Deanna Rutlescu - Overcoming Adversity and Finding Success

Welcome to building better developers, the developer podcast, where we work on getting better step by step professionally and personally. Let's get started. Well, hello and welcome back. We are continuing our season of interviews and we are into a new interview. This episode we're going to be speaking with Deanna Radulescu and we're going to change a little bit because this is not so much technical as it is about overcoming adversity. Whatever it is that you think you've got facing you that's your challenges that maybe are stopping you from taking that next step. I think this interview will be one that will give you an example of somebody that said, you know what, it doesn't matter what life throws at me. I'm going to step in. I'm going to step into, lean into the things that I think need to be done. I'm going to take some chances. I'm going to take some risks. I'm going to let the chips fall where they may and it's worked out very well for her. So it's an entertaining interview, I would say, as well as very informative and I think very motivational as well. So I'll let her speak for herself and we'll get right into our conversation with Deanna. Today we are talking with somebody. It's a little different. We're not going to get technical. We're not going to get into coding or anything like that. We're going to talk about somebody that has started from a challenging position and is very successful. This is somebody that has, if you want to look at how some people will label things as, hey, you just, you got the deck stack against you. You've got, you should, you know, you're a victim or anything like that. This is somebody that will show you that you're not. So warning, this will probably kick in the butt a little bit and you'll say all those little excuses you have, you're going to turn around and say those excuses are worthless. I'm going to get up. I'm going to get myself going. I'm going to pursue my dreams. So we're talking with Deanna Rutlescu of the Label Free podcast and I think that's enough that I, that's enough of what I know for introductions. I'm going to toss over you and let you tell us a little bit about yourself. Sure. Well, thank you, Rob, for having me. This is an honor. I'm excited to be here and tell your audience a little bit about me and what I know and my experience. So I guess I'll just rewind a little bit. I was the vice president of Kia Counts and Business Operations with a large automotive remanufacturing facility with my late husband. We had five different businesses, two real estate holding and then three real estate holding companies and installation and the manufacturing business. We did before he passed away, we did I had let close a contract of twenty, twenty, twenty million dollars over the course of four years. So it's five million dollars a year. So I doubled the size of the business because at that time we were doing about twenty million in sales a year. So a lot of a lot of experience there in our installation arm. It was just an install shop kind of similar to like if you go to like a minikey or something like that and that was just getting off the ground after he passed. Life changed dramatically for me and I was in that position for about 10 years or so. I had pursued to getting to fashion, to design clothes and I created my own label. I was successful in the regard that I pulled the trigger and did it. I hadn't gone to school for it. I created a great brand for myself. I was on the runway in Rhode Island for Style Week. I was on their local news. I was a finalist for the Cadillac Design Challenge here in Chicago for Style Chicago. And at the end, my very last collection, I did a huge event against human trafficking and I had six other Chicago based designers. We had about 300 people, lots of sponsors, a lot of lot, lot, lot, lot, lot of attention around it. And it was an amazing, amazing event. It took me about eight months to plan it. And that was like the close of my fashion career. Shortly thereafter, I got an article on how to start a podcast and I said, well, I don't know who the F I think I am. And I pulled the trigger and I just did that. And now fast forward, I am a nationally syndicated on air personality with KCAA. They're the number one news talk radio in NBC affiliate news talk radio here in the US. I am the head coach and founding partner of female podcasters networks, networks solely supporting women in the podcasting space. And as you mentioned, I am the host of label free podcast where that all started in 2019. So that's where we are today. So you've really done nothing with your life. It's just been not every day. And just like, it's just another day. This is why I allow people I just say, hey, why don't you start with your introduction because there is always, you know, volumes of stories behind all of that. I guess the first thing that was of interest to me is the circle about. So you went from very much, you know, you had your real estate holdings, but really it was the auto world. Yeah. And then you went into fashion. That's not usually like a logical next step. And let's start with that. So what what caused you one, what caused that that decision to leap there? And then what was maybe some of your going on in your head a little