Ep 295: Keys to Powerful Presentations from My Favorite Hollywood Actress Stephanie Szostak | Recap Episode
RV (00:07):
Hey brand builder, Rory Vaden here. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this interview as always, it’s our honor to provide it to you for free and wanted to let you know there’s no big sales pitch or anything coming at the end. However, if you are someone who is looking to build and monetize your personal brand, we would love to talk to you and get to know you a little bit and hear about some of your dreams and visions and share with you a little bit about what we’re up to to see if we might be a fit. So if you’re interested in a free strategy call with someone from our team, we would love to hear from you. You can do that at brand builders, group.com/pod call brand builders, group.com/pod call. We hope to talk to you soon.
AJV (00:54):
Hey, all, welcome to the recap episode of my conversation with Stephanie Szostak, who is my favorite Hollywood actress
AJV (01:48):
And it was a very non-traditional route and it was a great reminder to me. And what I wanna share on this recap episode is that it’s never too late. It’s never too late to start something new, to find your calling and be the best at it that you can possibly be. And I love this because Stephanie started her modeling and her acting to career in her late twenties. Y’all most people are starting their modeling careers in their late teens, not their late twenties. So in theory, she was a decade behind the ball. And also this isn’t recent, right? This was now almost 20 years ago. So this wasn’t common for that time period for her to be doing this in her late twenties, but she did. And then she started acting and it’s like, she got at her start quote unquote late, but I don’t think it was late.
AJV (02:35):
I think it was perfectly time for exactly where she was doing, what she was meant to do at that time of her life. That’s true for you too. It’s true for me. It was true for her. And it’s true for you. You are not too old. You are not too young. It is not too early. It is not too late to do what you feel like you were called to do, to do what you’re passionate about doing the time is right now. And it’s the best time. It’s the best time, right. Frigging now. So I love that and I loved her story. I just love her story in general of, it’s never too late to reinvent and to be something new and to be somebody new and not being afraid to do that. And yeah, it will cause new learning curves and changes, but that’s okay because if that’s what you’re called to do, it’s all worth it.
AJV (03:26):
I love this quote and I’m, I don’t have the, the name of the person who quoted this, but I’m gonna share it anyways, even though I cannot give credit where credit is due, this is not my quote, do not quote me on this. But it’s like, it’s going to be hard, but cause you’re passionate about it. It’ll all be worth it. I will find the author of that quote and put it in the show notes, but I love that quote. It’s like, yeah, it’s gonna be hard, but because you’re passionate about it, it will all be worth it. And that is a great reminder of one of big takeaways I took from this episode of just accounting, her story of how she got into acting and modeling. And today she has been in so many amazing movies and shows and is incredible at what she does.
AJV (04:14):
But started in her late twenties seemingly too late, but actually perfectly timed for exactly where she should be and what she should be doing. Okay. That was the first thing. The next two things do have to do with some presentation tips and I love this and I, I think these are really important for anyone who gives presentations. And let me just be clear. School teachers give presentations, parents give presentations, employees, employers, speakers, authors, consultants, podcasters. Yes. We all give presentations. Like if you are in a job of communicating to another human person, you give presentations, you just don’t view it that way, but you do. And that is a communication change that we all need to have in terms of public speaking and presentations. And I think it’s so interesting that, you know, the number one fear of people is public speaking, even above death.
AJV (05:06):
Like that’s just fascinating, but yet we all speak in public all the time. Like when do you not speak in public? Like you’re talking to strangers all the time when you order your coffee or you order food. And yes, I know they’re not like formal presentations, but are we afraid to do those things or is it just the idea of being in front of a group of people and being stared at and potentially judged and not knowing how they’re gonna perceive you? Is that what we’re really afraid of? Not the speaking itself, but really the fear of being judged. And I think that’s a better thing of what people are really afraid of. It’s not public speaking. It’s what if I don’t bring any value? Right? What if they don’t like it? What if they don’t like me? What if somebody records, it puts on the internet and I become a meme, right?
AJV (05:54):
That’s what we’re afraid of. Not public speaking, we’re not afraid of that. We’re afraid of all the things that come with public speaking. So I think that was in really good context of you gotta get really clear on like, what are you trying to convey and what emotion do you wanna convey when you’re doing it? And it can’t be a, an emotion of fear. That’s for dang sure. And so I think the first thing I’ve loved about this is she really gets in the mindset of you have to be in tune with what emotion are you trying to create before you go out and try to create it so simple, but yet still freaking hard to like really tap into it’s like, how do I wanna tell this story? How do I wanna deliver this message? How do I want the audience to feel?
AJV (06:43):
And in her case, you know, of viewers around the world, how do I want them to feel in this moment? And I think that comes back to again, something else that’s really important is we’re afraid when we make it all about us. But if we were to change our mindset on what it means to public speak or present or communicate, and we were less focused on how are we gonna sound? How are we gonna look? How are people gonna view us? And we were more concerned with how do I help them get this information in a way that’s gonna be impactful to them? How do I share this information in a way that they will receive it? Or how do I give it to them in a way that they will enjoy it, have fun with it, use it right? But if we make it about them, not us, it changes the landscape of how we create our presentations and how we communicate in general.
AJV (07:35):
But you gotta go with it with what do I want them to feel? Not how do I wanna feel? How do I want them to feel and start your presentation, start your plan for communication from there. So good. So, so good. Loved that. Third thing, last thing I’m gonna share, I’m trying to keep these under 10 minutes always for your listening convenience. But here’s the last thing that I would share that I thought was a really good takeaway is just how you get yourself in the mindset before you communicate or present. And that could be again to your family to a video camera like I’m doing right now. I’m not talking to anyone right now. I’m talking to myself on zoom, but I have all of you in mind. Right? So it’s like, I need to know. It’s like, what do I really want you to get from this?
AJV (08:22):
So it’s like, I’m not presenting to a group of people right now, but yet I am, I am presenting to a group of people because I have you all in mind. So how are you getting yourself in the right mind space, the right head space before you go in and present, right? So she gives ideas around like, do you have music that you listen to? Do you have affirmations that you read, right? Is there like some sort of body movement that you do? Do you have notes that you wanna look over, but what are you doing to get yourself in the right space to make sure that you bring your best self to that presentation or communication or video or whatever it is that encounter that it’s like, what are you doing to put yourself in like game mode? Right?
AJV (09:15):
So I don’t know why that came to mind, but it’s like, I’m pretty sure I’d have an idea of what I would do. I’d probably have some warm up rounds. I’d have my playlist prepared and ready to go. I would have my affirmations. Are we doing the same thing when we turn on that camera and hit record? Or are we doing that same thing before we address our team? Or are we doing that same thing before we have that one-on-one conversation? Or before we step on stage, before we hit go on a podcast interview, right? Are we, are we getting in game mode before we go and do it? So yeah, this was such a solid interview. So many applicable tips. And what I loved, it’s not just about being a presenter, IE, a speaker or an actress is about how to be a communicator. We all communicate. And this is, this applies to all of us. So how do we get in the mode of being good communicators? And just realizing like it’s about them. Not us is about them. Not us. Go listen to this episode, go check out the full thing, go look up Stephanie, show stack, coolest girl ever love her. Go check her out. Go listen to the episode and we’ll catch you next time on the influential personal brand. We’ll see. Y’all.
Ep 294: Keys to Powerful Presentations from My Favorite Hollywood Actress Stephanie Szostak
RV (00:07):
Hey brand builder, Rory Vaden here. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this interview as always, it’s our honor to provide it to you for free and wanted to let you know there’s no big sales pitch or anything coming at the end. However, if you are someone who is looking to build and monetize your personal brand, we would love to talk to you and get to know you a little bit and hear about some of your dreams and visions and share with you a little bit about what we’re up to to see if we might be a fit. So if you’re interested in a free strategy call with someone from our team, we would love to hear from you. You can do that at brand builders, group.com/pod call brand builders, group.com/pod call. We hope to talk to you soon.
AJV (00:53):
Hello everyone. And welcome to another episode on the influential personal brand. This is AJ Vaden. I’m one of your co-hosts here CEO and co-founder of brand builders group. And today I’m so happy because I get to spend the next 45 minutes with one of the most awesome human beings on the planet and also a good friend and probably one of the most discreet, humble humans ever, because she would never tell you all of these amazing accomplishments
AJV (01:47):
But what I want everyone to know is why should you stick around in this conversation? So we’re gonna get to chat with Stephanie show stack today, who is just an incredible human being. But I think some things that you should know that maybe you don’t know, and if you’re not watching this, you clearly can’t see her face. So you may not recognize her name, but you would definitely recognize her face because she has been in some of the top Hollywood movies that are out there, iron man, three devil warriors product. One of the top hit shows on TV, a million little things I could go on and on and on. You have worked with some of the most well known actors and actresses across the world. But to me more importantly is your heart. It’s like you have done awesome things, but you are an amazing human being. And to get to share a little bit of you with our audience today is such an honor and such a treat. So welcome to show Stephanie,
SS (02:46):
Thank you for having me AJ
AJV (02:49):
SS (03:49):
Yes, not, not the traditional way I studied. First of all, I’m from France. I grew up in France and never thought about acting, never took an acting class. I came to the states to study business and to play golf at the college of women, Mary. And once I was done once I graduated, I moved to New York city and worked at Chanel in fashion. And then at 26 years old I just realized there was a little something inside of me that felt like I wasn’t, there was something missing and through a chance opportunity, I did a modeling gig. And then I thought, well, maybe I could be a model and figure out what I, what it is I really wanna do. And so I did that and then at 29 years old, so three years of modeling and then at 29 years old, I took an acting class. Again, I’m not quite sure why I just had this little voice that was like, I wanna take an acting class. I wanna take an acting class. And then there, I realized for the first time in my life, really that I loved something that I needed to do. Something that I, I was passionate about it. And I didn’t know if it was gonna be a profession. I just knew I needed to pursue it.
AJV (05:10):
So first of all, the fact that you pay attention to this little voice, I think says a lot about just a huge part of who you are and something I know from a huge part of our community is that most people feel like they have this calling on their life and they feel like they have this message within them. They feel like there’s this thing that they really wanna do, but for whatever reason, they don’t listen to that little voice. They don’t listen to that prompting. They push it down, they shove it away, lock it in a drawer and keep on with everyday life. So what was it about this that made you go, this is not a little voice I’m going to ignore. I’m gonna do something.
SS (05:51):
I think it’s curiosity. I, I don’t think, you know, right away I’m gonna do something. I’m gonna make a big move because that’s scary, but it’s just curiosity and just making one more step in that direction and exploring and being opened to whatever and also surround being surrounded by people who support those choices, I think is a huge one. And I’m really lucky you know, to be married to somebody who’s always supported that, that sense of adventure and yeah, go for it. Try it out.
AJV (06:31):
Yeah. I think, I think something you just said there, like really resonates is just being curious and it’s willing to go. Yeah. Like I don’t know everything and that’s okay. Even if this doesn’t work out, that’s okay. Even if it’s only one time that’s okay. But being adventurous and curious enough to even try.
SS (06:50):
Yeah. And throughout your whole life, like even now, you know, 20, some years later, just staying curious and not pigeon holding, is that the pigeonholing yes. Yourself into, oh, I’m an actor that I can’t do this because that would not fit now. Just be like, why not?
AJV (07:11):
SS (07:53):
Just, I, I, there’s an exercise that somebody had me do that I love and it’s called the impossible future. And it’s a great brainstorming exercise for all of your life. And so if there was no ops, the exercise is this. If there were no obstacles, no money obstacle, no nothing. What would be your impossible future and be as detailed as possible with your professional life personal life. And then once you describe it, how do you feel? And I think that’s the key point. Like you know, because maybe at first it’s outcomes and successes, but then why, how does that make me feel? And I think that will give for me when I did this, it helped me figure out what it is I was after really it brought clarity. And then after that, you’re like, okay, what’s the first thing I can do right now to go towards this. And it’s less daunting cuz you’re not chasing an outcome that is, you know, so far fetched, you’re just pursuing trying to be in alignment with what you’re striving for, to feel in your life.
AJV (09:10):
Yeah. And I think that’s really in line with a huge part of the calling on your life is to help other people kind of like find their truth. Right. Mm-hmm
SS (09:59):
SS (10:59):
Don’t judge yourself, accept it all and, and then move from there towards what you wanna do. But and your question was how do you stay true to yourself by playing other characters? Yeah, I think that can also be confusing at the beginning of my acting career. I certainly had a little bit of trouble sometimes, you know, drawing the line between reality and, and art. Because when you invest into a character, you can lose yourself a little bit in the character. But I think experience helps and being a mom and having kids really helps because you come home and, and there’s reality for you.
AJV (11:41):
SS (11:43):
But also when you talked about a brand, so it’s interesting cuz as an I, I worked with you and you were incredible at helping me actually figure out a message and or maybe if I even had a message, which I was not sure about, and I don’t really see it as having a brand or pursuing a brand or trying to put a brand out there for me, it’s more more clarifying my path or refining it and being curious and then bringing alignment between all of these facets of my life. And then you help me be like, there’s the brand, but I don’t, I don’t think of it that way, if that makes sense. So it’s more about staying in alignment personally with all the different facets of my life. And then if there is a brand at the end of the day, great
AJV (12:43):
SS (13:08):
Connection. Yeah.
AJV (13:09):
Connection. And helping people feel wanted and feeling a part of something. Right. And a huge part of that. That is your story of coming from another country. And I think there there’s a challenge and most people think, well, there’s just, I just do too many different things, but most of us all have a through line. If we just sit down and take a little bit of extra fine tuning work to connect the dots to make together. And so let’s, I wanna talk about two things, cuz I know that I could easily spend the next 25 minutes just picking your brain on all these curious things that I have for you. But there’s two really significant things that I think you’re gonna bring a ton of value and insight for, into our audience. And so the first one has to do with your profession, right?
AJV (13:59):
You’re an actor and incredible one at that. I love getting to watch you on screen and now that I know you, I go back and I’m like, I know this person it’s such a treat for me to get to see you in your element. I love that. But one of the things is that so many of the people that listen to our podcast and are part of our, our community they present in some fashion, right? They’re making content videos on social media or they’re a professional speaker or they’re an aspiring speaker or they’re doing interviews for the media or maybe it’s even just presenting to their, their team or their company. And so I think it would be really awesome to go, what are some, you know, tips of the trade of being powerful in front of other people or being powerful on the screen to connect with people and engage with people and draw them in emotionally. So what do you got for us? What are tips of the
SS (14:55):
Trip? Hmm. Okay. So, you know, as an actor, you can work from the outside in or the inside out. So because the outside in is your wardrobe. So let’s start with that.
SS (15:58):
And I had a sweater on because I’m home and I, you know, we do all this at home. And then I was like, no, I feel sloppy with my, no, I need, I’m gonna put a blazer.
SS (17:08):
So adding images, subtext, be behind the words make, bringing yourself to it as much as you can be bringing your authenticity. And then having an objective that is bigger than yourself is big for enacting. And I think it transfers to people in life when we are trying to communicate something, we’re all nervous. We all are thinking of the outcome we want, but let’s have a bigger purpose. What is our why? And then when you’re, if you’re connecting to that, then it’s like, oh, you know, you, you, you bring something bigger and you connect. I think, I think it transcends just you and whatever you’re saying.
AJV (17:58):
Yeah. I know. You said two things there I think are potentially so simple that they’re overlooked, but are really, really significant. And I totally relate to what you said around I’m sure there’s been millions of people who’ve said that, but it’s like the way you dress actually impacts the way you represent yourself, that the way you stand, the way you walk, how you feel it’s like, Mmm. For probably 90% of today I had on my workout gear.
SS (19:06):
AJV (19:06):
Yes. I, I love that. I think that’s, especially in a time over the last two and a half years where so many people have been home for way too long. And perhaps not pulling out every day real outside of the house clothes. Right. Like, I’m pretty sure I had a six month stint where all I wore was work, all clothes. I’m pretty sure it was like six months. And there came a time where I’m like, good Lord. I have all these clothes. I should probably put them on. Right. And it was amazing. Like when I started dressing up, my husband was like, are you going somewhere?
SS (19:42):
That’s what my hu my husband, I would come down. He’d be like, where are you going? And I was like, I’m sick of feeling like that
AJV (19:49):
SS (20:29):
Yes. And, and, and there’s a power in images. Mm-Hmm
AJV (21:11):
I think that’s so important. And for someone who literally does this in front of a screen, right in front of cameras, for anyone who’s listening, who makes a content video or does a podcast, right? It’s like, you’re doing that for an audience of no one it’s literally you and a computer screen. So you almost have to tap into it even more for it to come across in a way that would draw someone in and be engaging. Otherwise it can really just feel like a talking head on a screen. And although the words have a lot of content and information and motivation without the delivery of it, we probably won’t last, very long listening.
SS (21:52):
Right. Exactly.
AJV (21:54):
Oh, I love that.
SS (21:54):
And I, and I think practicing if you’re, you know, if you’re preparing or, or it would, it’s an interesting exercise also to do it with different stim, like memories and you can see, oh, it’s very different when I think of this, as opposed to when I think of that.
AJV (22:12):
Oh, that’s interesting. Well, I think to that, it’s like practice actually practice your practice art
SS (22:18):
Practice, and then let go,
AJV (22:21):
SS (23:05):
But yes, for me, I can only speak for me, but, and I do think we all are different. Some of us need to prepare, prepare, prepare, and some of us are like, you’re incredible. I remember when we worked together, I just told you a story and you were like, okay, this is how it’s gonna go. And you just came up with, you know, how you would say it. And it was, I, I was amazed. I need to prepare if I don’t prepare, I’m lost. I prepare so much way too much
SS (24:00):
And I was able to be like, oh, this is, you know, re readjust some things I didn’t like, I would practice out of order my keynote. And then in the shower, I mean, in the shower driving randomly, I’d be like, okay, what’s this portion and just come up with it. And then the great thing for me about practicing when I’m either driving or in the shower, in those moments where you are not you can’t get out of wherever, you know, your box, your car or your shower is things. Things come into my mind and I’m like, ah, new things come into my mind. And I’m like, Ooh, I need to add this. I need to add that.
AJV (24:43):
I love that. You know, one of the things that I remember, oh my gosh, this is so long ago now. Maybe 17 years ago. I don’t know. It was a long time ago. Let’s just say 15 years plus
SS (25:56):
That’s I love that. I do that with, you know, when I listen to a podcast or listen, more of messages that I hear, and I’m like, I wanna remember that. But you’re talking about stories happening and that’s great. I love that
AJV (26:14):
Because I find for me, I dunno, that’s so good. I dunno if it’s just my mom brain or what, but if I don’t write it down, however impactful, it is seven days from now. I will not remember. Like, it just like, it just like evaporates from my, my brain and as the mom of a two year old and a five year old, at least 10 fascinating things happen every day.
SS (27:06):
I everything’s an art. Yes.
AJV (27:09):
It’s like, I want people to be drawn into my speeches, the way that I’m drawn into your movies. Mm-Hmm,
SS (27:21):
An emotional, an emotional arc. Yeah. To all relate to the person.
AJV (27:26):
I mean, I think that’s so much of it. It’s like, you’ve gotta like really live into the character and create those, create those emotions. It’s a, I don’t know if I’ve ever sat through a speech and said, have to watch it again, have to see again, right. Like we do in the movie because there’s, there’s drama and there’s humor. And there’s, you fall in love with characters or you hate characters. I bet you, you, you get enthralled in it. I can’t think of any keynote speech where I’m like, have to see it again right now. I’ll pay another admission. I don’t think I’ve ever said that, but I would love to find a way for people to start feeling that way about seeing people speak as they do about watching a Hollywood movie. Right. so I love that ability of how do we create that same amount of connection into speaking as you do into creating movies.
AJV (28:17):
So, all right. I’m gonna switch gears just a little bit, cause I’m watching the clock and I’m going, oh my gosh, we only have seven more minutes.
SS (28:59):
So our boob stories I was inspired one day when I was on set. My character had been taken the sexy route, which means in Hollywood that you know, I was wearing short dresses, padded bras, and stuffed bras. And not that big boobs are not sexy. I think they’re really sexy, but I, I don’t have big boobs. And I was like, gosh, I wonder what it’s like for young girls to grow up nowadays. And then I thought there’s a lot of talk out there about body image, body acceptance, and there’s no talk about boobs. And I thought, this is ridiculous. Don’t tell me we don’t think about our boobs because obviously we do. And so I wrote a poem with a friend of mine instead of being called, oh, the places you’ll go. It was called about, it was called, oh, the you’ll grow.
SS (29:49):
And it was about the ups and downs of boobs of life through our boob stories. And people started telling me when I would share the poem with them they started telling me about their boob stories and it was funny and touching and moving and sometimes tragic. And I thought, oh my gosh, that is actually a beautiful something that I want to collect. And I don’t know where this project is gonna go. But the, I think the reason is really, I would love to have something created, maybe a book for all young girls to read, you know, the ups and downs through the ages from budding to sagging that we all are insecure, that we all go through moments of the challenging moments, whether it be with nursing or cancer or so many things. There’s milestones that we go through in our lives in those milestones shape our us and our boobs. A lot of times, you know, sexuality and, and puberty motherhood, aging cancer. So right now I’m collecting boob stories. If you have a boob story, please go to Instagram at our boob stories and share your story.
AJV (31:16):
I love this so much. And clearly I know a ton of the background. I’ve read it, I’ve seen the pictures and the reason I wanted to bring it up is for two reasons, one it’s you listening to that inkling again, is you listening and you paying attention of, I see something here. I’m going to make the move
SS (32:47):
Yeah. And, and beyond that, and this is my overreaching message is really about acceptance and accepting what life throws at us with grace and compassion. And this is not something against getting a boob job or like just accepting, owning to who we are. And, you know, I want a boob job. I get a boob job and I own it. And this, this is how it makes how I feel better. But really about letting our light shine through the boob stories.
AJV (33:17):
SS (34:11):
Love, love for all the people around me and bringing love, giving love
AJV (34:20):
You do that.
SS (34:52):
Yeah, because you know, I just went to visit my son in college and when my husband and I drove BA were going back home, I, I kind of had a little bit of bad feeling. I was like, well, if our life ends right now, you know, we’ve done. Okay. Like, look at the love, look at we’re bringing up in two boys who have love and then the love around us. And so, yeah, I think love is a big, big thing.
AJV (35:21):
Ah, that’s so good. Okay. Only two questions left. I promise. So here’s the next one? What is something about Stephanie show stack that most people don’t know, but you wish they did know.
SS (35:34):
Oh, I eat any meat with bones. I will clean it. Clean beyond clean I’ll yeah.
