angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

BRX Pro Tip: Celebrate Success

March 22, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Celebrate Success

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BRX Pro Tip: Celebrate Success

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you today. Lee, I think it’s important – I know you think it’s important that we celebrate success.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:13] Yeah. In our house, it’s called ringing the bell. I think it’s so important to celebrate success. Come up with some sort of ritual you do when you get a win. In our house, we ring a bell whenever we get a sale or a win.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:27] And don’t be stingy with your celebration either. Make sure you’re celebrating small wins as well as big wins. Your team has to feel and see this momentum. This keeps morale high. People love to feel progress. So, come up with a ritual for wins and celebrate those wins and wins of all sizes.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] It feels good. It helps strengthen your team. Everybody feels like they’re making progress and the business is growing. So, don’t worry about celebrating too small of a win. If you just wait for the really big wins, your celebrations will be few and there’ll be too much time in between them. So, it’s much better to celebrate all the wins along the way.

Lemoney Learning: The Fun and Effective Way to Teach Financial Literacy

March 21, 2024 by angishields

SSBRX-Mirability-Lemoney-Learning-Feature

Sandy Springs Business Radio

Lemoney Learning: The Fun and Effective Way to Teach Financial Literacy

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In this episode of Sandy Springs Business Radio, host Erik Boemanns sits down with Christian Doetsch, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Lemoney Learning, a company dedicated to enhancing financial literacy and social studies education within K-12 schools, with a strong presence in Texas. Christian, who holds a computer science degree from Georgia Tech and has a rich background in software development, shares his entrepreneurial journey and the vision behind Lemoney Learning.

The company designs educational materials that are in sync with state educational standards to support both educators and students, providing a platform that hosts a mix of complimentary and premium content, inclusive of AI technology to foster an improved learning experience.

Despite initial reservations about the role of AI in education, Lemoney Learning is actively investigating how AI can be harnessed to tailor educational experiences and bolster teacher efforts.

Christian Doetsch (pronounced like “beach”) is an Atlanta native and technology entrepreneur with a 15 year history of software engineering primarily focused on education technology.

Christian is currently co-founder and CTO of Lemoney Learning, and education company aimed at improving financial literacy in the US.

Follow Lemoney Learning on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:12] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Sandy Springs, Georgia. It’s time for Sandy Springs Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:29] This episode of Sandy Springs Business Radio is brought to you by Mirability, providing unique IT solutions, leveraging cloud, AI and more to solve business problems. Here’s your host, Erik Boemanns.

Erik Boemanns: [00:00:43] Hi,thank you. Yep. Erik Boemanns’s here with Mirability. And today we have a special guest. His name is Christian Doetsch and he’s with Lemoney Learning. And we’re going to be talking a little bit about what his business does and, and his background and what brought him to, to that business. So maybe give you give us introduction Christian.

Christian Doetsch: [00:00:57] Sure. Thank you Eric. It’s excited to be here. Uh, Lemoney Learning is a financial literacy first, but now we’re moving into more social studies K-12 education platform. So it’s myself. And there’s two other gentlemen in Texas. And right now we’re focused in Texas. And we realized there’s a huge problem with financial literacy in this country. We’re seeing a lot of kids graduating from high school, graduating from college. They have no idea how to balance a checkbook. They don’t understand exactly what credit card interest is. They don’t really understand is a student loan for $80,000 at 7%? Like, is that a lot? Is that a little? Can I afford that working at a, you know, at a Starbucks or you know what how much that is. And we realized there’s this issue. We realize it’s not really being taught in K-12 schools yet, but but they’re working on it. And so we’re limiting learning comes in is we’re working on building resources to help the students directly, but more importantly, help the teachers to make sure that they understand comprehensively what they’re doing, what things to teach, what are the critical points. And so that’s that’s kind of what our vision was, was to to help with this problem.

Erik Boemanns: [00:02:07] Gotcha. Yeah. And that’s I think an awesome. Mission and definitely want to dive in to some of the details. But let’s even take a step back and talk maybe a little bit about your own background and and what led you to I think you said your co-founder of Liberty Learning. So what led you to that path?

Christian Doetsch: [00:02:23] Yeah, I’m the co-founder and CTO, so I’m on the technical side. I went to Georgia Tech and got a computer science bachelor’s degree. I spent the first was about ten years of my life, of my working career, rather working as a software developer. So I was hands on writing code. I was an intern first. They liked me and kept me on after I graduated. So. Uh, spent 6 or 7 years writing, writing code, and then a few more years as a team lead and then a couple more years as a manager. So I’m very much on the technical side of the software development process. And, um. Basically, I realized, you know, I’ve kind of hit a plateau here. There’s not a ton of room for growth at the previous company I was at, and I’ve always been interested in entrepreneurship and starting businesses. I’ve read every business book you could imagine, and I’ve listened to, you know, tons of successful business people talk about their processes and their struggles. And, and I decided, you know, that’s that’s definitely the thing that I want to do. So I already was kind of open to this. And then these two gentlemen approached me and one of them I went to high school with and he said, hey, I don’t know if you remember me from what was that like 15, 14 years ago? I’m not sure if you remember me. And but we’re starting this thing. Here’s what we’re doing. And I’m like, all right, education software, that’s what. That’s what I’ve worked in my whole career. Um, financial literacy, which I’m passionate about and, and think that it’s a critical problem and it’s a startup and I can get on the ground floor, be a co-founder. It’s like, all right, sign me up. I’m in. So those conversations happened about October of 2022. And then in March of 23 was when we decided to to drop our full time jobs and go, go do this full time. And so I’ve been there just over a year now, really just hitting our anniversary mark.

Erik Boemanns: [00:04:08] Yeah. That’s interesting. I was going to ask how old it is. So one year, one year doing it. All right. Well, yeah. Congratulations on the anniversary.

Christian Doetsch: [00:04:15] Thank you.

Erik Boemanns: [00:04:16] Um, so I’m curious, since you’re let’s talk a little bit about the financial literacy portion. Um, I think that’s I personally think that’s a super critical topic, but maybe tell share with the listeners a little bit more about kind of what motivates you there. You said it was a passion of yours.

Christian Doetsch: [00:04:31] Um. It is. Yeah. I was very fortunate growing up. My mother is she’s been the CFO. She was an accountant, CPA. She’s done all all of the financial stuff on her side. And so I felt very fortunate that I grew up with a solid understanding of, of compound interest. And what happens if you invest a dollar when you’re 18? What does that turn into when you retire at 65 or 70? And the answer is about $88 if you start when you’re 18. Um, and of course, if you wait until you’re in your 50s or 60s to start thinking about retirement, you lose out on all that compound interest. And so I realized like, well, hang on, like this, this is huge. And it’s high schoolers and college kids that need to understand this so that they know start putting away 5% of your paycheck. 10% of your paycheck is all you need, and you can be a millionaire by the time you retire. So I just felt like, this is there’s such an easy and easy answer for a lot of these problems. And it’s education. It’s making sure that, you know, ahead of time so that you’re on a solid foundation. Um, and I realize a lot of my friends didn’t understand it. I work with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta, which is a great organization. I’ve been matched with my little brother for just over ten years now, and I think that’s a big problem with the youth that that we’re serving there is that they’re in families that don’t historically know these things. And so it it just seems like there needs to be some way to educate the kids better.

Erik Boemanns: [00:05:55] Gotcha. And I guess what I’m curious about is what’s Lemony’s particular approach to that. What’s different about that from other courses out there or programs?

Christian Doetsch: [00:06:03] Yeah, that’s a great question. So the the biggest thing is that we are aligned specifically to the state curriculums. So we have we have an education people on our staff that review to make sure that we are, um, like pedagogically correct, to make sure that we are aligned to the state standards. And so that when a teacher right now we’re mostly in Texas, a teacher in Texas opens up our materials. It doesn’t just say, hey, here’s a topic about credit cards. It says the Official Texas Standard Teaks 13 B states that a student must differentiate between a credit card and debit card. And it’s like that’s the exact standard and that’s exactly what we do. So that’s a that’s a huge one, is that we were directly mapped to state standards like that.

Erik Boemanns: [00:06:47] Gotcha. And so are you producing the actual curriculum and the materials. Are you the platform that delivers it like what is what is how that all work.

Christian Doetsch: [00:06:54] Yep. Yeah. We’re we do both. So the lemony learning platform right now is a free platform. And starting in about a month, we will have a premium option that has even more more content has AI technology. So you can ask, ask our proprietary AI questions and have it answer things. So if a student asks you a question in class, maybe you’re not sure exactly what the answer is. You can ask the AI and it’ll give guidance. Um, and so there’s a host of premium features that we’re working on and special content. But but yeah, to answer that question, we we produce the content in-house. We have it audited and we have it verified by education professionals. And then we host that on our platform. And then that’s where the teachers go in. They say, oh, this is the class I’m teaching. Here’s a list of classroom activities of projects, video resources. And and we’re working on a whole bunch of other exciting new things coming up too.

Erik Boemanns: [00:07:47] Very cool. And I know you’ve only been doing this, like you said, a year, but have you already started to see the impact that it’s making on your target market?

Christian Doetsch: [00:07:54] We are seeing a little bit, yeah, we the first year of an education platform that’s that’s in a. K 12 sectors is difficult because there’s some pretty big players in that field already. But fortunately, by having this sort of free model first we’ve we’ve gotten I think we’re almost to 400 teachers already in Texas just in our first year, because it took us from March of last year until August to build the platform. And so really, we’re towards the end of our first school year, we’ve already got over a thousand users total. We’ve got about 700 students and about 400 teachers on the platform so far. And they’re telling us they love the material. They can’t wait to, you know, we’re getting a lot of referrals of kind of authentic referrals from teachers up to the district level and up to the region level that are helping us move and make sales just because the teachers love the content so much. And so, yeah, I think from from their perspective, it’s making it a lot easier for them to teach the material which is which is impacting the students.

Erik Boemanns: [00:08:51] That’s awesome. Are there any kind of good stories to share already? Out of that, you said you’ve got some feedback already. That you can share. Maybe.

Christian Doetsch: [00:08:59] Yeah, yeah. I’m trying to think of some, some specifics. I think one of the, one of the cool features is that the. There’s a there’s kind of a dashboard where the teachers can view the students and the progress they’re making. They can see what the what sorts of grades the kids get on the, you know, we have pretests and course tests and we have, um, little checks on learning throughout the thing. And so, um, they just said that it’s useful to have that as a, as a practice because a lot of the teachers just prefer like a repetition of, like just take the same answer, the same questions over and over again or answer similar questions to really hammer in the material. So that’s that’s one thing that they’ve enjoyed, is having that platform and knowing that they don’t have to, because a lot of our competitors are huge and they cover the whole country, but they provide more material than it’s needed. And the teachers is kind of stuck deciding which of these align to the, to the curriculum. And so the fact that the fact that they can just plug and play, we have a pacing guide that basically, uh, the teacher looks at it and it says on day one of class, here’s what you do on day two of class. Here’s here’s an activity. Here’s the topic to cover. Here’s some questions to ask. And then we provide a PowerPoint presentation that’s just like, hey, this is the day two PowerPoint. And you just go through and it makes it super easy for the teachers. And so yeah, we’ve just heard we’ve just heard that they love that they’re they’re really loving that material. Awesome.

Erik Boemanns: [00:10:18] Yeah. And listening it sounds like there are. But I’m curious if you’ve stated them in kind of a clear principle thing, but some principles that are guiding you as you’re thinking about the product, as you’re designing it, as you’re building it?

Christian Doetsch: [00:10:31] Yeah, that’s that’s a great question. Um. We’re we’re pretty much focused. You know, we’ve and from where we started we were going to be and this is just over the course of a year, we’ve pivoted from being like a banking platform to help banks reach out to teachers. That was kind of our first thing. And so we started talking to the banks and started talking to some teachers to try to make partnerships, because banks have a handful of incentives to to give back to their communities. And we went from there and realized like, well, no, that’s not quite right. And then the teachers were just like, well, we don’t need the banks. We just need something to help us with. And so that, um, that kind of started down that path and we realized pretty quickly that, like, the biggest principal is like, we need to make sure the teachers are rock solid in what they’re doing, because if the teacher is unsure, like our expectation is that the students will know that they’ll they’ll kind of tell, like, are we sure this this person is as confident as they should be in that? And so I think delivering the confidence to the teacher to, to empower them to do the teaching is, is probably one of our core core. Values. Gotcha.

Erik Boemanns: [00:11:40] Very good. Um. You mentioned your background is technology. 15 years, I think, of technology experience that you’re bringing to this startup. Is there anything unique in in this startup or in your own experience about. And a learning management has huge companies like you mentioned and content. What are some unique technical challenges that you’re facing as you as you build this startup? Or surprises, perhaps?

Christian Doetsch: [00:12:08] Yeah. The one of the biggest, the biggest technical challenges of being in a startup is having such limited resources, because at the previous company where I was for for ten years, we had a comprehensive team, we had a rock solid revenue foundation. And so if we needed to buy new products or if we needed to buy new, if we needed contractors for a little bit, or if we needed to hire more people to do a project, all of that was no problem. We could justify it and we would and we would get what we needed. But now it’s just there’s so many limited resources and we have to make really tough decisions about, okay, there’s there’s five features that would be fantastic to have. And we don’t have time for five. We can do one and we can maybe start a second. Right. And so it kind of shifts if you think about something that has, you know, benefits in the long terme but costs in the short terme versus benefits now but costs later, it kind of shifts where that where that line is to like we need something to sell right now. And even if it’s not perfect and even if it’s going to require more technical debt, is what we would call it, some things we have to do later to, to address it. It’s like we have to do those now just to, to kind of stay alive. And so that being in survival mode I think is, is a challenge compared to being in we’re stable and we’re just trying to be as efficient as possible. Right.

Erik Boemanns: [00:13:26] It really is its own kind of financial literacy at that point. Right?

Christian Doetsch: [00:13:29] Yeah, exactly. It really.

Erik Boemanns: [00:13:30] Is. Yeah. Startups as opposed to to personal finances. Yeah. And I think Atlanta has a strong startup community. I don’t know if you’re, um, born out of any of the incubators here in Atlanta. You said you’re in Texas.

Christian Doetsch: [00:13:42] So, yeah, we’re mostly we’re mostly in Texas because that’s where we knew we had the most inroads into their education departments. And we have, um, we have more, I guess, content knowledge of their courses and their curriculum. And, and since that’s kind of our starting point, but we are looking at moving into Georgia in the next school year or two.

Erik Boemanns: [00:14:02] Gotcha. And as we think about Atlanta’s startup community, I think financial literacy could be an it’s an interesting topic, right, because that is such a key thing to, as you said, getting a startup off the ground to a success. But also, are there other words that you have advice looking back over the last year that you might have for people who are thinking about starting up their own business in 2024?

Christian Doetsch: [00:14:25] Yeah. I mean, from the from the technical side, one thing that I’ve had to kind of reel myself back in is that you you can’t afford to optimize a process if you’re not sure that process is going to, to to live on. Right. If you’re still trying to find the product market fit and you’re not exactly sure what what it is as a as a technology person, I’m always thinking of like, how can I make this automatic? How can I completely automate this? And how can I make it more efficient and how can I optimize it? And the sad truth is that like at this stage, we don’t have the resources to do that. I can’t spend two more weeks making this thing an instant process. I just have to deal with the doing it manually, you know, spending 15 or 20 minutes on it once or twice a week. So it’s there’s things like that that, that you can’t, you can’t afford to do that. Um, and but you have to so you have to do things manually first. And then once you figure out what things are working, that’s when you can start to improve the efficiency of them. Yeah. That’s a that’s a big thing. We’ve we’ve learned.

Erik Boemanns: [00:15:27] Right. And. I think. Throughout the conversation process has come up quite a bit, and the ways of either automating it or just building more process into what you’re doing. Mhm. Um, you had mentioned to me that you are starting to get your private pilot license as well, and I think that obviously that’s a very process oriented career. That’s. Um, and so I’m curious, do you see an overlap there. Is that drive. Those two things relate to you. And in that regard or is there a connection?

Christian Doetsch: [00:15:57] Yeah, there definitely is a lot of points of similarity and kind of metaphors between the two. And, um, process is certainly one of them. And I know one of the other topics that you talk about occasionally is like security. And I would say that that I think is the number one biggest overlap between the software business or really software development in general. And aviation is the fact that if if you take shortcuts in the wrong places and if you don’t follow the rules as they should be, there can be pretty devastating consequences. I mean, we’ve seen that happen with some of the Boeing issues that we’ve had. We’ve seen that happen in plenty of, uh, small engine planes where people, you know, make little mistakes. And the overall way in aviation that we kind of conceptualize the those those safety procedures, we call it the Swiss cheese model. Are you familiar with that?

Erik Boemanns: [00:16:53] Fairly. So maybe give me a little bit on that.

Christian Doetsch: [00:16:55] Yeah. So the idea is if you think about Swiss cheese, it’s it’s got holes in it. Right. It’s not it’s not perfect. It’s not a solid. It’s not a solid block of security that you would want it to be. But the idea is that the holes are placed in such a way that you still can’t get all the way through the block of cheese. And so even though it’s not a perfectly stable solid block, there are enough layers of it that you should be like. You should be safe, and it helps. And so an example is, um, the planes that fly around in Atlanta, if you’re within 30 miles of a big airport like Hartsfield Jackson, you have to have a transponder that says, hey, here’s where I am. And so that’s that’s thing one, right? We have that thing two is depending on the airspace you’re in, you have to announce where you are. You have to say like, hey, here’s where I am. So you’re you’re verbally announcing it over the radio. Um, thing three is we have ATC, the air traffic controllers that are monitoring things and can say like, hey, look out. We have automated systems that say, hey, there’s a plane over there. You know, you need to drop 1000ft right now. And so we have all these different systems so that even if one of them fails, even if I don’t notice a plane, there are other people. There are all these other layers that are watching out. Yeah. And I think that’s there’s a huge a huge metaphor there. And that’s, that’s similar to how software is as well. And architecture.

Erik Boemanns: [00:18:14] Right. I was going to say if we could land that metaphor right to, to tie it back into software development. Yeah. What does that look like? And I certainly can see the corollaries between air traffic control and perhaps a security operations center. Right. And and the planes and software delivery, all those the dev DevOps process. Exactly. Yeah. Are there any particular examples, even preliminary or with lemony that you’ve seen where that mindset, that that process orientation has helped prevent a bad thing from happening, or in software specifically or in the companies you’ve worked with?