bit, or maybe some of your concerns about doing that? Because I'm assuming there wasn't a lot that translated there. So I was never interested in automotive. I still am not. I am a total girly girl. That was my husband's thing. You know, my husband at the time, he is no longer with us. He was, you know, in cars and building transmissions when he was like a teenager. So when him and I got together, you know, he kind of rescued me at that. When we met at a certain point in my life, which, you know, I'm happy to get into. And we were with each other. I was with him for 17 years. So during that 17 years, I learned about his business. And I quickly proved myself to be a leader within the business itself. And I was a big driver. You know, that's just my personality type a. And he'd always tell customers that all my wife's the driver. You know, I'm always like, let's go, let's get the next deal. Next deal. You know, I learned a lot about transmissions that I could I know I don't remember anything about. But if somebody starts talking about it, I'd be like, oh, yeah, I remember, you know. But it's nothing that really interests me. I've always been a fashion girl. I used to make my own clothes when I was younger. I used to dress my mom's and my grandma's clothes, you know, as a young girl. And, you know, I used to just so all the time. So I had always told him, you know, I'm eventually going to get into fashion. And so, you know, hindsight, I probably should have done a little bit more research and take a little bit more. Just took my time. But after he passed, I was so desperate to jump into something new because my whole life had just been taken from me. So I had actually found a consulting company out of New York. Soho, New York, which is like the fashion capital of New York. And, you know, I. I learned a lot from them. Would I ever recommend to me to do that? Go that route again? No, I would tell them to go slow, you know, create a couple of pieces, you know, just kind of create them for yourself, wear them, get out there and show them off. I went gung ho. I did a whole collection. It was like 22 pieces. I had, you know, there's just so much that goes into creating one piece of clothing that I don't think people realize the upfront cost is huge unless you're doing it all yourself, which then again, if you're not getting paid for your time to invest into creating the patterns and creating the sample pieces, it's just a lot of busy work behind the scene to create an actual piece of clothing. And I don't think people realize that. So when he passed away, I was just like, I'm going at this is my dream. I'm going after it. That's you know, there was no there was no question in my mind if I was going to do it or not. I was just going to do it no matter what. And had I was if I was to do things over again, I probably would have done things a little bit less intense, but still went after it anyways. So good answers. So I guess that because we've we've already mentioned now a couple of times that I guess let's go back to this is I realize that your husband had been part of getting you out of your your experience with human trafficking and that. And so let's because that's not that's not again, that's not the origin story that a lot of people have is like, hey, I started out in there and I've heard a lot of stories there. So I'd like to get a little bit of your like how did give a little summary of that and maybe how you got into it, maybe how you got out of it as well. Sure. Well, my father was very abusive. You know, I come from a broken home. He was really was physically and mentally and emotionally abusive to myself and to my mother. And so I had eventually called the police on him at one point. I was in I was in high school and they he and he ended up getting arrested. And we got my sister and I got placed into foster care for a little bit. Then I ended up living with my grandparents. My my parents had eventually got divorced and he was deadbeat. Dad, he did not help my mother at all with child support. And at that time, there was four of us that, you know, unfortunately, she was pregnant with my fifth brother. So during my high school years, I worked several jobs to support my mom. You know, I got the story of walking through like five feet of snow going to the second job, you know, like you hear those stories, you don't think they're true. But I actually did that. And I was a teenager. And so when I graduated high school, I kind of had a wild hair in my butt. I was like, oh, I've been, you know, because I was basically a surrogate parent with my mother and I got attracted the wrong type of guy. You know, they say that, you know, patterns repeat themselves. They absolutely do. And, you know, I highly recommend anybody that's ever gone through anything traumatic to get counseling so you don't repeat the same patterns over again. God got involved, the very abusive boyfriend from there introduced me to human trafficking and then from there got into drugs. You know, luckily, I had just got to a point of enough because he had abducted me and stabbed me in the arm, basically almost killed me. And that was the point of no return for me, where I started, you know, breaking free from that whole lifestyle, from just being around the people were just things that were bad for