64 | Future of Woman-Owned Wallet with Amanda Dare

What happens when a middle child with chronic pain creates a feminist retail empire? You get Woman-Owned Wallet – a movement that's part store, part media company, and full-on economic revolution. 

Welcome to the season six finale where founder Amanda Dare takes the mic solo to reveal major transformations ahead. After closing WOW Factor Collective and weathering ongoing construction challenges at the storefront, Amanda shares her vision for WOW's future: a YouTube series spotlighting woman-owned businesses across America. Think of it as the feminist answer to Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives – a travel show mapping the incredible entrepreneurs who deserve your dollars.

But this evolution isn't just about business. Amanda bravely recounts her decades-long health battle that culminated in recent surgery for endometriosis, a condition affecting one in ten women yet chronically underdiagnosed and understudied. Through tearful reflection, she connects her personal healing journey with WOW's mission of creating safe, feminine spaces where women's experiences are validated rather than dismissed. The serendipitous moment when a gynecologist shopping in her store finally pointed her toward diagnosis perfectly illustrates why community matters – we solve problems together that we can't solve alone.

The episode also includes a bittersweet announcement about COO Adrienne's departure after nearly seven years of partnership, plus Amanda's reading of her recent Force Magazine article outlining how WOW is building economic power for women through "funny financial feminism." From guided tours and podcasts to an upcoming children's book starring Penny the piggy bank, Amanda reveals how putting money in women's wallets creates ripple effects throughout communities.

Ready to join a sisterhood of moneymakers who believe spending can be activism? Subscribe now for season seven and remember – when it comes to building the village we all need, sometimes you have to be the villager first.

Chapters

• 0:00 Welcome to Season Six Finale
• 6:37 Developing WOW's YouTube Show
• 18:04 Endometriosis: A Health Journey
• 38:33 Building Community When You Need Help
• 43:15 Adrienne's Farewell as COO
• 51:53 The Currency of Change Article
• 1:01:12 Final Thoughts and Season Seven Preview

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

Hey friends, welcome to Woman-Owned Wallet the podcast. I'm your host, amanda Dare, a serial entrepreneur who has already made all of the money mistakes, so you don't have to Now. I'm working on my money mindset, expanding my companies and having open conversations with women around a subject that shouldn't be so taboo money. My company, woman-owned Wallet, and I are determined to help you foster a more positive relationship with your wallet and help you create a life that makes you say, wow, hey, moneymaker. Welcome back to another episode of Woman Owned Wallet the podcast. I am actually here solo today. If you can believe it. This is my very first solo episode of the podcast and we are actually at the end of season six.

Speaker 1: 0:50

I'm so in love with this season. I feel like we got to go deeper. We got to have a really wide variety of guests on this time and I'm just so, so, very proud of it, and I just wanted to kind of come on and do a little bit of an update and kind of get you excited about what's coming up. So this one is going to be just all about wow, what's going on and what has happened. I feel like you've kind of gotten the vibe of that, but I'll rush through it a little bit and then what is coming up in the future. We're so, so happy to have you here listening, enjoying, engaging with us in this community. Thank you so much for being here. The podcast is one of the things I am the most proud of and I do love to yap, so having a podcast is probably one of the best things that I could have ever requested.

Speaker 1: 1:46

Well, the season we actually recorded back in April of 2025, but has been playing for the last few months and you've heard us talk a lot about it. But there's a lot of construction in front of Woman Owned Wallet, the shop, and there's also been so much change because we closed Wow Factor Collective as well. So with all of that change, it has really opened up some time for us, some energy for us to kind of really respect our community, like our neighborhood of New Loop, but also bring back the things that take us out of our community and get people excited to come to it. So we have been working on and I know we've mentioned this before, so it shouldn't be like that shocking, but in case it's the first time you've heard it we have been working on developing a show Now, the show I've been dreaming about this.

Speaker 1: 2:41

Adrian will tell you in the first episode of this season that I've been talking about the show. That's basically like diners, drive-ins and dives, but for woman-owned businesses, and I just want to like be your gal theory. I want to like walk around and show you all the cool places and show you that when you put money in the wallets of women, like what amazing things they do with it, and I just feel like it hasn't been highlighted and it is time. So I'm very, very excited to have met my video partner. His name is Greg and he owns Surge Media. You can definitely look him up on Instagram and he's really just kind of, he's taken my heart.

Speaker 1: 3:23

Y'all know that I love my podcast producer, kuzco, obsessed very much. Man written by a woman, where he respects women and he gets it. He's that girly, that wow girly too, and I just love having these two bros along my side, because I am a girl that grew up with brothers, but I love that both of these men, kuzco and Greg I'm a girl that grew up with brothers, but I love that both of these men, kuzco and Greg, both are men written by women, so I feel safe with them, I feel happy with them and they're both such oh my God their creativity I can't. I am so energized by what they can do behind the scenes and so excited that they let me be exactly who I want to be in front of the camera or in front of the mic, I don't know in front of the scenes, however, you want to say it. But it's been really amazing to kind of develop this show and we were talking about it for a while. We were talking about it last year, in 2024, really trying to get it to where we could pitch to Netflix or Paramount, and we still have some of those connections. But we really leaned into the idea that YouTube we can like put out products fast, like video product faster, we can put out shows faster, we can have the full control. And I just didn't. I don't know, maybe I was like sleeping on YouTube for a long time, but now I'm not Like.

