Business, Travel & 3 Lessons on Work Life Balance in Yakima

Addy Logsdon is the owner and founder of Addy Logsdon Consulting. Addy is such an incredible woman; she's an amazing traveler, mother, and leader whose impact on the Yakima Valley's business community is unmistakable. We'll be talking about Addy's journey into entrepreneurship, her international travels, and more about work life balance.

We'll be going over:

• Addy's Journey into the World of Business

• Two Shy Travelers | How We Overcame Fear to See the World

• 3 Lessons on the Myth of Work Life Balance

  • 1. Using the 2-2-2 Rule

  • 2. Supporting Women Actually Benefits Companies

  • 3. Self Care & Self Improvement is a MUST

Addy's Journey into the World of Business

Addy's company is called Addy Logsdon Consulting. She started her business in Yakima 12 years ago as a fundraising consultant.

Addy Logsdon Consulting

Addy is most often hired by nonprofits to be an architect behind the scenes for a variety of fundraising campaigns, including:

• Capital campaigns

• Major donor campaigns

• Revamping the business

Addy is very outwardly focused on her work. Because she's a fundraising consultant, her eyes are always on the prize, and she's constantly asking how to make the Yakima community a better place. She loves working with nonprofits, realizing their mission, and getting into the details of fundraising.

She also loves working with donors.

“In working with nonprofits, I help them secure funds to make their mission happen. But the real gift is to the donor. I don't think people realize what happens in their lives, almost at a cellular level, when they give money away to make the world better. I think that's really what matters to people in the end. I get to see people make the biggest or most important gifts of their lifetime, and I know that's what they're going to think about in the end.”

How Addy & I Met

Addy's clients are mostly in the Yakima Valley. In fact, I first met her was at a fundraising presentation at Memorial Hospital. She was 7-8 months pregnant at the time, and I thought to myself, "There's a badass, she's still got it." I actually saved her number in my phone as 'Coach Addy' because I was so impressed by her.

One of the things I admire about Addy is her personality. She's the kind of woman who manages to command the room, and yet make people feel comfortable. She's so sincere, and at the same time very quiet and competent; she always invites ideas in and can deliver her own thoughts with such class.

Desiring Liberty | Choosing to be an Entrepreneur

Addy's journey into business began with watching her mother work in corporate America. While Addy's mother wanted to stay at home with her two children, their family couldn't financially allow it; Addy's parents divorced when she was 12.

Addy and her family lived north of Seattle. She recalls watching her mother gruelingly work day after day for a big corporation in downtown Seattle. Her mother also rode in a commuter van back and forth every day.

“My mom didn't have a lot of liberty in her life. If I was sick at school, she couldn't come and get me or stay home with me. We had very limited vacations.”

Once Addy graduated, she attended Arizona State University. She eventually received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in English Literature. During her time at ASU, Addy felt that the university was very supportive of her ideas. They let her develop programs, teach classes, and even bring students to New York City and Europe; she was a trusted entity.

But after graduating from ASU, Addy was surprised that the rest of the world didn't treat her with the same tone of freedom. One of the things she loves about being an entrepreneur is the ability to treat herself with that same tone. She can say, "I have a great idea!" and then go follow up on it.

I thought it was surprising that Addy never really intended to be an entrepreneur. Even now, she has a difficult time identifying with that term. She feels almost like she's undercover; while she's extraordinary at what what she does, it can be hard to market your business - many don't know much about Addy's company or industry.

But Addy is definitely an organizer, and as she pursued "normal work" during and after college, she found herself wanting more liberty.

“My mom would tell you I was born organized. I've always been into planners with color-coded dates and organizing my room. There's a sense of control around that. I like to be planned ahead, to have my next vacation on the books - I get very restless if I don't. Organizing helps me feel calm and prepared.”

Two Shy Travelers | How We Overcame Fear to See the World

One of the topics Addy and I love to discuss most is our travels. After graduating from ASU, Addy moved to Paris and lived there for a whole year, which greatly influenced her. She's spent a lot of time in Europe, particularly in her early 20's, studying abroad twice and backpacking around Europe twice. Addy believes living in Paris after graduation helped her understand a different way of living.

“I don't necessarily brag about my work ethic. I have a very good "life ethic," like I know how to live. I also don't feel like anyone is promised time. There's not much I'm willing to wait for in terms of life.”

While Addy's perspective may seem daring and diehard...neither of us started out this way. We were both shy and quiet kids growing up.

The Myth of "Once in a Lifetime"

Addy told me it was a miracle she even went to college; she was really attached to her mother and her small town growing up. But her mother repeatedly told her, "You have to get out of here."

So, Addy decided she wouldn't apply to the nearby University of Washington. She went straight for Arizona State University. Her freshman year was hard, and there were a lot of tears, but once she had her first Thanksgiving away from home, things felt better. Then, she stayed for the summer in Phoenix, picking up a job as a nanny.

Going to Europe was a similar process. At first, it was scary. But then it became so normal, Addy was booking tickets to go whenever she could. The first summer, she traveled with a childhood best friend and backpacked around Europe for two months. She paid for it herself and sold it to her family as "this is a once in a lifetime opportunity."

Then, Addy went alone, studying abroad in Europe for a summer session and backpacking again. She still remembers buying that ticket. It was $350 for a round trip from Phoenix to Paris over Christmas time.

“Once in a lifetime opportunity is some famous last words. I still tell my husband things today like, "We're going to go gorilla tracking in Uganda. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity." And then the second I'm in the jungle, I tell him, "We have to come back."

"Just Book It!"

