David Shapiro is the Producer / Director at DSE, an Atlanta-based script-to-screen promo video production company generating Corporate, Commercial and Documentary showcases for worldwide audiences.
DSE produces powerhouse promo videos for corporate and charitable clients, as well as fascinating feature-length documentaries, consistently striving to deliver effective storytelling for on-line platforms and theatrical audiences.
Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, I have heard the terms family and team used a lot in the business arena, how do you make the distinction?
Lee Kantor: Yeah. This is one of those things in business you hear so much, you know, we’re a family, we’re a family, we’re a family. But in essence, most businesses are a team. And to me, the biggest distinction between a team and a family is a team is always looking for the best players. Teams are continually replacing the weakest member with somebody stronger. Where a family is always protecting the weakest member, and they’re always doing everything they can to make sure the weakest is being taken care of and that they can thrive.
Lee Kantor: So, as a leader of your business, you have to decide is your business more like a team or is your business more like a family. There’s no right or wrong answer, but as its leader, you have to decide which way are you going to go, because there’s ramifications for whichever path you decide to take.
Lee Kantor: So, just be clear that in business, we’re typically more like a team than a family. In business, we’re typically looking to continuously improve and continuously find those A players that can help take that business to a new level.
Shawna Christian joins Lee Kantor in this episode of Women in Motion. Shawna is the owner of Tansy, a plant nursery and home decor shop. They discuss Shawna’s shift from a successful IT career to entrepreneurship, her journey, challenges, and the positive community impact of her business. Shawna highlights Tansy’s diverse customer base, strong LGBTQ support, and her plans to start shipping plants.
Shawna Christian left her 24-year career in IT to follow her dream and open her own business. Tansy is a family-owned and operated nursery and home goods store located in Burbank, California as well as Seattle, Washington.
Tansy features a wide array of hand-picked indoor and outdoor plants, as well as a vast selection of art and home goods from all over the globe.
Shawna is the only black female in LA county to currently own a nursery.
Connect with Shawna on LinkedIn.
Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Shawna Christian with Tansy. Welcome.
Shawna Christian: Hi everybody. Thanks for having me.
Lee Kantor: I am so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Tansy.
Shawna Christian: So, Tansy is a plant nursery. It is also home décor accent shop. We have items from all around the world. It’s insanely colorful. It evokes so much emotion and joy. It’s my baby.
Lee Kantor: So, what’s your back story? Have you always been involved in this kind of business?
Shawna Christian: You know, after dedicating 24 years to the management of a very successful outsource IT firm, I had a very close friend passed away suddenly, and it just made me realize that it was time for a change. That as much as I loved my old job, my old business, it was just time to move on. I was in that later part of my life. My kids were grown. And I, for the last 10 to 15 years, had really become obsessed with plants and home décor and just, essentially, making your home a sanctuary. Your home is your safe space, and I learned that very early on, and it was one of those things that I just got really good at.
Lee Kantor: Now, can you talk about kind of the decision to change careers. Like you had a passion, obviously, you were enjoying it in your own life. Can you go through kind of the thought process and maybe how you came to actually taking action on this and not just keeping it in the background? Like a lot of people do with their dreams, they’re like, “Oh, yeah. I’ll get to it whenever.” But can you walk us through what it took to go from, “Yeah, I’m going to do this” to actually doing this.
Shawna Christian: Yeah, definitely. So, it was a few things happening. It was the realization that, you know, life is just so short. The person who I actually spoke about that passed away suddenly, he was on the brink of changing his life. He was about to live his lifelong dream about a couple of weeks away from it before he passed away suddenly. So, that was a pretty big impetus for me.
Shawna Christian: I had been with this company for 24 years. It afforded me an amazing life. I made a very good salary. It’s very comfortable. I had helped build it from the ground up. It was just amazing. And once I turned 50, I realized that if I didn’t change up what I was doing now, I was never going to do it. I didn’t want to die there, so to speak. I had all these ideas of other things I had wanted to do.
Shawna Christian: And I have to say, I do feel like I had a little bit of a leg up because I had run a company for so long, I feel like I had already had the skills to be able to do this specifically. And once you get over the fear, which I think is the biggest piece that stops you from doing things, it’s kind of like all – what is it? – move ahead. Everybody go. Let’s do this.
Shawna Christian: It was definitely a very quick transition for me, unfortunately. I would have liked to have it been a little bit slower, because it feels like I did think it through, but I didn’t think it through deep enough, if that makes any sense. It was one of those things where I said, “Oh. This would be very neat to do. Let me see if I can sit down and write a business plan.” I wrote the business plan. Then, I was thinking, “Hmm. I wonder if I can get a small business loan off this business plan?” And I applied for a small business loan and got approved. And then, two weeks later, we found a space in Burbank to renovate and to do. It all happened so quickly, I almost didn’t even have time to scare myself out of it.
Lee Kantor: Did you go through kind of a pros and cons or playing out “Okay. What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Like did you get into that side of it as well?
Shawna Christian: Yeah. Oh, definitely. Definitely. And honestly, you know, writing down the pros and cons list as I was talking about fear, the biggest thing for me was what is the worst possible scenario that can happen from me doing this. And, really, I’m not going to be homeless. I have an amazing support group around me that would always help me if ever need be. I will always have clothes on my back. I will always be able to get food.
Shawna Christian: Really, the biggest fear was, “Oh. It might not work. I might have to owe some people money. Maybe I have to claim bankruptcy.” But, really, when it came down to it, the pros and cons, the list of pros, even when you first write it down, it could be the same amount, or you could even have more cons than pros per se. But then once you do it, the amount of pros that come up just from living in that life just supersedes it. It is hands down I would never go back.
Lee Kantor: And it’s funny doing the exercise like you did, in which a lot of people do is, you know, kind of imagining or catastrophizing the worst possible scenarios that could happen. A lot of time we don’t spend as much time on what are the best possible outcomes. We focus only on what are the bad things that can happen, but we don’t even anticipate all of the positives that are going to come out of it.
Shawna Christian: Yeah. And, honestly, I couldn’t even have told you most of the positives that have come out of it so far. Like, I couldn’t have told you in the beginning. I really needed to do this and to work through it and to see what basically came out of it, because it’s basically shaped my whole life and it has completely changed the direction of me.
Lee Kantor: Now, talk about those early days when you’re coming from a more established company and a comfortable kind of day-to-day routine, I’m sure, to now this more chaotic, more make some stuff up as we go scenario that you kind of thrust yourself into.
Shawna Christian: Yeah. Robbing Peter to pay Paul, essentially. It’s funny, we like being comfortable as human beings. We like being in something that we know, that there’s not a lot of change, what have you. But with that, there’s definitely no growth. You get to a certain point where if you could do this in your sleep, I don’t know how you stay awake for your normal daily life.
Shawna Christian: It is crazy to own your own business. It’s insane. There are days where I am putting fire after fire after fire out. There are days where I’m wondering sometimes how I’m going to pay payroll. And then, there are other days where we get to see what we’ve accomplished and what we’ve done. And that just makes it all worth it. Do I miss having money and not worrying about money? Definitely. Definitely. But again, I would never go back. It’s only up. It’s only up from here.