Speaker 1: 4:50

I watch YouTube every single day. I learn so much stuff on there. I find out about new things. One of my favorite, some of my favorite ones I'll just give you the vibes I love watching Jolly J-O-L-L-Y. It's these two British guys, josh and Ollie, so Jolly for short, or however you want to say it, and they do food content where they travel around and they are two British guys trying American food. It's very, very sweet, very endearing content and, yeah, they're just silly and funny and I'm just like obsessed. Y'all are great.

Speaker 1: 5:27

One of the other ones I love to watch is Tony and Ryan, and they have a podcast, but they had launched on YouTube I want to say, within the last year, more consistently, they have a podcast as well that used to come out every single day it still does, I'm sure, but I was watching them on YouTube just on Fridays and now they're on YouTube every single day and it's just amazing. I relate their show because Toni, she's hilarious, and Ryan and her have been like besties for a long time. They're Australian, so I love to listen to their accent and, of course, like I don't know just their relationship is so cute and I think I've always wanted to have like a duo. You know, like I've always wanted to like find my counterpart to do stuff with me and I haven't quite found them yet and I don't want that to hold me back from doing any fun things with my life and maybe I'll just find that I can relate or connect with or have fun with anyone. So maybe I am just that solo host out here for us, but I love, love, love watching Tony and Ryan podcast. So my goal is to become a TARPer, a Tony and Ryan podcaster TARPer is like their acronym, like ours as well, you know and just continue to love on their content because they're hilarious and wonderful.

Speaker 1: 6:51

And then one of the other ones I love to watch on YouTube is Flavor Trip. It's F-L-A-V-O-U-R-T-R-I-P, and that one is like two to three hours of music where the content creators on it it's a couple and Jimmy and, I believe, amy but I might be getting her name incorrect at the moment but I basically like start my day with them where they are DJs but they're also like making food and the background of it is always in just such a beautiful place, and so I've just like been watching all of that. And then, oh also, oh God, how could I not start with them? But Trixie and Katya are my, oh, my God. They're my best friends. I'm so obsessed with them. I think that Trixie and I have a very similar aesthetic and we love it, love it, love it, love it. And, like every one of my friends is very Katya vibes, that's like you know. It's like Elphaba and Glinda. Like for a long time I thought I was an Elphaba, but I'm definitely surprised If you meet me now. You're like bitch, you're a Glinda. But if you knew me in my 20s you'd be like maybe you are an alpha male, I don't know. You're trying real hard, but it's just been really cool to watch them because it feels again like another duo, another group of friends that you get to be a part of. And I watch all of their content and I think I've just like I said, I was sleeping on YouTube and I thought I had enough content with the other streaming services, but for now I've just like fully made the shift that YouTube might be the long-term plan, might be the goal and might be the place where we can really have the community that I'm always craving, that sisterhood, that community where we can all get together and talk about it. You can leave comments, you can like really vibe on our YouTube. So I am very excited that Greg and I are shooting the pilot episode of Woman-Owned Wallet, the show.

Speaker 1: 8:53

We did decide to change the name once we closed Wow Factor Collective. We kind of realized that we wanted the Woman-Owned Wall wallet brand to stand, so true, in its place. We want her, we want WOW to really stand on our own two feet and always be the name that people are saying. And by doing the podcast actually is, what really got that inspiration moving was we have Woman Owned Wallet, the podcast, while we also have the show. We also have the directory. We also have the events. We also have like the originals, like the products that we wholesale. We also have the tour Like it's all Woman Owned Wallet, and then like colon the tour, it's all woman-owned wallet, and then colon, the whatever the zine.

Speaker 1: 9:49

My goal is to make it into a magazine at some point. I'm obsessed, but I love to write about things and really discuss different topics around what's going on in the world, or feminism, or sometimes money, and sometimes just being a woman or just, you know, being that. You know, oh, the one I really loved was if you want a village, be a villager, and I wrote that on our website as well. So we really do recognize that we're actually more of a media company that happens to sell woman-owned product and we want to be out there in the world, you know, shooting content, with all these great woman-owned businesses, having these events where we all get to come together, and currently the storefront is financially struggling through the time that we're in, which has been over a year of construction in front of the store. They actually aren't going to be able to complete that construction on Market Street until the end of the year, and then they're also doing work on Main Street and Jefferson, which are the two parallel streets to Market Street, which is where my business is, and so we've just decided that it makes more sense to pivot, as everyone loves to say.

Speaker 1: 11:00

I really just love doing something new and it doesn't mean anything is going away from the store or anything like that, but it's just that we have the understanding that, with our platform and with the way I love getting attention because I'm a middle child and the way I love being in front of the camera, and now that we have these like beautiful creative relationships, we need to get out there. So the show is coming to fruition and actually in a couple of weeks we are shooting the pilot and I'm so very excited I'm over the moon that randomly, right after a rainstorm, y'all Greg walks into the store and he was telling us, you know, he just moved back into town to be with family. He had gone to film school up in Chicago and Atlanta and that he was really just looking for clients, looking for new friends, looking to network and he was going around and offering and doing some like cold calling or cold showing up. So he showed up to the business and offered a free video and you know, I let him do it and we were there and I've talked on it a little bit. I had no idea what the plan was gonna be or how it would come to be and literally within a few hours he sent me one of the most beautiful videos on my store I've ever seen and I was so happy that, without any plan, without any plan and right after a rainstorm, which literally in the video you would never be able to tell, because it looks so beautiful and looks like a sunny day, which I guess in Louisville, like right after rain, there's usually a lot of sun. But he provided something quick and something creative and something so well done, like with no real reason to do it, like he was the villager that walked in and I was just so happy that I could welcome him into my village. So I'm really, really excited to shoot this with him and we've been working on storyboards and scripts and all these things. So it's very, very exciting.

