That's quite possible. Absolutely. Then that makes them a connoisseur and a specialist in antique and period jewelry. But are they an appraiser? Do they have an education in appraisal report writing? Can they write that appraisal report for you? That's the other part. That's the other side of the coin. That's the other thing they have to have to be an appraiser. Otherwise, they're an expert in that period of jewelry, but they're not necessarily an appraiser.   Sharon: That's interesting. When I thought about being an appraiser myself, it was the report writing that scared me off. That's very detailed and very scientific in a way. Very precise.   Gina: Yes, and that education is something that you can study.   Sharon: Okay. I think I'll pass.   Gina: You almost looked like you were considering it, Sharon.   Sharon: No, I think I've heard too much about the classes for the report writing and how they're pretty onerous, in a in a good way.   Gina: They're fascinating. I highly recommend it. Anyone out there who is writing appraisal reports and doesn't have a foundation in appraisal report writing from one of the major organizations, I really suggest that you go out and get that education. You'll be amazed at what you'll learn. It's going to make you even better at what you do.   Sharon: Why would you say it makes you better at what you do?   Gina: This education is written by appraisers, not just one appraiser, but collaborative groups of appraisers who have been immersed in that profession for many, many years. They have learned the best approaches and the pitfalls. They have studied the government requirements. They may have had a lot of experience in appraising for litigation, and this collective information has been formally put into a course. It's only going to help you as an appraiser. It's going to help you avoid ending up in court or possibly being disqualified as an appraiser for the IRS because you did not follow the proper procedures. If you know what pitfalls to avoid and how to arrive at a more informed opinion of value, it's only going to make your appraisal a better product for the person that's using it.   Sharon: That makes a lot of sense. I keep going back to Antiques Roadshow. They talk about the auction value and the retail value and the insurance value. It drives me crazy because you see the glassy-eyed look in somebody's eyes. I want to say, "Didn't you hear what they said?"   Gina: As an appraiser and as a specialist for an auction house, this is the biggest problem. This is the biggest obstacle for a private individual, understanding that there is not just one value. There are multiple values for the same piece of jewelry. It just depends on the market. It depends on whether it's the auction market, whether it is the liquidation market, or whether it is the retail market or whether it is the antique and estate jewelry market. Is it being sold as a brand-new piece? Is it being sold as a pre-owned piece in a retail scenario? Is it a custom-made designer piece? The same piece of jewelry could have various values depending on what you need that information for.   Sharon: I wonder, you talked about this handmade piece. Is there a replacement? Yes, there's an insurance value, but could you find a replacement somewhere in the market?   Gina: That's a great question. You know what? Appraisal organizations, we all have forums, email chat groups where we ask each other questions and use the collaborative brain trust of your peers to help you solve a problem, and a problem came up today. There was a photograph of a bracelet that was posted by a professional appraiser. This appraiser recognized the designer. The designer and the manufacturer—they are one in the same—was a French designer called Georges Lenfant. He was a manufacturer of chains, particularly beautifully constructed chains and bracelets, and he manufactured for all the major jewelry houses, Van Cleef & Arpels, Cartier, goodness me, so many of them. He was very active in the 50s and the 60s and the 70s. He had his own trademark that he would put inside a piece, but he didn't sign it. The piece was often signed with the jewelry house, Cartier, and then it had the Georges Lenfant stamp inside the piece. He was a French maker.  I tell you all of this to explain that today, when pieces of jewelry come to market made by this particular maker, there is an extra layer of interest and value because these pieces are so beautifully made. This appraiser posted a piece of jewelry by this maker. This is one of those pieces that wasn't signed by a major jewelry house, but the appraiser was very good and was able to recognize that it was the Georges Lenfant trademark and posed the question, "Can anybody tell me where I can find examples of this piece so I can arrive at an opinion of replacement value?" It was a 1970s bracelet made by this French maker. Where would you replace a 1970s piece made by this maker? It would be with somebody who typically sells vintage jewelry, high-end vintage jewelry. That should have been the answer to this question.    Unfortunately, one of the answers provided was, "Contact the manufacturer and ask them what they would charge you to make it today." It's not being made today, not that particular piece. It's a vintage piece by a collectible maker. I guess that's a very long example to your question. You need to determine, is this a piece that's typically being made today, or is this a vintage piece that has collectible value? Do you recognize who the maker is? Is there a stamp inside there? Is there some way you can look this up? If you can't look it up, who do you go to? How do you find out? You need to know to ask all these questions. All this happens by networking with your peers, by attending appraisal conferences, by self-educating, and by handling a lot of this jewelry.   Sharon: Do you have a favorite period that you like to appraise, or a favorite stone that you are more partial to?   Gina: Oh, boy. Gosh. Well, my focus is 20th century jewelry. I have no favorites. I love all periods of jewelry, but because I am very much immersed these days in jewelry from 1930 to 2000, which I feel is an area of education that is not being covered enough, I tend to focus on 20th century jewelry and preferably the latter half.   Sharon: I can understand. How do you bring the jewelry in, and what do you do with it once you have it?   Gina: A typical day as a consignment director at Heritage Auctions. Well, that varies from day to day, but if you're talking about the consignment process, I could be going to visit with a client. It could be in his or her home. I could be looking at the jewelry and studying the jewelry and learning about the history behind the piece from the owner. Based on that information and based on the collection, I could be coming up with estimate ranges of what the piece of jewelry may sell for at auction. At that point, the owner of the jewelry may consign it to the auction house, at which point I take the jewelry with me and it goes through the auction process.    It gets shipped to headquarters, where it is professionally photographed. If there are any repairs that need to be done, it's done at that point. If lab reports need to be obtained, they are submitted to the labs for grading reports or gem origin identification reports. Then they go through the cataloging process, where the pieces are tested, gemstones are measured, and weight estimates are provided and entered into the system. Then all this information is compiled into the digital online catalog. If it's a signature sale, it also goes into the printed catalog and it goes to print. Those catalogs are distributed to all the bidders.    Then the marketing begins. Biographies are written and researched. Anything that will assist in helping to provide more information to a potential bidder is entered. Then the publicity begins and the public previews begin. The pieces are shipped and sent off to our major satellite offices where they are set up in jewelry showcases, and they are available for public preview. Sometimes special events are planned around these previews, and the planning behind those special events takes place as well. Once all of that is complete, then the pieces are offered up on auction day. When the pieces have successfully sold at auction, then they are packaged up again, money is collected, and the pieces are shipped to the new owners.   Sharon: Do you ever have repeat clients or repeat people who call you and say, "Gina, I have something I want to show you," because you've developed a relationship?   Gina: Yes, definitely. I have regular consignors and I have regular buyers, and sometimes they are one in the same. There are people that are constantly refining their jewelry collections, so sometimes they'll sell a piece that they no longer need, but they're also collecting pieces that are more to their evolving tastes. We have collectors. Then we also have repeat consignors. I have many clients who have accumulated lovely jewelry collections over the years, and they're very slowly thinning the collection or letting each piece go once they're ready to sell it.   Sharon: Is that because they're aging out, let's say, or they get tired of a piece?   Gina: It could be either. If you're a collector and you're refining your collection, then yes, you're refining it and you're selling pieces that no longer fit in with your style that is evolving. If you're downsizing, you could be downsizing everything in your life, including your home, your clothes and your jewelry collection. Sometimes lifestyle. Especially today, lifestyles change. We no longer wear the jewelry we used to wear, and it's just sitting around. Maybe it's time to sell those pieces to put it into something else. Maybe you want to start a college fund for your child, and that jewelry you're no longer wearing anymore is going to go into that fund. There are all kinds of reasons why people sell their jewelry. Sometimes it's a divorce settlement. Sometimes it's by court order. We've had many sales that have been by court order. The government wants to collect their taxes and it's a liquidation. Jewelry is going up for sale because it's by court order.   Sharon: It's certainly true that lifestyles change very fast and what you wore. I think, "Well, you're a middle-aged woman now. Am I going to wear what I wore when I was 20?" It's very different.   Gina, thank you very much for being here. I learned a lot. It was great to talk with you and I hope you will come back soon.   Gina: Thank you so much, Sharon. It was such a pleasure to talk to you as well.   We will have photos posted on the website. Please head to TheJewelryJourney.com to check them out.   Thank you again for listening. Please leave us a rating and review so we can help others start their own jewelry journey.    