me. Right. And so I was working at the gym. I was I've always been very passionate about working out. That's one good thing. Even through all this stuff, I've always been very disciplined to taking care of my body and believing in health and fitness, which is contradictory to doing a lot of drugs. But hey, you know, we just like put that away like that was just an experience. And so my late husband pursued me. He knew one of my girlfriends pursued me for a while. I was not looking to get involved with anybody just because of what I had been going through and just where I was in my life. I eventually said yes. And he was kind of like a knight in shining armor and took me away from all of that. And, you know, I kind of kissed that whole life goodbye and started fresh. So that's kind of it in a nutshell. You know what? How that worked out. So how much that's so you were already sort of I mean, he came in, but also you were you had mentally made some of those adjustments and said, hey, this is not this is not for me. I need to claw my way back out of this or because I'm assuming it's not something you're just like, hey, I'm not going to do this in the next day. You're you're often, you know, it's sunshine and rainbows after that. So how does that in particular? How has that mindset actually been something that now that you've carried forward? Because it's you know, it's obvious it's a very it's a big challenge of walking through that and there's that whole what doesn't kill you, make you stronger. I have a sense there's a there's a lot of that story in there is that how that may be shaped you moving forward versus what you were beforehand. Absolutely. Well, I think that, you know, I don't wish bad on anyone, you know, but I do believe that the more challenges and trials you go through, if you make a conscious choice to be strong and to be a survivor, that there is a set of skills that comes with that mentality and getting through all, you know, all the hard times, the trauma, the setbacks. And it definitely has created it has molded me to who I am today and just not willing to give up. You know, I think that we for me now, if I'm going through a rough spot, I'm like, OK, something good is going to come at the end of this. You know, I've come to the point where realizing that when you've gone through a lot of hard times, you know, there's always something great on the other end of it, as long as you continue to push forward and just stay clear on what your goals are and keep your mind like in a good place and not not beating yourself up. And what was me? Because, you know, that's not going to get you anywhere either. So it definitely has molded me into the person I am today and very strong. So let's take that now moving forward to another big, you know, big loss there. You flash forward 16, 17 years and you lose your husband. And I know that's in itself. I know that's it's challenge. I think that's something that if you haven't been through it, losing a spouse is just I think like losing people as into whatever their individual relationship is always going to be unique. But a spouse is very tough. And now you have somebody that's not only a spouse, but also your business partner. I mean, this is so your whole life, as you said, your whole life is is around this and it gets it basically gets ripped under out from underneath you. So you went from there and you looked at that fashion industry. But while you're in that, was there sort of what was it? How much of that was like, oh, no, not again. You know, it's like, you know, crud, I was, you know, I was getting somewhere. And now this is a setback. And how much of that was you saying, hey, look, you've been through this before. Let's get you know, let's let's work our way through it. Yeah, there is a lot of a lot of mental and emotional growth that went on after I lost my husband and losing everything I built for 17 years. You know, that's not I mean, we lived in a mansion we had. We flew private. I had the Mercedes, the Ferrari. I had all those things. And I had the title to write. He was grooming me to be president. So when all that's ripped away from you, it's a very it's a very hard thing to deal with mentally and emotionally and to kind of claw yourself out of. And I think that's why I was so desperate to get into the next thing. You know, I was like, just I got to get into the next thing. I'm going to make this successful. And it was, you know, when I decided to stop, you know, creating or designing fashion or designing clothing, it was a it that was pretty that was a hard pill to swallow. I'm not going to lie. Like I had to really change my mindset around being a failure and you're not making my dream happen. But the reality was I didn't make my dream come true. I wanted to design clothes. I designed clothes. I was on several runways. I was recognized on the news. I was a finalist for Cadillac. That's a big, big deal. I was very successful. Just that not the monetary monetary success I was looking for. So I had to really, you know, I got kind of depressed there after when I made a decision like, like, that's it. I can't throw good money after bad. It's not going to where I wanted to go. And it was a hard it was a hard pill to swallow. But then, you know, I'm I'm type A, you know, I'm a survivor. I'm