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THIS IS WE
Balancing Passion and Purpose: Portia Chambers' Journey Through Entrepreneurship, Baking, and Personal Growth
This episode delves into the themes of self-discovery and finding balance amidst competing passions. Portia shares her journey of embracing baking, re-evaluating her event hosting, and taking a mid-season pause to reflect on her dreams and well-being.
• Reflection on being a multi-passionate entrepreneur
• Yearning for a simpler life and connection to nature
• Discovery of a love for baking sourdough and community nourishment
• The challenges of balancing events and self-care
• Decision to take baking seriously as a business venture
• Announcement of a mid-season pause for reflection and realignment
• Emphasizing the intertwining of personal passion and community experiences
Your ears, your attention is, you know, greatly appreciated and honored and, honestly, is the thing that I is the reason why I continue to do it every single day and produce an episode every single week.
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Find Portia Chambers, founder of The We Experience on Instagram
Join me, portia Chambers, as I sit down with women just like you, sharing moments in their lives that shaped them into who they are today Stories of motherhood, betrayal, transformation, love and loss, vulnerable conversations, deep connection and collective healing. Welcome to the this Is we podcast. All right, so I thought I would give you a little bit of an update as to what is happening. Welcome to the this Is we podcast, ruth. And so here we are. I'm going to talk about what is happening with the we, what is happening with me, portia Chambers, outside of the we, and the dreams and the visions that I have within my life, and finding balance between all of the things. So, as you probably already know this, I am a multi-passionate entrepreneur. I feel like I finally am honing in and honoring that title and embracing it for what it is. I like to do a lot of things and like to have my hands in a lot of honeypots, if you will, but at this point in time, I feel like my hands are in far too many honeypots and I need to kind of reel back a little bit and understand. You know what I have time for, where do I wanna put my time and energy and what is honestly coming back to me in abundance in all of the things, not necessarily just financial abundance, but what is filling my cup up from the very beginning to the very end. And I'm totally aware of the ebbs and flows in business and in life, and it's not necessarily about which one's harder or which one's harder or which one's easier. It's really about finding the balance between the love, and so I thought I would give a little bit of context before I kind of give the direction for the we experience as to who I am outside of the we, because as very much as the person that you see that shows up for the we experience is very much me, I am somebody else as well outside of the we experience.
Speaker 1:So my goal, portia, outside of the we experience or just in life in general, is to live the simple life, to be offline more than online, to be in a home that is surrounded by nature, which I don't have right now. Surrounded by nature, which I don't have right now, I'm really doing things that fulfill me, things that bring things into my community, things where I can do work that I can do in solitude as well, be around others and finding that balance between all of it. So I have this immense love for hosting events, for really putting on an experience, if you will, and seeing others experience it, like that is where the thrill of events is. For me, it's really taking an idea that's in my mind, making it come to life and watching you experience it. And at the other side of that, I love to do things that are hands-on, that nourish my community. You know, going back to my yoga roots, going back to Reiki, going back to skin spinnings, these are all things that nourished my community. And so here I am, you know, diving into the next phase or the next step of my life, and I really hope this is the final phase, because I not that I'm tired, but I really feel like this is the opening door to the final phase of how everything is just going to work out, and I really feel it in my gut.
Speaker 1:So I have been sitting on my hobby job, if you will, that's what I call it for the last two years, and this is is baking sourdough, and I am not much of a baker, I say this all the time, and this is something that really and truly just fell into my lap. My daughter wanted to learn how to make sourdough. I thought it'd be easier if I had learned and then taught her. And through that learning I fell in love, like head over heels in love. It gave me something that I didn't even know existed. It gave me something I didn't even know I was looking for and for the last two years I've just been kind of sitting on it. I sell sourdough bagels and loaves and pizza buns to my local community in such a small, very small manner and just kind of having fun with it rather than taking it seriously. Small manner and just kind of having fun with it rather than taking it seriously.
Speaker 1:And at the end of 2024, I really had an eye-opening experience that made me realize that this is something that I could, that could be so much more than what I am limiting it to be. And at the end I want to say October, november of 2024, I really had these big dreams for the WE experience. I wanted to take it to Calgary, where I fell in love with the mountains. I wanted to take our dinners to BC and I really wanted the we experienced to be all over Canada, not just in Southern Ontario. And I was riding high on those dreams. I was putting the work in. I was creating, redoing my media kits, I was connecting with people out in the West coast, I was working with businesses, I was finalizing venues. I was doing all of the things putting that big scary dream, you know, or making that big scary dream, into life.
