Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: You.
[00:00:02] Speaker B: Ice cream. Creamy, cool, delicious ice cream. That's what the incredible couple we're chatting to today, the cold get to do for a living. Make ice cream. And boy, do they do it well. But today we're digging beyond the tasty veneer of their lives and unpacking their journey toward the impressive business they've built from the ground up. From landing on Aussie Shores in 2015 to becoming an indelible part of thousands of West Aussie's magical holiday memories. We hear how this super couple have united in their dreams together and gone after them as a full team. Let's get into it with Mati and Kaitlyn Kuld.
Hey, we're Kim and Roger and we're here to show couples how to get the best out of their relationship so they can start living their dream life together.
[00:00:46] Speaker C: We're a West Aussie couple who are living the life of our dreams. We don't entertain the word should, we think about the future as a field of possibilities and we let joy be our compass.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: We've taken the simple idea of working as a team and applied it to our marriage and it's been a game changer, allowing us to work out what truly lights us up in life and to go after it together.
[00:01:04] Speaker C: From living in snowy Japan to starting our own house dripping business, we've achieved some big dreams and most importantly, we feel fulfilled and are having the most fun we've ever had.
[00:01:12] Speaker B: Hear conversations from inspiring couples, thoughts from relationship experts, and tales from our own lives as we help you to gain the wisdom and skills you'll need to turn your relationship into a real team.
[00:01:22] Speaker C: These are relationship conversations for real people, by real people. So sit back, get comfortable in whatever tickles you pickle, and enjoy living the team life.
So I really appreciate you coming on the Living the team Life podcast. And a question we love to ask all our guests up front is, how did you guys first meet?
[00:01:49] Speaker D: Well, you want to start that one? It was in Tennessee, Chattanooga, Tennessee, of all places. They music festival called Bonnaroo because I'm.
[00:01:58] Speaker A: From Michigan and medieval is from Toronto. So we were like 17 hours away from both of our homes.
[00:02:05] Speaker D: Yeah, so it's like a three day festival. We didn't meet until the second day, but her tent happened to be just behind us and it was kind of weird.
[00:02:15] Speaker A: We lost at first sight.
[00:02:20] Speaker D: Literally were inseparable after that first day. And then from there after festival, we both got home and then felt like we needed to see if it was for real. And then the following week, I think I went to Michigan for five days, like, just right off the cuff. And then we spent that time together. And then after that, it was pretty much every week we would do six and a half hour drive from Toronto to Michigan. One of us either way. And then was it six, three, four.
[00:02:48] Speaker A: Months later, I moved to Toronto just because we were spending all of our time going back and forth. And we just thought, we can do this for a couple of years and see if it works, or we can just dive in and start living together and see how it goes.
[00:03:02] Speaker D: We'll know sooner rather than later, instead of dragging it out over years. If it's compatible. Let's see if it works. And we were both in a place where we could do that, so we did. And it was then a year later.
[00:03:14] Speaker A: We moved to Australia, as you do, to travel around. That's crazy.
[00:03:18] Speaker B: So was this 2014, 2013?
[00:03:24] Speaker A: Nine years ago?
[00:03:27] Speaker B: Now I feel creepy and stalker like.
[00:03:30] Speaker A: I think.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yeah, it was really interesting as you describe that, Maddie, the idea of when you meet someone, and I think we experience the same thing, there's such a strong connection that you just know in your soul that you want more of this person. And I think people think it's lust, but I wonder if it's a recognition of parts of yourself. We find people that reflect our truest souls and give us a sense of safety. That's what one of the core things we look for as humans. Is that what you sort of felt, either of you, in that moment, do you think?
[00:04:13] Speaker D: Yeah, deep down you needed more. There's something there that you had to explore deeper and you weren't willing to walk away was, I think the safety.
[00:04:23] Speaker A: Part that you just said. I've always felt safe with Maddie. I've always felt protected and loved in every aspect of every aspect of our relationship. And I felt that the second I met him, even just at a festival, I felt wrapped around by him. When I'd go Toronto, I felt that. So I actually never thought about it like that. But he definitely is a safe spot for me. Safe space for me.
[00:04:47] Speaker B: I think, Caitlin, you're right. I think women really seek out that safety naturally, I'm sure, evolutionary in some regard, looking for the protector, and that's not sexist at all. It might sound like that, but it's not at all. I think we are a byproduct of evolution, and I definitely saw the same thing in myself when I reflected. Took me a long time to work out what that was. And that sense of being able to trust someone is so powerful. I'm going to be okay. Here, they're going to accept me for who I am and love me unconditionally. And it's kind of magical when you find someone like that off the bat. Not the easiest thing to find, though.
[00:05:27] Speaker A: No, totally. And I think that's why we were so quick to jump, because we both did feel that.
[00:05:33] Speaker D: And I think, yeah, a lot of the time when you're dating beforehand, if one person comes on too strong or whatever, it pushes you away, but it's the opposite when it's the right situation, pull each other tighter. It's like a ratchets both of you in.
And then as you start going through life, bonds get deeper because you're going through more things and you start to see different levels of how dependable this person really is. And it really does morph and change and become even more deep.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: There's no choice in that regard. Especially when you throw kids in the mix. Right. It's getting deep whether you like it or not. Because once you've been in that labor room, if you aren't already at that point with your partner, there's no going back.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: That really is because we have three kids. That's been one of my favorite because we've had three home births and just Maddie is my support person. He is like, literally, it's a spawn that you can't even describE. And I just want just him, and I don't want anyone else around.
