"I Took The Leap and I Took A Chance On Myself," with Tory Proppe, on Entrepreneurship, Imagination and Magic, Parenthood, and Abundance.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: . [00:00:00] Hello everyone. Uh, welcome to the Intersection, a podcast program about intersectionality and all the stories that come with it, and I'm thrilled to have my guest here today. She is also a podcaster, so this is, you know, very kind of easy for her. I think.

Tory: We see.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: We'll see, uh, we were joking a little bit because uh, she has a whole podcast set up there and me, just me and my computer.

Um, so her name is Victoria and Tori nickname, uh, proppy. So Victoria Proppy, and, uh, Tori and I met via, uh, our mutual friend, Ashlyn, uh, and we did some podcasting together earlier, which we are probably gonna talk about. In a little bit and Tori is a marketing professional [00:01:00] and um, she is just fabulous and I want to invite her to introduce herself.

Hi Tori.

Tory: Hi. Oh my gosh. Thank you for having me on. Have never been a guest on a podcast before, I am just honored that you asked me to be on, and I'm super excited. Uh, it feels a little weird to be on this side of

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah. Yeah, I can relate.

Tory: Well, I'm happy to be here and, yeah. Okay. A little bit about me. Um, Started marketing. I studied marketing in school and afterwards moved here to the Portland area over a decade ago, and I kind of worked my way through kind of the corporate world and the nonprofit world and really love marketing, really didn't love. The environments I was [00:02:00] working in. Um, marketing has always been kind of like a stressful industry to be in, especially when you work for bigger companies or agencies or whatever. And, um, there's just a lot of work and, um, just kind of, especially in our field, a lot of underpaid

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right. Mm-hmm.

Tory: And, you know, like I, I really loved what I was doing and there were some circumstances where I really loved. Even just the companies that I was working for, but I just felt like I could do more. And my first kind of stab at freelancing was long before I started my company, but I was laid off from my corporate job and while I was searching for other work, um. Somebody had hired me to do like a really quick side project, and I loved that.

And then she introduced me to someone else. And again, I just kind of kept working very, very small scale on the side, [00:03:00] very small amount of money. And then I. COVID hit and that whole year I opened my business and officially and I just started doing it on the side of my full-time job.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um.

Tory: basically every client that I had, just saved all of that money. And the very next year decided, okay, I think I can do this. And like, I think COVID like taught me that like, oh, I can actually work from home and stay focused and, you know, I'm, I'm able to manage multiple things at once. And so I think that was kind of like a blessing that came from

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory yeah, anyway, that was my rambling story, but um, through there I realized that, you know. Maybe if no one else was gonna take a chance on me, I needed to take a chance on

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: And I took the leap, which is also

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Uh,

Tory: coincidentally the name of our

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yes.

Tory: And, um, I took the leap and I went out on my own. [00:04:00] And, um, never looked back like it's been, been a lot of ups and downs since then, but there's just something about having agency over. Your work and what you do and being able to choose the types of people you work with and the types of clients you serve. And with marketing. Like I don't wanna be in a corporate office trying to contribute to corporate greed,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: Like I want to use my skills to actually make a difference.

And

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: I get to do that now. Um. So yeah, that's, that's a little bit about me and also just kind of like on a personal note, since I started my business, I've gotten married and had a kid

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yay.

Tory: he's now a toddler. So I think it really helped me up for life's transitions. And been, been a blessing. It's also been very stressful. I would like [00:05:00] to point out to people who are. Wanting to become entrepreneurs. Like it's not su like it's not the easy path. It really isn't, but I do think it's worth it.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Uh, thank you for that. And thank you very much for your openness and honesty about the challenges entrepreneurs face. Um, oftentimes we see this rosy picture of successful business operators, like, you know, looking very grand, but like,

Tory: Mm-hmm.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: you see when they were wearing sweatpants and just be frazzled.

No.

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: but, uh, I, I resonate with that for sure. I think COVID taught everyone a lesson, and some of the lessons are very cruel and hard. Uh, a lot of us also have some kind of like self discovery, like, oh, I can do this.

Tory: Exactly, and that's [00:06:00] thankfully what I from that timeframe. And you know, I think, I think it's really important too to point out just situation is so different. And I had at that moment in my life, all the pieces that really helped me. Like for example, like at that point I was living with my now husband and he has.

A full-time corporate job with health insurance and we were getting married, so you know, I was able to get on his health insurance. Um. And, you know, not everybody has access to that, right? Like when I was single and I had just gotten laid off, you know, like five, six years prior to that, um, I was doing it on the side and freelancing just for extra money, but I wasn't in my head at that time thinking, oh, I can just start my own business.

