Welcome to the leaders mindset where we talk with leaders entrepreneurs and community builders We're having an impact on the world around them and how they're building teams and leading those teams to get to that impact Today we've got a very special guest someone. I've been wanting to have this kind of conversation with a long time She's very accomplished and I had to make a list of all the things. I wanted to make sure we mentioned today So she's been named a trailblazer in tech by military spouse magazine, right? on the Forbes next 1,000 list Named on the mighty 25 as one of the most influential leaders supporting the military community named on the Entreprenee's to 100 as one of the best community-led businesses and recently named on the Inc female founder 200 list She's a military spouse Most importantly, I think she's a twin mom And she's the founder of spouse Lee. Please welcome Monica Fullerton. Hey Jason. Thanks so much for having me I'm so excited to chat today. Thanks for being here today. This is the first time We've really gotten to sat down for any length of time and talks. I'm excited about this We're always crossing paths. We are and that's great, but this is this is a I'm excited about this me too, so I Don't want to get it wrong and I know it's real easy to get it wrong So tell us about spouse Lee and what it is because you're very particular about how we describe spouse Lee I am so spouse Lee is an online marketplace to shop a wide variety of both products and services All created by military and first responder families So I like to call it Etsy meets Angie's list but with a focus on shopping for social good and supporting our nation's heroes And and not just military military spouses, but also first responders anyone really in that service kind of community Yeah, that's what's so magical about the platform is we're partnered with Govex So they handle all of our verification to make sure our vendors are approved military spouses service members gold star families first responders active duty service members Spouses and yeah, just everybody that is supporting and serving our country. Yeah, it's it's a wonderful idea It's so exciting. You've brought it to fruition and where it is today How did it start though? Whoo, that's a loaded question. So I'll give you the the quick answer So it all stemmed out of my own pure frustration and inspiration as a military spouse myself I know this journey is something you're very familiar with but I'll give you everyone a little bit of a recap So military families usually relocate on average every two to three years You know, we're faced with the unknown We don't really know what's coming next frequent deployments and the list goes on and as a military spouse it's really hard oftentimes we have to take the backseat on our own personal dreams and goals and It becomes challenging where you end up thinking who am I? What am I doing? What can I do to piece this puzzle together? And I started to realize how many just amazing businesses were owned by our nation's heroes And I'm talking millions millions of businesses and there wasn't one central location for people to go and shop and support Our nation's heroes. So started doing my market research and I was like, you know what I'm gonna go for I'm gonna create a platform that brings everyone together and it's it's more than just a place to shop It's truly that community supporting supporting one another no matter where the military our first responder life takes us Yeah, I think it I think that gets lost in the shuffle a little bit We we appreciate the service of folks were on active duty first responders, but we We don't always remember unless you're involved in it Yeah We don't always remember the contribution that the the spouses and the kids and the the families make and I think that's really important I think I think it's great that someone you have taken a step to bring that to the forefront I think that I think that's wonderful and and You know better than I do what the military spouse employment statistics are like they can be pretty grim sometimes Yeah, sadly, it's been 24% for nearly a decade and that number only continues to rise And that's it's exactly what I said, you know It's really hard to piece the puzzle together and oftentimes companies don't understand that It's really sad that it took COVID for more companies to see that you can work remote and have a successful career I am proof of that. I had a very awesome and Amazing corporate career working full-time remote making a great salary But I started to see that a lot of my fellow spouses just weren't able to figure something out like that So we're making steps in the right direction But entrepreneurship is great because it you know bridges the gap to doing what you love while living a life on the go Yeah, it it's an option that even when I was in the military. I retired almost 10 years ago Yeah, it wasn't something we talked about for military spouses We that there are a lot of there are opportunities for jobs for military spouses But not always opportunities for careers and entrepreneurship is a great way to build a career Yeah, you are in that position. So yeah, I'm a big believer You know if you can just do what you love and have fun doing it But you know also being rewarded for everything that we also go through on a life You know standpoint as well You can never stop growing personally or professionally and I always say when one person serves the entire family serves as well Yeah, so you did your market research. You started looking at it as a good MBA. Yeah wood, right? So was there a catalyst where you decided to pull the trigger on spousely, you know I had a small business on the side of my corporate career And I was selling on Etsy and I just remember thinking with a platform like Etsy What was really unique about it was the community was that feel of being around like-minded individuals So I knew what it felt like and I knew you know what it was to be selling and having a business around other people That just get it and so I really kind of took that business model And I applied you know the layer of supporting our nation's heroes on it So it's not like it's rocket science where I was recreating the wheel on anything And it's a proven concept but now you know supporting a truly deserving community my notes say there was something about a car trip. Oh That is the best how how the idea of spousely came up Yes so I was headed to dinner with a few fellow military spouses and we were in one car all going together and I was like You know what there's so much talent in just this one car.   You make coffee I love business. Like why are we all not doing more together and how can we support one another and so? I just remember always saying to my friends that so spousely of you just because I Was always just inspired by you know their way to put a smile on someone else's face Whether it was bringing them homemade coffee or you know just that special gift So that's so spousely of you came top of mind. That's awesome. I didn't know that was something that you said to people Yes Now military spouse was not originally in your career or a life plan. No, so What was your original career or life plan that you were on and were you really inspired by Oprah to do that? How did you know you must have heard my story a few times? I do my homework before I do these Yeah, so born and raised in a small town in Ohio So I set off with really really big dreams when I went to college And those dreams were to become the next Oprah and it was because I was always so you know inspired by the power of communication How she brought people together to share their real stories that would continue inspiring others to do great things So I went to school in Boca Raton, Florida I did my bachelor's in multimedia journalism and communications and while I was doing my bachelor's I also started my master's and I was able to do that in Marketing and business and I was I was so happy. I was in the place that I always wanted to be South Florida was wonderful I had really great connections. I was lining everything up and sure enough love had other plans I ended up getting back together with my high school sweetheart from that small town in Ohio Who was commissioning into the Air Force? Yeah, now were you from a military family? No, and so this was all new to me I remember Honestly, just thinking like what is happening. This is not part of my plan How on earth am I gonna be able to have my own career? You know living the military life because I didn't really know what it actually looked like You know, we hear everything and we see everything, but what does it actually look like to be living this life? So when I decided to go for it after I finished my master's we got stationed at our first duty station I'm not gonna lie. I was lost I was thinking who am I at the time my last name was Mahajan So I was like who is Monica Mahajan like how am I gonna make a name for myself? How am I gonna help others? How am I gonna ever turn my own career goals and dreams into reality? So I just remember going into interview after interview Thinking I don't know like I don't know what I'm gonna be doing I I couldn't really pursue a career in communications because it just didn't seem possible with not knowing what's next Yeah, yeah, it's a I Didn't come from military family my like my grandfather's run World War two and that kind of stuff Yeah, and you know, I was on the uniform side. So certainly there were adjustments for me but even the Adjusting to military life right life is like on a base and what life is like in that career and for your family and your Friends and and that kind of thing. It's it's an adjustment. So yeah, it definitely is You know, it's it's both rewarding and challenging obviously I wouldn't change it for a thing But you just have to learn to to pivot to adapt and to just stay true to who you are and what you want to do because I'm a big believer if there's a will there is a way you just got to knock down some extra hurdles I've never I've never known you not to be determined to follow through on something regardless of the challenge. Yes I love a good challenge. I know you do. So that's that's actually a great lead in Was spousely the original concept for spousely different than what it evolved into you. How did that was there an evolution? How did that evolution go? Yeah, that's a great question. Honestly spousely has turned into so much more than I ever could have imagined I simply just wanted to create a place where you know Military and first responder on businesses could share their talents with the world But it has turned into just this powerful community of of makers creators and entrepreneurs And we've got so many incredible corporate partners that are helping us continue to to spread the word about who we are Because it's so much more than just shopping like I mentioned. It's really going above and beyond it's coming together really putting that emphasis on Turning the impossible into I'm possible, you know, that's that's our podcast that we have over at spousely And it's really just showing if I can do it you can do it too And it's just has all these amazing branches off of the foundation So during that transition from what it was to what it became. Yeah, what did you learn along the way? Whoo, I learned a lot because obviously I went from a Logistics corporate career working with you know fortune 500 companies executives and things like that to literally Pouring the foundation on my own and an industry. I hadn't you know, not really known much about building a multi-vendor Marketplace, so I have continued to learn something new. I swear on a daily basis I'm constantly challenging myself I never knew what the framework even looked like to build a multi-vendor marketplace. Nobody, you know told me Hey, go do this. I just knew what I wanted it to look like I knew what I wanted, you know The impact to be and I've just keep stacking new building blocks on top of another one from all the learning lessons along the way That's really fantastic is we're really big on talking about strategy here Yeah, and having a vision and how we think having a vision is important and then The real challenge is how do you turn that vision into reality? Yeah, you do not come from a technical background You're you're not a coder.  