I'd rather just be just us because he is that strength and that comfort and that.
Yeah, it's just a bond you can't even describe.
[00:06:47] Speaker C: I know in the initial three years of our relationship. So Kim and I have been together since, like, 2002. And we met first sort of couple of weeks at uni. And for the first three years, we were inseparable. And then as sort of, life got away from us and we were in our twenty s and early 30s together, we drifted apart a bit. And then probably the last ten years and definitely the last five, six years, we are again inseparable. And not only that, we feel that that actually gives us more strength to go and start our own business, to do a podcast. And it seems to have given us momentum so that safety actually becomes a launching pad for doing great things.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: I will agree with that as well.
[00:07:33] Speaker D: Yeah, you're not as worried about hitting a wall or running into problems because, you know, you have that.
[00:07:45] Speaker C: Of. Speaking of leveling up in life, you guys came to Australia and you planned to do a tour of Australia, but you stayed in Perth. Can you talk us? I guess that evolution of what happened there and all of a sudden you're a West Australian icon.
[00:08:02] Speaker D: Yeah, it was gradual.
I think initially it was just supposed to be a few months. We're just going to grab a couple of jobs. Like I've got a job working at Barrick it and was cutting hair and we just spending some time. But then the longer we spent, the more we started to fall in love with it. It's like Perth has. Coming from a big city like Toronto, Perth has all those amenities, but just doesn't have the population issues.
You have everything at your disposal and it's just. I don't know.
[00:08:33] Speaker A: And it's sunny every day.
[00:08:35] Speaker D: Yeah, big one.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: I mean, Winter doesn't really exist in Perth. Right.
[00:08:42] Speaker A: When you've lived somewhere like seasonal depression is real and there's just a vibrancy with the weather, with the people. It's just this culture of this slower pace which we brought our American self into the business by working too much. But everything around us gave that slow, that piece that we needed.
[00:09:06] Speaker D: But it's nice to be surrounded by that, even if you are working hard, because when you do take your foot off the gas or come up for air, there's such a lovely lifestyle and everybody's in a good mood. It's rare to just. I don't know, I feel like it's just really a unique place that nobody understands until they come visit as well.
[00:09:26] Speaker B: I 100% agree with you. And when we started this podcast, we talked about what the brand was going to look like and something we were really passionate about was actually being very clear that we were West Aussies and how amazing it is because it has impacted the people we are. And like you say, that seasonal affective disorder that they talk about, that sad situation people get in with mental health in areas and we've lived in really cold environments as well. And it really is a real thing. It's hard to get yourself going when you haven't had any sunshine on you and everybody's just stuck inside and recycling the air in the same room. And it is a different life.
[00:10:05] Speaker D: Starting your car half an hour before you leave the house just to get it going. Break your windshield and shovel the driveway. All the things I don't miss.
[00:10:13] Speaker B: Yeah. And Perth people just, honestly, if they haven't lived overseas, they couldn't imagine it. I mean, Perth people do whinge about winter, which must just make you chuckle. It makes us chuckle. And we're from here.
[00:10:23] Speaker D: We arrived during winter and we couldn't believe it. We arrived in. Yeah. And it was just know that's the doubts of winter. But these beautiful sunny days, we're walking around the shore and everybody's got these big jackets, but now we've gone soft.
[00:10:37] Speaker A: Definitely.
[00:10:37] Speaker D: We're rugged up, like everybody knows.
[00:10:38] Speaker A: Yeah, we're cold, but the sunshine is such a huge thing.
[00:10:42] Speaker B: You're not rocking a puffer vest, though, like, half of Perth if we go down south. Yeah, exactly.
Okay, so you get to Perth, you had planned to go traveling, and then you change your mind and you decide to open an ice cream business. Can you walk us through what that decision looked like together, how you guys came up with it together, and how you discussed the. I guess, the risks and the possible advantages of kicking off something completely different from what you had planned in your minds when you landed?
[00:11:17] Speaker D: I think we were just not tying ourselves.
We weren't expecting too much of it. We were like, if we can get going, let's just have a go at it and see what happens. And I think also, it's the same thing with you have your safety person, but also, it's like we were so far away from anybody that we knew.
While it's harder to start a business in that scenario, you're also not as worried to fail because you're so isolated. Like, you can fail quietly on the other side of the world and nobody will know about it. So I think that also gave us a lot of confidence to just push through and to see what was possible. But it was really just born out of more, like, ignorance and hopefulness and just trying to have some fun. And we were like, we have this money put away. Traveling will always be there. But this opportunity in this situation, being in Perth and all these little pieces, and we had started making ice cream on our granny flat just for fun. And we just sort of evolved. Let's just run with it, like, see what happens.
[00:12:18] Speaker A: We saw a gap in the market as well. That was something that was huge.
Just wanting to have, like, you talked about your freedom and your flexibility. It was kind of like ours is.
[00:12:28] Speaker D: Kind of before we knew any better.
[00:12:29] Speaker A: Yeah, right.
[00:12:31] Speaker B: Nobody knows in the time. It's only ever when you look back.
[00:12:36] Speaker A: And just, like, a way to just express creatively. We're both super creative. So there was just a lot of things, and I think it was just moving to Australia. We both weren't super happy in our jobs. Maddie was in film, I was doing hair. We had both been doing it for about ten years and could have been successful doing that and kept going, but both of us just kind of felt stuck. And we were like, we didn't move to the other side of the world to just continue what we were doing and being semi happy with, like, we can do whatever we want. And that felt really awesome.
[00:13:07] Speaker D: That felt freedom.
