50. Overcoming Ageism And Living Your Best Life with Cheryl Benton

Adrienne Garland (0:10): Welcome to Sugar Coated. I'm your host, Adrienne Garland, the CEO and founder of She Leads Media. For far too long, women have been conditioned to sugarcoat their words, their actions, and the way they show up in the world and to conform to certain cultural norms and ideals. This is inherently designed to keep those who are outside of the norm from gaining power, prestige, wealth, and influence, preventing more women from being recognized and respected as the powerful leaders that we truly are. Join me each week as we dive into raw conversations with remarkable, uncompromising, and inspirational women that will encourage you to strip away your sugar coating and move boldly in the direction of your magnificent dreams.

Adrienne Garland (1:02): Hi, everybody. Welcome to Sugar Coated. I am thrilled to introduce my guest to you all today. Her name is Cheryl Benton, and she's the founder, publisher, and head tomato of the three tomatoes. Welcome to sugar coated Cheryl.

Cheryl Benton (1:20): Well, thank you so much. I'm delighted to be here.

Adrienne Garland (1:24): I am delighted to have you here too. We have known each other for many years, and this is so exciting that you have carved out the time for me today to talk to everybody about your founding story. I find everything that you are doing and have done so incredibly inspirational. And our audience is made up of a lot of women that are sort of in the second chapter of their career journeys. They they went through that whole corporate thing, and we found that at some point it didn't work for us, and so we started our own businesses.

Adrienne Garland (2:02): And in some cases, those businesses have thrived. In other cases, there have been many challenges. So I would love for you to just start with, you know, who you are, what your founding story is, and then we can take it from there.

Cheryl Benton (2:18): Well, great. And that pretty much the way you just did that lean and pretty much describes my pathway as well. So I had spent the majority of my career, I will call it my first career, in the advertising agency business. I had owned an ad agency on Long Island for many years. And then I was acquired by a very large agency in New York City and spent many years in the New York City ad agency business, which I loved and was wonderful until one day it wasn't.

Cheryl Benton (2:53): And anyone who's worked in the advertising and media business also will recognize the fact that there is a lot of ageism, not just with women, with men too. And once you hit a certain age, especially once you turn past your forties and into your fifties, it's a really it's a young person's game. So as I said, I did it till it was not fun anymore. And then I left and I started a marketing consulting business. And just for the fun of it though at that time, because I was living and working in New York City and I was over 50 and I knew so many wonderful fabulous women in New York who were also over 50.

Cheryl Benton (3:35): Many had high powered careers and jobs but we would start having these conversations that we were starting to feel a little irrelevant. We were starting to feel like that day you realize you're the oldest person in the conference room and you're feeling a little marginalized and things like where do you go and find your clothes now so that you don't look like your teenage daughter anymore. So is all this conversation. Where do you find a restaurant that you can actually hear yourself talk? So just for the fun of it, I thought, well, if nobody's talking to us, which they weren't because marketers ignore our demographic.

Cheryl Benton (4:15): And they're a little better now, but we're still being largely ignored because we're out of that prized demographic that advertisers love. I'm like, well, I'm just gonna start a little newsletter and it will be the conversations that I'm having with my friends. So I started I called it to Three Tomatoes. I sent it to 60 friends. And it just took off.

Cheryl Benton (4:41): Obviously, it struck a chord because a lot of women were feeling this way. And people started sharing it with other people. And before I knew it, I realized, well, I probably am going to need like maybe a little website so people could sign up for the newsletter. So we put that up. And then before I knew it, people wanted to start to contribute.

Cheryl Benton (5:04): And I'm like, wow, we're going to need content here. So anyway, today, now that was around 2010, I guess. So today, the Three Tomatoes has really grown. We have a very large website with tons of contributors. We have newsletters that are almost daily.

Cheryl Benton (5:23): We do a lot of events. We now also have four city specific newsletters as well for New York City, LA, San Francisco, and Miami. So it really took on a life of its own. And then what happened about four or five years ago, my husband said, you know, you've grown a brand and you've proven this would work and you should really treat this like you would one of your clients. And I'm like, I think you're probably right.

Unknown Speaker (5:52): Smart man. Yeah,

Cheryl Benton (5:54): I and was like the shoemakers kids, right? I just wasn't putting the attention into it that I felt it deserved. So I basically shut down the marketing consulting business and have really spent the last five or six years on really seeing where we can grow, where we can take this venture.