Lee Kantor: Yeah. I think what happens to a lot of people who choose this entrepreneurial route is they kind of become unhirable because they get used to “Hey, we’re making things happen and we’re just figuring it out,” and you don’t have kind of the patience for a lot of the bureaucracy or politics that happen in more of a corporate environment.
Shawna Christian: Oh, definitely. Definitely. Your tolerance is definitely not the same. And it’s that thing, too, I think that when you live in every moment and there’s reaction to every moment, that’s how you come across. And being in a corporate environment, that just doesn’t work. You either look unstable, or you look like you’re a maverick, or you look like you’re not really part of the team. But I had a great mentor, the gentleman who owned the company that I worked for, for 24 years, he was an expert at it. He bobbed and weaved like I’ve never seen. And, honestly, it’s something I probably couldn’t have even learned in college. It was definitely a great education.
Lee Kantor: So, why do you think that so many people are afraid to kind of take the leap that you have made? What does it take to overcome that fear?
Shawna Christian: I think a lot of it stems from having very low self-confidence. It’s scary to think that you could basically maybe take away a safety net to do something that you love, but I think it’s more in the idea that you’re not 100 percent sure you believe in what it is you’re doing, whether you’re making art, or you’re coming up with a new invention, or you’re trying to bring a service to people that maybe isn’t around. You have these seeds of self-doubt, like “Why hasn’t somebody done this before?” or “Nobody’s going to want to buy this art of mine, only I like it.”
Shawna Christian: I think until you get over the self-doubt, you’re never going to fully jump, you’re never going to fully leave that life and really extend yourself and try and do something different. I think, unfortunately, it’s human nature, but fear is the driving force behind so many things, so many things. And like you were saying, the fact that you can think of all these cons, but nobody really stops to think of the pros. It’s a mindset. It is totally a mindset.
Shawna Christian: And I can’t say that this is like an automatic switch, like just think positive. It’s not that at all. It’s literally going through the idea of you have to stop worrying what people think about you. You have to be insanely strong and confident in what it is you’re bringing to the masses or to your customers, your clients. Once you’re there and you really, really love what you’re doing, and nobody’s going to tell you different, that fear of doing it, it dissipates. It goes away. It really does.
Lee Kantor: Yeah. The first sale you have to make is to yourself.
Shawna Christian: Yeah, yeah. If you don’t believe in yourself, you are not going to con anybody else to do this for you at all, at all.
Lee Kantor: And that comes across. That’s not something you can really fake. People can sense if you’re really all in or not.
Shawna Christian: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Again, it’s just confidence is such a huge thing. I think a lot of people are born with it. I think some people aren’t. I think some people have to learn it. But it has to be a jumping point. If you don’t have the confidence, you will always stop yourself. There will always be something in the back of your head telling you why you’re going to fail or why you shouldn’t be doing this.
Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned some of the positives that you didn’t kind of anticipate, can you share some of those moments where you were like, “Hey, I am making an impact. My work is important and this thing is working.”
Shawna Christian: I think the biggest thing for me was I never really was a person who sat in the idea of pushing my femininity out into the open, my race. I’ve always felt like I’m Shawna, and I never really defined myself in any manner. It really just wasn’t a thing for me. I’m of mixed race. I was raised in different religious households. I had to adapt pretty much my whole life, which was great, but it made it so I never really thought about what I was or who I am. I just was always just very confident.
Shawna Christian: And doing this has shown me that everybody is different, but it’s the amount of women who I have come across who don’t know how to begin changing their lives. The amount of women who DM me, they email, they call, they come into the shop, and it’s always “Can I take you to lunch? Can I take you to breakfast? I just want to pick your brain. How did you start? What made you want to do this?”
Shawna Christian: And, really, the biggest piece for me was there is this need to not educate, but to help other women find their voice and find their vehicle to basically take control of what it is they’re doing and for them to just become insanely proud of it. And it was something that I didn’t realize that it was a need. It just hadn’t really occurred to me. But it’s the biggest thing in my life right now. And I’d have to go straight down to the fact that I had a great mentor, I think it’s the same thing.
Lee Kantor: And it’s probably one of those things where while you were having that mentorship, it just probably organically occurred during your day-to-day life and you don’t realize how other people are lacking that.
Shawna Christian: Yeah. Yeah, definitely. You don’t. I mean, it’s that idea that when you put your child into, say, an advanced class, most times your child will basically push themselves forward to try and stay in that advanced class as opposed to if you’re going to put a child into a class where kids are like messing around and not doing much, what do you think that child’s going to do? And so, you don’t realize when you’re being mentored or actually people are showing you things on how to do and how to be, I can’t even put a monetary value on it.
Shawna Christian: I’m so grateful that I got 24 years of just the most amazing mentor in the world. And I realized it’s this whole idea of pay it forward. And it’s what I want to do. It’s made something where I have now found my life’s mission from opening this business, where if you had asked me when I first opened the business, this wasn’t even on my radar.
Lee Kantor: Now, for folks who haven’t been to Tansy, can you explain how Tansy is different? Like, you used the word nursery, but it’s a lot more than a nursery. It’s a community. And you’re doing work that goes well beyond buying a plant for the yard. Can you talk about how you’ve kind of reframed what a nursery could be and you’ve created this third place, really?
Shawna Christian: You know, it’s funny, it was this idea that I wanted to sell plants and I wanted to sell things that I would only have in my own house. That was kind of how it started. And it turned into the most insane community. People come to our shop and it’s their field trip for the day. The shop itself, because of all the color and all of the curation that’s been put into this shop, whether it’s stuff for your home or it’s gifts or it is the plant room, it evokes so much emotion from people.
Shawna Christian: We always know when it’s somebody’s first time when they come in. The look on their face, it is something I wish I could bottle. It is amazing to see. The amount of community that we have been able to create, we have workshops, and we have parties, we have pop-ups. We are very supportive of local artists. Half the items in our shop are of local artists. And it has turned into something that is just, again, I could never imagine the vehicle in which this was going to become. It’s just been amazing.
Shawna Christian: We also have what I call the Teen Titan program. We have girls ages 9 through 13 – I have a waiting list every summer at this point – and we pick basically seven girls, and each one gets a day to come in over summer and they get to work four hours one day a week. And they get to learn how to run a business. They get to learn how to help customers. They get to learn about plants.
Shawna Christian: And the biggest piece for me is this idea that ages 9 through 13, that is like the most uncomfortable age for a girl. You don’t know your voice, you don’t know your body, everything is like pins and needles. And you get these girls in there and the first day they’re there, you can barely hear what they’re saying because they’re just so guarded and just don’t know how to talk. And then, you get to the end of summer and we have people coming in the door and they’re like, “Hi. Welcome to Tansy. Can I help you find something? Here, let me walk you over. So, tell me, how well do you know plants?” It is amazing. It is amazing.