Yeah, honestly I I started with a PowerPoint. I designed exactly how I wanted spousely to look I teamed up with a web developer and I was like hey This is how I want it to work how I want it to function it needs to go from here to here We need to have all these bells and whistles and over time after we built out the platform I just constantly taught myself how to do you know different, you know snippets of coding or you know Technical updates or anything like that because as you know we if you have a business You have to know how to operate your business and when you're bootstrapping you can't push off little tasks You have to learn how to do that because you can't afford You know to hire maybe a big CTO or someone to come in to oversee certain things So it's just been the constant, you know scrappy bootstrapping approach and I watch YouTube's I learn from others I reach out to mentors and honestly just if there's something that I'm needing to do I try to learn how to do it on my own I think there's a value in that too because someday if all goes well You're gonna be focused completely on the big picture.  What's really important to know what goes into that. Yeah There's a lot and you know, that's something that I really hope you know soon that I can move away from the back end of The operation and focus on where I know I can grow the company most and that's the front end like I said You know I'm communications person. I love sharing people's stories I love helping others see the best in themselves But when it comes to the technical piece I would say I have never been afraid of challenging myself to learn something new whether it's in marketing whether it's on the tech side You know building our newsletter or getting those corporate partnerships It's just you really have to take charge of what the outcome is that you want. That's great advice Do you have any other advice for non-tech folks who have a big tech platform dream? Yes, the biggest piece of advice is try to learn as much as you can as soon as you can otherwise I'm sure you will look back and find yourself in situations where you've overpaid on certain things because people can Sniff it right out of you, right?  I have no idea how to do this More than you know oftentimes you're gonna be paying more than you probably should be or it's gonna be too complex so I would say the biggest piece of advice is Learn how to understand the operation of what you're trying to build like truly understand it And then go to someone and work with them on what you want the outcome to be Don't just push off, you know just because you have the vision doesn't mean that someone's gonna fully understand What needs to be done to execute on it only your brain is holding, you know those little key pieces So be involved with the process I remember when I was working with my web developer I'd ask questions if I didn't understand Why this was here or why this was there kind of thing I asked the question I learned how to kind of manipulate it myself a little bit. I got my hands dirty behind the scenes So yeah, I think that's important, especially if as a founder you want to scale Yeah, you know scaling is in your plans. Yeah Being able to understand how to communicate that strategy. Yeah to your CTO to your tech team is Important because there's my experience has been there's an easy way to do things in the short term But then the hooks aren't in there to scale later on and you end up tearing everything down and building it back up again Yeah And sadly I know a lot of founders who have spent just tons and tons of money into getting that first phase out there And I always talk about perfection is not the key on this journey and that is something You know, I found myself falling into that same trap. I wanted spousely to look so perfect I wanted it to seem like the brand's been around for a long time and that ended up hurting us actually within the first six months of Business because people were coming to us and they were like, oh, I thought spousely has been around forever Oh my gosh, blah, blah, blah, and I'm like, no, we just launched. We need your help spreading the word I I run into that a lot too. Yeah, I hear people talking about spouse. I was like, I don't I don't think yeah They've been around for 15 years. Oh, wow.  So, let's see. I'm a big Google person. We use a ton of Google products. That's how we communicate our team We do a lot of planning and Google Literally assigning tasks different things. I use Canva for all of marketing and all of that We were using a sauna for, you know, different project development and all of that Honestly, because our team is small still it became a little too hard to kind of operate But we we've got a lot of things. We've got Slack What else are we using on the tech side? We're on WordPress. So constantly just, you know, finding different Plugins and different connections that will function well with WordPress and allow us to continue advancing So, yeah, some of them not all the technical ones I think that's part of the big thing about tech companies is people think they have to be really over complicated Just because it's a tech company and at the end of the day They don't really have to be based off of what you're building and what industry I feel like I've kept spousely as You know easy as possible in terms of how we build and grow one of the things I learned in all of my engineering studies over the years whether it was the physics stuff or the chemistry stuff Or the actual engineering of it is when you get something, right? Yeah, it's elegant. It's simple. Yeah, it's not over complicated Sometimes it's going back to the basics and honestly, that's that's what it takes to build and grow a company Don't over complicate. Just use what you can we were working in too many different tech You know ways to scale and grow and it got to be too much Hot jars another one That's really great for for tech companies because you're able to kind of see where your customers are falling off where they're Shopping around that gives you like a heatwave of everything. Oh really cool. Yeah. Yeah, I will make sure I recommend that yes Talks with folks around town here. Yes. It's fascinating That you talk about Some of the things that you need to change when you're using your tools as you scale and how to use your current tools to scale as well As entrepreneurs, I think we all make mistakes We all we all learn from things as we go and we have to go back and kind of retool and what was The biggest mistake or the most impactful mistake you've made with spouse Lee and what did you learn from it? There's a lot like I said, you're always constantly Learning but I would say one of the biggest mistakes is what I had just mentioned about really Trying to make it look too perfect too early on You know, I had invested so much into building out the platform. I love marketing. I'm a natural just creative I have kind of that eye for detail and I put so much time into making spouse Lee look like the perfect brand that it had Been around for a while And like I said, I quickly learned that you know, that's not what consumers or people want to see They want to be a part of your journey They want to be a part of the start all the way through through the ups and through the downs And so like I said when we got to that six month mark and people are like, oh, you know I heard about spouse Lee at the grocery store. I heard about a year. I thought it's been around I'm like, please keep spreading the word. Please, you know, let others know that we are a startup company and I'm pouring everything into this and That's I think the biggest piece that a lot of entrepreneurs fail at is they want everything to be perfect from the start and really letting people be a part of the journey there's This is why I think fake it to you make it is not the best advice in entrepreneurship There are there are some things that's great for like you're going into pitch. Yeah That's fantastic, but I I think as an entrepreneur you want to ask for help You want to say this is something I could be better at you want to go to your audience to go to your supporters and say, please Please talk about us more. We we we really could use you on our team as well Yeah, and not not pretend that We've got it all covered that we don't need anything from anyone Yes, you have to be your authentic self because at the end of the day You know it's gonna take time to build a brand to build a business But people get invested in you and you as the founder as you as the person that had this vision And it's really important to you know, put yourself out there show people who you are Why why you wanted to build this type of business because they're not only going to become invested in your business They're going to become Invested in watching you continue to grow or you know have those setbacks or different things like that because they want To be a part of your journey and that's something I always tell you Jason You know online especially is thank you Thank you for just truly being a true supporter in my journey because even though you're always cheering me on from afar I know that you get you know everything that's going into it behind the scenes I do and I haven't done it yet But I need to do a little bit of retooling on some of my products and services But I've got a that's been on my to-do list for a while is getting myself on spouse Lee Yeah, and and using that platform to help with my platform as well You're you're so great at leading in to the questions that I want to ask because you're talking about that journey and Going forward on the journey. So what's coming up for spouse Lee? What are Not just one of the next steps for spouse Lee. Yeah, what's the plan to world domination? I love that. What's the vision? so, you know It's been a journey to be honest I spent the past year really thinking, you know, I wanted to raise capital to really go down that whole path You know at the end of the day you need money to scale and grow and to continue fulfilling your roadmap But it just felt forced to me It didn't feel like the right approach to growing and scaling spouse Lee So right now we're really doubling down on those that want to be a part of our journey And like I mentioned our corporate partners play a huge huge piece in our growth and our success We want to continue to be known as the go-to marketplace to shop and support our nation's heroes So how do we do that? We have to continue expanding, you know Our brand who we are going above and beyond just shopping and really putting more time and energy into those Strategic partnerships that are gonna help us get to where we want to go because obviously, you know from a smaller Standpoint and we want to build an app. We want to be able to go above and beyond for our community Share our vendors stories more get into the media arm of spouse Lee But it just takes time and it all starts with making sure that we have the right support Internally and externally one of the things I really love that's a component of spouse Lee is your podcast Yeah, because you tell vendor stories. It's not the spouse Lee story. Yep. It's vendor stories on your podcast You do