AJV (35:43):
Oh, that’s awesome. That’s awesome. Meat eater, meat eater, meat
SS (35:47):
Eater.
AJV (35:49):
I would not have guessed to be honest. I would, that
SS (35:52):
Sounds naughty. I like it too.
AJV (35:55):
It’s like, I would not have guessed that if you were to ask me, I’d be like, she’s probably vegan. She’s probably like a lot of vegetables
SS (36:04):
But, but I’ll eat a rack, a rack of ribs, like I’ll clean the bones, you know, beyond clean. Awesome.
AJV (36:11):
That’s awesome. Alright. Last, all right. Last last question that I have for you is what would, what piece of advice, or even if it’s not advice, one piece of hope or inspiration, like what’s one thing that you would share to people out there. Who, again, they’re not quite sure what to do next, but they, they know they wanna do something different. They kind of feel like you did back in your twenties when you’re like, man, this just isn’t what I wanna be doing. There’s gotta be something else. What would you advice or encouragement? What would you say to them to help them make that next leap or make that next jump?
SS (36:56):
Self exam, self examination, like do the work. And I know I wasn’t ready to do it till I was in my forties. So it’s a lot of work, but just learn about yourself, figure out we all know what we’re about. We just, it’s hard to remember it because we get distracted. We get sidetracked, life throws us curves, and then we lose the path. But if we take a little bit of time and journal and there’s a lot of exercises out there that will help self-examine and figure out what your guiding principles are, what your values are that will help realize, oh, thi this is what I want my life to be about. And I think when you have a bigger objective, bigger meaning than what you wanna do, next becomes very clear and simplified.
AJV (37:57):
Mm. I love that. It’s self inspection self-reflection but getting to know yourself, mm-hmm,
SS (38:04):
AJV (38:22):
So it’s a re getting to know yourself. Mm-Hmm
SS (39:01):
Yeah. And how do I want sometimes, I mean, it’s such a, who am I, you know, the question of a lifetime, but what do I want to feel in life? What do I want to feel? And that, and why? And I think then you can say, well, what are my actions? Are they helping me feel that way?
AJV (40:17):
That’s good. You’ve got your code of arms and then your code of harms.
SS (40:21):
Yes.
AJV (40:22):
Yeah. I love that. And I know,
SS (40:23):
I love that
AJV (40:24):
You’re really into self development and it shows like you’re, you’re C full of different exercise and examples and stories. And I think that’s a huge part of a Testament of a great reminder to all of us. It’s like, if we don’t investigate who we are, then how would we expect to know? Like no wonder, we all feel confused and aren’t happy and sitting here going, how did I get here? It’s like, because we didn’t have direction. Right.
SS (40:51):
We didn’t, we need a compass, a compass. And then, yeah. So do, if you have your values, if you have your principles, your daily controllables, then that is, that can serve as a compass for every decision making. And, and
AJV (41:09):
I love that. I can easily continue just chatting and asking you tons of questions. Thank you so much for coming on the show and just sharing a little bit of your brilliance and who you are. And this has been such a treat such an honor. And I’ll put this in the show the show notes for everyone. But if you’re out there listening and you wanna connect with Stephanie, go to Stephanie show, stack.com. I know you’re gonna spell it wrong. Dot me, dot me, get it wrong. Stephanie show.me. We just had a conversation about that. But also I know most people are gonna spell that wrong. So it’s Stephanie S Z O S T a K, do me. I will put that in the show notes. And then if you do have a boob story go to our boob stories on Instagram, share your story, Stephanie, thank you so much for being here.
Speaker 4 (42:02):
Thank you, AJ. You’re the best
AJV (42:04):
Ep 291: How Personal Branding Is Changing the Sports Game with Mollie Marcoux Samaan | Recap Episode
RV (00:07):
Hey brand builder, Rory Vaden here. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this interview as always it’s our honor to provide it to you for free and wanted to let you know the there’s no big sales pitch or anything coming at the end. However, if you are someone who is looking to build and monetize your personal brand, we would love to talk to you and get to know you a little bit and hear about some of your dreams and visions and share with you a little bit about what we’re up to to see if we might be a fit. So if you’re interested in a free strategy call with someone from Martin team, we would love to hear from you. You can do that at brand builders, group.com/pod call brand builders, group.com/pod call. We hope to talk to you soon.
AJV (00:53):
Hey, welcome to another recap episode of the influential personal brand. This is the cliff notes version of my conversation with Molly Marco, Sam, who is the L PGA commissioner. She is a collegiate athlete in herself. She was like named a sportswoman of the year while she was at Princeton. She was also named one of the sports teams of the deck for high hockey Princeton. She has done so many incredible things for the world of sports and hyper specifically for women’s sports. And I just, I love my conversation with her and I’ll keep this short and sweet. I’m gonna try to keep this. I got five minutes if humanly possible. But there are three things right here are my three big takeaways. And this will was kind of like towards the end of our conversation, but I loved this and I think it’s applicable and no matter what your role is, right?
AJV (01:50):
So many of you listening are not professional athletes. Maybe you are, but most of you probably are not. But I love what she said is that every single person is a part of a team, right? It’s like your family unit, that’s a team. You’ve got your colleagues that work. That’s a team. You’ve got community groups, you have friend groups, you’ve got nonprofit groups, you have church groups, you’ve got social groups. It’s like, you have teams in your life. And sometimes you’re the star player. And sometimes you’re a utility player. And sometimes you’re a backup player, right. But we all play a part and that’s just a such a great, great reminder. Cause I know in the journey of building your personal brand you’re not always gonna get to be the star surprise, sorry. Don’t wanna have to burst your bubble there, but you’re not always gonna be the star.
AJV (02:36):
There’s gonna be a lot of work. Building your personal brand is a business like this is a business that needs to be treated like one, which means sometimes like what you’re gonna be doing is behind the scenes. And you’re not gonna feel like it’s making a PA an impact or a difference, but it is there are, there are different roles that you’re gonna fill on every team that you’re in and every season that you’re in. And I just, I loved that analogy of like you’re, you’re on teams. Right. and, and you play different roles in each of the teams and those, those roles change at different seasons. It’s just such a good reminder for me. It’s like, I need to remember that I am not always the star player. Right. And it’s like, I gotta let other people shine. And I have to take a backseat sometimes and sometimes I get to come forward regardless.
AJV (03:19):
I’m a part of a team and my role matters. And I, I love that thought. That was so good. The second thing that I thought was really significant is this shift that the LPGA is taking on the importance of making sure the stories of the players are known. Right. and I, you know, if you list into this podcast,
AJV (04:02):
She goes, I mean, what other, what other time in life are other humans literally jumping out of their seat, screaming and yelling for the successes of another person. Right. And it’s like, I’ve got my jerseys. Like, you know, I live in Nashville, Tennessee. It’s like me and my boys, like, we’ve got like our Derek Henry jerseys. We’ve got our eight EJ brown jerseys. We’re Tennessee Titans fans. And it’s like, we are cheering for these people. Like we’re taking their numbers and their names and we’re wearing them. Right. It’s like, it’s this community aspect of being a part of something. And that happens when you know the story. It’s like, yes, they’re amazing on the field. But it’s like, the more we get to know the story, the more I’m in it, in the team and in the game itself. So how is that true to you and your company, right?
AJV (04:46):
Like what if people were screaming up and down for the success of your sales team or your executive team or your customer service team, right. It’s like, that would be incredible. Right. But it’s like, we gotta help share the stories of the people on our teams. Right. And that includes companies, our leaders, our frontline employees, the executive, whoever it is, it’s like help us fall in love with you. And we can only do that when we get to see you and know you learn from you thus trust you. So, oh man. She was just, you know, speaking my language. And then the last thing that I thought she was said that was really impactful is love what you do get at it all the time. Like if you’re in the middle of something, stay present, be focused at being really good at what you’re doing, not focused on trying to get goods, you can do something else.
AJV (05:31):
And I, I so admire what she said. It’s like, I’ve never gone out looking for another job. I just focused really on the job that I have. I care deeply. I do a really good job. I wanna, I wanna see my team succeed and I’m focused on the here and now. So I, and I even like, I was like, you know, bring it up like three or four times. So what do you see next? She’s like, Nope, I am here. And now I need that in my life. I need to be more here and now, right. Not looking one year, five year, 10 years ahead. It’s like, no, I am focused on the team that I have right now. The business that I have right now, the audience that I have right now, it’s like, I am focused on you. I care deeply. I wanna be known for caring deeply.
AJV (06:11):
I wanna go, like, I wanna go and focus on what’s right in front of me, not just like what I wanna do in the future. It’s like, no, it’s like, it’s all about the here and now. And I think that’s a really great message for all of us. It’s like the work you’re doing right now matters, however, big or small your audience is, however, big or small your company is the work you’re doing right now for the team that you employ. And for the clients that you’re serving it matters right now. Say, stay focused on the here and now y’all go listen to this episode, Molly, me Simon. So amazing commissioner of the L PGA tour. Like it’s about to blow up. I’m so excited. So happy that I get to be a part of interviewing her at the beginning stages of this part of her journey. So go check out the whole episode and come back next time at the influential personal brand.
Ep 290: How Personal Branding is Changing the Sports Game with Mollie Marcoux Samaan
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Hey brand builder, Rory Vaden here. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this interview as always it’s our honor to provide it to you for free and wanted to let you know the there’s no big sales pitch or anything coming at the end. However, if you are someone who is looking to build and monetize your personal brand, we would love to talk to you and get to know you a little bit and hear about some of your dreams and visions and share with you a little bit about what we’re up to to see if we might be a fit. So if you’re interested in a free strategy call with someone from Martin team, we would love to hear from you. You can do that at brand builders, group.com/pod call brand builders, group.com/pod call. We hope to talk to you soon.
AJV (00:53):
Hey, everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the influential personal brand. This is AJ Vaden. I am one of your co-host here at the CEO of brand builders group, but more importantly today I get to be the interviewer of a very special guest. And I’m so excited to introduce you guys to Molly MoCo Simon. And before I formally introduce her to you guys and let her share some of her brilliance and excellence, I, I have a formal bias, but I’m gonna read just some highlights out up. And if you guys listen to this often, you know, this is not something I typically do, but when I was reading through Molly’s bio, I was like, holy Nikes. I’ve gotta read some of this. So there’s some like, really amazing stuff in here. So currently Molly is the commissioner of the L PGA.
AJV (01:44):
And we’re gonna talk a little bit about how she got there and what does this all have to do with personal branding, but I’m gonna give you just a, a tiny bit of the back story of how she got to hear, and then I’m gonna let her share that as well, but she is a Princeton graduate and not just that, but a two sport varsity athlete, which I do not think is easy. I am not that skilled in the realm of athletics, but you were also named to the collegiate women’s ice hockey team of the decade, which is, I think is amazing. You were also you were also announced sportswoman of the year while you were there. You have then like you went on to had a more decade long career of a ver variety of different positions in the collegiate world, but then you came back to Princeton as the university’s family director of, of athletics.
AJV (02:36):
You did that for another, almost a decade, and it’s like, I could go on and on, but this is like, when I was reading your bio, I was like, oh my, my gosh, like you are truly an individual who has dedicated their entire life to sports and not just sports, but the discipline and the just work ethic that it takes to be that excellent at any one thing. And it wasn’t just one thing for you. It was so many different things. And so I’m amazed, like genuinely I was reading this time. I was like, I had no idea of all these things because you’re also really humble. And you don’t talk about any of that. So I gotta wanna introduce you so formally welcome to the show.
MMS (03:19):
Well, thanks AJ that was quite an intro, like, you know, bring you on the road with me as my best secretary. That was really nice. But again, the, the, the decade was the eighties, so it was a little different decade than today. So anyway, it was really fun and my joy and pleasure and life to be able to participate in two sports at Princeton and to play sports my whole life and have that opportunity. And yes, my, my whole life has been largely about sports. So you know, really grateful your shirt says grateful, which we just were talking about. And I try to be grateful every day in, in everything that I get to do.
AJV (03:51):
Oh my gosh. I just, I think that your accomplishments are incredible and now you’re leading an entire generation of female athlete in the, you know, field of golf. And I just, I find this too fascinating. And so I’m, I want everyone to know, it’s like, you heard a little bit about your background, but why the commissioner, why the LPGA tour?
MMS (04:11):
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, listen, I’ve had the pleasure, as I said, I’ve always had great jobs. I think when I, I always tell the story when I was graduating from college, my friends and I also sat around and we said, well, what, what would we like to be doing in five years? What would we like to be doing in 10 years, 15 years. And at every step of the way, I just put, you know, a really cool job in sports, a really cool job in sports, you know, at every, at every juncture, I, I knew that’s what I wanted to do. And I’ve had the great pleasure to have really cool jobs in sports, kind of in all parts of sports I worked in, right when I graduated, I did some stuff at a, at a boarding school and coached and worked in athletic administration.
MMS (04:44):
And then I worked for Chelsea Pierce, which is a big sports and entertainment complex in Manhattan and in Connecticut for almost 19 years. So really saw the amateur side of things and running big businesses and kind of working with athletes young and old at every level. And then having this really unique opportunity to go to prince. And obviously my Alma mater that I love and you know, really committed to the mission of education through athletics. That really is the cornerstone of the program there in the Ivy league, but also just at Princeton more broadly. And I was really, you know, going about my business really en enjoying the job despite the fact that it was COVID and those presented some, you know, that presented some really interesting challenges, but I got a full own call from someone saying, Hey, this is a, this is an opportunity that’s out there to be the L PGA commissioner.
MMS (05:27):
And you know, again, I, I love my job at Princeton, but this was a once in a lifetime opportunity to really in my mind impact sports, but really in particular impact women’s sports. I, I love golf. I’ve played golf my whole life and have Studi golf and think it’s a really unique sport, but mostly, you know, coming to at this at the way of like, this is a moment in time for women and women in sports that I think can really change not only sports, but change kind of the world and how people look at women and the talents that they have and the opportunities that exist in, in this world. So I, I you know, jumped at this chance and obviously convinced my family to make a pretty big move, to come down from New Jersey to Florida, which is a, you know, a big move for, for kids particularly, and my husband. So again, that, that grateful theme will, will run through everything I said and have this to live, to live my dreams, but hopefully more importantly to impact you know, the world of sports and impact specifically our, our women who play golf and also just young girls who play golf around the world.
AJV (06:28):
Oh, I love that. I love what you’re doing too. And for, for those of you listening, it’s Molly and I had the opportunity to meet because she, you heard me on another podcast, another Molly, a different Molly Molly Fletcher on the game changers podcast. And we got to connect and we’ve had a few pop conversations. And one of the things that is one of my passions, one of my goals for this year is to really break in to the world of professional sports when it comes to personal branding. Because I know rather during your tenure, as a professional athlete or post the impact of your personal brand, how many people know about you, like while you’re actually in the endeavor of your profession, it’s like, that has a lot to do with your income, right? Those are your brand deals, sponsorships negotiating pay raises because you bring the crowd with you, but then equally as important, if not more after, as you venture into, you know, your next endeavors post athletics.
AJV (07:30):
And so I’m curious with you this, this idea, this concept of personal branding, and I know, and everyone else knows, and this is no secret. It’s like female athletes make less than their ma than their counterpart male athletes. Like that’s no secret. We’re not like a whistleblowers here. That’s, that’s just, that’s a known fact. Right. So I’m curious, like, when you think about the world of sports and you think about women role in that, how much does a player’s personal brand matter when it comes to them being successful in terms of income and success and all of that?
MMS (08:11):
Yeah, I mean, I think it’s, it’s absolutely critical. And I I’ve said this often, you know, when I was evaluating whether to jump into this position, I, I asked my kids, you know, to name five women on the LPGA and they could name a few and they, they weren’t, my kids aren’t necessarily, you know, serious golfers they’re they’re athletes and they’re engaged in the world of sports and they could only name a couple. And so that’s where I, I, I felt like, okay, I, I can really have an opportunity hopefully, to come and, and help these women elevate their, their own brands and elevate the brand, the L PGA brand more broadly, because at the end of the day in professional sports, that’s really what it’s all about in terms of getting eyeballs viewership getting people to engage with us. But I also think it’s about inspiring the next generation.
MMS (08:58):
Our women are so good at this game, you know, to be the best a hundred players or 150 players in the world. I mean, that’s pretty darn remarkable. How many times do you find someone who is the best? You know, we have people who are obviously the best, but also even the top hundred or 150. And I think world needs to know about them more because that will help obviously the LPGA in terms of our partnerships and our commercialization, but it’ll also help them. These are individual athletes who make their money in a number of different ways. They obviously make money by competing and by winning the prize money on the tour, but they also are the personal brands and the represe, there’s the ambassadors for a number of companies and a, a good portion of their income can come from that association from, from the brand.
MMS (09:42):
And, you know, we are getting a lot of traction in that area. People are seeing that these are amazing role models, and they can hit their, their corporate values or through their corporate identity to these remarkable women who are not only be very successful on their own, but inspiring that next generation of young girls to say, I can do this. You know, I can, I can compete at the highest level. I can be a very good person while I do it, and I can represent others brands along the way. So I think it’s really critical to their overall direct income, but it’s also really critical to the L PGA’s success more broadly, and our ability to have a positive impact on the world. So we’re really doubling down on that right now, trying to figure out ways to help them elevate their brands to help us elevate our own brand, which is really important.
MMS (10:28):
I think the L PGA doesn’t get as much credit as it should. We’ve been around 71 years. We’ve had amazing women for the, for longer than any other really profe women’s professional sport. We’ve done it kind of on our own. People have made a, a living, a good living and have, like I said, inspired the world through their play as a young girl, the only real role models that you had to look up to in professional athletics were golfers or tennis players for the most part is I was growing up. And so, and I played golf. So I was very engaged with the women that were doing very well. And the tour now I’ve gotten to meet them, you know, the same women who are my inspiration as a young kid to say, Hey, anything’s possible. You know, there, there, there are opportunities in sports, whether you’re actually competing or you’re working in sports, but sports is a place for women. So I think it is a hundred percent you know, sort of top of mind, critical for us on the go forward strategy for the LPJ and for our players to it, continue to get the world, to see, you know, these remarkable women do what they do.
AJV (11:22):
Ah, I love that, you know, and you, it’s funny as how you’re talking is, you know, I think about the study that our company did brand builders group went out and fielded a national research study on the trends and impacts of personal branding just about a year ago. And it’s the first national study about branding and a huge part that we thought were so was so interesting. And something you just said made me think about this is that 88% of millennials, age 26 to 44, but then 82% of the entire general population, no matter what your age is, agree that a company is more influential when the founder or executives have a public facing personal brand. And what you just said, like really resonated to something that we talk a lot about. It’s like, we are no longer really in the era of the company is no longer the entity that is known. It’s the people within the company that make the company known. And so when you said it’s like, Hey, like the more well known our players become the more well known our organization becomes. Oh yeah. I mean, that goes across all sports, all industries, all organizations, no matter what. And so I’m curious in your opinion, what do you think in this specific conversation the players need to be doing to help themselves become more well known, thus making the entire organization more well known? Like what would you like to see?
MMS (12:49):
Well, I, I would, you know, I think that letting people get to know them as much as possible, and some of that is our responsibility you know, out outside of their own social media and outside the things that they can do to continue to place themselves into situations where, you know, they’re letting the world see all the good that they’re doing, not only on the golf course, but the way that they train the way that they eat, the way that they sleep, the way that they engage in sort of high performance, I think is very interesting to the world. Also the way that they give back. I mean, our, our women are significant contributors to, to charity, to young girls, you know as I said before, allowing young girls to have inspiration and to be role models, I think getting that word out and being very creative and, and aggressive with their own social media, but also from our perspective, one of the things that we’re, we’re trying to do more is, you know, give, give audiences more of an opportunity to know the, the, the players individually, not just their talent, I mean their talent.
MMS (13:43):
I think people still need to understand how significant it is, but I also wanna be able to do things in broadcast. You know, we’re trying to stream holes, you know, on, on various streaming platforms where we can interview the app plates in the middle of their round. It’s also a really unique sport where they can be playing and we can actually have an announcer or broadcaster come up and, and just ask them what they’re thinking as they’re about to hit their next shot within a very large competition where they’re competing for a great deal of money was really cool. And I think that’s where the association starts to come in, because as you said, people think of P people, they, they, you know, they follow the LPGA and we need to do continue to do a better job and continue to grow our abilities in that area, which our team is really good and they’re really focused on it, but mostly we connect with people.
MMS (14:26):
We cheer, cheer on people. It’s you know, you want, you wanna be watching someone, you know, you wanna be watching someone whose story, you know, what, how hard it was to get to that point. And every athlete on, on our tour has a different story. And they’re quite remarkable. They’re not what you think they are. And I think they provide inspiration. They’re very interesting. They’re very engaging. And I think that they have this platform to help people be better in their own lives. And also if you think about golf, I mean, wow, golf is just a hard sport. When you, I don’t know how much you play J but, but when you stand up on that tee, you never know what’s gonna happen. And at the end of your round, imagine being in your professional life, we all were talking about being stressed and other things that are challenging.
MMS (15:05):
But if in your professional life, every day at the end of your Workday, you gotta score
AJV (15:41):
Oh my gosh. It’s so true. And it’s it’s so true to, you know, just anyone who’s in the public eye, rather you’re putting yourself there, or you just you’re there. Right. I think a lot of this has to do is so much of what we talk about in our community at brand builders group. And I believe a huge resistance to a lot of our community of like really putting themselves out there is the fear of people not liking them or disagree with them. And it’s like, the truth is it’s like, the more true you are to yourself, you’re gonna have more lovers and more haters. That’s just the part of being, and that’s hard, that’s like a hard choice. And then to be in a profession where that just is a part of the job, that’s so intense. And so I’m curious to know genuinely it’s like, what would you say that most of your players, or even like you yourself, it’s like, do you think that there’s a resistance to build personal of brands?
MMS (16:34):
Yeah, I think there, I mean, I, I don’t know that there’s a resistance to build personal brands because I think we all want to do that. I mean, I know I need to be a lot better about that and because I agree with you and you and I have been talking about that. Like, I think the people really do believe that the CEO or the leader of the company is the representative of that total company. And so I need to do a better job myself on that, but I think our players, you know, it’s very hard to put yourself out there and, and particularly in the world of professional sports where everyone just feels like they have the right to, to tell you what they think of your play, of what you look like out there of what, you know, so it’s very, very hard, but, but I, so I think that there is sometimes some resistance, but I, I think the more we educate on how to do it positively and just continue to focus on your own values and continue to focus on the things that you believe in, and then let the chips kind of fall where they may, you know, and, and obviously we need to support them in that every step of the way as well.