Speaker 1: 13:01

I'm also, of course, so happy to continuously be working with my graphic designer. I've got Madison, of course, so happy to continuously be working with my graphic designer. I've got Madison on board, so she's made the logos and we've got the branding around the show and just y'all. She's amazing. It's been almost five years. We've been together too and obsessed. You better hire Madkind Design if you need graphic design, if you need a website, if you need good vibes. I'm really excited. And she's getting married soon, so like, of course, her wedding invitations were like so fucking gorgeous.

Speaker 1: 13:31

And then, of course, working with Kuzco hey, hey, boo, he's going to be like scoring and making all the music for this show and I just think, like this is is like such a beautiful dream team to bring this project together and it's not overcomplicated and it's easy. You know, when you come together and you have all that creativity in one spot and you're all so ready to make a project together, like, ah, so excited, I'm going to let that go. Yeah, just applause, applause to all those cuties, applause to me. I'm going to give it to myself too. I'm ready to be out there and representing, you know, woman-owned businesses. I'm ready to be there for you. I'm ready to be a sister in business and a villager. Like I said, I want to be both and I'm ready to do that for my community and far beyond.

Speaker 1: 14:32

So our ultimate goal, just so you know, is that we would film a season in each of the cities that are within driving distance of Louisville. That's the ultimate goal. Now there are 17 major cities a driving distance of Louisville. Like that's the ultimate goal. Now there are 17 major cities within driving distance of Louisville, which makes Louisville kind of like a little Goldilocks. You know, like I never really thought of her like that, but she's like in just the right spot. She's just north enough, just south enough, just east enough, just west enough. She's a perfect little spot.

Speaker 1: 15:02

And I guess I'll just be that Goldilocks because you know I love being blonde and fake blonde, trust me. I mean, but listen, every woman I've ever looked up to ended up being blonde. I mean, think about, like Elle Woods, think about Dolly Parton, think about Barbie, like I'm literally sitting around all my little Funko Pops and I have Barbie, ruth Bader Ginsburg, dolly and Elle Woods next to me, and so I just I love being that little Goldilocks. Let's utilize that regional love that shows that when women have money in the Midwest because some people are confused, it's Louisville North, it's Louisville South, I don't know Midwest probably makes the most sense.

Speaker 1: 15:49

So, like, let's just like Midwest princess, this shit out and like really go for it to where we start in Louisville, cutie Louisville. We know the way around, we know the girlies, we know I've already pitched to 30 women-owned businesses that I hand-selected to be a part of our first season. I'm so, so excited to hear their feedback and work with them through this experience and I'm just over the moon. So I'm very, very excited for how it's going to move forward and, honestly, without where we've been before, we wouldn't be where we are now, and I don't want anybody to look at my journey and think, you know, like they can't do that for whatever reason. Like, find your way and do your thing, and I just want to be here to support you within it and I hope that you'll do the same for me as my village, and I actually would love to talk just for a minute about just some cutie little changes. So, hey, moneymaker, did you know that one of the most powerful things you can do with your dollar is decide where it goes.

Speaker 1: 16:52

Introducing the Woman-Owned Wallet Tour, your new favorite way to explore cities through the lens of woman-owned From cafes and boutiques to salons and sweet spots, we're mapping out the baddest businesses powered by women. Think of it as a self-guided tour meets empowerment hour. Grab your friends, your wallet and your walk-in shoes, because we've done the research so you can do the shopping. Every stop you make puts money directly into the wallets of women and around here. That's the goal. Ready to walk the walk? Visit womanownedwalletcom or come into our storefront in Louisville, kentucky, and start exploring woman-owned businesses near you. Thanks for calling Woman-Owned Wallet the hotline. Women forever Love us. Bye. This store is very amazing. It's so cool. Your shop is the cutest. I love all the pink. I love that you're supporting women. Keep on doing what you're doing. All right Bye. And I love that you're supporting women. Keep on doing what you're doing, all right bye.

Speaker 1: 18:08

So some things have been going on with me physically. I talked about it, I believe, on the podcast with Raina and Candice where we discussed kind of what going into surgery for endometriosis discovery was going to be like. And now I'm actually recording two weeks after my surgery and, wow, I have never felt so relieved, so grateful and so just I mean I could cry thinking about it. I mean I did take Lexapro today, so I probably can't actually cry, but I am so grateful for the support and care that I received from UofL Health, from University of Louisville Hospital and Dr Parikh, because I was literally in my storefront around Christmas last year talking to probably the second or third gynecologist, but she was just shopping in the store. So I met Dr Tanya Franklin. She has a podcast and I believe it's also on YouTube.

Speaker 1: 19:13

I need to like really dive into her show next, but it's called the Stethoscope Diaries, I want to say, and her and her sister are both physicians that like talk through this so she was listening to me talk about like a fertility journey where I was exchanging friendship, like bracelets, with another woman going through that and we were talking about it and being there for each other. And then she was that person had left, and then I was talking to Dr Tanya and she was saying tell me your symptoms. I want to hear, like I'm in the field and I'm you know, I'm a doctor. I'd love to hear what your symptoms are, and I was telling her and she was oh yeah, you have endometriosis. And it turns out that this is not something that I ever knew about, and I mean women's health in general is something I'm about to start talking about nonstop because it is just so misunderstood and underfunded and under-researched and it's a very frustrating experience now being on the other side of this surgery that took me. I don't even want to exactly quantify it, but I've had pain basically in my abdomen since I started my period.