such a great job with that. Yeah, we are all about our people first And that is something that is so so important to us is to continue to share our vendor stories Why they started their business what this business means to them? Because at the end of the day, you know, consumers can go anywhere. They can go shop, you know online Anywhere they can walk into any store But if we can continue to show them why spouse Lee why our community and how it that that purchase is going above and beyond That's what we're trying to do is share the stories of our vendors So that next level for you is gonna be these strategic partnerships. Yeah, so What types of strategic partnerships are you looking to make that way? I can look at my audience here look at our audience here and say hey if you are working for one of these kinds of companies Get in touch with Monica about how you can help spouse Lee So what what are who are you looking to partner with by name or or just in general? What what are those strategic partnerships you need for the next level and then to go beyond it? Yeah, at the end of the day, you know, we really want to be the marketplace arm to a bigger company because then We know we're able to continue fueling our vendors and their mission and everything that they've done and have worked so hard to build So if we can become the marketplace arm of a partner and be able to have you know That that strategic alliance where we're supporting and serving this community But now in an innovative way that would be the ideal Award-winning partnership, but when it comes to the you know different opportunities It's ways that we can come together think outside of the box and be able to create different, you know Campaigns or opportunities what I would love to have a strategic partner do a type of grant offering for our community where you know We select a few of our makers creators and entrepreneurs and and award them a grant to help their business grow and thrive Because we all know you know as a business owner every any amount and every amount can help us get to that next level And having that cash flow. Yes up front is so valuable to an entrepreneur Yeah, that's why so many entrepreneurs feel like they need to go raise money Yes, you need to go do an equity raise or something like that because it's so valuable to have that positive cash flow Yeah, the the money piece can always be a maker break for business owners And obviously it depends on what type of business you're building whether it's one that you eventually want to sell or it's one That you're doing as you know a side business or a hobby There's all different versions of success to everyone But yes, just that little amount or big amount of cash can help somebody, you know get to where they want to go You've got a pretty great team But they are they are small and scrappy small and mighty. We really are I'm so so grateful for everybody That's just jumped in and has said they want to roll up their sleeves because obviously, you know My money tree in my backyard is not growing anymore. It's like jeez Louise So we're we live in Vegas and there's I've got some I've got some time-release granules that can help you with that I was gonna ask you what what is it that can get this money tree, you know growing but you know desert desert climates are hard Yes, with all jokes aside. Yes, everybody, you know, that's the true power of spousely is we are literally coming together to build And grow, you know by each other's side and that is something I'm forever grateful It's for those that have jumped in have been a part of this journey and that's my question is How is your team going to need to grow over the next 12 18 24 months to get where you want to take the company the strategic vision You've got and then how are you as the leader going to get them there? Yeah, so that was a much easier conversation when I was going down the path of raising capital, right because it's such a Fantasy play right you can you can set aside X amount to hire this many people We're gonna improve this and that but now that I'm not going that path It's really Continuing on the scrappy path of okay. Maybe if we can get at least two to three more You know part-time help under our belt then I can Continue to expand different ways because I want to be able to buy category on spousely have like an account manager per each Category because we I want everybody to have that one-on-one And that's something that everybody always says they love about spousely is the customer service is you know that one-on-one Help and support whether it's a vendor or a customer, but obviously as we continue to grow and add vendors We're over 500 vendors now We have to keep you know finding ways to manage their accounts and make everybody happy Yeah, it's a it's gonna be a challenge But I think that I think it's really noble that you're trying to give that that account manager experience to all of your vendors Yeah, I want you know everybody in the community to feel like they have a place at spousely whether they're a vendor or they're a Supporter a customer or somebody that's like hey a spousely hiring. How can I be a part of helping you build and grow this? I always think back to my first publicist. She was a military spouse She found me on LinkedIn and she was getting ready to you know Transition out of her corporate career to start her own PR firm and she was just so honest. She goes I absolutely love what you're doing I want to help you you know spread the word about it and everything and she just jumped on board with me when I was Probably still in my first year in business and she helped spousely just go way beyond what we were currently doing and it That's all it takes is just one person You know little by little to keep jumping in to help us continue growing and scaling every one of you could make a difference Every person does make a difference So, you know Probably better than anyone We have a small but growing and small but mighty just like spousely tech scene here in Vegas How has it been trying to create something of this scale and size in the Vegas tech scene? Yeah, Vegas has been great We really have such an incredible ecosystem here. There's so many amazing, you know, just individuals building companies It all goes back to what you had mentioned early, you know you have to be willing to ask for help like most of us are working in remote environments or Popping in at different places or trying to attend all of the events going on to support one another so Really just getting involved in one another's businesses finding ways that we can each continue to help each other That's what I've loved about the Vegas ecosystem is I feel like I know somebody that knows somebody that can you know Raise their hand and say oh I can know somebody over here that can help with this so What's the contribution you'd like to make spousely would like to make on the Vegas tech scene the start of community here? Yeah, I want to continue to Really show that you can have the balance of you know working remote building a company remote But also always trying to to get out there in person So my commitment personally has been trying to get out and be a part of as many events as I can Obviously, that's very hard as I've got young twins and you know life is very busy all the time But my commitment is always just showing up for other people And I feel like that oftentimes goes way beyond any type of you know monetary value It's just being there for one another a simple connection goes a long way And I think that's something we all need to get better at doing for each other Yeah, and you are great at that because for months and months and months people people were telling me you got to meet Monica you gotta meet Monica you got you gotta meet Monica She's the founder of spousely and when I finally did meet you it was out at an event Yeah, where you were just being out at the event being a good mentor Yeah, and we'll talk about that in bunker labs a bit, but first I want to play a game with you. Okay. I love games, so The name of this game is rapid response.  Okay fast All right rapid response Monica Fullerton ready ready Your time starts now a Book everyone should read. Oh Oh my gosh, I am blanking right now. Hold on. It's Kim Perrell's book. It is called. Oh my gosh I can't think right now. It's Kim Perrell's book. She just launched it. It's about Lawn. No, I forget what it's called. I can't think out in the spot. That's okay We'll we'll find our book. It's amazing. We'll find it. We'll find it We'll put it in the show notes. Okay best Halloween costume. Oh The Adams family. Oh, yeah, did you do that as a family? We haven't done it, but we're going to my daughter's gonna be Wednesday this year And I was like I could totally be like more Tisha along with your son who's gonna be top gun Maverick Yes, we're gonna have to like work it all in my dog is gonna be like, you know Faint not saying the hair. What's that the other one? Cousin it? Cousin it. Yeah. Yeah, you guys will figure it out. You're smart. Next vacation. Oh We are getting ready to go to Florida and Up in the panhandle. So it'll be nice to experience the Destin area beaches. Yes, always fun. Yes, always fun Leave the kids at home. Yes, they are. Yeah, they're staying home an Important trend to watch. Oh an important trend besides spousely Like is this a company or is this like whatever anything? They're your answers. Oh, man I'm really not good at this an important trend to watch. Oh all the different easy Oven dinners that you can make I Just heard about that. Yeah, my favorite is the feta with the cherry tomatoes and the basil You just throw it into the oven and it's like magic. Love it. Yeah favorite sports team. Oh We're from Ohio. So I'm gonna have to say Ohio State. Okay. No, no surprise there. We're halfway through. Yes podcast recommendation besides I'm possible. Oh, uh, David Meltzer's podcast He has a amazing podcast called office hours and he does all different ones where he interviews Different celebrities and and real life people sharing their stories. Good one Best pizza you've ever had. Oh above the crest here in Las Vegas Also, very good Something we should all be paying attention to or someone Um, something we should be paying attention to is all of the incredible female business owners out there that are Literally taking over and building these awesome companies that I feel like get underestimated too much.  