Adrienne Garland (6:13): It's amazing. It's amazing. I mean, I'm so inspired by that. And I I think that She Leads Media has sort of gone through the same type of journey from the marketing consulting, which you know, it's it's so satisfying. Right?

Adrienne Garland (6:27): Like helping a particular brand to grow and to thrive. It's so great. But when you're putting your attention on that client, there's there's, you know, not a lot of room for attention for you as your own client. I think that that was probably one of the smartest things that your husband had has said to you, because you you really do need to treat your business like a client, and nurture it so that it can grow and thrive. So, I also know that because I'm so familiar with you and all the great work that you do, I'm also really interested in this sort of new avenue that you are pursuing with publishing.

Adrienne Garland (7:08): Can you talk a little bit about that?

Cheryl Benton (7:11): Well, this has been this has been extraordinary too. And I think it comes down to the point of and you and I have talked about this of just trying other things and putting things out there. And I know you do that a lot too. I always say to myself, well, what's the worst thing that can happen? And it's usually that won't work and you'll take something in a different direction.

Cheryl Benton (7:31): But the other piece of that is just sort of staying open minded to possibilities. So first of all, with the three tomatoes, I certainly never started out when I started this newsletter and sent it to 60 friends for that to become what it is today. It just happened along the way and I kind of evolved with it. And then this whole book publishing thing came about in just such an amazing way. So what happened was about four years ago, I guess close to five years ago now, I wrote a novel.

Cheryl Benton (8:07): And it was my first book, actually. And originally, it was going to be a nonfiction. It was going to be stories and things that I have learned from so many fabulous women over the years through the Three Tomatoes, fabulous women like men and women who are contributors and women that I've interviewed. And it was going to be kind of all those little lessons along the way. And something I I just couldn't get myself motivated about it.

Cheryl Benton (8:33): You know, I had the idea. I I was moving along. And it just sometimes that just happens. So I sort of put it aside. And one day I was on the on the Long Island Railroad actually coming back from Manhattan and this sentence came into my head and I'm like, you know what?

Cheryl Benton (8:50): That's the first story of a novel. And this story could be much better told and be much more entertaining and informative and make all the same books through a novel. So that's what I did. It's called Can You See Us Now? And it's about three women who are just turning 50 who are at the pinnacle of their careers.

Cheryl Benton (9:12): They live in New York. Everything seems wonderful until they start to turn 50. And then suddenly everything starts to tumble down. That's the stories around them and what each of them do and how they come together to motivate themselves and realize that this part of their lives can actually be the best that it is. So I wrote the book.

Cheryl Benton (9:34): And then I'm like, well, now what? How do I get it published? And fortunately, I know a lot of people in publishing. And I talked to some of the ones I respected and trusted the most. And they said, look, you could definitely probably find a publisher for your book.

Cheryl Benton (9:49): It's typically a two year process. But the traditional publishing business has changed so much that unless you're a top selling author, they're not going to market your book. You're not going to get great royalties. You probably won't get anything upfront on the book. And you already have a platform for marketing your book and you know how to market, so just publish it yourself.

Cheryl Benton (10:12): Which was the best advice I ever got. So I did that. And then that book was followed by a book that my daughter and I put together. It's a little book of humor. It's called Martini Wisdom.

Cheryl Benton (10:24): And somehow we still don't know how this happened. It was great. But it ended up on Amazon's hot new books for stayed there for almost a month. So what happened after that was that all of a sudden women started approaching me. And they said, how did you do this?

Cheryl Benton (10:42): I have a book. I've written a book. I've got an idea for a book. And then I realized, there's an opportunity here because I had learned so much going through this process. And then as it happened, just through a friend of a friend, knew this woman who had been writing essays for years and reading them to her friends and they all loved him and they said this should be a book.

Cheryl Benton (11:05): So she sent me to Jane Goldman And that actually became my first author. And we published her book of essays three years ago. It's called With No Regrets. And since then, and that was just really the launch of and then suddenly there were so many people who needed help and women who needed consultation through the process and getting published. And that was three years ago.

Cheryl Benton (11:31): And we're just about to publish our twenty ninth book under the Three Tomatoes Book Publishing. And I know you and I have talked about this because it has been so amazing to me. And I never ever would have expected this to happen. But I think it's just staying open to possibilities and putting things out there.

Unknown Speaker (11:52): Yeah.