And because I didn't have. The resources, the mental

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right.

Tory: [00:07:00] or anybody really, like, I had a, you know, I didn't have like a partner in my corner rooting me

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: which, you know, not

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: True.

Tory: needs that, but

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right?

Tory: is very

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: It's very helpful.

Tory: it's very

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yes. I also agree.

Tory: so I just, I think it's also important to point out that like if had approached me with that idea. Five or six pri years prior. I don't know that I would've been in the he right head space to go out on my

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: but I think just all the, the circumstances hit at the right time. During COVID, I started working from home. I got an O like at home office set up. That was really nice. Um. I had a supportive partner who not only supported me just like with encouragement and emotional support, but also was like, Hey, financially we could make this work.

You

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: Um, so I think, I think that's also important to note too,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, I think that's very important. Like you [00:08:00] gave a very kind of like holistic view of, you know, once it's not like, let me quit my job that I hate and just. Go out on my own. Uh, yeah, I mean, you can do that. At the same time, we really need to think about, you know, what are the, you know, pieces we have in our hands that we can work with and what kind of support we can get.

Especially in today's world, everything is very, uh, unpredictable. Things change all the time. I feel like for small businesses, it's even more important now to really look at. The, um, the assets we have. Like, it doesn't really have to be monetary. It can be, you know, like do I have, uh, childcare for example?

Like, can I get access to that? And you know, traditionally, um, in Chinese culture, the grandparents are childcare, right? It's like, and I'm not saying too, [00:09:00] um. Use that necessarily if you don't have to. At the same time, we need to look at, um, the possibilities that are available for us in order to make this work.

And shout out to your husband?

Tory: Yes. Yes. Honestly, I feel like I don't give him enough credit because I feel like he really is a business partner in

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yes. Yeah.

Tory: he was. He's the first person I run ideas by, or even though he's not a. Great proofreader. Sometimes I'm like, I just need somebody to read this. Will you please read this for me?

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Okay.

Tory: You know, just like random things like that. Like he really truly is a business partner in everything that I do.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, I, that's so lovely. Um, I, so what's the. Not, I don't want to put a focus on him, but I'm curious like what is her background, like? What's her profession?

Tory: Oh, my

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: profession, [00:10:00] he, um, he works for a company that, uh, has like wind turbine plants, um, around the world, and he is on their, um, cybersecurity like tech

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Oh, gotcha.

Tory: yeah, he, he does like a lot of really technical. Things, and I don't understand half of it. So also my tech support. Anytime I'm like struggling with anything, he helps me, like set up a lot of my systems. Like he's just like really resourceful and has the kind of brain that I don't have. So it's really helpful, um, when I need. More technical pieces of my business to come together. I'm just like, Hey, what do you think about this? And then he gives me like a bunch of options. It's just he like, he's so great. And yeah, he's like [00:11:00] not getting paid for any of it, but, but also like we, yeah, it's the household. We, it impacts us both. So.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um, I love that. Um, I was curious about it because, you know, um, I agree not everyone needs a partner, but having a partner in your corner can be really, really wonderful. Um, I don't give my, uh, boyfriend enough credit either, but he's been very supportive of me as well, and at times unsolicited advice. So, but you know, like.

I will say sometimes like, huh, I never thought of that. That's actually a really good point, even though I didn't ask for it. Um,

Tory: It's always the

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: but thank you.

Tory: right?

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um, the kind of support I feel like. You know, again, how, what's the society? How does society see masculinity? I think that's a very [00:12:00] interesting, um, area to discover or to explore as well.

Um, 'cause for me, I don't think my boyfriend is this traditional, masculine kind of dude. You know? Like he doesn't have the. Um, desire to control or to overpower or to think, oh, why, why do you have your own business? It's like, no, it's not like that. So I think to a point, having someone in our corner is really wonderful.

Tory: It is. And yeah, I think that's, um, that's a really good point. I think. I, I'm not exactly sure where I'm going with this thought here, but, um, I feel like is like something that I haven't really thought much

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: like, I met my husband and we have a son together and um, so it's definitely been like a topic more often than I ever

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: would, you know, be a topic in my household.

And it's so interesting [00:13:00] because he. Really is not like, like I would say in terms of like physical looks like he definitely fits more of that like masculine

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: And like I, I joke that like, 'cause he has like the beard and he wears flannels, you know, I'm like, you're like a lumberjack and no, he's a Portland guy. but. Like, I don't know if I can say this or not, so you can edit this out, but, um,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: it.