What you'll learn in this episode: What questions to ask appraisers and auction houses before selling your jewelry. What education and networking opportunities an aspiring appraiser should seek out. Why an appraisal includes multiple values, and why those values will change depending on the reason for the appraisal. What the process of selling jewelry with an auction house is like, and why you might choose an auction house over selling online or to a store. What a qualified appraiser will look for while inspecting a piece of jewelry.   About Gina D'Onofrio With work in the retail, auction and manufacturing sectors of the jewelry industry since 1989, Gina D'Onofrio's experience encompasses jewelry design and production, appraisals, buying and selling of contemporary, antique and period jewelry, sales and management. Gina operates an independent gemological laboratory, appraisal service and consulting firm and has been catering to private individuals, banks, trusts, non-profit organizations, insurance companies, legal firms and the jewelry trade in the greater Los Angeles area. Gina received her Master Gemologist Appraiser® designation, upon completion of appraisal studies, written and practical examinations and peer appraisal report review with the American Society of Appraisers. In addition, she was awarded the Certified Master Appraiser designation with the National Association of Jewelry Appraisers. In 2013 Gina received Los Angeles Magazine's coveted "Best in LA" award for her Jewelry Appraisal Services. She conducts presentations and entertaining speeches about appraisal and jewelry related topics to private and corporate groups in Los Angeles and throughout the USA.   Photos Available on TheJewelryJourney.com Additional Resources: Website Instagram Facebook Email   Transcript: Auctions, appraisals, and the professionals who perform them are some of the most misunderstood elements of the jewelry industry. That's exactly why Gina D'Onofrio, independent appraiser and Co-Director of Fine Jewelry at Heritage Auctions, joined the Jewelry Journey Podcast. She discussed what a consigner can expect when selling jewelry with an auction house; how appraisers come up with values (and why they might change); and how consumers can protect themselves by asking their appraiser the right questions. Read the episode transcript here.   Welcome to the Jewelry Journey, exploring the hidden world of art around you. Because every piece of art has a story, and jewelry is no exception.   Sharon: Hello, everyone. Welcome to the Jewelry Journey podcast. This is the first part of a two-part episode. Please make sure you subscribe so you can hear part two as soon as it's released later this week.   Today, I am glad to welcome back Gina D'Onofrio, an appraiser who just returned from being an independent appraiser. She returned to the auction house Heritage as co-director of jewelry. She was also on the podcast in the very beginning, and it's good to have her on again.  I got to know Gina when she was head of the western arm of the Association of Jewelry Historians, a volunteer position. I got to know her further when she was an independent appraiser. She recently returned to Heritage Auction House as co-director of the jewelry department. Why did she return to Heritage? That's one of the things she'll be sharing with us as she tells her story. Gina will also be describing why she chose to become an appraiser and what the job entails on a day-to-day basis. She'll tell us how she deals with the dual challenges of not only bringing in jewelry to appraise, but nurturing relationships that make clients keep coming back to her with jewelry. Gina, welcome to the podcast.   Gina: Thank you so much. It's such a pleasure to be back, Sharon. Great to talk to you again.   Sharon: I'm so glad that you are on the show again. Now, my first question is if I describe to you a piece of jewelry and you've never held it or seen it or anything, but I tell you it's this many years old and it's these stones, if it has stones, can you tell me how much you think it would be worth?   Gina: Well, appraising a piece of jewelry that I can't actually see and evaluate and hold in my hand to determine the different value characteristics it might have, it would be flippant of me to give you a value. I think it would be unfair, because you may describe it to me based on your knowledge of the piece or based on what somebody has told you about the piece. If I hold it in my hand, I might see something totally different. I may have a different opinion.  For example, you may say that someone told you it was an Art Deco brooch, that it was 1920s, and it was a sapphire and diamond piece. If I had a chance to look at it, I might determine that the sapphire was laboratory grown rather than natural, because they were producing sapphires in a lab in the 1920s. You may not have that piece of information. You may have part of it, that it's a sapphire, but you may not have the rest. So, for me to arrive at a value based on your description, it's just incomplete. It wouldn't be fair.   Sharon: Could you tell if a sapphire was lab grown or if it was natural if you just looked at it without a loupe or without a microscope?   Gina: No, not without a loupe. Definitely not. Sometimes I can determine with a loupe, depending on the sapphire and the nature of the inclusions it may or may not have. But I would have to say that nine times out of 10, I need that microscope to separate the lab grown from the natural. In fact, I was doing a lot of that today. I have a collection of pieces from a dealer, and they need me to tell them if it's laboratory grown or natural. Most of the pieces they have provided to me are circa 1920 through to 1940, and about 70% of them are lab grown.   Sharon: That's interesting. One would think that they're mostly all the same. They're all lab grown or they're all natural, or most of them are one or the other.   Gina: Yes, one would think. In fact, one of the pieces had both in the one piece. It had square calibre cut sapphires in the piece, and some of them were natural and some of them were lab grown. They were selected not for the value of the sapphires. They were selected so that they were all uniform in color. At the time, I have no doubt that those lab-grown sapphires were much more expensive than they are today, just like I imagine lab-grown diamonds will be 20 years from now. Right now, they are falling rapidly in price. I imagine in the future we'll be looking at those lab-grown diamonds just like we're looking at lab-grown sapphires that were produced in the early 20th century.   Sharon: That's interesting. Like this dealer, if I have several pieces of jewelry that I want to sell or I want to auction off, should I make the rounds of auctioneers and see what the best deal is, or should I choose the one I like, the auctioneer that I jibe with the most?   Gina: That's an interesting question. There's a lot of depends there. It depends on the piece that you have. Some auction houses will only take a certain price point and above in order for them to bring your piece to a successful sale. So, already, your piece may or may not be suitable for some auction houses.    The second part of your question, I think, is very important because the market is going to do what it's going to do. If the auction house is one of the more reputable, top-tier auction houses—Heritage Auctions is definitely one of them. If they are going to be putting the proper marketing behind your piece, professional photography, if they have an international bidding audience, then after that, it's going to be important to know that you have a comfortable relationship with the representative of that auction house and that they are going to be your advocate, because it's not just the estimate. In fact, the estimate is probably the very least important thing about your piece if you were going to be selling it at auction.  What's more important is what are they going to do for you? Are they going to represent your piece properly? Do they have the right audience for your piece? How many photographs of the piece are going to be taken? Is it going to be up for a public preview? Is it a traveling preview that your piece is going to be placed in? There are many aspects to this that need to be discussed with you as the consignor. Then also, what fees are you going to be charged? There's a lot of ifs. I wish I could give you a more direct answer, but if you were going to me, for example, at Heritage Auctions, I'm going to be exploring all those options with you so that you can make an informed decision.   Sharon: On the Antiques Roadshow, they say very often, "In a well-marketed auction, this would be X-Y-Z price." To me, a well-marketed auction is one that has to advertise. I'd see ads. That's it. What would you consider a well-marketed auction piece or auction?   Gina: Well, Sharon, coming from you, I think that's an excellent question since you are a marketing extraordinaire. These days, marketing is very different, isn't it? We're looking at more the digital aspect of marketing, because so many of us are online now, just like you and I are right now. Being online for marketing is what type of social media presence do you have? What type of email marketing do you have? Also, what is your bidding audience for marketing? How are you able to reach them? Through email, or are you just relying on more conventional forms of auction marketing, be it print advertising or be it public previews? I think in this present market, it's good to have a balance of both. But I am finding that digital marketing is becoming more and more critical.   Sharon: I would believe that. I'm curious, what are the fees involved? Is it the buyer who pays the fees or the auction house that pays the fees to the buyer? I never understood that.   Gina: Again, it depends. As far as the consignor goes, if you have the Hope Diamond, then I imagine that the buyer will have no fees to pay. It is such a highly coveted piece that everybody would be very competitive to have that on the cover of their auction catalog. But in the auction world, with most auction houses, both the buyer and the seller are paying fees. This is how the auction house survives. The fees are going to vary depending on the consignment. How many pieces are you consigning? What is the value of the pieces that you're consigning? That is going to vary. On the buyer end, the fees are very much locked in. I have to tell you, I don't join Heritage Auctions again for another two weeks, so I don't have the most current buyer's fees. But I believe that it is around 25%, give or take, up until a certain amount. Above that, the buyer's premium starts to go down in price. It's tiered depending on the value of the piece, the hammer price of the piece that you are purchasing.   Sharon: Can you negotiate? Let's say you do have the Hope Diamond. What is negotiable? How many pieces you are putting in, but how much you're getting for each piece or reserved prices?   Gina: As a consignor?   Sharon: Yes.   Gina: Fees can be negotiable if you have something important. If it's a lot of work to sell a piece, and by that I mean if you have 100 pieces that are probably going to auction for $1,000 or less, then you will probably pay the full rate because it's a lot of work to sell all those individual pieces for the amount of money that the auction house will receive. It really depends on what you have. But if you have something very important with important provenance like the Hope Diamond, then that's definitely negotiable.    As far as reserves go, reserves are something that the specialist should really set for you. That is something they will suggest to you. You may or may not agree with them, but at the end of the day, once you arrive at an agreed reserve, then that goes into your contract. That is contractual.    Sharon: Can you explain to everybody to make sure we're all on the same page, what is the reserve, what's a consigner, and what's the opposite?   Gina: Yes, the language. The consignor is the person that owns the jewelry. They are the person that is loaning the jewelry to the auction house to give them the opportunity to sell it on behalf of the consignor. So, the consignor owns the piece.    The reserve is the absolute minimum that the piece will hammer for, and hammer means the final bid, the highest bid that someone will pay for at auction. That is the absolute minimum that it will go for at auction. That is the reserve. It is also the opening bid for Heritage Auctions. For example, let's say a piece has an auction estimate of $1,500 to $2,500, and I may suggest to you that the reserve for that piece should be $1,000. The opening bid, the minimum is $1,000, so the bidding begins at that amount. If nobody else bids on that piece except for one person who has bid the reserve, $1,000, that is the price it will hammer for. That is the final sale. Does that make sense?   