like, OK, what's the next thing? And so then here here we are into the podcasting space. And it has been very it's been a huge blessing for me. It's been I'm I consider myself very successful with all the different opportunities and now, you know, just becoming nationally syndicated. So I think that you have to go through all these things to create your story that is going to bring you to the next thing that is much bigger and better than what you've what you've been through before. Oh, yeah, I think that's you. Yeah, I think you either let it stop you or you get better. It's like you either overcome or it blocks you. And so you get it. And that's you actually mentioned it was really interesting. Is that you had this almost this like, you know, dual personality thing of like, hey, I'm, you know, gosh, I'm suffering through all this. But I've achieved my my goals. And in particular, when you hear so much now that, say, for the last several years, there's been this whole it's very popular have the talk about imposter syndrome and things like that. So how do you you and you from a outside were very, you know, successful and things like that. You had you had done everything that people would say like, oh, I would love to have that life. But obviously, on the inside, you look at you. So nobody wants this life. I have, you know, I've had a lot of pain and suffering and challenge. I wouldn't wish this my life on anybody else. So how did you and especially working through that as you as you you have that. You know, sort of peak moment that you you were very successful and then you lose that now you're shifting into another gear. How has that maybe strengthened you so that when those those doubts and those, you know, those negative thoughts, how has that impacted your approach to whatever your next challenge is? You know, if I was to go back and do things over again with my late husband, I probably wouldn't have worked as hard as I did, because at the end of the day, it really wasn't worth it. All the stuff, all the things. I just remember thinking to myself all the time, like, is this really worth it? I mean, we worked nonstop. You know, we were probably we flew. We were traveling three weeks out of the month. You know, there is at one point I had I almost had like a nervous breakdown. I just couldn't go to go anymore. And even though I was the driver of the business, we had no life. You know, I didn't get to see family. We very rarely got to spend time with friends. We had motorcycles. We couldn't do the motorcycles. You know, we had all these things. And at the end of the day, he worked himself into his grave. You know, he was big into steroids and he thought that that was just going to keep him going. He needed his third kidney transplant. He had had open heart surgery. I mean, it was just at what point is it enough? Right. You know, and I don't think that any level of success is worth dying for. And that was a huge eye opener for me. Just to realize, to shift, to see where my priorities were going to be. Do I want to be financially like comfortable and successful? Absolutely. But at what cost? I'm not willing to to like to sacrifice having a life and and seeing my my family and my friends and doing my hobbies and actually living because that wasn't worth it to me. You know, did I have a lot of great experiences? I can look back and like, oh, I ate at the nicest restaurants all over the country. I traveled nonstop. I saw pretty much every like everywhere here and in Canada. You know, I mean, I've been all over, but it was always just we were working, working, working, like just working so much. And so my goals and my idea of success has changed compared to then. Versus now, it's very different. So how do you how does that work with your with that type a personality? Because a lot of a lot of entrepreneurs have that. That's what they're the type a they're like, go, go, go. You're you're driven, but also you have that. If you that personally, you have that itch to go do that next big thing. So how do you do that and pursue that and are true to that? But also because obviously you've been successful doing it. But how also do you do you rein it in so that you are able to live life and have friends and actually enjoy the rewards of your success? You know, I think it's just growth, growing on the inside and really finding my peace and my calm with where I am at in my life, you know, I I'm still I set aside time every day for what I need to focus on and outside of that, I'm like, OK, I'm done. I'm going to go to the gym. I'm going to cook dinner. I'm going to spend time with my fiance. I mean, do I want I'm always on my phone and try to look at emails? Yeah, there's that itch to do that. But I have to disconnect and allow myself that downtime to really embrace life around me, because, yeah, I want to do a million different things all the time. But, you know, the reality is that to really be good at what you're doing, you really have to focus on, you know, one thing, one or two things and allow yourself that time to connect with other people. And, you know, the type A is still there, but the type A has grown to shift into really prioritizing the things that meet that really mean something in life. So, I mean, just my experiences, it just, you know, it really it was a it