Yeah, I don't make me sing. That's really bad I don't remember who sings it either. Okay last one. Okay your biggest influence in life Oh, uh, I'm gonna have to say Oprah Oprah. Okay. Yeah. All right Thank you for playing. That was really hard. I don't know about that. I don't think I can play like Jeopardy or anything I don't think it's not supposed to be hard. It's supposed to be fun. So you're gonna have to work on this game a little bit Yeah, but I've got like, you know, entrepreneurs slash like twin mom slash military spouse brain and it's you got twin mom brain And that's all that's all anyone needs to say So let's talk about bunker labs and how that's been part of your because we talked about Being part of the community and that one of the ways you became a big part of our Not just our Entrepreneur community, but our veteran community and our military connected community here in vegas Is you were a veteran in residence At bunker labs. Tell us about that. Yeah, so I found bunker labs early on When I first launched spousely and I saw that it was an amazing nonprofit that had Cohorts that were, you know throughout all of the united states based off of your location So I remember reaching out to them learning more about the program and the opportunity and I joined their var here in vegas Which is the veterans and residents program At first, I wasn't sure just if military spouse business owners could be a part of it and they can so I was a part of that and then I moved into being an ambassador for las vegas for the past few years Which I just ended so someone else can you know have that role and continue to lead But it did get me very very connected involved Love being able to have the like-minded community because I totally jumped headfirst into this space Even though i'm a military spouse, you know, my corporate career was never anything along these lines So I I needed to continue to build that community Yeah, and we are all about leadership as the title of our podcast goes So what did you learn by being a mentor? We learned things by being entrepreneurs. We learned things in corporate We learned things by doing. Yeah, what did you learn by being a mentor to other entrepreneurs, especially military connected entrepreneurs? Yeah, this is something that's so important to me and it's really just getting to know people for who they are I like to really, you know, get to know somebody more on a personal level because then that allows you to Peel back the different layers from a professional level of where they want to go how you can help them with their business And oftentimes like I said with the military community. I feel like we we Have these big goals and dreams and all these different opportunities, but sometimes it just feels Impossible to maybe put into motion and oftentimes when I'm talking to other business owners They're holding themselves back from what they're truly able to do So it's just getting to that level of understanding who they are as a person You know what their goals are for their business and how I can help them get to where they want to go Or who I can connect them to That's a theme we've heard is a lot of times when we're mentoring people and I've seen this too Is sometimes we have to encourage them to think bigger. Yeah Definitely thinking bigger. Um, I'm always thinking outside of the box I am one of those people that cannot like stay within a box Which is why it was so nice when I launched my company was oh my gosh I'm just gonna like tear down this whole box of what the perfect company should look like How you should do certain things or whatnot and just kind of build what I believe is Like you know what I want to see out there in this space. Well, it seems to be paying off for you. So trying I'm trying You came in to a military world both as a spouse and supporting military families military connected community first responders You came into this world From the outside. Yeah I'm sure you had views on leadership From before you came into the community How have your views on leadership changed since Becoming a part of the military community becoming a military spouse Doing what you do now Yeah, I think you know with leadership you like I said you have to understand everyone individually everybody has a different view of What success looks like. Um, so leadership from in my corporate career was a lot different, right? You know, I was working with fortune 500 CEOs and companies and all of that and it was just a different Um world of how you talk about success and business and everything where now With a lot of the business owners that I help, you know They're people that are nervous and scared and they're afraid to take that next leap because it's a scary journey And so really getting to kind of bridge both of those worlds together to show them Like you said to always think bigger don't don't limit yourself from what you're capable of just because maybe you don't have enough Resources available or you feel disconnected from having a community I feel like there's always an opportunity and a community out there for anyone no matter what they're looking for But being able to support each other and finding that community is key Yeah, I always love to ask people who've worked in corporate or like when we've had military folks What it's like becoming an entrepreneur after working in the military and that's a common theme of one thing bigger To build your support networks and and don't be don't be Held in by that box. You're gonna have to break down that box and build your own. Yeah, so besides oprah Because we already did that one. Okay. Who is someone you admire as a leader or in business? Sarah Blakely the founder of Spanx I absolutely love, you know her journey and the one thing that has always stuck with me is She was selling, you know, I think it was fax machines or copy machines or whatever it was And I remember those days when I first started selling in logistics I was going door to door just like her and I will never forget one day my heel broke And I just remember walking into the the next office and I'm like, can I have some tape? Like if somebody helped me my heels broke. I'm not trying to tell you anything right now I just need some help and I remember she had a very similar moment on I forget what exactly happened But something had happened when she was out doing cold calls and she was like, wait a second This is not how I want my story to go. I need to rewrite my story And that it was something so powerful about her journey is no matter where you're at or what you're looking to do We have the power to rewrite our story and it it kind of clicked for me in that moment when I had walked in with a broken heel I'm like, this isn't what I want to fully be doing. This is not something I've ever been passionate about Broken heels aside. Broken heels aside, but like how can I keep continuing to get, you know Career-wise where I want to go. So in addition to someone you really admire And maybe it's still Sarah Blakely or Oprah But who who is someone or something that has shaped your views on leadership and leading your team? Yes, um, so I had a boss. He was actually the owner of the company and he Was an incredible leader leader. He built an amazing Uh company culture. He was always about his people He exactly went back to my technique of getting to know people on a personal level Um, sadly, he ended up passing away from liver disease out of nowhere And I just remember in that moment He always told me all of these things where Monica, you can be anybody you want to be Monica You can't leave me don't leave this like we're going to keep finding a way for you to like work remote Because you're never leaving this company and it was really in those moments of leadership that I was like, wow Us as leaders, we all have the power to help somebody else get to where they want to go And it's very important that you operate like that as a leader and that's something he always did And I remember, you know, having other leaders that I've experienced and different people Throughout my journey Nobody ever compared to him. His name was Keith and he was just your average You know business owner that was just Making an impact everybody in that office would always say Keith is just the most amazing, you know business owner because he cares about his people and when he passed away It was truly heartbreaking on all of us because we had built this family. It wasn't work anymore It was that family culture in a work setting. I'm sorry for your loss Yeah, I always you know everything that I've done You know over the past decade since he has passed I feel like I always think about like wow, he would be so proud of the person that I am And we weren't related or nothing like that. He was just one of those leaders that truly invested in his people Yeah, at the end of the day if you're Leading is a people business and if you're not focused on people And developing people to help you achieve your larger goals. You're not really leading Yeah, there's too many leaders out there I feel like that want to tell other people what to do and expect other people to do everything But then at the end of the day, they don't even know how to do it themselves And I think that's a key piece of leadership is you have to be willing to get You know your hands dirty to roll up your sleeves Don't advise somebody else to do something unless you know how to do it because that's how you keep, you know I think that's a lesson we all have to learn as leaders. Yeah is that A lot of a lot of us get into it. Well, I want to be in charge I want to be making the decisions I want to I want to achieve something and then we realize the real reward from being a leader is The the the successes at least I can speak for myself. I'm most proud of is not the things I achieved It's watching the folks that I developed go on and achieve even greater things Right. I feel like nobody starts out as an expert, right? We all have to start somewhere and then we keep You know developing those unique skill sets along the way and we have to be able to share them because that's what a good Leader does. That's what we all need to do and now we're going to get into the hard questions about being a leader It's it's some time. No, it's not a game. I mean you can treat it as one if you want so We all have successes, but There there are things that keep us up at night. Yeah, what What are the really significant challenges you see with spousely coming up? And how are you going to handle them? Yeah, you know, I will be completely honest And that's something I feel like I'm I'm really good at whether people like it or not It's hard. It's hard to be honest and be authentic, but I feel like the wall right now to be honest I feel like I have worked so so hard over the past four years to get the foundation board Built exactly how I knew it needed to be built for our community But right now I feel like I'm the wall I feel like I'm holding it back from its true potential because I'm in so many different places right now That I'm not able to help it get to the next level Which is why I think it's so important to recognize that as a leader And to be able to make the changes that need to be done to help You know the company continue to grow and thrive. So for me I really see a huge opportunity for spousely being the marketplace arm You know to a company to joining forces to building together with a partner That can help us continue putting more funds in the pockets of our nation's heroes So where do you need help finding and developing that partnership? Um, I would say, you know, it's it's a lot of relationship building a lot of our current partners As well as really just putting it out there in a way that doesn't you know make it seem like Something you know spousely is not doing so right because that's not the case. It's honesty It's honesty on where you're at in your journey. It's honesty on where you are and where you want to go So I would say what I need is to continue, you know Going through different Possible partner opportunities that might be able to help us take spousely to the next level And really building those relationships. Yeah, you could be doing great today Yeah, but there's also where you want to be. Yes, and and those two things can exist at the same time. Yes And I always have the community top of mind and you know that about you have constantly, you know Any chance I get to shout our community and our vendors from the rooftops? I do And that's something I feel like is that next piece on this journey is, you know Removing just Monica Fullerton as the one, you know, putting the full gas on the throttle and being able to Have a better flow of things. Okay. Well, I will do my part to help you with that. Thank you We all We all have anxieties. We have things to keep us up at night You have a lot going on you're a military spouse that comes with its own challenges You're a twin mom in addition which comes with its own challenges How do you stay calm and centered when with all of this going on around you when things may not be going great one