Sharon: It makes sense. I was wondering how long somebody has to pull the piece back, as they say. If they have the feeling they won't like what the hammer price is, can they pull it back?   Gina: The reserve, that $1,000 for that piece is in their written contract. And in the written contract, they have agreed to allow the auction house to take it through to completion. By the time it is photographed, cataloged, shipped, insured, marketed, the auction house has invested a certain amount of money in that piece. So, if there is a contract, if there is an agreement for the auction house to try and sell this on behalf of the consignor, they have to be allowed to take it through to completion. That is why it is in the contract, because the auction house is investing money in the piece.   Sharon: That makes a lot of sense. Jumping subjects, in jewelry you can do a lot of different things. Why did you decide to become an appraiser? You could have done a lot of things with a GIA, a gemological degree. Why did you decide to become an appraiser?   Gina: That's a great question. For me, I didn't initially plan on becoming an appraiser. I worked in different areas of the jewelry industry. I got my Gemological Diploma. I graduated in 1992. I got my FGA. I worked in retail and then I worked in design. At the time, I was also doing appraisals in Australia. We call them valuations. I was a valuer, but that was something that I did part time. I did what was required at the time. Then I worked for an antiques dealer and was involved in buying and selling of antique and estate jewelry. Then I worked for a manufacturer assisting in the production of jewelry. I worked in different areas of the jewelry industry. Many years later I decided to open my own business, and that business was going to be doing custom design work because I was able to draw, do renderings and was very good with production. The other half of my business was going to be appraisals. I was doing both, and the business pretty much decided for me what I was going to do full time. After I was established, I realized that there was such a demand for an independent appraiser that I had to stop jewelry designing and just focus on the appraisal aspect of it.   Sharon: Why an independent appraiser? I would think that if you go to an auction house, I would like to think it's an independent appraisal. If the appraiser works for the auction house, whether or not they do, it would still be an independent appraisal. Is that true or not?   Gina: Well, to answer that question, we probably need to back up a little bit and define what an appraisal is. An appraisal is a researched opinion of value. In order for me to arrive at a researched opinion of value, I need to know what you, the client, want to do with the information. Are you purchasing insurance for your piece? If that's the case, we need to appraise your piece for what it would cost for you to walk into a store that typically sells that piece of jewelry. We research that market. We research all the stores that typically sell your jewelry. The most common price is what I would appraise it for.    If you are selling that exact same piece of jewelry, that ends up being a different value. So, I have to understand what you want to do with that information. If you, as a private individual, want to sell your piece of jewelry, your options are to sell it at auction, to sell it directly to a dealer or a store that sells pre-owned jewelry, or you could put it online on eBay or one of the online auction platforms yourself as a private individual. In all cases, there is a cost to selling that we have to factor in, and we also have to research what pieces like yours have recently sold at auction. We look at the most common price to arrive at an opinion of resale value. That value is going to be different to what you would pay for it in a retail store.   Sharon: You reminded me that earlier today I happened to be looking at an estate jewelry site and they said, "You can consign your jewelry with us." I thought that was interesting. I wonder, do they pay more for it? Where would we get the most for it? Is there a rule of thumb?   Gina: Well, again, it depends. What type of marketing, what type of audience do they have, what type of track record do they have? I really can't speak to the online vendor you're referring to because I don't know who it is. But basically, you want to sell your jewelry with the company or the platform that has the biggest audience and the best track record, and the ones that are going to do the most in the form of marketing for your piece. And then also you have to look at the cost of selling and take all that into consideration. Who is going to represent your piece in the best possible way?   Sharon: What was the process that you had to go through to become an appraiser once you decided that's what you wanted to do, plus the rendering and the custom design? What did you have to do?   Gina: For me, my skill set is a culmination of having worked in different areas of the industry. Everything that I had done up until the point where I started to appraise independently assisted me in being able to evaluate a piece. Aside from that, having a Gemological Diploma, having experience in different areas of the jewelry industry, having handled thousands and thousands of antique and period pieces of jewelry, having worked for a manufacturer and understanding the process of manufacturing jewelry, understanding the difference between a handmade piece versus a cast, mass produced piece. My past experience helped me with all of that. That's one side of appraisal education, hands-on experience.    The other side is understanding how to write an appraisal report and appraisal theory, which is some of what I was trying to describe to you earlier with some of the questions you posed. For example, understanding the difference between resale value, liquidation value, fair market value, writing an appraisal for the IRS, writing an appraisal as an expert witness for settling a dispute in court. This is all education that you can gain by attending classes with an appraisal organization. Reputable appraisal organizations have what we call principles of value. They teach classes on writing appraisal reports for different reasons. You also need to have a solid foundation in jewelry history. Unfortunately, there's no one path to gaining education in jewelry history. It's something that you acquire through various appraisal conferences and appraisal organizations. It is ongoing. I myself found that there was a serious need for education in jewelry history, so I have developed my own courses and I have been teaching them. I've been teaching 20th century jewelry history to various organizations and also in shorter form for jewelry seminars. This is something that a jewelry appraiser really needs a solid foundation in.   The other part of being an independent jewelry appraiser is not just knowing jewelry history, jewelry theory, jewelry appraisal report writing and jewelry manufacturing, but they also need to understand who all the major jewelry designers are. They need to self-educate by going to those jewelry houses. Cartier, Tiffany and Company, David Webb, Chopard, all the major jewelry designers. Learn who they all are. Learn what is typical of their design. Start handling more and more pieces from these major jewelry designers at auction previews. Attend as many auction previews as you can. Attend as many conferences as you can, as many jewelry shows as you can. The more exposure that an appraiser has, the better an appraiser they will become.   Sharon: So, there's no license or something you can get that teaches you all this, like how to write the reports and the history and whatever else there is involved, which is a lot.   Gina: Yes, it's a lot. It's ongoing. I've been doing this for 35 years now. I'm still learning. I teach it and I'm still learning, and that's why I love it. It's never ending. You can learn the theory of appraisal report writing with an appraisal organization such as the ASA, the American Society of Appraisers, or the NAJA, National Association of Jewelry Appraisers or the ISA. I'm mentioning them all because I'm not showing favoritism for one over another. They all have their strengths. I'm a member of all three, but they all have education they can provide for appraisers.   Then there are organizations like the Accredited Gemologists Association, which I believe is a must because they provide education for the cutting edge of gemology, the latest treatments and techniques that you need to learn. They have conferences twice a year and also online education. Then you should join the American Society of Jewelry Historians so that you can network with other people who are trying to self-educate on jewelry history and become privy to some of the education that they provide.   There are also two major antique jewelry shows that you can attend in the US. One of them is the Miami Antiques Show that is in January, and the other one is the Jewelry Antique Show in Las Vegas at the end of May, early June. I attend the one in Las Vegas every single year. I attend as many jewelry previews as I can and visit many estate jewelry retailers, too. The more that you handle, the more that you inspect, the better you are going to be as an appraiser.   Sharon: What do you look for when you're inspecting and handling these pieces? What do you look for?   Gina: You're training your eye. I'm training my eye. I'm becoming a connoisseur. You can see behind me there are a lot of books there. I do read a lot of books on jewelry design, jewelry designers and jewelry history. Then I go out and look at jewelry from those particular designers, and I look for consistency in how a piece is being made. I look at how that piece has been found. I look at consistency in the design.    For example, if I am looking at pieces of jewelry by an American designer, David Webb, David Webb was very active in the 60s and 70s. He died, I believe, in the late 70s, but his jewelry designs are still being made today from his catalog of designs. He was a very active designer with an enormous collection of renderings. His pieces are still being made, and there's a consistency to how he liked to design his jewelry. His jewelry designs were always very big and bold. They were colorful, or they were very black and white chromatic. He had a way of signing his jewelry. He had certain influences that informed how he designed that jewelry. There was a consistency in all of that.    David Webb always liked to work in yellow gold and platinum. You don't typically see jewelry by David Webb that is white gold and platinum or white gold and yellow gold. It's platinum and yellow gold. That was his choice of metals. So, if you see something that's white gold and yellow gold, already, that's a red flag. But you wouldn't know to look for that unless you're handling a lot of pieces by that particular designer. Cartier, for example, their jewelry was manufactured in Paris, but also some of the jewelry is manufactured in the US. They sign their jewelry in a particular way. They have certain collections that they designed over the decades. Until you start handling more and more pieces by that jewelry house, you would not know how to recognize it unless you're reading the books and cross-referencing. Sharon, I am giving you very long answers to these questions. I hope that it's helping.   Sharon: No, it's interesting. It's making me think of other questions. For instance, you talked about the replicas from David Webb. They're still doing things from the catalog. Would that be worth as much as an original David Webb, as when he was alive, if you had a replica?   Gina: Well, when you say replica, you mean a newer David Webb piece versus an older David Webb piece, right? Because a replica means somebody who is not David Webb has replicated it, has copied it, and that's a different thing. I'm just clarifying for the audience.    Sharon: No, please.  Gina: We're talking about a newer David Webb piece made from the back catalog. I guess it depends on the piece. There are collectors of David Webb jewelry who like to think that they're buying an earlier piece of David Webb jewelry when David Webb was active. But newer David Webb jewelry is still collectible and still very desirable.   Sharon: That's interesting.   We will have photos posted on the website. Please head to TheJewelryJourney.com to check them out.   Thank you again for listening. Please leave us a rating and review so we can help others start their own jewelry journey.  