Speaker 1: 20:31

And your hormonal changes that you go through, they fluctuate, they change how your body is working. I mean, it's very normal, obviously one of the most natural things I can think of, because every person with a period goes through it, every woman goes through it, every gender, diverse folk that are still having those feminine things. That's a very incredibly natural thing that happens for women, and the only part of it we usually talk about is the menstruation part of it. And then eventually, we talk about the ovulation part of it, because that's kind of the opposite of menstruation. But we're not talking about every single part of the cycle, like the luteal phase or the follicular phase, and those are the times when you're kind of like oh my gosh, my hormones are changing every single week.

Speaker 1: 21:24

So every single week when my hormones would change, I would have a different level of pain and a different amount of stuff I could do, and I got my period when I was 10 years old and I'm 36. So I don't want to say I've been trying to solve this problem for 26 years, but the fact that I'd never even heard of it for 25 years and then when I was in such bad pain. They compare this pain by the way, which it's different for everyone. So please don't take any of this as medical advice. This is just my story, just how I've been dealing with it and how I would quantify the pain is that they have equated it to being in labor every single day. The contractions in my abdomen that I was feeling felt I haven't had a child and I don't truly know yet but have been compared to the way you would feel if you were in labor, with a child about to give birth every day. They compared this for men, which they've compared the endometriosis pain to be as painful as a heart attack, and I just think back to two weeks ago and the pain I felt the night before the surgery and the morning of and everything. And they're so right that the pain scale is like through the roof. I could barely move, like my left side of my abdomen I haven't even used my muscles in my stomach for such a long time and I could just feel them immense pain and just screaming for help.

Speaker 1: 22:57

So after I talked to Dr Tanya in my store and she was like, oh yeah, you have it. Dr Tanya was like actually one of my friends is like one of the only people in the state that is studying deep endometriosis, so that endometriosis that you can actually see on a scan, on an ultrasound. She's like studying that and that's Dr Parikh. And again, this is just all from my memory. So if I'm saying anything wrong Dr Tanya or Dr Parikh, we'll take it with a grain of salt, but she's the one that was studying that. And she was at UofL Health, right down the street from where I was, you know, standing with Dr Tanya, and I was like, oh my gosh, this is amazing. Like I have to go see her for the last. I would say 20 years, but minimum 15, since I've been living on my own.

Speaker 1: 23:57

But I have memories from being 15 years old and missing shifts at work because I was on the ground in the back room of the clothing store vanity that I used to work at, or I'd have to call out from Fazoli's when I worked there, my first job, and have my friends cover for me because the pain was so bad and it was just always chalked up to being just a period You're just a girl, you're just going through it, whatever. But I had that pain throughout the entire month. So I knew something was wrong, but it just always got pushed off. When I went to go see doctors about it, they thought you know, the spot where my pain was is on the bottom left hand or, yeah, left side of my abdomen, so kind of in my pelvis, and they were saying, oh, this is probably a gastro, you know, issue. This could be. Everybody in gastro said it was a gyno issue and everybody in gyno said it was a gastro issue. So I just kept going back and forth between the two.

Speaker 1: 24:54

I've had multiple colonoscopies. I've had my gallbladder was taken out really, really quickly because they thought that was the problem I've had. I've drank every kind of thing and had them watch it on a scan to see, like if you've been through this like I had to eat the radioactive eggs to see how fast or slow I was digesting, and, if that was the issue, I had to drink the barium and have the dyes and the CT scans to see how stuff was moving through my intestines. Well, it turns out I just had endometriosis on some of my like intestine, or I won't. I shouldn't say specifics because I am going to go back for my follow-up appointment where I'm going to get those specifics but I can tell you that I knew there was a problem of functionality with my intestines and that it was causing me so much pain, especially around the time when I had to go to the bathroom.

Speaker 1: 25:50

So it's just been interesting to be either told I was too stressed out and that's why I was in pain and I'm like well, I am an entrepreneur and I've been one for a long time. I am a woman trying to figure out what's going on with her health, I'm all the things that every person is, but I wasn't going to stop being an entrepreneur. So I was like, okay, well, I guess I'm just stressed, how do I lower the stress? And every time I would go back, I'd either close the business or I would wind down or whatever, but it never was enough. It never took away the pain.

Speaker 1: 26:28

So after going through all of those situations, I started to, like I said, talk to fertility experts, because I've also been with my husband. We've known each other 22 years but we've been, you know, we've been living in sin since we were like 20. And we have never been able to get pregnant. So I have not been through a pregnancy once in my adulthood. And for living with someone and having sex with someone on the schedule that you're supposed to to try to have a baby. And especially, we've been married 12 years this year.

Speaker 1: 27:11

So I mean, especially when we first got married, we were, you know, everybody just asks you, when are you having a baby? And I'm like I just got married, like can I just like vibe? But don't get me wrong that everybody also says, like you'd be such a great mom. Like, don't get me wrong, I totally would, because I just love and care for everything and I want to mother everything. Which is good and bad about me, trust me, there is some bad too.

Speaker 1: 27:36

But yeah, I've been, like you know, always going through the process that you're supposed to go through. So we went and talked to fertility doctors and when I talked to them they were like, listen, you have something else and we have to figure out what that is before we can really go through this entire process of you know, of insemination and IVF and all those things. And so we were talking to them last year in, I want to say it was like October that I had that appointment and then I met Dr Tanya in December in my storefront because I was willing to be open about what I was going through, and we often talk on this podcast about how WOW is such an interesting space because it is so hyper-feminine and feminine is safe there, and that is not something that you often find. I would say very, very rarely do you find a space that is consistently as safe for people with feminine attributes and like you know, that kind of vibe it often feels like if we're out and about, like women are not always celebrated, we're often just tolerated or part of it or supposed to be the caregiver or whatever. In WOW you just get to be you and whatever version of that looks like for you like it is welcome and so any kind of safety that we can offer in that space like I try to also engage with it because it's something that I desperately needed and still need every day.