[00:13:08] Speaker A: Yeah, that freedom of that. So we just took a chance. And I do have to say, Maddie, I would have been happy with it just being like a little mom and pop shop, just one shop kind of lifestyle. But Maddie just drove us a little bit further and I've had to trust him every step of the way because he actually is a little bit more savvy business wise, than was, I think I had smaller dreams, and Maddie's always had bigger dreams with it, and I'm glad we went with his drive over mine.
[00:13:41] Speaker B: That's a really interesting dynamic, and I think that comes up from what we've experienced with other friends in business together as well, quite a lot. There's usually one sort of more dominant or stronger player in terms of driving the business, so they're more. That's me in our business. And then there's one who's kind of got a trust, but delivers in other areas in terms of bringing skills to the table. Did you find having the opportunity to trust one another in going into business has had a positive impact on your private relationship as well?
[00:14:18] Speaker D: We've had ups and downs, yeah, it's been very hilly, for sure, just because you're so tapped out emotionally.
Especially when we were at stages where we had the two shops and we would literally separate in the morning. One would be in Fremantle and one would be in Highgate, and we wouldn't see each other till 11:00 that night. We'd done open to close at both shops, and then we just completely shattered. And it's really hard to still be there for your partner when you're that tired. But Caitlin's the reason all that stuff's worked out, because she's very emotionally tuned in. She'll make sure that we have time to go out to make sure we do the coffee in the morning. Even if we are going to work, we're exhausted. We'll still do that. Get a coffee, go walk on the beach, go for a swim in the morning before we go to work. Those are the things that Keep all those little pieces ticking. It just helps carry you through the day. And then you find those days you're like texting and talking more and not just only about work and keeps those. Or I think I go in the other direction.
[00:15:24] Speaker A: And that is a beautiful thing, but sometimes he needs to be reined in, and that's whatever we're working on. He built our entire house, and he would go to work and then get home at 10:00 and then work till four in the morning on the house. And he just has this internal fire that you have to sit on him to stop just so he can.
[00:15:47] Speaker C: I'm sure he doesn't mind that either.
No, but look, it's a very similar situation to Kim and I because she always has these ideas and dreams that just burst out of her, and I feel like I'm just trying to catch them and bring them back in and push them back in and go, yes, but we've only got this much time and space, right? Yeah, let's focus on one. Let's focus on.
[00:16:11] Speaker D: Yeah, but if we start now, think about what.
[00:16:15] Speaker B: It's a certain type of brain, isn't it, Maddie? I'm actually just being tested for ADHD, so it'll be. Quietening this thing down is not easy.
[00:16:26] Speaker D: It's a bit of a curse, but it's also great.
[00:16:28] Speaker B: I completely agree. It's got both sides. And when you find a partner that can embrace that and give you the support you need to quieten it and focus it, it can be magical. And I think that's the beauty of. And I can see it already between you two because of the way you're engaging with us as a team. That's the beautiful thing when you find a teammate, is that you, and it's never perfect. You talk about the hills. Oh, my God. We've been through somilly land as well, and I think that's the nature of trying to. If you want to deepen your bond, you have to go through those ups and downs to get to those deeper places. You won't find out what you're made of until you get there.
[00:17:08] Speaker D: It gets deeper, and that's like, yes, it's so cliche, but it's a reason that's there. It's like you go through shit and you come out stronger on the other side. It's just the way it is, and we always do.
[00:17:18] Speaker A: It's funny because when the shit hits the fan, that's our strongest time together. It's easy times that we're kind of can float off and whatever, but when we actually need each other, we're each other's person, and it is really special, and we've seen that a business thing, being away from family, being here, just so many different ways we've shown up for each other, and it's really cool.
[00:17:44] Speaker C: It's very cliche, but it's almost those challenges that make us stronger, that rift and repair. And because you've got a common purpose, because, you know, you're on the same team, you've got each other's backs when the poop hits the propeller, when things get really tough, you can duke it out and you can go at each other, and then you can sort of step back and go, got that out of my system. Now we know where we both are.
We've put our cards on the table. We're not sitting there with any sort of hidden resentment. We're not sitting with anything left unsaid. And even though it was a tough moment, we go, and now we can get back to work, work on each other and work on our business.
Oh, good, I'm done.
But at the same time, you guys are not only growing a business, you're growing a family. And so before, when you mentioned Kim and I have our North Star, which is flexibility and freedom, because our daughter's autistic and non speaking, she has a lot of challenges. She's amazing. And for us, it's all about making sure that her life is the best life possible and being able to run her own business. Do our podcast, be flexible. It really guides us. So is there anything that I guess really guides and drives you with all the kids in the business to keep you on track?
[00:19:18] Speaker A: I think we were going back and forth with this because we're like, is it the business or is it personal?
What drives us? And I think ultimately, we want that freedom as well. We put in the hard work these last seven years of our business, and it is giving us that flexibility. And we're seeing the benefits with our family.
[00:19:36] Speaker D: With, if you spend more time, you get to choose your schedule a bit more, and if you feel like you haven't spent enough time with the kids that week, you can take that time. You can go and go on a date. You can go do all those things. I think that's just that possibility that you don't find in many situations.
[00:19:57] Speaker A: But I think the kids are a North Star at this stage of our life, and that's driving us to give them the best life just to show up for them. Like, we both had really present parents, and that's something that is really important for both of us. And, yeah, I think they're all consuming right now. I mean, they're four, two and three weeks old.