day? You know, I always just go back to Myself and knowing what I'm capable of as a person and knowing where my flaws are and where my strengths are at And I think it's important as a leader to be able to find that balance and to You know figure out how to make the most of the time that we have because I always say, you know All's we do is have his time in the day, you know, we can't really change what everything looks like so Being able to prioritize what needs to be done first is very important And that's something I actually have learned Over the past few months because I was starting to get to a place where You know, I have been heads down building this Business for four years that I'm like, I have to come up for air a little bit and I have to see everything Around me everything I've worked so hard to build that we have built as a community But I also have to be there for my family too Oftentimes my husband will say like you're physically here, but you're not mentally here And that's something that Gets very scary as a leader or a business owner is you really have to know how to prioritize What means the most to you and what you are able to do? Well, good for your husband for being honest with you about that because not because not everybody would Yeah, we got a pretty honest to a working relationship. So good for him. Good for both of you We talked about the challenges. What are you excited about that's coming up for spousely? Oh, I'm excited about a lot of things honestly There's so much magic happening at spousely our vendors are all supporting one another They're you know teaming up with each other to do different collaborations I'm really really excited about more of the corporate gifting opportunities that we continue to get Because that's allowing our vendors to grow quicker. It's allowing Everybody to you know grow at a faster rate So I would say I'm excited about where the current platform is continuing to grow and build I mentioned early on about the different arms off of the platform. We have spousely you we've got our podcast Of course, we've got the the marketplace So just continuing to find ways that we can go above and beyond just your typical e-commerce platform Fantastic You're going to be doing some speaking events coming up. Yeah Where are people going to be especially the military connected community? Where are people going to be able to go see you speak? I believe next will be the military influencer conference, which is in las vegas in november So i'm excited for that. I've got my ticket. Yay It's a great opportunity even if you're not military connected and you want to come and learn more about all of the great Businesses and people within the military ecosystem. It's a great conference at resorts world So I was I was really impressed last year with it. Yeah, so I'll be there, which will be great Um, I don't know what I can't think off the top of my head. What's coming up next? I know I'm going next month for bunker labs event in san antonio. So I'll be great to to see everybody Awesome. Yeah What else should we know about monica fullerton and spousely? Oh, um, I always like to leave with a Quote that I'd like to share. All right. Don't share that yet because I have I have some other questions But I like to make sure we take care of this before we get to them Okay, so what what to know about monica fullerton, uh and spousely, uh, definitely if you are looking To go above and beyond Making that purchase make a bigger impact go to spousely shop and support our community There's so many incredible products on spousely and services And me personally I want to continue to show that you can do anything that you set your mind to and you don't have to limit yourself to one thing I'm all about having that personal portfolio and diversifying where you need holidays are coming up So if you're thinking about doing some shopping online, check out spousely before you go anywhere else. Yes Where can everyone find spousely? Where can everyone find you? Um, you can connect with me on linkedin. That's the easiest place I love, um, you know chatting with new people making new connections and friends. Um, and spousely is spousely.com You can either do spouse with the dash ly.com or spousely.com And you can find us on instagram as well and facebook instagram is where we really focused on sharing our vendor stories and our podcast updates Yeah, your instagram is fantastic. So so all right the last couple questions Someone or something you are grateful for Wow, I am very very grateful for my family. Um, they are truly my rock and my backbone My husband like I said were high school sweetheart. So he's always known the drive that I've had from a very long uh early age and um Just always pushing me and my kids. It's so funny They've basically have grown up with spousely because they were like two or three when I launched it So they talk about spousely all the time. So I'm so grateful for them and for everyone Well, they're already they're already doing the thing you're asking all of us and they're promoting Yes, good good for them. I do marketing Advice you would give to future leaders, especially young women Leaders and military spouses and if you can work your quote into that that would be fantastic It's the perfect time So I the best advice that I love giving because it's something that I am living and breathing every day And it is growth begins when comfort ends and I think that's super super important because um, you know We have to challenge ourselves if we want to continue going the extra mile Oftentimes if we feel ourself getting a little too uncomfortable, whether it's in a job or Or business or whatever it is, you know that it's probably time to start your next challenge awesome. Yep Anything else? Nope parting shots. Nope reattacks. Nope growth begins when comfort ends growth begins when comforts ends All right. Well, thank you. Monica. Thank you for being here I've been wanting to have this conversation with you for a long time cameras aside Yeah, and I've really enjoyed this. So thank you for being here. Thank you all for watching There's so much going on out there. Lead the way


TLO was We are on twitch. We are live by the time you see this we won't so just leave a like comment subscribe Turn on your post notification bells. Let's continue to grow the family from Chicago to the UK Right behind me if we go live and you miss it. I may or I may not put the highlights for the live on here I don't really see the point when you could just pull up twitch put type in my name You can rewatch the entire live So you could do that as well Don't forget. We do got merch you get me. I don't have my merch on right now I have this shirt where the collar. I don't know what happened to the collar of this shirt But it's exposing all my taco meat and it's crazy to me I'm trying to like pull it back in the back so I could you know, I'm saying so I could get situated Don't forget we do got patreon we post Monday through Friday as well The link to all of this is down in the description It's under something called a link tree man click it and everything will pop up, but let's get to this man This is a poncho, you know a poncho beyond it bringing us something very disturbing The most disturbing case you've ever heard I've watched two videos with that same title this week, so we'll see Talk to me Open the windows Open the door All right, let's keep your hands on you can see him Just keep your hands on you can see him This are police to some uncle. Yeah, what about that side distinct driver on that side? Yeah, no bother just open door for us. Okay until we come to him your identity What's your name? Hey That's 29 year-old Joseph Pierce and 41 year-old James with him being arrested for the murder of 28 year-old Ashley Dale 23 days after the incident had taken place on the old swan estate in Liverpool United Kingdom The investigation initially seemed as if it would be a difficult one It was clear that detectives from the Massey side police were going to have to act quick to solve this case If they didn't then maybe just maybe this would end up as Liverpool's latest unsolved murder case Why then did an innocent council worker who lived a comfortable life away from crime get her door kicked in and Have a hitman run through her home shooting indiscriminately towards her while she was watching TV with her dog Let's take it that would make sense that why would they somebody do okay dive into this case then and see how two best friends Turn rivals caused the death of an innocent woman to begin. We've got to head over to the Glastonbury festival. I Heard about house care doc. So two best friends turn rivals. Don't tell me they kicked down the wrong door Glastonbury a five-day festival celebrating contemporary performing art held every June in Somerset, England Celebrity endorsement and its political stance have helped to push its popularity So much in fact that some of the most famous artists beyond the world have touched down to perform there roughly 200,000 people visit every year and in 2022 28 year-old council worker Ashley Dale attended as she had done many times in the past That year she headed down to the festival with her boyfriend Lee Harrison Saz a known Massey side organized crime gang member and drug dealer the pair were also with two friends But only one is relevant to the story Jordan Thompson dusty also an organized crime gang member and drug dealer What call this group group a I'm not gonna say anything too much, but you know Girls always want to be with gangsters man, but this is what kind of being dating a gangster like This is the lifestyle that you could possibly wrap yourself in you're a college graduate You've got GSEs. You've got degrees Go find a doctor Bro got on a hat with a design under the brim. He can't be good for you There's nothing he could with a hat like that. Oh, there's nothing positive. He can offer you I'm just being real Also in attendance is organized crime gang member Sean Zeiss Zest and his girlfriend Olivia McDowell live although the pair headed down to Glastonbury by themselves They were both associated with group a and throughout their time at the festival. They crossed paths with them We'll call this pair group B Ian Fitzgibbon fits Olivia's cousin and his girlfriend were also in attendance just like group B They made their own way down to Glastonbury throughout their time at the festival They crossed paths with group a and B Then there's group D. This group consists of high-ranking organized crime gang member drug trafficker and arms dealer Nile Barry Branch James with them and a few others that are irrelevant to the story Now you're new everyone from the other groups and was even close with them other than Lee Harrison and Jordan Thompson. However, that wasn't always the case at least for Lee anyway back in 2018 Lee and Nile were considered to be best friends by people who knew them They sold large quantities of drugs together But that was all due to change at some point during there's always gonna be a power struggle It's the story doesn't go to bros who trapped together stay together. No, there's always a power struggle Somebody wants to plug somebody wants some more money. Somebody wants to move in on a custom It never works out greatly In 2018 Nile had a quantity of cocaine and cannabis worth somewhere in the region of 40,000 pounds stolen from him from a stash house that was under his control the hillside is an Organized crime group from the hillside and Longview estates in heightened Liverpool were said to have been behind the robbery It isn't clear how this robbery went down But what we do know is that Lee was heavily associated with the hillside is and after the robbery He sided with them cutting off his friendship with Nile one