MMS (17:31):
So it’s, you know, it’s hard, but it, it does does matter. And I think it will just continue to open up doors for them, every P every sponsor or partner that comes up to me tells me how amazing our athletes are, you know, and that’s almost like this, this secret that we’re keeping. And we need to just tell the world a little bit more aggressively, listen, we, our, our players are quite well known in many circles and some of them more than others, but I just think there’s this huge opportunity for them, sorry to inspire. And we really just are, like I said, we’re really focused on that. So I think there is a resistance, but we’re trying to give people it’s comfortable in environment as possible to do that.
AJV (18:11):
Yeah. You know, there’s two things I wanna, I
AJV (18:55):
Right. And that, that is the business of sports. And then the other thing I was gonna say, it’s like, you know, this same resistance, or not even resistance reluctance, or sometimes it’s confusion. It’s like, I think this is what the entire world is experiencing right now with this enormous shift of going from like this traditional marketing and advertising world to this new kind of world order of the just undeniable importance of your reputation, your audience engagement people knowing about you. Like, that’s just becoming increasing more important. Like we just strongly believe it’s like personal branding is a trend. It’s not a fad which means it’s not going away. Right. It it’s a growing amplified part of how we do business. And there is not a ton of talk around this and a lot of businesses and organizations, but you are making this a topic like is something that you guys are focused on and intent of like, how do we get our players to be more well known?
AJV (19:57):
Cuz we know if we do that, it’s gonna benefit the organization. And there’s, there’s still a lot of debate on, should we shouldn’t we, and you’re kind of taking the stance of, no, this is what we’re gonna do. And that’s clearly a shift of what has been done within the L P G a. And so I’m curious, like as your like seat as commissioner and in kinda like during your reign here, right. Why, why this, like, what is it about this that you think is just so important as we kinda like move into this next era of marketing?
MMS (20:28):
Well, a co a couple things. One, I, I do think it’s also though in that hesitancy or the reluctance, I think it is our responsibility as the LPGA to continue to help with kind of helping them through the difficult parts of it too, you know, kind of providing the right perspective on it. So it doesn’t, you know, so really they can focus on their own wellbeing and their own mental health and all of that too. And making sure that there’s good perspective. I always think that mindset and perspective and approach is really the most important thing in anything you do in life is sort of how you enter, how you enter that challenge and how, you know, what you’re getting into when you into it and just really staying true to your own values and knowing, being confident with who you are and knowing what the upside is, but also knowing where the downside can be and being prepared for that.
MMS (21:15):
So I think those are some of the things that we’re trying to, to work on. But, but again, getting back to your question, I mean, it’s it, like I said, it’s just so critical that that, that they as individual athletes really entrepreneurs. I mean, if you really think about it, the women on our tour, they don’t play for a team. They play for themselves. Yeah. And so their own personal brand is even that much more important because they’re actually selling their brand, just like the LPJ is selling our brand to be able to make all of this work. You know, we, we don’t exist without the, the commercialization of, of the sport. I mean, we, we are in the business to allow women to live their dreams through golf you know, tangentially, but, but, or not even tangentially just as, as an integrated part of what we do, we are also part of our mission is to give this opportunity to young girls, to women, whatever skill level, all around the world, because we think it’s so by valuable.
MMS (22:08):
So in order, like you said, in order for us to do that, people have to know the opportunities exist. They have to know the the benefits of participating in golf and participating in sport for young girls and for women, you know, the community building the networking. So in order for us to be successful in that way, people have to know our stories and have to, to, to get to know our athletes and it for our athletes to be able to truly maximize this amazing gift that they have they’re individual entrepreneurs and they need to commercialize it. You know, there are different ways they can do it. So it’s really built into their entire ability to reach our mission and their mission mission, which is to live their dreams through the game of golf and inspire the world to have a positive impact. So it’s all tied in together. I mean, I think it really is all part and parcel of what we do as an organization is we need more of the world to, to know about us. So we’re really focused on that.
AJV (23:02):
Yeah. And it’s like kind of the easy, easiest maybe not, I must say simplest, not easiest, but the simplest thing to do, it’s like as your players become more well known, you become more well known. It’s like this win-win situation. I love what you said too. It’s like really our players are entrepreneurs. Like that is such a great way at looking at this particular sport and there’s other sports like that, but it’s, you know, you said something earlier that just made me think this it’s like the more that we get to know the stories of the players and here’s what I have found to be true. The more that I get to know the stories of the athletes, of the teams that I follow, I don’t just love the athlete more. I love the entire sport more. Yeah. You know, and I think I shared this with you.
AJV (23:47):
It’s like, I recently watched the movie king Richard about Venus and Serena Williams father and about them. And the most fascinating thing happened through like the next few weeks after watching this movie, it’s like one I’m just dumbfounded at their superiority and the skillset and just like who they are as humans and individuals. And there’s the fact that they’re in the same family. Like, so I have become like so endeared to both of them and their excellence, but I’ll tell you what else happened is I’ve become way more interested in the entire sport of tennis. Oh yeah. Right. It’s not, and here’s what I’d say. It’s like the stories of athlete don’t make, you just love them more. They make you love the entire sport more. And that’s something that I think is really amazing. It’s like my husband is a really great golfer and really loves golf.
AJV (24:35):
And he’s always pressuring me to go golfing. And, you know, it’s like, I haven’t necessarily ever had a great desire and passion to it until I met you. Right. And it’s like, now that I talk, I talk to you and I’m getting to know it. It’s like, I’m naturally more inclined to wanna learn about this sport because I’m fascinated by you. Like, I wanna get to know your players because it’s like, I wanna support people that I believe in the exact same thing happens with companies. Right. When I fall in love with a founder of a company it’s like, and I wanna support what this person is doing because I’m fascinated and interested by their story. And I wanna be a part of it. And I think it, this exact same thing happens when we fall in love with stories. We fall in love with the people, but also what they’re a part of. And that includes the entire sport.
MMS (25:18):
Absolutely. The sport, the LPGA women’s sports. I think, I think by watching king Richard, which I, I loved as well. And you know, you, you really get, you appreciate the hard work, the sacrifices, the challenges that have gone into getting them to where they got, it’s pretty darn remarkable and, and how hard it is to get there and how, how talented they really are. So, and again, if you think about sports, why, why do people love their hometown team? Why do people love their a college team? It’s because it builds community and you’re a part of something bigger than yourself. And there’s a personal connection to that team. You don’t generally just pick a team and say, oh, I, I like their colors. I mean, sometimes that’s how you originally sort of align yourself with the team, but then it’s about the people.
MMS (26:03):
I, I like watching sports when I have some understanding of who the people are, whether it’s a quarterback on a football team or whether, and whether it’s, you know, the star player. And that was why, you know, being at Princeton was, was so fun. I always loved Princeton athletics. I loved following the teams when I was not the ad, just as an alum, because that was my association of my affiliation. But then when you get to know the athletes and, you know, their stories, you become sort of obsessed by their results and by their success because you know, how much went into it. And that’s the same with the LPGA. I’ve always been a fan. I’ve always loved golf. I’ve always been a student of the game and the history of the, the LPGA, but now knowing these athletes and seeing who they are as people, you know, you wake up wondering how they, sometimes they, they were playing in Asia last week.
MMS (26:47):
And I was there. I was in Singapore for the first week. And then I had to come home for some meetings. They then played in Thailand. And so the time changes are very, you know, the time differences are, are significant. They’re 14 hours, 13 or 14 hours ahead. And so, you know, I’d wake up in the morning and just first grab my phone and see how they did at now, knowing all of the women you’re really following them, you’re connected with them. And so the more other people, not just the commissioner knows who, I mean, again, we have a huge fan base and a, a many, many people know our athletes and are inspired by them and they’re doing great work out there, but I think there’s even, there are more people that could be inspired and get to know them and sort of, you know have something to cheer for where else in the world do you actually cheer for other people?
MMS (27:28):
There are not many places where you’re putting your arms up, you’re clapping, you know, and you’re personally invested in it. I mean, look at the fans at different games and they have their hands and their, their face and their they’re so invested in the success of their teams. And it’s not really just the team, it people that they’re watching. And so there’s so much more of an opportunity for that, which I’m, I’m really excited about. And I wouldn’t be so excited if I didn’t think our women were so remarkable. And I didn’t think that our product was so good. And so you know, I’ve used this word too many times here today, but so inspiring. So, and that’s really what, why I’ve stayed connected with sports so much is because I do think changes people’s lives. I think it builds leaders. I think it builds communities. I think it gives people some optimism and something to look forward to. So I think there’s so many benefits of it that I, I love having this platform to, to tell our stories,
AJV (28:18):
Oh, I love that. And I so agree with you. It’s like, I just think there’s so many benefits of sports and Jim, like, regardless of what it is, there’s just so many, but in fact to what you said, it’s like, what are the, what are the things in life? Do you like physically jump out of your chair, horse screaming and yelling for other people. Yeah. Right. And it’s like, you get so emotionally invested into the team, the community, it’s like, like how many times do you like buy all the gear of your favorite come and wear it with pride. Right.
MMS (28:47):
Like
AJV (28:48):
This doesn’t happen. Like that’s such a great point. And so we have just like eight more minutes or so. And so I have, I wanna shift gears just a little bit and I wanna talk about you and really like your role. And you said earlier, it’s like at every decade in your life that you’ve said, like, I just wanna pick like the next, most awesome, like role in sports. And so I’m gonna kind of put you on the spot, right. And looking at this next decade, like 10 years from now, like, what do you wanna be doing?
MMS (29:16):
Well, I mean, listen, I, I have a, a big, big task ahead of me here. And so I’m really not, not looking forward past this opportunity at all. I mean, I’ve just gotten here, been here, you know, six months, a little over six months. And we have a great platform. The LPJ is in a really good position, but, but they’re the, the fun of it is that there’s huge growth to be had too. So I would like to look back in 10 years and say, Hey, we, we elevated the LPGA to a place where the women are making more money, you know, getting closer hopefully, or, or getting to the point, the same amount of dollars that the men make to play the sport that more people know about them have been inspired by them. That girls golf has grown around the world, not just, you know, we’re a global tour.
MMS (29:57):
So we have women from, I think, over 50 cut countries participating on the LPGA. And we also partner with the ladies European tour and we have a qualifying tour that the EEPs tour. So we have, I think over 50 women from different countries. And so our 50 countries represented. So we have the opportunity not just to impact what’s happening in the us, but you know around the whole world. And so I hope that we wake up in, I wake up in 10 years and say, well, we really did take this to the next level. And we were able to impact the individuals that participate, but also the world more broadly. I hope the number of girls that are playing the game have, has grown. I hope the number of girls who, who really might not otherwise have that opportunity if we weren’t really intentional about it, I think you know, certain sports these days, almost all sports have become very expensive.
MMS (30:44):
Yeah. And you know, golf has traditionally been known as a very expensive sport, and this is an opportunity that can’t be just given to, to young girls or boys whose families have the resources it’s like education. I really feel like it’s our responsibility to give this remarkable game to those who might not other feel either comfortable or feel have the resources to be able to play. So I’d like to wake up and say, Hey, we really did give this opportunity to many, many more young girls and we impacted many, many more lives along the way. So you’re kind of looking at impacting lives, but you’re doing it through this, this overall platform. Which, and, and hopefully women’s sports has grown during that period and no longer do people look and go, okay, well, there’s, there’s golf. And then there’s, women’s golf. You know, it’s sort of like, there’s golf and there’s, men’s golf and there’s, women’s golf.
MMS (31:29):
And then we play together. I mean, that’s the beauty of golf also that men, men and women can play together. And you know, people who think that they can beat our women, you know, men or women who, who don’t really know, I love that scenario when you say, okay, yeah, you, why don’t you come out and play against these women and see what happens at the end? I mean, they are just as good as the men. They might not hit it quite as far off the tee, but then their game from there on, in our data and our statistics are showing that they are just as good or better in many areas. And so I’d like the, the world to know that and for us to tell those stories.
AJV (32:01):
Hmm. That’s so good. And I love that. I love, I love too that you’re just focused on the here and now, right. We’ll see where the road takes you, but you’re focused on the here and now. So if we were just to take it personal for you, it’s like, I know you wanna see these women’s stories told you wanna see the, the, you know, game of golf, you know, it shared, and hopefully it grows and you know, all these D from things. So those aside, right, I’m just super curious, like, are there any like internal things that, or messages that you hope come out of your tenure here? And this could be just not even about golf, but sports women’s sports, men’s sports, whatever, but it’s like, are there any underlying themes that you’re like, man, if you know, the world were up my fingertips and I had a magic wand and I could make sure all these things happen, is there anything that you really want your legacy to be? As you know, you think about, at some point, this position will be over however many years down the road. It is. But when people think back and they think about Molly Marman, like, what do you want them to think about?
MMS (33:09):
Well, I mean, I think as you said, I like to be in the, in the here and now. I mean, I’ve never had a job where I’m looking for the next job. I mean, those jobs have always, fortunately I’ve just had a lot of really lucky you know, connections and relationships and people who have put me forward for other other opportunities, but I’ve always just tried to say, like, you gotta care deeply about what you’re doing at that moment. So I hope people, you know, look back and say, you know, she really cared because she cared not because she was trying to, you know, elevate her own career, anything like that, because I actually think that’s the worst thing that you can do in, in your job. You have to be invested in, in what you do for what it is. Not, not for what it can get you.
MMS (33:48):
And I do think that’s a really important thing for people is just like, be where you are, love what you do care deeply about the product and the people, and try to make it better every day, you know, wake up thinking, how do I get this organ to be better? How do I get the people around me to be better? How do I get myself to be better? You know, how do I grow every day? So I hope people from my own perspective, I hope that’s what people, what people say. You know, there was one of my bosses at Chelsea Pierce, you know, where they were doing this in my going away party. And, you know, they were standing up and saying really nice things. And you’re always like, oh, I never knew they, they thought that, but one of my bosses, you know, that’s, that’s what he said.
MMS (34:25):
And at first I was like, wow. He just said, like, I thought, he’d say, oh, I did really well at this. Or I had these accomplishments or I was hoping, but he just said, you know, at the end of the day Molly cared, you know, she, she really cared about our organization, cared about our people. And so when I reflected back on that, I was a little younger or I was like, that’s, that’s, that’s good. Like, I was proud of that. I hope I hope that that continues. And that that’s what people can sort of say the same thing along the way, because makes life a lot more fun to care about the teams you’re on, you know, being an athlete, being associated with teams. I think everything is about your teams, whether it’s your family or your work, or your friends or your community, they’re all teams.
MMS (35:01):
And so how do you show up for that team? So that’s what I, that’s what I hope in my career is like, I, I really have no, I have no aspirations for a different job or for, you know, really just to have impact where I am and to, to, to have people who I work with say, Hey, she really does care and she’s not gonna be perfect is gonna make mistakes. And, you know, not gonna know everything by any stretch, but she care. And, and I think that’s really that’s what my hope is.
AJV (35:25):
Mm. I love that. You said two things there. I thought that was so good. Is that you’re a part of teams, no matter what you do in life, like maybe it’s your family team or your work team, or maybe you have a church team or a nonprofit team, or maybe you’re on a sports team, right? Yeah. But it’s like, you’re a part of teams, no matter you’re in sports or not. And that’s such a great way looking at all the different things that we do. It’s like, I’m a part of like six different teams. Right. Right. And I had never thought about it that where it’s like, I’m a crucial integral part of making our family team work. Right. And if I don’t, if I don’t do good, they don’t do good.
MMS (36:04):
That’s the most important team by the way, that is by far, the most important team is your, is your team. I heard someone yesterday say you know, the, the, the team that really matters the team, that’s sitting at your Thanksgiving dinner. Yeah. And, and that’s a good way of putting it, you know, that’s the team that makes the most, and it was actually from a coach who cares deeply about his specific team that he plays on or that he coaches. But I think the most important team is always the team that’s sitting at your Thanksgiving dinner. But yeah, I mean, sometimes your role on the team is not exactly the role that you would like to have. And I, I, I talk to kids about that all the time, but if you go in with like, Hey, whatever my role is, my job is to make that team better.
MMS (36:43):
Whether I’m the star player or I’m, you know, sitting at the end of the bench, everybody on that team contributes to the overall success. And if you don’t wake up thinking about that, you can actually be a negative impact to the team. Oh, that’s so great. And so you, you really, you have to, you know, and in sports, you know, the college level, we talk about that with the coaches all the time. It’s like the end of the bench is just as important as, as the starting superstar. And so make sure you as the coach or the leader play to that whole bench, but also if you’re on the end of the bench, how are you contributing to make that team better that day? And it translates to work. It translates to family it, to everything. We know that in marriages and in, you know, listen, some days you’re gonna be getting to do what you wanna do and other days your, your partner’s gonna need to do what they need to do. And it’s a constant, you know, team that we engage in, same thing with our kids. So I just love thinking of it as teams. Yeah.
AJV (37:34):
I love that. Like, I’m totally gonna shift my mindset around. It’s like, we all have different roles, but we’re a team and I’m a part of like a variety of little teams in my life. And it’s like, how am I showing up? Like, what’s my role in each of those teams. I love that. That’s so good. The other thing you said that when I like highlight for the listeners is you gotta care about what you’re doing for the sake of just doing a good job and loving what you’re doing, not because of what it’s going to get you.
MMS (37:59):
Right.
AJV (37:59):
Right. That is so significant. I feel like so many people in life intentionally are not, are doing things while subconsciously doing them going, if I do this, then I’ll get this. Yeah. Or if I do this for this person, and they’ll do this for me, it’s like, there’s this like subconscious mindset of I’ll do this, but I’ll do it to get this right. And you said, no, it’s like, do it for the sake of doing it and being a part of the team and loving what you do.
MMS (38:25):
Yeah. And for you to get better and for you to grow and for, you know, there’s those intrinsic benefits of that for sure. But it really does. I think reduce stress and you know, reduce the anxiety around what you’re doing. You wake up and say, okay, my task is to, to care and to, to make this organization better and to accomplish my goals and not worry about the rest. It’s not always easy to do. And believe me, I fall prey to all of that. Like we all do, but trying to get back to level set on mindset. And, and you know, even just with kids in school, there’s so much pressure on grades and successes on sports teams and in the play and various things. And, you know, I constantly try to say to my kids, listen, you know, you, you show up, do the very best you can and let the chips fall where they may, you know, and, and you contribute to it because you love it.
MMS (39:08):
And because it makes you happy and because it it’s fulfilling and it helps you grow, don’t worry so much about that result. That’s hard for kids. It’s hard for adults. It’s hard for all of us, but I do think it, for me, it reduces stress. You know, it’s like, listen, I can just put one foot forward, put my clothes on, get out of the house and do the very best I can do. And, and hope that things go the best that they can possibly go. And, and that’s not something I’ve always my mindset I’ve always had, you know, I think that’s you know, sort of I over time. So I try to share that with my kids and, you know, they have to go through some stuff on their own to figure that out. But I do think that’s an important mindset.
AJV (39:43):
Oh, I love that. I’m telling you what it’s like, the more time I get to spend with you, it’s like, you just have like all these little like excellent bombs, just dropping everywhere, all these like awesome little golden nuggets that just come outta your I so love what you’re doing. I know exactly why you were recruited for this position. I am so excited to see what you do for the, the whole game of golf. But specifically for these women players, I’m so excited to just see this change. And it’s like, regardless of how many of, how many other people it’s gonna impact, like I can my hand and say, it’s like from the day that we had our first conversation, I have had a new appreciation and interest for the game. And I’m just one. So it’s like, there’s gonna be a serious domino effect with all the things that you’re doing. And so people wanna learn more about you and stay in touch with the LPGA tour. Like where should they go? Where do you want people to find you?
MMS (40:38):
Well, again, I think I need to do a better job of letting people find me, but I am on Twitter. I think it’s M Mar U 91. Something like that, but I should probably know that more specifically, but, but you can always find me too on the LPGA site. And you know, we’re constantly doing things through our social media channels and through, through, but, but I think, you know, in me getting to know you that, that, and I reached out to you because I heard you, as I said on Molly Fletcher’s podcast and just was really, I loved your message. And I, I know that’s something, an area of growth for me to be able to put myself out there more and to be able to you know, be, be willing to, to do that. But mostly for me at this point, it’s a little bit about time, but it has to be a, a pro of time, you know, and I always wanna, if I’m gonna do something, I wanna do it really well. And sometimes it’s hard to find time to do this really well with all the other things that you’re trying to do and other ways that you’re trying to serve other people. But I do think that it is important. You know, for the LP G I, I wouldn’t do it so much if it was just to elevate my own personal brand, but if it’s gonna help elevate the tour and help elevate what we do, then I, I need to continue to get better at that.
AJV (41:43):
Well, I’ll do all the research. I’ll make sure all the right handles are in the notes.
MMS (41:47):
AJV (41:55):
Baby steps, baby steps, baby
MMS (41:56):
Baby
AJV (41:57):
Steps. But I’ll put all that in there. I’ll grab all the links for the LPGA. I’ll put all those in there and, and y’all like, go follow these players, go follow the LPGA. Like also follow Molly. I’m gonna, I’m gonna enforce her. I’m gonna make her share all of her brilliance more typically online. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you so much. I know how busy you are. Thank you so much for being on the show.
MMS (42:21):
Yes, my pleasure. Thanks for doing this and thanks for helping elevate our, our women. And like you said, go to the LPGA, a social media handles and, and also watch our broadcast we’re on golf channel. There’s times when we’re on we’re on network television, we’re, we’ve got some great ideas brew around some other ways that you can engage. We’ve done an all access video of one of our, or, you know, sort of docu-series. So again, getting to know our players through that docu-series and through sort of their personal lives is really remarkable. I think you’ll be inspired. So thanks for everything. And yeah, I look forward to continuing our conversation.
AJV (42:52):
X is awesome. Y’all thanks so much for listening. Stay tuned for another episode of the influential personal brand. We’ll see you next time.
Ep 286: How To Break Through The Noise with Lindsay Czarniak
RV (00:07):
Hey brand builder, Rory Vaden here. Thank you so much for taking the time to check out this interview as always, it’s our honor to provide it to you for free and wanted to let you know there’s no big sales pitch or anything coming at the end. However, if you are someone who is looking to build and monetize your personal brand, we would love to talk to you and get to know you a little bit and hear about some of your dreams and visions and share with you a little bit about what we’re up to to see if we might be a fit. So if you’re interested in a free strategy call with someone from our team, we would love to hear from you. You can do that at brand builders, group.com/pod call brand builders, group.com/pod call. We hope to talk to you soon.