My own experiences around the reluctance to travel were similar. People would be surprised to know that I was a terribly shy person growing up. My parents actually travelled a quite a bit; my mom was from Stockholm, Sweden and we would go every summer.

At a young age, I had the opportunity to be an exchange student to Sweden, which would have been fantastic - going to the motherland. But I was terrified to leave my friends, and I missed that opportunity. My parents believe I could have taken that trip; they were super encouraging, but I was just so shy. 40 years later, I still regret not going.

One of the biggest mindsets I learned about travel was from my dad. He would always say, "Just book it. Just book it because life is too short. You don't know what's coming."

When my dad got sick, I watched his travels become a bucket list; he had to live now, and that value really became ingrained in me. I didn't understand it as a young adult in my early 30s. So often, people just wait and wait, and then they pass away with the regret that they didn't get to live as fully as they would have liked.

“Be brave, and know that you can do hard things. Step into the fear because that makes you stronger in the end. When you have our own children, you have to be able to stand up for them and stand up for your own needs in the workplace.”

Advice for Someone Afraid to Travel

I asked Addy what she would tell someone like me who was too afraid to leave their friends, or so worried about missing out. How would she encourage other young women who have such unique opportunities to just go and do it?

Addy believes travel can be incremental; I could have gone to Sweden for a week alone, come back, and then decided whether to study abroad. It might have helped me feel more comfortable. But she also views travel with a more futuristic mentality.

“I think you have to imagine yourself 10 years from now, and ask yourself what that woman would have wanted for you. I'm coming up on 50, and I think to myself, "What would 60 year-old me want for you right now?"

Addy has even shifted this mindset from travel into her work. This year, she decided it would be her biggest year ever. She wasn't going to worry about:

• A pandemic

• Getting sick

• The economy

• Or anything else standing in her way

She was determined to have the biggest impact on this community she's ever had, and to make the most money she's ever made. And she did!

As we've both traveled the globe, we've also realized that the world is truly a small place. All roads somehow lead back to Yakima, Washington. The amount of times someone we've met has said something like, "Oh, I've been to Yakima before. My best friend is a fruit packer..." It happens all the time!

That's because Yakima is a conduit for fabulous people who are out there and changing the world.

3 Lessons on the Myth of Work Life Balance

I've talked a little before about the myth of work life balance. I was curious to know what Addy thought of this concept; she's married, has three kids, runs her own business, and maintains an incredible travel schedule. How does she do it all?

1. Using the 2-2-2 Rule

One of the concepts Addy took with her came from some excellent premarital counseling; it’s called the 2-2-2 Rule. While it's not a hard and fast law, Addy has found the framework of this rule helpful to keeping life balanced.

The 2-2-2 Rule says that:

• Every two weeks, you have a date

• Every two months, you have a weekend away

• Every two years, you have a real vacation away

Even loosely implementing this rule has helped Addy have really meaningful connections with her husband and their three kids.

2. Supporting Women Actually Benefits Companies

Addy and I are 10 years apart in age; there are some generational differences I've noticed with how children have been met in the workspaces of entrepreneurs. Ultimately, I believe the environment has shifted to favor parents.

For me, I felt very reluctant to bring my daughter Lauren everywhere on business with me. I was a newly licensed agent, and bringing her was just the way it had to be. But I could feel a negative energy around that decision, like some my clients weren't sure how to view it.

Addy felt this way in the beginning of her career, but that quickly changed. If she needed to miss a meeting, she would originally say she had an appointment; it was almost like pretending to not have children. But after a while, she grew to be able to say, "I need to be with my children," or "This isn't going to work with my family."

Supporting Parents | Is it Altruism or Profit?

Something that drove this change in Addy was working with a woman named Sylvia Ann Hewlett, the Rhodes Chair at Arizona State University. Sylvia has done a lot of research on women in the workforce and found that it's economically beneficial for companies to support women with children. It isn't a matter of altruism from the company; a company will simply make more money and have more long-term success if they engage in holistic work-life policies for parents.

“I'm a woman, I have children, and I'm tired. Someone on your podcast said, "I'm worth waiting for. If I'm late, I'm worth waiting for." And I believe that. Women are valuable in this economy. We're valuable in fundraising consulting, in real estate, etc. We make a difference because we are different!”

I really appreciate that Addy's generation is working on embracing family values in the workplace, and that our world is beginning to favor that.

3. Self Care & Self Improvement is a MUST

Addy is really amazing at self care. In addition to planning her travels, she blocks out time every week to go out into hiking in the woods. A couple years ago, Addy had a really traumatic experience. She realized there's been a lot of research done on people who do extreme sports or ironman challenges, and many have had severe trauma in their lives. Once someone who has experienced trauma is healthy again, they will often respond by proving their strength and doing really big things.

The woods help Addy feel at peace. Her phone doesn't work most of the time, and she'll climb around with her dog and bear spray. Sometimes, she'll bring a friend, but no matter what she always goes out there.

The other part of Addy's self care is reading. Last year, she read 40 books! All kinds of books, too:

• Memoirs

• Nonfiction

• Fiction

She made the time, turned off the TV and social media, and just read. I think when it comes to life and our businesses, being disciplined about self care is incredibly valuable. We're always pursuing big personal goals, and that takes effort.

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Addy is looking forward to taking her family on a trip to India this year, climbing Mt. Rainier, and lately she's been dreaming of traveling to Egypt. I've appreciated getting to spend this time with her, and I hope you've been able to take something away from her incredible stories and insights for your business. You can connect with Addy and her business here. Stay tuned as we keep talking to more women in business!