theory suggests I had to Lee sided with the hillsiders because Nile had been robbing him. I told Lee he was getting bumped by Nile Yeah, Ian told Lee that Nile had been robbing him by taking a bigger cut of the profit That was made from their drug dealing together And so it looked then as if a revenge attack was on the horizon after all Nile Barry was a big player in Masysides criminal underworld However, nothing happened for the next couple of years after the robbery It's believed that Nile left Liverpool and headed to north Wales to run a county line and to trade an illegal military-grade firearms Nile would return to Liverpool though at some point in the future and had even bumped into Lee on various occasions But nothing was ever said Glastonbury 2022 As you know four separate groups from Liverpool were in attendance that were known to each other Although they were separated for a lot of the time while at the festival two separate incident to see a poncho be breaking it down So systematically and then reminding us the four groups So we don't forget curd which would intensify for a lot of the time while at the festival two separate incident to Curd which would intensify the feud between Nile and Lee when these groups crossed paths at Glastonbury At some point during the first day of the festival Shawn Syce and his girlfriend Olivia McDowell bumped into Group A Ashley Dale Lee Harrison Jordan Thompson and others Initially the meeting was good vibes But an argument broke out after Shawn friends with both Lee and Nile Stated that he felt Lee had done Nile wrong in reference to the 2018 robbery To cut a long story short Shawn was punched in the head by Jordan Thompson and then he ran off leaving Olivia with Group A the following day Broke up with him and started a fling with Jordan Thompson at Glastonbury when Nile got work No, no no no no no no no go back say what Lee and Nile Stated that he felt Lee had done Nile wrong in reference to the 2018 robbery. This is Lee and now on the screen Okay To cut a long story short Shawn was punched in the head by Jordan Thompson and then he ran off leaving Olivia with Group A the following Leaving Olivia with Group A Day she broke up with him and started a fling with Jordan Thompson at Glastonbury When Nile got word that Shawn had been assaulted he used the incident to reignite the issue with Lee Remember up until this point the two hadn't clashed in any way We don't exactly know why that was but maybe it was because they shared so many mutual friends with each other and that kept the Peace one of those people being Shawn, but now Shawn had been assaulted for calling Lee No, no, that's crazy That actually playing out how it just played out Imagine you out with your girl and a random dude not a random dude One of your options somebody you have a problem with goes up and punches you in the head You run off now you did leave your girl You ran off on your girl because you were scared and she went with the dude that punched you in the head I Always say that stuff. That's not how it works out in real life, but I guess I mean You get beat up you might get your girl to it. That's crazy He out about the robbery Nile didn't care anymore He was on the hunt for Lee and he was armed Take a listen to what Nile had to say to Ian when he bumped into him at Glastonbury At the dance stage Nile came up to me. This was the first and last time I saw him at Glastonbury He said hello to me my girlfriend and some others that I was with he asked if I'd seen Shawn I told him I saw him at Fatboy Slim earlier on but hadn't seen him since he then asked me if I'd seen Lee I said no he then grabbed a knife from his pocket and said when you see him Tell him I'm going to stab him up. He wasn't aggressive towards me But rather just showing me that he was armed following these two incidents no more violence between the people I don't even get in there with a knife. Don't they got secured? Interest occurred Shawn did spot Olivia with group A after he was assaulted though But didn't say a word Nile never crossed paths with Lee and although Ian told Lee that Nile was armed and was looking for him He didn't really seem that bothered rather wanted to enjoy himself at Glastonbury On day four Nile and James with them were making their way towards Glastonbury after staying at a nearby hotel For reasons currently unknown. They were stopped by police 1025 a.m This is he'll tell us he said it before Nile James has got seven pounds in cash Hello, Mr. Nile Always forget to turn my air block on I really need to stop forgetting Nile Time is 25 to make you're gonna be arrested under suspicion of possession of that. Okay, is it? It's in your bag with your passport in it, okay They don't say anything that may harm the fence if you don't mention any questions thinking later on the court anything You do say maybe given an evidence, right? It's got your passport Just one bag just keep it P. My boy is too late because if it ain't yours, then who's is it you snitching There's there's two bags I He did say that okay Still snitching low-key like you're under it's only two of y'all so if it ain't yours, who's is it for now? Okay?  Yeah, if y'all think I'm talking to myself. I'm talking to the chat like they tell that's One that's yours, okay I'm going to arrest you This okay Off the catamene right now look Okay So do not say anything about me Almost passed out right there Rock with the scouncers though, so I mean if y'all watching this we still cool Where's the catamene I've searched the bag and I can't find any catamene. What was it in? He's in the deepest k-hole getting rid of his rights snitching on himself The guy who's passport it was in it is denying it's his bag say it's his mate's bag Yeah, I think as soon as She fed a Nile the other bloke He sort of said Yeah, that's my bag I swear every time there's a crime situation in the UK like the videos be so deep and in-depth and all the information be so public like And so Glastonbury ended everyone went home and continued on with their lives There was one person who couldn't do that though The threats made at Glastonbury were a constant reminder of the danger that they faced even if it wasn't directly aimed at them Yeah, yeah, no, we not that's not snitching. He ain't snitch The anxiety that stemmed from the threat consumed Ashley Dale's life from the minute she found out that Nile was Actively out to get Lee to make matters worse Nile had called Lee at some point after Glastonbury to tell him that he would be paying him a visit at his home address And if you didn't guess it by now Ashley lived there, too It's just giving me bad anxiety. Okay, but okay, go back go back a little bit Out to get me to make matters worse Nile had called Lee at some point after Glastonbury to tell him that he would be paying him a visit at his home address And if you didn't so gentlemanly like she came gave him a warning So Nile called Lee and told him that he was gonna pull up on him and they They both lived together him and Ashley did did Lee tell Ashley that there is potential danger Hovering around the crib is my question I didn't guess it by now Ashley lived there, too It's just giving me bad anxiety.  Is he gonna end up doing something to leave? I just couldn't cope with that branch is saying he's gonna come and do something He was saying he was gonna come down and he never came down. I just think if he's gonna do something Would he not give him any warning? I? Cba with it. I don't want to have to go to Lee's funeral next and I just have a bad bad Feeling about everything more proper stressed out all the time Me nerves are gone when I'm out in the car with Lee just feeling like I'm looking over me shoulder all the time Why ain't you leave that man? You knew it then When you got especially women when women got that type intuition like that you follow it That's a gift y'all have that leave So I'm so sorry to report that over the course of the weekend at around half past midnight on the early hours of Sunday Morning, please recall to Lester Road Reports for shooting at that location. We found that the property had been forcefully entered multiple shots had been fired and A young lady who we now know to be Ashley Dale Had been shot and fatally wounded and unfortunately despite the best efforts of Merseye police and North West Andaline service She succumbed to those injuries. We are supporting her family at this incredibly difficult time Ashley was a lovely young woman with a career in front of her work for Nozly Council And had recently graduated and had a promotion at work She was in her own home and should have been safe at that time The people responsible for this attack are subject to our investigation and we need to do everything we can to identify here So okay, so Lee did warn her or Ashley was in the know like I Know who I'm dating. I know what we're up against. I know his ops are talking about slide But she also knew The so she knew the dangers of being around being present RIP no for real RIP to Ashley, but like you got to get up out of there. You're in a bad situation If I know one thing about some scouts is they're they're good people. They're good kind heart people, but they don't they They in them streets. They pull it up. They have no place in our society or our communities They had no regard for Ashley or the law or the community and I appeal to anyone with any information whatsoever or Evidence around this to come forward with contact just directly crime stoppers or through our major incident portal on the website 11 40 p.m. August 20th 2022 a grey Hyundai is captured on CCTV heading towards Ashley Dale's home On Leinster Road in the old Swan neighborhood Liverpool when the car arrives two men get out and begin to slash at the tires of a white Volkswagen T-Roc belong into Ashley the men then stick around for a few moments They were trying to lure people out of the property However, no one would go outside Ashley who was at home with her dog assumed that the rain had set the And so she didn't leave around 50 minutes later the men return this time instead of attacking the vehicle one of them armed with a Military-grade scorpion machine pistol walks up to Ashley's front door kicks his way through and runs into the living room It takes Ashley a moment to realize what's going on But when she does she screams and makes a run for the back garden via the kitchen However, the gunman isn't too far behind Before she makes it to the back door the gunman fires eight rounds towards her He hits her once in the abdomen. She stumbles outside The gunman fires two shots towards Ashley's dog after firing ten shots So the gunman made his way upstairs and fired at five more rounds into an empty bedroom before fleeing You gotta think about a man when you in the streets, I know a lot of people not gonna get this but like When you in the streets, if you can't get the first if you can't get who you looking for Unfortunately, it's the next best thing Ashley Ashley did she ain't no no better man. She should have distance herself Love They say love don't cost the thing but it cost that girl her life That's tough. All right P. This is nice house, too She got carpet on the stairs Fireplace Feel free to keep the W add placement. I can't even lie perfect It got me right at the pinnacle of watch And then it's unskippable, which is tough When police arrived they were met with a bullet riddled home as officers rushed to locate Ashley They came across her dog carrying away in the corner. Thankfully, she survived Sadly, the same couldn't be said for Ashley emergency services tried their best to keep her alive But in the end she would succumb to her injuries. They were described as catastrophic So a murder inquiry was opened and initially it seemed as if this was going to be a