Shawna Christian: And so, this whole business has turned into something I could just never have forecasted.
Lee Kantor: Yeah. That wasn’t in the business plan, I’m sure.
Shawna Christian: Not at all.
Lee Kantor: And that’s the beauty of entrepreneurship, you can adjust to the new information you’re getting as it’s happening. That didn’t have to go to a committee and a board to make a decision.
Shawna Christian: Right. No, I didn’t have to get approval for it. It’s very nice to feel like you get to make your own decisions, as scary as it might be sometimes.
Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you to become part of the WBEC-West community?
Shawna Christian: So, I hadn’t realized what a community it was. Initially, when I had first opened my business, a friend of mine, a mentor of mine had said this is something you might want to look into. And it’s one of the only women I know who is just, you know, years ahead of me when it comes to business, and everything she says I listen to. And so, I looked into it, I started down the path and I kind of gave up halfway. It was a lot. COVID hit. We were bobbing and weaving trying to kind of figure out how we were going to stay open. And it was a lot of paperwork. And I kind of gave it up.
Shawna Christian: Well, fast forward, I have this master plan of something that we have in the works that involves women, and it involves women around the country. And my friend, one of my mentors had basically said, “Hey, you might want to try this again. I think it would be really good.” And so, I finally had time. I did my research and I was blown away. I was blown away at the amount of female support that WBEC gives. I had no idea. I had no idea.
Shawna Christian: It was one of those things where I had been trying to do what they do on a large scale. For me, trying to do it on this really, really small scale for women that I’m meeting, not even realizing that this network that WBEC offers, it’s life changing. It’s life changing. And I am so proud and excited to be part of it.
Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of? How can we help you?
Shawna Christian: What do I need more of? I would like to have more group specific to industries. I would love to be able to have those groups where I can find where it’s great to have a retail group, but I would love to find a retail group that’s, say, in the top five biggest cities in America. Because it’s a major difference being the only Black female-owned nursery in all of Los Angeles County than it is for me to talk to somebody who they’re in retail and they might be selling candles and they have places in, like, Oklahoma and Florida or what have you. I like the idea of having just more defined meet and greets, if that makes any sense.
Lee Kantor: Right. With people that are kind of doing work maybe similar, maybe not exact, but tangentially connected to your kind of mission and vision.
Shawna Christian: Yeah, exactly. They don’t have to be into plants per se. But maybe they are – I don’t know. Maybe it is plants.
Lee Kantor: Who’s your ideal customer? Are they right now people in and around Burbank, in Los Angeles County? Can people order your things online?
Shawna Christian: Yeah, definitely. So, our demographic, it’s a good 70 percent women from ages, like literally, one, because we have children’s stuff as well, to 100 years old. We definitely are very well-established and liked within the LGBTQ community as well. We have a website, it’s shoptansy.com. We can ship all over the world. We don’t ship plants right now. It’s something we’re actually going to start doing. But we have our social media as well, it’s ShopTansyLA for Los Angeles. We did open a second location in Seattle last year, and so that’s ShopTansySEA. Our demographic is definitely highly female, but we cater to anybody who has a love of plants and color, honestly.
Lee Kantor: And that website is shoptansy, S-H-O-P-T-A-N-S-Y,.com.
Shawna Christian: You got it.
Lee Kantor: Well, Shawna, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.
Shawna Christian: Thank you so much. And thank you again so much for even thinking of me and having me. I’m so excited to hear this.
Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.
Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, one of the reasons I think that our media company, Business RadioX Network, has seen the success it has is because our guests are so great about turning around and sharing their interview with the constituencies that matter to them most.
Stone Payton: But I have talked to other people who have shows outside the network, and it seems like their guests aren’t sharing those interviews as prolifically. I mean, why not, do you think?
Lee Kantor: I think this is one of the big differentiators between the way that we train our studio operators and our hosts when it comes to doing interviews, and I believe the number one reason a guest does not share their interview is because the guest does not feel the content is valuable enough for them to make the effort and share it. I mean, that’s really the bottom line. A lot of show hosts make the show about themselves, and they don’t really shine a light on the guest, and they don’t give the guest the opportunity to share their intelligence, and their IP, and the advice and things like that.
Lee Kantor: So, I think that where we really have differentiated ourselves and really helped a lot more hosts become successful and have shows that go on for years is because we have taught this very well. In every interview, you should try and give your guest a question or a series of questions that they answer that will give them a valuable soundbite or content that they can self-servingly use in their own marketing. This is going to ensure that they share their episode with their people, their audience, and their network.
Lee Kantor: If you don’t do that, if they’re just a prop for you to be smart, they’re not going to share it. It’s just not going to work out. The thing you have to do is make them look good. You have to give them opportunities to shine. You have to give them opportunities to share what they know.
Lee Kantor: And as a bonus tip, and this is something that we’re getting better at, especially with the advent of all these AI tools, is you have to give them media assets in a way that makes it easy for them to share. So, the more media assets you give them, the better it is and the more likely it is that they’re going to share that content with other people. And guess what? Every time they do that, you come along for the ride so it’s a win-win all the way around.
Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. You know, a lot of people in my community, Lee, are surprised when they’re asking me about podcasting. And I tell them, you know, I don’t run out of questions but I also don’t run out of guests. And they’re really surprised that we have a consistent flow of guests. What tips, if any, do you have on finding good guests for your next podcast?
Lee Kantor: That is one of the areas where we do not have to worry about. And it’s funny because when you hear so many people, one of their big obstacles they put in front of themselves is this fear of not getting guests.
Lee Kantor: So, if I was, you know, plopped into this world and I had never done this before, these are five places I would look for if I was looking for guests for a brand new show, and I had no network or I had no experience doing this before.
Lee Kantor: So, the first place I would look is my personal network. I would ask people I already know and people who know me and I would start with them, that’s the first place I would go. And then, the second place I would go is I’d go on LinkedIn and see if I can kind of dig a little deeper, and then I would start asking my LinkedIn connections to be a guest or if they knew of any guests.
Lee Kantor: Thirdly, I would lean on my professional business associations. First, I’d start with some of the leadership from those associations, and I’d start asking them to be a guest and/or some of the members of the association to be guests. Another place to look is through other kind of social media platforms or podcast platforms. Look for guests who have appeared on other podcasts that are in your industry. So, if they’ve been a guest on one show, there’s a high probability they’ll be open to being a guest on your show.
Lee Kantor: And then, finally, the last place I would look for guests, which is really the most obvious place, is, all the previous guests, I would ask them for referrals for my next guest. So, those are five places that I would go to look for guests.
Frank Zaccari is an adept Professional Problem Solver, and engaging TV, podcast and youtube Show Host and speaker. With a diverse background spanning military 
service in the U.S. Air Force, over 25 years in the high-tech industry, and acclaimed authorship, Frank brings a wealth of experience to his endeavors.