Speaker 1:And then the end of December rolled around and I was in the height of my Christmas baking. The end of December rolled around and I was in the height of my Christmas baking. I was feeling really, really depressed and that is a story for another day that I am going to share and I had realized that there was so much healing in what I was doing over those last few days you know, those last few days of baking and it really put in perspective that if I work a little bit harder in this and put the energy out there, that this really can come back to me twofold, not only in abundance, but of course we still need to feed our families, put food on our table, have a roof over our head, pay our bills but at the same time it was truly fulfilling and I found an immense love for it. So I stood on that for, I want to say, a good two weeks, kind of going back and forth, deciding really where I wanted to go.
Speaker 1:I have been doing events, for you know, over the last two years two and a half years, if you will and events are hard. They are hard emotionally, physically and mentally. You question a lot of yourself every single time I do an event, especially larger events, and I really think it plays and weighs on you at the same time, and as much as I love doing them, I found by the end of the year I was kind of not enjoying them as much as I originally had and I had some conversations with people who had been in the event industry for a while and the events that I want to do, or want to put on, the experiences that I want to do, is very niche. I don't want to be an event planner or coordinator. I don't want to be a wedding planner. That is not a title that I want. I want to just create these things for myself, create it for you. I love once again putting that, bringing that vision to life. That is, you know where I land and you know, and that is like a different, creative side of me.
Speaker 1:And by the end of last year and honestly, the we Gather event in October really really took a toll on me and made me kind of look at a few things and question a few things in my life and be reminded of my worth and who I am you know in this event industry, if you will and who I am as an individual outside of it. And I am a person and I have great self-awareness that if I feel as if I am sacrificing pieces of myself to appease others, I know that I am in the wrong game and that I need to check myself before I proceed. So this is kind of where we are in that reflection era, in the we experience and with this reflection obviously gives space for other things to flourish. And so in January I made the big, bold decision to take my baking seriously. In January I made the big, bold decision to take my baking seriously. I've had so many people tell me that I need to open a bakery, that I need to make this something more, and I honestly just kind of kept it small for a variety of reasons.
Speaker 1:Safety time In my life I didn't necessarily have the time or space to take on more is really uprooting your life, your schedule and flipping it. You're getting up earlier and you're working in the evening. Sourdough is a complicated process. Complicated and easy, more or less, but it's something that takes, you know, it takes 36 hours to make. You start in the morning and then you move into the evening and then you bake it the next morning. So it is a long process and, to be honest, my days were starting at 6am and I would bake for four to five hours, I would have a small break and then I'd be sitting at my desk for four to five hours. And I'm not a full-time girly, I will tell you that right now. I will be completely honest, and it was taking a big toll on me.
Speaker 1:Doing something that was so fulfilling in the morning and then doing, you know, sitting in meetings for several hours in the afternoon, um was kind of, it was like a parallel universe in a way, and it really became evident, you know, after a few weeks, that balancing all of these things was becoming really, really hard. And I do do other jobs outside of the we experience outside of baking, and so I really had to kind of look and understand, you know, what things are fulfilling me and what things are not fulfilling me. So, come January, I decided that I was going to take this seriously. I was going to get into some farmer's markets. I was going to make my product more available. I was going to take on more baking days and really invest my time, my energy and my money into this dream, into this dream that I know will take me out of my subdivision home and into a forest and allow me to live the life that I truly want to live, and this is where the change is coming.
Speaker 1:So I want to consider this episode a mid-season pause finale, if you will, as I take a step back in the this Is we podcast and give myself the time and the space to reflect and find balance in both of the things that I truly, truly love. So we are going to be taking about two months off of the podcast, for sure, and I'm going to be really looking at my event schedule for the coming months. You know, dana walked into my life at such a interesting time and rocked it, if you will, because if Dana wasn't here, I probably would take the entire year off the we Experience and come back in 2026. But she is here and I absolutely love hosting alongside of her and I absolutely love our dinners, and it's something that I don't necessarily want to press pause on. I just want to kind of look at it through a different lens. So the we summit and the we gather are still very much up in the air. It is one of those events that if everything just lands so perfectly, I will do them.