Christian Doetsch: [00:18:47] Oh, yeah. Yeah, all the time. I mean, there at your if you think about kind of like an onion, right. You’ve got layers of security. Um, at the outermost layer, the entire internet is just spamming. You’re getting bombarded with, with internet requests that are all just spam. And so there’s like a firewall towards the outside of that that’s filtering most of that. So there’s there’s a layer and then inside you have to have certain I don’t want to get too technical, but there are certain tokens that you have to have just to, just to get in to make a request. And then once you make the request, there’s validation in the code that’s doing that and that’s on, you know, one part of the code base. And then another part is going to confirm that that’s the token you’re using is the valid one. And so it’s it’s really the same the same principle. It’s just we have all these different layers of, of security. So that even if something sneaks in here we’ve got another layer somewhere else that says, well hang on, that’s that’s not right. That guy snuck in, um, kick him out.

Erik Boemanns: [00:19:41] Yeah. And I think. Security is is critical to every application, every company in the world. Right? At this point, it is, um, it can’t be an afterthought for a startup, for a multinational. And related to security is privacy, obviously, as well, because we’re trying to protect people’s privacy. And I think people may maybe don’t realize, and you don’t have to go into great detail about it. But education has its own special privacy concerns as well. I assume you’re looking at that.

Christian Doetsch: [00:20:07] It does. Yeah, Coppa and FERPA and a handful of those acronyms. And yeah, we’ve made we made very uh, we made decisions that made it a little bit more difficult for us because of, of these security and privacy concerns. So for example, it would be much easier for us if we just asked the students for their email addresses and we let them log in that way. But email address is one of the things that you have to be super careful of for anybody that’s under 13 years old. And so now we’re like, all right, well, do we try to have two different login screens and we try to migrate kids? What about when they turn 13 and they’re already in the system? And it just it’s a huge mess. And so instead we said all right never mind no email addresses. That’s that’s too much identifying information. And we just have that. Now. The teachers basically just create the account on behalf of the student and let them let them log in that way with with no email address.

Erik Boemanns: [00:21:00] Gotcha. So it’s more of a privacy by design. Exactly. Yeah.

Christian Doetsch: [00:21:04] And so we start there. And then of course, as we talked about before, we have all those different layers before you can even get into the database. And so that’s that’s where all the private data lives. And so making sure that that’s secure having the the database passwords rotate automatically. So even if someone is trying to to get in they, they couldn’t even, even if they tried to get the right password. It’s not going to be the right password anymore. And it makes it just difficult, difficult for any of that to happen.

Erik Boemanns: [00:21:29] Very cool. So we talked a little bit about your background. We’ve talked about lemonade. I’m curious, is there anything in particular that makes you super excited about lemonade that gets you up every day that that brings you to shows like this to talk about it? What drives you?

Christian Doetsch: [00:21:44] Yeah. Um, well, in the last few months, we’ve been experimenting with with AI, and I mentioned that that’s a, that’s a feature we have coming soon, and that’s just been such a groundbreaking, revolutionary technology that over really just the last 18 to 24 months has, has really changed a lot, a lot of the business landscape. I think there’s going to be a lot of shake ups in the next five years. And so I’m excited that we have the bandwidth and the capacity to explore that, and to see how we can leverage AI to help teachers teach students better. So I spend right now I’m spending a lot of time on on AI trying to figure out whether we can use that and how we can use that to, uh, basically evaluate what, how the students are doing. And instead of having a complicated report that says, here are some topics that some students could use help with or, you know, doing it kind of the traditional way. If we just unlock an AI and have it, have it look at the types of questions the students are getting right and wrong. Um, there’s a there’s a world where a teacher logs in and the AI says, hey, like, three of your kids are completely missing these questions and a bunch of other ones are struggling with them. You should spend half of today talking about this. Or here’s a classroom activity you can do that we’ve detected will improve their students knowledge of, um, you know, credit scores, right?

Erik Boemanns: [00:23:03] That’s I think that’s fascinating because I, I believe that education had a more negative reaction toward AI when it first came out than positive, right? Because of cheating, because of even I would say even teachers may feel threatened by AI’s potential. What’s been kind of the perception that you’ve seen from the market with your product having AI capabilities?

Christian Doetsch: [00:23:22] Yeah, the things like cheating, detection, that’s just going to be tough. That’s going to be difficult to do because even if you don’t, even if they don’t just copy paste it in, they can still use that to answer questions. They can still use that to generate essays and then just go in and modify things so that it doesn’t feel as obviously AI written. And so yeah, we have seen some of that, but I think. I think as AI becomes more normalized, the those sorts of fears will kind of will will subside a bit. And I think there’s I can’t imagine a world where teachers don’t exist. I think that kids will always need to be taught by a person. There’s and for all sorts of, you know, developmental psychology. Like there’s there needs to be teachers, a human involved. And so I think teachers are probably one of the safest professions, I would say. And so I’m hoping that instead of AI replacing teachers, it’ll really just serve to augment them and and help them be, you know, five, ten times more effective in what they’re doing.

Erik Boemanns: [00:24:22] Right. That makes sense. And I like kind of what you were suggesting earlier, where it can even tailor the curriculum, the materials to the student, right, based on what they’re how they’re interacting with your system. Exactly.

Christian Doetsch: [00:24:33] Yeah. Um, we’re working on a way for an AI to be able to basically pre grade essays and point things out to the teacher. So that. Right, because my, my dad is a teacher and my stepmom was a was a middle school counselor. And the amount of work they do after the workday is absolutely insane. And especially in some of these social studies and English, these courses where it’s not like, hey, do a math question, did they get it right? But you’re reading a five page essay for 30 kids in your class and you’ve got four classes. That’s that’s a lot of pages to read. And so while we wouldn’t advocate for just letting the AI do the grading, it would be helpful if it pointed things out to help draw attention to to patterns that the student might be making to help the teacher. Again, notice these things and, you know, improve their ability, right?

Erik Boemanns: [00:25:22] It makes sense. I can see that AI enablement as opposed to replacement. Exactly.

Christian Doetsch: [00:25:29] Yeah.

Erik Boemanns: [00:25:30] Um. So as we’re thinking about liberty, we think about your background. I any kind of trends that you you want to I is a trend. I is a future thing. But you’re doing it today. Anything else that you want to just kind of talk about that. If you’re going to a vision quest where where things are headed.

Christian Doetsch: [00:25:48] Yeah, I mean, it it feels like I now is kind of where the internet was in the late 90s or the early 2000. It’s like, yeah, it’s it’s new and it’s this whole big thing and a bunch of VC and private equity money are going into it, and we’re not entirely sure how it’s all going to pan out, but it’s obviously already disrupted, disruptive. And yeah, I think there will be it’s difficult to predict exactly what, but I think that the disruptions will continue until we kind of reach a more stable equilibrium after we account for for what I can do.

Erik Boemanns: [00:26:22] Gotcha. And you feel like. Lemony is well poised to take advantage of that disruption.

Christian Doetsch: [00:26:27] I think so, yeah.

Erik Boemanns: [00:26:29] Awesome. Um, any kind of. Parting words of wisdom in terms of what lemony does or where.

Christian Doetsch: [00:26:36] No other than go to lemon learning.com. It’s spelled l e m o n e y. So, like lemon, honey and lemon learning.com. And you can if you want. Even if you’re not a teacher, you can create a free account. You can look at our materials, you can check out our pacing guide, see how we’re teaching it. Eventually we’re going to start targeting home school because we think that’s that’s another huge opportunity here. Um, so yeah, let me know Learning.com check it out.

Erik Boemanns: [00:27:01] Okay. Well, thank you for your time today. I appreciate you being on and talking about lemon and your background and enjoyed the conversation.

Christian Doetsch: [00:27:08] Absolutely. Thank you very much for having me.

Erik Boemanns: [00:27:10] Thank you.

About Your Host

Erik Boemanns is a technology executive and lawyer. His background covers many aspects of technology, from infrastructure to software development.

He combines this with a “second career” as a lawyer into a world of cybersecurity, governance, risk, compliance, and privacy (GRC-P).

His time in a variety of companies, industries, and careers brings a unique perspective on leadership, helping, technology problem solving and implementing compliance.

Connect with Erik on LinkedIn, Substack and Medium.

The Business of Transformation: Garage Kings and Rise Up BJJ

March 21, 2024 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

The Business of Transformation: Garage Kings and Rise Up BJJ

00:00 /

Sponsored by Woodstock Neighbors Magazine and Business RadioX ® Main Street Warriors

On this episode of Cherokee Business Radio, Stone Payton interviews Jay Hart of Garage Kings and Joanie Chamberland of Rise Up BJJ. Jay discusses his transition from corporate America to owning a franchise that specializes in garage transformations, offering flooring to storage solutions. He emphasizes the importance of quality work and the benefits of a franchise model. Joanie talks about her female-owned gym, and how it offers a clean, safe, and welcoming environment for learning Brazilian jiu-jitsu. She shares her personal journey in martial arts and how jiu-jitsu allows smaller individuals to overcome larger opponents.

Many people struggle with self-doubt, it makes them unable to leave their comfort zones and overcome the things holding them back in life.

Using the martial art of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, Rise Up helps people grow their confidence and the resilience they need to rise up over both physical and mental obstacles so they can reach their full potential not just on the mat, but in every part of their lives.

Joanie Chamberland is a retired black belt competitor and the only female BJJ school owner in Georgia. She’s been training 16 years and teaching 12 years.

Garage Kings helps to make your garage dreams come true by giving you more livable space to love, thanks to their expert garage floor and cabinet service. Their garage company has helped countless customers get their ideal flooring solution in no time.

Jay Hart is a resident of Woodstock Georgia. He’s a Navy Veteran, husband and father to Raelyn (3) & Jameson (1 month).

Jay spent 7 years in corporate America after graduating from Valdosta State University. Finally decided to take the leap into owning and operating a small business.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. It’s time for Cherokee Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Stone Payton: [00:00:24] Welcome to another exciting and informative edition of Cherokee Business Radio. Stone Payton here with you this morning, and today’s episode is brought to you in part by Woodstock Neighbors magazine, bringing neighbors and business together. For more information, go to Facebook and Instagram at Woodstock Neighbors dot wbvm. And if you have a heart for community and you want to grow your small business, consider joining our community partner program, the Main Street Warriors. Go check us out at Main Street warriors.org. You guys are in for a real treat. First up on Cherokee Business Radio this morning, please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Garage Kings, Woodstock, Roswell and Canton. Mr. Jay Hart, how are you, man?

Jay Hart: [00:01:16] I’m doing well. Doing well. How are you doing?

Stone Payton: [00:01:17] I am doing great. It’s a delight to have you in the studio. It is one of our community partners that suggested you and I have a conversation on air. Neeahtima Dowdy over at Woodstock Neighbors. So glad she put us together. I got a ton of questions. We’re not going to get to them all, but, uh, I think maybe a good place to start. Could you just share with us mission. Purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Jay Hart: [00:01:42] Man yeah. So we are Garage Kings. Okay. So we try to own the whole garage from the floors to the doors to storage solutions. We got you covered. So really, you know, people are looking for more space in their home nowadays. And the garage is one of those spaces that’s untouched, right? You can really enhance your home and and do things that you can’t even imagine to that space that allows you to, to enjoy your home more. So just looking to transform garages.

Stone Payton: [00:02:13] So what’s the backstory, man? How’d you get into this line of work?

Jay Hart: [00:02:17] Yeah, so a quick backstory was I spent seven years in corporate America.

Stone Payton: [00:02:23] Ouch. I’m sorry.

Jay Hart: [00:02:24] Right. So I was, uh. Joni.

Stone Payton: [00:02:27] Sorry, too, right? Joni. Joni, I keep calling you Joni. Joni.

Jay Hart: [00:02:31] That’s why we’re here. So. Yeah. So seven years there. I figured it was time to go out on my own. Give it a shot. You know, if I didn’t take that, that chance or that jump, then, yeah, I probably never would have, you know? So you can’t fly if you don’t jump. That’s what they say. So I took that leap and, uh, was looking for a franchise to buy. You know, I didn’t want to go solo and and not have any guidance. So, uh, was looking for a franchise to buy. Came across Garage Kings. Um, they, uh, they liked me, I liked them. We made the marriage last, uh, last January, I guess. Ah, okay. And, uh, been going at it ever since. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:03:10] And it’s been a strong first year for you.

Jay Hart: [00:03:11] Yeah, it has actually, um, you know, we have our ups and downs. It was a little slow in the winter months, you know, holidays and and people not being outside as much and not wanting to, to clean their garage out when it’s cold. Right. So, um, but now it’s starting to pick up. And now we’ve just recently added garage doors as a line of business. So it’s kind of, uh, should take off for us.

Stone Payton: [00:03:36] So say more about the decision to go with a formal franchise as opposed to kind of figure it out on your own. Did you spend a lot of time weighing the pros and cons, or did you know pretty much just right out of the gate, if I’m going to do this, I’m going to go with an established franchise.

Jay Hart: [00:03:52] I think I knew right out of the gate, um, I was selling elevators before, so I knew how to kind of run a business, but not really start a business. I didn’t want to figure out everything. Right? I want to, you know, all the. Failures and stuff to be already ironed out, you know? Um, so with the franchise, they kind of got all that stuff figured out for you, you know, from marketing to accounting. Um, you know, the products they’re going to offer. How do you do things? It’s all figured out. So I really just had to step in and hit the ground running and didn’t have to think about all the extra stuff that goes into to owning and operating a business. All right.

Stone Payton: [00:04:31] Talk a little bit more about the work. Let’s say I reach out to you or somehow you find me as a prospective client. What’s the what are the first few steps? Do we take a look at the garage? We sit down and scratch out some stuff on a cocktail napkin. Walk us through that process.

Jay Hart: [00:04:47] Exactly. So we’ll come on site to your garage. And, uh, a few things we got to look at right now. There’s a lot of competition in this business. It’s a saturated market, so that’s good and bad. Um. It’s an unregulated industry, really. Anybody can do this type of work when it comes to laying epoxy floors. Um, and a lot of painters say they can do epoxy floors, right. Not to to dog on anybody, but they don’t do it to the quality that we do. Okay. So it starts with, um, gotta check the moisture in the concrete okay. Because moisture could be a concern. It could delaminate the epoxy. So you want to test that with the proper equipment. You want to do a hardness test of the concrete okay. A scratch test because we do grind this concrete. And that’s really the only proper way to prep the concrete is to grind it, expose those pores, and then use commercial grade vacuum cleaners to extract out all that dust from the concrete. So there’s no layer between the concrete and the epoxy. So it gets that lasting bond. So we’ll measure those two things. We’ll also take the total square footage kind of I kind of go through a little presentation on site to kind of show us what separates us from the competitors. Uh, we give the homeowner a price. Hopefully they like it at that point in time and we can pull the trigger and get them scheduled.

Stone Payton: [00:06:08] So you mentioned that it’s saturated. And part of the reason that it is a saturated market is not everyone is going through the processes that you’re going through. Exactly. They’re hitting the Home Depot. They’re getting the bucket of.

Jay Hart: [00:06:22] This yourself kit.

Stone Payton: [00:06:23] Yep. Right. And that could be a lot of headache down the road I would think.

Jay Hart: [00:06:27] Well yeah. So I mean you want to buy right. Right. And you want to buy once okay. So the worst thing you want to do is, is go with the cheap bid, you know, the $3 square foot guy possibly and be redoing it in a year. So that’s what we try to avoid. That’s why I try to show these homeowners the value that we bring to the table and what separates us. That way you get that lasting floor and you don’t have to think about it again.

Stone Payton: [00:06:52] My late father in law used to say, buy the best and cry once. Exactly. That was his. That was his motto. So now that you’ve been at it a little while, what’s the most rewarding, man? What are you? What are you enjoying the most?

Jay Hart: [00:07:04] Just seeing the, uh, the homeowners reactions when they see the floor, right? When they see that transformation, when they can kind of see themselves now and join the space a lot more. Um, we have a little saying, you know, park somewhere else, dad, like. Once you get these floors done, you kind of want to, you know, put a couch in there and put a TV up and hang out in the garage now. So.

Stone Payton: [00:07:27] So how does the whole sales and marketing thing work for a guy like you in a market that you’ve mentioned is pretty crowded? Are you out there shaking the bushes? Have you got kind of a system now, partially from the benefit of having being part of a franchise where, um, inquiries are coming in? Is it a little bit of all of that?

Jay Hart: [00:07:47] It is a little bit of all of that. Now being with our franchise, we have a national brand. So, you know, we kind of get that on a larger scale, right? Um, we’re also really heavily into the digital marketing, you know, Facebook ads, Instagram ads. You kind of got to be in that space nowadays.

Stone Payton: [00:08:03] So my phone over here is hearing us talk about Garage King. So when I get home, I’m going to see ads for Garage King, aren’t I? You will. I don’t know how or why, but that’s just that’s the deal. But you guys, you’ve kind of cracked the code on all that or the franchise has on your behalf. We have a.

Jay Hart: [00:08:17] Marketing provider we use now. I also do a lot of, of, uh, Facebook boosting ads myself for my organically. Right. Um, and also doing stuff like this, you know, being out in the community, putting your name out there. I go to a lot of networking meetings. You know, I work with a lot of other contractors. I try to, um, rub elbows with painters, with power washers, you know, things that other home service based businesses where we can kind of come together and, and refer each other. Well, I.

Stone Payton: [00:08:47] Can’t speak for everyone, but I got to say, if someone were in my home remodeling the bathroom and then I’m poking around in the garage and I’m thinking, hey, I might want to do something in the garage if I were to ask that bathroom remodeler who I should, that would have so much more gravity for sure. Carry so much more weight with me than I think. I don’t know, maybe I maybe I don’t understand my own susceptibility to Facebook ads and all that, but no, that would carry. So that would be an a very important what do you guys call it, like a marketing channel or strategy is to have those trusted relationships with other providers.

Jay Hart: [00:09:23] That’s how I met Neotama. So we met at a business networking meetup meeting, and, um, I got on with her magazine. And, you know, here we are about a year later and going strong. There you.

Stone Payton: [00:09:34] Go. So, uh, take a so what is your take on the the local business climate, the, the, the level of support that you have experienced, if any, from other business owners and, and, uh, community leaders here in this Woodstock, Cherokee County area. Have you, have you found that to be a pretty positive force?

Jay Hart: [00:09:56] Very positive. Uh, it’s kind of crazy how positive it is, really. I mean, I don’t feel like it’s like this everywhere. Um, especially also to touch on the Chamber of Commerce. Okay. Now, I’m a member of the Chamber of Commerce for Cherokee County, and I don’t think there’s a better chamber of commerce out there. I mean, they do so much for the small business owners in this county. So, um, and to throw a little nugget out there, we are having our ribbon cutting next, next week, the 27th at 3 p.m. with the chamber. So sweet. Yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:10:29] And you have a physical location. I do have a physical location. Yeah. Where is.