Cheryl Benton (11:53): So it's been remarkable journey, and I have to say the most gratifying thing I've ever done so far.

Adrienne Garland (12:01): I love that so much. And I I also love the fact that you have surrounded you you've created your business surround to surround yourself with other people that you admire, friends and your daughter as well. Yes. So it's it's sort of like you've really integrated your your work and your life, and I think that that can be so inspiring to so many people because, you know, as we were kind of coming up through the professional world and the corporate environment, you very much had to separate, you know, who you were at home versus, you know, who you were in the office, and kind of put on this facade that wasn't always, you know, genuinely a 100% you. And I think that the one of the messages is that, like you said, if you remain open and that is something that you want from your life, you want to integrate those two things, that is possible.

Cheryl Benton (12:59): Exactly. Yeah. And I just I feel very fortunate that I've been able to create something that I really love doing and really takes in all of my skill sets, really. Yeah. So which is which is the best when that happens.

Adrienne Garland (13:16): So what have you found in in sort of speaking to all these women? You do so many different things. You do, like, incredibly fun events, wine tastings. You have, you know, makeover sections on on the three tomatoes. It's it covers the gamut of, you know, every topic sort of under the sun.

Adrienne Garland (13:34): You put on these incredible events. What have you learned from the the women that are contributors to the three tomatoes and then also people who subscribe to the newsletter, come to the events? What is something that you see that is really unique and and different with those women in that demographic that are a little bit older, probably much wiser?

Cheryl Benton (13:59): Well, basically, I think we're dispelling the myth of what it's like to be growing older. And the people who come into our website and come to our events, I mean we have people in their 30s up until their 90s. And the people in their 80s, some of the most vibrant, dynamic women I know have been part of not only the three tomatoes but come to our events. And one of the things I think that everyone is struck by, every event we've ever done, people who aren't familiar with the Three Tomatoes, whether they're coming for the first time or maybe they're an exhibitor or a sponsor, there's always this wow moment because they see these incredible women who are vibrant, dynamic, incredibly stylish. It so blows their mind because it's not their perception of, oh, I'm going to something with a group of women who are middle age and beyond.

Cheryl Benton (15:03): So it really opens up everybody's eyes when they see that. So I think that's one of the biggest things. We're living, enjoying our lives. These are women, many who have multiple careers. You talk to them.

Cheryl Benton (15:14): They are so interesting. And they're women who've lived. They've lived lives. And that's what I really love about the book thing. Because I think to really write a great book or a great story or a memoir or advice, you need to have lived a while.

Cheryl Benton (15:28): And not that young people there are certainly young people on the bestseller list too. But I think we have so, so much we can do. And our big message is always to dream big, and you're never too old, and it's never too late.

Adrienne Garland (15:44): I love that so much. It makes me think that it's so interesting how social media is is very focused on the youth. Right? And so we are so drawn into that, and it's it's sort of if you're consuming social media like so many of us are, you know, whether we want to or not, that sort of like gets burnt onto our brains. So when you walk into a room of these incredible vibrant women, it's almost like a disconnect.

Adrienne Garland (16:18): You know, is this real? And it very much is. How do you think that and you know, and do you even think that it's important for, you know, women like us to do more, to get ourselves out there more, more visible?

Cheryl Benton (16:36): I think that is I think that is so important. And I think that's one of the keys to overcoming this ageism thing and let's call it by what it is. It is definitely ageism. And I also love the idea of multi generational and women of every age getting together because young women have so much to learn from us. And they really do want to learn.

Cheryl Benton (16:59): And we have a lot to learn from them. So I don't think we need to be pinpointed into this you have to kind of stay in your little lane place because we learn so much. And the more that younger people see what it's like to get older, if this can be a great thing, that's going to help dispel these myths as we go forward. In fact, there's been so many interesting studies on ageism. But there was one I read about recently that really stuck with me.

Cheryl Benton (17:33): And there's a woman she's a professor at Harvard. And she's been studying people's attitudes about age for a very long time. And she literally goes around the world and says, what do you think when you think of someone who's older? What do you think? In this country, when she asked that question, the number one thing was mental decline.

Cheryl Benton (17:58): In China, the number one answer was wisdom. So it's, you know, it's such a difference in how we look at that. But a lot of our perceptions here are because of the way that marketers portray us or more importantly, don't portray us in film and media. And while some of that is changing, it's really not changing enough. And very often if you see older people in advertising or even a TV show, it's the doddering fool or they're in a very secondary kind of role.