AJV (00:54):
Hey, y’all and welcome to another episode on the influential personal brand. This is AJ Vaden. One of your co-hosts and I am so excited to have our guests on the show today. Lindsay is a newer friend of mine, but we have a really good friend in common Stephanie show stack. And as Stephanie was so kind to introduce us a couple of months ago, and ever since then we’ve had emails and conversations and honestly, Linda, like one of those people that as soon as you have a conversation, it kind of feels like we’ve been friends for a really long time, even though we just met a couple of months ago. And I love that about you. I agree. I think that’s so awesome. All right, so everybody, I’m gonna give you a super high kinda background on who is Lindsay Sarnia, and then I’m gonna let her introduce herself, but here are some of the professional accolades that you should know is that she is both an Emmy award and a Gracie award-winning broadcaster.
AJV (01:56):
She has been on NFL reporter with Fox, a NASCAR contributor, which means so awesome being from the south, you know, there’s always good NASCAR. I love around here. But she was also with ESPN for the best part of half of a decade. She was anchoring sports and sports nation NASCAR. Now she was the first woman to host the network’s coverage of Indianapolis 500 on E NBC. I mean, I could go on and on and on. She was, had this awesome podcast. She’s an artist, a future children’s book illustrator, which you said, just talking about. But also I think this is really cool. It’s like you didn’t just kind of fall into the world of sports broadcasting and journalism. You kind of grew up in that, right? Cuz your dad was a sports editor and a reporter. You’re also an athlete yourself.
AJV (02:52):
You played college lacrosse and field hockey. I mean I could go on and on and on. It’s like a two page highlight reel of all things Lindsay Sarnia but that’s just a high level and those are really just the professional things, not the personal things about who you are. And I’ll just tell everyone listeners, if you were just tuning in, stick around for this interview Lindsay is so down to earth. She’s so humble. She’s so cool. And she’s also done things in a very male dominated world, but somehow find found a way to break through the noise and really stand out in a pretty, I would say busy and noisy space and a really competitive one. So if you wanna figure out how to stand out, you need to stick around and listen to this episode. So Lindsay love show, oh my gosh.
LC (03:42):
I don’t even know how to follow that up, AJ. That was so nice.
AJV (04:32):
Oh, well the feeling is mutual. This has been so fun. Alright, so I’m gonna start with this same question I ask every single guest and this is really your chance to help our audience get to know you, but also kind of give us a highlight reel of how did you get to where you are in such a fiercely competitive industry. One that’s not saturated with lots of women. I imagine there’s been lots of peaks and valleys through this journey, but you have ended into this really amazing place and created a really amazing reputation for yourself that you are now going to be able to take and leverage through these all, all these amazing things. So I just wanna like give us a background story.
AJV (05:22):
Like where did you start and how did you get to where you are?
LC (05:25):
Thank you so much. I I mean on when I think about that and that question, I think about one specific moment in my career journey, because it was the moment that for me really was the pivot point that I didn’t, I never saw coming. I didn’t expect it. And it was so random because I simply joined some folks from my TV station I was working at to go take in a NASCAR race. Okay. So that’s where this whole thing took place and I’ll, I’ll get to that in a second, but I really do, as I look back the things that I think have helped me get to this place where I am now is it’s really all about the relationships. I mean, I, I really, and I don’t mean relationships of who, you know, to get to where you are.
LC (06:16):
I mean, the way you treat people, I really do believe that. And I think that that is so important and every step I’ve taken along the way at every different job I have had, I’ve, I’ve seen some example of that. I feel like from someone who has been either a mentor or someone just that I looked up to and I really, really believe in that I started out you know, I graduated from James Madison university. I wanted so badly to move to New York because I wanted to be on MTV
LC (07:15):
I think, you know, how you look back at different parts of what you’ve done and you’re like, oh wow, well that was what was getting me ready for this. Or that’s the first place that I experienced this. So I didn’t get a job in New York and out of college, I was trying to figure out where I, where I wanted to go. I had whittled it down to, I either wanted to work in like film. I was really interested in writing and I thought, well, maybe I could learn how to be a writer. And then eventually like create screenplays or I definitely, I have a passion for art and I thought, well, maybe I wanna go the direction to be, you know, an animation somehow and all that. But somewhere along the line, my senior year of college we had an opportunity to do a TV show.
LC (07:56):
And within that class, basically it was a practicum. We had to learn every single part of putting on a TV show of a broadcast. And when it was my week to do the hosting with a co-host, that was it like that’s all I needed. I was so hooked. I loved every second of it. I would’ve stayed in class for five hours if you could’ve let me, like, I was just so into what we were doing. It like lit something up inside of me and I was, and, and honestly I wanted to be like the music review person on our show. I just I’ve always had this interest and connection in like music and the way music makes people feel and the power it has. And it’s funny cuz now I see that also in sports, but to get to my pivot point. So I left JMU, I got a job at CNN in Atlanta and it was a behind the scenes job.
LC (08:46):
They have a program where you can start out and you’re called a video journalist and you start out, it’s all for kids that have come in recently graduated and you’re doing these entry level roles. Right. So I was really lucky to like to land one of those spots. But that also when I think back I’m like, man, I sat there on my computer. We barely had internet. I was like, just looking up these jobs. I don’t even know how I did it. And, but like somehow I found that job. So I moved to Atlanta and then being there at CNN, you know, I realized, yes, this is the industry that I wanna like definitely continue in, but I’m obviously not going to be on air and really earn like hone those reporter chops being at CNN. So I put together a tape. I helped like really by leaning on people that I was working with and being like, Hey, can I come in on a Saturday or can I come in on my day off and just rewrite this story that someone did and you can critique me or maybe I can pay my camera crew that really works at CNN, but I would pay them with six packs of beer in my grandma’s cookie
LC (09:52):
You know? And like I can, and then I would, I would pay an editor basically to put it together for me. And that’s how I put my tape together. And I ended up working in Jacksonville, Florida. That was my first on air job. And I really thought I wanted to do news at that point because I, I never saw sports on my radar. I loved sports. My dad was a sports journalist, but that wasn’t my, like not what, what really fueled me. Right. I was like, I wanna be a news reporter anchor, or I wanna do entertainment, something within that. Anyway. So I got a job news reporter in Jacksonville and around a year into that job, which was great, but it was great because it was the morning show. I could mess up a ton, which I did. And not that many people saw me.
LC (10:39):
LC (11:26):
It was men and women. We were hanging out with, it was a concert. We were where they were playing. And these guys happened to be with speed channel and speed channel was a channel that put on racing. And from that one interaction, they knew I was reporter. And in February, a few months later, Dale Earnhardt senior died the legendary race car driver. And they called me because I had met them and they said, we need reporters to talk to fans about what he meant to them. And we know you’re in Jacksonville, are you available? Could you come work for us? And my station, let me do it. And so that became this random thing where that snowballed into, Hey, we have an opening for a pit reporter in our really entry level racing series called ACA, are you available? And at the time in Jacksonville, they were like, well, yeah, if it’s on your weekends and you wanna go do it, go do it.
LC (12:17):
So I worked 13 weekends out of the year going and leaving my news job to go be this pit reporter. And I knew nothing about racing. I mean, I was walking into the garage being like, I mean, I can’t even tell you how green I was. And like what an idiot. I probably looked like asking the questions I was asking, but anyway, really to wrap this up, cuz now I’m so sorry. This answer’s like seven minutes. I.
AJV (12:41):
That’s awesome though.
LC (12:42):
Well, the station that I was working at where I was a news reporter that probably my last year there, they were going to cover the sports department. The guys were going to cover one of the races at Daytona and they were like, Hey, we know that you’re into racing. If you wanna come with us and just help us out. I was like, I would love to, I would love to go to Daytona.
LC (13:03):
I don’t have anything that day. Let me come do, I’ll just carry your equipment and bring you water, whatever. So we’re in victory lane waiting for the driver who won the race to interview him. And this camera crew from Miami, we we’re just talking, cuz we’re waiting. And we strike up this conversation and we were waiting for like an hour and near the end of the conversation, they were like, you know, we actually have an opening in our sports department in Miami. And the main part of that job would be to cover the dolphins. But we think that maybe you’d be really a good fit with us and would love for you to put your tape in. And I was like, what? That’s ridiculous. It’s sports. It’s not like that’s. They were like, well you’d be our third sports anchor. And anyway, so that was it.
LC (13:46):
Like I had I not gone to Daytona, had I not gotten that elevated interest in racing because of that meeting by happenstance in Daytona when I was just there on a weekend with one of my girlfriends none of that would’ve happened. And so I do think when I think back to my path, a lot of it is saying yes and just going for it, but also listening to that little nudge of, yeah, try this. Like don’t, you know, like, I guess in a way it’s like finding your gut and I used to be really, really, really horrible at that, but now I figured out how to identify it. Which is a whole different story in itself anyway. Wow. I know, I think there’s a lot of insight into that and you know, it’s like I literally pulled out my notebook and started taking notes because I think these are the great stories that are so often never told.
AJV (14:42):
And that’s what I love so much about getting to do conversations. Like this is a great reminder for both me, but also every single person listening that there is no such thing as an overnight success, you know, it’s like, I think the biggest challenge that we face in this world of instant gratification is we compare our step one to your step 1000. Yeah. Somehow think right. You know, we see Lindsay on ESPN or covering the Olympics or doing all these amazing things. And it’s like, oh, I wanna do that. But what we forget is, oh no, no, you started behind the scenes doing nothing on TV and working double time on the weekends, keep people in six packs of beer and saying yes to your weekends, giving up, you know, a third of your free time to go. What’s next? What’s next? Just saying yes.
AJV (15:35):
And it’s like, I was trying to count like how many moves you made before you got to be doing what you’re doing? Like that’s a lot of work. That’s a lot of commitment over a lot of years. And we it’s a lot.
LC (15:49):
That became like a in, in our industry. I think a lot of people have a similar background with that. And I, but I I’m always intrigued to hear people’s path and when they stopped because you do really, you know, the traditional path is that you’re hopping and you’re, you know, and I think also with that something you said made me think about expectations. That’s a really big lesson that I have learned and that I think for young people or folks coming up really in any industry, other people’s expectations, you know, it took me a long time before I realized like, oh, that wasn’t, that’s really what they thought.
LC (16:33):
I thought I should be doing that because that’s what everyone was saying. Or I can identify when people have said something that I got really excited about because I felt like maybe they were giving me an expectation or like they were giving me confidence by saying, oh no doubt. You’ll be here in 10 years. No doubt you’ll be there. And then what happens when you get to that point and your path has been different? Like there are so many ways that I think you can let expectations that other people have just kind of soak in there. Like we don’t even do it intentionally. You just, so I think that’s a practice that I have tried to figure out ways to squash is what are my expectations? What are like now that that life bulb went off for me. What, how do you in a healthy way, live with what my expectations really are for myself.
AJV (17:23):
And I think if I had learned that earlier, maybe I wouldn’t have been so neurotic and paranoid over stuff because also part of it is like those steps, most of them early on in my career, it’s like this drug, you’re like, oh yes, I got an offer from this place and you’re moving up and that’s the traditional measure of success. But there are definitely moves in there where it was like, this, this didn’t feel like a move up. This actually felt like a failure, but it’s gotta set you up for the thing that you don’t know because you’re not in charge.
AJV (18:07):
Totally agree with that. And it’s like, the moment that we start just, it’s just that the, the challenge of comparison.
AJV (18:13):
Right. And it’s like even comparing our expectations to what other people have for us and somehow going well, that’s what everyone else has done. Right. And it’s like this internal battle. And so I’m curious, like throughout your journey, do you think that there was ever like a time in your kind of career path and even maybe it’s still today, it’s like, like, was there a moment when you were like, this is my big break? Like, is there like a moment where you’re like, okay, like this is what I’ve been waiting for. So I wanna know one, have you had that? What is it? And then what do you think led you to it?
LC (18:50):
That’s a great question. I think I along the way, well, so I should probably give context on, I was in Miami working, you know, following the Miami dolphins. And the other thing with that job is I, it was part-time when I took it.
LC (19:08):
So it actually felt like a bigger risk because I was leaving a TV station. That was the first station that I was a reporter at, but it was there was just something about it. Like I knew the plus side, if I could make it work, if I could really like work my hardest and turn it into the kind of role I would want it to be as much as I could, that I felt like the upside really outweighed the risk. And so I also had, I have like a circle, you know, of people that I’ll I’ll bounce off of. Right. And it seemed like, okay, this is pretty much a no brainer at this point, but I will say also the expense of that was relationships. There’s no question like it was, I was a disaster at dating, like because well, I, I actually had a really great long term relationship and, but I, I made the decision to follow the career and that impacted things in a horrible way.
LC (20:03):
And how could it not? Right. But like, that was just a lesson that I learned early on and it was like, so it’s funny cuz there, it also sometimes feels like there are so many different lives that I’ve lived
LC (20:52):
But for me, that Washington move because of the man that I went to work for, his name was George, Michael, and not the singer, but the, the sports broadcaster. And he had a show called the George Michael sports machine and in the nineties it was in the late eighties, it was legendary. It was honestly on before sports center and it definitely played a role in the way that ESPN came on the map and did things because he was showing people highlights before they could do ’em. Anyway, he was a legend in DC and he called me out of nowhere and he called me, I found out years later because he saw me when his son-in-law was watching racing coverage at his house with his daughter. Okay. And they, and I came on TV as a pit reporter and they needed to fill a role, the woman that they had had left.
LC (21:43):
And he liked my work, I guess, and, and was like, so he called me out of nowhere and it was awesome. It was an awesome, like compliment and a great opportunity. And you add to that, that it was an opportunity for me to go home. But I got so terrified because that was the first place that I had been in my career where all of a sudden things were going really well in Miami. And they were saying, Hey, stay here. This is what we’ll offer you to stay here. And it was this weird, like I found myself in this sort of like conflict of negotiation for the first time and I turned it down. I turned the job down and I think I know in my heart, part of the reason I turned it down is because at that time I looked at going home as a quasi.
LC (22:26):
I don’t wanna say failure, but like I, to me, I was on this role in this drug of like hopping every two years, where can I go? I’m thinking like, oh my God, could I ever make it to New York? Or could it be LA or could it be Chicago wherever? And I never saw the amazing opportunity to go home cuz it was a huge market, but there was something in my psyche that was like kind of worked with that thinking. And so I turned it down cuz I was like, I’m gonna, I wanna stay in Miami. I, I would like to do some morning TV. They were offering me a role to do that. And the second I turned that job down, the second I made the call saying, no, I knew I had made this horrible mistake. Like I knew there was. And that was for me the biggest eyeopening moment period in my career that helped me identify like something about myself.
LC (23:15):
Because up until then everyone would be like, well, what does your gut say? What does your gut say? And I’m like, I don’t know. That’s the problem. And my problem is I realized what I do is I will pull people until the person that I want, like until the person gives me the answer I want to hear. And that’s what I was doing. I was like going around and around and trying to get someone to say, go to DC. Like this is such a great opportunity. Go, go, go, don’t look back. But I feel like people, even in my circle like agents and whatever, they were like, mm, I don’t know. I’m not sure. So anyway, I’ve kind of gone off on a tangent, but that was a absolute big break for me because he brought me into that market and really just did it in such a way.
LC (23:58):
I had to go back on my decision to not go and call him and, and find out if the opportunity still existed. And I don’t re recommend that for anybody like my own dad told me not to do it. My dad was like, do not do that. That’s ridiculous. And I was like, and, and actually someone I worked with at the time in Miami was like this, you will, you will kill your career. If you do this, if you call him back and I couldn’t not try it, I could not not try it because I just knew. I was like, this is, that is where I need to be. And if there’s any way to be there, then I need to do it. So I sat at a car wash and I wrote down my conversation points on this napkin. And I called George and I think I got his voicemail and I left him this, what I thought was succinct, but probably like really long message and was like, I have made a mistake.
LC (24:48):
And if there is any chance that that opportunity is not filled, I would like to talk to you about it. And that was it. He called me back and he was really gruff. But at the end of the day, he was like, we’re gonna bring you up.
LC (25:47):
And the security guards there, like loved George because George would, he knew everything about them. Like he knew about their families. He treated every single person, the exact same. And, and he also did things behind the scenes that nobody ever knew. He did like just being a good person. So really long tangent,
AJV (26:04):
That may be the favorite part of my story. Like your story that I have heard is the fact that you said, I don’t care what it costs. I know I’ve made a mistake. I have to call this person back. And he went against everyone else advice and said, no, I feel it in my heart. Like I have to call him back.
LC (26:24):
It was so bad that, I mean, I literally remember that person, you know, a friend of mine looking at me and saying, this is, this is career suicide. And I knew that when my father was like, don’t do it.
LC (26:39):
Like I really put stock in what my parents say. And especially my dad cause he is in this industry, but I woke up the next morning after making a decision to stay there and listen, I love Miami. It’s my top three places to vacation. It was such a dream to live there. I love the people I worked with truly and the bosses and the crew I was with every day. But I was like, I just, I know with every fiber of my being that this is not what I’m supposed to be doing, but I knew also that if the ship had sailed and if I couldn’t get it back then I okay. But like I just really needed to try. And I had one person at the station who was feeling familiar with George, who actually I leaned on. And he was like, I think if you really want to open that door again, I think he will listen, but you have to know that he might not.
LC (27:30):
And you also might have to know that this is going to be very bad here, like meaning. And I do take that very seriously. Like that was not a professional move to go back. And to like, that was a painful conversation to have to go back to the news director and the general manager that really believed in me and say, I have made a mistake and I, you know, want to investigate,
AJV (27:53):
Oh my gosh, like, this is like, I think this is revolutionary for every single person who is listening, who makes choices for their own life out of fear of offending someone else. Yeah. I think this is hugely how many people are in the country right now in the United States, in a job, in a situation where they know they shouldn’t be there, but they don’t have the courage to do something that’s uncomfortable.
AJV (28:21):
Like that’s, that is the, that’s the era that we’re living in. It’s like, instead of having a difficult conversation, we’d rather make ourselves miserable or live and regret instead of going for what could be a life changing experience.
LC (28:37):
Yeah. You know, and to that point, I think it’s interesting because I do think some of the younger professionals are catching on quicker to that because, and I, I don’t know. Maybe you can lend your thoughts to this, but like my husband and I will talk about this sometimes because we are sort of, you know, coming up in the traditional old school era of, of this. Right. But some of the younger professionals who are like coming up as entry level, or they’re maybe a step above that, I do find that they’re not afraid to talk a lot more about what they need in terms of mental health.
LC (29:15):
Right. In mental health, in that aspect. I think that’s hugely important. But I also, I do give kudos to them because things, some things that I see people doing now I would never do. Cause I would’ve never had the guts to say, wait, I they’re, they’re asking for a day off because X, Y, Z you know, I think to a fault I would not have done that. Right. But yeah, you know, that, that decision, I think if it didn’t have the home factor of it also, it would’ve probably been a, a, I don’t know how it would’ve turned out. I think that definitely was a big piece of it. Because it ended up that that was just such a wonderful experience, you know, but it was definitely a growth,
LC (30:05):
I was people off, like to get to the place where I, I, like, I basically had to decide for myself, is it gonna feel better at the end? What I’m weighing this PO like potential on, is that possibly better than what I know I’m about to do by making a slew of people really mad and also about your business, about the reputation. I mean, that, that matters. And so I just think that that is really important to listen to, like, and I guess for people that are in a similar state, it’s like, is there something gnawing at you that you do realize is it’s a gut feeling or it’s just a feeling of taking a chance. Like sometimes also, I don’t know if you ever felt this way, Jay, but it’s like, I’m so grateful for my, for being so naive in certain circumstances early on and now, but like there are rooms I walked into sometimes and I’m like, just thank God that I didn’t take an extra moment
LC (31:10):
And like, I just feel like there’s so many ways that I sort of protected myself by just not realizing the gravity of something. I don’t know it’s at all.
AJV (31:21):
I think that, I think there’s a lot of weight in that. I remember we started our first business in a 2005. And for even listening at the peak of 2005 was really like, this is the heart of the recession. And here we are, these, you know, four naive, specifically three of us. I was 22 when we started our first venture, it was fresh outta college and was like, they can do it. I can do it type of mentality. And our ignorance, our naive to you was the number one thing that helped us move forward because we did not know what a good market looked like. This was just the market. This is just how you did business.
AJV (32:00):
It wasn’t until years later that we realized, oh, wow, that was like serious. But we were so dumb, young and naive that the gravity of the situation was so far over our head that we didn’t even understand it to our benefit, to our benefit. So OK. You brought up two things and I know I’m watching the clock be sensitive to your time, but you brought up two things that I wanna touch on. And you mentioned reputation mm-hmm
AJV (32:52):
I’m just like, I wanna know, like, what do you think are keys to building, you know, this, you know, rock solid reputation where even in the midst of decisions like this, and you’re people off your reputation stands because people know that, you know, you do what you say you’re gonna do, and you do it with kindness, but you do it with confidence and clarity.
LC (33:13):
Thank you. I think that you know, using that, that decision as an example, I didn’t have much other than being apologetic and explaining myself truth and honesty for the people that I was saying, Hey, there’s been a change. Here’s what I’m going to do. Right. I had to take it. I just had to suck it up and take what they said. And, you know, I knew that there was a great chance that they meant it when they actually said we would never hire you again.
LC (33:45):
I mean, that was true. Right. That’s what, what, and I, I understood, but I had sort of braced myself and I felt that like, I felt very badly about it. It wasn’t at all. Like, I felt like, well, here I go. I’m okay. It’s it like, that really kind of sucked. But like I said, I had already made up my mind that I’m going to, I’m going to push for this and I just have to be ready for what comes and then go. I think once I took that step and went to the station in Washington, it was all about me just feeling like I really had to start from the ground up in terms of everything that I was soaking in, everything I was being taught, the role I was gonna do, you know, I had confidence that I knew at that point then, like I was getting better at being on air because that’s a whole different thing.
LC (34:29):
Like when you’re in your first on air jobs, the first time I went live on TV, they turned on the red light and I like, nothing came out. You know what I mean? Like I was in a Christmas tree farm and I’m like, oh, this is, this is when I talk
LC (35:11):
Like I am going to teach you basically like my ways. You’re going to understand why, what we do, where we work is super successful. And like, and so, and I loved that and I was ready to soak that up. So I kind of went into that and was like, just, I wanna be a student. I wanna learn, you know, not like, I didn’t know anything, but I definitely had that kind of approach. So I think being open to those new experiences and again, just being a good person, but also, you know, in the nature of what my business is, a lot of businesses is it’s, you almost become like a family with the people that you’re working with. And that’s really important and truly like caring about those people matter. So that was something I definitely had mistakes. I mean, there was one time I remember I had voiced a story that I did on a baseball player, one of the Washington nationals players.