Speaker 1: 29:07

And so it's been a really interesting thing to go from finding out like yes, there's something wrong, and starting to hear these words endometriosis and some other things last year, in like October-ish I'm trying to remember the exact day but you know, in fall, and then by December, learning about, you know, the doctor that I was going to get to go to to have the surgery. And when you go, so I to to have the surgery, and when you go, so I don't know. I was so nervous to even call because, again, I've never had a positive experience with a doctor trying to figure out how to exactly talk about my pain. It's so overwhelming. And when you've been told that you're lying not, they didn't say I was lying, but they were like that doesn't make sense. That part makes me feel like I'm a liar or like that. I'm somehow like just this girl who they told me I was just somebody who wanted to get pain medications and they had written down I was a drug addict. At one point I was just like what, just trying to explain that I got this crazy thing going on. Somebody help me. And so it's just interesting to start to look into what endometriosis was and is and if you're like man, you've been talking about this for 10 minutes.

Speaker 1: 30:25

Like what is endometriosis? From my crude understanding and again, not a doctor, just a girl out here in these streets with it but endometriosis, they think, is potentially caused by something called retrograde menstruation. This is one of the theories. So, basically, when you're menstruating, some of the blood goes back up through your tubes into your body and then that lining, the lining of your uterus, is called endometrioma. And the endometrioma that has now retrograde menstruated into your body has the same, I guess, like attributes as cells, as your lining of your uterus, which sheds every single month when you have your period. So through your month, your lining, your endometrioma, it grows, it sheds, it thickens, it thins. It does a lot of things based on which part of your cycle you're in. So my or so endometriosis is really similar to that idea that you have the lining of your uterus not in your uterus but in your body, and it can attach to organs. It has been found in the lungs, it has been found in the brain, it has been found in shoulders, it has been found in, but the majority of it is found in your abdomen and your abdomen is, you know, it's the closest spot or whatever. So it can attach to parts of your organs and either grow like an adhesion to where it's basically like, becomes scar tissue and then throughout your entire, throughout your cycle, it sheds, it thickens, it thins, but it has nowhere to go. It doesn't go out, you know, out of you, it's inside you forever, that whole time and it's consistently going through that hormonal change that you're going through every single like week. So when they actually did my surgery, the way that they actually have to diagnose this is surgery and it's an exploratory surgery. So what I learned from Dr Tanya and from experiencing it with Dr Parikh is that deep endometriosis is being studied because if it's so deep, to where it has infiltrated, like through your organs and not just like on top of them, then potentially they could find it on your ultrasound or your vaginal ultrasound, which I had both of those and I did not have the deep endometriosis, which is great. But to actually find endometriosis, it does not show up on scans, it does not show up on ultrasounds. You have to do the exploratory surgery to really find out if you have it Now, all the symptoms that come along with it, which there are so many.

Speaker 1: 33:29

It is nutty how many symptoms there are, but all of them they all kind of go along with anti, which there are so many. It is nutty how many symptoms there are, but all of them they all kind of go along with like anti-inflammatory diseases and with anti-inflammatory diseases, like I've had so many like joint issues over the years, like sometimes I can't use my hands because I'll have like trouble writing something because my joints are so locked up and arthritis is kind of that similar anti-inflammatory disease. So there's just like most likely you're going through not only this hormonal change every single week but you're most likely having these other symptoms that maybe they've been treating, but they haven't been treating the root cause, which would be the endometriosis. And it doesn't mean that you don't have the other things, it just means that they both need to be treated.

Speaker 1: 34:18

So for me, doing the exploratory surgery, even though they did not find the deep endometriosis, was the option they got me in a few months later.

Speaker 1: 34:28

I had been waiting on this surgery and now I feel like it is actually one of the most pivotal moments of my life. When they did the surgery I got very little information so far, but they found cysts, fibroids and endometriosis and had the only way to get rid of this kind of stuff is to basically burn it off. They have to like excise it. And so they took biopsies from multiple spots that they found from my endometriosis and they got rid of my cysts and took off my fibroids which were on my fallopian tubes and my ovaries. And again after that six-week appointment I'll know a little bit more. And again after that six-week appointment I'll know a little bit more. But it's the amount of like.

Speaker 1: 35:16

Actually, something that's interesting that can happen is like these adhesions, like they're basically, like I said, like this lining tissue, but they scar kind of. It kind of seems like that to me and they can attach two parts like two organs together, or they can attach your bladder to your ovary. It depends on where it is in your body, because it can land anywhere once that tissue is inside your body where it shouldn't be. And one in 10 women have this y'all One in 10 women have this and it is not studied. There is no cure and there is no way to diagnose it without the surgery. So, like what, what?

Speaker 1: 36:04

And I mean it just blows my mind that when I'm in a room I'm just thinking about, like Galentine's, where we had like 900 people I'm like, oh my gosh, like think about all the people in this room that have some form of endometriosis and there are different stages of it. I believe stages one through four of really where the endometriosis is and how many spots you have. So I don't have my stage of it yet, but I would assume I'm in like stage two-ish, but if it's on your like rectum or on your bowels, then you're in like stage three. So it's potentially that and it doesn't mean that it hurts any worse necessarily, like everybody's pain tolerance is different. What stage you're in it depends on how many spots they find and where they find them, which stage you're in. So I know, if you hear stage four, like I mean that's a lot, that is a lot of endometriosis all over.