Is home really the safest place? There seemed to be a spike in haunting at home in the past month. Eugene shares some of the stories that were told to him personally and not posted on the group. 1) Side of the bed, confession by Mei (narrated by Gina) You wake up to find your partner beside you on the bed. You smile, and turn to get out of bed, only to find your partner walking into the room. WTF?! 2) Shadow man, confession by Anony (narrated by Sallei Dean) Confessor would always see someone in a hat and long trench coat walking around in the bedroom, he thought it is just him, until later, the brother said, he saw the same thing too. 3) Know Your Hantu - Something from the Adam's Family Links: BUY US COFFEE! https://www.buymeacoffee.com/scfridaylive Full video, click here: Youtube/SupernaturalConfessions You can submit your confession here: Supernatural Confessions You can join our Facebook group here: SC Private Group, It must be the Hantu

September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month. Now more than ever, the discussion surrounding suicide prevention and mental illness must be a priority. From NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness): September is National Suicide Prevention Awareness Month—a time to share resources and stories in an effort to shed light on this highly taboo and stigmatized topic. We use this month to reach out to those affected by suicide, raise awareness and connect individuals with suicidal ideation to treatment services. It is also important to ensure that individuals, friends and families have access to the resources they need to discuss suicide prevention. NAMI is here to help. This week’s guest is Gina Schuster. She lost her husband, Corey Schuster, to suicide. Jill Devine went to middle and high school with both Gina and Corey, so this conversation was very special to Jill. She was incredibly honored that Gina was willing and ready to share Corey’s story. In the episode, Gina opened up to Jill about the ongoing struggles Corey dealt with and the different treatments he tried up until his death. Corey and Gina have three children: Evan (13), Tessa (11), and Mason (8). In 2011, Corey was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Both Corey and Gina agreed they wanted the kids to know about his diagnosis because of the ups and downs Corey faced regularly. Gina provided some resources for those who are suffering from mental illness, suicide loss survivors, and family activities to help ease the pain. Resources: *Suicide Prevention Lifeline 800-273-TALK (8255) / Crisis Text Line, text TALK to 741741 *NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) *Annie’s Hope *Arise Equine Therapy  *Facebook – search “Modern Widows Club St Louis Chapter” *The Missouri Chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention has a great program called “Talks Saves Lives”. Lastly, Gina organized a walk on behalf of Corey. Money raised goes towards suicide prevention. You can donate or join Gina’s team. Search for “Corey’s Crew”. The walk is happening Sunday, September 27th at 1p. New to Season 4, the Supermom Shoutout! Jill would like to acknowledge and recognize the hard work moms put in on the daily. It can be a thankless job at times, and Jill wants these moms to know their worth. Jill is nominating this week’s Supermom and it should be no surprise that she’s nominating Gina. Before her husband’s death, she always put Corey and her kiddos before her own needs. Now, she is raising her three children alone and she’s helping them grieve, as well as grieving herself. She doesn’t quit and she will never give up. Gina – YOU are seen and YOU are supported! To nominate a Supermom (or you can nominate yourself) email hello@jilldevine.com. Submit the name of the Supermom, where they're from, and a brief description as to why Jill should shout out this particular Supermom. Two Kids and A Career Website: https://www.jilldevine.com/ Two Kids and A Career Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jilldevine/?hl=en Two Kids and A Career Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JillDevineMedia/ Thank you to our sponsor: Blondin Professional Real Estate

Key Takeaways:03:43 - Self meditation08:47 - Connect with your employees as a salon owner14:22 - Being a salon owner16:36 - Right person for the salon industry18:54 - Why do most salon staff leave their jobs?22:14 - Health is wealthQuotes:“You can be a lot more vulnerable because it's just you, and you're just feeling the feels, you're living within yourself. Sometimes it's hard to do that, personally.” (03:56) (Jay)“When you're left with your own thoughts, then you might be distracting yourself from every single day.” (04:05) (Jason)“No stylists left behind.” (05:20) (Jason)“Bigger groups of people leave more room for diversity.” (06:46) (Gina)“It's important to connect one-on-one with them.” (08:26) (Jay)“If you've tried to force somebody into something they don't want, then find why do that? I mean that's like the dumbest thing in the world.” (10:10) (Doug)“People don't quit salons, they quit leaders.” (13:43) (Gina)“It's crazy, people want to be seen, heard, valued, and want to live a beautiful life. And it's sad. It makes me really sad to read just what people are going through. So I'm really passionate about that, I think that salon owners are the most amazing unsung heroes. We love salon owners.” (18:05) (Gina)“People support what they help create.” (19:49) (Gina)“You shouldn't be a 100% booked, if you're a hundred percent booked, stop.” (22:08) (Jay)“Creating a safe space is my biggest tip, and it's not easy. It's a lot of work.” (24:06) (Gina)

In today's episode, we're going to show you how to work from home teaching English online. FULL TRANSCRIPT Jocelyn: Hey, y'all. On today's show, we're going to show you how to work from home teaching English online. Shane: Welcome to the Flipped Lifestyle Podcast, where life always comes before work. We're your hosts, Shane and Jocelyn Sams. We're a real family that figured out how to make our entire living online, and now we help other families do the same. Are you ready to flip your life? All right. Let's get started. Shane: What's going on, everybody? Welcome back to The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast. It is great to be back with you again today. Super excited for this episode, because we are kicking off a new series here on The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast, all about different ways to work from home and make money online. You know, Jocelyn and I and the community ... We have a lot of trainings about a lot of different things you can do online. You can offer goods, you can offer services, you can offer digital products, you can offer physical products, you can do coaching, but most of our focus is on membership-based websites. Now, I- Jocelyn: And essentially becoming a business owner. Shane: Yeah. And when you become a business owner, that can mean a lot of different things you have to learn and a lot of different responsibilities. You got to build a website, you got to manage your brand, you got to manage your social media presence, you got to create courses and content, and that can be very overwhelming for people. And a lot of people have asked us, "What are some other ways to work from home? What are some other ways to make money online? What are some other ways to live the flipped lifestyle, to get to control my schedule, to get to work when I want to and be more available for my family and for my kids?" So that's where this series came from. We are going to be bringing on a number of guests who make money online and work from home in different ways such as creating and selling courses or even owning and operating a membership. And our first guest in this series is Jocelyn's friend Gina. Gina, welcome to The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast. Gina: Thank you. Jocelyn: Yes, we are excited to talk to you today. And Gina's actually someone who I know in real life. We used to work together a few years ago. And of course, we were Facebook friends, and I see she is always posting cool stuff about her job. And I sent her a message not too long ago, and I said, "Would you be willing to come onto our podcast and talk about what it is that you're doing?" So let's get into that just a little bit. Tell us a little bit about you and your family and what it is that you are doing online. Gina: Okay. I have a large family. I have eight kids at home, and I teach ... Well, English as a second language to Chinese children at home. So I have been doing that a little over a year now, and it is the best job I have ever had. Shane: I bet. Gina: It is. Shane: It's probably the best break you've ever had, as well. Gina: It is, actually, and most people would think you want to be with kids more, but yes. And I actually get up at three, four in the morning to do that. It's just an awesome job. Shane: So what is your background? Okay, we're going to get into teaching English as a second language online. So you actually do this live, right? This actually happens online? Gina: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Shane: Okay. So what is- Gina: Yes. Shane: What is your background? What were you doing before the eight children arrived or you did this online? Gina: In the midst of it. I was ... Actually, I worked at the school, and my degree is in psychology, so I had started working on my Masters a little bit, but it wasn't in teaching. And you do not have to have a teaching degree to do this, but you do need to have a degree. But I did work at the school for about six ... A little over six years, and it just ... It wasn't a lot of money. The flexibility wasn't as great. Although I was off during the summer. But I decided to stay home when my youngest one was born, and I wasn't sure what I was going to do when she got school-aged, but I knew I wanted to go back to work but wasn't sure about finding a job that was flexible enough for me to take off if I needed to ... if my kids were sick or if there was doctor's appointments or that would also compensate me for my degree. So I kind of looked into stay-at-home jobs. A lot of them were data entry. A lot of them were this and that, and