difficult one for those of you Who aren't aware when similar attacks have happened in the past in Liverpool police have been met with a wall of silence You see many locals fear for their own safety if they come forward with information However, I don't think so man. Ashley had too much going on people probably mad about it Recent many people have done that to help assist police investigations. This being one of them Just days after Ashley was murdered members of the public told police that word was getting around that James with them was the gunman So why was Ashley targeted then? Well, you see she wasn't the actual target her boyfriend Lee Harrison was She just so happened to be in the house at the time when the gunman entered Lee Harrison And this is the man who wouldn't cooperate with the police to help find his girlfriend's killer and the same man who told Ashley's parents that he had no connection to the shooting whatsoever Police didn't need his help to establish a motive though nor to help catch those responsible Believe it or not Ashley played a huge role in solving her own murder Text messages and voice notes recovered from her phone helped police paint a timeline of events from the 2018 drugs robbery So it was clear to them that the motive had been revenge stemming from that incident The police's theory went as follows James with them and a man known as Joseph Pears Were dispatched from a flat in the heightened area of Liverpool to assassinate Lee Harrison James with them the actual gunman These orders were handed down by Niall Barry and Shawn Zeiss in revenge for the 2018 drugs robbery and Glastonbury attack What's awful says get back come with time? We said all the time Becks had been identified. It was time for police to make their arrests. There was one slight issue though Oh, but Shawn fled from the local area Shawn was arrested by police just over a week on from the murder in his first police interview He wrote a prepared statement saying he had nothing to do with the murder and denied being present at Ashley's home on the 21st of August another interview would take place days after the first one Shawn would stick with his story this time around He explained he was disgusted by what had happened and told police he had nothing to hide Which is why he didn't flee Joseph Pears and James with them made their way over to the McCure Hotel in St Helens after the murder had taken place They stayed there for one night enjoyed the spa and checked out the following morning on August 22nd, 2022 I say this I always say this when I be watching these type of videos man You really never can tell in the UK like out here.  It's like Anybody could be the Starbucks barista could be a stepper out there. You don't know who? Who got it up? Okay Where they had a merry out This is so eerie right now What's going on? It isn't clear what they did on the 22nd But in the early hours of the following morning, they headed to Scotland to more than likely evade capture from police Police were unable to track their movements while in Scotland But by September 13th, they had intel that they were traveling back to Liverpool in an Audi Q7 It was time for them to be arrested Open the windows Alright lads keep your hands where you can see them Just keep your hands where you can see them Yeah, what about that side just need to drive around that side Yeah, no bother just open door for us. Okay, until we confirm your identity What's your name fellow? Gilsworth Dom's just getting driver out Suspicion and murder. Okay. You don't have to say anything. I'm a defence unit mention my question. Some picture later on in court It's just in the car and she was standing there Exxon worries from he says that's a he said this is out. I'm gonna put you in course mate.  You're trying to hang on.  No, so I get it.  It shouldn't be Yeah, James. Okay. You're under arrest for suspicion murder. All right. Yeah, there's given a fake name ever work Like come on that you're roll aside Arm police is right here.  Yeah So the 8th sleep is a pod cover that fits on a mattress like a fitted sheet, but it's temperature controlled so On the 24th of August 2022 three days after the murder Now you'll packed his bags and headed over to the Formby Hall golf and spa resort in Formby That's about an hour away from the flat in Heighton Intel They probably stopped you use the credit card to get some gas somewhere Somebody said I wonder how the police knew that they were traveling back Getting nicked for him and knowing you did it and it's over with like he almost literally cried on the roadside. We've seen that All four men would go on to charge with murder Conspiracy to murder in relation to Lee Harrison and conspiracy to possess a prohibited weapon with intent to endanger life All four men denied the charges that were placed against them and would go on trial Surprisingly though James with them just weeks before the trial admitted that he was the gunman But he never meant to shoot Ashley. So in his eyes, this was a case of manslaughter. However, the prosecution wouldn't accept the guilt And so he had to go on trial anyway a seven-week trial took place throughout October and November of 2023 all defendants apart from James, of course tried to distance themselves from the murder James said the shooting was an act of reckless madness and not a deliberate targeted incident He said he didn't see Ashley in the house He just wanted to shoot the place up to send a warning adding that he was suddened by how much pain he had caused Joseph Pears said there was no reason for him to have been involved in the incident because he wasn't involved in any of The background leading up to the shooting. He hadn't attended Glastonbury And he didn't take anyone's side in reference to the drugs robbery Sean Zeiss said that on the day in question He was at the flat in Heighton watching live sports He stuck to his story that he had absolutely nothing to do with the murder because he had no reason to hate Lee You see when Dusty attacked him at Glastonbury according to messages sent from Ashley to friends Lee was the one who told Dusty not to go after him again As they had been friends Nile said that he had no connection to the shooting is he had been at the flat with others including Sean in Heighton Adding there was no plan to attack Lee However, the jury didn't believe any of them and they were all found guilty on all the charges placed against them What'd they get? 17 years? 11.40 PM on the 20th of August last year A Hyundai car drove into Lentster Road in Old Swan, Liverpool Inside were two men James Witham and Joseph Pears They drove there as a result of a criminal agreement with Nile Barry and Sean Zeiss To kill the occupants of 40 Lentster Road using a scorpion submachine gun They each knew that Lee Harrison lived there with his partner Ashley Dale It was their home The car had been acquired in the days leading up to what happened with false number plates ready to use when the hiding of the car followed In an attempt to bring the occupants out of the house Witham and Pears stabbed the car tyres of the car parked outside That set off the car alarm Inside the house was Ashley Dale in her pyjamas watching television When she heard the alarm she believed it was caused by heavy rain and so she stayed inside Outside, Witham and Pears waited for their moment for this planned killing What followed was a murder of such seriousness that it has shocked both the local community and many in this country The use of a military grade submachine gun to kill a young woman in her own home at night In a planned shooting of the occupants of that house is beyond any understanding Imagine, I actually was in the crib probably watching Love Island chilling with her dog and that happened. I know she was terrified. That's bogus Dandy, just after half past midnight, Witham got out of the Hyundai car wearing a balaclava to hide his face He carried that scorpion submachine gun loaded with 15 bullets He broke through the locked front door, walked into the dining room Ashley was in that room alone, moving towards the kitchen back door to escape and there were lights on so that she was visible Witham wickedly fired 10 bullets towards her as she was vulnerable and defenseless One of those bullets passed through her abdomen and killed her Her screams were heard by neighbors leaving her to die Witham went upstairs looking for Lee Harrison In a bedroom he fired a further five bullets into the wall as a clear statement that if he had been in the house he would have been killed also After the shooting, Witham and Pears drove away The car was parked elsewhere out of view Later that day to be hidden on the driveway of a property in St. Helens A week later it was driven by Pears and Zeiss to be hidden on another driveway in St. Helens until it was discovered by the police on the 9th of October Ashley Dale died very shortly after she was shot Lee Harrison has refused to cooperate in the police investigation Somebody in a chat said they're struggling to feel sorry I told y'all like when they come to stuff like this I'm super jaded to it like I hear it but I'm also hearing the I'm reading it between the lines as well but it's also like sure why didn't you leave you knew what was up you know what I'm saying you know how scousers get out if they say something they'd be almost it's law almost it's bond you can count on it so involved with criminal drug dealing gangs is he with a family of Ashley Dale this must have been a cruel twist to the tragic loss of their daughter and sister not only was she brutally killed in her own home but Lee Harrison has refused to assist the police to bring her killers to justice stand up I sentence each of you to imprisonment for life on count one for the murder of Ashley Dale Nile Barry on count one murder your minimum term is increased to 35 years that must be further increased to reflect your offending in counts two three and in the second indictment your minimum term is 47 days 433 days served on remand change with them on count one murder they did gain that man 47 that's the I think that's the I ain't gonna lie that's one of the hardest like that's tough a 47 piece nugget well you ain't gonna never you might as well wrap it up your minimum term is also increased to 35 years that must be further increased to reflect your offending on counts two and three your minimum term is 43 years less 295 days served on remand Joseph Pierce on count one well I don't know how do you consider that court and be and take that amount of numbers 47 years it's over for you you from it it's over for you you turn it gray all your life is done on murder your minimum term is increased to 33 years that must be further increased to reflect your offending in counts two and three your minimum term is 41 years less 295 days served on remand so 40 Sean Zeiss on count one murder your minimum term is increased to 32 years that must be further increased to reflect your offending in counts two and three and the second indictment your minimum term is 42 years less 448 days served on remand and they they said they said minimum so they gotta serve that 42 the whole 42 hold 42 43 47 and 44 on count two conspiracy to murder I impose a concurrent sentence of imprisonment for life on each of you with a minimum term of 18 years custody oh jeez on count three conspiracy to possess a prohibited firearm and ammunition with intent to endanger life I impose a concurrent sentence of 14 years imprisonment on each of you that's tough the sentences on the second indictment of 30 years imprisonment for you Barry and 10 years for you Zeiss will also be served concurrently they're running concurrently but still still you will each be required to pay the statutory charge but in your case is Zeiss and Barry I postpone