As a 5-time Best-Selling and 2-time Award-Winning Author, Frank has penned nine impactful books and co-founded the Trust the Process – Book Marketing Program, propelling numerous authors to success. He is a passionate mentor, conducting workshops at institutions like Arizona State University, the University of California Entrepreneurship Academy and guiding veterans through the Veterans Treatment Court.
An accomplished speaker and NAMCA Certified Speaker, Frank captivates audiences worldwide. He hosts a popular Roku TV and YouTube show with over 240,000 listeners across 42 countries. Frank holds a Management Development for Entrepreneurs Certification from UCLA Anderson School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from California State University at Sacramento.
Driven by his mission to unlock opportunities, solve challenges, and foster high-performing teams, Frank Zaccari continues to make a profound impact in business, leadership, and authorship.
Connect with Frank on LinkedIn and Facebook.
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.
Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. Really excited about the guests that I have on with me today. Mr. Frank Zaccari, CEO of Life Altering Events. He’s a five time best selling and two time award winning author. Frank has penned nine impactful books and co-founded the Trust Process Book marketing program, propelling numerous authors to success. He’s a passionate mentor, conducting workshops at institutions like Arizona State University and University of California Entrepreneurship Academy, and guiding veterans through the Veterans Treatment Court. Frank, welcome to the show.
Frank Zaccari: Trisha, thank you. It’s always a pleasure to be with you.
Trisha Stetzel: I’m really excited about our conversation today. So the first thing that I want to draw out, Frank, is you’re in California and I’ve invited you to be on Houston Business Radio. And you and I have a background together through the Houston Regional Veterans Chamber of Commerce. And thank you so much for all you give to that organization. And you’ve also got some other Houston ties. I want to just give one plug. Thank you, Frank, for allowing so many of us to be authors in this best selling book. It was an amazing experience. So let’s talk about Frank’s ties to Houston first.
Frank Zaccari: Sure, be happy to. I love Houston. I used to come to Houston in my high tech life many years ago and spent a lot of time there. Um, then I was went back to Houston again when the, uh, when the housing meltdown occurred and Houston was becoming almost like a ghost town or even was leaving, it was a disaster. But but what I love about the people of Houston and I love about the organization, is that they they said, we’re not going to let this define us. And the city has come back and the whole community, the whole area has come back and has brought businesses back in, and it’s got a very positive attitude and positive approach to life. And then it started partnering with people like the Houston Regional Veterans Chamber of Commerce, because what I saw with Houston is they started to look around. It says, all right, what do we have a lot of? Okay. We have a lot of oil and gas and we have a lot of veterans. Okay. So how now do we take this big block of veterans that we have that are living in the Houston area, the community, and bring them into the fold because these are the people. These are the kind of people you want to own businesses and be part and be employees. Yeah, that was the CEO for several years. Everybody wants loyalty and persistency and a leadership and willingness to work around and find obstacle around obstacles and get that way. And I look at Houston and that’s what I see. I see a city who finds a way around. Whatever the problem is, it will find a way.
Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And just to note, we have the highest concentration in the nation of veterans. Uh, second highest, excuse me, of veterans in the greater Houston area. And we’re number one for female veterans in the nation here in the greater Houston area. So you’re absolutely right. There is a huge market to be served here when it comes to our veterans and how we can help them. And for those of you who are only listening and are not watching the video, the plug that I was giving was on this beautiful book that Frank afforded many of us from the chamber and otherwise, but veterans to coauthor business secrets from the battlefield to the boardroom. And for most of us, Frank, it was our first time to go through that process. And I know that you have built a business around helping people with that. So would you just give us an overview of a short overview of your background to get started, and then we’ll take a deeper dive?
Frank Zaccari: There. Sure. Very thumbnail sketches that grew up in Western New York in the Buffalo area, and I was the only ladder guy I ever won was the military lottery, and my draft number was ten. So, okay, that pretty much made a lot of decisions to things were done. They were deciding. Um, I enlisted in the Air Force rather than going into the Army. I was during the Vietnam War. And so I was a medic in the military near the end of the war. I didn’t I was not combat medic, but I was in the Air Force during that period of time. When I got out and went back to school and I got into the high tech world, I don’t know how or why, but I did, and I thought, well, I’ll stay in high tech for a couple of years. I my degree is in finance. I’ll go back into the finance world. And 27 years later, I was a CEO of two companies up in Seattle, and it was still in high tech. All right, which I loved, I loved we had a domestic situation change and I became a single father with my two young daughters. And so getting out of high tech was necessary because I was traveling too much and had to be a full time father. I took over an insurance agency which which I tell everybody, if you come from high tech, proactive industry and you go to insurance reactive industry, it’s like dying and going to hell if you’re a type A personality like God.
Frank Zaccari: But it was a means to an end, a means to an end. I had to get my daughters through school to get them into their first, what they call grown up jobs, which we did, and they both did them very, very well. Uh, I, uh, got married again at in my 60s. And so my wife had a house in San Diego, which is where I am now. And then I have a house in Scottsdale, Arizona. So we basically go between the two quite frequently. Uh, we the book thing for sure, just it nothing was planned. I didn’t plan any of this. Um, I was going through counseling after the divorce, and one of the counselor said, Frank, you need you need to journal and write this down. No chance. Don’t write this down. I’m living it. Well, I want to write it down and memorable. So, um, one of my daughters said, yeah, dad, do it. So I do stream of consciousness. I’ve never been trained as a writer, never had not just stream of consciousness. Write down, write down, and then go back and start it to starting to make sense a little bit. And I found out that cannabis, who became my publisher and we put the book out, um, and the first book was not it was a good book, but it didn’t what I was doing.
Frank Zaccari: Right. Right. So I did five of those that way not knowing what I was doing, what, five books? And then I said, okay, I’m going nowhere. Stop, this isn’t working. And then Cat cannabis calls me back and I’m driving to Phoenix and I’m in the middle of the desert. And she says, you got to write again. You’re too good. And I said, okay, I’m tired. I don’t want to do this anymore. So I said, let me get off the freeway. So I’m sitting in a Dunkin Donuts in Goodyear, Arizona, and it’s 110 degrees. And she’s saying, Frank, we’re going to do a series. We’re going to do a series of books in the Business Secrets series. Okay. And the first one was going to be about business things you don’t see coming. And so that one went to number one, and we figured it out, and that my partner Melissa Van Hoss and me, at least we figured out how to market and promote books. Right? So book goes to number one and the second, uh, cat comes back to me. She says, Frank, people say they got their business under control, but the personal life isn’t very good. And we need to write about relationship issues because you’re a master at failed relationships. Thanks, Cat. Not a nice.
Trisha Stetzel: Compliment.