I stumbled upon this, and it was just like, "Wow." I mean, it was a life-changing decision for me. Jocelyn: Yeah, that's awesome. And what Gina didn't mention is that ... Of course, we live in a super small area, so even though you've gone to college, even though you have a degree, it's not always easy to find good jobs, and particularly ones that are flexible. And that's why a lot of people work at the school system, and I suspect that's why you worked for the school system as well. Gina: Absolutely, yes it was. It was so when the kids were off, I would be off. I would have my summers off and that kind of thing. But in this situation, when I found this job, it was ... I just make my own hours, and I'm actually ... I start around five o'clock in the morning. I could work all night if I wanted to, but I start around four or five. I end around 10 am, and I'm done for the day, and I get paid really well to do that, and I get to teach children and love what I do, and I get to do it at home in my pajamas, and I don't have to get out- Shane: Without ... You don't need a shower. Just get up. Do whatever you want. Make your coffee, right? Gina: You know what, it doesn't ... Yes. It doesn't matter if I've had a shower. Nobody knows. So it's great. It's great. Shane: What does something like this pay? Let's talk about the job first. So you said you get up in the morning, and you literally are working with these kids that are in China, I guess, teaching them English. So are you on a Skype call? Is it a group call with a bunch of kids? Is it one-on-one? What are you actually doing during these hours that you're working? Gina: Well, the company that I work for will ... They do the curriculum and they do everything, so there's no paperwork on my end or anything like that. So I am one-on-one with the students. So it's only one-on-one with this particular company. And I get up, and it's like you have a teacher's portal. So you log in to the teacher's portal. I am not that tech savvy, so it's okay. But I have learned a lot, and they will walk you through ... You know, with workshops and different things to help you, but you ... It's almost like you're FaceTiming someone, but it's the student on the other end, and they are in Beijing, and ... A lot of them are in Beijing, because it's the whole country of China, so there's different cities and areas, and I have 25 minutes that I teach one student, and one class is 25 minutes long. Gina: So you teach them that ... It's a slideshow, so it pulls up on the teacher's portal. All you do is log into your classroom. They have booked your class. You don't have to do anything other than just open the times that you want to teach and that you're available, and then the company is actually the one that talks to the parents, because they can speak Chinese. I do not speak Chinese. And they book the classes for you, and all you do is you have an app. You can check who's booked your classes. You log in at the time that you have chosen to open up, and the student's right there in front of you. Shane: That's amazing. So it's like having a business, but you don't have to go find your own leads. They just find them for you and they book your calendar, and there's so many kids over there doing this, you probably just always have a booked calendar, right? Gina: Oh, you do. In the very beginning, it's almost ... You get a couple here and there trickle in. And then once they start giving you good reviews, then you just get more, and then they can ... Now I have so many wanting to book me that I can't keep up with it, and I have to close slots. It's very ... And the kids. You build a connection with the families and with the kids, and then I also ... WeChat is what it's called over in China. They don't have Facebook. But you can talk back and forth with the parents, because a lot of them do speak English, and you just get to know. You have a good rapport with the family. And I have a family that actually wants to come visit over here. Jocelyn: Oh, that is so cool. Gina: So it is very ... They send you videos. They'll say, "Look what we did today," and I have built so many connections across the world just over this job. It's pretty unbelievable. Jocelyn: Yeah, that is awesome. And you do have a little bit of autonomy as far as the way that you present the material, right? Because I know I've seen some of your videos where you've worn princess crowns and different types of things. Shane: Just fun stuff. Gina: Yeah. You do. Because the girls and boys ... They like different things, and you are to give them a reward. That's their motivation. So as you're doing the lesson, you will say, "Great job," and you give them a star, and it's digital. And they also have a ton of digital Snapchat kind of things. You can make yourself have bunny ears, and just ... It's kind of something fun. It gets the kids laughing, relaxed, comfortable, then they learn better. And anyway, they do have rewards. I'll do princesses. I can put on ... You get a crown and I'll put it on myself. Or you get earrings, and they're kind of like, "Wow, beautiful." And it's just a great connection to have as they're learning English. And they pick up quick. Shane: Tell me about the hours, then. So you do it really in the morning, but you also have a huge family, so you've got ... I can't keep up with two kids. I don't know how you're doing ... I have to be honest, you just became one of my ... We have a Mount Rushmore of awesome parents, people that have seven or more kids. You are now on the Mount Rushmore of these parents. But- Gina: Well, thanks. Shane: Did you pick the early hours, or it's just really necessary to do that because of the time zone differences, or a little of both? Gina: No, it's a little of both, maybe, but ... You have ... It's a 12-hour time zone difference, so when it's 8 AM here, it's 8 PM there. Now in China, they do ... When they get home from school, they do lessons. They have English lessons. Almost every family. It's unbelievable. But there are over 60,000 teachers that teach for this company. So they have ... They'll come home, and they'll do a class, which is just 25 minutes. So you can open up spots anywhere from 7:30 PM at this time here all the way until 10 AM. So if you want to teach from 7:30 PM until 11 ... Which it doesn't work for me, because my kids, that's bed time. But you can do that, or you can get up early like I do and teach from four to 10, or you can teach from midnight to four. It's your choice, and I have no problem getting booked at any time during, because there's always even preschool ... Because the kids were age ranged from three years old ... Yes. Some of them speak better English than my four-year-old here, but ... Shane: That's what happens in Kentucky. I'm just saying. Gina: It is, I know. It's really bad. So ... But from three all the way to 16. So you do have kids that aren't in school yet that can take a 10 AM morning class in China, and it's 10 PM our time. So you create your own schedule on what works for you, and that's why it's so great. Shane: Wow. So if you're going to be out of town or something, you can just basically block off, "I'm not going to be ..." If you're going on vacation, you can just say, "Hey, guys, I'm not going to be able to do it this week," or you literally could just bring your computer if you wanted to and do it from anywhere. You just have to have your laptop with you. Gina: There are many teachers that work for this company that actually travel around the world and teach. There is a teacher that I know that lives in Switzerland, actually, and she doesn't really live there, but she is staying there right now, and she is traveling around, and she just has her laptop. All you need is your laptop. Shane: That's amazing. Gina: So you can go anywhere. Yes it is. Shane: See, that's what we see. We call it "the flipped lifestyle." There's a lot of funny stuff of how we got that name, but what we really mean is the world tells us "You have to have a 9-5. You've got to be sitting in your desk. You have to follow the rules. You've got to build this life exactly like we say it has to be," and we're like, "No, you could literally flip that upside down and live however you want. If you want to get up at 5 AM and work and make money online, you can do it. If you want to live in Switzerland and travel Europe, all you need is your laptop. If you want to be like us, we work from home or anywhere we travel. That's what we do. We just bring our laptop with us." That's what the flipped lifestyle is. That's why we're bringing this new series in, is we want people to realize that there is unlimited opportunity to make a living online. There's unlimited opportunity to build the exact schedule you want. Shane: Like this morning ... We stayed up really late last night. My brother was in town, and I think it was like 10:30 or 11 before we even laid down. So we slept in a little bit this morning. We got up, we did a member call with about 45, 50 people at nine o'clock. We stopped and went and hung out with the kids. I rode my exercise bike, and Jocelyn made a phone call. And then Jocelyn just took off her robe as she was sitting down for this podcast interview. I'm in sweatpants and a t-shirt and flip-flops right now, and we got on the call with you. And then the next thing will be ... The next thing that Jocelyn's going to homeschool co-op next. So then we'll come back, go to a basketball game, and then maybe I'll do a little work before bed tonight. It's just amazing the life you can build because we have this crazy tool like the internet that can connect us with an entire other country that doesn't even speak our language. It's amazing. Gina: It's so ... It is amazing, because I can be teaching a student, and it's dark there, and I can show them my window and say, "Look here," and they're like, "Oh my goodness." It's amazing, because the crickets are chirping in China, and I am teaching this. Or I can be in the evening at a basketball game, and I can open some classes at 10 PM, 10:30, and I'm like, "Well, I got to go because I got to teach a couple classes," and I can pull in 10 minutes before my class starts, get on my laptop and teach and make money for an hour or two. I just get to