[00:20:17] Speaker B: Congratulations, by the way. That's absolutely gorgeous. Thanks.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: I think that's really what's driving us right now is just to be able to show up for them.
[00:20:26] Speaker B: It's interesting, isn't it, when you have something so strong like that, how focused your decision making can be? Do you find when you talk about. And obviously your business is growing a lot and it's grown a lot to think that you started in 2015, it's 2023, and we were both discussing, we would consider you an iconic brand, really, in WA now, which is pretty extraordinary for a Canadian and an American who have started an ice cream business.
Do you feel like the decisions that you make around the business now are driven by the value you hold or the why you have for your children?
[00:21:10] Speaker D: That's a good question, yeah. I'm not really sure.
[00:21:15] Speaker A: I would say yes, because everything. We're essentially trying to make our.
We're trying to make our lives easier with the shop, but also growing it so that financial freedom with that. But it's picking the right people and making smart decisions rather than before.
We could take on too much or it didn't need to be, like, the most strategic decision. And now I feel like everything is a really strategic decision.
[00:21:47] Speaker D: A lot more people involved, a lot more people at stake and kids and everything. So, yeah, things are a bit heavier on that front than they once were anyway. Yeah.
[00:21:58] Speaker B: It's interesting, though, isn't it? I absolutely love what you say there about strategic because it's one of the pillars that we talk about a lot. And it's something. In fact, it's probably the driving force in the curriculum we built before we started this podcast, because so many people talk to us and know, how are you guys so happy? Life got harder, and technically, life did get harder for us. When you have a disabled child who is the center of your universe and you have to pivot everything. We left our home in Japan and everything to come here. But having a strategy, being strategic in life is so beneficial in the sense that you know where you're going, you can be very clear cut in the decisions you're going to make. Because if it doesn't align, like you've said, we want to have the flexibility for the children. We don't want to always be in the shop all day. And there's something magical about getting strategic, and it is something that we're super passionate about teaching other people about. Because I think in relationships, people think relationships shouldn't be strategic. That's so unromantic. But we actually have a saying here that planning is freedom. If you want to have the free time to go to the beach. If you want to have the coffee, you're going to have to plan for it. And something we really want to teach people is to stop thinking it's unsexy to plan. It is super sexy to plan because.
[00:23:15] Speaker A: When you, Maddie, are the same people.
[00:23:20] Speaker B: It'S sexy. Right, Maddie, that planning, you get out an Excel spreadsheet. Oh, baby.
[00:23:33] Speaker D: But I don't know, for me as well, it's easy to plan it. It's so hard to execute and stay on. I think that's always been the biggest thing because I'll go off the rails as well, have the plan and then a couple of days go miss, and then all of a sudden you're back and same zinning. So sticking to those.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: But I do agree, planning is sexy because I watch when he does plan. And we have a goal.
[00:23:58] Speaker D: Even if you get the fruits of the planning, you get that coffee, you get the time together or the date.
[00:24:05] Speaker B: Absolutely. Even like we're planning at the moment for our daughter's school holidays because the loss of boundaries over school holidays is really hard for children and it's especially hard for children who are anxious. And our daughter is actually diagnosed with anxiety as well, which is pretty common with autistic children. And so we're spending a lot of time now planning for those school holidays. But the knock on effect of that is that when we get to those days, it's going to be more free because she's going to feel the boundaries around her, she's going to be more regulated, and the whole household's just going to flow more nicely. Now, like you say, Maddie, things go awry. We definitely won't have a perfect seven week holiday set. We know that there's going to be some bumpy times, but on the whole, that planning is going to give us all kind of a containment as we head into the holidays because we know where we're heading and we've got a plan for it. And never perfect, but certainly a far better overall outcome for the family unit.
[00:25:05] Speaker D: Well, it gives you a starting point again, instead of starting from scratch, you have something you can refer to and be like, okay, we're back to this plan. Get going from here.
[00:25:12] Speaker B: That's a great point as well. When you fall off the wagon, there's not that sense of complete and utter overwhelm because, well, that's happened. How do we get back on track? Let's refer to what we were planning to do exactly. And even at a higher level, you can go back to that. Why? Well, what really matters to us and for you guys, you've said the kids. Okay, if that's what really matters to us, let's just work out what would be important for them for the next seven weeks. And that's it. And that's the joy of figuring out what your why is. If nothing else gets attended to but the thing that makes you live every day and feel joy and contentment as a human, it won't matter. It doesn't matter. That's the joy of figuring out what your why is, I think, from our perspective anyway.
[00:25:57] Speaker A: Totally.
So what does your schedule look like for those seven weeks?
[00:26:03] Speaker C: Do you want to know?
[00:26:03] Speaker A: Really?
[00:26:04] Speaker B: Okay, so because she does therapy two days a week, so we have two days of therapy. We have two family bike rides. Bike rides are a big thing for our unit. We have an annex to Roger's bike, so she's able to pedal on the back, which is really lovely and allows us to do more distance as well with her rather than. Obviously, we're still training in terms of actual bike riding skills herself and independence. She has two swims in the pool each morning. She has two activities in the afternoon. Yeah, it's pretty intense. I get right down to it.
[00:26:34] Speaker C: We're trying to get her into rock climbing, all this sort of stuff.
[00:26:38] Speaker B: So Ed has supported rock climbing with a person who specializes in working with children with disability. And because Lola's non speaking, you really have to find people very skilled in that space.
It's not a simple space to work in, but again, it's okay for me. We do all our work. So for the last six months, I've been prepping to be dead in the work zone for seven weeks.
[00:27:00] Speaker D: Yeah.