Frank Zaccari: There’s a second book and it went. Yeah, yeah, that one went to number one. And then we had, um, your life could be going good, but you get stuck, and that’s just the way it is. Everybody gets stuck. So that was a third book. Then I wanted to do the fourth one with veterans. I’ve always wanted to do this, and David Weaver and you and your group are so gracious to step up and say, yeah, let’s be part of this. And what we wanted to show. And this is not just for veterans, it’s for anybody. Everything’s a transition. Every transition is difficult. So what are you going to do and what is your goals and how do you connect and how do you reach out and find people. And that was what it was all about. And we talked to veterans. They all say, oh, I can’t write. And my story is boring. And so as we did with, uh, with this one, we sent questions and said, here, fill these out. We’ll fine tune it with you for you. And what was amazing was, as we were going through, we 1919 contributing authors, and as we were going through it, the women, their stories were so much better. They were so much more in depth. There was so much more emotion. There was so much more detail. And it made a huge difference when the guys were good that the guys were, yes, I’m there, did this, and they’re pretty much, you know, to the point.
Frank Zaccari: Yeah. But uh, but but the lady, the women veterans, we had a mom, a military mother, and then we had a woman who, uh, um, flew the troops over. She was a flight attendant, flew troops over to to Vietnam. And we got her perspective on what it was like, uh, interacting with military so that the thing that that I found in doing this book and the thing that I find. And every time I go to Houston and meet with you and your team is there’s this there’s this resiliency. Okay, we’re going to not just do okay. Here’s something just for veterans okay. That’s wonderful. There’s 45,000 entities that deal with veterans. But you go to the other side and you go into the Houston community and you say, okay Houston, we’ve got these people. You got great employees or great businesses here. And what do you need and how do we make it better for you, as opposed to what I see in some veteran groups that come out and say, look, we served you and now you owe us. Okay. Well, then what? He owes you anything? No one owes you a thing. So what do you bring? What value? And when? When I read your story and Carlene and, uh. And LaToya, uh, Westbrook. The story was this is the value that I have. This is how you take all those skills that you’ve developed and you translate it because the world is changing radically.
Frank Zaccari: I interviewed a futurist named, uh, doctor, um, Edward Hess from the University of Virginia at the Darden School. And he told me, he said, Frank, children entering kindergarten today, right now, today, 65% of them are going to work in a career that doesn’t exist today. It doesn’t exist. Wow. And I said, well, that’s pretty intense. And he said, look over, look over history, the industrial revolution, those jobs didn’t exist. And you went to the automation that didn’t exist. And the tech world. He says. So it’s in a constantly evolving thing. So finding your value and finding your skills and how do your skills translate? And I hear this all the time, particularly the veterans. You know, I get ready to go. And you know what? I don’t have any skill. Yeah you do. Yes you do. But let’s sit down. And when you do a great job with working with veterans and working with the community, here’s what they bring to the party. Here’s the value proposition. Now, doesn’t this make sense in your business? And if you have a business, doesn’t it make sense to say, look, this is what this is what I can bring and you have to have value. Just can’t be I serve. So help me out here. It’s got to be I have value build what it is and you guys do a great job.
Trisha Stetzel: Thank you I appreciate that. I love the mission of this particular chamber because it’s not just about networking. It really is about identifying all of those amazing veterans out there who have opened a business. And you’ve you’ve heard my story, John Cleese. Many of us spent years as business owners without ever identifying as a veteran, because we didn’t think we needed to. Uh, I can do it myself. You and I talked about this on your show, right? Uh, those five words. I can do it myself. I don’t need a handout. And that’s really not the message here. The message is we need to know who you are, because we may need you to help the next guy or gal who’s opening a business come out and mentor them. And that’s really important to me, right? We all have something, something of value to give back to the community. And I think that’s really important. Well, I want to circle back around, Frank, when I first introduced you, um, I talked about trust the Process book marketing program. I’d love for you to talk more about that so that our audience can really understand the work that you’re doing with people there.
Frank Zaccari: Be happy to. Uh, my partner is Melissa Vanasse, and she lives in Washington, DC, and she was on my show and she had written a book, and we started talking about, what are you doing and how are you marketing? And so she had a lot of this process already figured out. And I said, well, let’s collaborate because I think we could productize this. Okay. So then we tried it on ourselves first we did it on ourselves and our books went to number one. I said, okay, we might have something here. And then we started looking at, well, what are what are the things that are preventing it? And there’s a there’s a ton of myths in the publishing world. Authors. All they want to do is get the book done. Okay, you’re writing a book. I just want it done because it drives you crazy. So you got it done. Now what do I do? I put it on Amazon. Everybody’s going to go buy it. Okay, that don’t work like that. 11,000 books are released every single day in the United States. 11,000? Okay. How are you going to stand out? What are you going to do different? And so what we did with our program and Melissa and I is that we, we meet with the other first potential author and say, number one, why do you want to do this? Okay.
Frank Zaccari: If you want to do a legacy book for your grandchildren, then okay, probably not the right people for it. But if you want to write a book that’s going to enhance the value of what you’re doing, help your business, open up speaking engagements, webinars, workshops, and all of those kinds of things, then let’s fuck. And then it comes down to consistency and continuity. Because the first thing that every author thinks is, oh, my publisher, because they tell you this, my publisher is going to market my book. No they’re not. Publishers publish. They don’t market. That’s it. Okay. Now they might put out a press release that nobody reads, but they’re not going to market your book. Okay. Now it’s up to you. And then they’ll say, okay, well, um, I was told I should have a watch party, and so I’m going to get this big party, this big event at this hotel or whatever. And I said, how many people said they’re going to come? 150. How many people actually show up? Ten. Six. Four. Doesn’t matter. So you’re spending all this time and energy when you could be sending out a consistent and a message? Something better than that, right? So we we create a whole campaign. We do the campaign. We create the content working with the author, and then we send it to them. We say, here, post this on this day at this time.
Frank Zaccari: All right. So the first step is who are you author and why should anybody care. And we say it nicer than that obviously. But here’s what the skill sets are. So we spent a period of time putting out posts about this author is then we go into the launch process. Okay, now you know who the author is. Here’s this book that’s coming. And this is why it’s important I know who she is or he is. This is the book. This is what we’ve been prepping you for on this day. Go buy it. Then we’re going through a whole long sequence. So we have a social media campaign, we have an email campaign. We have a live video campaign. We have people on on my show and other people’s shows, uh, during the course of this thing. And the net net is release day is the magic. And you drive everybody to buy the book on that day, right. Mhm. And we’ve now had 13 in a row. 13 consecutive titles have gone to bestseller, 11 went to number one, five have won awards. So we’re thinking okay I think we’ve got this kind of figured out. Yeah. Now it’s a matter of sitting down with the authors and we do a real hard screen to fish. We say. We say no more than we say yes.
Frank Zaccari: Okay. And if it’s a you want to use it as an evergreen tool for business or for your life or for something along those lines, are you willing to be coached? Right. Because when you write a book, everybody and their brother and their uncle’s cousin is an expert. Of course. Oh, you should do this and you should do that, and I get a kick out of it. And I did a talk at the Military Info Influencers conference in Las Vegas about this. And I said to to the people there, I said, who are the smartest parents in the world, smartest parents in the world. And they went, what? And I said, people with no children. They are the smartest parents in the world because they’ve never done it. But they can tell you what to do, but they’ve never done it. It’s the same with the book. Okay, so you can write a book, you have an editor, you can have editors to do it, and then you got to market it. So one of my third book hit Number one, I get a call from a big distribution house. They actually called me and they said, why aren’t you using us? And I said, okay, what do you bring to the party? They said, we’re going to put your book in Walmart. We’re going to put your book in, uh, target, and we’re going to put your book in bookstores.