choose that. And we have talked many times in our family ... Eventually, if the kids get older, we would like to move to North Carolina where my family is. Well, a typical job that you would have ... "What am I going to do? I've got to apply somewhere? I've got to see if I can transfer." But you know what? I don't have to worry about that, because I could go anywhere, and- Shane: Your job comes with you. Gina: I don't have to ever leave. Shane: Right. Your job comes with you, basically. Gina: Yes. So I can go anywhere. I can go on vacation. When I go on vacation, I can close it out like you had asked. I make my schedule two weeks in advance. If I know something's coming up, I just don't open those slots, so they're not available to students to book. But if something happens, you can cancel. You can cancel things. They like you not to, but. But if you're going on vacation, you just don't open slots. So you get to control that. It's amazing. It really is. Shane: Yeah. What's amazing about hearing your story is it's so different than what we do. Because we have a lot ... I feel like we have a lot more moving parts, but it's also other stuff that we like to do. I like to go out and try to find new clients. I like to ... The lead-generation part is something that I really dig. That's my jam. That's what I like to do. But you were kind of like, "I don't want to own this whole business. I just want to be a part of something that I can control my schedule." And there's so much flexibility and freedom to just build whatever you decide. You don't have to do what me and Jocelyn do. You can do what Gina does. You don't have to do what Gina does. You can build it like another way. Jocelyn: Yeah, and I just ... I have loved watching all of the stuff that you post. It's very obvious to me that this is something that you just really, truly enjoy. Tell people about your set-up, where it's at, because I get a kick out of that too. Gina: I am in the laundry room. So I actually sit right by the washer and dryer, and I just have a little desk and my laptop, and a bunch of my kids toys' are different props. Which I've not spent any money on actually, but a whiteboard. And nobody sees what's around. Now I will say that there have been times that I have had the dryer going, and it goes ... My kids are like, "I hear something." I'm like, "It's the dryer." And they think it's so funny. Shane: That is hysterical. Gina: But yeah, I teach from the laundry room, and it's just ... I can go anywhere. Sometimes I can take my laptop and move it with my camera and show them Christmas decorations that we do with the Christmas tree, and they're like, "Whoa." Shane: Do you just shine them at a wall or something so it looks like you're ... [crosstalk 00:16:59]. Jocelyn: Well, she has decorations. Shane: Oh, like behind you. So you've got the ... So it's just like a set. It reminds me of ... You know what's his name, Bear Grylls, Man Vs. Wild? You ever seen that show where the guy- Gina: No. Shane: Okay, so there's this show called Bear Grylls: Man Vs. Wild. He goes out into the wilderness, and he's like, "Here's how you survive in the Arctic," and "Here's how you survive a volcano," and all this stuff. Jocelyn: He drinks urine and all this. Shane: Yeah, he drinks urine and eats spiders and all this crazy stuff. He looks like he's actually out in the wilderness, but I watched this expose on him one time, and there was this one where he looks like he's climbing a mountain, and they pan back, and he's laying flat, and they just turned the camera sideways so it would look like he's climbing the mountain. And there's a road right behind him. And you're like, "I'm teaching in my classroom, but I'm really doing laundry at the same time." Gina: Yeah, it is essentially kind of the same, because I have a board behind me, and it's got the ABCs and it's got some of my things. But honestly, three feet over is a pile of towels and a bunch of clothes. Shane: So how- Gina: Dirty clothes. Shane: So tell us again, how much can someone expect basically to make an hour during this? Now, this particular job, the company that you're working for does require a degree, some kind of college degree, right? Gina: Yes. You have to have some kind of college degree and at least two years' teaching experience. Now you don't have to be a teacher in the classroom. Two years' teaching experience could be homeschooling. It can be coaching if your ... It can be Vacation Bible School. It can be Sunday School classes. Shane: Just working with kids basically. Gina: Anything like that. Yes, some kind of teaching. That's what you need in order to get the job. However, what you make is ... Everybody's brought in around about the same amount give or take 50 cents or a dollar an hour, but you make about 20-25 dollars an hour, depending on the class you teach. So if a student books you within 24 hours, you've opened a slot, it's not been booked, and you only have 24 hours to prepare for that class ... Which you really don't have to prepare, honestly. But you only have 24-hour notice. You get an extra couple dollars on the hour. So if it's a class that is ... It just depends on which kind of class you teach on how much you're getting paid. So it's sometimes 22 an hour, sometimes it's 24, sometimes it's 20. It fluctuates depending on what you were hired in at. Shane: But it's over 20. That's insane. Gina: Oh, absolutely. Yes. Shane: Jobs in our area ... And I know in a lot of areas, you can't just go out and get a 20-dollar-an-hour job. That just doesn't happen. And to be able to do it online, to do it from home, control your schedule, and ... I mean, if you just got ... If you only work 20 hours a week, that's like four or five hundred dollars a week in extra money for your family. $2,000 a month. You said something like ... You said homeschool. I was just imaging the millions of homeschoolers that are out there that are looking for ways to make money. What an amazing experience to teach kids English in China, and your kids might even get to talk to them and meet someone from abroad and understand that the world is a bigger place. Gina: Oh, absolutely. Yes. You can do that, and I mean, yes. And with teaching ... There are lots of teachers that homeschool, actually. There's a Facebook group with this company where you can support one another, talk about different things, and there's homeschooling teachers, and there's teachers that travel, and there's teachers that ... with this company, and so it's such a neat experience to be able to control it all and do what you want to do and like I said, not have to get dressed. You don't have to worry about gas money, clothes money, lunch money. You're right there. It's ... You can ... Shane: That's something that we often talk about with each other, the hidden benefits of working for yourself, and especially if you can work from home. Because you don't realize how much of your life gets poured into traveling from point A to B, or how much gas money you actually spend until you don't have to spend gas money anymore, and you don't realize even the time just to get ready every day, just to prepare your food, just to leave work to go to lunch or ... Man, you get two, three hours of your life back every single day just from working from home that you can then pay forward to your kids, pay forward to your spouse, or even invest back into yourself. Jocelyn: Yeah, and I know that you do a lot of volunteering at school and you're very involved in your kids' lives outside of at home, which is really cool. Gina: Yes, and I don't know that I would be able to do that if I was doing a nine to five desk job. I'm absolutely positive, I wouldn't be able to do as much. I don't feel- Shane: Let me ask you this. Gina: Go ahead. Shane: Could you ever go back to a nine to five job now? Gina: No. No. I wouldn't. Shane: Emphatically no, right? Gina: I absolutely wouldn't. Nope. And I've had people ask me, and I actually even tried at one point to maybe try to do another job and then this. But of course, I was hired because I was getting up extra early, but it was just draining. It was getting up, getting ... I don't know, I've been spoiled, okay? And I make good money doing this, and it's just great. And my husband will sometimes say, "Oh, I need to get a sick day, or do this," and I'm thinking, "Sorry," because I don't have to ask anyone for a sick day. I hate that. I don't have to ask permission for anything, because I'm my own boss. So if I'm not feeling well, then I don't open classes. It's just that easy. Shane: This is an interesting take, too, because a lot of people are learning that those college degrees they may have gotten ... Some people are going to have a college degree in history, but not a teacher. They can't be a schoolteacher. Or somebody might have a degree in business, like a general business degree. Jocelyn: Like me. Shane: Like- Gina: Or psychology. Shane: Or psychology. There you go. And they're having trouble finding a job. But now you have something that any college degree could apply for and you could go to and you could do. Gina: Yes. I actually ... They do provide workshops, and they're all free. So once you're hired, you can take different things to get certified in different levels, and it's just free education that they help you attain while you're teaching. So I kind of feel like ... I know many teachers now, and actually one in particular, that is retiring soon, and she cannot wait, because she loves to teach, but she feels like that you can't teach as much now in the classroom as you could because of the testing and the paperwork and the discipline that you have and the classroom to deal with, where she does this on the side, and she said, "I cannot wait to retire, because I get to do this all of the time, and make extra income, and I get to be home, and I get to do what I love because it's ..." We don't do curriculum and paperwork and such like that. We do our own thing. You get to do what you love. It's just- Shane: And you get to work one-on-one with students. That's what's amazing to me. Because that's the joy I got as a ... When I was a teacher and a football coach, that was where the joy came from, where it's the one-on-one interactions with the