LC (36:08):
And I tracked my voice, which means that I laid my voice down over the story that people are gonna watch on TV. And I did it. And George was probably out doing like the five o’clock news while I was recording or something, five o’clock sports. And he heard what I had put down on tape. And I was halfway home to my parents’ house going to have dinner. Cause they had invited me to dinner this one night and he called and he was like, Zac, this is garbage. Get back here. So I had to turn my little Honda civic around and go back and track it. Like, I don’t think I ever made it to my parents’ house for dinner that night. But the reputation that was, that was how I had, I sort of had a new opportunity right away to build it, but it mattered how I performed.
LC (36:50):
And also it mattered because of the caliber of people that George Michael was like his group of people in the market and the people that were his sources, they were the coaches of the teams, the general managers. And so I had to really listen and learn how to carry myself and the way that was sort of to his professional standards, which is, was a great standard. Right. Wow. But so that, that was the immediate and I think long term after that is when I went to ESPN and from then on, it’s sort of like a different set of just different experiences and lessons that I’ve learned, but they all circle around that same thing. It all comes back to the way you treat people. I do think the competition grows. I had never seen competition. Like I saw at ESPN when I got there and for a large part of it was because also I wasn’t used to working in sports with other women so much, like you’re, you’re always working around other women who are at other stations and that’s awesome cuz you’re like, you become this like group of women that you see each other at a basketball game.
LC (37:55):
And you’re like, oh, Hey, you know, channel four, channel nine, channel seven. But at ESPN it was the first time that everyone has a role. And there are like so many people left over that also want those roles. And it’s like, EV you know, it was a great experience in terms of like the people I worked with and I loved the work. I loved the work. But like everyone found out what their schedule was through the same computer system. And you had to go at the same time and look, so there’s a level of competition that doesn’t exist other places because it’s this constant, okay. What, what am I on? What am I doing?
LC (38:33):
What is you know, so it was just a different beast. So I don’t know, but that, but definitely something that shaped. Yeah.
AJV (38:42):
Well, I’d say the thing that I wrote down, the thing that I captured that I think is really applicable universally is really coming with a student’s heart.
AJV (38:52):
Right. I think that learning mindset of, yeah. Yeah. I, it’s not that you don’t know anything, but you also realize you don’t know everything. I think that’s a really big deal of staying humble and going, like, no matter where I go, there’s more to learn. And I just, you know, I just think about like, even when, where, you know, recruiting new team members, it’s like, you know, it’s not only is it a core value, but it’s like personal growth is a requirement here. And it’s like for the person who thinks there’s nothing left to learn, it’s like, well then there’s just nothing left for you to learn here. So, but it’s like the moment that we have that mindset of I’ve got it all figured out is the moment where it’s like, that’s a slippery slope. So just even staying in this, like what can I learn from this situation?
AJV (39:36):
What can I learn from this person? What can I learn from this job? I think is really important for us all to go. There’s always going to be something else to learn no matter what it is, like every stage of life. And so, okay. So here’s the other question I have for you. And I wrote this down because I think this is a huge thing that everyone struggles with. And we live in this world of video. Like video is everywhere. It’s in emails, it’s on social it’s it’s, every algorithm is waited to video. And there’s simultaneously this huge fear of being on video. And, you know, it’s like to what you said, it’s like that red light goes on and all of a sudden, all of your personality goes out the door. It’s like, who are you? And where did you go?
AJV (40:20):
Right. I am, what are some best practices? Like what should people learn to do to be better on video? Like what should people be doing other than clearly doing it, but how do you, how do you actually get better? How do you be yourself on camera?
LC (40:37):
Well, okay. I’ve got one piece of advice that I, I learned when I was at CNN. I think it was the anchor, Darren Kagan. I remember where I was sitting when she told me this trick of the trade and I wasn’t even on camera then, but I was just picking her brain, like, what are you? You know, what, what are things to learn? And and I really do think that this applies to anybody who’s, you don’t have to be a reporter. You can be doing videos or whatever it is, but her thing, this did apply to a live shot.
AJV (41:05):
Okay. So in news, if I was doing a report taking you back to like the Christmas tree farm, right? Never memorize everything you wanna say like that. So here here’s what, and I still do this. Right? Cause it just made so much sense. She said, take what you’re trying to say. Okay. So we can say for our purposes, AJ, that it’s like a report that I’m trying to give, or maybe I’m trying to just shoot a video at my house of like how I cook orzo pasta salad with my kids. Right. Or think about what the three and just because rule of threes is pretty great for everything, but like think of three things that you’re trying to say, three things that are like the nuggets. I also just had a conversation with a girlfriend of mine where we were talking about simple something similar, cuz she’s launching a book and she was saying, I’m having a hard time talking or I wanna know better ways to talk when people are asking me about like the real nuggets, I’ve got so many I wanna pull from, but I get lost with the traffic of just trying to talk straight.
LC (42:03):
And I said, think of them like peppermint pets. That’s my favorite candy. Okay. So think of it. Like the things that you’re most excited to share are the little minty center. Okay. And you’re putting this chocolate coating on the outside of them. So what you’re doing is you’re picking three things like today, I’m doing a video about why goldfish cheddar are my favorite things on the planet. Okay. So the first thing I wanna talk about is the bag, because it’s so easy to open. The second thing I wanna talk about is the art on the front because I love art and anyone that is an artist should want these. And the third thing is the fact that it’s like a cheddar burst, right? Like in your mouth. So those are the three things that I would have in my mind. Highlighted. Maybe you take a post-it and you just write those three words on your post-it and the words only are bag to open, you know artwork and then cheddar pop.
LC (42:54):
Okay. So you are never memorizing the words that you’ve written out in sentences, but what you’re memorizing are the, like the points it’s like the passion points of what you wanna talk about because all like this day and age too, people really just wanna see people who are real and whether you’re doing a news report or you’re talking about a sports, you know, some competition that’s a little different because you’ve gotta follow, you’ve gotta get certain things out like the Xs and O’s or the, the details of whatever event you’re covering. But if you’re giving just a video or you’re talking to people or you’re doing a seminar, that is a really great way, I think, to build a strategy for just being conversational. And even if you struggle with being conversational, once a light goes on, you’re going to be 10 times more conversational, truly just sharing with me why you’re excited about opening this bag versus the bag on the top is very easy to open because there’s no way you’re gonna remember all those words.
LC (43:49):
So I, and I learned that too, the hard way after that my friend shared that advice. There were times I would go on the field and I would like write out my whole script of what I wanted to say, but I’ve had it happen definitely more than like 10 times where if you misspeak or you like skip a word, then you forget all the rest of it. So it’s sort of like a protection for that too. And I think the more conversational, the better, that was a really well, I love that. I love that of just like you should be able to fit your entire video script on a post-it note. Right. Because you should know the content so well that you’re just, and that also that exercise helps you speak it from what you know, and that in itself is being your most authentic about what you’re talking about.
LC (44:36):
And some stuff don’t get me wrong. Like if you’re doing a news report and you’re talking about an oil spill accident, right. You can’t, you’re not gonna go. Yeah. Right. But you can still do that. And then, I mean, to get like in the weeds with the newsy side of it, those facts that you do have written down are things that if you’re looking down on your paper, that’s okay. Just like any videos you’re doing. If there are times where you look down, because you’re trying to get stats out about someone you’re interviewing, that’s fine. Like you don’t have to memorize all the other stuff. You know,
AJV (45:06):
I love that. It’s like the more conversational, the more authentic, the more relatable it’s gonna be, but honestly the less pressure that you put on yourself. Yeah. And the more like I do think one of the things that I did when you mentioned at the beginning of this, how I made a note of this, because when you mentioned the Gracie award, that that to me was like such, just like an awesome unexpected honor, because first of all, that was like Gracie.
LC (45:37):
The awards are for it’s women who do things that are like influential news or otherwise, whatever. And I remember when a colleague of mine, when I was at ESPN won one of those awards and I was like, oh my God, that is the coolest thing. And I don’t even know, like, I forget what hers was for, but this was, that was for a conversation I had with my mother-in-law on Instagram. Okay. So it was when George Floyd happened and I felt really helpless and my husband’s African American, I felt like I, I didn’t know what I could do to like, just anything to make an impact. And I just wanted to be able to do something. And my mother-in-law has so many great stories and so many really important lessons and things to learn from. And so we were talking and I said, Hey, would you, how would you feel about doing a conversation about race with me?
LC (46:31):
And she was really open to it and we did it and it was shocking. I didn’t like, I never expected that that would happen, but it was so shocking the engagement of it, because I think people that were watching were like, whoa, I’m asking like really dumb questions. So I felt like I should really know the answer to, and I should have paid attention to a long time ago, but her answers were just, some of them were jaw dropping. So anyway, that led to them asking us to do a radio hour on that conversation. And I, she joined me, my mom joined me. I had a psychiatrist join us. And another friend of mine, who’s an author. Who’s anyway, who’s biracial. It was, but that, so that meant so much to me because that was something that was completely just super out of response to something that had happened.
LC (47:16):
And we weren’t trying to get engagement. I was just like, how can I have a conversation? So I think there’s a lot of that to be had now. And so I think like what we’re just talking about with practices of on video, anyone can do that kind of thing, you know? Right. That proved that to me because I was like, wait a minute, if we’re sitting here, someone’s saying that that was impactful to do that. Like, wow, look at the power of social media, you know?
AJV (47:42):
Wow. And let’s look at the power of real life conversation. Yeah, yeah. Is scripted. This is not planned out. There’s not high video production. We don’t have a film crew with graphics and bumpers and overlays and all this fluff that people get overly consumed with. And it’s like, no, have a real conversation about real questions and real struggles that real people are going through.
AJV (48:11):
And it’s amazing that that’s, that is what would take off and get so much engagement and get you to the place that people recognizing this. And it’s like, I mean, don’t, you sometimes think it’s like, think about how much you’ve done in a really planned formal professional setting versus the things that you do that are just from a place of deep desire of like, I just wanna do something. I just, I wanna help. I don’t, I don’t wanna sit in the background. I feel called to this and do that is what goes, quote, unquote viral. That’s what people want. It’s you said the word it’s like, I truly, the word relatable, I think is everything I really do. I mean, I’ve, I feel that way in sports. I think it’s what, it’s what creates fans around a team or a player, because there’s something that jogs, you know, that makes them feel like, oh, that person has something that’s speaking to me, but I think you’re exactly right.
LC (49:12):
It’s like the the calling feeling a calling to do it and then just taking the step to do it. And, and you know, what else, I guess, in a way it’s like using your, all you had to do to do it is using your God given ability. Right. Or like the ability that you’ve honed a bit or whatever. But I just, yeah, like, so that was really, that was a very eye opening thing for me, because I was like, here I am like, I, 10 years ago I saw that happen. I, and I actually was like, oh, I wish I could do that someday. And like earn one of those award. Like that was so weird that that would be what it is. So there, there is a definite lesson in that I think there’s immense power and you know, for us and anyone who’s listening of going like at the end of the day.
AJV (50:01):
And it’s like, we can hear it a hundred different ways. And I love hearing this perspective and this angle from you today. And at the same time, it’s like, we hear it all the time. It’s like be you right. The more relatable, the more personal will, the more authentic you are, the more people will love you or not, but that’s okay. That’s not your audience. Yeah. But like when we try to be somebody else or try to be what somebody else tells us to be, it is never gonna work in our favor. It’s like, cuz you’re not, you’re not being you like that to me is like, we just can’t hear that enough because there’s such a fear of, wow, I don’t wanna offend anybody or don’t wanna ruffle any feathers or what if I look dumb? What if I sound dumb? You know? And we don’t do it.
LC (50:51):
Yeah. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. I agree.
AJV (50:56):
I think that’s so, so good. Okay. All right. I have two quick, rapid fire questions for you. Yeah. This is such a great interview. Thank you so much. Like I love as we talk for another hour and I would be like, I know I have five more questions. I have five more questions, but I really, I’m only gonna give you two. I wrote this down in the very beginning. And this is just to help our audience get to know you. And one of my main things is I care much more about who you are than what you’ve done. And so I’m just so curious when you were this little kid sitting in front of MTV going, this is the dream. Like what was your favorite music video? So what’s your favorite music video of all time?
LC (51:32):
Oh my gosh. Okay. Well, so all time I would have this, this is like a measurement of a swath of time. It was the cars you might think foolish, you know, that song. Yeah. The cars because that was that symbolized. What MTV could do. They were flying the fly. Remember the Rick, what, what’s his last name? The lead singer of the cars. His face was on the fly. Do you remember that video? It was sort of video. Yeah, it was kind of like animated. There was that one and then there was the 99 red balloons, but this song that it was like, every time it came on, I was like, yes, it was sister Christian. Do you remember that song? I can’t remember that song, Christian. Oh, the time has come. And then also white snake here I go again on my own. That’s awesome. So yeah, so good. Like that’s what hooked me, but I mean, you know, as the decades went on and I continued to watch videos, I had plenty of other examples, but those were like my beginning ones that I was like, this, this is awesome. I love that. That’s so funny.
AJV (52:42):
Last question. What do you want people to know about you that no one ever asks you? Oh, that’s a really hard one. That is a hard one. Other than you love goldfish. What’d you say the gold that you love goldfish.
LC (53:01):
Maybe that I think everything in life relates back to fishing and I love fishing. Fishing is one of my favorite things to do. And it’s I think it’s because growing up, especially when I was a kid, we would always go surf fishing at the beach when my family would go to the beach in the summer. And it was something that I would get up and do with my dad. He would wake me up and I’d always be like, oh, because it was like 5 45, cuz it’d go really early. But I loved it so much and that I definitely am like a morning person and I love that time when no one’s awake. And if you’re out in nature, like if you are at the beach and you’re fishing, that’s great. I also feel the same kind of way when I’m in a race track and it’s early morning, there’s just something really special about the way that a garage or even like a barn, if it’s horse racing, like the seeing things come to life.
LC (54:01):
So I think that’s something I really just love that I love fishing and I love the act of when you feel like you have something on the line, there’s not much more, you know, in life like that. I think that’s a really relatable thing. Like you’re feeling the tug of catching something. And maybe that’s why I was a reporter and I got adrenaline junkie by like the boob every two years. You’re like catching a new fish. I don’t know. But but I really, really, really love that. I love it. Well, this is like the beginning of like this future life of you being like the spokesperson for like bass pro shop or something. Well, you know, I have thought like there have been a lot of fishing shows out there, but I have thought maybe there’s a type of fishing show that people haven’t seen that you know, maybe that’s in my future. I don’t know. That’s never, never, that’s probably not like the pro angler, but I do really enjoy just especially when you’ve got a good old fashioned Bober and you watch that thing go under the water. That’s pretty satisfying. That’s awesome.
AJV (55:07):
These, this is so much fun. Thank you. So for coming on and if people wanna learn more about you and if they wanna connect with you or follow you on social media, like where should they go?
LC (55:17):
I think the best place is my Instagram is Lindsay CZI, so I don’t, it’s not Zac full it’s Lindsay CZI. And that’s probably a great place to start. And so I just, I do I do a joke of the day that I started during quarantine with my kids. So if anybody has any jokes, suggestions, I’m all at ears also because we’re still keeping that going.
AJV (55:38):
So, oh, we got silly dad jokes for days over here. I’m gonna yay. Y’all, I’ll put all of these details in the show notes. I’ll put all of Lindsay’s handles in there. Go follow her, give her some good jokes. And Lindsay, thank you so much for being here. Love this so much. Wait again, me too. You’re the best. Thank you. So stay tuned for the episode and we’ll next time on the influential personal brand.
Ep 279: Building an Empire with Life Changing Content with Cary Jack | Recap Episode
AJV (00:03):
This is AJ Vaden. Your co-host of the influential personal brand. Welcome to the recap episode on the conversation that I had with a dear friend and just the ha the happiest hustler. I know Cary Jack such a good conversation and I would highly E you, if you were struggling with content or trying to figure out how to take that first step, or even trying to figure out, like, how do I curate my business with content? Like, this is the episode for you. So highly recommend it. Go listen to it. If you only have a few minutes today, that’s why we do these recap episodes. So here are a couple of my key takeaways from my conversation with Cary Jack. And this is the, the biggest one single handedly is that you only need one set of life changing content to build your business.
AJV (00:57):
I think there is a huge misconception that you need all these different sets of content and all these different topics, and you need a variety keynotes, and you need multiple courses, and it’s like, you can, but you don’t have to, you can build a multi-layered business off of one set of content. If you just focus on provide, providing very good content in real value, something that will actually help someone else it’s like, you can turn into a course, make it a podcast, make it a webinar, make it a membership, make it a coaching program, make it consulting make it a retreat, right? It’s like, turn it into a live event. Like you can do so much with one very good set of content, and you don’t need to change your content all the time, create content that is evergreen and universal. I, I liken it to Roy Aden’s first book take the stairs and it’s like, take the stairs sell pretty much as well.
AJV (01:55):
Today, 10 years later, as it did at the end of year one, it’s like that content hasn’t changed. It’s evergreen content. It is this great ever remind component that we have problems doing things that we don’t wanna do. And there is a discipline that is required in a mindset shift that is required that doesn’t get old, but that content is in a a membership called the focus 40. It was a course, a book it’s a keynote. Just, just a great reminder that you don’t need tons of sets of curriculum. You don’t need all these different content sets. You can do that, but you can also build at a very amazing business off of one core set of content, right? That one life changing set of content could be the, for growing your entire business. So I think that was really big.
AJV (02:51):
I think that’s very significant. The second most important thing is that, how do you decide what kind of business model that you would have if you have a content based company? Right. This is not the conversation for someone who is not a content based company, but if you are a content based entity, right. Then how do you know if it should be in a course or a membership or coaching program or a mastermind or retreats or live events or a book, or should it be, you know, what should it be, right? It’s like, there’s a lot of different options there. And I probably didn’t mention 10. So how do you choose? And I loved what he said when I asked him that question. He goes, look at who your audience is and think about how they would consume it. Start there. So simple but yet so significant, so important.
AJV (03:46):
It’s just stop looking around and look at the audience that you’re trying to serve, that you’re trying to help and go, how do they need this? How would they want this? And if you’re not entirely sure ask them, right, you have this idea persona, this like ideal avatar of who is the person that you’re trying to serve. You know, someone like this, right? Maybe they’re a personal friend or a family member go and ask them. It’s like, Hey, if I was gonna do this and like, really go after this and grow scale, or start this business based on this content, how would you want to get it? And then, then think about the different layers of that person. Like maybe what they would want in the very beginning is free content on a blog, or maybe they’d want it in a podcast. Then it’s like, well, maybe they’d want more consistent.
AJV (04:32):
So maybe it’s like a low level membership, or maybe it’s a course, or maybe they want one-on-one help. And you just gotta like, have these conversations, but completely centered on who, who is the person this is designed for, who is the person, this, this content is supposed to help and lean in there so wise loved it so much. And then the last thing, and it’s the very last thing that we talked about on the podcast. If you’re listen to it, don’t it to the very, very end to get this. But I loved it. And I just said like, what’s one life lesson. That’s had the most significant impact on your life as a entrepreneur business builder, just as a, an individual. And he said the book, the compound effect by Darren Hardy and specifically in that is the importance of doing the small things consistently, right?
AJV (05:24):
It’s, it’s doing those small things in a very consistent manner that, that snowball into bigger things. And so it’s just asking yourself, like, what are the, the small things that you can start to do right now that if you did them consistently could change your life. Most of us do not have these large grandiose huge things that we need to change in our life in order to feel extraordinary impact for most of us. And I do mean most of us, they, they are the little things like maybe you need to stop working an hour earlier every day. Maybe you need to start an hour later, right? Maybe you need to Institute a date night with your spouse or your partner. Maybe you need to start picking your kids up from school or taking ’em, or it’s doing a phone detox, a technology detox every Sunday.
AJV (06:11):
Like that one actually would be a really big one for me, but it’s like, what are those things that if started doing in a really consistent manner that are small in theory, that could be life changing if you actually did them. And then how do you do those in a very consistent manner? So that you feel the, the benefit and the impact of those small changes. So good. Y’all love this conversation. Love Cary Jack. His book just came out the happy hustle. He’s got an awesome podcast. I mentioned this in the podcast, but if you go to the happy hustle book.com, if you actually get the book, read it and DM Cary Jack online, he will give you 20 minutes free coaching. There is no sell at the end. It is just what did you it from the book and how can I help you on your happy hustle journey? I would highly encourage you to take up, take him up on it. So good. Go listen episode, go check out Jack. And we will you next time on the influential personal.
Ep 278: Building an Empire with Life Changing Content with Cary Jack
AJV (00:02):
Hey everybody. And welcome to another episode on the influential personal brand podcast. This is AJ Vaden. Here I am. One of your co-hosts as well as the CEO and one of the co-founders of brand builders group, along with my partner in crime, Rory Vaden, who is not here with me today, this is my solo episode, but my good friend, Cary Jack, whom I’m so excited to have on the show. And I know Cary personally, I got to be on his podcast a few months ago, which was probably one of the funnest podcasts that I’ve ever been on. And so total shout out to the happy hustle podcast. You should definitely go check it out. It was so fun and I love all the things that you do with that. But before we get started and I turn it over to Cary and help you guys learn a little bit about Cary, I do have a professional bio, but I will read because undoubtedly, I will forget some of these really awesome accolades, but I think are also fascinating about Cary.
AJV (00:58):
So, all right, I’m gonna give you kind of like what to me sticks out that you should really know listening to this, why you should stick around and why this is a really important episode for you. So Cary Jack is a lifestyle entrepreneur. He’s an author, he’s a podcast host. He’s also a professional actor and model. He’s a biohacker eco warrior, martial artist, humanitarian. I mean, it’s like, what aren’t you do? So there’s so many things going up, but when I say like he is doing really extraordinary things, he’s also worked with extraordinary brands. I mean, I’m talking about like he’s represented international brands like Burberry EZ top man, Corona Marriott Royal Caribbean Cadillac, Vogue home Depot, like the list goes on and on and on. So with all of that said, we literally could talk about just interesting things for the next 40 minutes, but in an effort to keep this call very focused, we’re gonna talk about some really unique things that I think are gonna help our listeners. So Cary, welcome. I’m doing the show,
CJ (02:05):
AJ, thank you so much for having me. It’s an honor to be here and yep. We definitely could go down many rabbit holes, but I’m all about adding value to the audience and ID. I have, you know, a really great insight to building and growing and izing your personal brand. And I really am excited to share. So some of the wisdom that I’ve acquired and the mistakes that I’ve learned from along the journey,
AJV (02:28):
Oh my gosh, this is gonna be such a great episode one, because I know your background and I know your story. And I’ve seen so much of it firsthand over the last few years, but also just because you’re so humble and you’re just such a, a joyful human being. I’m so excited for this. So all right. So I know a ton about you, our listeners do not so help everyone kinda get to know, like, how did you get to where you are? And then tell us a little bit about where are you, right? Like what are you doing? And how’d you get there?