Tory: looks like he's a Republican, but he's not. He's the very, like, extremely opposite of.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I

Tory: Like he drives a truck, you know,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Oh

Tory: he

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yeah.

Tory: like, yeah, he, he definitely has like that look,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Uh.

Tory: personality wise, he is very comfortable in his own skin. He like does not bat an eye if my son wants to wear a dress. Like, which he [00:14:00] does and dress up a lot

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Wow.

Tory: princesses right

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Oh my God, it's so cute.

Tory: Bell.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Wow.

Tory: is very into Beauty in the Beast. We're going through a phase where we are watching Beauty in the Beast every single day. kind of regretting showing it to him because I am getting sick of beauty in the Beast, which I never thought I would say. But anyway, that was a sidebar random tangent. He like, anything that like has come up, like my son wants to play with girl toy, like traditional, I'm using quotes here, girl toys or something like that.

Like he's never had a problem with like, I bet if we had a girl and she wanted to like paint his nails or do makeup, like he would not think twice

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah. Yeah.

Tory: like he's not the toxic. Masculine toxic masculinity is

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: his thing. And anyway, the whole point I'm trying to make here is I think that masculinity is, is different

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: [00:15:00] And I think the more people kind of embrace that, like, I don't know exactly know what I'm saying, but like I

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: we work better together when we kind of embrace this sense of like. don't have to fit into

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I agree.

Tory: box, I guess, if that makes sense.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: It makes a lot of sense. Um, I think it also makes sense, especially thinking about, um, the choices you've made for yourself career wise. I say that because. You know, when we think about stereotypes, right? When, say, when someone sees your husband, they may kind of just, just immediately assume he's a certain type of a person with a certain type of behavior or ways of thinking until you actually get to know him and that can apply to anyone, like, right?

Like, so I feel stereotypes and just norms. I'm air quoting again. It's like. Um, that [00:16:00] can very much, um, how do I say? Um, it's not helpful if we want to learn something new and open to something different. And the fact that you mentioned, you know, you don't have to fit. And I feel that makes sense in terms of your career choices is that, you know, when it comes to marketing.

It's, it's, it's part of communications, I think profession wise. And traditionally as a marketing professional, you either work in house or you work for an agency. And like you said, the majority of them in today's world is, uh, capitalism and consumerism. Materialism. And we've seen all the documents about it and data shows, right?

Like all these big companies, big stores, they are just. Monopolize the market. And as a marketer like you, you don't want to do that. It's like you don't want to be part of that game that's [00:17:00] just very profit driven. So which means you wanted to break the, you know, status quo or the stereotype. And then you also mentioned you want to, you know, work that's like.

Aligned with your value and making a difference. So I think that makes a lot of sense. Which leads me to ask you this question, you know, since you became like a fully independent and um, just being a business operator, how has that been for you, like in terms of client work? And fulfillment, like, you don't have to tell us who your clients are, but just in general, like how has that journey been for you?

Tory: Yeah, I mean it's been really, I mean it's definitely been up and down,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: enlightening of like learning as I go, who, what types of clients I want to work with [00:18:00] and what types of projects. Make me feel like I am making a difference. So for example, like a lot of my clients are either nonprofits or small businesses.

I actually exclusively only work with small, smaller, like medium sized businesses. Um, and so I really feel like at the root of it, I'm actually helping the people who need it the most versus like working for like a, a big company as a contractor or something like that. Like I'm actually helping people who are like at. Like helping our local communities and, um, know, our local economies. And that feels really, really good. Um, and then as I go along, right, like there's been some business owners that I've worked with who are, you know, just not after we kind of get to know each other. Like there was one in particular that was like a little bit on the sexist side and I'm like, Hmm, this [00:19:00] feels icky.

I don't like this.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: like. Supporting who like thinks this way, and I've like seen the way they interact with employees

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: kind of gotten that further proof of like, yeah, I, I don't really feel good about this anymore. And I didn't say, Hey, you're sexist, I'm not gonna work

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: Which maybe I should have at this point, this day and age. But, you know, I, it's helped me realize like, okay. Those are not the, I'm, I'm not going to attract those kinds of clients anymore. I'm gonna kind of weed that out in my initial discovery. And, there's been clients who maybe just like disrespected my boundaries a

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: so I've learned to, um, have better boundaries and like I've learned to. Uh, change my services so they help the right types of clients. I guess. I don't know if that answers your question, but like

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I think it does.