Jay Hart: [00:10:32] That? It’s on 609 Malden Drive. Right down here in Woodstock. Yeah. So, um, that sounds golf.

Stone Payton: [00:10:39] Cardinal Giovanni, I think I can go. That’s my criteria for doing business with people. If I can get to them through walk or golf cart.

Jay Hart: [00:10:45] You got cross 92. But if you can do that, you’ll be all right.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:10:49] I’m just trying to figure out when the 27th is. What day of the week is that? Wednesday. Next Wednesday?

Stone Payton: [00:10:54] Well, congratulations on the on the ribbon cutting man. Thank you. All right. So if we’re shopping probably the answers would be good for any home services. But particularly if we’re starting to really think about this garage thing, I don’t feel like I’m even competent enough to know what to ask. What am I looking for? What are some things to make sure you know? Red flags. You know, green flags. If you were to educate a potential customer, uh, what are some things you would have me be thinking about going into? You know, because it’s probably a pretty substantial investment, you know, like it is. Yeah.

Jay Hart: [00:11:28] So the concrete hardness test is a big one. Okay. We do use a diamond bit grinder. So if you have soft concrete I want to match my diamonds up with that hardness level. So we get a good grind. Ah I don’t want to come in there and tear your concrete up. Right. So so measuring the hardness of the concrete is a big one. Moisture. If you don’t measure moisture and there is high moisture in your in your concrete, it could delaminate the floor. Okay. Um, the types of materials you want to make sure that your contractor is getting commercial grade, uh, materials. Okay. No. Do it yourself epoxy kits. The new thing for garages is polyaspartic. That’s what we utilize, okay? It’s just UV stable, and it’s really strong. High solid material. Um, and then just, you know. Look at the B-bbee rating, you know, check. Check. And make sure they’re accredited. Okay. Which we are. So that’s good for us. Um, Google reviews, you know, those tell a story a lot. So we have some good some good Google reviews you can check out. Um, yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:12:35] So I’m going to switch gears on you before we wrap, uh, passions outside the scope of your work. You know, a lot of folks who listen to tap into any of our Cherokee business radio shows that I personally participate in. They know I like to hunt, fish, and travel. I don’t know when you’d find the time doing all, but, uh, anything you have a tendency to nerd out about or pursue outside the garage work. Yeah.

Jay Hart: [00:12:57] So I’ll touch on a couple things real quick. I do like to travel. Um, we’re actually going to South Carolina here in a few weeks for a workcation. I’m doing a basement floor out there.

Stone Payton: [00:13:07] There you go. Write it all off. Right.

Jay Hart: [00:13:08] Exactly. So I like it doing a basement floor. Then we’ll take a few days and enjoy the beach. Um. Avid college football fan. Go, team!

Stone Payton: [00:13:18] Go, dawgs!

Jay Hart: [00:13:18] Okay, I actually got. I got a special floor called the back to back floor. You know, it’s red and black. So I can do any color for the Florida fans or the Auburn fans. Bama. Bama fans. I’ll even help you guys out as well. Um, and I’ve kind of nerded out lately on, uh, sports cards. It’s coming back. Trading cards. You know, really remember being a kid ripping those packs open?

Stone Payton: [00:13:42] I do remember that. And I also remember we could walk down to the 7-Eleven and get the big Slurpee cups that had all the the baseball players on them. I remember doing that.

Jay Hart: [00:13:50] So, so sports cards is making a huge comeback. And, uh, I’ve got a decent collection going. Don’t tell my wife. Hopefully she’s not listening. She doesn’t know all the the cards I’ve bought lately, but she sees the packages coming in. She’s like, are those your more cards for you? I’m like, yeah.

Stone Payton: [00:14:06] So you heard it first here. It’s it’s coming back guys. It is coming back. All right. Let’s make sure that our listeners know where you are. So let’s make sure we get that addressed again. But also the best way to reach out to you, whether it’s, you know, a Facebook, a website. I just wanted to be able to have a conversation with you or somebody on your team if they want to explore this.

Jay Hart: [00:14:25] Yeah for sure. So our physical location is here in Woodstock, 609 Malden Drive. We actually have a floor laid down in there so you can see the floor. We got samples, we got cabinets, we’ve got slatwall. Everything’s there that you’d want for your garage. Garage Kings.com is our website. There you can go see everything you need to see color samples. The story behind Garage Kings. Some reviews. Uh, 188 garages. Sorry, 1888 garages is our hotline to schedule an estimate. Um, there’s also a book now, um, link on our, on our website that you can book now. Um, and then Jay Hart at Garage Kings.com for my email. Man, if.

Stone Payton: [00:15:12] You can’t get in touch with Jay, that’s on you. He’s. That’s it. He’s got to.

Jay Hart: [00:15:16] Pass. I won’t get my personal number out here on this, uh, live broadcast, but if you reach out to me, I’ll be texting you from my personal number as well.

Stone Payton: [00:15:23] Oh, fantastic. And not to be dismissed. I want to make sure that we underscore. Yes, do a marvelous job with the floors, but you’ve got all the other stuff the the slat walls walk through there’s because there’s a lot of stuff you can do and should do to organize your garage.

Jay Hart: [00:15:38] Yeah. So actually last week we just did a full garage transformation. Okay. So we redid the floors. We did slat wall across the whole garage, all three walls. This guy had kayaks, lawnmowers, bicycles, cleaning gear, you know, lawn equipment all throughout his garage. Now it’s all neatly stored on his walls. Everything is off the floor and on the walls. We also ripped down his 30 year old garage doors and replaced those with brand new doors, insulated with windows, brand new openers, garage door openers. They’re Wi-Fi enabled. You can open them remotely from your phone. They got cameras on them, so you can log into these cameras on your garage door openers and kind of nice. Check out your garage from remotely or see if your kids are sneaking out. And yeah, it’s cool.

Stone Payton: [00:16:30] Fantastic. All right, one more time. Key coordinates so our folks can get to you.

Jay Hart: [00:16:34] 609 Malden Drive is our address here in Woodstock Garage Kings.com for our website. J a y dot h a r t at garage Kings.com is my email.

Stone Payton: [00:16:48] Well, thanks so much for coming in and visiting man. Keep up the good work. Congratulations on the momentum and maybe swing back by the studio sometime, and we’ll check in on you and keep following this story. Sure thing.

Jay Hart: [00:16:59] Let’s do it. I appreciate you for having me.

Stone Payton: [00:17:01] Oh, delighted to do it. Hey, how about hanging out with us while we visit with our next guest?

Jay Hart: [00:17:05] Of course. Let’s do.

Stone Payton: [00:17:05] It. All right, guys, y’all ready for the headliner? She’s been waiting very patiently. She’s been taking notes. She’s been encouraging. Jay, please join me in welcoming to the show owner and head instructor with Rise Up, BJJ, Ms. Joanie Chamberland. How you doing?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:17:23] I am doing great. Minus the pollen season upon us. I’ve been sneezing all morning, but I’m excited to be here.

Stone Payton: [00:17:29] Joanie is always very well prepared and she walked in with her Kleenex box.

Jay Hart: [00:17:35] She did. I can verify.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:17:36] I’ll try not to sneeze all morning, so.

Stone Payton: [00:17:39] All right, so tell us a little bit about rise up, man. Tell what’s what are you doing?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:17:43] So we’re a little different than other people since it’s a female owned gym. So it’s very clean organized. But the main thing is I’ve been to a lot of gyms and I’ve trained a lot of different martial arts, trained a lot of gyms. So I try to make my gym different to where when you come in like you’re comfortable, everything is clean. You know that you’re going to be safe and that you’re going to be welcome in the environment that you’re in.

Stone Payton: [00:18:07] And is it jiu jitsu? Is that what the two J’s are?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:18:10] Yes, yes. Brazilian jiu jitsu.

Stone Payton: [00:18:12] Brazilian jiu jitsu. All right, tell us more about that whole arena and how you got involved. Give us a little backstory.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:18:20] So I’ve actually trained martial arts my whole life. Um, and for a bit, when my dad lost his job, when I was in high school, I was just working out at Gold’s Gym, and I saw a jiu jitsu school next door, and my friends and I used to wrestle in the living room for fun, and my brother’s best friend was actually taking some lessons and a friend’s garage. And so I kept losing because I’m small. And so he was like, here, let me teach you some some tricks so you can beat your friend. She was like the super athlete, right? And so I was like, what is this? And he was like, yeah, this is jiu jitsu. Um, and I was like, oh, I saw a place next door to where I work out. So I walked in like, you got to train six days a week. And I was like, I can’t do that. So I went to one of my old, um, taekwondo schools that also had Krav Maga, and he was like, you’re too small for Krav. And I was like, okay, guess I’m going to go to jiu jitsu. He’s like, well, we have a grappling program here. So I started there and like within a month, our instructor came in and we started like a legit jiu jitsu program. And honestly, it’s just I just I fell in love with it. It’s amazing. It’s never the same. It’s constantly evolving. So and you can be small and beat people that are bigger than you. So I was like, this is perfect.

Stone Payton: [00:19:27] So I very much want to have a whole conversation around self-defense. But before we go there, just from a an aspect of staying fit and feeling good, I have to believe engaging in this activity periodically a couple times a week has got to be just really good for your health. Yeah.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:19:45] Oh, absolutely. Even, you know, like triathletes will come in sometimes and they are gassed doing jiu jitsu. It’s a whole different level of cardio. Even our warm ups can be hard, but once your body is used to it, it’s not it’s not it’s not that big. But the thing about jiu jitsu is wonderful is you can always make it harder just by the input that you’re putting in, like how hard you’re trying, making sure that you’re active with your mind while you’re doing this workout. And it just doesn’t feel like a workout because you’re with friends, you’re with your team, you’re just and you’re learning something new every time. So unlike going to the gym where you’re just lifting the same weight the same way and you’re trying to do some new stuff, so it’s less boring, like in jiu jitsu, you’re constantly changing what you’re doing, so it just doesn’t even feel like you’re working out. So like by the end of it, you’re just all around feeling better, and it doesn’t even feel like you did anything that should promote that. So it’s it’s pretty wonderful.

Stone Payton: [00:20:35] So how young and how old can should someone be doing this kind of stuff.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:20:40] So we start them at four. Oh, my. Yeah. Wow. Um, new program that started like, I want to say it’s three years ago now. We started the little ones. So we started we have 4 to 6 year old class. Then we have 7 to 1213 ish. I don’t know if y’all have seen her, you know, middle schoolers these days, but they’re adult sized. So they also go into the adult class depending on their size. But we teach all ages so four and up and and we are teaching jiu jitsu to these kids as well. But. As early as you want to start. No matter what it’s always going to be. I wish I started sooner, so I mean, I start at 16 and I just wish I would have started sooner as well. But for an up and at any time in your life is is always a great time to start.

Stone Payton: [00:21:22] So even at 60 with a bit of a penchant for bourbon and, um, you know, steak, I, I’m operating under the impression I can come into the gym and start at a, at a level and a pace and all of that that’s appropriate for me without me having to worry about having a heart attack. Yes, exactly.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:21:40] So what we do is when you come in, we have somebody show you around and they’ll kind of show you like how to get on the mat because we wipe our feet, because I like to be clean and I don’t want feet where my face goes. So we wipe our feet. We show you how to do that, where to line up, and then we partner you with somebody who’s a higher rank so that they can help you and make sure that you’re understanding how to do the moves. You’re doing them correctly. You won’t get hurt while you’re doing it. And they’ll also watch you, like, tell you like, all right. Make sure you’re breathing. You know, they’re helping you through everything because that’s something that we do forget when we’re doing jujitsu is to breathe. So they’ll they’ll be helping you. They’ll be telling you, like, you know, lean here. Be careful. Don’t do this. That could hurt your back. Like, whatever. So they’re going to be working with you to make sure that you have a great experience, that you’re not hurt. Because if we hurt our toys, then we don’t have any. So we want to make sure everybody comes in and they’re having a good time, and they’re learning how to do jiu jitsu without getting hurt. And then as you go on and we start fundamentals classes as well. So whenever you come in you’re going to be in a fundamentals class. Learning the basics, learning how to do all your movements before you just get thrown into, all right, do jiu jitsu. Time to full on brawl, but you don’t know what you’re doing. So we make sure that you always have somebody with you that’s helping you through all those steps. Because two brand new people together is is what gets hurt. So it’s it’s terrifying as an instructor to watch like, oh no, oh no.

Jay Hart: [00:22:58] Recipe for disaster.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:23:00] Exactly.

Stone Payton: [00:23:00] So say more about rank because I’m sure this is an integral part of the whole ecosystem. You compete at what I assume is a pretty high rank. And then it occurs to me that even locally in in your place to have a little bit of competition or some sort of ladder or something, it keeps it fresh, right? Going back to as opposed to I’m over in the corner doing my dumbbells.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:23:23] Yeah, right. So with jiu jitsu, it takes about a year to get to your first belt. Okay. Um, and you can’t. So the, the belt rings for the adults are white, blue, purple, brown, black. It takes about ten years to get to your black belt. Wow. Um, so it’s like a year for the first two years for the second three years for the third. Essentially, it’s not always that, but that’s pretty much the average. So when kids come in, let’s say they start at four, right? They wouldn’t be able to get their next rank until they’re 16. You got to be 16 to be a blue belt. So there are a ton of kids ranks in between. So they have their own scales. So they have gray belt, they have yellow, orange, green. And then they go into blue. And there’s three of each belt. So it keeps them in. But they we do ranks on the belt. So we have what’s called stripes. And so about every ten ish weeks that people do it differently. Some do it by attendance, I do attendance time and making sure they know their material.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:24:16] Um, you’ll get stripes on your belt. That’s your ranks. So there’s four stripes per belt. So the kids are getting that stripe and that’s like showing them like that. They’re getting closer. Same with the adults. But so there is a ranking system. Um, there are competitions I did compete I recently retired just because it takes a lot of time. Like I’d be traveling so much and I can’t be at the gym. And and I love teaching. That’s what I want to do. So y’all can see it on YouTube. There’s a ton of videos of me fighting. I fought at every level there is, and I didn’t start till I was a brown belt, which is not recommended. I try to get all my students to compete, like at least one time when they’re white belts, to see what it’s like in the beginning. But yeah, so we have ranking systems and then we also have competitions and there’s some local, there’s some out of states, there’s some in other countries like they’re they’re happening everywhere. But we actually have one we’re getting ready for on the 23rd here. Um, in Marietta.

Stone Payton: [00:25:08] Oh, fun, fun. So there was a time when I played competitive table tennis in college, and that is a little different than ping pong, for those of you who don’t know, uh, but I will share with you. I did not get better when I played in my own little shop, very much because I became the best, you know, in my little play. But when I would go out and play people who were a little better, I would improve. Pretty, pretty. Is it the same in the jiu jitsu world?

Joanie Chamberland: [00:25:37] Well, definitely. And I think a big thing with jiu jitsu is people think it’s not a team sport because you’re not like passing the ball to your teammate as you’re going. Mhm. Uh, but in my gym we foster like a very team sport related thing. So we’re constantly trying to make each other better. So I do have my students train with higher ranks and people that will push them to get them better. And we do some competition classes. But going out there and competing, you get to see what your level is like and like what you have to bring back to the gym to try and sharpen up for your next matches. So there. Definitely like it helps you get a lot better. But same thing with teaching. So I have my people teach to earn their ranks so that when you’re teaching and you’re watching, you’re learning more stuff there as well. So it is really like a big team sport because we’re working together to help each other, coach each other while we’re going. Um, everybody comes out and cheers together and we can actually win team trophies. So like, our goal at this Naga is we are a small school. Um, and we’ve won second place twice. And we just keep losing to one of the big, like, franchise teams that has multiple schools. So they all just sign up under the same school name.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:26:43] Um, so right now, you know, we’re trying to get that top spot finally. But yeah, we’re super close. But it just ends up being that same thing every year. Like they have like, you know, 150 people. So they’re getting first place. We have 13 and we get second place and don’t have that many less points because you get more points for first place and second, then third. So our goal is just to go out there like as a team and win this trophy, even though we just have this like pretty much little baby team going out there. But since everybody’s winning, you know, we get up on that podium. So it is very much a team effort. Like we’re super excited to do that. And then we have uh, my best friend owns a gym in Douglasville and she has a jiu jitsu program. And we have our own team rivalry with her where we have our own trophy. And whoever at that Naga gets the most points gets to have that team trophy. So they want it, um, two times a go. We want it this time. So we kind of have that one as well. So even if we don’t get the Naga Itself’s team trophy, like we have our own little thing going on, which helps us like, you know, have something to look forward to every competition.

Stone Payton: [00:27:42] Okay. Let’s talk about the self-defense aspect of this. I would think that would be important for a lot of folks and maybe particularly females. But I got to tell you, I’m not particularly confident. I don’t think I could take J. You know, I would try to talk my way out of that pretty quick.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:27:59] So the greatest thing about jiu jitsu is one you don’t really have to use it, right? It’s about doing something repetitively and feeling comfortable because there’s fight, flight or freeze. And until you’re in those situations, you don’t know what you’re going to do. So with jiu jitsu, you get stuck in these really uncomfortable places. But, you know, all you have to do is tap and they’re going to let go of you, get off you, you won’t get hurt. And it trains your mind to know, like to be comfortable in places you probably wouldn’t be. But the other thing is, like if I’m looking at Jay, yeah, I don’t want to take that guy either. Like I’m just going to run really fast and I’m going to yell fire, and I’m going to be very aware of my surroundings. But. If I were stricken and taken to the ground, I’m going to know how to defend myself against him. Because just because somebody is big doesn’t mean they know how to use their weight. And so with jujitsu, you’re going to learn that, like it might feel uncomfortable, but they’re going to shift their weight and you’re going to be able to knock them over. So it’s it’s very good for self-defense.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:28:55] And like you said, especially for women because of the way women get attacked more likely than men. Um, and being able to defend yourself now it’s still men still get attacked in 90% of fights go on the ground. So jiu jitsu is your ground. Self-defense for the most part. We do learn how to take somebody to the ground in a real self-defense situation. I’m not trying to do that, okay? I’m going to poke you in the eyeballs and run. But if I were already on the ground or, you know, hit behind the head or something like that where I’m on the ground now, I know how to defend myself. So and it’s, it’s just doing it repetitively. And that’s why I have I actually made a series of women’s self-defense seminars and they’re happening quarterly. And I just kind of teach women like what martial arts are out there to help with self-defense. And honestly, the one that works best is the one that you’re going to actually keep taking because it’s muscle memory. So it’s it’s great. And I don’t teach a just self-defense based jiu jitsu. But no matter what you do, jiu jitsu in its own is going to teach you self-defense.