[00:27:00] Speaker C: So we need to record all our podcasts, which are dropping week after week during the school holidays. We need to record them all in the next eight weeks of school term. Right. All the social media, all that. It just needs to be up front. So when we get to holidays, we can just focus on the kids because as much as we want to say, oh, we'll be able to pump out some work. We've taken lessons learned, which is important to do in life from what happened last school holidays and realized we're not going to get anything done. And I guess for you guys with employees, you're going to have to be like, okay, this is where we got to delegate. You've got like three under five, which is that magic number of everything is about the kids. So when your business is your priority, because you've got to make the numbers, you got to make money. But then you've got three kids where you can't just go, I'm just not going to parent for half a day. It just doesn't work like that, does it?
[00:27:52] Speaker A: It doesn't work like that.
[00:27:55] Speaker B: No. Did mine sound a bit intense? I'm not that bad.
[00:28:01] Speaker A: It makes sense. I think our life would be a little bit smoother if we did plan out our days with the kids a little bit more strategically like that, because I just wake up and I'm, like, wanting to do stuff with them, but it hasn't been planned. And then it's nap time and then you don't get to go because you didn't pack the snacks. I didn't prepare.
[00:28:21] Speaker C: Yeah. Yeah.
[00:28:22] Speaker B: And it is. Do you know what I think the biggest thing for me is, Caitlin? When I find I haven't prepped. And inevitably our daughter gets dysregulated at some point as small children. I mean, obviously autistic children suffer more in that space, but all children get dysregulated, especially on the holidays, day after day of being stuck at home and the routine is different, then I have no support for myself mentally because I have nothing to refer to. So I actually find, for my own mental health, having the plan, it really helps me on a rough day to say, you know what? Even if I didn't get it done today and for whatever reason, it was a shitstorm, and we just write that off, we start again tomorrow and I've got a plan. I don't have to plan in amongst the pressure of holidays. And that's why I guess I do it so far in advance now, because I know our last summer holidays, I can't even tell you barely survived.
That was lessons learned for us.
[00:29:22] Speaker D: And the pressure of fighting the clock. It's hard to make those decisions and to all go to plan.
[00:29:28] Speaker B: On top of dysregulated children screaming in the background and your brain is just like, where's the wine? Give me the wine.
It's not going to help, but I don't care.
[00:29:41] Speaker C: So, before you said you used to make ice cream in your granny flat. Right. So I just want to go back to. How did know? You said, Maddie's really driven, and we were making ice cream in our granny flat and all of a sudden we've got two stores in Perth. But how did that initial conversation go? And you also talked about being stuck. Right. How did it go where you were just sitting there and know, yes, there's a gap in market, yes, it's stuck, but there has to be a conversation to say, hey, let's not keep traveling.
Let's use all our savings. Talk us through that, guys, because a lot of people are in this position where they're like, I've got so many business ideas, but I'm just going to continue to go to my nine to five job, or I'm going to continue to stay and look after the kids.
[00:30:26] Speaker A: So I came home from.
I was doing hair, and I came home, and I said, maddie, I just don't want to do this anymore. And he looked at me, he said, what do you want to do? And I said, I want to make ice cream. And he said, so make ice cream. That was literally the conversation. And then we went on Gumtree that night, and we found, like, a small commercial ice cream machine. We had this little motorbike we called the 90s Nightmare. It was teal and purple.
[00:30:53] Speaker D: That became our main motor transportation.
[00:30:55] Speaker A: And Maddie, we had, like, a milk crate on the back to carry stuff. And he went and drove probably to, like, the hills or something. I can't remember where it was to go pick it up. And the guy was like, you can't put this on the motorbike.
The guy was like, no. So he was so kind, and he drove it to the granny flat, and then that was the start of making the ice cream at home. But it was literally that simple. And that's the way Maddie's brain works. Like, okay, you want to do that? Then do, like, don't overthink.
[00:31:26] Speaker D: Like, because I'm the opposite way. I'll bog myself down with all the details. I'll go too deep. So I think that's where we balance each other out, because Caitlin's very, like, you can be spontaneously. Like, embrace it. And then once I think about it too long, I start pulling everything apart and finding all the problems.
Initially, I'm like, yes, let's go. Let's do it. And then just start running.
[00:31:48] Speaker A: And then we would sit at the table. So we both had jobs, but we were making ice cream at night and just sitting at the table, doing the branding, doing the business plan. But I don't want to say loose, because there was intention behind it, but it was more out of fun than thinking about this being a lifelong career and having it grow to the size that it is. So it was light. It was light and fun and creative.
[00:32:12] Speaker D: And super exciting and super exciting. Didn't know what to expect.
[00:32:15] Speaker A: And our family back home was also super inspired because not only had we moved totally across the country, not across the country, across the world, but then we were starting something different and creative and they were like, you're doing what? And I don't think.
Yeah, I don't think they could comprehend what we were doing. But also, everyone was like, this is crazy, this is exciting, this is wild. And how cool that you're doing it together. And, yeah, it kind of gave us a little bit more drive as well.