Tory: really, yeah. I feel like I've, been a, a [00:20:00] big learning curve of trying to remind myself that I'm not an employee and to get out of the habits of doing things the way I used to do them, and do them in a way that serves both me and my ideal clients.

And. That's been really, really nice. I've worked with some really cool people and even the people that I worked with that I didn't end up wanting to work with long term, like I still got, like, we still got something out of that relationship. I still, you know, help them and went away from that learning like a lesson.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: So like, there's nobody that I've worked with that I'm like, I hate them. I never wanna see them again. You know what I mean?

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: I just, I've learned something from every experience.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, I think that makes sense. It definitely answered my question. I feel, you know, when you are in-house or like working for an agency, you don't have that much autonomy like. You don't get to choose very much. And it [00:21:00] sounded like, you know, you are able to work with people who are aligned with your value and when you see red flags, you are able to detect it and

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: maybe at times you need to say no.

And I think that's really powerful, like having the, you know, choice for you is I can choose to work. Who I believe I can help and also whose value is aligned with mine and having the, I mean, I recently had this experience is, uh, having to say no. Uh, to someone. And I mean, at the time it didn't feel great, um, because it, it was kind of sad to having to say no, but like, you know, reflecting on it, it was the right thing to do.

So I feel there's some kind of empowerment in it is, you know, when is the time to say no? Um, I think as a kind of women business owner, that's a really good learning experience for sure.

Tory: Yeah. [00:22:00] Yeah, that's a really good point too. 'cause I feel like, as a woman business owner, I feel like we, like we're, we've always been told like any business is good business

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right.

Tory: and that's

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: No, that's not.

Tory: It's something I've been talking about a lot lately. I think I wrote, I wrote a blog post on this recently of like, not every client is your ideal client.

If you think your business is for everybody,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: basically. And I think it's that same kind of vibe like. Not all money is good money, know? And if you just keep accepting money for the sake of doing that, you're gonna be constantly working from a space of like scarcity, and you're not going to have

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: work that you set out to do.

And then you're gonna start feeling like an employee again. Or start feeling like, yeah, exactly. And you're, you're gonna feel. Burnt out, you're gonna burn

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.[00:23:00]

Tory: that's pretty much a guarantee. And so while I'm not telling you like decline everything that you know, that comes your way, that isn't a hundred percent, you know, like I think there is like a, a measuring system that you can put together of like, these are my values, these are my non-negotiables, and these are my boundaries.

And. I'm gonna put this out into the universe so that I can then attract the people who kind of fit into

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, I really, yeah, it does. I really appreciate that. Uh, it is powerful to hear you say, you know, not all money is good money. Um, I definitely want to include the blog post in the show notes, so I would like to have the link so that more people can read it. Um, yeah, you touched on that and I think you are right.

That's the scarcity mindset and um, I mean, it's. It's the conventional wisdom. It's also very dated. Um, I think right now the whole [00:24:00] world is telling us like, there's not enough. There's not, not enough. There's scarcity. We need to fight for resources, et cetera, et cetera. And at times it can be true. Um, and I think in our society.

I do think it's an illusion that is created to stop people from accessing to abundance. It's a, I feel it's a false scarcity because there are so many gatekeepers.

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um, so I'm curious to learn about your experience, um, with the abundance mindset.

Tory: Yes. So, and I, I am just like gonna be completely transparent here. Like I haven't always had one and I wouldn't even say that. I'm like super great at it at the

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: That's okay.[00:25:00]

Tory: a work in progress, like

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Great.

Tory: I come from, and I think we all have like our own history with money, right? And. abundance just in general.

And so I think that plays into it as well. And then you, if you don't deal with it, if you don't go to therapy or you don't learn to kind of overcome some of those limiting beliefs that you grow up with or experience through trauma, then. of the times, I mean, I can almost guar, I'm not a therapist, but I can almost guarantee you that that's gonna come out in your

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: and your work that you do. And so I've had a scarcity mindset for many, many years. And going into entrepreneurship, it was like just, I, I realized very quickly like, oh, this is still, I'm still operating from this. You know, like, just like I just told you how, um. Not every [00:26:00] client is, is for you. And you know, you can't accept other business.

Like I, it's taken me a while to actually like, live, live that, you know,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: that I can teach. But to live that, that's been a more recent thing. And so that's why I've been talking about it so much because it, it is true. And so anyway, I feel like I'm rambling, but the, the point I'm trying to make is that. I've had the experience of operating from a place of scarcity, and now I've also had the experience of operating from a place of abundance, and I can tell you that things are going better for my

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm.

