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Megan Swanson Rhodes, Miss Nebraska USA, on Entrepreneurship, Self-Realization, and Love

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© Megan Swanson Rhodes

Megan Swanson Rhodes

Miss Nebraska 2014

Miss Nebraska USA 2020

Entrepreneur, The Powerhouse Collective

Business / Entrepreneurship

How do you strike a balance between entrepreneurship and self-care ? Entrepreneurship as in go-getter, action-oriented, restless until work gets done & self-care as in it’s time to stop. You cannot keep on working all the time!

An ongoing conversation with myself and allowing God to speak to me about me. Additionally, my husband and I have amazing daily dialogue about things like this, and we love our weekly date night where we really go in depth about how we’re doing, what we’re dreaming about, and what we need. Having a husband that is a fellow entrepreneur is a game changer because he just “gets it” in terms of the stress and responsibility that come with owning a business.

Do you believe that, as a coach, you can really assist people in discovering their true purpose, or do you believe that it is something that humans must discover on their own ? (At times, you cannot help people discover their purpose, because the capacity to comprehend for every individual is different. What do you do in those kinds of situations?)

I agree that, ultimately, I can lead a horse to water, but I can’t make it drink! I think as coaches we have a responsibility to qualify people before working with them, and test them in a sense to see if they are action-takers. Personally, that’s why I love to provide a TON of free resources to get people started on their journey of development and entrepreneurship before they pay a dime so that when they come to me – they’re ready to work – and great progress happens!!!! 

While there is a plethora of communication with social media, conferences, and emails, do you ever think as a mentor it does take away your energy ? If so, how do you try to balance your energies?

YES!!! I’m actually training team members to take over my social media as we speak! I have social media time limits set up and have a very strict routine to make sure it isn’t consuming my life. I get a ton of energy from conferences as an extrovert, but I also love the balance of being home! I don’t answer my own emails – I have an amazing team that responds to 80% of them, and I take the 20% that really need ME! What a blessing!

If you have to recall, what is the most memorable moment of your time as Miss Nebraska? How did you feel when you won Miss Nebraska? (That too, twice!)

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© Megan Swanson Rhodes

Winning Miss Nebraska was incredible because it was my first time in the organization, and I was so young, so it was so rare! I think winning Miss Nebraska USA meant even more because I had taken so many years off and no one had done it before in Nebraska! I’m a trailblazer by nature, so it was a wonderful honor.

Tell us about your company, Powerhouse Pageantry. (What is the essence, what are the brand beliefs, and why?)

My company, The Powerhouse Collective, is a collective of brands that includes a pageant side, Powerhouse Pageantry, and a business side, The 6 Figure Powerhouse. We equip high-achieving women in business and pageantry with world-class resources and coaching that help them win pageants, grow their companies to 6+ figures, and develop into massively effective leaders in life outside of these two areas.

What are some insights you would like to share with aspiring entrepreneurs, especially women?

GET A MENTOR! The right mentor will knock YEARS off of the time it’ll take you to achieve results. It will save you tens of thousands of dollars in mistakes. It will help motivate you to keep going when you get discouraged. And finally, it will provide you with a community of like-minded people that can help you for years to come!

What’s the number one thing you’ve learned from running your business?

In all of my businesses, I under promise and over deliver. Business largely grows itself when your customers are obsessed with you and are getting massive results. Treat people well and create businesses that serve the people you love and want to see win.

While you’ve been into music since your childhood days, do you have any future goals pertaining to the music industry in the future?

Yes! My husband and I are launching something special later this year. We’re super excited to release it to the public! It will involve gathering young professionals, music, entrepreneurship, and helping people grow their faith! Stay tuned!

Self-Realization & Awareness

Tell us about your story of how you came to realize your self-development journey. What was the catalyst ? 

The catalyst of becoming who I am today was being sick and tired of feeling like I wasn’t created to be anything special, and deciding I was done feeling poorly about myself overall. When I was willing to dig into my Divine value, my Divine authority, and my Divine purpose as one of God’s kids, it gave me both a hope and a new fight in me to get better and ascertain everything I was supposed to do in this life. I was finally willing to let God into the parts of my heart and life that were the darkest, scariest, and most vulnerable. When that happened, a lot of my struggles started to seem lighter and easier, and eventually, I realized they were totally gone! It’s been an incredible journey ever since!

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© Megan Swanson Rhodes

Tell us one thing that you’ve changed internally that has fixed an external problem.