[00:32:47] Speaker B: I love that because I think, as Roger said, there's two parts, really, to what we're trying to teach people. One is how to become a team. So treat your relationship as a team, and two is to follow the life that you want, so you become a team so that you can work as a unit to pursue the actual life you want, not the life you've been given or the life you think you should be living or whatever it is. And I love that it really, I mean, you could boil it down to, so make ice cream. That's it. If someone says to you and comes to you, your partner comes and says, I don't want to do a, I want to do B. Okay, let's do it. We had that exact moment when we lived in Melbourne and Roger came to me one day, we're from Perth originally. We're in Melbourne for Roger's work. And he said, I don't want to miss out on our daughter anymore. And we had always dreamed of moving to Japan because we have grew up skiing, both of us. And I said, OK, great, let's go to was. And that was it. Just like that? Yeah. It's that opening of let's not see all the why we can't. Let's just in this moment see why we can and what that might look like. And I think, like Roger said, it's hard for a lot of couples because we're so conditioned to be risk averse to stay in the safe zone. And safe zone in terms of life will never get you to your big dreams because your big dreams are not safe. They simply are not. They're going to take you outside of what's comfortable. And it's such a magical thing when you have that moment. And I think every big dreamer that's taken the plunge and jumped off the ledge and had a crack at something has had that moment where they've just said, but what if we do? What if we try?
[00:34:24] Speaker A: Yeah, you just have to. And I still think we live in that space.
I don't feel stuck in our business. I don't feel stuck living here. People ask, are you going to stay in Australia forever? And it's like, well, we will until we're not happy. And we will always take it. Like. Like, if we're not happy doing something, if it doesn't feel aligned, we will never be stuck. We will always jump on what is best for us, best for our family.
[00:34:56] Speaker D: If we feel the same thing together. There's no question.
[00:35:00] Speaker B: I just think that is so beautiful. And that's the other part of this. That's the secret that people don't know if they haven't jumped over the fence. Once you start living like that, you'll never go back because you've seen the light. It's not scary. In fact, what's super scary to us anyway? We call them the white picket fences. And it's no judgment. It really isn't. If that is your dream and your joy and truly from your soul, all you want is the same house with the white picket fence. Amazing power to you. You've worked that out. But for us, the thought of saying, that's it, that's what we were going to have for life, is terrifying. And our agreement, right? Like, stay open. And we've had to stay here for our daughter's development for now. This is the best spot for her. And just the other day, we've started to see shifts in our world where we're like, you know what? Maybe we can start thinking again. And since then, I mean, the dreams are coming thick and fast, and they are wild.
[00:35:58] Speaker C: We're big dream boarders.
[00:36:00] Speaker B: It's so fun. It's so fun to be in that, to live in that space of possibility.
[00:36:06] Speaker D: 100%.
[00:36:07] Speaker A: I think Maddie helped me with that because he's, like I said, just dreaming big.
[00:36:13] Speaker D: And also, like, background in film. I'm used to freelance life. You don't know where your next paycheck is going to come from. I never got a check that came in the mail every week.
That's just the way it is. And then when you want to progress, you go from being a PA to a camera assistant, or you're going on your way up. Certain point, you just have to say no to this work. And I do this now, and you jump into that, and the paycheck is going to stop for a while, but eventually it start ticking in. Like, you just have to have faith and do that leap. And I guess I was a little more accustomed to that, so I was like, do know it'll be a hard stretch, but it'll work itself out one way or another.
[00:36:46] Speaker B: I think the financial bit you pick up on there, though, Maddie, is a big roadblock for people they get very comfortable. And don't get me wrong, we've been in that comfortable space. It just wasn't enough for us.
We were, like, in our soul, we knew that wasn't enough for us. And I think once people get over that idea of having to be financially comfortable and being uncomfortable for a while, making some sacrifices, really helicoptering up and saying, what could we get rid of?
What could we sacrifice now to follow the dream that's going to make life so much better? Because you're not saying, I don't dream it. Like you guys said it, you dream of financial freedom. We're the same. That's one of our big, big dreams, is financial freedom. And you have to give things up to get there. You have to be okay with the discomfort of not being in a regular paycheck situation in someone else's organizing all that for me environment. That's part of actually following your dreams. And I really think, especially Perth people, because Perth is a very conservative, comfortable. It's magical. It's the best place on it because.
[00:37:52] Speaker C: It is so easy to be comfortable here.
[00:37:53] Speaker B: It is so easy.
[00:37:54] Speaker D: It's very easy.
[00:37:55] Speaker A: But that's also what is so good about it.
[00:37:58] Speaker C: Yes, exactly.
[00:38:00] Speaker A: You just don't have to follow that. But there is that comfort.
[00:38:04] Speaker D: You can find your way. You can find your way.
[00:38:07] Speaker B: Yeah, I completely agree. Perth is one of those places. I mean, Perthies. Bitch about Perthies more than most people. But ironically, where else would you live? Everyone comes home here with their children, especially because the quality of life is just off the charts here.
[00:38:21] Speaker D: Can't imagine raising kids anywhere. Know, we went back to North America to visit family and travel a bit, and it was just like, yeah, we got home and it was like a weight was lifted. We felt, like, relieved coming back, and that was part of the know. We stayed in Perth the first time we were here for a year before we flew home to see our family again. But that moment on the flight back when we touched down and we felt like we were home as opposed to the opposite way around. It was a really strange feeling, but that solidified everything for us. And it happened again with the kids when I came back once last time.
[00:38:54] Speaker B: That's so I think, you know, again, I guess what we talk about is unpacking people's values, right? We're wanting people to work out who they are, what they want, how they can function as a team, and then go after all of that together. And what you're describing there, Maddie, almost sounds like Perth aligns with your values. And so when you can make your home anywhere, if that place aligns with who you are. And I think we get really stuck in these constructs in our head, and we're always talking about social expectations or norms, oh, well, I should live there because I grew up there. You might have been born into a place that's nothing like your soul, like who you are and what lights you up. And that's okay. Just leave it behind and find the place that works for you. And people say, oh, they're a wanderer or a hippie, or they're not grounded. No, they've worked themselves out, and they're trying to find the counterpart of that somewhere out there. And it stands true for places you live, people you meet, all of those sorts of things. Businesses you start.