Speaker 1:But if there is resistance, if there is resentment, guilt, people pleasing and all of these kind of different emotions that don't necessarily fulfill me, they are going to be a strong. No, I know who I am. I am. You know, like I said before, I'm so self-aware. I know what feels good in my body, I know what feels good in my heart and I know what feels good in my mind. This was not an easy decision to do and I actually feel really guilty making this decision because I feel like I'm letting down so many, so many of our listeners, so many of those that took the time to schedule, you know, an hour of your day to sit down with me, to have a conversation with me. Um, I feel sad about that, I feel heartbroken about that, but I know that this is, that this is best for me, and I know, after this little break, this little hiatus, that I'm going to show up even more of myself and feel more alignment in both of the things that I truly truly love. So I don't really know what's next for the. I know that the podcast is obviously going to be the first thing to go. It is the most time-consuming thing, um that I but it also is something that I truly truly love doing.
Speaker 1:It was funny I was recording my last episode for before this mid season last week and I had mentioned to them that this would be, you know, one of my last recordings and and I felt guilty in that and it felt hard. And after that episode I told them at the very beginning of the episode and at the very end I kind of laughed to myself and I said I can't believe I'm giving this up. I can't believe this because I just had the best freaking time talking to you over this last hour and I can't believe this is something that I'm giving up and I'm not giving it up forever, it's just for two months because, honestly, I think this is such a part of me and I love sharing my own story and I love helping other women share their story and their truth at the end of the day. So, who knows?
Speaker 1:I like to say that this year, the word of the year for myself is trust. Trust on so many levels. Trust that I know myself enough to put my big foot forward and be stubborn about what I want and what I don't want. To trust the universe that is guiding me in the direction that I know is going to be the most fulfilling, and to trust everything else around me and to trust the people that are supporting me, and so I feel like I'm just going to leave it here short and sweet, if you will. If you have any questions about any of these things, please feel free to send me a message on Instagram. Um, you know that's where you can best find me, but this isn't a sad departure, if you will, as an exciting endeavor. There are so many things that can be learned by trusting your intuition, by saying no to the things that make you feel really guilty around and by leaning into those dreams that you've been pushing off.
Speaker 1:I've been holding onto this for two years.
Speaker 1:This is a long.
Speaker 1:This is a big thing for me. I am not that person. I am not a person that plays small, that holds onto something for two years and then finally does it. I am a person that jumps in with both feet, does not look back and just runs forward, and I guess I'm doing that now, after two years. But it's very interesting to be doing this in such a different way. That is not something that I have done in the past and, like I always say at our dinners, I have a three-year shedding cycle. I am a person, I am a Scorpio and I am really that to a T, where I burn down to the ashes and I rise up as a phoenix stronger, braver, wiser and ready to take on life challenges. And this is that moment. This is the moment where I am burning to the ash and I am slowly rising back up, becoming a different version of myself same but different, and really excited to see where this all goes, because I think that is the best part.
Speaker 1:I'm really trying to honor the journey. I want to be present within this journey. I want it, you know, to go by fast but at the same time, to slow the fuck down, and I'm here for all of it. So if you want to follow along on my micro bakery journey, you can find me on my Instagram, on my personal Instagram at chambers underscore Portia. You can find it in the show notes as well. Um, and you'll be taken along the journey of how this all unfolds, because I know nothing about this. I know nothing about opening a bakery or having one in my home or or any of these things.
Speaker 1:This is all very much new to me. It's not something that I have done in the past before or have any kind of background in it. I feel like a lot of the things that I have done in my past. I might not have known them fully, but I have some sense of a background knowledge in what that looks like or what it could look like. But this is something that I have no idea. The vision is there, it's buried deep in my soul and I can feel it every single day and I can see it every single day and I'm excited to get there, I'm excited to relish in that and I'm excited to see where that takes me.
Speaker 1:So, on that note, I just want to say thank you to everybody that has listened to the this Is we podcast from the very beginning up until this moment.
Speaker 1:Your ears, your attention is, you know, greatly appreciated and honored and, honestly, is the thing that I is the reason why I continue to do it every single day and produce an episode every single week, so there is going to be a little bit of a pause, but once again, this isn't the end.
Speaker 1:This is just a pause as I readjust to life and the balance of life and what that looks like and where I want to put my energy and what things I need to let go of, and this is one of those things. So if you're still with me, you know, 17 minutes into this conversation, I appreciate it and it's only up from here and I truly believe that when I flourish in one area, the other will will flourish as well. So I'm excited to see where the we experience goes for 20, for 2025. And I'm excited to see where my little baking journey journey goes as well, because I really feel that they're intertwined. And once I get that place in the woods, we'll be having dinners and yoga practices and eating amazing food all together on my property, because then I can share my love with you wholeheartedly and you can really truly understand who I am and what I want to bring into this world. Until then, I'll see you on the gram.
