Story & Lesson Highlights with Leah Lynch

Leah Lynch shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Leah , thank you so much for joining us today. We’re thrilled to learn more about your journey, values and what you are currently working on. Let’s start with an ice breaker: What is a normal day like for you right now?
Ha ha ha… as a mom of a toddler, running two businesses, and caring for farm animals, the idea of a “normal” day is something I had to let go of a long time ago.

What I’ve started doing instead is building structure around the day, not trying to control every minute of it.

I use loose routines for my morning, afternoon, and evening.

It doesn’t matter what time those routines start; they’re more like habit anchors that help me move through the day. They’re simple enough to follow consistently, but also flexible enough that if I get interrupted (which I always do), I can jump right back in without feeling behind or disoriented.

Because let’s be honest, unless you live by yourself in the woods where no one can find you, your day is going to get interrupted. That’s just life.

But to give you a little more of a picture: we typically wake up around 6:30 or 6:45. I head down to the living room to do my quiet time and morning devotions, and then I usually get about an hour of work in before my son wakes up.

After that, we go through the usual morning routines, shower, breakfast, all of that . And then we try to get outside to burn off some of that two-year-old boy energy. Once that’s out of his system a bit, we head out to the barn to take care of all the animals together.

Then it’s back inside for lunch, and depending on timing, he either gets to play for a bit or goes down for his late afternoon nap, which gives me about two more hours of computer work time.

In those windows, I’m always asking myself: What task is actually going to get me the result I’m after? I don’t just do what looks good on the outside or what feels busy. I choose the one thing that moves me closer to my current goal.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My business journey started way back in 2009 as a 17-year-old trying to calm her business desires. Back then, I obviously had no idea where it would take me. But I always had the inclination to try and generate a little bit of income, or at least hoped that maybe the hobby I loved could pay for itself.

Eventually, the rabbits I loved to raise did start paying for themselves. About a year later, the rabbitry was actually making more than it cost me to run. Over time, the income continued to grow as the assets in the business grew.

Eventually, I was able to use the income from the rabbitry to graduate debt-free from school. Now, that same rabbitry earns multiple four figures a year, and we’re working hard to scale it to five figures just in physical product sales — meaning livestock sales, show rabbits, and pet sales. We do our very best to make sure each animal goes to a good and caring home.

Alongside that, we’re now expanding with additional income streams like education, a merch line, brand deals, and other resources that support rabbit owners and breeders.

I also run my personal brand as a business where I help women (usually stay-at-home moms or women working part-time) learn how to run their lives intentionally. They want to be available for their families, but also have this deep desire to generate income from home and feel like they’re doing something meaningful, beyond just life and laundry. And while all of those responsibilities are important, many women are feel like they want to contribute and serve others where they see a struggle.

That’s where I come in. I help them uncover what they’re capable of, figure out how to fit that into their current life season, and give them the loving kick in the pants when they need to either start smaller, optimize and organize their time well, and stop beating themselves up for not being further along. My goal is to help them tame their drive just enough so that it works for them, not against them.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
The relationship that has most shaped how I see myself is my relationship with God. He has consistently shown me the direction I need to go and reminded me of what I’m actually capable of, especially in the areas I’ve tried to avoid or downplay because they didn’t seem important enough.

One of the most recent examples is with my rabbitry. I didn’t want to keep doing it. I wanted to completely let it go because it didn’t feel as meaningful as what I was trying to build with my personal brand.

But every time I moved toward shutting it down or stopped creating content for it, I immediately felt like I was going against who I was created to be. I wasn’t honoring my calling. And whenever I ignore that, I stop feeling proud of myself.

Sometimes we think we’re supposed to do these big, impressive things, things that get recognition or “wow thats amazing”. But the truth is, being who we were created to be is the work. Sometimes our light shows up in quiet ways, like holding boundaries that others would easily break.

I used to think I had to be super outgoing or in front of everything in order for people to see God’s strength in me. But I’ve realized it’s often the subtle things like doing my best behind the scenes are what make the biggest impact in a world where people want the easy way out.

Things like being honest even when I could hide something, refusing to compromise my values even if no one else would notice.

Staying close to Him has helped me see that I don’t have to live up to anyone else’s standards. As long as I’m doing what He’s called me to do, doing it with excellence, and staying content where I am, that’s all that matters. I don’t have to measure up to anyone else.