Tory: the more I do that. And going into next year, I'm feeling really, really great about how things are going, and so I think. Because it's just like all the things I said, I took on clients that weren't a good fit values wise, or they just weren't a good fit in general. Like I, I changed my services for them just to fit what they needed, you [00:27:00] know? And that was, that was a drain on my energy and my time, you know, and they kept, you know, I let scope creep happen in my contracts. It just kept going and it wasn't helping or ing my business in any way

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: in my mind, well, I can't lose this client, or I have to get that extra

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: couple hundred dollars or whatever it was, you know? And. Anytime I've done that, anytime I've had that red flag or that, you know, this isn't what you wanna be doing, and I've done it anyway because of that scarcity mindset, I've always regretted it.

The money has never been worth it and it's never given me the abundance that I thought it would, I guess, if that makes

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: It makes a lot of sense to me and thank you for that. Um, lesson. I think I feel we've all been there. Like I have been there for sure. It's like if I lost this client I [00:28:00] would. Blah, blah, blah. You know, I make up these stories so that I will stick to scarcity, I will just follow through. And then what happens in the end, it's like I'm exhausted and I don't know where my soul is.

I'm just exhausted. Um, yeah. So that's a really, um, good lesson. So, totally makes sense. Thank you for sharing. And I love when you say, you know, when you operate on the abundance mindset. It's better, your business is better, your life is better, your wellbeing is better. It's just, it's better.

Tory: Yeah, and I've attracted more clients who are willing to pay me for the things I actually want to do.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right, right. I, I love that. Do you, do you, um, also believe in, you know, energy works in a certain way?

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Okay. Yeah. Which is, you know, I was curious, I don't even know if we said your business name out loud yet.

Tory: [00:29:00] Oh

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Imagine marketing strategies, uh,

Tory: Imagine marketing strategies.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: we mentioned the energy. Like what? I'm curious, like when you pick your business name, what does imagine mean to you that you, you pick that word.

Tory: Yeah, so I've always loved that word. I actually have it tattooed on my back. Um, um, in the shape, like it's in the shape of a flower, uh, sunflower. It's really cute. and I've always loved that word, but I chose it for my business because when I was first doing this, there was a lot of work around, like imagining a different future.

Imagine for yourself and imagining. A better way of doing things and like using my imagination to come up with a better

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: kind of a

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: the thing is, is that I work with people who are doing the same thing in essence, because they are also going out on their own and starting their own businesses because they are imagining. [00:30:00] better way of doing things. And so I've just, I've always loved that word kind of coupled with that idea. And so that's where I came up with that name. And then obviously marketing. I do marketing, and I was really intentional about strategy because that's. kind of where I shine, that's what I do.

Um, think kind of like the core of the services that I offer is I want to sit down with small businesses and come up with a plan that's actually attainable and achievable to them specifically. I don't really think that like marketing is like. One size fits all, and especially for small businesses like taking templates of marketing structures that work for corporations and big businesses, it's not, it's not a sustainable plan for a small business.

And so up with that strategy and that plan with actionable items that people are actually going to be able to

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: that's kind of where my magic is. Um, I just like simplifying things [00:31:00] and. It for people to do, if that makes sense.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: does. Uh, I can definitely say you believe in energy 'cause you just said magic.

Tory: Yeah. I'm a little woo. I am like,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Love it.

Tory: who are more, um, woo than me, but I, I love, I, I love having a little magic and everything.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I love it too. And I feel, you know, in terms of, you know, since you work in marketing, I think messaging is really important for your own work and your clients. And I feel imagine is like a really good, like a word that captures your essence and what you offer to a client is what is possible. Like

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: possibility in front of you.

I think that's really cool.

Tory: Yeah, yeah. Thank you. Thank you. I, yeah, I haven't talked about that in a while. Thank you for bringing that

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, I was like.

Tory: Talk about that more.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: So, uh, talking about business names, [00:32:00] um, I, I do really want to talk about your, uh, podcast that you co-own with, uh, Ashlyn. Take the Leap, that's another powerful name. You know, take the leap. Um, it gives a picture of a person who literally just like jumps over, right? Like it's not,

Tory: what it

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yeah. Yeah, it's what feels like.

Um, tell me about the story behind your partnership with, um, Ashland on Take the Leap.