Stone Payton: [00:29:52] So you touched on it earlier in the conversation, but I want to go back there. It sounds like you have gone to great lengths to really set yourself apart from the garden variety self-defense thing at the shopping center, right? Say more about about what you’ve done and why to make it different.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:30:13] So honestly, the main thing is I wanted an environment that I enjoy. Yeah. Um, and that I can teach the things that I’m good at. And, and I really like to watch and learn and help people continue growing. So, like, I still train myself, but I wanted this environment where everyone can come in and thrive because they say jiu jitsu is for everyone. And I’m not going to lie to you, jiu jitsu is not for the mentally weak. And so we need to create an atmosphere where you’re going to feel like your confidence is going to come down a little bit when you come into jiu jitsu, because you’re doing something so different. So you need to be comfortable with knowing that, like, yeah, you’re going to be vulnerable and uncomfortable and these people are going to help you get better and make yourself better. So I wanted a clean environment. A just because when you walk into a place that’s not clean, you’re just like, I don’t know that I want to be here. Do I want to lay on these floors? Are they going to keep me safe? So keep it clean. Keep it like family friendly. Have everybody come in and just feel like this is the place that I can be myself and learn this sport. Because it is very, very challenging. And I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve called my coach. I was like, I’m done, I’m quitting, you know? So you need that environment that you feel comfortable being like, hey, like I’ve had, I don’t know what to do anymore. And the number one thing white belts ask is like, am I ever going to know what I’m doing? And it’s like, welcome to jiu jitsu. Guys like you never know what you’re doing.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:31:29] And as soon as you feel like you do, you come in the next day and you’re like, I know nothing. So you need to be in a place where you know, you feel comfortable to tell people that and be like, hey, this is where I’m at. Like, help me get past this thing. So I really wanted to be different and, and make sure that that’s what I’m giving. And like, that’s what I enjoy giving and and we’re serious, but we’re not. You know, I like to have fun. So we cut up. We we talked jokes. We we play board game nights together. I mean, we just have a good time at the gym overall. And and I also didn’t want this thing of does it really work? Like, am I just learning this thing or throwing my kid in here so they can get a belt and all this stuff? And that’s just not what we do. Like we it’s very much like an academy. Like we are getting better. We’re here to help you continue to keep your kids on a good path to give them those, you know, life skills and continue and learn that, like, man, jiu jitsu is just like life. Some days you go in and you’re winning at it, and the next day you walk in, you’re like, man, I was born yesterday, I know nothing. So it’s really a great, like parallel to life and like pushing through the hard things, but knowing that you also got a bunch of people behind your back to help you through that. So that was kind of our goal at my gym is to be that environment for everybody and know that, like, if you bring somebody there, no matter what, they’re going to learn something and get better.

Stone Payton: [00:32:44] I love it. And so there’s this whole jiu jitsu thing that you’ve got to continually evolve and keep up with and help other people with. And oh, by the way, you got to run a business.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:32:54] Right?

Stone Payton: [00:32:55] So before we wrap, speak a little bit about that journey, uh, what you feel like you’ve learned in that process and maybe leave our listeners, a lot of our listeners are either entrepreneurs or aspiring entrepreneurs. Maybe leave them with a couple of tips.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:33:10] So, um, I worked in a martial arts school. I worked in an ATA, um, it’s now called IMA, which is where I’m hosting my big event. But I used to work the front desk, teach classes, and I would do everything. So sign people up, call leads, show them around all of that stuff and teach the classes. So I was like, oh yeah, I got this. Like, you know, I was too scared to open by myself and I was going to have a partner. And that just did not end up working out. And my boss was like, listen, you bring some money in if they bring something. To the table and this person wasn’t bringing anything. So I’m like, all right, well, I’m going to do it. So I opened by myself. And when you’re the only one doing all of that, like the classes, the leads, the emails, the calling, the networking events, teaching, it’s it’s a lot different. But you have to remember that people are patient. So I would just be like, hey, um, I’m going to finish this class up. I got to talk with him and then I got to talk with you. So if you just give me a couple minutes, it’s just me working by myself right now until I can, you know, hire somebody and improve upon that. And everyone was always, like, very kind, you know, they they took their time. They just sat and they waited for me or they would say like, hey, can we just, like, meet up at a different time? So just people are way more patient than you think there are as long as you’re just up front with them.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:34:25] I would literally just say like, hey guys, it’s just me and I really want to get to you. If you can’t wait 15 minutes, let’s schedule this for tomorrow. Whatever. Of course, now I do have a CFO who does my front desk, who does my signups. We meet every week. Um, he works with me all the time, and he’s doing all that stuff that I’m like, I really don’t want to be doing this. Like, I’m good at this stuff, but it’s not what I want to do. Like, I don’t want to take your payments. I don’t want to do any of that. So any time questions like that come around now I’m like, this is not my job. Please go see Angel at the front desk. He’s amazing. This is what he likes to do. I’ll be out on the floor. So it takes some time. And it’s totally worth investing in that person that’s going to help you do the stuff that you don’t want to do and that you it’s you physically can’t do, right. I teach 3 to 4 classes a night. I can’t be teaching a class and signing somebody up. It doesn’t work. Yeah. So, um, for those of y’all that want to start. You’re capable of doing so for sure, and then find somebody that helps complement the things that you don’t want to do.

Stone Payton: [00:35:24] I’m really glad I asked. All right. Let’s make sure that our listeners know where you are, how to touch base with you. Uh, you mentioned an event or two that’s coming up. Let’s make sure they have all that info before we go.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:35:35] So I did choose a rise up BJ, since, you know, we’re in Atlanta, I put a, you know, quotations around that. So it’s rise up BJ com B for Brazilian J for Jiu-Jitsu JJ so b jj.com. Um and we have an events tab. So if you go on there you’ll see all the events I spoke of. But we have the women’s self-defense seminar on there. Then we have the roll for cure, which is a big event I do to raise money and awareness for neurofibromatosis. And the money does go to a nonprofit. So we’re looking for silent auction donations, vendors, everybody come out and make a big party. And then our physical location is actually in Kennesaw right off exit four, Bells Ferry Road, where the Publix is with the everybody knows where Harbor Freight is. So it’s in that shopping center, right? I don’t know how they don’t know what Publix is, but yeah. So we’re in the back corner down there. It is a little hard to see us, but we’re in the back left corner by the liquor store. So I’m sure you’ve seen us if you go in and out of there. Um, so that’s where we’re located at physically. But rise up, BJ. Com is the best way to go and reach us. Everything is on the website.

Stone Payton: [00:36:38] What a delight to have you in this studio. Thanks for coming in and sharing your story and keep us posted.

Joanie Chamberland: [00:36:45] Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me. It’s been it’s been great. And meeting Jay as well for sure.

Stone Payton: [00:36:50] My pleasure. Alright, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you again on Cherokee Business Radio.

BRX Pro Tip: Content or Relationship Business?

March 21, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Content or Relationship Business?

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BRX Pro Tip: Content or Relationship Business?

Stone Payton: [00:00:01] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you this morning. All right, Lee, we use both of these terms so much but when you boil it all down, are we in the content business, or are we in the relationship business, or in some other business?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:17] I think we’re in both businesses, and that’s where it does create confusion because, typically, in media, the media is the content, and media tends to be in the content business exclusively. They’re trying to be entertaining. They’re trying to be controversial. They’re trying to get as many eyeballs or listeners to their media as they possibly can, In our world, we’re, first and foremost, in the relationship-building business. We help our clients build relationships with people that are important to them. And because of that, they pay us a higher amount of money than the typical content marketer would pay.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:56] So, we’re in the relationship-building business first, but do not neglect the content. The content is important and can be repurposed in a variety of ways for our clients. And the content and thought leadership is important for them to help get the word out. And that’s more about the branding. But the bottomline sales part of our business is the relationship building business. And we do use content creation as a tool to build relationships that help our clients make more money.

Women in Construction: Milestones to Millions

March 20, 2024 by angishields

Women in Motion

Women in Construction: Milestones to Millions

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For the March installment of our ‘Women in Motion’ podcast series, we will be spotlighting Women in Construction under the thematic title “Milestones to Millions.” These episodes will feature a comprehensive discussion on various aspects of women’s engagement in the construction sector, focusing specifically on their entrepreneurial journeys. We will learn about their businesses, addressing the challenges encountered, barriers overcome, and strategies used to achieve success.

Additionally, the conversation will touch upon personal growth within the industry, exploring the evolution of skills, knowledge, and experiences that have contributed to their professional development. By sharing firsthand accounts and insights, we aim to provide listeners with valuable perspectives on navigating the construction landscape as women entrepreneurs while inspiring others to pursue their aspirations within the field.

Barbara Myrick is the principal of B&M Construction, a minority/veteran-owned company, specializing in contracting services, general construction, furniture procurement, furniture installation and project management.

Ms. Myrick has over twenty years of experience in all facets of construction management and has a proven track record for successful completion of multi-million-dollar projects for both private and public sectors.

Barbara has served on various boards within her community. Prior commitments Board Chair of the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber of Commerce, Board of Directors for Rocky Mountain PBS, Board of Directors for Girl Scouts of America, Board member of Colorado Electrical Board State of Colorado Appointment, Minority Business Office State of Colorado Appointment.

Barbara is also an Ambassador for WBEC West and National Forum Member of WBEC West.

Jennie Tanner has over 30 years of experience in the construction industry as a trade partner to local and national builders.

The sale and installation of residential glass and hardware and commercial glazing projects are the primary focus of the company and Jennie has lead Tanner Glass & Hardware as an entrepreneur to bring new ideas and products to the company Tanner Glass has received several awards for excellence in customer service and philanthropy in donating labor and materials to shelters, Habitat for Humanity and other local causes.

Jennie participates in several industry groups, she is the past president of the Utah Professional Women in Building Association, sits on several boards and is the 2nd Vice President of the Salt Lake Home Builder’s Association.

Jennie attended the University of Utah and is a graduate of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program. Jennie served as the labor organizer for The House That SHE Built She is married and has 2 daughters 19 and 24, they all love hiking and boating and the family spends a lot of the summer months at their property in Star Valley Wyoming.

About Our Co-Host

Dr. Pamela Williamson, President & CEO of WBEC-West, is an exemplary, dedicated individual, and has extensive experience as a senior leader for over twenty years.

She has served as the CEO of SABA 7 a consulting firm, overseen quality control at a Psychiatric urgent care facility of a National Behavioral Health Care Organization where she served as Vice President and Deputy Director,and has served as the CEO of WBEC-West, since 2008.

Her extensive experience in developing and implementing innovative alliances with key stakeholders has enabled the organizations to reach new levels of growth and stability. Her ability to lead and empower staff members creates a strong team environment which filters throughout the entire organization.

She takes an active role in facilitating connections between corporations and women business enterprises and sees a promising future for WBENC Certified women-owned businesses.

Dr. Williamson holds a Doctorate in Healthcare Administration, a Master’s degrees in Business Administration, and bachelor degrees in both Psychology and Sociology.

Connect with Dr. Williamson on LinkedIn.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] 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: [00:00:27] Lee Kantor here with Dr. Pamela Williamson. Another episode of Women in Motion, brought to you by WBEC West. So excited to be talking to the folks we have on today. Uh, this month’s theme is Women in Construction, and this episode is going to focus in on Milestones to Millions. Uh, you got quite a group today, Pamela.

Dr. Pamela Williamson: [00:00:52] I do Lee. It’s great to be with you again. And, uh, yeah, today we are focusing on women and constructions and milestones to million. Both of those topics are quandaries, right. Because in the United States today we have if you round up about 800,000 construction companies, and out of those 800,000, only 3% are actually operated and owned by by women owned businesses or women owned entrepreneurs. And so and then when you look at milestones to millions, what’s even a crazier thought is only 3% of the women owned businesses in America today make over $1 million in revenue. So I’m excited to have the two women here today that we are speaking with. Uh, I’m going to start with, uh, Jenny Tanner from Tanner glass. Can you talk to us a little bit about how you started your business?

Jennie Tanner: [00:01:43] Hi, Pamela. Thank you for having me. Um, it started out to be a family business. My father, my husband, my brother and myself, uh, started our company in 2000. I had no idea that I would learn to love selling doorknobs and shower doors, but it definitely became something that I just I fell in love with and the sales aspect of it. And just learning about construction, um, I own the company by myself today, and I have 65 employees, and I. I really love what I do still, even at my old age.

Dr. Pamela Williamson: [00:02:26] Thanks, Jennie. Barbara Myrick from B & M Construction, uh, located in Colorado. Correct?

Barbara Myrick: [00:02:36] Correct. In the beautiful Front Range of Colorado Springs.

Dr. Pamela Williamson: [00:02:40] So tell us a little bit about how you started your company. I’ve heard your journey before, which I love, so I’m excited to hear you share it.

Barbara Myrick: [00:02:49] Well, actually, um, I, you know, if it was my family’s choice, I wouldn’t be doing construction. My father, um, had six sons. It was 13 of us. And, um, I was the daughter that stepped up. The six brothers couldn’t figure it out, so he did horizontal construction. And I wind up starting, um, home renovations in 94. So I tell everyone before there was a chip and Joanna Gaines, there was a barber and Jay, and we did, um, flat work and foundations. And then in 2000, I, um, ventured into the government sector, uh, where I found my niche. Um, and I just love it. And, you know, Jenny, I wouldn’t say we have old age. I would just say we’re just very, uh. We had a lot of wisdom. How about that? I would put age with it. And so, um. I love what I do, love what I do.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:47] Thank you. Now Barbara was yours. A family business as well.

Barbara Myrick: [00:03:51] No, actually, my father worked for the same, um, contractor, um, until the day he died. So you talk about loyalty. He started with, um, asphalt and, um, horizontal construction at 23, and and kept going until he was 72. Um, so it wasn’t a family business. He wanted the family to do a business. But, yeah, it didn’t happen the way he wanted. It was a daughter that stepped up and did it.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:19] So. And then in your in your firm, is it, uh, is your family involved or is it you?

Barbara Myrick: [00:04:26] It’s just me with, um, employees. Um. We have all my work in three different currently work in three different states Colorado, Saint Louis and Missouri and Tampa, Florida.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:39] Now, Jenny, coming from a family business, was that something that was expected? The the kids were supposed to be part of that. And then you just just kind of followed along. Or was that something you were like, okay, I really enjoy this. I’m going to pursue this.

Jennie Tanner: [00:04:56] Absolutely not. I, I am someone that has had 100 jobs in my lifetime. I’ve been fired from jobs. I’ve quit jobs, I’ve started things on my own. And I had no idea that I would do this. I was a flight attendant and I lived in Atlanta, Georgia, and I just got tired of opening cans of Coke and thought that after ten years, if I hadn’t met my future husband by then, he wasn’t in Atlanta. So I decided to move back to Utah, and my father owned a company that did similar to what we do now, and he had a partner and they didn’t really like each other very well, and my brother worked for him at the time. So my dad said, hey, if you want to move back from Atlanta, I’ve got a job for you as a sales rep, pedaling doorknobs and mirrors and shower doors in the Park City area. And so I thought, well, what the heck, I’ll I’ll give it a try. So I moved back and I met my husband who worked for my father the first day I got back. So I definitely felt like that was meant to be. And working with my dad and my brother and my husband didn’t become my husband for about 2 or 3 years after. But working with my family is was extremely challenging. Getting to know them again after living away and and loving them, but not really knowing them anymore as a grown up and just learning the business inside and out. My dad was such a great mentor for me and I really appreciated all the time he spent teaching me about the business and helping me understand, you know, how to be profitable in this kind of business because you won’t. You aren’t always profitable in construction.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:49] And then now are your children involved or does that that kind of end with you?

Jennie Tanner: [00:06:56] You know. So when I moved back from Atlanta, I was 32. And again, you know, having jobs all over the place. I didn’t know I would be working in a family business. And so I have to remind my father that while his two granddaughters don’t want to have anything at all to do with the business, they’re only 24 and 19 and who knows what the future holds. My one daughter just graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in environmental and sustainability studies, and then my other daughter is a barista at Beans and Brew at the airport and loves her job. And right now, neither one of them want anything to do with what I do every day.

Barbara Myrick: [00:07:39] So on that my children actually did work for me. Um, actually, my husband used to work for me. Um, and it was for us. It was. A struggle because I am very direct. Um, and they couldn’t separate work from home. And so it was best that none of them worked for me. And so my husband and I started a business together. And then, um, I seen beyond what we could be. So most small businesses, you know, live in the small business mindset. And I live in the large business mindset. How do I get there? And my family just wanted to be the mom and pop, right? And that didn’t fill me. It didn’t satisfy me. And so my husband left the company and then he he he does his thing now. He plays in dirt all day. So he excavates and that’s what he does. And he loves it. And my daughters, they, they came to work for me. And it was hard for them to work for mom because at the end of the day, you do have to separate family from business during those hours. And and they really had a hard time.

Barbara Myrick: [00:08:55] And both of them are graduates from Du. And and now now I’m proud of them. They’re doing their own thing. I had to tell them to go find what makes them happy, because working for me didn’t bring them fulfillment. I wanted them to fulfill their dreams and wishes. And I think sometimes, um, family owned businesses, the expectation is that kids take over the business, but is that their dream is that their passion? Is that are they going to give their 150% like we did to build the business? And so I had to come to grips with that myself as a mom, that this was my dream, this was my passion. And so I wanted them to go and spread their wings. So they’re doing well now. They, um. And my son, he went on into the Navy as a nuclear engineer tech, and they all just had to go do their own thing. But I see it now. That was the best thing that for me, was to let them go and be the Eagles and saw that they could be, because it wasn’t with me in the company.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:00] Now, you brought up an interesting point, and I think it kind of dovetails nicely with what Pamela said at the start that very few women, uh, first of all, get into construction and then second of all, achieve that kind of, uh, million dollar mark. Um, any advice that you can share for that aspiring woman entrepreneur to dream big and to really kind of go for it rather than settle, maybe for a smaller entity when, you know, there’s there might be a path to a larger entity.