CJ (02:59):
Oh yeah. So I grew up half in Sarasota, Florida surfing the beaches and you know, enjoying that, that Florida lifestyle and then half in the mountains of red lodge, Montana camp and fishing, hunting, hiking. And, you know, that’s where I first realized the importance of balance, you know, both balance with my environment, but also just balance, you know, professionally and personally, my, my childhood, wasn’t the easiest. Everyone has a story, but you know, I, I actually was dropped on my head as a child. I don’t even know if you know that AJ, but I had a very severe stutter. I couldn’t speak I was very angry. I a very angry kid because I couldn’t articulate myself. And my mom actually cured me with chiropractic and she would adjust my cranial SAC bones and I can speak okay now. And I, but due to that, I, I was very angry. I went to many years of anger management, which is odd because I run a company called the happy hustle now. And
AJV (04:00):
You’re so joyful. I said that,
CJ (04:04):
Yeah, well, I wasn’t always and then I got into some trouble when I was young, you know, there was a gut wrenching divorce mixed in and, and mental and physical and emotional abuse. And I actually ended up moving 24 times before the age of 18. So I was on the move a lot got into some, some crime. I’ll, I’ll leave a lot of that out, but I ended up in jail that’s for a
AJV (04:27):
Happy hour conversation.
CJ (04:28):
Yeah. That’s for drinks. And and you know, one on one where I can’t incriminate myself, but I learned the hard way basically. And I’ve always been a, a hustler I’ll say, but I ever, I, wasn’t always a happy hustler. You know, always been an entrepreneur at heart. Fast forward, you know, I changed my ways. I operate now with a hundred percent integrity and I really, you know, like I just completely did a 180 because I saw that path and where I was headed and I just didn’t want to go that direction. And I actually launched a company in New York city with my brother business partner in friend grant. And, you know, we were grinding AJ. I mean, we were working our, our tails off just a hundred plus hour weeks, you know, getting less than five hours of sleep and you know, all for what, for profit success, ego, you know, title.
CJ (05:15):
And I feel like a lot of people out there can resonate with, you know, grinding, but not necessarily for the right reasons. Yeah. You know, and, and I was no different. We had this big tech company that we were soliciting, these seven figure VC funding deals. And we actually ended up getting the seven figure VC funding deals. We inked partnerships with Microsoft and IBM. And we had everything for this like grandiose tech company that could have had a five year exit and multiple millions of dollars come with. And I just realized, right, when we were sitting down to sign the contract, that I couldn’t take the money, like my brother and I were just so unhappy, we were so burnt out and I just feel, now there’s an epidemic going on. Sure. There’s a pandemic, but there’s an epidemic and it’s this entrepreneurial burnout. Yeah.
CJ (06:00):
And I just made up my mission to solve that problem for myself. And I had to make a choice. I, I said no to the money, my brother and I folded the company in 18 months of hard work scrapped, you know, completely, I, I then moved to ANCO Thailand for 10 months and I just figured out a better way to work and live over there a, a way to truly be happy within the hustle. And that’s where the happy hustle was born. And that’s kind of where I’m at now is, you know, running this, this company that helps entrepreneurs mainly, but really anyone who’s struggling with balance imbalances. My one word, if you know, BBG, you know, your one word problem imbalance is the one word problem that I solve for people. And I do that in a multitude of ways, but that’s really kind of the journey in a nutshell.
AJV (06:48):
Wow. You know what I love so much about almost every single person who comes on this show and really anyone who has really ingrained themselves in the BG community is they all have done it over this like mission focused of, I wanted to make a difference for myself, for someone else. It’s like, it’s like money has always been the byproduct of it, not at the forefront. And I love that. It’s like I turned down the money because I wasn’t happy and I had to figure out a better way to live. And so I’m so curious what happened in Thailand? Like what did you discover in Thailand?
CJ (07:26):
Well, a lot of things happened in Thailand. You know, I traveled around a bunch went to all sorts of really cool places from Vietnam to Singapore, to Bali and everywhere in between. But what really had happened was I made my first dollars online, you know, and I was like, I rented this amazing penthouse apartment for like 400 us dollars, you know, and I was working from a laptop and I just realized that you don’t have to like sell your soul to make a living. You could actually make money and a difference, you know, if you get clear on who you wanna help. And so it kind of just came full circle when I was over there, like, okay, I want, I really want to enjoy my everyday, you know, journey. And I, I think what happens with a lot of people especially type a driven individuals is, you know, lack there of a better cliche. They get to the top of the mountain and they realize they’re the only one there. And they isolated everyone. And then they gotta go all the way back down and then climb a different mountain. And that’s kind of how it happened to me. And, you know, I just, when I was over there, I realized I can enjoy every single day. I can enjoy the journey, not just the destination, you know, as a happy hustle life that I actually love.
AJV (08:44):
Ah, I love that. And I’ve been there too. I felt like I, I spent 10 years basically putting myself in this like tiny little corner where I missed every wedding, every birthday party, every baby shower, all in the sake of revenue and profit ambition. And I’ve been there. I know that feeling. And so, okay. So you kinda like figured out, like, this is my life cannot be about money. If there there’s gotta be this balance here, I have to figure this out. You go to Thailand, you travel around, you start money online, right? Yep. So walk us through that for everyone’s listening, because we have a ton of people who listen that they are in the grind and they’ve got a full time, you know, corporate job and maybe they plan on leaving, maybe they don’t, but how did it all start? Like what did you start doing online? How did you generate that first dollar? Like what did that look like?
CJ (09:35):
Yeah. Well, for me, you know, I kind of evolved my, my brand and my messaging, which I think a lot of people out there will end up doing as well. You know, what you start as, will not be what you finish as, or even in the middle where you end up it’s, it’s honestly getting clear on like who you want to help first and foremost, and what problem you actually wanna help them solve? Just like, you know, the brand builders group, like core three questions is what’s the one word problem that you wanna solve for people who do you wanna solve it for exactly. Right. Customer, demographics and psychographics. And then what’s your uniqueness. And like, although I didn’t do it that specific, you know, with that specific terminology, although I am a BG client, as well as a BG evangelist, you know, I’m going back to Thailand. I wasn’t in that mindset. I just said, you know what? I can help these people just through a webinar. I just sold a webinar. And I just started, you know, open with like accountability and mindset. And it was just really like basic stuff, you know, but I, I just, it was, and it was a very low price point, but it, it gave me social proof that, wow, I can, I can do this. I
AJV (10:53):
Can do this. So for anyone out there, who’s going, would anyone actually want what I have to say? Would anyone sign up? Would anyone pay for this? Like, what would you tell for that person who just is hesitant to take that first step of saying, I’m gonna do a webinar, I’m gonna do it for free. I’m gonna charge for it. I’m just gonna start. Like, what would you say to them?
CJ (11:15):
I would say 100%. Don’t let the fear hold you back. You know, we all have that, that little voice inside our head. We all have the self-limiting beliefs and the compare and despair, who am I to share this message, you know, X so and so is so much more qualified. And as soon as you he R’s advice, which I love, you know, when the mission to serve is clear, there is no fear. And so I think if you can just get out of your own head and start to focus on service and realize that you have a message, you have a gift and the world needs it. Then you, you can push past that fear and, and really just start and, and that, and you nailed it, AJ. That’s what it is. It started like you have to take action and, and just start.
AJV (12:00):
Hmm. That’s so good. I’ve never actually heard it. Say I’ve never heard anyone say it that way. Compare and despair because that’s what happens when you compare, you immediately like self isolate and go, well, I can’t do this, this person’s already doing this. It’s like, the more that you compare, it’s like that fear just like takes over and tells you no, you can’t.
CJ (12:19):
Yep. Yep.
AJV (12:20):
That’s so good. I love that. Right. So that’s amazing. So clearly you don’t live in Thailand anymore. You’re back in the states. You’re in good. All of Montana. So tell us a little bit about like, what are you doing right now? Because you just recently had a major accomplishment with your first book. Right? I already talked about your podcast. So how did you go from, I think I’m gonna do this one thing online to now you’re a published author. You’re a speaker. You’re got this amazing podcast. Like, how did that happen?
CJ (12:54):
Yeah. Well, I do have to give credit to BBG. I, I went to finding your brand DNA and that was the catalyst. Like, it’s always easier to reverse engineer, you know, the process looking backwards and say, oh, that’s what the step was. And then the next step. Yeah. But truly when I look at my journey, you know, I was thrown to spaghetti on the walls for like the three years, you know, I was like, oh, I can help this person. And I can help this person. Oh, you need help. And fitness coaching, oh, you need business or entrepreneur, you know, and I wasn’t clear. And you know, when you try to be everything to everyone, you actually become nothing to know one. And so you have to get clear. And, and when I went to the finding your brand DNA event in Nashville, you and R you know, this was like, this was like, oh, G B B G, just when it started, it was like
AJV (13:37):
Very in the earlys.
CJ (13:38):
Yes, it was. And, and that, you know, that event really helped me crystallize my message. And it just helped me clarify the, the vision. And I’ve always been big into goal setting. However, when you actually go through and get someone like AJ or Rory, or the BBG personal brand strategist to help give you perspective, you know, sometimes we don’t know what we don’t know. And that is really what happened. It gave me perspective. It helped me identify, who’s my perfect target, avatar. Who, where do they hang out? You know, how do I reach them? What problem am I actually gonna solve for them? And I actually gonna solve a forum so fast forward, you know, I’ve, I’ve run high level masterminds for my perfect avatar of, you know, imbalanced entrepreneurs. I’ve I’ve done, you know, all sorts of online courses. I’ve done books and, and speaking and events right now, what I’m focused on is my podcast, which, you know, that’s been a great tool to build the know like, and trust with my tribe.
CJ (14:42):
Yeah. However, it’s also a great tool to network. And I know you and Roy talk about the power of networking through a podcast. I, so I essentially use my podcast to add as much value as possible. And then I have my free plus shipping book funnel, which my book acts as a lead magnet. And then it transitions into my online course. And I have this blisful bouncer whiteboard, fridge magnet that then par lays into a reoccurring membership model. And then I have a high level, a mastermind, epic camping adventure, where I actually take high level entrepreneurs into the back country, Montana wilderness for five days. And we, we camp out we hike in about 10 miles and we bring in a primitive survival expert, a fly fishing expert. You know, we have a back country chef and we have a business mastermind in the wilderness, completely connected.
AJV (15:30):
I’m gonna right here. Cuz I think this is really significant to anyone who is out there trying to build their personal brand, trying to monetize it. I’m just realizing it’s like, you really have one set of curriculum, but with that you have a podcast, you have a course, you have a book, you have a lead magnet. You have speaking, you have this membership program, you have this high level mastermind, but it’s all centered around one set of curriculum. And I think that’s a really significant thing of going. You don’t have to have tons and tons of tons of content. You need one set of life changing content that actually makes a difference. And then you just create it in a variety of, to meet people where they are.
CJ (16:15):
You nailed it. So how did,
AJV (16:16):
How did you determine which formats were best for you and your audience? Cause I think that’s a really important thing is people are trying to figure out with so many things that I could do. How do I know what I should do?
CJ (16:29):
Yeah. Well again, just echoing your point. You’ve really want to get crystal clear on your framework, your content, how you solve the problem. You should know who you solve the problem for, but how you solve. The problem is going to determine where you are going to solve the problem in terms of medium, right? Someone potentially who listens to my podcast, maybe isn’t ready to invest in the Montana mastermind, camping adventure. So I need to meet them where they’re at with free content, a free lead magnet, you know, all sorts of valuable things that build that no like, and trust. Then when they’re ready, I can nurture them to potentially joining my online course. You know, that’s a scalable offer that can really add a ton of value, but further nurture that relationship. Then when they’re ready for more, then they could, you know, ascend themselves or through my marketing to an online membership model. And I just think anyone out there listening, who’s struggling, you know, in, in terms of where to start, you have to think who is your perfect avatar? Like, you know, if you’re, if you’re working with busy entre who are, you know, maybe 40 to 50 years of, of age, well, they’re probably not gonna be on TikTok. Okay. They’re probably gonna be on LinkedIn. Right. Maybe they’ll be on TikTok. I feel like who knows these days? Who knows?
CJ (17:50):
I don’t, I don’t know. My team handles all that. I, I, I just can’t do the dancing as I love dancing, but that’s with my fiance and at the, you know, at the dance hall anyway, the point is, you gotta think about like, they’re not gonna think of where your avatar is and then serve them there where they’re already at. Like again, like BBG does these high level strategy days, you know, some people aren’t like, aren’t going to sit in front of a course. They’re just not gonna watch a video on their laptop on a Saturday. They, they want one on one hand holding, you know? So you have to think about where your perfect avatar is. And then where is going to be best to connect with them, to be relatable for them to share your story and your, your process and your message so that you can make a positive impact in their life.
AJV (18:37):
Oh man, I’ll tell you what I took away from that, that I think is so significant is stop looking around at what everyone else is doing and look directly at the people you need to serve, that you are meant to serve and go, what do they need need? How can they consume this? Yep. And stop trying to do the next trendy thing just because someone else is doing it, they may not have your audience. So focus on your audience, focus on the person that you’re trying to serve and build it for them.
CJ (19:05):
Yep. And into that,
AJV (19:07):
I love that. That’s so good. Now, speaking of this curriculum one of the things that I, I do wanna talk about, cause we mentioned this earlier is you don’t need five different sets of curriculum or all this content and five different keynotes. Like that’s not necessary to build an empire worthy business. You need one life changing set of content. So let’s talk about content from in it because yours is really good. And it’s, it’s really awesome. And I just want two things out of this kind of like last piece of our conversation. I know we’re almost out of time. So I think the first thing is how did you come up with this content? Like how did you actually go, this is a book, right? This needs to be in a book and in a course, and here’s what I’m gonna do. And then two, what is it like give us some of the fruits of all of your labor.
CJ (19:59):
Yes. Well, again, it starts by just, it started for me at least by scratching my own it, you know, I was outta balance. I needed to get back to flow in, in a, in alignment, you know? And so I just broke my life into these 10 different areas. I’m now calling them 10 alignments. And this was basically, you know, me just determining how I can get back to this state of blissful balance. And for me, I broke it down into an acronym. It didn’t start as an acronym. Obviously it evolves, you know, we
AJV (20:29):
Love an acronym, Cary.
CJ (20:30):
I know you love an acronym. Yep. And that’s really, you know, one of the things that I realized is acronyms and frameworks for everyone listening are so imperative because people have a lot going on. And if they can’t remember your content, well, chances are, it’s not going to positively impact their life. You know? So you have to think through this and you wanna make it so easy to consume and so easy to implement, but not necessarily, you know, repetitive, you don’t wanna like be a copycat. So for me, my framework’s not rocket science. I’ll be the first one to tell you, it’s not rocket science. It’s just, I broke my life down to these 10 different areas. It’s called the soul mapping, you know, framework it, it’s essentially your soul’s mapped to the blissfully bounce promise land. And you know, AJ, I’ll, I’ll run through this real quick for the audience, but I want everyone out there to actually quantify where they’re at in each of these 10 different areas, these 10 different alignments and AJ, if you wanna get put on the spot, I’ll if you’re feeling brave, I’ll ask you where you’re, where you’re at in these.
CJ (21:39):
But basically I want you to think about five is like an a you’re crushing it. You know, you’re, you’re really happy hustling in this alignment, like an F you’re failing. And as you know, what you measure you can manage. So it’s really important to measure yourself in each of these 10 alignments. And I do it every Sunday. I take my own medicine every Sunday and I look at where I am lacking in the week, you know, prior and where I need to prioritize change in the week ahead. And so it’s this cons ebb and flow of adjustments. Now S stands for selfless service. Are you living for yourself and your own personal gain or are you giving back to others, your, your expertise, your time, your money, think right now where you’re at in the last, just give yourself in the last seven days where you’re at in selfless service five as an a, as an F, write it down.
CJ (22:30):
Okay. And everyone out there listening, be an active participant here. I get the most outta podcasts like this. When I take action, I actually, you know, implement, but also do the work O stands for optimized health. Are you, you know, optimize mentally, physically, and emotionally or not so much, I are you, you know, shoving garbage down the, your pie hole at, you know, feeling sluggish and just not, you know, not nearly optimized and, and be honest with yourself. One to five, five’s an a, one’s an F you unplugged digitally. Are you constantly plugged in connected to your devices? Like looking at social media, watching Netflix and Amazon prime and all these other things that we’re inundated with, or are you being diligent and having barriers and using your tech, not letting it use you L loving relationships, are you, you know, having love in your life? I mean, what’s it all for, if you don’t have love in your life, right. AJ, I mean, you, you want to make sure that you’re connected with your personal relationships, your family, your friends, but also your lover, you know, making sure that that relationship doesn’t, you know, get sacrificed in the process of your Ascension. Right. So this is the sole part. Okay. In AJ, do you wanna run through yours for the so part real quick?
AJV (23:51):
Yeah. I have no shame in this. So and the Fs, I’m a four. I feel like I’m, I’m pretty good with that. On the O I’m a four to feel pretty good about that. Yeah. On the U I’m a one I fail. It’s a major, your F terrible I need help. And on the L I’ll give us a five, I got lots of love. I feel lots of love it’s all around so that I feel really good about.
CJ (24:14):
Yep, exactly. And that’s, and here’s the thing, guys, just give yourself grace, you know, right now this is just your baseline and you have to be honest with yourself, but you also wanna give yourself grace. Now we get to the map and part M stands for mindful spirituality, you know, are you connected to a higher power? Are you, you know, meditating and praying and, and, you know, practicing breath work, like, are you believing in something bigger than yourself, right. That’s, that’s an M rank five is an, a, one is an F a, a above financially, you know, are you living paycheck the paycheck, or are you doing what you want when you want with who you want? You know, are, are you abundant? And, you know, oftentimes many people think this is the most important alignment, but it’s not rank where you’re at. It is important, but it’s not the most important.
CJ (25:03):
They’re all equally important. First P personal development, are you growing every day? You know, learning and reading and, you know, listening to a podcast like this and watching inspiring and educational shows or not so much, you know, decide where you’re at in personal development. The second P which I find a lot of driven, you know, entrepreneurs and, and type a high performers lack is this one passion hobbies, you know, are you doing fun things for yourself? Are you like getting out there and actually enjoying things that you used to really enjoy? Maybe it’s a martial art or fly fishing or horseback lighting like me, or maybe it’s painting or singing or whatever it is for you rank where you’re at in passionate hobbies. And then you got eye impactful work, you know, are you getting up every day and really excited about what you’re doing infused in your passion, which is, you know, that, that inward calling on your heart strengths with your purpose, just that outward serving mission to make a positive impact, right?
CJ (26:11):
Like, what’s it all for, if you don’t make a positive impact, you know, so rank where you’re at, maybe you’re, maybe you’re not, you know, feeling very fulfilled by your work and that’s okay. But just, you know, recognizing it awareness is the first step to change rank where you’re at one to five in that alignment and then N nature connection. Are you actually connected to nature? Are you getting outside and, you know, tapping into Pacha mama, our beautiful planet and, oh, by the way, are you protecting it? You know, like this is where being a conscious consumer actually plays. Like, are you voting with your dollar and supporting B corporations? And I have a whole nother company with my brother and business partner and best friend, you know, called eco breakthroughs. And, and we’re fighting the plastic pollution epidemic. And we’re up to some very big things in this realm. And I’m really excited about this, but it’s so important now more than ever that we take care planet. So this all falls in nature connection. So, Hey, Jay, you should have your mapping scores. Let’s hear it.
AJV (27:10):
These are good. I love this. I love this kind of stuff too, because I think it’s so important to have that gut check. Yeah. And again, like back to what you said, what I love about this, and then I promise, I’ll tell you, my scores is that this came from knowing where you were out of a line. It’s like, if you know, you are, there’s a likelihood, someone else is too. So it’s solve the problem that you have, knowing that it’s simultaneously gonna solve problems for other people. And I love that. I think this is so clever on the M mindfulness. I gave it spirituality connection to God. Like I gave that a five. Like, that’s probably the strongest for me that, and love, I feel good about really a, I gave it a four, right. So pretty good. The first P I gave it a four feel pretty good about that. The second one I said at first I said, this was like the hobbies, right? Passions. Yes. I said one, but then I remembered not my goal for this year is half more fun. And then I was like, actually, I’ve been, I’ve been doing some new things. It’s like, went surfing.
CJ (28:09):
Oh
AJV (28:10):
Yeah, hiking. We’re in a little bike gang that my five year old has named whirlwinds where the whirlwinds we go biking. So I feel maybe I gave myself a two. And then on the eye of four, and then on the end a two.
CJ (28:25):
Mm, yes. Well, I will say you’re crushing it in many regards, but those ones, the unplugged digitally, you know, the nature connection and the passion of hobbies, you know, these are all very important areas of your life. If you want to achieve that blisful balance. And you know, right now, if you tally your scores up, everyone listening and, and you’re above a 37, congratulations, you’re happy hustling. If you’re a 36 or below, well, you got some work to do. And so this is again, a, a tool, a system and assessment will you, that I do every single week and the happy hustlers in my community do every single week be cuz balance. Isn’t this finite destination.
AJV (29:09):
You said 37 is a happy hustler. Yep. Oh, I fell short. I’m a 34. I got work to
CJ (29:15):
Do. Yep. You do. Hey,
AJV (29:17):
What I tell you about, for everyone listening to this too, like who doesn’t like to do stuff like this? It’s like, am I hustling, happy hustling? I don’t know. I need to take this quiz. So in things like this into your content, make it so engaging.