Cheryl Benton (18:37): So we need to start to change that and really portray vibrant people getting older as being vibrant and still contributing and all of that good stuff. And I think, you know, I see it starting to happen, but I think it needs to happen a lot more. Because honestly, when you talk to the happiest people are older people. When you look at the happiness ratings, the most miserable group I think are in their 40s. Which I think you understand.

Cheryl Benton (19:11): It's like you've got the kids, sometimes you've got parents, you're doing a job and those people tend to be not a very happy group. When you start to get older, there are so many great things that happen that kind of free you up to pursue the things that you love. And younger people are actually afraid of getting older, which very scary. So if they understand and see us, then I think that starts to change the dynamic of that.

Adrienne Garland (19:40): I really love that. And I think that by doing things like providing women with these platforms in order to share their wisdom, their humor, you know, their vibrancy. You know, we are normal people. And I think it's sort of however you feel on the inside is really more of an indication of who you are as a person versus, you know, what your age is. Know for myself personally, I, you know, I I always like to embrace my inner like 16 year old.

Adrienne Garland (20:17): I I feel very youthful in just how I approach things. And I don't think that that's ever going to change because it hasn't changed yet. And I'm almost 52 this year. In October, actually, my birthday is coming up.

Unknown Speaker (20:31): So Happy almost birthday.

Adrienne Garland (20:32): Yes. Yes. Thank you. But it's it's so funny. My my mom is, you know, approaching 80.

Adrienne Garland (20:39): So she's she's 78. And again, it's it's you would you would never think that in a million years that my mom is even close to that age. And she's friends with so many women that are in their eighties and they travel everywhere together. I mean, my mom's going to Cambodia with her brother and my aunt for an entire month to just live there. My uncle loved yeah.

Adrienne Garland (21:03): My uncle loved the Yeah. So, you know, it's it's this independence, and I think that when we were growing up, we did see people that were, you know, 70 as even even 65. Right? We saw that as like, my god. They're so They're so old.

Adrienne Garland (21:24): But, know, all of my mom's friends and everything, they're they're beautiful and they're stylish and like even my mom is, you know, more and more concerned about the the clothes that she's wearing and her hair, and and it's just it's so nice to see. And I I think that we do need to see that so much more. I think also putting out books and just, you know, putting out podcasts, putting out any type of content that draws you into that world so that everybody can open their eyes and see that we have so much to contribute in addition to the fact that we have such purchasing power now.

Unknown Speaker (22:05): Exactly. Oh, absolutely. And marketers are missing out on that that

Unknown Speaker (22:09): But wallet

Cheryl Benton (22:11): you touched on something that's really important when you said, you know, I still think like 16 year old and my mother is out doing so much of it is your mental state of mind. And really what we try to do at the Three Tomatoes is to be cheerleaders for every woman out there. And let's face it, not all women have that attitude. And very often women get stuck in middle age or beyond. And they start to do this very negative thinking of what do I do now?

Cheryl Benton (22:43): Or I lost my job in the corporate world and I have no other skills. Or now I'm getting old. I just have to face I'm getting old. And they get into this very negative mindset. So that's why it's also so important that we're all there to support each other.

Cheryl Benton (23:00): And when women are going through those and we all go through that on some level at some point in time, that other women are there to support them to say, look, you can get through this. You can get out of this. Here's how I can help you. And that's, I just think, a big thing that we can all do through each other. So I like to think of this as being cheerleaders for

Unknown Speaker (23:24): That's so great.

Cheryl Benton (23:25): Every woman out there no matter where they are.

Adrienne Garland (23:28): So the three tomatoes is across The United States now. Are there also women from different countries that are

Cheryl Benton (23:37): There are. We have a lot of subscribers in Canada and in The UK and in Australia. And one of our other big places of Uighurs is India. I don't know why India, but we are. So yes, we are read by a pretty big spectrum, which also goes to show that this is very universal, this thing about getting older and wanting to continue to live your best life.

Cheryl Benton (24:06): And that's not just here. It's it's everywhere, I think. So

Adrienne Garland (24:10): Yeah. What what, do you have any advice, you know, cold from all of the interviews and the podcasts and the books? If a woman is starting to sort of go down that path of, you know, negative thinking, maybe she's suffering some health issues or there's, you know, parents that she's having to take care of or like her kids, you know, have gone off to college or have gotten married. What's something that somebody can do so that they don't start slipping down into that negative thought spiral?