Jennie Tanner: [00:10:35] Well, I don’t think everybody wants to have a large business. It’s hard to have that many employees and to offer the benefits and to be a legitimate big business as to as opposed to a mom and pop shop where you can fly off the seat of your pants anytime you want. It has to be structured in a way that you understand your financials and understand the the profitability of your company, and that isn’t for everyone. So any advice I would give someone, another woman that has a construction company or wants to start a construction company, or any company for that matter, you need to know what you want out at the end of the day. And in 20 years from now, where do you where do you see your company? And that’s where you start is if you don’t want the headache of all of those employees and, and the 401 KS and the insurance and the vacation and HR and accountants and lawyers, then it maybe you better hone it in and bring it back to begin with. If that doesn’t suit you right now, today, if that’s not where you see your company going.

Barbara Myrick: [00:11:52] You know, I totally agree with that. At one point I had, um, 90 employees. And it was just, um, you’re right. You had the 401 K, you had the health benefits you had to provide. You had the taxes. That was employee taxes. That, um, was just. Crazy, right? Um, and then you had the stress of getting out there and. You had to bring in income, right? So most people think, well, I have these contracts. They’ll last forever. No. You constantly have to look for work and and submit proposals and things of that nature. So I totally agree with you. You give it. Uh, think about it. Because going from a small business to a mid-size business to a large business are all different phases. And so find your niche within, um, that area of expertise that you, you love and, and if it’s you want to be a $5 million business a year and, and have, um, great profits, that’s great. 10 million. That’s great. But we have to keep in mind the bigger we get, your profit margins, actually, they don’t increase, they go down. And and so, um, give all of that some thought. I mean, being great is good, but there’s heavy roles and responsibilities that come with being large and great in all of those things. So great point. I would I would take that and, you know, put that in my.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:28] Now were there any. Were there any challenges as you were kind of going, uh, evolving in your business where you were like almost stopped, but you kind of powered through or you got help and were able to kind of, uh, overcome them.

Barbara Myrick: [00:13:46] One of my, my challenge was, um, I think, um, well, I know was access to capital, I think, um. Most small businesses struggle with access to capital. And so getting, um, the head around the your financials and your profits, um, and understanding not to take everything out of the company that you may because you do need to grow.

Jennie Tanner: [00:14:14] Um.

Barbara Myrick: [00:14:15] Was some lessons that I learned that helped me move to where I’m at now. So learning those basic fundamentals of financials and, um, you know, Jenny said, making sure you have an attorney, even as a small business, you need to have an attorney. You need to have a good accountant. You need to have a good bonding company. And I think sometimes we we don’t look at all the parts and pieces that come with doing it. It’s after we get in it that we have to realize that we have to, to do those things. But access to capital was a, um, a challenge for me, for my growth. But once I got my head around it. I’m okay, I understand it.

Jennie Tanner: [00:14:57] Yeah, I actually have a somewhat of a sad story. My, uh, as we were going into the recession and where we’re in both commercial and residential construction and during the recession, my brother, who I think for all intents and purposes, my dad thought that Jeff and I would be partners. We would buy him out. He and my mom would go live on a boat in the Caribbean. One day. He had this, you know, great vision for himself. But my brother ended up getting sick and passing away in 2011, and we were thick in the recession at that time. We could start seeing ourselves coming out of it a little bit, but me having to lay people off and deal with the death of my brother and my father saying, I don’t want to have anything to do with this business anymore, it’s too painful for me now that he’s gone and my hopes and dreams are now gone, because my goal was for the two of you to go out and make your dreams come true with this business. So getting through the recession, having my dad leave, having my brother pass, and being by myself, you know, we all had our different roles and then being by myself and having to pick up every single one of those roles was really difficult for me.

Jennie Tanner: [00:16:22] And like Barbara, um, my husband didn’t. I guess he was married to the boss. And so there was always the, you know, I kind of get to do what I want. And we had to make an agreement that he would leave the company, too. So going through that by myself and then having to prove that I was going to make this business get back onto its feet, and having people from a distance, having customers, having manufacturers watch from 30,000ft to see if I’d be able to to bring it back was was really challenging. I think when you’re going through it, you don’t realize until you’ve come out of it how painful it actually was. And you can look back in the rear view mirror. And so during it, I just I just did it. I got up every day. I went to work, I, I solved problems, I’m a problem solver. I can make a decision in a, in a second. I don’t have to contemplate anything. I know what’s right and wrong for my business. And I go. But going through that was probably the hardest thing I think I’ve ever gone through in our business.

Barbara Myrick: [00:17:35] So, you know, you bring something. Thank you for having me reflect. So in 2017, I wound up with breast cancer. And so I had to leave the company for health reasons. I had to step back for afar, um, to, you know, heal. And when I came back, everything was upside down. It. And I was just, uh, just a total like. Mess. And so someone came and actually with my daughter came in and said, um, she didn’t say we had a problem. She said, you had a problem. So everything that they didn’t do while I was out for nine months came back to me when I came back. And you’re right. I put my head down. Most people would have filed bankruptcy and closed their doors. I put my head down. I reached out to my creditors and all my clients, and I just worked through it. And so, um, I hired a, um, a new accountant in 20 last year, in 2023, at the beginning of 2023. And she was just speechless when she went back and looked at the history. She said, all my goodness, most people would have given up. But she said, you are just how did you do it? And I said, I love what I do. I reached out and communicated with my vendors and my clients, and I just worked through it, and I said, I’m in a better place today than I was in 2017. And in 2017, I had crazy revenues. But I’m in a better place today from a mindset of processes and procedures and accountability and all of those things that. We overlook. Sometimes I’m in a better place, in a better mindset. I know what I want to do, how I want to do it, and what clients I want. So I, I commend you because, you know, dealing with bereavement and going through all of those things is a hard process. Then we do feel alone. I was alone, I felt alone.

Jennie Tanner: [00:19:46] Yeah. I don’t think you know how to how bad things are until you go through something and come out of it and see, oh my gosh, I didn’t know how to run my books. I didn’t know what how to manage profit. I didn’t until you’ve gone through it and you can look back and and so everything we go through is absolutely a learning process and absolutely growth.

Barbara Myrick: [00:20:14] I think trials and tribulations help us grow. Yeah. Because it’s the things that we need to pay attention to that sometime we’re not paying attention to because we think we have all these people in these positions that. Um, look at things that we do and hold on to the vision and the mission, right? But when actuality, some of them don’t. And so I think it just makes us stronger and better. I know I’m stronger and better.

Jennie Tanner: [00:20:44] Agreed.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:47] Now, um, when you’re going through something that you like, you each went through, how do you kind of. Find that true north? Or does that never change? Is it? Is that what helps keep you going? That you have something in your head that you’re kind of working towards? And you know that I just have to, you know, just put one foot in front of the other and just kind of grind here and it’ll be okay if I do that. Like I have control of that. Like, was there something that was telling you that, hey, I’m I’m on the right path. I’m going to be able to get through this.

Jennie Tanner: [00:21:25] I think for me, um, following my gut, which is such a cliche, but it really is true, at least for me, that I have to listen to my instincts and know what feels good. And if it’s too hard, then maybe it’s not worth it. But I mean, and that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t fight for the things that are difficult. It just means that if you just keep getting tripped up over things that don’t make sense, then maybe it just isn’t the right thing. So for me, I and and maybe it comes with older age. Maybe it was always there, but I was just too immature to follow my instincts and listen to what my head was telling me. But for for sure, my just listening to my gut is the way I. I make a lot of my decisions and and to be honest, they haven’t proved me wrong yet.

Barbara Myrick: [00:22:16] So mine would be, um. I find my strength in my faith during those times where I have to go back and, uh, reflect on what I should have been doing, and maybe I chose to try a different path. And I always come back to where I’m supposed to be. So it was my faith that really took me through a lot of, um, things. Even when my my children decided that they didn’t want to be here. And, and I had to reflect on that and my husband and then, um, going through cancer, it was a lot of those things. And then I have some really, um, um, I call them powerful women in my life that really was there to speak to me and encourage me. Um. And to tell me that I wasn’t crazy, and with some of the crazy ideas that people would say is crazy, they would say, gosh, that that’s amazing. When are you going to get that going? And so just having that strong, um, network of women. Um, even Camilla, at times she would call me and check on me, um, to help me get through those hard times. Because there, as women, we seem to hold things in more and try to figure it out ourselves. But I’ve learned over the years that I just share and and have everyone else come in and help me. So it was my faith that some strong women that I have in my life.

Dr. Pamela Williamson: [00:23:56] So, uh, farmer, I think that that’s significant. And I think that as people start looking at either starting a construction business or expanding their current business, having a tribe is important. And so I don’t know if you either of you want to talk about any of the organizations that you belong to that have helped you as you’ve been growing your business.

Barbara Myrick: [00:24:21] So we request is amazing. And we bet, we bet. Um, in totality is amazing for women. Um, I have been I’ve done, um, several committees with the state. I was been I’ve been on the minority business office with the state of Colorado. Um, I’ve been the board chair for the Southern Colorado Women’s Chamber. I’ve been involved in various organizations. Um, now I’m part of a mastermind, um, group of, um, African American entrepreneurs. It’s five of us, and we get together once a week and we hold each other accountable. Then I have a little, um, tribe here in Colorado Springs. Um, a banker I call a banker. Um. Butcher, baker and a candlestick maker. But it’s a banker and it’s someone that does HR. Um, and we get together just to talk about business and to encourage each other and, um, one of the, uh, new businesses, the HR business, she just started her business last year. And, um, we have conversations. So I have surrounded. It’s important. It’s important for us to be a part of community and organizations, but it’s important for us to have those, um. Network groups and those women that we lift each other up and help each other out and encourage each other and speak the truth when somebody like. Off there, off the rail, bring them back in and say, I just think that’s a little bit far out. You know, you need to come back. And, and I think holding each other accountable. Is important. We need to hold each other accountable. Men hold each other accountable. And I don’t know why we find it. We have a hard time doing that as women.

Lee Kantor: [00:26:22] Jenny, any groups for you that are important?

Jennie Tanner: [00:26:25] Yes. So I was in the Goldman Sachs 10,000 small Business program back in 2012. And I to have a couple of different tribes. I have we call ourselves the power egos. And there’s a lady that owns a vanilla company. She imports vanilla from Mexico, a garage door owned company and an IT company. And we were all in Goldman Sachs together. And we we also we go to lunch once a quarter, once a month, once a quarter, um, just to be able to share business advice and, and become friends and things that are going on in our lives. I’m also a mentor for, uh, up at the University of Utah. It’s called Women Who Succeed. And in this group of what other women who are mentors, these are some extremely accomplished women. And I get very intimidated by a lot of their accomplished accomplishments. But we. Mentee three, um, either college age or high school young women. Um, there’s a program that we go through with them every month. We have events, we have community service projects that we do. And it’s it’s really nice to be able to help a young woman that wants to be an architect, or maybe she wants to be a doctor, whatever. Whatever these women want to do, we’re there for an entire year to assist them. I also, um, was part of a program, I still am. It’s called Professional Women in Building and the acronym Pwb.

Jennie Tanner: [00:28:01] It is a national organization from it’s a charter of the Nahb National Association of Home Builders. And we built the first house in the nation built by all women. Uh, it was in 2020 and 2021, we sold the home. We made $470,000 in profits. And we’re giving that money back in scholarships to young women to help them get into the construction industry. Since there are only 3% of women that work, at least in the state of Utah. And so wanting women to get into the trades, teaching them how to run a business for themselves, not only working in construction, but then taking it a step further and teaching them how to manage a business as well. And this we have a children’s book that’s been written out about our story. We have a Girl Scout patch, and it’s called the House that She Built. And I the experience, the two year experience that I went through with these women completely changed my life. And we are a tribe. We have each other’s backs. We hold each other accountable. I sit on other boards as well. I’m. I’m, um, directly involved with a lot of the homeless community issues that we have in the state of Utah, but as far but SWB and the mentorship that I have through the Women Who Succeed program and then my power egos, all of those women have my back and they hold me accountable.

Jennie Tanner: [00:29:32] Like Barbara said, we we just we have each other and we share and we cry. And we’ve all been through trauma together. And we get together and we laugh and we cry and we drink, and we have a lot of fun together as well. So. And there aren’t that many. I think women have a tendency to be more competitive. Um, a lot of the, a lot of the panels that I sit on, I’m always hearing the same thing that a woman would never apply for a job unless she could check all of the boxes a man applies for a job without checking any of the boxes and said, hey, if I get it, I get it. If I don’t, I don’t. Who cares where women feel the need that they have to be perfect and they have to check all those boxes. And I don’t think there are a lot of women that own really successful businesses, let alone in construction, who have someone that is going through the same pains that they go through talking about employees. And do I keep this guy and, you know, do I do I go from an IRA to a 401 K? And just a lot of the really intense conversations there are just not not a lot of women out there that are able to share in the experiences that we’re going through now.

Lee Kantor: [00:30:59] Is it, um, is the construction industry your father’s and grandfather’s construction industry, or is it slowly changing?

Barbara Myrick: [00:31:12] Mhm. Mhm.

Jennie Tanner: [00:31:14] Very slow change. It’s a very.

Barbara Myrick: [00:31:17] Very very slow.

Jennie Tanner: [00:31:19] There’s, there’s some progress being made. When we were building the house that she built, we had a lot of naysayers and men assuming that we weren’t going to be able to finish the home. Um, the, the company that we bought the land from had clauses in our contract in about 20 different places, that if we have to take the house back and finish it for you, and we just didn’t get a lot of confidence from people that we’d be able to finish it. And I do think that things are changing. Um, there’s I think social media has been a huge asset to women working in construction because there are so many women, the, you know, the tiny plumber girl and who came out and helped us and the drywall chicks out of Montana. And there are so many women now on social media in the trades that it’s it’s definitely starting to snowball. And women are wanting and knowing that these things that they love doing, whether it’s woodworking, whether it’s welding, can actually become a career instead of a hobby. So I think it is starting to gain momentum, but at a snail’s pace, unfortunately.

Barbara Myrick: [00:32:33] Are you? Are you, I think oh.

Lee Kantor: [00:32:35] Go ahead, Barbara, I think.

Barbara Myrick: [00:32:37] Um, it is a slow pace. Um, but I think what holds a lot of women back is getting access to to things that they need to be successful, um, that the business isn’t passed on, that they have to figure out how to buy equipment, figure out, um, um. Equipment and trucks and all of those things, the finances and how am I going to finance this and all of that? It’s so much that. The challenges that come with women getting as an entrant into this here, um, in the construction industry, it can be quite challenging. And I think that contributes to. The slow pace of women entering into the construction industry because there are so many unknowns and. It’s a huge obligation and finance commitment that you have to do in some areas.

Jennie Tanner: [00:33:38] But when the perception is it’s laborious and so you’re out in the field getting dirty and you’re freezing or you’re sweating and and a lot of women think that’s that’s not for me. But it doesn’t have to be like that.

Barbara Myrick: [00:33:50] Mhm. I totally agree I still wear my stilettos.

Lee Kantor: [00:33:56] Now. Is technology helping in that way to make it not as physically demanding as maybe it has been in the past.

Jennie Tanner: [00:34:04] Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:34:06] Mhm. So you’re finding a younger women and girls like at least considering this as a career path may be more than they would, um, you know in previous generations.

Barbara Myrick: [00:34:17] So what I do, I go to the high schools. Um. And because most people have the perception of 80% of, um, construction jobs are by white males in the industry, 80%. Um, so I go into the high schools of under, I go to the underprivileged schools here in Colorado Springs, and I’ve created a list. Of just about every position outside of vendor sales that’s in the construction industry, the trade and how you can start out as an apprentice. And it has changed some young lady’s mind, even, um, young ladies that wanted to be architects. Right. Okay. I can get into electrical engineering. I can get into mechanical engineering. Um, and it’s changing their minds on honing in on a specific area in college that they want, even if they want to go to school for construction management or just starting out as an apprentice. And what I’ve done is showed them the dollar value that comes with it. And if you start as a laborer and what you can, you can wind up being a president of a company of that same company, um, if you stay and stick with it. So I have brought, um, that added value within the community to change the mindsets of little girls that do like to use a hammer and a screwdriver, that does love front loaders and skid loaders and want to be a heavy equipment operator. But all they do, all they see is men doing it. So getting their mindset changing on how do I. Venture out into that tree or into that industry.

Jennie Tanner: [00:36:08] It’s not a conversation that parents sit down and have with their daughters at the dinner table, and that’s one of the things we’re trying in the pub that we’re trying to change, is just bringing awareness that women belong in construction. If they want to do this, they are completely capable of doing it. And high school guidance counselors need to be taught to have those conversations. And it actually really does start in second and third grade. And we go in and we read the book that the house that she built, and we talk to little kids about how, you know, their moms or their sisters, or they can work in construction if they want to, and they just are jaw dropped thinking, yeah, but my dad is the one that does that, not my mom. My mom stays home with me. And so changing that perception at a really early age is important. If we’re going to get more women into construction and let them know that you don’t have to put a 50 pound bag or 100 pound bag of concrete on your back and walk it up to a house and put it in a wheelbarrow and mix it. That’s not the way things work anymore. So the education about how about the new technology and how things work now, and just advising them and and welcoming, welcoming them in and letting them know that it’s here if you want it and you can make good money doing it.

Barbara Myrick: [00:37:29] And that they don’t have to lose their femininity right now. You could still wear your stilettos and your dresses, and you can still have your nails done and your hair done, and you can still be who you are and still be successful in this industry. So we don’t have to give up our identity to be in a male dominant industry. We can still be who we are.

Lee Kantor: [00:37:52] That’s great advice. Now, is there anything you would tell? Um, maybe that aspiring, uh, woman entrepreneur that’s considering the construction industry? Is there some kind of do’s and don’ts? Is there a way to kind of get your foot in the door somewhere so that you can kind of, uh, get an idea of what it entails and see if it’s the right fit for you?

Jennie Tanner: [00:38:19] Job shadow for sure. I mean, reach out to whatever interests you, whether it’s a trade, being an engineer, a working in Hvac, a plumber, or selling doorknobs, or if you really want the hands on experience of being a framer or and doing the woodwork, figuring out what you enjoy doing, and job shadowing as much as you can. There are so many people that would welcome that and just drive around with you. Do whatever. But then I do now that now that I’ve been doing this for over 30 years, I do think having a good business sense and it helps you get off on the right foot. And so understanding what a balance sheet looks like and a profit and loss looks like, and, and understanding what the differences between them and what they actually mean is, is important so that you know, you’re going in the right direction and job costing and it’s it you have to do what you love, but you’re only going to do what you love as long as you’re making money at it. So it’s important that you learn the business aspect of it too. And or at least you’re hiring the right people that can do that for you. Mhm.