CJ (29:29):
Yes, exactly. Yeah. And it’s so important be that you do it regular because I’m gonna give ultimately one of the, the biggest, happy hustling principles that I could ever bestow upon the BBG community and anyone listening. And that is, you must give each area of your life equal importance, but focus on one at a time. Hmm that’s right. So you must give each area of your life equal importance, but focus on one at a time I’m on this podcast with AJ, I’m all here. Hundred, 10%. When I go on my date night with my lover later, I’m gonna be a hundred percent there. When I go to my martial arts karate class, I’m a hundred percent there. You know, it’s like people, I feel like where the, the disconnect is, is when they’re at work, they’re thinking about their family. And when they’re with their family, they’re thinking about work. And so we’re not doing anything to our a hundred percent capability or effectiveness. So it’s really important that you give of equal importance to each of these 10 different alignments, but you must focus on one at a time.
AJV (30:25):
Okay. So I have a question for you about that, because I think that’s that really plagues, most human beings is, you know, we’re at work, but we’re thinking about this problem at home, or we’re at home and we’re consumed with checking our emails. And so I’m curious, right? Just in your opinion, why, why, why are we such a distracted community right now? And it’s like, why can’t we put one thing down to focus on the thing right in front of us. And then two, any tips on how to do that? Better?
CJ (30:54):
Why one, I would say is because our human brains are not necessarily built to encounter thousands of notifications in one day or thousands of pieces of information. We were, you know, we were cave men and women, you know, for millennia. And here, we now have little smartphones that have more capabilities than, you know, like hundreds of thousands of years prior in our pocket. And so we’re just inundated constantly by these dopamine dumps. And we become addicted because the people who are designing them are, you know, these are that’s, their sole job is to help make sure that their product and services are addicting for you. So we’re, we’re outgunned, we’re outgunned as human beings. And so you have to create barriers, stance to, to parlay into the second part of this question. You have to create barriers. You have to have discipline. You know, I have rules in my life that I adhere to the majority of the time, you know, 60 minutes in the morning, 60 minutes before bed, no devices, right? Just Sundays, you know, 24 hour digital detox. For the most part, I just did a seven day dopa meeting detox where no social media, no you know, YouTube or like movies or stream shows or any of that stuff. And I’d made more money and was more effective than I have been in. I don’t even know how long, you know, and it’s like, we’re so distracted. So the, the answer is create barriers, have discipline to adhere to them and have consequences if you don’t.
AJV (32:24):
Those are good. Those are really good. Any specific examples, just one tip of like, what’s one barrier that you’ve said in your PLA in your life that you feel like has really made a significant difference.
CJ (32:37):
One barrier would be, I, I would say time blocking, you know, just in terms of work, we’re all trying to build, grow and monetize our personal brand and, and really spread our message and make a positive impact specifically, in terms of work, I have a be focused timer on my computer and I’ll, I’ll airplane mode, my phone, and I’ll do a 30 minute block and then I’ll do a five minute break, you know, and then I jump on my rebound as a break which I think is really important to shake out the lymphatic drainage system, going back to my biohacking days, you know, I used to run a biohacking company where for the top, you know, 1% highest performers. And I took a lot of those little biohacks and that, that one barrier, that one time block, I can be ultra productive and I work 20 hours per week. Like, that’s my, that’s like my sweet spot. And, you know, I’m a lifestyle entrepreneur, you know, so I’m not looking to like run this massive conglomerate, but I will tell you, you know, the reason I can work so little and still be where I’m at is because I time block and I, and I’m disciplined in those time blocks.
AJV (33:38):
Hmm. So all right. Last question. I’m just genuinely curious when you’re doing all the other things and the other 20 hours of your week, how are for, for all of us aspiring to one day, have a 20 hour work week and still be where we are. How are you spending the rest of your time?
CJ (33:56):
Well as I mentioned to you pre ATT, I was just at that hot Springs here, and I was soaking in thermal natural, hot water. And then I went and I, I do a hot and cold thermogenesis, so there’s a cold pool and a hot pool. And I, I, you know, get a workout in. And then I have you know, the ski mountain here in Montana where I go snowboarding regularly. And, you know, I IM training to get my black belt in Eastern Ru KA with my fiance. And, you know, I go fly fishing and horseback riding, and I stay busy. I volunteer with a, a bunch of organizations here. And yeah, so I find, I find things to do,
AJV (34:37):
But here’s what I know. It’s like, that is not a pipe. Your that’s a created intentional life.
CJ (34:44):
Exactly.
AJV (34:45):
Anyone can have it if that’s actually what you try to create for yourself. I believe truly that most of us are living a default life that we’ve just set into whatever has been around us. And we keep moving and going, actually that’s not the life I want.
CJ (35:00):
Yeah.
AJV (35:00):
And you’re living a super intense created life. I love it. You live your content, which is why it’s so successful. You can, it just exudes out of you. I love this soul mapping. I’m a 34. By the time we talk again, I’m gonna be a 37, Cary. I’m on it. Hit a
CJ (35:15):
Girl, get a girl. It’s
AJV (35:16):
So good. Right. My last question. And then we’re gonna wrap this and I’m so grateful. Thank you so much. So I would just want you’ve been building your personal brand for several years. You’ve also built and scaled companies like you’ve done so many successful things. I wanna know, like, what is one lesson that you think has made the most dramatic change or impact in your life that you think all of our listeners should hear
CJ (35:43):
The compound effect? Darren Hardy, great book. I know you guys know him, but that book really resonated with me little actions consistently. Over time, I live by this, this phrase, persistent consistency every single day, getting better than who you were yesterday. Don’t look at other people in compare and despair, look at who you were yesterday. And I know it’s cliche again, but I’m gonna hit you with the truth that persistent consistency every single day has that compound effect. And I wanna leave one question with everyone listening. And this is what allowed me to create this lifestyle. And it is what does success act actually look like for you? Because a lot of people chase other, you know, versions of success, society deems this successful. So we chase it. But truly that’s not what success looks like for you. So you end up achieving it and then you’re unhappy and unfulfilled. So you have to answer that question. What does success look like for you?
AJV (36:37):
Ah, so good. And it’s true in every area of your life small, consistent step taken over an ongoing amount of times. You hear this all the time. It’s like, what’s the key to content creation, consistency. What’s the key to growing your online, following consistency. What’s the key to staying outta debt, being consistent, right? It’s don’t spend money. It’s like be consistent with what we’re doing. What’s the key to staying in love. Be consistent with time with each other. It’s consistency, consistency, consistency. We can talk about that every single area of your life. And most specifically for this podcast, how it relates to your personal brand it, you have got to be consistent with what you do. It doesn’t happen overnight. This is a marathon, not a sprint Cary Jack. Yes. So good to have you on this show. Thank you so much. This was awesome. Yeah. So, so good. Love it. For everyone else please follow Cary Jack. We’re gonna put these links and the show notes, but we want you to go to the happy hustle book.com. You can get the free ebook. You can do his free plus shipping. You can check out his membership. You can come camping with him this summer in Montana. Whatever it is, check out his podcast, that the happy hustle book.com. We’ll put that in the show notes, Cary, we love you so grateful for this. So good.
CJ (37:56):
Let me give one, one special give to the BBG community, cuz I’m a, I’m a part of it. And I, I love this community, AJ, and I wanna do something special as you know, time is our most precious commodity. I very diligent with mine. I want to give anyone who does pick up a copy of the happy hustle book. If you read it and you send me a DM on Instagram with your biggest takeaway, I’ll have my team send you my Calendarly link and we’ll get on the 20 minute happy hustle huddle. I’m gonna help you happy hustle your dream reality, whatever that looks like. It’s there’s no ulterior motive except me to just give value to you. So take action. If you wanna connect with me and I I’d love to serve however I can. Oh,
AJV (38:31):
I love that. That should be another incentive. Go to the happy hustle book.com. Get it, read it, get that Kaly link. Schedule some call what they wanna only Cary Jack. Y’all so good. Catch us next time on the influential personal brand.
CJ (38:46):
Peace and love y’all.
Ep 271: Building Your Personal Brand as a Small Business Owner with Jill Flodstrom | Recap Episode
AJV (00:02):
Hey everybody. This is AJ Vaden. I am here with your recap episode, from my conversation with Jill Flodstrom. And I love Jill she’s a longtime friend. She is a, a client of brand builders group, which is so cool that she’s a fellow entrepreneur has a thriving, personal brand and also really pull insurance business and real estate business. Anyways, we wanna know more about that. Don’t listen to the full episode but here is my quick recap and I promise to keep this short and sweet. And I always say that sometimes I will actually do today, but there were two really important things that I pulled from my conversation with Jill that I wanna share with you guys today. And both of those really hit true to me because as an entrepreneur and a small business owner and someone who is trying to build and grow right, their personal brand, in addition to helping others do that she said a couple of things that I think are just truly universal and applicable, no matter where you are and what you you’re doing.
AJV (01:04):
And the first thing is that there are, there are things that you can be doing that you are not doing that would make your life better. All right. And that’s really what I heard. And I think so many of us live in the day to day of just doing things because that’s what we’ve always done. And there is the easier way and many times a better way, but the pain of going through the change to actually make it easier or better seems like more work than it’s worth to do. So we keep doing it the way we’ve always done and we keep being stressed out, overwhelmed, overworked and ultimately not happy. And that was like a really important thing, was like, how many things am I doing right now? That one I just shouldn’t be doing at all, but because of a scarcity mentality I won’t outsource them or delegate them or I’ve convinced myself that I’m the only one who could possibly do this, which is just not true.
AJV (02:05):
That are some things that maybe you should be doing, but you’re definitely not the only one who can do many, most things in your business. So what are those things to you? And she gave some really tangible tactical tips on how to get your email in order. And I love this. I still don’t know what it is in terms of how to use it with office 365, which is what I use for email, but this idea of templated responses of how do you minimize the repetitive work that you’re doing. And there’s so many things as business owners, entrepreneurs, just humans that we do that are repetitive, that we need to find systematic with ways of improving to get back the minutes, because those minutes turn into hours and hours mean a lot, right? Like my kids don’t need to be with me eight hours a day.
AJV (02:57):
They need a little bit of really intentional time with me, right? They’re in school, I’m working. They don’t need all day with me, with me being distracted. They need my pure focused intentional time. So if I can get one hour back every single day that I can repurpose for my husband and my kids, I will change my life. And so minutes turn into hours. So what are you doing to help a accumulate those minutes? And I just, I loved this concept of todo lists and it’s like, you shouldn’t do everything on your to-do list when something are on there to remind you, they should not be on your to-do list, but you should always start with the things that turn into revenue that make you money. Because that’s, that’s the orientation that we’ve should be viewing these things when it comes to work.
AJV (03:41):
Right. and I think those were just amazing tips around how do we get more time back in our very busy days? That was huge. Second thing. And I’ll leave you with this. And I swear, y’all she has been talking to Rory Vaden. This is a message that Rory Vaden hits me with the time, and I’m not exaggerating. I’m reading this new book right now. That is incredible called nothing to prove. And it’s by Jenny Allen. I recommend it to any single person on the planet. It’s a must read. It’s extraordinary. It’s so good. But one of the questions that was in the end of one of my chapters was last night. This is literally a conversation we had last night, right before my interview with Jill Flodstrom today at serendipitous. But the question was, if you knew nothing could hold you back and if nothing was holding you back, what’s the number one thing that you would go out and do.
AJV (04:36):
And I asked Roy this last night and he literally said it would be one of two things I’d go all in on paid traffic is another topic for another day, but I’d go all in on paid traffic or I would completely stack up our team. And I was like, those are the two things that you would do if nothing was holding you back. Mine could not be further from that in the whole world. But it was interesting. And I was like, you would staff up our whole team. What do you mean? He goes, babe, it’s like, I would get you every single bit of help that you need. I would, I would just pull the trigger and I would hire this person and I would hire this person. And I would staff up so that you don’t feel burdened, or I don’t feel burdened to do the things that are pulling us away from time with each other time, with God time with our kids. And I was like, okay, well, those weren’t mine, but okay. That was good. And it just, I kind of like forgot about it. And then literally in this conversation with Jill today, I asked her at the very, very end. I said, Jill, from all the businesses that you’ve started scaled, sold, dismantled building a personal brand, like what’s one main life lesson as an entrepreneur that you would give to other entre entrepreneurs. And without hesitation, she said, hire before you’re ready.
AJV (05:50):
I was like, I’m sorry, what? And she said, hire before you’re ready. It’s like, sometimes you just know that there is
AJV (05:56):
A message that someone has to deliver just for you. That interview is for me today. And I think that’s the beauty and the power of having common community and listening to podcasts and listening and learning to other people is sometimes you know it, but you need someone else to speak it to you to speak it into you. And man I’m needed that today. And so maybe someone else needs that too, but hirer before you’re ready because I’ve been procrastinating on hiring some positions, cuz I don’t think that we have enough cash to do it or that would put too much financial strain on the business. Or if we hire people, what if we can’t give bonuses and raises and I’ve been putting it off. But guess what guess who’s taking on the brunt of that workload? Me, me and me again. And it’s like, why am I doing that? Like make us ready, get us ready, but hire before you’re ready. All so good. Love this interview. Go check it out. Come back again. Stay connected, make sure you like comment, share subscribe but stay in stay in tune with us on the influential personal brand. This is Aden and we’ll.
Ep 270: Building Your Personal Brand as A Small Business Owner with Jill Flodstrom
AJV (00:02):
Hey everybody. And welcome to another episode on the influential personal brand. Today I have a good friend and a BBG client as my special guest. Before I formally turn it over and let you guys meet the one and only Jill Flodstrom let me give you just a little bit of her what I’m gonna call professional bio and then I’ll help fill in the gaps with all the things that are not on here, which should be, which I think are a really impressive part of who Jill is and what she’s done. But here are some things that might be relevant to you specifically, if you are an entrepreneur or a small business owner, right? Because Jill is a serial entrepreneur, she has created and built five separate businesses in three separate industries. And so she is no stranger to jumping off the cliff without a parachute and trying to figure out how do we make this all work as she’s a flying down the mountain which I think is a unique component of deciding to take that leap and be an entrepreneur and build a small business.
AJV (01:09):
But I would say when it comes to her personal brand, separate of all these businesses that she’s created and runs, she really specializes in helping her clients mitigate feelings of overwhelming chaos when it comes to growing their businesses. And as an entrepreneur and a small business owner, there is a lot of chaos and a lot of overwhelm. And I also know that Jill is not just passionate, but also just very skilled at efficiency and organization. And so she has really I would say made that leap from not just entrepreneur and small business owner, but also a thriving personal brand. So without further ado, welcome to the show, Jill,
JF (01:50):
Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to be here.
AJV (01:53):
Yes, we are too. I love it. When we get to feature our clients and you’re not just a client, like you’re one of like the OG clients. You’ve been a part of our community for three years. We’re so honored and blessed to have, get to be a small part of your journey and to see all the amazing stuff that you’ve built over the last three years. But I know all this, but the people listening do not. So to help everyone get to know you a little bit, just to tell us how you got to where you are what are these businesses that you’ve been building? And that was just a little bit about all the things that are Jill
JF (02:27):
They’re. They are all so different. I, I think a lot of people probably tried to create businesses within the same industry. Not me. I’m just like, you know what, I wanna try that let’s go for it. But my career started in banking, which led to financial services because I used to work at the coroners office. I used to meet a ton of people that were not prepared for retirement, not prepared for the bad things that can happen to us. And I just thought, you know what, there’s gotta be a better way. There’s gotta be people that we can talk to that really understand, you know, what’s kind of working, using my medical background to, so it just kind of was a natural evolution. And then with the way that the reform has come about with healthcare and financial services, just thought, you know, what it need to create a personal brand, something that I can control. And it’s just kind of led to where we’re at today and it’s been a natural evolution and it’s just, it’s been an awesome, awesome journey.
AJV (03:25):
Oh, I love that. And I love how you just, so always casually mentioned this, this brief stint of your life in the coroner’s office and the Morgue I think it’s so fascinating knowing you and you were like the most bubbly, bright, friendly person on the planet. Like how that ever worked. I don’t know. Maybe it’s like the perfect just juxtaposition of roles and positions in that. But so I, I want everyone to know, it’s like, kinda give like people, like when you talk about building and scaling small businesses and all these different industries, it’s like you have a real estate entity, you’ve got your financial service services and insurance practice like you’re really all across the board. And so I’m curious for you knowing that when it comes to like your personal brand and this personal passion of yours around organization and efficiency, it’s like, like, how do you, like, I even know, like right now, as you sit right here, like you’re sitting in Las Vegas, you do not live in Las Vegas, you live in Washington, but you’re flipping a house for your real estate business. It’s like, how do you keep all these different businesses, like siloed and centered and organized and efficient and running all at the same time, because that’s a lot going on.
JF (04:36):
It is. I always tell people, it’s like, kind of like a marathon. Like you have to make sure that all these businesses are running at the same pace as each other, which is kind of a juggling, you know, situation. But I think the most important thing is we try to complicate things so much as human beings and really just keeping things super simple, allows me to do all these different and keeping these businesses running is quite the adventure, but keeping it simple has really, really helped me.
AJV (05:08):
Okay. So this is an amazing topic to talk about because I doesn’t, I do not care what it is that you do. It’s like we do overcomplicate it. Like we try to make it as complicated as possible. Even if it’s emotionally, it’s like, it’s not that big of a deal, but yet we build it up as some catastrophic event that’s gonna happen. And so as an entrepreneur, small business owner, this thriving, personal brand with this awesome reputation for doing great work, it’s what are the things that you find other small business owners, entrepreneurs overcomplicate, and, and wanna know personally too. It’s like, how would you help someone to simplify things?
JF (05:48):
I think the first one, because we all are suffering from overwhelm in our email. And so I love to focus with my clients first on the email, like let’s tame the email monster, and then we can kind of move on to some other things. But there’s a way that I organize my inboxes within my email inbox, which makes it so much easier to just manage that flow of emails, because I think there’s so many more people that are, are just, they look at their inbox and they’re like, oof, I’m not even gonna deal with it today. I’m just gonna set it aside. And if somebody really needs me, they’ll email me again and it’ll move to the top of the stack because I used to be one of those people that when you would look at my phone, it said like 50,000 messages, like I was that person and now I am reformed and I am inbox zero. Like that’s the team I’m on. And let me tell you, if you are suffering with email overwhelm, that inbox zero is like, it it’ll change your life.
AJV (06:47):
How is that even possible?
JF (06:50):
Right.
AJV (06:51):
What I know. So, okay. So when it comes to email, like give us one tip from the Jill floods from book of how do you, I don’t know if this is a word decom, simplify, let’s go simplify. How do you simplify email? Like how do you make progress towards this concept of zero inbox?
JF (07:10):
Well, I think the main thing is using templated responses. That is huge because when you think about, you know, all the emails that you get in every day, you might be typing the exact same words
AJV (07:23):
All the time,
JF (07:23):
A bunch of different people over and over and over again. And when you think about creating a templated response for that, it just makes it so easy to just click one button versus having to type that whole string. And if you’re somebody that uses your own for email, like you’re not a desktop or a laptop person, you can use the hot keys inside your phone to do the same thing. So instead of having to type all that out and use up all that extra time and energy, you just couple key strokes and you’re done. I mean, it’s, it’s been a huge game changer.
AJV (07:55):
Okay. Well, I’m gonna sound really uneducated right now. What is the templated response of, how do I get one? What is this?
JF (08:02):
Well, depending on what
AJV (08:04):
Email. Okay. I use office 365.
JF (08:07):
Okay. So mine’s probably gonna look a little bit different than yours because I am a Gmail person for business. So basically what it is is you just go into your settings and there’s different things, very similar to how you set up your S line in your email. So it’s similar to that and it’s probably in a very similar spot in your settings. So you go in there and you type like Hey, thanks so much for your email. I’ll get back to you in a couple hours with it. That’s just an easy one. Well, you can create that templated response and then just use certain keys. You know, I usually set them as like weird key strokes, like X, you know, Y, Z something like that, that you wouldn’t normally type, like don’t use ha S or something like that, cuz you type that all the time, but then it just automatically populates it in your email inbox, inside that message that you’ve opened and you just click send and it’s gone. And same thing with your phone. There are, if you’re an apple user, it’s probably probably something similar for Android, but for apple people you can literally type like just one letter like Z and then that responsible pop send and off you go
AJV (09:17):
Fascinating. Well, I know what I will be doing when I get off this interview with you. Okay. So this concept of like templated responses. Yeah. Can you have lots of them?
JF (09:29):
Oh, heck yeah.
AJV (09:30):
Okay. You have
JF (09:31):
Lots and lots and lots of them. And so I always encourage people to look through your sent file and see what you’re sending to people because what you probably don’t realize is that you’re sending the same thing pretty consistently. And so that’s what you can use to turn into a template and response and it just makes it so much easier. So that way you’re not sitting at your computer going, okay, I know I wanna do this, but I have no idea what I would use for just go look through your sense and you’ll be able to see it.
AJV (09:58):
That’s great. So what’s one thing that you use it for to give us some context.
JF (10:02):
I use it. I mean, I use it for a response to a general email. Like let’s say I’m in the car or I’m traveling and I really want this person to know that I receive their email and that I’m aware of it. I’ll send a templated response for that. That’s probably the easiest, but a lot of times for specific business, like for health insurance, like we are sending the same response that says, Hey, I would love to help you with that. Here’s my scheduling link. Schedule an appointment when it’s a great time for you. That’s a templated response. I don’t need to type that out every time, just
AJV (10:34):
Right.
JF (10:35):
Strokes. And off I go.
AJV (10:37):
Mm y’all that’s huge like little things of like even using it internally. Like if you have team members of, Hey, everyone’s like, Hey, can I get to this? It’s like, Hey, here’s my calendar link. Instead of having to type that up or try to coordinate. But that’s the thing that I love too about working and talking with other entrepreneurs. There’s these little hacks, right? It’s all these like little things. It’s nothing Mo which I also dunno if that’s a word, but it’s like just enough making up words today. It’s just enough to like free up a little bit of that mental space of going. It’s one less thing that I have to like type out think about and get to it also probably makes it easier to respond quicker of, you know, just like template, response, go template, response, go
JF (11:22):
Well. And I always tell people too, like when we sit down and we talk about, you know, we have this massive project that we wanna do and we, a lot of us don’t have a full half a day or two hours to carve out to dedicate to just this one thing, but we have two minutes. And so using those little templated responses, you’ll be shocked at how much time you get back into your schedule. And it’s like anything, you know, it takes a little bit of getting used to, but once you do, you will be to the point where I’m like, I can’t live without it. Like I’m sending templated responses all the time.