Speaker 1: 37:00

And most women that I've talked to because I've been open about sharing my story on Instagram have really come, like my sisterhood has come through for me in this moment in a way that I did not expect, and I've been talking with people about their health for like weeks now. People have been asking me for the doctor's information because they can't find one to help them. People have been telling me about their experiences, how to? This is a laparoscopic surgery as well, so like they fill your body with gas and they put a few cameras in there and a few tools, so you only have small incisions, but they touch like every part of you to see if there's endometriosis on there. So it really messes up your abdomen and they fill it with all that gas and that gas cannot fully escape. So you have to like deal with like these shoulder pains and I've been having those recently and you have to deal with the trapped gas inside your body from the surgery too, which is just man. They really don't they warn you, but they do it every day and when you think about how much pain you're in, you're just like do what you got to do, it's fine.

Speaker 1: 38:07

But I've had so many remedies sent to me and so many people that have opened up about them having two or three or four or five surgeries around this exact same issue and that they sympathize and understand it. My community has, like I said, really shown up for me and this is one of the first times I've really been able to fully accept that I've been building a sisterhood for a really long time and when I needed them, they were really, really there for me and in all the ways that they've shared and in all the ways that they have been open with me because I've been open with them has been just just beautiful, really, really beautiful, and so I honestly believe, only being two weeks out, that I mean it's something I'll live with. I'm going to be a woman with endometriosis through my life. If I have it in this very moment or not, I'm probably going to have to have more surgeries to excise it again. I'm probably going to have to be on certain. I mean they try to put you on like birth control again to manage your hormones so that your symptoms don't get as bad, that kind of thing. But I mean, but now there's potentially the opportunity that I could get pregnant and I could be a mom to a child that I carried. And it's very exciting as someone who's wanted to be a mom her whole existence, and it's very exciting for my husband and myself and it's just a really beautiful moment that I found out how to solve this by sitting in my store and being open with women and our community and our network especially, I would say, in smaller big cities like Louisville. I just love Louisville, y'all. It's so great. It's just small enough and just big enough for me and just being like knowing that when you open up to somebody there's only like one degree of separation here. So if you want to be a part of a community, louisville's a really good one, because you can say something and even though it's a little cliquish here sometimes, or because you can say something and even though it's a little cliquish here sometimes, or people that have grown up in Louisville really have that town pride which they should.

Speaker 1: 40:24

But a lot of people say that it's hard to break in. Once you do, everyone does know somebody that someone else knows. I was just scrolling on Instagram earlier and somebody totally random I knew knew somebody else totally random I knew and we're like bridesmaids in the same wedding and I was just like what the hell? Like I've never seen them in the same room. But it's just it's the smallest big town, it's so good and so like. You have to be open, you have to be trusting, which is really hard. You have to ask for help, which is really hard. I mean, we're taught so much of like being in this capitalist world is that you just have to, you know, work hard and figure it out for yourself. And if you're broke, you're not working hard enough and I don't know y'all. I think we can really dismantle a lot of the like, negative or extreme parts of capitalism by being better community, by being a better villager, and in this moment I just I'm really, really happy to have my village.

Speaker 1: 41:25

Thanks for calling Woman-Owned Wallet the hotline. Hey, moneymaker, you've reached the wow hotline where your voice, your story and your money questions matter. This is Amanda Dare from Woman Owned Wallet, and I'm so glad you're here. I hope that you'll leave us a message with your money question or maybe a wallet win of the week, or, if it's just something that you wish we were talking about, wallet win of the week or if it's just something that you wish we were talking about, leave us a review, a question, anything. Your voice matters. Nothing is too small, too weird or too real for me. Trust me. I've told y'all everything on this podcast, so take a deep breath, say your name, if you want, and let it out. Let that question, that win or just anything on your mind out. I'm happy to listen, we're listening and we're cheering you on. So leave us a message at 502-475-7967. And maybe you'll hear your voice on the podcast. Thanks, bunnymaker.

Speaker 1: 42:46

I'm really, really happy to have my village and I guess, on that note, I want to move over a little bit to just let y'all know that we're going to have some other little changes coming up and they really are the most beautiful changes, even though it's actually very sad at the same time. Adrienne and I have been chatting and Adrienne has decided to step down as COO of WOW. We have worked together almost seven years and we have Adrienne has, like, healed me in ways that I never knew I needed. She's always let me be myself. She's reined me in when she needed to. You know, she's let me come to her with my biggest, craziest ideas. She's helped execute every single part of what WOW is and she truly is, I mean, a business partner to me, but even more obviously, she's a friend and she's a sister and I mean we're definitely going to be in each other's lives and that's something we both agree on.