Barbara Myrick: [00:39:43] I totally agree with that. And then asking, um. Seek out a mentor and a coach. Right. Just, um. And I wish when I, when I first started that I had a mentor. Because it was the lessons. Um, I had some hard lessons learned. I. But I’ve learned so much that I share now the pitfalls. Don’t you don’t do this. You definitely don’t want to do this, but seek out a mentor. Um. In a coach to help you get through those things. Um, and there’s so many resources out there. Um, and you just have to be dedicated to following up and attending and going. And I remember when I started my business, I was in Denver every day in for a class, every day, every time something came up. I know, so you’re saying when does she do business? It was in the evening because I had to go to those classes during the day to get the knowledge to meet the people. Um, and to find mentors and those that encouraged me. Right. And so I would encourage people, uh, new women that are thinking about getting into this industry, find a mentor or coach or both. Um, and then attend those classes. You’ll have to give up a lot to in the beginning, but it’s worth it in the end when you can sit back and look and say, I had something to do with this. I impacted my community. I provided jobs for people. Um. And things of that nature. I sent some kids to school. Right. And I helped in my community with your organization that you’re with, with mentoring. So I think, um, all of those things just. Are so, um, important for new entrepreneurs to do.

Lee Kantor: [00:41:40] Now, Barbara, in your business, bam! Construction is there. Can you share the maybe your ideal client and what’s the pain they’re having where you’re the perfect fit for them?

Barbara Myrick: [00:41:54] Uh, my ideal client. Is one that communicates very well as a good communicator. I want an ideal client to be a communicator, a good communicator. Even when I have pitfalls and I’m doing something wrong, I want them to be able to come and say, um, you need to fix this. Um, their pain points and what makes me. The best contractor for them is me being a good listener and not saying that I can do everything, but I have resources to help them be successful. So clients, your clients want to be successful. And so I my goal is to help them, help make them successful, whether it is a quirky project that no one understands because I’ve had them where they did, they didn’t even understand the project. I didn’t understand the project, but I brought in the experts to help solve the problem. And so I want to be that problem solver for them. I want to hear their ups and downs. Right. And what makes them frustrated with other contractors? Um, I don’t want to be that contractor to. That talks about another contractor. That’s not the topic of discussion with me, but I want to I want to hear out the client to see how I can be a good fit for them and help them be successful. Um, because when I look at my clients, they’re working for someone else. They have a boss that they have to report to, and so helping them solve their problems, that’s that’s what, um, I aim to do. And so I think me being a good listener as a contractor, but them being a good communicator is a that’s the ideal contractor for I mean, client for me.

Lee Kantor: [00:43:47] Now if somebody wants to learn more, is there a website or what’s the best way of getting a hold of you to have more substantial conversation about the work?

Barbara Myrick: [00:43:56] Um, they can contact me and BMI and BMI r I c k at bmc hyphen lowercase I. Com or they can reach me on my cell phone (719) 205-4795. And if I don’t answer, please do leave a message because I do return calls.

Lee Kantor: [00:44:16] Thank you. Jenny. What’s your ideal client and how do you help? You know, what are they looking for? What problem are they looking to solve when they work with you?

Jennie Tanner: [00:44:27] My ideal client is similar to Barbara’s, somebody that communicates with me and tells me what their need is so that I can address that need. I too appreciate honest feedback, and I want to be able to give honest feedback and not have them think that I’m being difficult. I want to have honest conversations about what’s your schedule isn’t working. And I love now in the technology world that we live in, that a lot of my contractors have their schedules. Everything is web based, so there’s no, you know, it’s ready, come out now and you come out now to put mirrors in a house that hasn’t even been sheet rocked. And that in that’s happened before. Those things happen in construction all the time. It’s not a perfect industry. Things are never ready when when you think that they’re going to be ready. But having on, on um online scheduling is is very helpful. And then if it’s not working, being able to sit down and say, whoever’s doing your scheduling is not helping you because now you’re we’ve got dry runs and we’re going to have to start back charging. You’re telling us things are ready when they’re not having those conversations are are a very impactful to a long terme relationship. Um, and instead of being looked at as a subcontractor, I preferred the name as a trade partner because it makes everyone feel that they are on the same playing ground, and that a contractor doesn’t get to always be the boss.

Jennie Tanner: [00:46:07] And I get to tell them what my pricing is and they get to choose it or not choose it, and that I run my business and I want the respect that from them, that they know that I know what my numbers need to be in order for me to stay in business, and that they respect that and that they it’s a good price and that I give the best customer service possible for what I do and that they they want that relationship. They want that really good customer service. They might be able to pay a little bit less somewhere else down the road, but they will never get the customer service from anyone that they will get from me. And that’s why I have 30 plus year relationships with most of my builders, is because they know that any time they pick up, any time they call me, I will always answer the phone. It doesn’t matter if somebody else can solve the problem. If they want to talk to me, then I know that they want to talk to me. They’re calling me for a reason. They could call, you know, 50 other people in my company. So having just an honest, open relationship for me. Is the perfect client.

Lee Kantor: [00:47:21] And is there a website or a best way to get Ahold of you if somebody wants to learn more?

Jennie Tanner: [00:47:25] Yes. Tanner glass. Com is our website, and, um, I can be reached at (801) 859-4710.

Lee Kantor: [00:47:38] Thank you both. Pamela. What a show. Pamela. She can’t even talk. She’s so, uh.

Dr. Pamela Williamson: [00:47:49] I was so I was so engrossed in the conversation. But, uh. No, it was a great show. Thank you both for for sharing, uh, your success, your hardships with us today. Uh, lots of great information. I loved, uh, the thought of instead of being a prime being a trade partner, it sounds so much more personable. So I might steal that from you. And then, um. I just learned a lot. So thank you both.

Lee Kantor: [00:48:24] All right.

Barbara Myrick: [00:48:25] Having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:48:26] Well, thank you both for participating. You’re both doing such important work, and we appreciate you. This is Lee Kantor for Doctor Pamela Williamson. We’ll see you all next time on Women in Motion.

BRX Pro Tip: How to Make Better Decisions

March 20, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: How to Make Better Decisions

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BRX Pro Tip: How to Make Better Decisions

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips, Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you this morning. Lee, let’s chat a minute about strategies, tactics, how to make better decisions.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:14] Yeah. I was recently reading this book by Annie Dukes who’s a poker player, and her book is called Thinking in Bets. And she had some good points I’d like to share. And I think it’s important when you’re making decisions to maybe keep in mind, just, learn about how a poker player makes decisions because they’re making decisions all the time. And the way that they think may not be the way that you think. Maybe you can learn something from this.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:43] One of the things she says are, to think about what are some reasons others can have a different belief. So, like, when other people, in her case, they’re looking at the cards, they’re believing something that maybe you don’t believe. And that they’re seeing something that you’re not seeing. So, how are they supporting their beliefs? How are these people coming to the conclusion that they’re coming up with? And why might they be right?

Lee Kantor: [00:01:11] So, if they’re seeing something you’re not seeing instead of just saying, “Oh, they’re wrong.” Just try to look at it through their eyes and understand why they might be believing what they’re believing. So that the more you can kind of have empathy with them in their thinking, it might open your eyes to some things that it might be a blind spot that you’re not seeing.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:33] So, another thing are, what are some sources of information that they may have that you don’t have. Or maybe you dismiss some information that you thought was not important, but they think is very important. So, looking at the sources of information also kind of informs the decisions that you’re making. And maybe you have to look elsewhere for different information or be open to, maybe, other kinds of thinking when it comes to this.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:01] So, those two things were kind of important takeaways that I got from her book, Thinking in Bets. But it just kind of emphasizes the importance of empathy to really look at things through other people’s eyes and really understand where they’re coming from and not be so quick to dismiss what they’re thinking, because you may not understand kind of all the aspects to why they got to where they got.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:23] And I always like to ask myself, if somebody does something that I disagree with, if they’re a smart person and a reasonable person in other areas, why am I so sure that they’re not being smart and reasonable in this area I disagree with them? And I don’t think people spend enough time really kind of giving other people the benefit of the doubt when they disagree.

The Little Sober Bar’s CEO Bryttany Victoria

March 19, 2024 by angishields

Cherokee Business Radio

The Little Sober Bar's CEO Bryttany Victoria

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Bryttany Victoria is the CEO of The Little Sober Bar.

She’s been the epitome of an entrepreneur for years, constantly learning from every business she’s been a part of.

Connect with Bryttany on Instagram.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:05] Coming to you live from the Business RadioX Studio in Woodstock, Georgia. This is fearless formula with Sharon Cline.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:19] Welcome to Fearless Formula on Business RadioX, where we talk about the ups and downs of the business world and offer words of wisdom for business success. I’m your host, Sharon Cline. And today in the studio we have the founder and CEO of The Little Sober Bar. It’s a mobile bar that improves access to sober curiosity. One moment at a time, I love it. Please welcome to the studio, Bryttany Victoria.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:00:42] Hi.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:43] Hi. I’m so excited to talk to you. You’ve been on my mind all week, but part of it is because I saw an update about the fact that you are now associated with the Cherokee County Chamber of Commerce, which is very cool. How did that come about?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:00:58] Um, yeah, we I’ve been wanting to get, you know, more ingrained in the county because I am very close knit with the Woodstock community, as you know.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:06] Yes, I do,

Bryttany Victoria: [00:01:07] Um, shout out to Wipeout. Of course.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:09] I know our networking meetings. It’s so great.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:01:13] Yeah, the best. Um, but I wanted to take it a step further and really solidify ourselves in the county because we do go everywhere. Really? Um, we’ll be in canton this weekend, actually. So I wanted to make sure that everyone in the county knew who we were and that we had the support of the county, and that we were supporting the county in return.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:31] So it’s like a little as a relationship.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:01:33] Yeah, exactly.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:34] That’s awesome. It must feel even more legit in some way.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:01:37] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:38] Well, it’s nice because I know that I see your it’s not really a pop up, so to speak, but it’s your, your mobile bar basically. So I was looking on your website and it’s a 65 Shasta compact. Tell me about this. This is so cool looking.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:01:56] Yeah. It’s our mobile bar. And we turned it into, um, a place where people can come and find sober curiosity. It started out as a friend had this camper and she was going to turn it into a business. Things changed for her, things changed for me. And we kind of the universe aligned and we we bought it and. Then two weeks later, I lost my job.

Speaker3: [00:02:23] Always happens that way.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:02:24] It does. But just kind of means that this was the right path, you know? Things kind of align and make way in space for what’s meant for you. So I took that as a sign to really go all in on the bar, and we built it out in 43 days because our first event was with the Rock in Cherokee County, so we had to get it done. Wow. So we did. And I mean, it wasn’t perfect that first event, but it was it was almost there, you know, it was we learned something new every single day, even six months. Now we’ve been changing things. So.

Sharon Cline: [00:02:59] So you’ve been in business six months officially?

Speaker3: [00:03:02] Yeah.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:03:02] Approximately. Yeah, maybe a little bit more.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:04] What was the impetus for the little sober bar?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:03:08] Well, I started taking control of my mental health. Um, first and foremost, that was something that I noticed was lacking in my life. And as I did that, I started drinking alcohol less. And with that came a whole slew of other things, like having social anxiety in social situations when I don’t have a drink in my hand. Um, then also the side of I just it’s not fair. Like I want a cute drink too.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:39] So it’s interesting to think that it was like you were observing yourself as you were changing and noticing things you wouldn’t have if you hadn’t made that decision. Um, and I know that I have anxiety. It’s just kind of like the background running program, at least right now I’m working on it. But, um, I do find that if I don’t have something to do or something to fidget with, that I can’t really relax as much as I want. It’s like a fight. So that must be similar to what you’re talking about.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:04:07] Absolutely. I tend to scroll my phone a lot. That’s my fidget. Even though I’m listening, I still am looking downwards. Um, but that not having a drink in your hand in social situations when everyone else does, you definitely feel. Uh, you know, out of place or, like, you don’t fit in. Everyone’s watching you and all of those anxiety like words that are in the back of your head. They they come to light because you can see it. You can see that you don’t fit in. And it’s not that you don’t. It’s really not even real. It’s just all in your head, really. But.

Speaker3: [00:04:40] Right.

Sharon Cline: [00:04:40] But if everyone has, like, this really cute cocktail or whatever and you’ve just got your water, it almost feels like you stand out in some way, or you’re making a statement and you’re wondering if people are wondering what the statement is, even though you’re not exactly.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:04:51] And everyone has their own opinions as to what why someone’s not drinking or what their motivation must be, or how can you keep them safe in social. And it’s not even it’s not even that. Like the biggest thing is you can just ask someone.

Speaker3: [00:05:06] Imagine that.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:05:07] Or provide another option, which is what how the bar came about was the fact that there wasn’t as many. I mean, there are options out there, but they weren’t easily accessed and they are more now. But it’s still there’s so much good out there. Um, and that’s why we built the bar, because we wanted to bring that good to people.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:27] It’s so interesting to to think about the fact that this is really because you wanted to kind of center yourself. You had, you know, like it happens to me too. Even last night I went to a birthday party and had, um, one drink. But I can still feel it today. I don’t drink very often. I can still feel it today. I have been sluggish all day. It’s fine. I, I knew that most of the time that’s what happens to me. It’s. I accept this, but I never love it and wonder why. I know that I’m going to pay this price. Like what’s what’s the benefit in the moment? Did I really need to do it? So it’s if if someone had presented me at that moment with some other options, I would have chosen, you know, a spritzer of some kind. But no, I was just like the anxiety came in and I just went ahead. And I don’t judge anybody else who isn’t drinking or drinking. But for myself, it’s nice to think that there’s a potential other option for fitting in, but not being not standing out in a way where even someone will feel like I’m judging you because you are drinking. When I’m not drinking, it’s all of this in my mind, I imagine.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:06:31] Yeah, I have a metaphor that I like to tell people it’s we each have a window to the world, right? And so all we can control is what’s on our side and not what is on anybody else’s side. And we can also only control what goes in. And it also is filtered through that window. So like there’s so many factors as to why somebody is doing something or saying something to where if we really just accept people as they are and are more honest. And that’s a big part of my personal like mental health spirituality journey that I’m on. But it is. I mean, it’s true though, like if we just accept people as they are and we’re honest and open to each other, like the more acceptance and, um, the more, you know, just options for love and all of that thing in those situations. There are because you could see somebody not drinking and be like, okay.

Speaker3: [00:07:16] Who cares, right? Yeah. Or your truth.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:18] Whatever that is.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:07:19] Exactly. Here’s another option. And then not even to mention the fact that there’s adaptogen options out there and all sorts of other infusions in drinks that will give you the relaxation or like a buffer on the social anxiety without like paying the price tomorrow.

Speaker3: [00:07:35] You know.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:36] You have. What’s kind of cool about your mocktails, right? Is that, um, I was reading on your website that you say they have depth. It’s not just a sugary beverage option. It has the feel of a cocktail, which is amazing. So can you tell me about some of the different cocktail mocktails that you have?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:07:54] Absolutely. So we have on our trailer, we carry 30 plus canned options. It’s a curated menu that I’ve tried lots and lots of drinks, um, well hydrated these days. Um, but we have stuff that is sober curious, um, which is our quote unquote top shelf. That’s our, um, adaptogen, you know, CBD and kava, anything that has like 0.5% or less ABV, that’s like our sober, curious line. And then we also have our, um, strictly sober, which is zero proof cocktails. And then on the flip side, when we make handcrafted mocktails at parties, I tend to try to find alternative spirits that have no either have infusions if it’s a sober, curious event or have nothing, you know, zero proof. That way I can craft something that’s a little bit different. I don’t really have a menu list for people to choose from. I tend to see what the event is and, um, craft the cocktail. Zero proof cocktails to sober curious cocktail for that event. So we had a wedding, our first big wedding, and I made it’s our most popular one. Everyone’s all over it on Instagram. Um, but it was a happily ever after. That’s what I called it, because that’s, you know, it’s a wedding, and that’s what you want. Sweet. Right? And it was a cranberry lime spritzer. Sir. So it had limeade. So you’re thinking. Okay. Yeah. Just like any other wedding. Like lemonade. Right? But no, it had limeade. And then we used one of our, um, canned mocktails, but it’s a it’s actually a dry soda, so it’s a soda, but it’s not as sweet as other sodas, so it’s more the flavors of cranberry and lime. So we combine that with the limeade. I added glitter of course.

Speaker3: [00:09:46] Oh my gosh, I.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:09:47] Have glitter that’s.

Speaker3: [00:09:48] So special.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:09:49] And then a little bit of butterfly pea flower for like the color change and all that. And then I did a citrus smoke bubble on top.

Speaker3: [00:09:56] Oh my.

Sharon Cline: [00:09:57] Gosh, are you.

Speaker3: [00:09:57] Kidding? No, that sounds amazing.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:00] I bet the presentation was just fabulous.

Speaker3: [00:10:02] Yeah. It’s fun.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:10:03] I mean, that’s what it being sober or sober. Curious doesn’t have to be boring. It can be fun. That’s the whole point of, like, a cocktail is for it to be beautiful and fun and feel like it’s special.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:15] What’s cool, I think about your Instagram, is that you also have chronicled your build for the camper and making it. It’s not even really is it a camper kind of? Or your bar? Let’s call it the bar. The bar. It’s really nice because people can kind of see exactly how you did it. And if that’s something that they’re interested in, they can they can follow along with you on your journey as well as making new cocktails. I love that you’re using social media that way as well as Facebook, obviously. Um, but what is it like to be out there in the community and be so public this way too, because there’s so much judgment around, I don’t know, alcohol. There’s a lot of alcohol around here in Woodstock in particular. It’s fine. It’s what it’s supposed to be. But yeah. How has it been for you?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:10:57] Um, okay. So being public is a lot. So when you’re newly sober, they say don’t make any big changes in your life. Right. And I decided to open a bar, so I’m about. I don’t even know now. I know it was 14 months, a little while ago.

Speaker3: [00:11:14] Congratulations. Thank you.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:11:16] I like to say I’m sober, curious, because the pressure of staying sober is like, I don’t have a choice, but I, you know, I just I choose every day to make the choice. Um, but anyways, so it’s funny, the the more I talk about the bar, the more people open up and say, hey, I’ve been sober for this many years, and that’s so cool. And I was surprised. I was shocked, honestly.

Speaker3: [00:11:38] When you.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:39] Opened that door for yourself, it brought in people. It made a safe space for them to tell their story.

Speaker3: [00:11:44] Yeah. Who would have thought? Who would.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:11:45] Have thought.

Speaker3: [00:11:45] Right?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:11:46] I just didn’t think there was that many people in Woodstock or in this area that would be open to a sober bar. That’s kind of. I had been talking about the bar for about a year before we really dove in, and I was honestly terrified.