Cheryl Benton (24:43): Well, I think one of the biggest thing is really to start to engage with other people and really engage with other women and be open about that. Because a lot of times women will just keep all that and they think, oh, it's just me. Nobody else has gone through this. Nobody else feels this. And that's not the case at all because we've all typically been through some of that, if not all of that.

Cheryl Benton (25:07): So I think getting actively engaged and whether it's talking to your friends or becoming involved whether it's the Three Tomatoes or groups like yours, there are so many groups out there. And getting involved, one of the things I would say to women is what are the things that you love doing? And maybe there are things you didn't have time to do when you were chasing your career or your kids are now leaving college, leaving the house. That's a great time to start to say, I now have some time for me. And I think for a lot of women just rediscovering things that they were passionate about is another big thing towards I think giving you a new dimension.

Cheryl Benton (25:52): Sometimes we're so busy, we all know people like this, pursuing our career that we put all those other things aside and we become very one dimensional. And I know that happened to me. And for me, the biggest thing when I started the Three Tomatoes was I've met so many incredible people that I would never have met in my little world of advertising, which was very insular. As a friend of mine used to describe it, he said it's like when you live and work in the circus, you only know people in the circus. And once I was out of the circus, I'm like, wow, there's this whole world of so many interesting people doing great things.

Cheryl Benton (26:31): So you've got to get into that. You've got to get out of the big wide world. And you'll start to meet interesting people and people who are willing to help you. Be willing to ask people. People are and I think women especially, if you ask, we want to be supportive.

Cheryl Benton (26:47): We want to help other women. And we're there, but you have to ask.

Adrienne Garland (26:52): Yeah. That's a great point because I do think that women are afraid or maybe ashamed. Like, how did I get here, and how am I ever gonna get out of this? Like, I'm I'm shy. I've never done this before.

Adrienne Garland (27:04): I you know, the only time that I tried to make friends was was when I was in high school, I'm rusty at it. I do think that just being honest and vulnerable, like, hey, don't know what I'm doing, but this seems interesting. And I I think another really great piece of advice is, you know, you might stumble upon something that you're interested in, and it might not feel right anymore. And I think it's okay to at least get going. Right?

Adrienne Garland (27:36): Take the step, realize this might not be for me, what else is there? But get the momentum going. We don't have to commit to our decision. And if we do make a decision and and find that it's not right, we don't have to feel guilty about that. We can keep moving on so that we can find what fits now.

Adrienne Garland (28:00): It's like, you know, you're not gonna necessarily, maybe you will, but you're not gonna necessarily wear the same clothes that you wore when you were in high school. So why expect, you know, you've gone through all of these life changes. Why not expect that your habits, your likes, your dislikes, they've changed too. It's a it's a brand new world of discovery to find out what those things are.

Cheryl Benton (28:25): Yes. And and so many women get fearful at those points. And fear is our biggest enemy. You have to be able to say, what's the worst thing that can happen here if I try this? It's usually not a life or death situation.

Cheryl Benton (28:40): It's usually you're like, well, Okay. That doesn't work or I don't like this, I can do something else. I remember seeing this it was actually a cartoon. And it was this huge boulder. And the woman's trying to climb up the boulder.

Cheryl Benton (28:54): And then finally it says, you don't have to climb over the boulder. You can just walk around it. And I and I'm stuck, and I'm like, we need to do more of that kind of thinking.

Unknown Speaker (29:04): Yeah. We really do. We put and we we, like, go out and find those boulders and put them in front.

Unknown Speaker (29:12): Oh, I found a boulder. You gotta go. Create some obstacles for myself. This this course of life is not tough enough, so let me put some

Unknown Speaker (29:19): more things

Unknown Speaker (29:20): in front of me.

Adrienne Garland (29:21): Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Like, let's let's let's make it easy. Let's stop seeking out those boulders because they're they're come they're gonna come across our path inevitably.

Adrienne Garland (29:30): So why are we why are we looking for them? It's that's it's such a such a good reminder. I know I make things overly complex at times, and, you know, the simplest, like flowing things, you know, you you sort of question why is that so easy? And instead of questioning why is that so easy, like lean into that and go go with the flow, you know, ride the wave. And we don't always do that.