AJV (11:54):
Oh, that’s so true because it’s like, how many times are we just trying to like, like we’re in Starbucks line or we’re sitting out of red lights, definitely not driving right safety first, but maybe sitting at the red light, going out two minutes and it’s like, you can maybe get through three or four things versus one thing. Just trying to type this out. I love that. I love this little hacks. I love, I love everything about just trying to be more efficient. And this is also a part of your personal brand, right? Yes. So it’s like in addition to your insurance business and your real estate business and everything else we have going on, it was really this passion for efficiencies and little tips and tricks of the trade that you kind of leaned into your personal brand. So I kind of wanna know as a small business owner, as an entrepreneur, it’s like, what was that trigger point for you of going, I have a lot going on, I’m managing a lot. I’m growing and leading multiple companies like this isn’t ne necessarily something you had to do. You wanted to do it. So why make the choice to lean in to building your personal brand as a small business owner?
JF (13:00):
Well, you know, it kind of started as something that kind of surprised me to be honest, because I thought everybody was doing it. Like, I think we just kind of get into our own zones and we don’t realize that not everybody is doing the same things. So I would go to these events and I would talk about these random things that I do and people would be like, why are you keeping that to yourself? Like you need to tell people about that. People need to know because everybody needs more time. Right. I mean, that’s the one thing that we cannot get back. And so I just kind of was like, what, like, people really don’t know that. And so when I started about the email organization or like how to categorize your to-do list or all these different things, people were just like, say what, I I’ve never heard of that before.
JF (13:43):
So it was kind of that, but also knowing that with the way that things are changing in the financial services world and the health insurance world and the government becoming more involved in that, I really like the idea of being able to control more of the business than giving that to someone else to control. And so it just kind of was this Mary of two things that I loved, you know, all these random things that I do every day, I thought everybody did. And then also creating this business around it because I think as we, as entrepreneurs, when we stick together and we help each other, it is like the growth of that is just massive. And so if I can help other people with these little random things, I feel like it can really, really change their life.
AJV (14:31):
Oh, I love that so much. And that’s so true. It’s like every really great business idea truly should stem from this could really help someone else. So really, as an entrepreneur, a small business owner, it’s like, you were at these events with other small business owners and they’re like, Hey, why are you keeping all these secrets to yourself? How do we like build this? And so you really started building your personal brand to help people just like you.
JF (14:57):
Absolutely. Yep. Because I think you get to a certain point in your business where if you don’t control it, it will start to control you. And you’ve gotta kind of like take the reins and be like, okay, I don’t have all this mass amount, amount of time, but I do have two minutes. I have 30 seconds. I have these random little pockets of time that I can be doing things. So that way, at the end of the day, I can actually go be with my family and not be working until midnight or three o’clock in the morning. Like so many of us do a really capturing back that family time, which I think is so important and sometimes kind of gets lost when you become an entrepreneur, because you’re so focused on building this business and getting clients and earning money and doing all the things that, that stuff kind of gets pushed to the side. But I think we need to bring that back because there’s nothing more important than our families.
AJV (15:49):
Great. All about that message. Yeah. It’s like if we had a happier home life, we would naturally have a happier work life, all of us. Okay. So about three years ago, then you started leaning in and building your personal brand, which is how I got to be connected with you. And this, a beautiful relationship with brand builders group and you started to emerge. And so I’m so super curious and for everyone listening, what has this process been like for you as a small business owner of going all right, I’m gonna lean in and do this thing that I feel really called to do because unlike many of our clients who are building their personal brands for their actual businesses, yours is a little bit of a delineation from that. And it’s like, this is naturally having positive byproduct, but it’s almost like a whole new business. And so you’ve really built out this entire like productivity for entrepreneurs and small business, those owners owners course, which does, and doesn’t necessarily really connect to your other businesses. So I would love to hear your journey about it’s ultimately creating a new business, but why did you go the course route? And how has this process been for you as both the face of your business and also this kind of like growing personal brand?
JF (17:12):
I think the main thing is that this started many years before I even had found brand builders because it was something that I knew that I wanted to do, but it’s like, where do you start? And so I know, I mean, because my whole high school career, I loved sports and you know, in sports you always have a coach, someone who’s pushing you, someone who’s making you better, someone who’s guiding you. And I really found that when you have an idea, but you don’t really know what else is around that idea. You know, I can build a business. That’s not a problem. But when you take this idea, this little tiny baby, and you’re like, how do I make this grow? Like what could this become? I really think that the course route and having the coaching is huge. And I always tell people that there’s no way that we could have created what we’ve created without brand builders, because there’s so many people that I meet throughout this journey that are like, Hey, I’ve already got this book.
JF (18:17):
I’ve already got this thing. And I really came here with just an idea and like a calling. And like, I know that I can make a difference in someone’s life. I don’t really know how I’m gonna do that, but I’m gonna figure it out and you guys are gonna help me. So it was just really this journey that looking back, it’s like, holy smokes, we’ve accomplished a lot in the last couple years. It’s kind of crazy when you look back. But I think the, the main thing that I wanna tell everyone listening is that if you have an idea, do not give up on that. I idea find the person that supports you, find whatever you need to make that idea a reality, because you don’t wanna let those ideas just sit in a notebook or stay on the shelf. You’ve gotta get them out there because they really truly can change other entrepreneurs lives.
AJV (19:07):
Oh, that’s such wisdom from your mouth right now. It’s so good. I think one of the things I love about that, and we’ll just stay here for just a second is it’s like, if the idea is in you, there’s a reason, right? Whether you see a need or you feel the need, or it’s a need, that’s finally been fulfilled for you or it’s something you see people around you struggling with. And like, I wouldn’t even say like today, it’s like in our short conversation already, it’s like templated responses. Like I already know like three different ways of like, this could really help me, like may not change every part about my business, but I don’t need a hundred new ideas. I need a couple that just help me move a little faster. And I think it’s such a great reminder to all of us. It’s like, if that idea has been placed on your heart, if you feel like you have this calling, like it’s for a reason, it’s like somebody out there needs it. They need you, but they also need you to step out of this place of fear or uncertainty and go, I I’ll tape a leap, a leap of faith and we’re gonna see what happens.
JF (20:12):
Absolutely.
AJV (20:13):
All right. So tell us a little bit more
JF (20:15):
Part
AJV (20:15):
Too. Oh, definitely. The scariest part into the unknown. My favorite song from frozen is like all the things, right. So I wanna know more about like what you’ve been working on when it comes to this personal brand of yours and a huge part of it. I know that you are launching a new course, right? It’s a huge part. We’re so excited to get to help you with that. And so it really is a course about helping people get their time back. Right. So we talked a little bit about this email and templated responses, but give us a sneak peek. And then for everyone listening we’re also gonna include a link in the show notes of where you can go and get Jill’s free productivity guide for entrepreneurs. In fact, I’ll go ahead and give you like a little sneak peek of where you can go to get that.
AJV (21:06):
And you will go to scale scale your small business.org/clear, right? We’ll also put that in the show notes. That’s a really awesome place to go with this free guide that Jill has teed up for everyone listening today. But all right, Jill, so in this course of building this out, like there’s a whole process to figuring out, like, how do I take all of this knowledge and all of these things that I’ve been doing. And also what I think would actually help someone else and put that together in a way that other people can digest it. So if you were to tell everyone listening, here are the three things that you are gonna come away within this course. And like, here’s why people need help with productivity. They need help with becoming more efficient or just doing less. Like what would those three things be?
JF (21:56):
I think the main thing is we’ve divided it up into nine pillars, but there is so much in each one, but I think the most important thing that makes this course different is each one is short and sweet. So you literally can take what we talk about and go do it very similar to how my podcast is and the fact that it’s like these short, actionable things that you can do right away. So we’ll start off with what’s in the productivity guide is about your to-do list, the different steps that I go through, that the different from what other people do, and just even organizing your to-do list, focusing on certain things, getting those knocked out first. So they don’t turn into the big, ugly, scary monsters, and just working through that list every single day. But there’s stuff in there from working with your team, how do you organize your organiz
JF (22:51):
Bills in your organization? Like all sort like it runs the gamut because there are so many things that I have learned from running all these businesses and of course, feedback from other business owners that I’ve helped. But I mean, there’s a calendar in there that just talks about what to do on the 10th, the 25th, once a year, once a quarter. And I feel like that has been a huge help for people because when you’ve got a checklist, just print it out, you pin it up on your board and you’re just like, oh, that’s the day. Gotta get that done today.
AJV (23:20):
Oh, that’s so good. So I have to add three questions about that and kind of like back to these three things that you should do. So I think you said a couple of things there I’m gonna like tee in of like knowing you and knowing your content, like three things. So the first one is this to do list. Yes. So if you were to say, if I was just gonna give you one tip right now to everyone listening of like, here’s one thing you should do to better maximize your to-do list or however it is that you would say, it’s like, what’s the one thing on the to-do list that we need to know.
JF (23:48):
Definitely do the stuff that makes you money. First. I think sometimes we get lost in the busyness and the easy stuff, but really you’ve gotta make sure that stuff that has the firm date deadline and the stuff that makes you money has to get done first. But sometimes that’s the stuff that we per procrastinate the most. So that’s huge do those things
AJV (24:08):
First. So do the things that make you money first. Everything else is second to that short sweet, but that’s super helpful. Just being able to look at every single thing that you have to do on a day in a week, in a month and go, which ones of these things actually co correlate to dollars sense. Absolutely that first. Okay, awesome. Super, super tangible. And again, it’s just a mental processing of when there’s so much to do, where do I start? We start with what makes you money? That’s good. Okay. Now you mentioned something else that I laughed out loud about organizing your organization. What, what is that?
JF (24:47):
So that is, you know, a lot of people are still like a sole proprietor and it’s like, should you be something else? Should you be a different entity? What, what should you even be? So we go over a little bit of that. And I also talk about, you’ve gotta create your of people. You’ve gotta get your accountant. You’ve gotta get your attorney. You’ve gotta get these people because you are gonna be talking with them a lot. And we don’t know what we don’t know. So you need a good team of people to protect you because you’re gonna make some mistakes and they can prevent you from making some costly ones.
AJV (25:25):
Oh yeah. So it’s just like making sure it doesn’t matter if you’re a, a one person show or you have a team of a hundred, it’s like, like these are all the people that touch all the parts. It’s my attorney, it’s my financial person. It’s my CPA. It’s, you know, whatever. Right. We’re walking through it. Okay. So it’s getting everything organized in a way and in a place where it’s like, this is who I go to for what?
JF (25:51):
Exactly. Okay. Yep. And knowing who those who those people are, what roles do they fill?
AJV (25:56):
Okay. That’s awesome. But yeah. And I think that’s really good. It’s like that also helps you uncover any gaps.
JF (26:02):
Absolutely.
AJV (26:03):
Yeah. Like as an entrepreneur I’m a part of EO entrepreneurs organization here in Nashville and I still find it so amazing how I’ll be in like these small group discussions with other entrepreneurs and people don’t have an actual attorney. Like people don’t have a formalized tax person and they have multi seven figure businesses and they’re still kind of just winging it. I’m I personally am way too OCD for that. So but it, it is amazing to me. It’s like, for so many of us, it’s like, we’ve been successful in spite of ourselves. And there’s a certain point where it’s like, okay, I actually have to create some formality to what I’m doing in case of X, Y, and Z. So organizing your organization, making sure you’ve got the right people in place to take care of the things when and if needed. Okay. Second awesome thing. Okay. Third thing. And I’m just like super curious about, is you talk a lot about email in terms of time saving tips, other than email, what do you think is the other next biggest thing that people need to work on? Who are entrepreneurs our small business owners to get their life back in check?
JF (27:17):
Well, I think the most important thing is finding some sort of software to keep track of everything because cause we, a lot of us keep so much stuff in our head and then we wonder why we’re so stressed out, why we forget things, why people are like, you’re never listening to me. And so being able to put all that stuff somewhere, whether that’s a calendar, you know, some sort of, you know, con bond, board, whatever that looks for you, having a holding place where you can put all those ideas. So that way, you know, when you’re ready to come back to them, you haven’t forgotten them. And I think it’s something there’s so many things that are just, it’s simple and you’re like that can’t work because it’s so simple, but that’s what does work,
AJV (28:01):
Do you have some favorite softwares?
JF (28:03):
I do. I do. I love Asana, but I’m testing out a new one that is called click up and I’m very intrigued. So I’m kind of, I’m kind of looking at it dabbling a bit to see if it’s a better match to, you know, bring all these things, you know, and all of our team together to see if it’s a better fit.
AJV (28:23):
Okay. So Asana’s the one that you’ve been using, but you’re kind of like testing with click up. Would you say that click up would be like super comparable to Asana?
JF (28:33):
It’s very similar, but there’s different things about it, which I think kind of make it even cooler is that you can import like all this stuff. Like I’m always on the hunt for like, what’s a hub that my team can use where everything comes into that and goes out of it. And I think that that software might be it now. It might not once we, you know, get into it and see, but I’m always on the hunt to see, you know, what people are creating. I mean, it is fascinating what people are coming up with. I agree. Cause I’m excited to test it out and see if it works for us.
AJV (29:06):
That’s awesome. We use at brand builders group internally, we use monday.com. Yes. Very similar. Yeah. So super similar. But we integrated monday.com into our daily operations, maybe a year and some change ago, it has revolutionized our lives. It’s like, we literally, like we run every single meeting now off of our Monday boards. Awesome. And its like, but it’s to that point, it’s like, it’s like even we a year and a half ago as a multi seven figure business were running all of our project management out of email.
JF (29:42):
I know it’s and there’s so many
AJV (29:44):
Crazy that
JF (29:44):
Too,
AJV (29:45):
It’s crazy. Crazy, bad, not crazy good. And so we totally shifted everything to the goal of 2021 for us was get organized right. As an entity. And it took a whole year to get everyone re acclimated, had situated, getting all the boards loaded. But now I literally look at these and I’m like, how are we functioning? Like, like how are we actually functioning as a company? Even as me for an individual like I, like one of the things that I do is I have Monday boards with my EA. So I have visibility into what she’s doing. And so of saying, Hey Maggie, what are you doing today? Hey, Maggie, are you doing today? It’s like, go look for yourself on the Monday board. So, so much of that is about creating transparency and work activity and communication. So. All right, well I’m super interested to hear what you find with click up.
AJV (30:37):
So make a personal note to let me know what you find click up. So all right. Well I know we just have a couple of more minutes here together. And so I’m curious with just one or two other quick things for our listeners that I think would be so super cool. And again, as a reminder to everyone Jill’s offered up this really cool free guide, go to scale your small business.org Ford slash clear. We’ll put that in the show notes, her course goes live on April 7th, April 7th, April 7th which is just a few days from the launch of this episode. So you can learn more about that too, at scale, your small business.org. You can check that out if you’re so inclined. But okay. So as we kinda wrap up here, Jill, so I’m really curious for the everyday small business owner, an entrepreneur who does not think they need a personal brand, what’s your thoughts on that?
JF (31:35):
Well, you probably already are. You just don’t realize it. And so you’ve really gotta shift your perspective and that you are, and everything that you’re doing or not doing is affecting your reputation, even though you don’t realize it. And so really getting a handle on that whole idea will shift the way that you do things, the way that you respond to things and making sure that you really have all your stuff organized and together, because if you’re a disorganized mess, people know it. They can see,
AJV (32:14):
Even
JF (32:15):
Though you don’t realize they can,
AJV (32:17):
But you know, what’s so funny is like too, that for the person who’s going, like, I don’t need a personal brand. You’re saying, no, you already have one. You already are a personal brand. And if you’re a disorganized mess, maybe that is your brand. So, and
JF (32:31):
You probably wanna change it. You should wanna change it for
AJV (32:34):
Sure. Don’t that be your brand? But I think that’s a great point. I know that was a part of our conversations of it’s not whether or not you need one. It’s like, no, you already have one. It’s just, are you the one creating it or is it being created for you by other people’s perceptions? Absolutely. That’s good. All right. Last question of the day for you, and this is back this like concept of entrepreneurship and running and scaling small businesses. So it, this is, this does not have to do with productivity or time management or anything, but if you were to give just one piece of advice from all the businesses that you’ve started scaled sold, dismantled, like, what would you say is the number one lesson that you have learned that you will carry forward into the future when it comes to being an entrepreneur
JF (33:25):
Hire before you’re ready?
AJV (33:27):
Oh, that’s good. So tell, tell me more about that.
JF (33:31):
So a lot of times when I visit with people, they’re like, oh, I don’t have the money. Oh, I’m not ready. And I think by hiring someone that really pushes you forward and you, it takes a lot of things off your plate and allows you to really focus on your business. But for so many people, it’s just something that they’re like, oh, I can do it all myself. I got it, I got it. But you don’t got it. And by having someone, bringing someone in which, which has a fr fresh perspective on your business, the way that you’re doing things and by using software or, you know, whatever it is to empower them, your business can grow exponentially. But a lot of times like most things you gotta do it before you’re ready.
AJV (34:17):
Oh my gosh. Have you been talking to my husband? I have to feel like that that was planted in this conversation. Yeah. We literally had this talk last night. Advice heard if not for anyone else for me, I hear you. I’m with you, Jill. Thank you so much for being on the show. I’m so excited for this episode to go live. It, if you guys if, once you check this out, go get her free guide, go check out her course. Also check out the recap episode. That’ll be just sharing my top points and highlights from this Jill. So honored to have you in my life. So happy you’re on the show. Thank you so much. And to everyone else we will catch you next time on the influential personal brand.
Ep 267: How To Leverage Business Experience to Build Your Personal Brand with Tiffany Taylor & Leon Chen | Recap Episode
AJV (00:02):
All right. Welcome to a recap episode on the influential personal brands. One of your co-host AJ Vaden here, and I’m doing my recap conversation on my conversation with Tiffany and Leon from Tiff’s treats. They are the founders and owners of Tiff’s treats, which is a $5 million business. They started it in college together, have grown it to incredible success, but they are also launching their very first book together which comes out on April 5th. So what did I learn from these two incredible entrepreneurs and now published authors? So he, here are my three key takeaways as we often share on our recap conversation. So number one this was probably the number one thing that I took away and something that I’m absolutely gonna turn around and instill at brand builders group is the idea that as the owner, as the founder and maybe no, not even that, but someone in the company has to be the brand protector.
AJV (01:08):
There has to be someone looking out for the reputation of you and your company’s brand. Most often that probably makes more sense for it to be the founder or owner, but there are people who look out for the finances. There are people who look out for revenues. There needs to be someone who says this is not in line with the brand. So the answer is no. Even if it costs you money, even if it costs you time, there has got to be someone who is the brand protector of going. There are things we say yes to. There are things that we say no to, but at the end of the day my job is to protect the brand and the, of this organization or for yourself. Right. how often do we, as individuals who are building our own personal brands, say yes to everything, then all of a sudden what we stand for and our own business becomes diluted because we talk about everything.
AJV (02:01):
We have different business models, different ideas. We, we could speak on anything. We write about everything and simultaneously we’re not clear on anything. And I thought that was really good. It’s like be willing to say no to protect the brand, loved that. I can think of like three instances in our own company right now where it’s like, no, I just need to put my foot down and go, that’s not in line with who we are. My job is the brand protect protector. So the answer is no, it may cost us money, but it’s worth it. It’s worth it in the long run. So good. So, so, so good. Second thing that I thought was really good and also I have a little insider Intel on this one, cuz I got a gal copy of the book. But I just love the concept of you don’t have to have a lot to get started, but we all think we do.
AJV (02:52):
We think we need all this technology. We think we need huge followings. We think we need investment money. We think we need all these things per perfected. And the truth is we don’t, we just need to get started. Right. I, I loved hearing the story of how they started. They were 19 in college, started with 20 bucks, a cell phone with her skill set that baking cookies and you using his college apartment. That’s not much right. And there’s beauty in the naivety of all of that. So you know, that old saying ignorance is bliss. And as we get older we just become less ignorant to things and simultaneously become a little jaded. But what if we stop doing that? What if we looked for real opportunities to do things that we were passionate about and we opened up our eyes to every single opportunity right around us.
AJV (03:49):
We don’t do that as much anymore. And I so want to bring that back into it’s like, there’s no reason this couldn’t work, except for us believing that it could work. But what if we just said, no, I believe it can work. And so that we will find a way that it will work. Right. I don’t remember who said this. But I’m gonna quote it, even though I can’t give credit to the person that the credit is due to, but there is evidence and whatever you wanna find, right? It’s like, whatever is the truth that you, you will find evidence for. Just that. So why don’t we choose to go? There is, there is a way and then we find ways to support that it’s possible. And this is how we’re gonna get there. Such an inspirational reminder to me of going whatever we believe is true, but if we could just believe that it would work, believe that there’s an opportunity.
AJV (04:43):
That doesn’t mean it’s gonna make it easy or simple. But it does make it possible. It does make it possible. But starting with 20 bucks on a cell phone you can’t really have more bare minimum requirements than that. And I would just say it’s like a great reminder from this conversation is you don’t have to have much to get started. You just have to be willing. I think that’s a really great reminder for all of us who find plenty of opportunities and excuses to not do what that calling is on our heart, what we feel called to do what we’re passionate about, because we think we can’t now the answer is you can, you just, won’t great, great moment in this interview today. For me, it’s like, whatever you believe you’ll find evidence for just that last thing. And I love this, nothing.
AJV (05:33):
This is really important is making time and space to learn why your customers use your brand so wise and also sometimes so overlooked. We look for, how do we find our target audience? How do we grow revenues, grow our client base, retain ’em. How about spending just as much time of going, why do they use us? Like, what is it about us that sticks out to them? So creating those opportunities for conversations and feedback and stories whatever those may be of actually digging in and saying like, here’s a place where you can submit your stories. Here’s where you can give us our feedback. Like we actually wanna talk to you, tell us, what’s go going on. How’d you find us? Why are you using us? And then creating elements every step of the way of going, why do you use us?
AJV (06:24):
Why did you buy from us? Why do you continue to use us? And that creates your own ammunition for how you should market and who your audience is and what your audience wants from you and what you should keep and what maybe doesn’t matter you think does, I love feedback. I love customer feedback. But it’s like, even in this conversation, I’m going so much of the feedback is not asking, why did you pick us? Ugh, like such an aha moment. I’m going, Ugh, geez. Still so much to learn still so much to do. But such a great, just remind from people who have been so successful in business started with an idea and a dream and has grown it to a half billion dollars in revenue launching their first book and just wanna give the behind the scenes, look at what it likes to be married. Be in business, grow a family, grow a company and all the details in between. So again, I said it go check out this book. So excited to support just fellow entrepreneurs and fellow authors. So go to cookie delivery.com/bain, our last name, you’ll get a discount code and a link to pick up the book. So stick around, come back, catch another episode at the influential personal brand.