Frank Zaccari: And I said, how are you going to do that? And he said, well, we got this giant online catalog. And I said, like the old yellow Pages, remember the old yellow pages? Yeah. And I said, so I’m one line in a big giant book. Right. And they said, well, yeah. And I said, they’re going to buy 10,000 copies of my book off of this one line. And they said, no, no, Frank, Frank, Frank, what you do is you create the demand for it. And then when you are driving. 8 to 10,000 sales, then we’ll put all our muscle behind it. And I said, if I can get 10,000 by myself, I don’t need you. Right. I’ve already figured it out. So that’s what we’re doing with Trusted Process. So authors are out there and you want to write a book and people say, what would I write? You write about something, you know. Okay. You start with something, you know, and everybody has a story. And this is what we head into with the veteran, right? You have a story, and there’s somebody out there who’s going to probably thousands of people are going through what you are going through or what you went through. And that story, that book, could be the thing that triggers them to continue going forward or gives them hope.
Frank Zaccari: I’m speaking at the veteran, uh, the VA Department of Defense Veterans Suicide Conference in, uh, in one month in Portland, Oregon. And that’s what this is. That’s what this am I talking about, publishing the book. We’re talking about the connection portion of it is that your story matters and your story can help somebody else, right? Help them move forward. And then it comes. And it comes down to, well, I don’t know how to write what we can do. We got people could do that. We got people who can help you write it. We have editors. We have people from the graphics. The whole thing is we tell the author, if you can do if you can cut and paste, we can run the campaign for you. And are you willing to listen? Big thing because are you willing to listen and take direction and say, here it is. And one person told me, Frank, you know, if you post something in three times a week or four times a week, you’re you’re annoying people. And I said, okay, you’ve heard of Coca Cola. You’ve heard of McDonald’s. How many times do you see ads for them? Every day. Multiple times a day. And when I was at the Military Influencers Conference conference in Las Vegas, there was a group that was involved in the second Top Gun movie where they were involved in the production side from the military side.
Frank Zaccari: Yeah. And so I said to them, how far in advance did you start working on promoting that movie? Everyone knew it was coming. Everyone knew the first one. Everybody knew Tom cruise. Seven and a half months before the release, they started marketing the movie. So consistency and continuity of the message is so important, and that’s what we excel at in. Melissa is a master at it, and we create this and say on this day, at this time, post it. Now why is that important? Because social media, if we’re using the social media part, social media if you don’t get a response, not a click, not a yes or a statement or a comment, if you don’t get a comment within the first 15 to 30 minutes, that post goes away. Have you ever seen a post and you say nobody saw that? What did he go and you can’t find it? Well, nobody responded, so therefore the algorithm pushes it out. It’s gone. So we know what it’s going to be posted. We comment on it, we share it. We send it to our networks. And that’s how you start that that spider approach that goes through. And then it comes down to you then touch your your key people that you can send emails to and say, hey, I’m doing this.
Frank Zaccari: Can you help me out? And then why video? Why video is critical because now you’re telling your story. And as you and I said before we started filming here, sometimes you can get a little long winded like I’m doing right now, but on those videos we call them minute and 30s no more, and we write the script for them. Okay, now you can tune it up to make it sound more like you, but right. 30s. First person we did it with with timer stopwatch. And so when you hit a minute 30s, I said stop, stop. We didn’t get to the point yet, and I said, exactly. You didn’t get to the point. Get to the point. Do it now. Here. Say this. Yeah. And then leave them wanting more. Right. Okay. What is this? And there’s something about it. And we create an author page, one page author sheet for the author. Okay. And then when we want to go to interviews or other certain things, we have them send that out. And then we have an award winning, uh, journalist. And if the author wants to have a news article, not a press release, no one reads press releases, news article. Okay. Publications are lazy. And if you send them an article that’s already done and they have space or it fits.
Speaker4: It.
Frank Zaccari: They’ll plug it in. So the last two that we did were picked up by 117 and 171 different publications, including Bloomberg, USA today, New York Times, etc. because they they don’t want to pay for content and they don’t want to pay for journalists anymore. So if you send them something that’s.
Speaker4: Already.
Frank Zaccari: Done, they may just pop it in and then we’ll do virtual book tours. If the author wants to do that, where we get, um, if they call themselves book geeks, right. We’ve done enough of these where we’ll say, look, the book is about this. I don’t want somebody who does zombies talking about a family or relationship book, somebody who does that. Like when we did the battlefield book, we had veterans write, do veterans read it and commented about it? And and the beauty is when you reach out and you ask people that are friends or you build a relationship or help, they will help you. Does everybody says, how can I help? How can I help? But we never tell them how, right? No, I can do it your typical way. You said before. I’ll figure it out, right?
Speaker4: Yeah, I’ll.
Frank Zaccari: Just.
Speaker4: Do that.
Frank Zaccari: You’re not going to figure it out by yourself. These people are willing to help. Tell them. Do this for me, please.
Speaker4: Well, I mean, it works.
Frank Zaccari: And so far, so good.
Trisha Stetzel: I’ve seen part of this process work live with the the book that we put together together. Uh, and using that process where we reached out, you fed us everything we needed. Here’s an email template. Send this out by email, put it out on social. And I had so many people interested because I was engaging with them, saying that I had written my story in this book, and so many people reached back out to me and said, I bought the book and it was amazing. And so I know we didn’t use the whole process around this particular book, but we used parts of it, and I know that it works, and I think it’s really important to have somebody like you, uh, on your side if you’re going to write a book because you’re right. You write a book, and then what? You don’t know how to get through the rest of the process. And that’s what you guys have built out and I think is so amazing. So, frank, as we close up, can you share the name of your show where people can find it and how they might reach out and contact you? I know you’re also on social, so if you want to give those channels as well.
Speaker4: We, uh.
Frank Zaccari: We have a web. My website is Frank Zuccari. Com we have a new one coming out. Authors trust the process.com. It’s not done yet, but it’ll be done soon. Uh, I’m on LinkedIn. I’m on Facebook. I’m easy to find. Linkedin usually is the best place. I get a lot of emails. Frank Zachary at gmail.com. I keep everything simple because I’m old and I can’t remember all the passwords and logins.
Speaker4: Yep. So it’s like yeah, absolutely. There’s just too many. Yeah. Uh.
Frank Zaccari: Call me (916) 718-5517. Um, I’m easy to find, and, uh, we’re very open to have a conversation, uh, with our new site trustee. Uh, authors trust the process. There’ll be, uh, information where people can fill out what it is they’re trying to do or what they want to do, and then we’ll set up a time to meet with them.