Adrienne Garland (29:59): So that's such incredible advice. So Cheryl, how can people sign up for the newsletter and get involved with everything that it is that you're doing and the Three Tomatoes are doing?

Cheryl Benton (30:11): Well, that's great. You go to the 3tomatoes.com and the three is spelled out. Or you can go directly to the 3tomatoes.com slash sign up. And then you'll get all of our newsletters, which I really suggest because that we always highlight all of the new content, all of our events, talk about the latest books that we're publishing, but also other people's books. And I think people will a lot of women will find it interesting and helpful and I know they will.

Unknown Speaker (30:43): Ready to be cheered on.

Adrienne Garland (30:45): Yes. I I think that that's such a great message to, you know, sort of join the three tomatoes, get involved, even if it's just reading a a newsletter, giving a comment back. Now I know you also have a couple of events that are coming up pretty soon. So if you'd like to tell the the sugar coated audience about them, I'm sure that they would be interested knowing what We they

Cheryl Benton (31:06): do some fun events. Some are different, but we have some signature events throughout the year. Well, we love fun events. So our fun one is in the September, we do a wine trip to the vineyards of Long Island's North Fork, and it's so much fun. And this year, we sold out in a week and a half.

Cheryl Benton (31:26): So I think it goes to show we never sold out that bad. I think it goes to show up. Everybody wants to be out. We have so much pent up demand now for people wanting to be out and be with other women and people. But that's just a fun day and it's a great bonding day for women.

Cheryl Benton (31:41): But then on October 11, my personal most favorite event, because I think it goes to everything we're talking about here today. It's called Tomatoes Got Talent. And it's a talent show for women over 40. This will be our eighth year, believe it or not.

Unknown Speaker (31:58): Wow.

Cheryl Benton (31:59): And the idea is we conduct auditions and it's women who do not current are not currently making their living as a professional performer with their talent. And it has been the most extraordinary, inspiring thing that you have ever seen. Because when you talk about fear, nothing is scarier for many people than just getting up and having to deliver a speech. But if you have not performed in front of people or maybe were a performer some of these women were performers many years ago but went into other businesses, That's a really scary thing to get up and one to even come to the auditions. And we make everyone feel very comfortable.

Cheryl Benton (32:41): And we pick 12 finalists. And people come to the show, not just the contestants, family, and friends. We have a group of people come every year because they just love the show. And the talent is amazing. So just to give you an idea, this year, we have the singing rabbi.

Cheryl Benton (32:59): She's a rabbi. She was one of the first ordained female rabbis in the country, which I think is extraordinary. We have a psychiatrist who's a comic. She is hysterically funny. We have a blind comedian.

Cheryl Benton (33:15): She has her seeing eye dog. She is very, very funny. We have a couple of lawyers. We have teachers. I mean, this year's group is really amazing.

Cheryl Benton (33:24): And it's really inspiring. And we never know. We have celebrity judges, so we always have our favorites. But we never know who the judge is going to pick as the winner. But they're all winners because just the fact they get up.

Cheryl Benton (33:37): And had the courage to come and do this is so awesome.

Adrienne Garland (33:42): That's October 11 in New York City.

Cheryl Benton (33:45): That's October 11 in New York City at the Triad Theatre.

Unknown Speaker (33:49): Nice.

Cheryl Benton (33:49): It's it's on our the event is on our website, but if you get our newsletters, you'll see it.

Unknown Speaker (33:55): Awesome. I'm gonna sign up for that and because that will be my birthday present because October 11 is my birthday. Oh my gosh.

Unknown Speaker (34:02): Yeah. Well, that's a great way to spend it. But get your ticket fast because we are already more than halfway sold out. Wow. So it's gonna be a sell out again.

Cheryl Benton (34:10): So it's a great it's a great fun evening.

Adrienne Garland (34:14): Amazing. Well, Cheryl, thank you so much for spending time with me today. I know that everybody's gonna take away a lot from this episode, and I just can't wait to see all the new books that you're publishing and just continue to be in in company with you, doing great things together. So nice. Our our dates that we've had over the last couple of months has been so great.

Adrienne Garland (34:38): And I just really appreciate you and and your daughter. And it's just been absolutely wonderful getting to know you more. So thank you so much for being on this podcast.

Cheryl Benton (34:47): Thank you for everything that you're doing for women and connecting women and supporting women. So thank you so much.

Unknown Speaker (34:54): Thank you. This is the She Leads Podcast Network.