[00:39:49] Speaker D: Yeah, absolutely.
[00:39:51] Speaker A: I do feel like Quartz is our counterpart for where we are in life right now. That's a really beautiful.
[00:39:55] Speaker B: I love that. Yeah. It's never forever, right? Question mark.
[00:39:59] Speaker D: There's nothing more, like, binding and stresses you out than being like, this is forever. This is the decision we made for it to last forever. It's like we have each other in our family, and we're like, if it's not working, you shift, you move, or whatever. You just don't feel like you're stuck. You can change. You can make the difference.
[00:40:18] Speaker B: That sounds like a huge release of pressure.
That's how I would describe it as well for us, is that it doesn't matter what comes your way, because you guys have already got an agreement that whatever it is, you'll pivot around that and make it work for you, even if it was hardship. Right. Like, you'll learn from it together, and you'll pivot into another life that will support you better in that situation that you're put in.
[00:40:43] Speaker A: Totally.
Yeah. I didn't realize. Well, I think this conversation has been beautiful because I didn't realize how we are a team in every aspect, and just chatting through it is really cool.
[00:40:56] Speaker D: You can almost take it for granted. You don't dissect it as often.
You know, that it's an understanding that that person is your person. You guys are locked in no matter what comes your way. And I think that knowledge and that feeling is always there. But, yeah, we don't really go into. Deep into why, but we just.
[00:41:17] Speaker A: And just, like, how we work all day together, we come home together.
It works.
And I didn't really dissect how beautiful that is. So this has been fun, chatting about that and actually realizing what a team we are.
[00:41:34] Speaker C: If people are so busy podcast. So anyone listening? I'm doing inverted commas or inverted quotes, are they?
Everyone's so busy. So sometimes we talk about being strategic in life, but sometimes you got to just take stock of where you are and again realize your biggest asset. You've made an agreement when you chose to be together and then get married or whatever it was to live life with your partner. And so many people, they'll get married or they'll have kids and go, okAy, now I'm going to go live my life and do the things I want to do. And it's just not an efficient, like looking at it very coldly, it's not an efficient way to use resources, it's not an efficient way to use your time when you realize, well, actually my best asset is sitting right next to me.
And the more you double down, lean in, whatever you want to say, the more you do that, the more you find that life just gets so much better. And we're trying to get more people to listen to the podcast so they can find this secret sauce because look, it's not as tasty as ice cream, but it makes you feel just as good, right?
[00:42:41] Speaker B: Probably better, yeah. Well, yeah, depends on your mood, maybe.
Ice cream is pretty magical on the ice cream thing because I'm super intrigued by this business. I absolutely love that you have an ice cream business. I am an ice cream devotee and I have had so many medical practitioners, I have rheumatoid arthritis and they've told me, don't eat dairy, don't do that. I'm like, but it's so good. Nothing will compensate me for the feeling I get.
[00:43:10] Speaker A: I can be inflamed for a minute.
[00:43:13] Speaker B: I will give it all up for weeks just to have that ice.
[00:43:16] Speaker C: Kim's a double scoop, big waffle coat.
[00:43:19] Speaker B: Every time you're going to be uncomfortable.
[00:43:21] Speaker A: You just go for it, right?
[00:43:23] Speaker B: Like dig right into it. Also, I think there's like this magical element, the nostalgia of ice cream, right. For every adult, it's got to be that magical moment where you go back to being a kid and feeling like I don't have the weight of the world on my shoulders right now because when I lick ice cream, I'm a kid again and kids don't have responsibilities. Do you see that in the people coming to buy your ice cream? Is that a joy for you guys? Is that part of what you'd planned with the business?
[00:43:52] Speaker A: Probably medieval mostly, but the nostalgia is a huge part of it. And we bring a lot of our flavors from home to give people that experience. And it's a lot of nostalgia for us. It brings you back to a time as a kid when you're playing with your cousins.
And we want that. ObviouSly, we bring our flavors. But also people have their own stories from their childhood, even though it's not a flavor that they might know.
[00:44:19] Speaker D: And even stories from the shop, their first dates, and then we've been at their wedding scooping ice cream for them at their weding and stuff like that.
What's that?
Yeah, it's just stuff like creating nostalgia that way as well.
But it is that story.
[00:44:35] Speaker A: Yeah. That childhood bliss.
And we see it every. My dad was saying, because they're living with us right now from Michigan, but he was like, oh, I saw this meme the other day. It was like, you can't make everyone happy unless you make ice cream.
It's hard to have a bad day when you're at the shop, when you're at anything with the ice cream, because it is just such a joyful experience.
[00:45:03] Speaker D: People come in excited. Everybody's looking forward to it. It's a great environment to be in. And now that we're not at the shop scooping so much, you do miss that because you feel good at the end of the day. It puts wind in your sails for sure.
[00:45:20] Speaker B: I love that. And I think people miss how deep that really is. Like, it sounds on a surface, like, oh, it's nice having a customer come in that's happy to have it. But that's what we are as humans. Moments of nostalgia and joy and all those sorts of connections that you'll often eat ice cream when you're with someone you love. So that's one of those magical moments in life. And I just think it's so cool. And then on top of that, you guys have gone and got a van last summer and you've gone to rotnest, and then you've gone to broom in their dry season. Just gone. And you've sold ice cream at, like, two of the most iconic places in Perth where people go to holiday and share those family memories. So you've just taken it up another level because I know there will be thousands of West Aussies who now will have had a magical cold moment in the last year in those iconic places. Was that part of the driver for going to those places as well? Like, leveling up people in these moments?