Tory: Yeah, so Ashlyn is an incredible human being. She also started her marketing company around the same time I

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: and we have known each other for many, many years. We met through the American Marketing Association here in Portland, and we volunteered together like. I wanna say it was like close to a decade ago then lost touch for a couple of years and reconnected. Wanna say it was a year or two before COVID, I was working [00:33:00] as the only marketing, basically the only marketing person on a small nonprofit team and managing a lot of things, and so was she. And we were both kind of like at the same point in our career. And I was looking for other people who worked with small teams and just needed like of other people who were kind of facing similar problems.

And so I just on LinkedIn reached out and said, Hey, is, are there any other marketers out there who just like. Want to get together. Not for like membership or networking or anything like that, but just like, nothing like super structured, but just coffee so we can like chat and bounce ideas off of each other.

And we had like a small little marketing group and it was so much fun. There were a lot of really cool people in it. Um, I wanna say there was like. Six, I think of

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Cool.

Tory: And we met for coffee about once a month. [00:34:00] And it was so helpful. It was so encouraging. And, uh, then COVID hit and it definitely fizzled out a little bit, um, at that point. But what it did do is, uh, reconnected, Ashlyn and I, we started talking about starting our own businesses, and we kind of did that around the same time and we're doing it on the side and, um. We thought we would start creating like content and groups around like kind of how to get started with your own business and how to take the leap and so we, it started, the idea started as like a course.

We taught it live in person and just. Basically shared and we were open. We're like, we just did this. We just went through this. Here's everything we've learned here. Like if you want to not make the same mistakes we did, they are. Um, and then we, we started that and that was really fun. We taught that [00:35:00] in person.

And then, um, that evolved into a recorded. Course that we did and then redid, and then it also evolved into a podcast, um, where we now, uh. We publish new content every single week. And the premise of that podcast is we interview guests, um, who are entrepreneurs, and we ask them about their take leap story.

And our whole purpose in this, I mean, I feel like it's very similar set up to this, where we just have a conversation, but our whole purpose is just to one, give people and the. Idea that like entrepreneurship looks different for everybody and like we've literally talked to people who've been in business for 15, 20 years and we've talked to people who just started this

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: you know, and everything in between.

And we've talked to. People from [00:36:00] all different kinds of backgrounds and all who have had all different levels of support. Um, and that, that's like our biggest goal is to show you that you know, you have the idea and you have the dream and you have. The actual desire to go out and do it. Like here's an example of a whole bunch of different types of people who have done that too. And so hopefully people can see their stories in other people and be encouraged to do that. And then it's also just to share like the real life

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: Stories of it, you know, it's not all rainbows and butterflies and I don't think any entrepreneur we've talked to has even tried to pretend that it is.

Like we've all been very real with each other and like, oh yeah, the first few years really fucking sucked.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yes. Yeah,

Tory: I swear?

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: that's fine.

Tory: Okay. Sorry.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: No, it's fine. Nobody cares.[00:37:00]

Tory: I swear a lot. We swear I'll take the leap a

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: Okay, so yes, they like, it's like, oh, this really, really sucked, or. This part was really great. And then it was followed by a few months of sucking and, and success has never been like a linear thing. Like

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um,

Tory: really, really great. One month not so great, and there was nothing you could do to predict that, you know?

And so I think being real about things like that, I think it's. Like similar with parenthood, like when

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yeah.

Tory: real about your experience, not only does it like normalize and help other people not feel so alone, but it also just like that honesty of sharing your story, I think also just helps people think, oh, okay, um, know, I know I can get through this now.

Or maybe it helps 'em think of a new idea or, you know, whatever. At the end of the day, we just know we're not alone,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah. Yeah.

Tory: and I think that's so important.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah. Thank you for sharing that. I really agree. I [00:38:00] think, you know, your podcast provides, uh, a space for people to kind of come together and, you know, it, it feels like a support system. Um, it's not every time, of course you have a different guest, but you are holding the space for people to share what they go through as entrepreneurs and business operators.

So, like you said, you know. For people who are doing this, um, they think they're doing this alone to give them this idea that, oh, maybe I don't have to do it alone. You know, there is support out there. And also to encourage like newer entrepreneurs, you know, like, this is what you expect. It's not all rainbows like you said, and butterflies.

Um, it's ups and downs, but it's beautiful. I think it's beautiful.

Tory: it is. And that's just life in general.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, I agree. And um, so definitely we'll share your, um, podcast in the show notes as well to give a [00:39:00] shout out and folks who really follow it. I feel like even if you are not say, oh, I'm, I'm never gonna start a business, I feel there's still a lot of lesson. From the conversations you have, um, on Take the Leap, it's not just for business people, it's for everyday person as well.