Trisha Stetzel: Wonderful. Frank, thanks so much for being with me today. This is so much fun. And we may have to have you back to talk about some other things.
Speaker4: Okay. Anytime.
Frank Zaccari: Happy to do it. Oh.
Trisha Stetzel: Well thank you I appreciate it. And that’s all the time we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another exciting episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep thriving in the Houston business community.
In this episode of Women in Motion, host Lee Kantor interviews Chanelle Nakkashian, founder of HonestLove Global Professional Staffing. Chanelle discusses her company’s role as a travel nursing agency and staffing provider for allied health professionals, primarily in California, with plans for nationwide expansion. She shares her inspiring journey from being an immigrant facing homelessness to becoming a registered nurse and entrepreneur. Chanelle highlights the importance of mentorship, continuous education, and career growth for her team. She also emphasizes the value of community and collaboration, offering advice to aspiring entrepreneurs.
Chanelle Nakkashian is a distinguished leader in the healthcare industry, known for her exemplary career as a registered nurse and her visionary leadership as the CEO of HonestLove Global Professional Staffing. With a strong background in nursing and a passion for elevating healthcare standards, Chanelle has dedicated her career to making a positive impact on patient care and the professional development of healthcare professionals.
Chanelle’s journey began with her pursuitof a nursing degree from a prestigious institution, where she honed her clinical skills and developed a deep understanding of patient care. Throughout her years as a practicing nurse, Chanelle demonstrated exceptional dedication, compassion, and expertise in providing high-quality care to patients in various healthcare settings.
Driven by a desire to address the challenges faced by both healthcare organizations and professionals, Chanelle founded HonestLove Global Professional Staffing. As the CEO, she leads with integrity, innovation, and a commitment to excellence. Under her guidance, HonestLove has become a trusted partner for healthcare organizations seeking top-tier staffing solutions and for healthcare professionals seeking rewarding career opportunities.
Chanelle’s leadership philosophy is centered on empowering her team to excel and fostering a culture of collaboration, respect, and continuous improvement. She prioritizes employee well-being and professional development, recognizing that a motivated and skilled workforce is essential for delivering exceptional service to clients and patients alike.
Beyond her role at HonestLove, Chanelle is actively involved in industry associations and community initiatives aimed at advancing healthcare standards and promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion in the healthcare workforce.
Through her tireless dedication to improving healthcare delivery and supporting healthcare professionals, Chanelle continues to inspire others and make a lasting impact on the healthcare industry.
Connect with Chanelle on LinkedIn.
Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC
This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix
Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Chanelle Nakkashian with Honest Love Global Professionals Staffing. Welcome.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Thank you. Thank you. I’m so excited to be here. And thank you so much for having me here.
Lee Kantor: Well, I’m excited to learn about your company. Can you tell us about Honest Love? How are you serving folks?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. Honest Love is a travel nursing agency and also for allied health. It’s mostly staffing for healthcare. And we do provide health care workers and clinicians to various hospitals and healthcare organizations. So, what we do is we send nurses and other therapists that do work in healthcare, in mostly acute care facilities, which is hospitals, we send them there to go help out for staffing shortages.
Chanelle Nakkashian: So, here and there, hospitals will be short of staff, although they will have facilities that are looking for extra help because some of the nurses called off, or they have more patients, or they have more demand than they currently have so they will outreach to resources such as Honest Love Global Professionals Staffing and we will be able to provide them that support that they need.
Lee Kantor: Now, are you providing the support primarily in California or is it around the country?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Currently, we are providing primarily in California, but we are looking to also helping out in other parts of the country. Certain states do require licensing, so we are working on that. And some of the other states that do not, we are marketing and continuing to expand and trying to help all the other states that could possibly use our help.
Lee Kantor: Now, in your work, it seems like you have two different clients, you have the medical facility that hires you, but also you have the health care professional that you place there. How do you serve both of those constituents?
Chanelle Nakkashian: You know, me being a health care professional myself – I’m not sure if I did explain to you before – I am a registered nurse, and prior to starting my company, I did work in the healthcare, and I also did work as a travel nurse. So, I do have quite an extensive background in that field, so I’m able to actually pinpoint the needs of the client and be able to also serve them with the clinicians that I believe that will be able to be the right fit for that particular facility.
Lee Kantor: So, let’s talk a little bit about your backstory. How did you transition from being a healthcare provider to, you know, running this entire firm?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Excellent question. You know, I’m an immigrant from Africa. I arrived in the United States in 2001, right after high school. And when I came to the U.S., I didn’t have any security or stable place to live. I faced challenges of homelessness, and I found solace in a sense of belonging within the community of the church that I used to attend. With that being said, healthcare has always been my passion. Despite all the adversities I faced, I remained steadfast in my pursuit of education, particularly in the field of healthcare. I’ve always been determined to make a difference in the life of others.
Chanelle Nakkashian: So, I began taking classes in community college with the goal of pursuing a nursing education. Nursing, for me, was not just a career, but a choice, and also a profound way to connect with and support others in their times of need. Driven by my passion for helping others, my journey has always served as a testament to the power of perseverance and the transformational impact of compassion.
Chanelle Nakkashian: My journey extends beyond the realm of nursing into the dynamic of entrepreneurship. As I stand today, I’m a founder out of two impact ventures, not just Honest Love Global Professional, but I also did founded Honest Love Global Home Care, which served the community and provides home care resources for the elderly. So, this all came from my deep rooted passion for helping others, and also it aligns with my commitment to making a difference in people’s life.
Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned the term travel nurse, can you explain to folks who maybe aren’t familiar, like what’s a travel nurse? And why is that choice of nursing different than one who may work in one place over a long period of time?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Okay. Excellent. So, you know, travel nursing is when a nurse decides to explore. So, instead of just serving, working, deciding to work at one particular hospital, an individual or a nurse or a clinician decides to go to different hospitals or sign a contract at a particular hospital for a certain amount of time. It could be 13 weeks, which is the average time frame.
Chanelle Nakkashian: So, a nurse will sign a contract with a particular hospital and that’s where the middleman comes in, which is the agency. And the nurse will work at the hospital for a certain amount of time. It could be 13 weeks or the hospital will decide to extend that for another 13 weeks. So, it goes for three months at a time.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Part of the pros of actually working as a travel nurse is, after that 13 weeks, you can actually take a vacation and decide to take three months off. On the other hand, if you did work for the hospital, you can just take that time off from the hospital without the hospital or the current company authorizing that time off. So, being a travel nurse kind of gives you that freedom to be able to make your own schedule, work when you want to, take time off to be with family in case that’s needed.
Chanelle Nakkashian: As a former travel nurse myself, I did do travel nursing because it did work for my schedule. As a mom, I was able to take the whole summer off to spend time with my kids and then go back and travel when the kids were in school. So, those are some of the perks that a travel nurse will have. And travel nurses tend to get paid a little bit higher, too, so that is also another part of the perks that a lot of the nurses do enjoy.