Speaker3: [00:12:02] Really?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:12:02] Yes. Because making the choice to not drink or be labeled as quote unquote the sober girl, because people think of me now as, you know, the girl in Woodstock, that’s the sober bar. Um, it’s a lot of pressure, and it’s a big change, and it’s it’s a lot.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:17] Do you feel like you have to represent something?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:12:19] I think part of me has that feeling. But a big part of me knows that who I am right now is exactly who I am. And I feel like so good about that lately, that it’s okay if people see me as a sober girl. I’m like, yeah, totally. Yeah, I’m the owner of the sober bar. Like, I’m very confident in the me that I’m growing into because I believe you grow every single day. So yeah, it’s it’s been a lot, but it’s also been really good at the same time.

Speaker3: [00:12:49] What were you.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:50] Doing before.

Speaker3: [00:12:50] This?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:12:51] Uh, before this, I was a bookkeeper, I guess. Technically an office manager at a manufacturing company.

Speaker3: [00:12:59] Wow. Right.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:13:01] So lived a lot of lives. I’ve always been an entrepreneur about ten ish years of on and off entrepreneurship. But, yeah, I was doing photography, and, um, I was actually at Made Mercantile for a little bit with products. And so I’ve kind of gathered lots of information about different things. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:18] Like, you know, a little bit about business ownership then. So this was a natural transition then for you to, to have your own business that can travel. Well, that’s what’s so cool about it is you can set up all these different events I saw on your website. You have a calendar where people can see where you’re going to be. Um, so what are what are some of the places that you’ve been to? Where are some of the places that you’ve been to?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:13:38] We have been as far as Athens for events and then as far, I guess, South, quote unquote, as Fayette County and then all over Woodstock and Canton and Kennesaw. Yeah, all over Cherokee County.

Speaker3: [00:13:52] Yeah. Wow.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:53] It’s so fun. Um, are you ever surprised at the reception that you’re receiving when people aren’t expecting you to show up?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:14:01] Sometimes. Um, my favorite thing that people do is when they walk up to the bar, they’re like, I’m curious.

Speaker3: [00:14:09] That’s exactly what we want. Exactly right.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:14:12] And that’s our tagline is stay curious, because we really believe that you should be curious about life. You’re curious about yourself, curious about, like, the things you put in your body. It’s not about we’re a sober bar, you know? Dun dun.

Speaker3: [00:14:24] Dun. You know.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:14:27] We’re just saying, hey, there’s other options. There’s also options. There’s, you know, like, hey, look at this.

Speaker3: [00:14:33] I like when you’re.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:34] Talking about the fact that when you’re being talking about being curious, it takes the judgment and pressure and, I don’t know, reframes it to be something, uh, neutral. Mhm. I love that. Yeah. And it’s the same as your journey. You’re just like today this is where I stand and that’s fine.

Speaker3: [00:14:56] Mhm. Yeah that’s honestly.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:14:58] I’m, I’m just a big believer in like doing what you can do however you can do it. And if that means today I, yesterday I laid in bed all day and I didn’t get things done or emails responded to. Sometimes that happens and that’s okay. Like you have to listen to your body.

Speaker3: [00:15:13] Sometimes truth like it’s.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:16] True. And I like that too. You’re kind of just wherever you are in your life. You’re accepting and and this is, it’s it’s like the way I look at the fact that I don’t eat meat. I haven’t eaten meat in a long time. But today, you know, I’m not eating meat. I may change my mind at some point, and that’s fine if I do or fine if I don’t. But it’s like it doesn’t mean that I’m labeled as anything. And I guess I love that too. That’s your message too, is like there’s no labels here. Mhm. Because people do. Mhm.

Speaker3: [00:15:43] Mhm. Mhm.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:15:46] It’s easy to categorize people because it makes sense in your brain when people have a spot like because, because of that whole window theory is that you don’t know what’s going on behind their window. So you have to kind of put them in a box. So it makes sense in your head. And you could just ask them questions.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:04] Why do you think people don’t.

Speaker3: [00:16:06] Are.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:16:06] I don’t.

Speaker3: [00:16:07] Know, I.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:16:08] Think sometimes that people expect you to give more information and just freely, like, I don’t know, I noticed this as I stopped drinking is that I had more anxiety but also less anxiety, so I would I used to be able to just talk about everything that was going on, and I would just word vomit. And now I’m much more aware of what I want to share and things like that. And I think that. If people were interested, they would ask questions. And that’s something that like I, I struggle with asking questions sometimes with like getting to know other people that, um, I’m around. But I think it’s just, it’s tough because you don’t know what to say sometimes. And that is like a lot of it is mental health related, like anxiety and just being nervous as a normal human. And I’ve learned in our networking that sometimes you just have to walk up and be awkward.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:05] Accept your awkwardness.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:17:07] Yeah, yeah, because you never know who you’ll be around. And like people, it’s refreshing to just be yourself. It feels good.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:14] Just be honest.

Speaker3: [00:17:15] Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:16] I think that’s that’s such a theme too. Is hiding kind of I don’t know, especially in the networking and business world is presenting your business self. But one thing that I really appreciate is when you’re getting to know someone in our networking group, kind of more one on one. Even in this scenario, we’re so much more alike than we are different. And you don’t have to be, um, perfect professional person. You can say, oh, you know, I love this. Or I like our questions that they ask every week in our networking meetings are so fun, because it does kind of normalize a lot of the things that we think about. And, um, I don’t know, I remember yesterday, yesterday was it yesterday at Thursday. So you had mentioned how people will ask you if you have alcoholic beverages in your little sober bar. It just made me laugh. So people are funny. But yeah, I mean, we were all asking kind of what what are some really important things that you’ve learned or what does somebody said that’s kind of impacted you in your business sense? And these are important things to know. So surprisingly, people ask that. Is there anything else that’s been really surprising to you as you’ve gone on this journey is something that you were like, I never would have expected this to be happening or something that you wish you knew before.

Speaker3: [00:18:26] Um.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:18:29] Honestly, like, I really just been following the flow of it. If everything has been going the way it’s been going and I’m excited and I’m there’s always opportunities and I. I don’t know. I feel very much like I’ve learned so much throughout the journey of my, like, career, I guess as an entrepreneur slash adult.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:52] The career of being an adult, it’s true.

Speaker3: [00:18:53] Yeah, I’ve.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:18:54] Learned enough that, like, I feel really good about where I am in business. I love the fact that I’ve embraced the side of myself that’s seeking knowledge. Um, there are a lot. I guess that’s something that I wish I knew too, is there are a lot of really great opportunities in Woodstock and in Cherokee County for your business in a lot of counties, actually, but you just have to look out and find them. Sometimes they’re on websites and they just people just don’t talk about it. And so if you can find somewhere to get more knowledge about what you’re doing, it all kind of clicks together. Because that’s kind of what I’ve been learning. I’ve been doing the Hatch Bridge program with coed.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:36] I’ve heard about it.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:19:37] It’s been really good. The launch pad program was amazing, and it kind of clicked together pieces for my for my brain because I’m definitely more of the visionary entrepreneur side, the creative side, um, and I’m know how to do the other things, but they really clicked together, like the math and science of it all. And my, my nerd brain was like firing on all cylinders. But I wish I kind of wish I had known some of those things before I took step one. Not that anything. It would have changed much, but it’s just it’s nice that I know it now and I’m still early in the business. But yeah, if you are an entrepreneur out there and you’re looking for something, those programs are amazing and they’re out there.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:18] It’s nice because that knowledge feels powerful, right? You’re prepared or you’re as prepared as you can be.

Speaker3: [00:20:23] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:24] Where do you come up with your mocktail recipes, like how did you come up with the one where, you know, for the wedding and was edible glitter and all of that? Like, who would have ever thought, I mean, I would love to drink something like that.

Speaker3: [00:20:35] So it’s so fun.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:20:36] Um, honestly, they come out of my brain.

Speaker3: [00:20:39] That’s what I was thinking.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:40] You were talking about the creative side and the science, and I’m like, how cool is that? You know?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:20:45] Yeah, I used to work at, um, a wine and whiskey bar locally here in Woodstock, um, rootstock. And they are very creative there with their drinks and, but it’s at a different level. It’s definitely a I learned to appreciate whiskey while I was there, which I walked in being a vodka soda girl and walked out being a Scotch lady. Um, so like, my palate changed and it allowed me like that experience. It was wonderful because I tried some really amazing, like wines and whiskeys and all sorts of spirits and different combinations and like, that’s kind of where my love of mixology came from, was, I’m trying these really amazing ingredients and how can I mix them up? But also, I don’t want to feel drunk after I’m playing because it’s playing. It’s fun for me. So now that I’m in the zero proof, sober, curious space, I’m using all of those. All that knowledge and all those tools and all of the palate, you know, increase in my palate and different things. I’ve tried to kind of create something new.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:51] It’s so clever, too, because you could use herbs and, you know, and make them beautiful, too.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:21:58] Absolutely. And I’m a photographer, so everything has to be esthetically pleasing.

Speaker3: [00:22:01] Otherwise I’m like, oh, this doesn’t look.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:04] As appetizing as it could.

Speaker3: [00:22:05] Exactly.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:22:06] It has to be pretty and fun and interactive because, I mean, my big thing is like, it’s fun. Mocktails don’t have to be boring. So we’re curious. Doesn’t have to be boring. It can be fun.

Sharon Cline: [00:22:16] I love it because we’re talking about just like enhancing what you’re experiencing in the moment. It doesn’t have to have like without the price. The next day. I always heard drinking is borrowing happiness from tomorrow. That’s the way I look at it, because the next day I’m always like, oh, I don’t really want to get up and do as many things or I’m impatient, I don’t know, I always kind of suffer. It’s not like it’s a constant problem for me, but I just noticed and certain things will hit me harder than others.

Speaker3: [00:22:40] So interesting.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:22:42] I noticed that as I aged, it changed how I was able to function, which I was already barely. I learned a lot of my mental health and neuro spiciness. I was like, oh, so that’s why.

Speaker3: [00:22:54] Yeah. And then interesting. Yeah.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:22:56] And then adding drinking to it, I was like, oh, so this is why I’m just not useless but like affected. Yes. Like I can already I’m already struggling and I didn’t know why. And then adding drinking on top of it made it so that I wasn’t able to function as best as I could. So taking one thing away to allow me to explore the other side and really like learn how to function as a.

Speaker3: [00:23:21] Human.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:23:22] For myself, I mean effectively from who I am. You know, it’s not necessarily all people, all human. I’m not a robot. Um, but being able to take one thing away so I could focus on that other thing and then giving myself permission to be sober, curious. It’s just it’s a freeing feeling, like I just. I feel so much the pressure is just off and I’m able to get things done, which is really nice.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:47] I love that you talk about it being fun. So many people consider any limit that’s good for.

Speaker3: [00:23:53] Them.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:54] Be it alcohol or salt or whatever, as not fun. Like now I can’t have or something. And so it’s not what you’re talking about actually is like you can it’s just a little modified, but it’s still fun.

Speaker3: [00:24:08] Um.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:24:08] Really like that’s the.

Speaker3: [00:24:09] Thing is and that’s.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:24:11] I think people get confused that limiting yourself equals not fun. But it doesn’t necessarily mean that. It just means you have to shift your perspective and find a solution. So if you think that limiting yourself isn’t fun, it’s because you didn’t figure out a way to make it fun. You know? And that’s I mean, that’s just what I teach my kids too. Is that like being a I want them to have a solutions based mindset, but always think of like, how can I make this better? Or how can I make this happen for myself and not just give up or or choose a bad choice because it’s easier?

Sharon Cline: [00:24:44] Gosh, isn’t that the truth? I’ve always heard the path of least resistance is most or the path of yeah, is is actually generally not always the best choice. The easiest choice is not always the best choice in business.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:24:56] Yeah, that’s true. And it’s hard to in business too. Like doing going back to do the steps. Is what is needed. But it’s hard to go back and do those steps when you want to look at the big picture vision. Like as an entrepreneur, you’re always seeing the big picture, and that’s your job as the CEO and you know, the founders to see the big picture. But there are a lot of little pieces that you have to be aware of as well.

Speaker3: [00:25:22] Um.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:23] What has been the most challenging to you as you’ve grown in your business?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:25:29] The most challenging for me has been. Hmm’hmm. Well, see, I’m really bad at budgeting. So this is why I just brought on a finance intern.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:44] Aren’t you smart? Look at you.

Speaker3: [00:25:45] Solution based.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:25:46] Solution based. Right I yes, that’s.

Speaker3: [00:25:50] That’s.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:25:51] Been the struggle for me is that it’s just because I’ve done it so much in my past lives that I don’t want to do more bookkeeping. I want to do the fun business stuff, the the making of the fliers and talking, making up mocktails and things like that. And I feel like I do have a lot of knowledge that I’ve accrued lots of skills over, you know, a long time of life that I could give to a student that, um, I thought that this would be a good opportunity for me to solve a challenge that I.

Speaker3: [00:26:22] Have.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:26:23] And also give back, because that’s a big thing I want to do.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:27] How do you give back? What is your what? What is your main way that you do that?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:26:32] We have partnered up with Nami Georgia. So they’re the National Alliance of Mental Illness because obviously my story is very much mental illness based, but I think that there’s not a lot of, um, help or highlights on mental illness. It’s becoming more regularly available, but it’s still expensive and it’s still not easy. And there’s still so many more opportunities out there for help that people aren’t aware of. And so we that’s just a really big part of what I want to do is that I want to tell people that, like, there is help out there, there is ways to um. To be supported and loved. Um, my best friend actually committed suicide when I was in college, so that kind of changed the trajectory of my, like, mindset, thought process, everything. I was like, I’m never going to live a life where I’m not doing what makes me happy and what’s fun. And so mental illness and like mental health is like such a big part of that that. I. That’s why I wanted to partner with not with Nami. And there are other we have other partnerships too that are out there, but that’s like our biggest one. And it’s something that’s like in our employee handbook. It’s like if you have any sort of mental if you’re feeling like not okay, here’s some links that you can, you know, you can go to here. You can call this website. You call this number. Um, tell us, let us know. Like how can we support you. And we’re very, very big of like ask questions if you’re confused, like, please do not ever feel like it’s not a safe space.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:08] Do you feel like companies really don’t.

Speaker3: [00:28:09] Focus on that very much? Yes.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:28:11] Absolutely. I think it’s becoming more regular, but. Smaller companies. Small business like mindsets are not always seen in big corporations. And so that’s something that I really want to change with the trajectory of my business is I, I see it bigger than just one trailer. So we are very much corporate headed but with a family business mindset. And that’s what I want to instill in people. And as I hire employees and everything like that as we grow is that it’s there’s a seriousness to it and a get your work done. Hyper focus on what your job is and focus on that and do it the best you can. Do it and you’ll be involved. Like we’re a family. Like we’re here to help you, but we’re not a family like a corporate says it. We’re actually here to help you. It’s, um.

Sharon Cline: [00:29:04] Fascinating to me that small businesses are all businesses. Most likely started pretty small, right? So not all, but in general. So when you’re thinking about having a large business mindset and the mission statements that they have and, um, parameters around mental health, because a company I work for now is very, um, motivated to help their employees. Yes. Not everyone is. It’s new to me as well. What I’m finding, what I’m thinking is how nice it is to be able to, um, encourage people who don’t have a big corporation around them and big CEOs telling them, um, you have to follow this protocol for your best interest, because when you’re considering a small business, it’s all up to you. It’s there aren’t the boundaries around it. Um, you could work 24 seven if you wanted. And I’m sure there’s pressure. Most people that come on the.

Speaker3: [00:29:55] Show talk about.

Sharon Cline: [00:29:55] The fact that boundaries are really difficult to maintain when you’re a small business owner. Um, it’s up to you if you miss a call or whatever, you could miss a sale. And so knowing that you have that mindset of, we want to normalize this, it’s just it’s calming. Um.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:30:12] That’s the goal is that I just I don’t want anyone to ever hate their job if they worked for me. I don’t ever want that to be why somebody leaves. I want them to leave because they found something better. Or because they made enough money to retire. Because we’re, you know.

Speaker3: [00:30:28] A bajillionaires.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:30:29] All of.

Speaker3: [00:30:29] Us. You know, that’s awesome. That’s what.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:30:31] I want. I mean, that’s just my mindset of growth for my business and for myself, honestly, is like, I’m an employee, too. That’s what I want for me.

Speaker3: [00:30:39] So how do you how.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:40] Do you put the boundaries around business and kind of balance yourself out the look on your face?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:30:50] Well, honestly, I. Okay, so I have ADHD, which makes it difficult to work in, like the parameters of I’m going to work for these hours. I tend to work in project based, so like if I’m working on something in particular or have festival this weekend, we have the Etowah Wildlife Expo this weekend. So I know I have to get X, Y, and Z done for that. It’s a project, so it makes it feel. Honestly, everything is about making it more fun for me. Everything is. Every night. I mean, people talk about how they don’t take care of their mental health and their their self care and all those things. And I’m like. I mean, my house is a wreck, but I play sims every night and I’m not stressed.

Speaker3: [00:31:32] You’re balancing.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:32] Yourself out.

Speaker3: [00:31:33] Right?

Sharon Cline: [00:31:34] That’s what’s important, right?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:31:35] Yeah. And I mean, it’ll I will get there. I have I mean, my kids, me my two kids and I have a partner and we all like we all do our best. And that’s what I really want my kids to know is that, like, I ask them all the time, like, do you feel loved? And they’re like, yes. And I’m like, okay, good.

Speaker3: [00:31:49] That’s what’s most important.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:31:50] That’s all that I care about. I mean, I want you to be kind humans, good humans. I want you to do your best, and I want you to feel loved and love the people around you. And like everything else, we’ll figure it out. You know, you’ll find a solution.

Speaker3: [00:32:02] That’s success.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:02] That’s success to you.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:32:04] That is success to me. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:05] It’s nice because, uh, the pressure is so different. It’s it’s such a reframing and it’s like, it’s it’s refreshing, isn’t it?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:32:14] Because you can still accomplish everything you want to accomplish without stressing yourself. I mean, I’m definitely stressed at times, like I am breaking out all on my chin, but I’m not as stressed. I’m in a stressed in a different way, like the way that I was in the corporate world. The stress that I was under where I just wanted to like throw my computer every day and I wasn’t even doing like the type of work I’m doing now where I have to make phone calls like, that’s my anxiety. Hates that part, but I’m able to do it now. I just do it because it’s just I just do it because I’m doing something I love. I’m following what my passions. I’m building, something that I know will be good for other people to like everything about what I’m doing. It just makes me happy. And it’s so that’s what’s fun for me is like diving into all of that and. If my like, you know, were behind on laundry like, well, it’s laundry mountain. Let’s climb over it. It’s fun.