Was there ever a time you almost gave up?
Absolutely. I don’t think you’ve been in it long enough if you haven’t come across TIMES when you seriously wanted to give up. I’m not talking about a bad day. I mean the kind of moment where you doubt yourself so deeply that you’re ready to shut it all down because you feel like you can’t keep going. Those are the moments that define who’s in this for the long haul and who’s just in it passively.

Over the past 15-plus years, I’ve had plenty of those moments. There were times I didn’t want to go back outside in the freezing cold winter to feed or do chores. There were times when marketing felt so hard, I genuinely didn’t know what I was doing or how to keep going.

One of the biggest moments like that was in late 2023 and early 2024, when Google completely changed the algorithm, and AI started becoming a real part of the online world. My website had been my key marketing tool for years. I depended on SEO to bring in traffic. And I lost so much of that overnight. That was a moment where I seriously considered shutting everything down.

But that’s when I had to figure out a new path. I shifted to Facebook and YouTube for my rabbitry, and now I’m leaning into short-form content for my personal brand. That was one of the biggest turning points. Things got hard, but it forced me to adapt. I just in the last few months have really started to see an upward tick instead of continuously heading down.

In those moments, you have to stop looking at the big, scary mountain in front of you and just ask: What’s the next step I can take right now? Break it down into something bite-sized.

Do the small thing in front of you. Eventually, you start to see traction again. And most people quit in those moments, but if you can outlast them, you’ll be the one still standing. You’ll be the one who gets the payoff.

What I tell my students all the time is this: I’d rather work toward a big goal, even if I only get halfway there by the end of my life, than not try at all and just settle for mediocre.

That idea of “riding it out” for the next 40, 50, 60 years. that’s heartbreaking to me. Especially when I see people with so much potential who are too scared to try something different or uncomfortable.

But the truth is, most of the fear is just in our heads. The worst thing that usually happens? You go get another job. That’s not the end of the world.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
One thousand percent yes. The public version of me is the real me.

I’ve tried doing trends or jumping on something that’s going viral, and honestly, it makes me feel sick inside. I’m not saying that in a dramatic or prideful way, if you can do that. You do you?

I cannot be something I wasn’t created or made to be. I’ve always been a more serious and purposeful person. It physically makes me feel shaky and nervous when I try to show up in a way that isn’t fully aligned with who I am.

Over the years, I’ve learned to be brutally honest. I won’t go out of my way to hurt someone, but I will tell them the truth if I believe it will serve them well, even if it hurts.

And if I know it won’t help them, I’ll just keep quiet. But I’m not going to sugarcoat things or play a part that isn’t me.

That honesty has definitely cost me in some ways. I don’t do trends. I can’t emotionally tolerate doing things that feel off just to fit in or get more reach.

It’s kind of like when I was wrestling with whether or not to keep going with the rabbitry. The world is heading in a direction where animals are treated as equals to humans, like they’re your children. And I just don’t believe that.

Even with our dogs, I don’t consider them equal to people or worthy of the title “family member.” That’s not how I see it.

I believe animals are a gift. We’re supposed to enjoy them, steward them well, and treat them kindly, but they’re still animals.

And I was fully willing to shut it all down if that’s what it was going to take to make sales.

I will still shut it down if it ever comes to the point where I have to pretend I believe rabbits should be house pets, or act like they’re my children, or get super mushy and sentimental just to grow online. If I can’t make it by being me, I’ll walk away from all of it today.

Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. What are you doing today that won’t pay off for 7–10 years?
Everything.

What I’m doing today isn’t meant to pay off next week, or even next year. I think a lot of people want quick results so badly that they’re not willing to take as little as possible out of the business so the business can grow. But that’s what it takes if you want to build something that’s truly amazing down the road.

I don’t expect a huge payoff anytime soon, not even within ten years.

I take the bare minimum for myself and reinvest everything I can. That includes investing in my own growth through education, mentors, or tools that help me do more as a mom running two businesses. My goal is to become a one-woman team that operates like five, ten, or even fifteen people, not to just collect a paycheck.

I’m playing the long game. I want to grow as far and as long as I possibly can, so that one day I can impact as many people as possible and hit the big goals that have been laid on my heart. That kind of vision takes patience, discipline, and a lot of quiet consistency.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://leah-lynch.com

Image Credits
I took them all myself.