kids, and when you're really just throwing stuff at the group, it's not as fun, because the kid's sleeping in the back, got to fill out the papers ... But it's amazing you can just have these one-on-one interactions with these kids, get to know them, and what a difference. If you teach 20 kids a week, you're teaching 20 kids to speak a second language. Who knows what doors that's going to open up for not only them but the world just interacting back and forth. Gina: Oh, it is. And it's very interesting, because they are very disciplined and diligent about their education over there. So they are ... They ask you questions. The parents ... And feedback ... will ask you things like, "Little Johnny is throwing tantrums," and they like to spank, and they're very hard on them. Gina: So it's just like, "What do you suggest to help?" And sometimes I'm like, "Winston, he's only three. It's okay. He's doing well." But ... Shane: They're so competitive there, they're probably freaking out. And ... Gina: They are. They are. Shane: It's amazing to me, too. A lot of people ask us, "How ... ?" Some people actually want to go down the "entrepreneur" route, the "business ..." "I want my own business, I want everything else," but when they're starting out, they're not making enough extra money to pay for things like website hosting or to pay for advertising, or ... They always say, "I just don't have enough money," and we're like, "There's a lot of other things you can do online to make money. What if you taught five classes a week, made 100 extra dollars a week, 400 extra dollars a month to invest in the other thing that you want to build? There's just no excuse. Jocelyn: Yeah, that's a ... It's a great side-hustle, as people say, just start it up, work as many hours as you can, maybe it would give you the opportunity to quit your nine to five job. Gina: It could, because I tell you, that happens a lot. What I've seen is ... You will think, "Oh ..." Because when I started, I thought, "I'd just like to make an extra 500 a month." And that was my goal. Well now, I can pull in almost 2,000 a month, and it's just working part time. So it's money that's been able to give me to do things with the family and vacations that I would not have been able to do before and I would have had to have worked full-time at a desk job to make what I'm making now and still have the flexibility. Shane: So let me ask you this. So what are ... ? So for someone who is thinking to themselves, "Look, I want to make money online. I want to work from home. I know that we can change our family's future and all this opportunity is in front of me," and they say, "I do want a business, maybe. Maybe I don't want to grow a business. Maybe ... I don't know exactly what I want yet, but this sounds amazing." So what are three to five tips to get started in this? Just how to succeed in it, just preparing your degree, you just fill out an application, do you just ... What are your tips for success for someone who's going into this? How can they stay organized? How can they set it up? What kind of computer do they ... ? Whatever. Just what do they need? Gina: Right. You really all too begin with you need is like a headset, which ... I just got a $25 headset at Walmart. But a headset, a whiteboard just from the dollar store and a computer. I had a hard ... I didn't have a laptop when I first started. The computer was as large as my washer, almost. It was just awful. It was ... You can have that. You would fill out online the application. It's just a basic information and YouTube videos is what I went through. There were YouTube videos of some teachers that worked there, and they, as part of their ... another business that they do, and you ... They kind of walk you through the lessons that they teach, so you can get an idea of what you would be doing, what they look for. Gina: It kind of walks you through the introductory lessons, like showing flashcards and rewards, so you can feel comfortable even before you would do an interview. Because the interviews are live, so when you first fill out an application, they will send you an email. They would say, "You want to do a little live interview." It's like five, 10 minutes, and it's over the internet, like FaceTime, like a class would be. And they send you the link and you can schedule the time, and you can do a little interview telling them about yourself, and then you'd move on to teaching a lesson, and they send you those materials and you can ... I would say watching YouTube, talking to other teachers, joining the Facebook group for this company and feeling around with other people's experiences. Shane: So do they ... So you actually do do an ... How ... You do do an interview with the company, and then you move on to actually teaching. Gina: Mm-hmm (affirmative). Shane: So if someone started today, how long would it take them, basically, to teach their first class, theoretically? Gina: Theoretically. It takes them as long as they would like it to take them, honestly. Some of them go really fast through it. Some of them, I think, have a lot of anxiety on teaching a lesson, and so they book their time. I know a couple who have ... I was hired pretty quick, but some will say, "Okay, I don't want to schedule. I'm not ready for two or three weeks." Some it's been months, and they're still not hired, because they keep canceling their- Shane: But in theory, if they ... Yeah, if they wanted to, they could say, I can apply, I can do my interview, go teach my first course within a couple weeks, basically. Gina: I would give yourself maybe about a month for all of it, just because once you first ... Even if you're hired within a week or a week and a half, with setting up everything, then you want to open your slides, and sometimes it takes a couple weeks or a week or two to get bookings, because you got to do your profile, you have to do a little video of yourself, like "Hey, I'm Teacher Gina," and tell them about where you're from. So to just create all of that and get booked, I would say max about a month. Shane: Yeah. There's always a barrier to entry. If you want this job, if you want to make money, if you want anything good to happen in your life, there's a barrier of entry, because if it was easy, everybody would do it. Gina: Well, right. Shane: You've got eight kids. You've got a family. You had to go through the process, and if you could do it, I would say anybody with less than eight kids ... So that's what- Gina: Absolutely. And I did my interview at 1 AM when I knew no one would bother me, and I scheduled it at that time, and yes, it is ... The first month, I made $10. So I thought ... Everybody starts out somewhere. But it was $10 I didn't have, and then the next month, it was like 500, and then the next month, it was 1700, and then it was ... So it kept increasing to where now, whatever I open gets booked automatically, and it's a fun job. It's amazing that- Shane: Do you have a waiting list or something? You said you're just over ... You can book any slot you wanted. Can the teachers refer to each other? If you have a friend, can you be like, "Oh, I don't have any slots, but my friend Jill does," or whatever. Or like ... Gina: Unfortunately, no. I would love that, though. We have talked about that before. It would be great. If there are different parents and families that have different ... that like different teaching styles, so that's where this company is the liaison between the teachers and the parents. They will ... There are people called LPs which are called Learning Partners, and they speak Chinese and English, and they will facilitate back and forth, "This teacher is really animated," and then "This teacher's more of a low key," because you don't have to be a certain personality. Everybody has different likes. Gina: So they kind of book ... You can't refer another teacher because there's no communication, really, between when they book. Now, there are called priority bookings, and the priority bookings are where the parents can say, "She doesn't have this slot open, but I really would love for my child to be taught at five," and they can send it to you, and you can say yes or no. You can say, "No, I'm sorry. I just don't want to get up that early." You can say whatever you want. Shane: What's crazy is there's a billion people in China. You know what I'm saying? There's no shortage of students. That's like 20, 30 thousand people per teacher that's doing it now. What'd you say, 60,000 people or something like that? Gina: There's over 60,000 teachers right now, yeah. Shane: And even that's not close to enough to serve a billion people. So you couldn't book everybody's schedule, even if you wanted to. It's just a matter of- Gina: You couldn't. Shane: ... system, you know? Gina: No, you couldn't. And there's just ... There's so ... The kids ... They're actually expanding now to 300 more countries, so it's an expanding business that's going to be other countries. It's not just going to be China. So it's just ... They're constantly ... They push, push, push to refer friends, or if you know anybody that has ... that's interested because the interview process can be a little grueling, but it's cake once you get hired. Shane: Yeah. It's just getting over the obstacle, and once you get past the speed bump, it's smooth sailing from there. Gina: Absolutely. Yes. Mm-hmm (affirmative). Yes it is. That's what I tell people. It's just so worth it. It really is. I ... My husband will say, "Are you teaching again?" And I'm like, "I think it's almost addicting," and I've never had a job where I feel like- Shane: Well, they send you money for sitting in your laundry room. Gina: Yeah. Shane: Pretty awesome. Gina: I know. Shane: Let's be realistic Gina: I'm like, "Sorry, going to the laundry room." Shane: That's what we tell everybody about online business, is it's hard in the beginning. There is a barrier to entry to all of these things, like different ways to make money online. But gosh, the reward is something that didn't even exist for humanity 20 years ago. That's what people don't get is like this is the first time in human history a life like this was possible, and it's crazy to just waste away in the way we've done it for the first 10,000 