Speaker 1: 43:55

I was like I'm the auntie to little baby Otto, so I'm just like no girly. She's like you're not getting rid of me and I'm like you're not getting rid of me. But what makes the most sense right now is that, as I turn this corner of like feeling so much healthier for the first time and I mean the last year and a half has been construction and closing businesses and having to find new work for other past employees because I couldn't afford them or I shouldn't say I, wow, couldn't afford them anymore and it's been a struggle. And through all of that, through the pandemic more, and it's been a struggle. And through all of that, through the pandemic, through before WOW existed, before the tour, like there was Adrienne, and every hard decision I've had to make, she has been there by my side and I'm definitely going to be really sad to not be working together all the time. But as I feel healthier, I really am ready to run. I'm ready to let this creative girly out of the cocoon that she's been in while she was trying to figure out this healing journey. It feels like so long and this healthier version of myself is ready to take on bigger major things. And where Adrienne is at currently in her life, she has a baby that's under a year old and she has so much new things to learn with going into motherhood and with her own mental health as well. And just, she has let me know, beautifully and graciously, that she is looking to go a little bit slower and I'm looking to go a lot faster. So in that kind of I'm looking to go a lot faster. So in that kind of mindset y'all, it makes the most sense for Adrienne and for WoW and for myself to turn the page onto a new chapter, find something that Adrienne can really sink her teeth into and love.

Speaker 1: 46:08

Doing as a job Doesn't mean she's never going to be around. She's actually really excited to come to the events and not be working them, because she can really enjoy them. And I'm like, oh, I totally get it. And I just feel like I don't know. It's like this end of an era that I think we've known for a while, especially with how difficult the financial side has been with WOW through this construction. I mean sometimes we're down like 70 to 90% on a Saturday, like the financial struggle is real. But she's been there and been open to you know, different structures that we've had to get through it and different plans and different everything. She's pivoted with me a hundred times and in this moment she needs to take care of herself and her family and I need to make sure that Wow survives. Wow needs to survive and that is her goal as well. Wow needs to survive. She needs wow too, and that's our goal.

Speaker 1: 47:14

We're going to turn the page and end an era that I can't believe. I mean, you know, you always kind of know something's going to happen one day, but like it is weird that it's happened, you know, in the last two days, basically before recording this. But I'm really proud of her for knowing what she needs and standing up for it and being there for herself and her family, and she knows that I'll always be there for her and vice versa. And it's just been a really beautiful six and a half, seven years, whatever it is now that we've had together, and I really don't think wow would be anywhere near as amazing as it is. It might exist, but it wouldn't be anywhere near as amazing as it has become without. You know the person that taught me how to be a sister. So I'm just I guess that Lexapro. Really, I thought I couldn't cry, but guess what I can. But yeah, I just wanted to thank her and show how grateful I am for having her in my life. And you know, let's just pour one out for Adrienne and I'm just going to give her a little applause.

Speaker 1: 48:44

So those are some of the big changes that have been happening at WOW and I know that this has been a very different episode than most of them, but a lot of the times y'all are just like Mina, what's going on? And I'm just I can't tell you enough how grateful I am to have y'all here and listening and engaging with truly what has been one of the greatest journeys of my life with WOW. I mean, it's my art, it's my heart, it's my puzzle to play with every day and I'm just so grateful for all that it has become and all that it will be, and I do feel like the hope and the light has really restored within me and I'm ready to be your girl. I'm ready to be that girl. I'm ready to be on I guess I'm already on the airwaves, but I'm ready to be on your screens and on your TVs and on your YouTube and I'm ready to show you how amazing it is when women have money and when they have choices and what they choose to do with it and how community-driven women are and, honestly, the way that I think we're going to survive all of the mayhem that is the world right now, and I think we're going to do that by connecting and doubling down on all of that.

Speaker 1: 50:17

And I recently wrote a article that I was thinking because I don't have like an agenda or anything in front of me. I'm just a yapper and I'm literally talking to just y'all. I'm just in this room vibing, but I did think it would be kind of good for me to read this article that was in Force Magazine. Let's see Force Magazine. It's in the July 2025 edition and you can purchase them on Amazon. I am really excited because this entire magazine is full of empowering stories and amazing women and I am just really appreciative to have been chosen to put together this article. So I'm going to close out our season six Woman-Owned Wallet the podcast by reading this article, and I think it does a really good job of explaining how to understand what I'm going for here with wow and all the ways that you can engage with it. Going for here with wow and all the ways that you can engage with it. So I'm going to read this out and I hope that you enjoy, all right. So the article is called the Currency of Change how Woman-Owned Wallet is Enriching the Economy and your Community.

Speaker 1: 51:46

In a world where women own nearly half of the small businesses but receive just a sliver of the funding, amanda Dare is flipping the financial script Through her powerhouse brand Woman Owned Wallet or WOW for short. She's turning spending into a form of activism and offering a whole new take on the future of commerce through funny financial feminism. What started as a boutique storefront in Louisville, kentucky, has transformed into a national movement part retail space, part media company, part revolution, with a podcast ranked in the top 100 on Good Pods for Money podcasts, a walking tour that maps out woman-owned businesses in her neighborhood and a viral collection of feminist merch that proudly says things like breadwinner equal say, equal pay and dolly for president. Amanda isn't just selling products. She's building an economic force for women through the lens of funny financial feminism and a product mix that spans local gems to global girl bosses, from dorm room hustle to economic powerhouse. Amanda's entrepreneurial journey began the way most origin stories do, with a problem that no one else was solving. At just 19, she launched her first business out of her college dorm room and over the next 15 years she built six businesses, each one bringing her closer to her mission, investing in the financial futures of women. In every industry I worked in fashion, wellness and retail I saw the same patterns Women were building incredible things, but they weren't getting the visibility or the funding she says. I didn't want to wait for a seat at the table, so I decided to build my own. That table now lives at 803 East Market Street, where Woman Owned Wallet has funneled over a million dollars into the wallets of women through product sales, brand partnerships and viral events like the annual Galentine's Bash, which hosted over 90 woman-owned vendors in its most recent year. Some businesses even report having their best sales days ever at WOW Markets, proof that when women support women, big things happen.