was a life changing experience watching my husband lose his battle with life. It really was. So then that that sort of begs the question that I get so that you've done that. How is that looking back and now you because you can compare a couple of different things. How does that compare? How are there now things where you're you're still adjusting or have you found like you're the sweet spot for your life? And especially with regards to that balance and you know, you've got and I know business wise now you've got a podcast that's turned into this nationally syndicated thing, which, of course, has its own weight and burden. So where are you in that that balance of doing that and finding that that happiness? I'm extremely happy. I think that, you know, I'm sure like yourself and probably like your audience or your other guys that, you know, there are different levels of growth that happen in your life. You know, I'm middle age now and I'm blessed to be where I'm at and very proud of where I'm at and how old I am. And it's just all of our stories are so unique. And sometimes it takes us longer than others to get to where we need to be. And I've really found a place in my life where I'm extremely happy and, you know, I'm blessed, I'm getting remarried. So that's a beautiful thing. I never thought that was going to happen. And I just take one day at a time and just flow. You know, I think that's it's better just to flow with life instead of fighting it all the time. And that's where the miracles will start happening. So now focus a little more on the in the podcast world. So the first thing is, how did you what was the the genesis of the the label free podcast theme and brand? Well, like as we were talking about before we started recording, you know, there are so many labels that we put on ourselves and that your family puts on you, friends put on you. And I had been through so much and that after I had come on the other side of everything, I was just like, you know, I'm so tired of carrying these labels, you know, a label of being a widow. You know how hard it was to start dating after I got I lost my husband. You know, people I was like they, you know, if I told any guy that I was like a widow and my husband passed away, it was like, oh, my gosh, I don't want to I don't want to talk to her. I don't want to be around her. You know, family like how dare you start dating again. You know, you're married. You're so like, you know, a lot of those things, you know, and also I carry a lot of weight from the trauma I've been through. I've yeah, I've been abused by boyfriends. So, you know, my my father abused me, you know, and to I. And unfortunately, I got caught back up in that same cycle again after my husband passed away, I attracted another man that was abusive. So I had just like, you know, I'm like, I'm tired of all these labels. They're holding me back. I want to step into my voice. I want to be powerful. I want to be strong. I want to be honest. And it started out as a passion project, and it's just grown to something way more than I thought ever possible. And it just tells me that so many people, you know, from all different backgrounds struggle with the same thing, you know, we're we're in a society where everybody wants to put label us or put us in this box that, you know, we don't feel that fits or suffocates us or creates fear. And I think that it's just so important to encourage people that they don't have to live within that box. They don't have to carry those labels around, you know, no matter what it looks like for you, whether you're an entrepreneur, whether you're an artist, whether you're a mother, whether you're a father, whatever, wherever you are in life, you know, we don't you don't have to carry those that hold you back from stepping into your true purpose. And yeah, and I definitely recommend anybody that hasn't listened to your podcast is to listen to it for a while, because that's one of the things I've noticed that you have very a very broad perspective of people that come in. And so now you've talked to hundreds of people that have all of these different labels. How has that for I guess for lack of a better term sort of affirmed your label free approach as you see these people come in with all of their labels? Oh, man, you know, I do have a very big variety of people on the show, but the message is all the same. It's still the same. It's somebody that maybe was drowning corporate and they stepped into being a coach. And now they're super fulfilled and happy or someone that's had a defining moment that changed the whole course of their life. So there might be a big variety of guests on my show, but they all have an underlying message. It's all the same. So, you know, I really feel that it's I mean, it's just shocking to me. I still have weekly on a weekly basis. I get bombarded with people that want to be on the show and, you know, I'm blessed. And I think that it's just my responsibility now to keep sharing this message because it resonates with so many people. And so, you know, you never know who is going to be on that's going to perhaps save a life that, you know, someone that's listening. Yeah, that's that that does sound like a big part of the message. That joy, that love of what you do, that enthusiasm. I think that's always anybody