[00:46:15] Speaker A: I think that was a drive for some of the flavors just to have this imprint in your mind. Like, I was on Rotness Island. It was the most beautiful day and then I had this ice cream and there was Malibu rum. And so it is definitely something like that. And then now it's going down to Busselton.
[00:46:38] Speaker B: I'm from yelling up.
[00:46:41] Speaker A: It's going down. Tomorrow we have our first weekend.
[00:46:44] Speaker D: On Friday we open up and it'll.
[00:46:46] Speaker A: Be the same thing.
Having memory of an ice cream at a beautiful place with your loved ones.
And we get emails all the time from people. They're like, we were with our family and I think we're lucky because we've got the best team ever. So the ice cream is a beautiful memory and then these people that work with us, they just amplify the experience.
[00:47:10] Speaker B: Yeah, your servers are awesome, by the way. They are so friendly and kind and patient for someone who likes to try.
[00:47:15] Speaker C: And to try everything.
[00:47:20] Speaker A: That's what we want. We don't want someone. You don't want to just be the chop shop where you just go in, grab the flavor you like. We make these interesting flavors and we want people to try them.
[00:47:29] Speaker D: It's an experience way more memorable. If you have something you haven't never had before, but you maybe not take the risk if it's just on a menu. Like I'm going to shoot in the dark and try that. But if you get to try some stuff, you're going to really leave and be like, wow, that was a great flavor that I never thought I'd chat.
[00:47:44] Speaker B: Oh my God, I love that. So you are encouraging people to be risk takers.
That is awesome.
In a space where you really can't fail, but take a risk outside of your comfort zone.
[00:47:56] Speaker D: There's a reason we don't just have vanilla chocolate in the regulars. That's whole point is we want you to try something different and experience a different flavor profile.
[00:48:08] Speaker A: Take a risk.
[00:48:09] Speaker D: There's a million places that do pistachio and vanilla.
[00:48:13] Speaker B: And it's not just the flavor. Though I will say Perth did not. And I can see why you saw the gap in the market. As an ice cream lover, when you go to Italy, you eat gelato all day long and he is like Mama Mia, it's so know it does encourage you to eat it twice a day. At least we didn't have that sort of space here. And your ice cream, it's the texture as well. And I don't want to get too like ice cream obsessed here, but I am. It's so good. It hasn't got those frosty little bits. It's got like the creaminess and it's just heaven in a big fat waffle cone. If you pick the homemade cone, waffle Cone.
[00:48:50] Speaker A: And experience as well.
[00:48:51] Speaker B: Oh, 100%. You're a fool. If you're going for the cup. What are you doing half living? Don't put 1ft over the edge, people. Come on, dive in.
[00:49:00] Speaker A: Dive in.
[00:49:01] Speaker B: Literally.
[00:49:02] Speaker C: So what's next for cold ice creamery?
[00:49:08] Speaker D: Yeah. Some bowls still up in the air, waiting for some things to land. But yeah, it's exciting. I think we'll still be looking to have another location yet to be determined, but we just always have our eyes open and seeing where we want to be.
[00:49:24] Speaker A: And we're having a lot of fun with wholesale right now. So getting our baked goods and ice cream and different things into cafes and different restaurants, and that's actually been really fun to have. Little bits of cooled everywhere. And also, I just keep maybe just a year of just chill because the last four years have been exponential growth and we just need a little bit of time to unwind and just kind of enjoy where we are and kind of sleep, maybe.
[00:49:59] Speaker B: I think that's so beautiful what you're saying, though, Caitlin. And I think that's something people miss as well once they start on the journey. For those that have kicked off, you have to consolidate. You have to have periods of consolidation, otherwise you burn out. And consolidation is actually what gets you to level up again. It's restoring. It's like the recharge of the batteries. It's like one night of sleep, but for months, you need to, for months, slow down and let your body just rebuild your brain, have a break, because it just never works optimally when it's on all the time. It's like everything, we all need to slow down. So I love that you say that. I think it's such a powerful thing to think about it as a consolidation period in life.
[00:50:40] Speaker A: I think our team would enjoy that too.
[00:50:44] Speaker B: Just let them do their job for a little bit and just turn it on cruise mode. Right? Let it just fly itself for a while because you guys have done the hard yards and like you say, exponential growth, which is just super impressive in such an awesome business.
[00:50:59] Speaker D: Thank you so much.
[00:50:59] Speaker C: Thank you, guys. We've loved hearing your story and we can't wait to see what else is on the horizon.
[00:51:07] Speaker B: Eat some more ice cream.
[00:51:08] Speaker C: Eating some more ice cream. And we had to go do some research again, inverted commas. We had to go do some research for this show, and I'm looking forward to us going and doing some more research in the future. So, again, thank you so much for your time. You guys are an amazing team.
You're amazing. You've just spent quality time on your relationship.
[00:51:29] Speaker B: Feel like you're on a roll. If you want more living the team life relationship insights and conversations, head over to Kim Androj.com where you can find all the show notes as well as tons of other relationship goodies.
[00:51:40] Speaker C: And if you liked today's episode, please hit subscribe or let another couple know where they can find us. It'll make them happy, and it'll make us really happy.
[00:51:48] Speaker B: Until next time, keep on living the team life.