years when you could do it the way you can do it now. Jocelyn: For sure. And we ... I mean, we definitely want people to be able to get more information from you, so what we're going to do is we are going to set up a page- Shane: Yup. It's at flippedlifestyle.com/teachingenglish, and that's all one word. So T-E-A-C-H-I-N-G-E-N-G-L-I-S-H. Flippedlifestyle.com/teachingenglish, and if you are someone who is stuck right now and you don't know what you want to do next- Jocelyn: Yeah, if this sounds appealing to you- Shane: If you're looking at making a little money to support the bigger business that you're building, maybe to get some ad revenue going, pay for hosting- Jocelyn: Or maybe you just don't want to be business owner. Like it's just not something that really appeals to you, but the idea of making some extra money is something that really appeals to you. Shane: Then go to flippedlifestyle.com/teachingenglish, and we will have more information there, and we will connect you directly to Gina. So she's the expert. She knows about this field. We're so thankful, Gina, that you came on the show and were so transparent and just giving your time away to us to tell people about this opportunity. So we will connect you with Gina, and she will guide you and tell you how you maybe can get online, teach a few classes today, and make 20, 25 bucks an hour that you can use however you ... So again, that's flippedlifestyle.com/teachingenglish. And you can get all that information. Jocelyn: All right. We are going to wrap this up for today. Gina, thank you so much for your time, and sharing your experience. Gina: Thank you. Jocelyn: It's been awesome to talk to you, and I can't wait to hear about your next adventures with your students. Gina: Thank you so much, guys. Thank you. Shane: All right, guys. That wraps up another episode of The Flipped Lifestyle Podcast. What an amazing opportunity and story that we heard today from Gina, being able to work in your laundry room and talk to kids on the other side of ... literally, on the other side of the planet, exactly 12 time zones away, and make money online. Make money anywhere in the world, be able to make more time for your kids and your family. There's so many opportunities to make money online and work from home right now. It's crazy not to explore all of your options. We cover a lot of options, how to make money online and work from home inside of the Flip Your Life community. We would love to have you in our community so you can explore all the different opportunities and options and find your path to change your family's future. Shane: To learn more about the Flip Your Life community, go to flippedlifestyle.com/flipyourlife, all one word. That's F-L-I-P-P-E-Dlifestyle.com/flipyourlife. And you can learn about all of the courses, coaching, and community options that we have available for you. Our mission is to help you start an online business, make money online, work from home, and flip your family's life just like we did. We can't wait to see you inside. That's all the time we have for this week. Until next time, get out there. Do whatever it takes. Live your life. Jocelyn: Bye. Links and resources mentioned on today's show: Click here for more information on how to teach English online Flip Your Life Community Enjoy the podcast; we hope it inspires you to explore what's possible for your family! Join the Flip Your Life Community NOW for as little as $19 per month! https://flippedlifestyle.com/flipyourlife

Welcome to this episode of the Real Fast Results podcast!  Gina Henry is today’s special guest.  She is an expert when it comes to being able to travel and make money at the same time.  In fact, when this episode was recorded, she was in Austin, Texas, traveling and visiting friends, but at the same time, she taught a group about how to travel and make money.  So, Gina had actually been traveling and making money herself. Promise: How to Travel for Free Well, I think the importance of travel… I know in my life, and [that of] many of our listeners and viewers, it’s stimulating.  You’re learning, you’re seeing things differently, you’re meeting new people, you’re exposed to new cultures, even if you are here in the U.S. traveling.  There’s a stimulation, I think, and I get so much out of it.  It helps me with my writing, my speaking, my business ideas, and my brainstorming.  It gets you out of a rut.  Download the Complete PDF Show Notes Free for this Episode [bctt tweet="When we get too much routine in life and get sidetracked, we just need to get our focus back. For me, travel is what does it." via="no"] You can not only use your travel for inspiration, but also, at the same time, maybe work on the road.  That can make part of your trip a business trip, and a possible tax reduction (part of it). But, the whole idea is that you’re out there, getting inspiration, and you’re coming up with new ideas.  Maybe you’ll have time to focus on those ideas, and maybe without some of the distractions that you may have at home. Download the Complete PDF Show Notes Free for this Episode Learn Financing travel Top opportunities Become a tour coordinator Promote the trip There are tour companies you can work with (see links in Resources) Be open to volunteering Use a frequent flyer rewards program Teaching English overseas Download the Complete PDF Show Notes Free for this Episode Connecting with Gina You can look at my website, which is GinaHenry.com.  You can also email me at GinaHenryTravel@gmail.com.  You can see my class schedule on my website.  I’m all over the country, in 90 different cities, and I spend several months out of the year out of the country.  You’re welcome to join me.  My whole plan is to take people out there traveling and help you to really have the confidence, the time, and the money to be able to travel as much as you want. Resources GinaHenry.com SpecialtyTravel.com Go Ahead Tours EF Tours Intrepid Travel Overseas Adventure Travel Collette Tours International Executive Service Corps TransitionsAbroad.com Travelzoo Gate1Travel.com ESLFocus.com Real Fast Results Community If you are diggin’ on this stuff and really love what we’re doing here at Real Fast Results, would you please do me a favor? Head on over to iTunes, and make sure that you subscribe to this show, download it, and rate & review it. That would be an awesome thing. Of course, we also want to know your results. Please share those results with us at http://www.realfastresults.com/results. As always, go make results happen!

Welcome to this episode of the Real Fast Results podcast!  Gina Carr is with us today.  Gina has a masters degree in business administration.  It’s a Harvard MBA.  She is known as “The Tribe Builder”.  That’s why she’s on the show.  It’s one of the goals of this podcast to encourage you to always be building your own tribe.  You need to have your own raving fan base.  Gina is a great resource to turn to for this.  She knows precisely how to do it, and as a matter of fact, she’s been helping passionate people do so for a long time now. Gina is also an expert in marketing.  She works with organizations and uses online reputation management, Wikipedia marketing, and event marketing to boost the bottom line of businesses and individuals that she works with.  She is also the co-author of a great book, titled Klout Matters: How to Engage Customers, Boost Your Digital Influence – and Raise Your Klout Score for Success.  Klout, for those of you who don’t know, is basically a social media scoring site.  Gina, welcome to the show… Promise: How to Qualify for a Wikipedia Page Thank you.  I’m honored to be here.  Our big, bold promise today is that if you get a Wikipedia page, it’s going to greatly enhance your reputation and your credibility, as perceived by others.  So, it’s going to make you look good, and it gives you more credibility in the world.  Definitely, more “street cred”. Download the Complete PDF Show Notes Free for this Episode We’re going to talk about how to qualify to get one of these pages.  It’s the kind of thing that not everyone can have.  [bctt tweet="It takes some serious qualifications to be able to get a Wikipedia page, and most people don’t qualify." via="no"]That’s why getting a Wikipedia page is so prestigious. Most people know that most people don’t qualify to get a Wikipedia page.  So, when someone is doing a search for you, your organization, your product, your service, your book, they are going to see it.  Usually, it’s one of the top items in search results. People see that you have a Wikipedia page, and it’s like, “Oh!”  It just adds a real layer of credibility.  I’m sure each of the members of this audience have experienced this when they were looking for someone or something and find that there’s a Wikipedia page.  It causes a person’s perception of something to go up another notch. Download the Complete PDF Show Notes Free for this Episode Learn The benefits of having a Wikipedia page How having a Wikipedia page can open doors for you How to qualify for a Wikipedia page You need to have extensive, substantive press How your career effects your qualification Focus on getting press Being quoted as an expert Getting recognition at a local level Klout score Download the Complete PDF Show Notes Free for this Episode Connecting with Gina You can, of course, connect with me through RealFastResults.com/wiki, but I also have a website.  It’s GinaCarr.com.  It has a “Contact Me” tab, and all of my social links are there.  My main social “Bat Channel” is Facebook.  So if you want to contact me directly, you can get in touch with me through the website and/or through Facebook. Resources RealFastResults.com/wiki Klout Matters: How to Engage Customers, Boost Your Digital Influence – and Raise Your Klout Score for Success Steve Alten Real Fast Results Community If you are diggin’ on this stuff and really love what we’re doing here at Real Fast Results, would you please do me a favor? Head on over to iTunes, and make sure that you subscribe to this show, download it, and rate & review it. That would be an awesome thing. Of course, we also want to know your results. Please share those results with us at http://www.realfastresults.com/results. As always, go make results happen!