that's successful. I found out, especially that's that's wild, you know, quote, wildly successful. Yeah, that's sort of at the heart of it. It's something that they are passionate about, that that's something that they are willing to put that time and that effort into. And so it sort of is that the dark side, I guess, that I guess, or whatever. So you've done this and you push through. Were there were there some times where you're like, hey, this this is this isn't going to work or it's not going to go where I want it to. Oh, yes. And I still get those thoughts, you know, because we live in such a demanding society and there's so much content out there. And you're constantly competing with the spotlight, right? You're constantly competing to get an audience. You're constantly competing to get noticed. You know, social media is out of control. You know, I do. I have those thoughts all the time. But, you know, I just if I continue to stay in alignment with my message, and continue to show up every day and flow with my with the show, with the things that are happening around me and not force it. I've you know, I found that, you know, the there's the magic just keeps happening. You know, I don't I'm not stagnant. I'm not sitting by and just like letting things happen. You have to make things happen. No matter what you're doing or what type of background you have, you have to constantly educate yourself. You have to constantly look at your resources. And that's one thing that I was looked at. You know, I've always been researching what's in that. What are other platforms I can get on? What are other ways I can improve? You know, taking different classes or, you know, I mean, it's just we should always be striving to elevate and grow no matter what we're doing. So how do you take that approach to you're constantly looking for ways to improve? Is there a like is there some rhyme or reason to it? Is it more that's just now become natural to you? Or is there some sort of discipline behind that that's like, hey, I'm going to attack it in this way so that I make sure that I continue down that path? I haven't had time to really do a lot more new research, but I do. I've signed up for several emails from different like platforms or like pod news type of of of affiliate affiliations. And, you know, I make sure I read those, you know, I try to stay current with what's going on out there within the podcasting space, because I think that's important to know, as with anything, right? You have to stay current and just connecting. You know, it's important to network. I mean, if you're in a community that is, you know, in any community, whatever it might be, you need to be network. You need to be meeting new people. You need to be like just talking and and constantly like sharing your message or sharing what you're doing. And I think that's the best way. I mean, I'm now I'm doing a lot of press releases behind my show, especially people that are on the radio. And now I've found new resources that can help support my podcast and like the things that I'm doing, you know, with the with the press releases. And so I think that that's just another way to get your name out there and just look at other other opportunities to promote yourself. Because, you know, we the world is all about marketing, right? And so you have to continue to market yourself. And what does that look like for you as a podcaster? And people have to figure that out. And so that's just, you know, it's just one thing. That's a new thing that I've started doing. And that I'm getting a lot of recognition from, which I think is, you know, it's important, right? Yeah, like I said, I mean, you can't even have the best product in the world. If nobody knows it exists, then it's it's you're not going to get a lot of sales out of it. No, not at all. And we will pause there. We will come back next episode and wrap this discussion up. We're going to get a little deeper into some of the why and some of the how. Some of the things that she's looking at when she's moving into these these big steps that she's taking and making sure that she is happy with it, that she is matching her goals and what makes her happy, what brings her joy, which I think is a very key part of success, is we can have a lot of dreams and thoughts about where we can go. But when we find a way to align those with the things that we do that bring us fulfillment, that recharge us, that energizes that is when we're going to see success. And we're going to see that as we continue our discussion in the next episode. But until then, go out there and have yourself a great day, a great week, and we will talk to you next time. Thank you for listening to Building Better Developers, the Develop-a-Noor Podcast. You can subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon, anywhere that you can find podcasts. We are there. And remember, just a little bit of effort every day ends up adding into great momentum and great success. Hi, this is Rob from Building Better Developers, the Develop-a-Noor Podcast. We're excited to be on Alexa now. You can enable us by simply saying, Alexa, enable Building Better Developers. And we will be there ready for you every time you want to listen to your now favorite podcast. 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