Lee Kantor: And when you’re saying travel, they’re not traveling to another country. They could just be traveling to another facility within their community.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. They can be traveling to another facility within the community that they live, or they could be traveling to a different state or a different city or a different county in California. For instance, if someone lives in Riverside County, they could drive to a L.A. County to be a traveler, to work in a particular hospital in Los Angeles or to Northern California. So, you do have that flexibility to move around and you do have control over your schedule in that sense.
Lee Kantor: Now, how do you help your team kind of grow their career? Do you give them mentoring or education or advice when it comes to a career plan?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. You know, I serve as a resource and a mentor to all our staff. And I always tell them I’m always open for any questions that they have or how do I advance their career. Education is my number one, so I’m always advising people to continue to go up and move on and get your education, advance your career, go get your masters. A lot of our nurses do travel nursing because they are advancing their careers and going to be a nurse practitioner. And being a traveler becomes a lot more flexible to be able to work for three months and go back to school, and also cut down on their hours when that time is needed to be able to complete all their clinical work and be able to get their degree as a nurse practitioner.
Chanelle Nakkashian: So, a lot of our nurses, actually, they do work on advancing their degrees. Some are in school to have their doctorate degree. So, we do support that and we do encourage that and we always offer them resources.
Lee Kantor: Now, can you share a story about maybe one of your people that got to you maybe young and maybe not confident, and then after working with you, they were able to attain a higher level, a new level in their career.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Absolutely. You know, a lot of our nurses or a lot of the clinicians that work for us, they come to us after a year or two of getting experience. And we do have nurses fly in specifically from Houston and Texas – Texas, not just Houston – excuse my language – from the State of Texas. The State of Texas is very close to California, so some of the nurses will fly in to work as a traveler here in California.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Let’s put it this way, California logistics is a little bit different from that in Texas, so sometimes some of the facilities that we will place them at, they do have a hard time, either the way they chart or the expectations of the hospital. So, this is when we come in and we mentor them, and I give them tips because I have done it. I’ve lived in your shoes, so it’s easier to communicate with them, let them know this is what you can do, this is what it takes to survive.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Because being a travel nurse itself is not easy and it’s not for everyone. You have to pick yourself up, go to a different facility, and act like you’ve worked there before, and be a people person to be able to work with others very well. There’s a certain criteria that our clients are looking for. So, this is when I come in and I mentor them, I send them emails, I call them, I let them know this is how you do it. If you have any challenges, let us know.
Chanelle Nakkashian: So, basically, there’s been a lot of instances where I have shaped specifically younger nurses that have, like, a year or two experience and I’m talking about 24, 25. And by the time they do talk to me, they realize, “You’re actually right, when I used all the things and everything that you shared with me, I’m having an easier time at work.”
Lee Kantor: Yeah. I would imagine, because if you’re not used to that, you’re always kind of the new person. Like you get in there and you don’t know anybody and then you’re kind of dropped in there, and if you don’t have the confidence, it could be challenging.
Chanelle Nakkashian: It could be very challenging, because, like I said, there’s certain qualities that the facilities are looking for. You have to just go in there and be able to fit in. And it’s not always comfortable. And I always let them know it does take a few days, a few shifts because you’re not going to go there and be comfortable that very first day. But it takes perseverance and endurance to be able to fit in and prove yourself, let them know how confident you are. And it works out great. I’ll tell you, 90 percent of the time they have a great experience after a week or two.
Lee Kantor: Right. And especially if you can really get them with the right mindset coming in, it probably becomes a lot easier.
Chanelle Nakkashian: It’s a lot easier. And the mindset is extremely important, especially in this field.
Lee Kantor: So, now, why was it important for you to be part of WBEC-West and what have you gotten out of that?
Chanelle Nakkashian: You know, it was extremely important to me, it’s a sense of belonging. Like I shared my story earlier, I’m an immigrant that basically didn’t have any family. So, for me, once I became an entrepreneur, I wanted to actually join forces with others that were just like myself or that were trying to be an upcoming entrepreneur, to be able to join forces and come together and also help others that want to be while I was continuing to also take mentorship from others. So, basically just learning from each other.
Lee Kantor: So, what’s next for Honest Love?
Chanelle Nakkashian: What’s next? What’s next for us is continue to get more contracts, continue to make our name out there, continue to overcome all the other hurdles and other barriers. Because this business is also not easy. The healthcare industry is complex and it has a lot of hurdles and also a lot of evolving technology. So, our goal for Honest Love is continue to expand, and continue to educate, continue to broaden our knowledge, continue to bring on more clients. And also prove ourselves and let people know that Honest Love is here and we do have a lot to offer.
Lee Kantor: What about some advice for maybe the person that’s new to America and then says I want to be an entrepreneur, do you have any advice for that person on how to jumpstart their entrepreneurial journey?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Yeah, absolutely. You have to believe in your mission. You have to stay true to your passion and purpose. Be dedicated to helping. You have to build a support network that will be able to serve as a mentorship to you. Continuously learn and always build a landscape of constantly involving people around you. And always stay curious, keep learning, be willing to adapt to new changes and new opportunities. It is not easy, but seek collaboration and partnership. Stay resilient. It can be a roller coaster ride of highs and lows, but you have to develop resilience to bounce off from setbacks and keep moving forward.
Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about Honest Love, either the professional staffing or the home healthcare, what is the website? What’s the best way to get a hold of you or somebody on the team?
Chanelle Nakkashian: Please contact us at Honest Love Global Professionals Staffing, or you can always call us, 951-290-8543, and one of our recruiters will be willing to welcome you and show you how amazing we are.
Lee Kantor: Well, Chanelle, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.
Chanelle Nakkashian: Thank you so much for having me. You have a great day.
Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.
Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, here’s an idea. Instead of being a salesperson, become a problem solver.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:12] Yeah, this is a really good advice, especially for a young person that has some negative connotation about selling. If you reframe what selling is, is really you trying to help somebody solve a problem they’re having and see if you’re the right fit. If not, you know, pass them along to somebody who is a better fit for you. But if you have that kind of mentality and mindset, you’re going to sell more.
So, just try during your next sales call, spend just the vast majority of the time being curious. Ask more questions, get into the weeds with the prospect about their business, understand their hopes and dreams. What are the things that are frustrating them? Discover the things that they do well, and they think that they’re special. Find out the things that are easy for them. Find out the things that they struggle with. What are the things that frustrate them?
When you have this kind of clear picture of their life and their workday, then it’s easy to make recommendations. Then it becomes clear to see, you know what, I can help this person, or you know what, I’m not the perfect fit for this person, but I do know somebody who is. And this is where the Business RadioX kind of process that we go through, the way that we help our clients, the way that our studio partners work every day. We’re kind of good at this, maybe probably better than average because we spend most of our time asking questions. Our go to move is to ask questions. That’s what we’re doing every day is we’re asking questions when we host shows and interview people.
So, we’re kind of — we get better sales results, I think, because we’re just better question askers than the typical salesperson, and we’re there to try to serve. So, if you think of yourself as a problem solver, you’re probably going to sell more.