Um,

Tory: you.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yeah. And you mentioned, you know, um, it's similar to parenthood, you know, having running a business and having a podcast, having these different stories and at times feeling alone, but not really alone. Um. Can you, and because you said, you know, uh, I remember earlier you mentioned you got married during COVID and then had your child.

So it feels like, uh, your business, is your business the same age as your child?

Tory: Not quite. Not quite. So I officially started my business in 2020 and then, [00:40:00] um, like quit my full-time job at the end of 2020, beginning of 2021, and then got married that year and got. In 2022 and then had my baby in 2022. So it was like a couple like, it, it, I feel like it all happened around the same time, but yeah, it was probably like a, a period of like two

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm.

Tory: um, in the beginning of when that happened.

And then, yeah, he's three now, so almost my business is only a couple years older.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah. Yeah. I mean, I see a photo behind you. It's adorable. Um, that's your child.

Tory: Yes. And that was when he was a baby.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yeah. It looks like a baby

Tory: He is older now. Yeah. And he's so cute and

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: around.

Tory: yeah, running around. He's wild.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: We love a wild baby.

Tory: a wild kid.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I mean, as an auntie, I love a wild [00:41:00] baby. I dunno

Tory: they're

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I,

Tory: They're not always fun to parent.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: right.

Tory: but they are fun.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um, so I'm curious, you know, as a, as a parent who runs their own business. Um, and of course, I imagine, imagine, I imagine you will be, you are parenting and working at the same time, and sometimes you have to mix them together here and there. Um, how has, um, being a parent and parenting mean for you over the last few years and in terms of, you know, personal growth as well as applying some of that skills, uh, at work?

Tory: That's a really good question. Well, I guess in a nutshell, it's, I'll be honest, it's really fucking hard.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I got it.

Tory: It's life is tremendously harder [00:42:00] than it was five, 10 years ago. And you know what? I wouldn't change a thing about it. Like, I mean, I mean, well that's not necessarily true, but I wouldn't change having my kid or having my business at the same time, like I love. Doing what I do and I love my kids so much.

Um, but yeah, it's, it's, it's been a, a learning curve, that's for sure. And it depends on the day that you ask me too, because days go really well and others don't. And some days, like some days I have childcare and some days I

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right.

Tory: And so I think that that plays a really big part of it. But I will say this, uh, you know, having a kid. Was a lot harder than I thought it was going to

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: and that doesn't mean I love him any less. I love him so, so, so, so much. my transition into motherhood, personally, I had a

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: I had postpartum [00:43:00] depression. I was very, very anxious, um, and was also trying to still run my business as if I had the same amount of time that I did preki too.

And I did that for like. and a half, I kept telling myself, I need to meet those same goals. I need to work the same amount of time. And I don't know why I thought I could do that, but I did, um,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: and it was really, really difficult. And it still is. But I would say that one of the biggest things that I've done for my mental health and one of the biggest ways I've improved my. Professional development. My self development has one of the biggest things I've done for that was opening a business and becoming a parent, because the thing is, it's just like opening a business dealing with different types of clients, different types of people, learning to handle [00:44:00] stressful situations, learning to handle the ups and downs and flows of business. Um, you also have to learn how to manage your emotions and manage stress. And even if you weren't raised

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right.

Tory: um, when you are raising a child because. Um, you know, he's learning,

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah,

Tory: a little human, like he's never done this before and I

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: that's true.

Tory: to parent

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: in a way that he's not going to be super traumatized when he

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: grows

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: And so it's, I will say, therapy has been amazing for both my business and. Becoming a parent. and I learn something new every day. And also just like giving myself some grace because I'm not

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: and I have days where I didn't do the things in my business, or I didn't manage a client conversation the way I wanted to, or I didn't, [00:45:00] um, I didn't perform the way I thought I should have, or, you know, the client wasn't maybe, I mean, I, I've never really had a client disappointed with my work, but like. I've had people like give feedback that they, you know, didn't like something exactly the way I produced it or whatever, and we've had to go back and forth and you know, like sometimes I would take those things really hard Sometimes I take parenting really hard.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: you know, like I'll be really calm and manage my emotions when he's having a tantrum.

And then some days I will snap and I'll yell at

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Hmm.

Tory: and then I'll go back and apologize and say, I'm really sorry, like I mom shouldn't have yelled at you. You know, we talked about when we're angry, we take a deep breath and we these things. And I did not follow that. And I'm sorry, you know.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Wow.