My attitude and my level of discipline are two humongous things that I’ve changed. If you want to achieve new heights in life, you need two things: systems and love. You can’t have authority over what you don’t love, and God can’t bless you if you’re lazy. The good news is that he’ll help you with both.

You’ve mentioned God helping in most of the interviews. Tell us about your relationship with God. I’d like you to share one story where you’ve felt God has saved you or shown you the way, taking it as a sign. How do you relate your faith to God?

Two things: God brought me back to life and saved me from myself. Because of the various things I’ve had to overcome in my life (eating disorder, relationship abuse, etc), there have been several times where my identity was hanging by a thread. Without the ability to allow God to inform and reform who I was… to this day, I am confident I’d be the shell of myself that I once was. This brings me to number two. He saved me from myself. I’m a naturally bold person, and many along the way have tried to say that I need to be quiet and shrink back. However, that’s not God’s plan for my life, and it would have made no sense for how He created me. I’m so grateful that on this path of calling, he continually refines me, speaks to me, and lovingly tells me what I still need to work on. For example, listening, loving, and waiting. letting go of a critical spirit and offense. Forgiveness It’s a daily pursuit and will always be, but I’m so grateful for His love throughout the process of growing.

Understanding and realizing all aspects of life; how the brain functions; self-development; business/work; humans, Your wisdom is impeccable. No doubt you’ve become a mentor, but having all this wisdom does create a problem for you. As a know-it-all person, (While it may help as an entrepreneur, how about mentoring ?)

First of all, thank you for the compliment! I work really hard to keep a moldable, soft heart. My worst fear in life is actually coming across as a “know it all.” Not just to people, but to God. I never want God to think I’m done learning and growing. So no, it hasn’t created a problem because I don’t identify with that spirit or character trait at all.  I like to consider myself a “keep learning it all,” and you’ll usually find me in my spare time reading a book or watching a YouTube video to learn something new.

Relationships

You just got married? Congratulations! Tell us about your journey, if you’d like to share it.

Thank you! To make a long story short, he’s the greatest answer to my prayers. We met on Bumble in 2020, and I’ve never realized how perfect someone could be for you! I’ve never felt so safe and protected, loved and cherished by another human. He’s an entrepreneur and owns a production company called Grindstone that you all should check out! He’s a bold and masculine spirit at heart, has an incredible brain, and is loving beyond measure. For everyone still looking for their person, my advice is to become the person you’re supposed to be, and trust God’s timing. We absolutely would never have been together or liked each other for a moment before we got together. It was the perfect time! I had a lovely time planning my wedding! It was the most perfect day with literally zero hitches. I am a blessed woman! I am happy to be living out my life as a wife and not a fiancé!

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Megan Swanson Rhodes & Landon Rhodes

The classic question of all: Your beauty regime, please!

I am honestly as simple as it comes when it comes to beauty. I largely rely on the recommendations of friends who are much more intentional than I am. As you’ll learn about me, I’m very outspoken about some things, and about others, I’m as laid back as can be! To this day, I probably have the most low-key beauty, makeup, and hair routine of any former pageant queen on the planet.

About Megan Swanson Rhodes

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© Megan Swanson Rhodes

A former Pageant Queen (Miss Nebraska (2014), Miss Nebraska USA (2020),) turned Entrepreneur & Sales Queen, Megan (Swanson) Rhodes lives to help women provide wealth for their families while unlocking their identity, leadership, and discovering their unique voices. Her company The Powerhouse Collective contains two major brands that help facilitate this – Powerhouse Pageantry, which since 2016 has grown to become one of the largest pageant coaching businesses in the world, and 6 Figure Powerhouse Woman, which trains female experts, coaches, and consultants to build scalable and successful online businesses to 6+ figures. A graduate of Belmont University’s Commercial Music Voice Program, Megan works actively as a decorated Singer/Songwriter, Author, and Keynote Speaker around the country. As of 2022, she is now proudly the wife of her favorite person on earth, Landon. In her spare time, she loves to try new restaurants, travel, and curl up with a good book!

Podcast : Almost 200 hours of free episodes on The Powerhouse Podcast, that coach you to win pageants, plan & strategize, what should their belief system/mindset be for the same and more! I’d encourage people to go there!

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Megan Swanson Rhodes & Allie Swanson Mancuso are the first sisters to ever both win Miss Nebraska in the America System.
They now work Powerhouse Pageantry together.
Megan Swanson Rhodes x ECLECTIC BRAINS MAGAZINE