Speaker 1: 54:02

Conscious consumerism, but make it cool. At first glance, wow looks like a fun, cheeky gift shop with Dolly Parton tees and sparkly piggy banks. Shout out to their mascot, penny. But underneath the glitter is a data-driven strategy to radically shift the economy in women's favor. Our customers aren't just shopping, they're investing. Every dollar becomes a vote for the kind of world that we want to live in, amanda explains, and I believe in making that vote joyful. It's a blend of empowerment and entertainment that sets WOW apart, From the moment you walk in and hear the celebratory ka-ching at checkout, to the bold vinyl stickers that say small business supporter or I support women's wrongs. Wow is designed to make you feel something and that something often leads to deeper engagement with a brand's bigger mission.

Speaker 1: 54:56

Mapping the movement. Amanda planted the seeds of woman-owned wallet, the Tour of Nulu, back in 2019, which actually happened before the shop even opened. She curated a guided experience through Louisville's East End Market District that highlights 40-plus woman-owned businesses. Think a feminist food tour meets local economic justice. With printed maps, custom tour guides and a growing YouTube presence. The tour has already attracted national interest and the plans are in motion to expand it into new cities. Interest and the plans are in motion to expand it into new cities. Tourism is economic development. Amanda says. When we make women-owned businesses part of the cultural experience of a city, we're not only uplifting entrepreneurs, we're making them landmarks. We have a chance to feminize tourism, to build travel experiences that reflect and uplift women's impact, and Louisville is uniquely positioned to lead the way.

Speaker 1: 55:57

Selected by Change and Publica as one of only two feminist cities in the United States, alongside Los Angeles, louisville has the potential to model what happens when communities intentionally invest in women. The city sits within driving distance of 17 major cities, making it a powerful hub to demonstrate the ripple effects of shopping women owned. When women earn more, they reinvest about 90% of their income back into education, healthcare, small businesses and both future and past generations. They put it into their community. Wow taps into that cycle and amplifies it, turning the mic up. If retail is the heartbeat of WOW, the podcast is its voice.

Speaker 1: 56:45

Woman on Wallet. The podcast has become a go-to for candid conversations about money, entrepreneurship and the behind-the-scenes reality of building a business as a woman. The tone Big sister energy I hope so. Big sister energy with a side of financial literacy. Guests include community leaders, creatives and policy change makers. Each episode bridging the gap between empowerment and real life tools. I want people to feel less alone with their money stories. Amanda says it's not about the dollars, it's about healing the shame, celebrating the growth and giving ourselves permission to want more. Every penny counts. At the heart of WOW's mission is its beloved mascot, penny the piggy bank, with her bedazzled eyeliner and bold personality. Penny isn't just a branding moment, she's a movement. Penny represents the soul of woman-owned wallet and the message that every penny counts when you put it in the wallets of women. She's also the face of WOW's Next Evolution, empowering the next generation through money mindset education.

Speaker 1: 57:56

Amanda is currently developing a children's book series starring Penny and her twin piggy bank younger sisters, minnie and Maxie. The first installment is to launch by holiday 2025, and it follows Penny as she teaches her sisters how to save budget and build a healthy relationship with money. With sassy but sweet tone and the age-appropriate storytelling the series brings funny financial feminism into family conversations. To make the experience even more tangible for young readers, the WOW team is also working on custom crocheted stuffed animal versions of Penny, giving kids a playful way to engage with money in a positive and empowering way. The goal is actually to start financial literacy earlier, with joy, with confidence and a piggy bank that knows her worth. This is how we create real change, amanda says, not just by breaking glass ceilings, but by building the new room all together and teaching our kids how to thrive inside the new rooms.

Speaker 1: 59:01

Whether you meet Penny as a giant inflatable at the WOW events, in sticker form at the checkout counter or as the star of story time at home, she's the reminder that small choices made with our money can have a big impact on the world around us, the bottom line. At a time when the economy feels overwhelming and inequity persists, woman Owned Wallet offers a solution that's simple and effective. Shop woman owned. We're not just here to sell cute stuff, amanda says. We're here to rebuild the economy more joyfully, more inclusively and with more power than ever.

Speaker 1: 59:41

Currently in development, amanda's travel style tv series woman owned wallet. The show is slated to launch on youtube with plans to pitch to bigger streaming platforms. This show will explore woman-owned businesses across the country, city by city, story by story, starting in her hometown of Louisville and putting women on the map. So the next time you're wondering what difference can a small purchase even make, just remember that the wallet you empower might be the spark that fuels an entire movement. Never forget that your money and your wallet have power and we want you to use it.

Speaker 1: 1:00:22

Thank you so much, moneymakers, for being along this journey with me, for listening to our full story and taking in the depth.

Speaker 1: 1:00:31

That really comes from wow. Of course we want to wow you and we want to encourage you to foster that more positive relationship with your own wallet. We want to welcome you into a world where women have money, they have choices and options and the entire community benefits from it, and I think that we can do that together. I know that that's the only way it's actually going to happen. So I'm so thankful for you, moneymakers, I'm so thankful for you being in my sisterhood, in my village and in my wow world. Thank you so much and I'll see you in season seven. Now, until next time, moneymakers, go out there and make that money. If you want to put more money into the wallets of women, like we do, then check out our website, thewomanownedwalletcom, and we can't wait to continue the conversation on our social media. So definitely follow us on our Instagram, at womanownedwallet, and on TikTok at womanownedwallet. You can support us by following our podcast on Apple, google and Spotify, and don't forget to leave us a review. Thank you for listening to Woman Owned Wallet, the podcast you