Tory: I think at the end of the day, we're never gonna be perfect.

But, um, [00:46:00] I think, I think I'm striving to meet the goal of raising a, a human with empathy and make a difference in my business. And if I do those two things. Not perfectly, but I do them. Then I'll feel good about myself. Did that answer your original question? I feel like I kind of, I feel like I go off on tangents a lot, so

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I think that's beautiful. I mean, it's, you are so real about your experiences and you are not shy. Away from, um, the challenges, the hardship that comes with being a business owner and a parent at the same time. And again, you know, in our society there's the. Perfect parent image and then the perfect business owner image, and then you put them both together.

You're like, I can't do it all. [00:47:00] It's like, of course I can do it. What are you talking about? I mean, you can see those people in social media, right? It's like,

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: business. I'm also the best mom. No.

Tory: No, and that's the thing is it's like I, and I feel like maybe that's why I'm so honest is because I spent months in postpartum depression. I mean, I. I spent months just like looking at my phone, looking like researching different things, like looking at different mom accounts and stuff like that. And a lot, a lot, some of them were business owners too, I would look at their lives and the way that they were like, you know, they have like the day in the life and all these things they got done while their baby napped and my baby wasn't napping, and all the things that, you know, all the. Brand deals they got. And you know, like I was just barely getting client work done because I was just

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: in that moment and I felt like every single day, like I was [00:48:00] doing something wrong, like I was doing it wrong and that this, this beautiful human that I brought into the world like. Was landed with just like the shittiest mom in the world because I, I wasn't doing half the things that I was seeing other moms doing, and they were so happy all the time and I was not happy.

I was so happy that my son was there, but I wasn't happy

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right?

Tory: and if that

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: And

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yes.

Tory: I just really had a hard time and. I felt like I was ungrateful, like it was

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I see.

Tory: you know? And I guess that's why I'm so honest, and I don't mean to sound like, oh, this shit's hard. Stop. Don't do it. Don't have kids, don't have a

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: don't like, I don't mean to sound like

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Mm-hmm.

Tory: just trying to be real because I never want. [00:49:00] Something I say or do to, cause another mom

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Right.

Tory: looking at something at 2:00 AM while breastfeeding or you know they're up because their kid is up the middle of the night. I don't wanna send someone into a spiral because, because I know what that's

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah.

Tory: And I think that's why I'm like, yeah, this shit's really fucking

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah,

Tory: It's worth it, but it's really fucking

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: yeah. No, I mean, I appreciate it. I'm not a parent and I appreciate it and I, I agree with you. Um. You know, the, the, the imagery of perfection and this perfect life is just, you know, it's not true. It's so harmful. And, um, from marketing perspective, you know, again, going back to your values that it's like, no, that's not what we are doing.

Tory: Yeah.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Um, so thank you for being so open [00:50:00] and vulnerable about it. Um, I learned a lot and, um. As we wrap up today's conversation, you know, where do people find you and work with you and follow all the cool, amazing things you do?

Tory: Yes. Thank you so much for asking. Well, am. Well, first of all, thank you for having me on. This has been so fun and I'm sad that our conversation's already almost over.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: We'll have more.

Tory: I know. And yes, if people wanna find me, um, they can go to my website, imagine marketing strategies.com. I do know that that is a mouthful.

I'm sorry. Um, and I'm on Instagram, I'm on LinkedIn. Um, my name is Victoria Proppy, um, P-R-O-P-P-E. And I'm sure links to everything will be in the show notes. But I, you know, if you have a small business, if, um, if you just wanna connect and. [00:51:00] Um, have someone else in your community, another small business owner in your community.

If you want support, like feel free to reach out anytime. Um, am there and yeah, I just, I love meeting new people. I love helping and I really love talking to you. This has been so

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Me too. I'm so grateful you came today.

Tory: Fun.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Yeah, it was such a treat. Thank you so much.

Tory: Thank you and thank you for being my fir. This is my first time as a guest on a podcast, and I did it.

I feel

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: I'm so honored. See, you're a pro. Yeah. It's wonderful. I'm so, I'm so pleased to know that you chose, you know, our program to come on for the first time, and I'm sure there will be many, many more times to come. Yay.

Tory: absolutely. Anytime.

zhou-fang--she-her-_2_12-19-2025_110506: Okay. Uh, well, um, for podcasts out there, you know, Tori is a great guest. Please invite [00:52:00] her.