the making of the order until the conclusion of the confiscation proceedings under the proceeds of crime act 2002 in your cases peers and with them I make the search of charge the order now like listen to how crazy that song they got sentenced and when did they get sentenced 2022 2023 or was what's 47 plus 2023 what is what is that that's 2070 imagine picking up the phone to your girl and being like yeah baby you gonna wait for me I'll get out in 2070 that is different like you can't you can't even really you can't even really fat like I don't even know what's going to be going on in the world I can't even imagine the world in 2070 who will be in the appropriate amount and set out God be sick take him down Susan just say once you know just one time she's not gonna do it come on we got a bet going what's the bet oh the Ted can get mom to swear just eat your supper fellas Ian Fitzgibbon had also been on trial charged with the same offenses but he beat the case he celebrated in court when the not guilty verdicts were given this more than likely was the result of him being very close with Ashley and Lee in court he said if Lee had cooperated with police and gave evidence at the trial he would tell the jury how close they were meaning he wouldn't take part in the murder plot of a friend and so that's the tragic tale of Ashley Dale I think sometimes as viewers we can forget that these are real people behind these stories with real people who still today are hurting over the loss of a loved one this case though is even more heartbreaking because the family haven't just lost one child to gun violence on the streets of Liverpool you see back in 2015 Ashley's innocent younger brother had also been shot dead by gang members in that case Lewis Dunn god their parents are going through laws both they kissed us violent that's crazy Ashley's brother had crossed paths with three gang members on his way to borrow a bike the gang members had been on the losing end of a clash with rivals earlier on that day and they mistook Lewis for a rival gang member Lewis was shot in the back with a double-barreled shotgun the suspects Jake Colshaw John Martin and Paul Martin left him for dead that's a family then that's lost two innocent children that's crazy two civilian children lost the gang violence y'all gotta y'all gotta move to gun violence on the streets of Liverpool yeah i feel bad for the parents see that's see that's the thing i'll be having to remember like i'm jaded to all this violence like because i've seen so much of it and i'll be knowing that it would be more to a story than what you hear and what's really out and blah blah blah but like at the end of the day these people got parents and right now the parents is going they're going to feel that pain forever that pain is never going to go away so my condolences go out to the pan all right peeps oh there's one more there's a younger sister dang i'm glad she didn't stay her little sister really oh so he did get labeled so okay so when we was feeling them snitch vibes earlier in the video we was right after the trial we reported that meal well we still don't know we're we're from the outside looking in as a matter of fact the people in the neighborhood labeled them that so all right after the trial was it was reported that meal berries sauces and if his word was named as potential shooters of the murder of them leaves not cooperated from the very outset of this case you know it was one of the first things we were briefed on back in september of last year and it hasn't changed as the trial's ongoing what we've done is we've gone okay well we're still going to investigate and prosecute this case irrespective of your wish to hide away from these criminals your wish to you know to hide away from what's going on and bury your head in the sand which i think is particularly important in respectively um but we have got that perseverance and the police certainly have it so the no grass culture the police will investigate irrespective and we will look at other avenues um but these actions in not assisting whatsoever particularly not assisting the family are quite frankly disgusting i think it was very early on a conscious decision made uh for whatever those reasons were um from him to not fully cooperate and uh we i don't even know why we're discussing this we's not we was not going to say nothing it didn't matter but it was this girl like let's just rip the band aid off it doesn't matter y'all still gotta go what do you what y'all it still got done um ashley has had to do it herself um y'all still got job it's never too late for anybody um to come forward and help disrupt criminality and take um weapons off the street of this nature so no it is never too late um we still have even though we've come so far and found out so much and um have such extensive evidence to convict these individuals for what they've done we still want to encourage people to come forward and include those that are involved in criminality uh that they can get themselves out of it they can take weapons off the street and they can help prevent other victims of such horrendous crimes um and prevent it from happening so my ask would be the scorpion is still outstanding it is an extremely dangerous weapon um i want to know where that is and any information will be acted upon i'm not gonna lie i was just about to ask where y'all get a scorpion from like where y'all get that from because we was really like to recover that and y'all might as well hang it up y'all not recovering that it's over maybe like 10 years down the line you'll find it but but no not now you know oh they're popular here i'm not jones ashley's stepdad from when ashley was 12 just to start with then do you want to tell talk that that's that's the love ashley just tell us what she was like really nothing what your memories have actually are yeah it's um it's difficult to sort of just going to sound really funny this it's hard to sort of remember back since before this happened i thought it sounded really strange but i feel like them something bit of a time walk really from august last year um but she was she was obviously has actually gone over 16 so we grew up together pretty literally we were like best friends oh okay she had her when she was 16 okay so she only 16 she was 16 years of 30 22 23 33 she was only 39 she she was good she was good good child and she was something she's very career driven she knew what she wanted she she had a job from when she was 16 although she always worked and obviously decided to go into the chosen career of environment at half what she went into she went to university to do as a group for um she was very outgoing she was happy she she loved going out she loved clothes um sort of the festivals um and she was very family oriented as well she had two young sisters i think probably from about the age of five she always asked what she had like a brother or sister um and i was kind of in the process of starting my career at a bit of a later age so she had four kids originally she got two little sisters and a brother that passed away and she got a little bit old and stuff so she didn't really deliver that until she was 16 and then she um he has a he has our first baby together me and Rob so she got a little sister which was absolutely delighted about um and then we decided to have another one and she was a bit like oh i really wanted one so i think she was about taking her back that she got two sisters in four years but um but no she she loves her sister she really really did she spoiled them rotten and you mentioned how close you were did you have a kind of more of a sister relationship with her yeah yeah yeah so we spoke every day daily on the phone via you know a phone call most mornings we one of us would drink each other and check in for the day um and then it continues throughout the day like you know i want that message or you know call or whatever you feel i still feel for you like r.i.p but that is concerning for me what you just said we have more of a sister we have more of a sister instead of a mother daughter situation going on because like i don't want to speak on y'all relationship it's nothing a daughter but like i feel like if y'all had a mother daughter dynamic instead of a sister sister dynamic certain things wouldn't have been going on but i'm gonna keep peeing keep you know respectfully respectfully she sent me you know each fashion tips or things for house you know your house on instagram or whatever nevertheless you couldn't have chose who she dated it is what it is so we had constant dialogue every day until it was a bedtime but that sounds like that's how it was pretty much every day really um the last year you know it has been unbearable it really has you know never mind just having to deal with the fact that Ashley's not here anymore you know like you know she you know she's just passed away that the whole you know details and the whole how it happens and everything else being thrust into this public arena you know lashes deaf being so public you know that's why i'm trying to you know back my tongue a little bit you know being broadcast the program and you're a so notable one woman too so just on television and in the papers and stuff like that um yeah it's it's been very hard i feel like i described that i feel like i'm having an out-of-body experience like i'm living someone else's life and i don't know if it ever will feel real i see i know that i just come back again that you know i know that i'm never she's i really she's i'm going to see her again but in terms of how it's happened and stuff i don't think i'm gonna be able to accept it and it's never gonna make any sense to me as to how or why this has happened other things that you've heard during the trial surprise you did you expect and everything that came on that you've heard or have you been shocked and surprised by some of the things that have happened yeah i've respectively um i feel your pain i wouldn't i i hope to never know your pain but i understand um this is a this was a crazy story for sure but i'm just gonna leave it like that man tl leave it like comment subscribe turn on your post notification i'm down


So, this is obviously a child with a severe contracture from Burriosa. And here it is mainly reconstruction to restore function of the hand. And the race is involved. And most of the deformity is due to the scar. So you excite the scar and then you release the contracture and you manipulate the limb into the functional position. And then sometimes it may be necessary to use some kashina wires to keep the limb in the functional position. And then you apply a skin graft to the defect. After a week the graft will have taken and then you start active and passive exercises, especially about the wrist joint, which is involved in this case.


Hello everyone, this is Amit Dan of AmitDan.com.  Sovereign Hill in Ballarat, a small city from the 1850 gold rush in Australia, is preserved as it was back in those days. You'll be able to go back in time and experience a gold mine city. Experience time and life in this recreated gold township of the 1850s with me. How did homes look like in the 1850s? Some homes were made of canvas tent, some made of timber cottages and some homes were just bark out. Later on, homes started to build using wooden brick and stone buildings. There are no fridges, ovens, stoves, burners or heating and air conditioning. Meals were cooked on an open campfire, clothes were washed in a creek or bucket. Today, I'll take you inside a few homes 200 years ago. Sovereign Hill Gold Mine City, located in the suburb of Ballarat, to our strife from Melbourne. Thank you for watching, forget about subscribing to this channel, forget about liking this video and I'll see you shortly.