Speaker3: [00:33:09] It’ll happen.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:33:10] It’ll get done. That’s the thing. Like there’ll be time. Like I’ll make time for it. It’s all about. It really is about reframing your mind. It’s your mindset, reframing your mindset, getting things done. And like, prioritizing the things that are mean more to you. Like, I’d rather snuggle in bed with my kids and watch Wonka, then go downstairs and fold laundry. Because they’re not going to be seven and nine forever.

Speaker3: [00:33:34] Wow.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:36] I grew up in a different way. Where that was really important was that, you know, like our environment had to be really super straightened up. And my three kids that are adults now are not like that at all. I mean, they’re but not with the pressure like I would I will have like a mini panic attack if things get too messy. I can’t handle it. I mean, I could, but I don’t. I just clean it. But my children, I think it’s so fascinating that they didn’t have that anxiety around it. So if it’s messy, like they’ll clean it when they clean it or there’s no judgment to it, their safety is not tied to it. And I love that. And I don’t want to put it on them either. Like you have to clean this up for me you know.

Speaker3: [00:34:17] Mhm.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:18] Do you live your truth or whatever it looks like. Um but I love that you’re providing that same.

Speaker3: [00:34:24] Um.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:24] Um change.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:34:25] Yeah. We’re trying my, my partner is much more, much more neat and tidy. He likes things in certain places than I do. Um, but I like that we kind of we we do our. We do like the main parts of the house where everyone is. That has to be clean, like you know, that has to be picked up. Yeah, it can’t be messy, but your rooms, that’s your space. If that’s what you want to live in, that’s fine. But now that they are older, we’re instilling in them like different things like, hey, let’s do this today. How nice is that? That this is done. And because they can understand it and we can talk to them like this and I can be like, hey, you know how my room is like x, Y and Z and how I have to do this? And it’s so annoying. Do you like doing that in my room? And he’s like, no. And I’m like, so maybe you should do that in New York.

Speaker3: [00:35:13] You know, like life lessons. Yeah.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:35:15] And I feel like it kind of. Maybe we should have taught them how to, you know, pick up everything when they were three. But I’m kind of glad that they’re able to, like, articulate back and learn things and like, know what why they’re doing that and.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:29] Then figure out if that’s what they want as opposed to it being instilled in them.

Speaker3: [00:35:32] Exactly.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:33] In an authoritarian way.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:35:35] Exactly. And they’re able to put it the way that makes sense for them, like put things in a way that makes sense for you. How can I help you? That’s what we say, too. We’re like, how can I help you? Do you need more? More drawers? Do you need more boxes? Like, what do you need to make this space work for you and to make you happy in the space?

Sharon Cline: [00:35:51] It sounds like you’re, um, all around, business wise and home, kind of integrating the same energy through everything, which is probably why it’s so fun. You know, you’re in alignment and congruent, you know?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:36:04] Yeah. It’s a big thing, I think, is that actually it’s something we learned at the luncheon this week with in Woodstock. They talked about how your goals in business and personal business and then any other goals you have, like if you can find a common theme in all of them and align everything, you’ll be more successful. So like I love I mean, I was like, oh, I’m already I’m doing that. Cool.

Speaker3: [00:36:27] Yay.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:36:29] So yeah, I mean, because it’s true though, like if everything is in alignment, if you’re doing the same things in your business and outside of your business and at home, like should, it should just go, right? I mean, it should flow. Yeah. There’s always going to be up and down ups and downs in business. I mean, we didn’t have any events in December and trust me, I was my wallet was not happy, my business wallet was not happy. But that was a choice. I made that choice because I knew we weren’t going to have another slow December ever. Because our business was becoming popular and people were excited, and we tried a bunch of different things in October and November to try and figure out, like, what are we doing here? Like, what exactly are the packages we want to create? And like, how do we want to package, um, festivals in the future? What do we need to bring? Like how do we want, you know, all the things. And so in December we really just took the time off. So that way we could figure it out. And then also spend time together as a family because there just there’s not going to be another time like that ever again.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:29] It’s cool that you made it a conscious choice knowing that, okay, well, this is most likely our last quiet December. Mhm.

Speaker3: [00:37:37] Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:38] That’s smart isn’t it. Because it sounds like you know how to at least balance some of your energy and time. I mean I’m sure it’s not easy.

Speaker3: [00:37:46] It is.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:37:46] Not. I’m actually leaving here to go to book club.

Speaker3: [00:37:49] So.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:37:50] That I forgot I had today. Oh no it’s not so later I think I don’t know. And that’s the thing too is I’ve also surrounded myself with people who understand that I’m busy and that I’m very busy and what I’m doing and they’re proud of, like, who I am. And they’re sharing, you know, it’s just like a supportive group of people that like, if I’m late for book club, they’re still going to have a mocktail sitting there waiting for me, you know, like and also, I didn’t finish the book. So sorry, guys, I’ll finish. Next month’s book is all about burnout. So we’re going to be I will be fully ingrained in that one.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:18] But how awesome that you’re a business owner, a mom, and you know a partner, and you have book club that you do like, you still are trying to balance yourself and do things that are good for your mind and, um, kind of keep like a social side of, of you that it doesn’t have to do with business.

Speaker3: [00:38:35] Going, trying, trying luck.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:38:37] Luckily, this this book club was brought on by one of my other friends. So she and I are very. We’ve been close since we were pregnant actually. We walked as I walked into my home birth midwife’s office. She was walking out and I was.

Speaker3: [00:38:50] Like, whoa, this is crazy! Hi. And we’ve been.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:38:54] Friends ever since. And that was ten years ago. Wow. So she started this book club and said I would be a good fit. And I was like, sure, I’ve been wanting to read more. Last year was amazing. We read so many great books and I love that they they take it a step deeper. Like, we’ve talked a lot about mental health and about neuro spiciness and.

Speaker3: [00:39:09] I love that firm. I’ve never heard that before.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:39:11] Well, I’m trying to.

Speaker3: [00:39:12] Normalize it, I love.

Sharon Cline: [00:39:13] It, I’ll normalize.

Speaker3: [00:39:14] It. I’m trying.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:39:15] To. What’s it, Gretchen wieners she does the. So fetch. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Speaker3: [00:39:19] That’s my so fetch moment. But yeah.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:39:23] She started the book club. And so it’s nice, like being able to take a step back and not be in control of that. That’s another thing too, is that, like, um, delegation is huge in business and at home because for me, I was doing everything for so long, plus working. So now that I’m owning my own business, like I have to rely on my partner a lot more, and he’s taking on a lot more of the financial load at home, because I cannot do everything. I cannot be in every place. So allowing myself the ability to control what I can control in all aspects, like social, like if I don’t get invited, I don’t know about it because I can’t. I don’t have the energy or time to be reaching out to everyone anymore. So it’s like cool book club. You have it on the schedule, you know? I know what the book is. I will see you guys there, you know? And then I see them. We have a great time. We like we have deep conversations and we feel real connected. We text every once in a while and it’s perfect. It’s like memes. And they let me know, like, hey, we’re going to go do this. You want to meet up? And I’m like, actually, yeah, I can. So it’s wonderful. I mean, I know that as my time gets smaller with this business, my goal is to create more time for myself. So there are certain things I have in place for employees in the future that will allow me to continue having the life that I have now, because I really, I think that that whole work life balance thing is not a thing. It should be life work balance. Like you should figure out how to support the life that makes you happy. Just find a job. I mean, I know it’s not. It sounds so easy. Just find a job that makes you happy.

Speaker3: [00:40:56] No, but.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:40:57] I mean, like, just kind of figure out a solution that follow your hyperfocus, follow your passions. If that means you want to be a doctor, be a doctor, be the best doctor that you can ever be. If that means you want to be an entrepreneur and struggle and work 80 to 90 to 1000 hours a week, then that sounds like sounds like fun to me. It’s all about. Finding out who you are and really just diving into that and. I don’t know, all businesses are different, but for me, that’s what that’s what I did. That’s what I’ve done, is because it’s fun for me. I like doing it and it’s something I can change the world and I can make a difference, and I can create a legacy for my kids. And, you know, it’s just like all the things, all the things I’ve ever wanted. It’s packaged perfectly in this business. Even though it took me ten years of learning and failing at other businesses to get here is now. I have all these tools in my tool belt and it feels really good.

Sharon Cline: [00:41:50] What is the not a typical festival?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:41:53] Oh hey, I was wondering if you were going to ask about that. So we’re six months into our business and I said, let’s throw a music festival. Because it seems so easy when everybody else throws festivals. Oh, you got it. So honestly, it was because I wanted to create a sober fest that wasn’t a sober fest. I wanted it to be like what? Our business is sober, curious. It’s not a sober fest. Like, we’re not requiring you to be sober to come party with us. We’re just creating a space that’s fun. So we partnered up with Artist Control Music. They’re actually it’s a funny story. I worked with the owner at when we were at rootstock.

Speaker3: [00:42:35] Got you. I was wondering how you approached someone.

Sharon Cline: [00:42:37] How do you approach these people? But it’s nice. You had a previous relationship.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:42:40] We did and we had. We also I’m just friendly and I make lots of.

Speaker3: [00:42:45] Friends in.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:42:46] The networking circles too, so I we’ve reconnected. He’s actually dating my niece, which is wild to go like full circle in the last like seven years. Um, and he’s building, you know, he’s building his own business as well. So I was like, hey, let’s team up and let’s create this festival. And the most fun part is that every time we think of, should we do that, we just go, hey, why not? It’s not a typical festival. Should we should.

Speaker3: [00:43:11] Might as well.

Sharon Cline: [00:43:13] It’s cool because it’s like, um, you get to do something completely different. It’s like a different brand of festival. So you’re not competing with anything. It’s completely its own uniqueness.

Speaker3: [00:43:23] It is.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:43:23] It’s we like to say our tagline, I guess, is not a typical festival. The festival with options.

Speaker3: [00:43:30] When? When is your.

Sharon Cline: [00:43:31] Festival?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:43:32] June 8th.

Sharon Cline: [00:43:32] And where is it?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:43:33] It’s going to be at the Woodstock Arts Event green, which is right across from Reformation, and there’ll be tons and tons of options from donation options. So different fundraisers going on throughout the whole festival to music options. So whether you’re into what’s being played live or you like something else, we’ll have silent disco headphones. So you can choose. You have.

Speaker3: [00:43:53] Options. Oh my gosh, that’s so cool.

Sharon Cline: [00:43:55] Silent disco.

Speaker3: [00:43:56] Yeah.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:43:57] Why not, why not. And we have like 20 I think we’re at I don’t know how many right now, but we have about 23 spots for vendors, food trucks, um, a whole activity village full of things to do, like physical things to do. And then we have a tent for our introverts. They can go find some puzzles or, you know, dominoes, stuff like that. And then we’ll have a little place, I’m hoping, a little spot for babies to like a soft play area and just literally something for everyone. The festival with options.

Sharon Cline: [00:44:27] What’s neat is like it’s focusing on, um, mental health too. I mean, how many times have I been a place where the music is too loud? But you know, what am I going to do? I’m here. So you’re giving people safe places to be whatever makes them feel the best?

Speaker3: [00:44:42] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:44:42] And normalizing that.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:44:43] Yes. I think that’s something that people it’s just not thought of. People keep telling me when I talk about the festival, they’re like, you’ve thought of everything. Yeah. And I’m like, well, I just thought of what I would want.

Speaker3: [00:44:54] Yeah. Isn’t it cool.

Sharon Cline: [00:44:55] To imagine what you’re doing for, like you said, your legacy for your kids. Yes. But what you’re doing for the community in, in, um, a way where people can say, oh, ten years ago there was this festival I went to, and you have no idea where it will impact someone and what it will mean for their their lives and their future.

Speaker3: [00:45:15] Yeah. That’s amazing.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:45:16] Yeah, that’s a big part of like, my mantra is in ten years I’m going to think X, Y and Z. And every time we have a bump, I’m like, you know what? In ten years is going to be so funny when we talk about this. So I think about that with things that I’m doing too, is like the people that come to this festival and every time somebody comes up to me and they’re like, oh my gosh, you’re the so like the sober bar. And it just it blows me away that they’re blown away and it makes me feel good. But it’s also like I feel good because they feel good. I a lot of a lot of what I do is for myself, but it’s also for anyone else who feels the way that I do. I post on social media every day, like three big quotes or memes or something funny, or I don’t even know, it doesn’t even matter I. It’s something that I’ve related to in my lifetime, and I need to see it. And it’s kind of like journaling, but in public.

Speaker3: [00:46:07] I guess.

Sharon Cline: [00:46:09] It’s neat. I like that you, um, are using social media in a way to help promote the theme behind your business. It’s not even so much the business, but like, what motivates you behind the business?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:46:21] Yeah, I think that a lot of people connect to stories, and even though my story isn’t, I mean, there are parts that are ups and downs and heavy hitting, but. I don’t feel like I have that. I hit rock bottom moment, you know, my story is more like a feeling. It’s a vibe. That’s what I always say. It’s like it’s a vibe.

Speaker3: [00:46:39] You.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:46:39] Know? It’s just. It’s just different. I want to be different. I want to make a difference. So yeah, that’s what I’m doing.

Speaker3: [00:46:47] Where do you see yourself?

Sharon Cline: [00:46:48] What is your five year goal? Ten year goal? What would you like to see the business become?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:46:52] Um, let’s see, I am trying to build the business to be something that can function without me, because obviously that’s the goal of a business. It’s also because I have a big plan for, um, my future. I really, my friends, are going to laugh when they hear this because they already know that I’m going to talk about the commune. It’s not a commune.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:15] Let’s just get that out.

Speaker3: [00:47:15] Of the way. It’s not a commune.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:47:17] It is a piece of land where all my friends live and we all live together, and we have a house in the middle where we all make dinner every week, you know, like every day. And everyone shares everything. So it’s basically a commune.

Speaker3: [00:47:30] It’s a community, a community.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:31] A community without the weird commune feeling.

Speaker3: [00:47:33] Exactly. Or association. I mean.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:36] I like that it’s it’s, um, the notion of like, it takes a village.

Speaker3: [00:47:41] It does.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:47:42] It’s literally what we’re trying to create is that every piece of the puzzle for that big Long Terme commune community building, it’s all, I mean, this business can I feel like I’m like, we can all do it, I can we we all have my friends. We all have pieces that can go together with this business or with a business. Either way, it’s it’s just really about helping each other. I think a big theme of what I do in business and in at home is comm is community over competition. It’s collaboration over competition. Like I’m not trying to compete with anyone. We all have different things we do. We all have different things we bring to the table. And if I can help you and you can help me, then why don’t we just help each other?

Sharon Cline: [00:48:25] There’s room for everybody.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:48:26] Yeah, maybe I’m just a hippie.

Sharon Cline: [00:48:29] I’m born in the wrong. No. You’re gonna bring it.

Speaker3: [00:48:31] Back, girl, I am Woodstock. We’re in Woodstock. Shouldn’t we? It’s hilarious.

Sharon Cline: [00:48:39] Oh, God, that was funny. No, but, um, it’s healthy. That’s what it feels like. It’s healthy. And it’s for such good reasons. And the win win, right? It’s like you win to have a business and other people win because they get to experience something different and maybe have a different mindset that’s better for them. Um, if they want.

Speaker3: [00:48:59] If they want.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:49:00] And other businesses too. I mean, we a lot of like our pop ups and stuff are at corporations where it’s, you know, it would be great is if you had a happy hour during the day when people are working, and then they go home to their families so that they can live their life.

Sharon Cline: [00:49:16] So they’re not spending their evenings, like.

Speaker3: [00:49:19] At their happy.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:49:19] Hour. Yeah. And, you know, and also like you’re sending your you’re spreading a message to your employees that you appreciate them. Since we want to do pizza parties, let’s do a pizza party with the sober bar. You appreciate them, but you also appreciate and value their time and you care about their health and well-being. So and that’s a big part of like our corporate message is that is that part is that as much as I’m building a corporation, as much as the experience I’ve had was necessarily there’s goods and they’re good and bad parts, is that you can still connect with the people that you’re working with in a safe and healthy way, and then go home and do whatever you want to do at home. Who cares?

Sharon Cline: [00:49:58] It’s just such a nice feeling when you when you feel like you are a person and not just part of a company. When someone sees you.

Speaker3: [00:50:07] Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:50:08] It’s completely different. Almost like, um, for me anyway, it it promotes a I don’t know if it’s the loyalty or more of an investment, more of an exchange, not just I’m an employee, a cog in the wheel. Um, as long as your profits are good. Whatever. Um, there’s a value of the human.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:50:26] Exactly. I mean, because we are humans, and that’s a big thing, too, is the the whole inclusion side of it from whether you’re in a corporate situation or a wedding or a party or, you know, your sweet 16, whatever party or entertainment, whatever it is your neighborhood gathering, you’re just offering. If when you work with us. This is my little sales pitch, I guess it’s not really a sales pitch.

Speaker3: [00:50:47] It’s just how I feel. The truth. It’s the truth. Yeah.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:50:49] You’re offering options for everyone, so that way everybody gets to feel the way it feels to have, like, a beer at happy hour. Like, why can’t everyone have that cool, fun drink?

Sharon Cline: [00:51:04] Without, without the price, without the negativity, without the price. So everyone feels.

Speaker3: [00:51:08] Valued.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:51:08] Exactly.

Speaker3: [00:51:09] Oh yeah, I love it.

Sharon Cline: [00:51:12] I’m so excited for you. I mean, it’s really fun to to see you, um, kind of take on a little bit of a community vibe with it because oftentimes you set up your business and, you know, you hope people come to you, but you go out and look for opportunities and, um, and who knows where it will lead. I mean, I’m so excited to come to the fest, to your music fest.

Speaker3: [00:51:35] It’s going to be so fun.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:51:36] I cannot wait to tell everybody who’s playing. And like, I have so many surprises in the works, like, oh, it’s going to be so fun.

Speaker3: [00:51:43] Well, how.

Sharon Cline: [00:51:44] Can people get in touch with you if they would like to learn more?

Bryttany Victoria: [00:51:47] Absolutely. So the bar pages, it’s at the little sober bar on all social media, whether that’s TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, we are not on Twitter or Snapchat.

Speaker3: [00:52:00] Sorry guys.

Sharon Cline: [00:52:03] You’re covering some good bases though I.

Speaker3: [00:52:05] Am, I am.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:52:06] Um, and or my personal pages, obviously. Brittany Victoria, I’m a quote unquote influencer. I feel like I’m too old to be an influencer, but apparently I was I was just one of the influential women of Woodstock. So I guess I am an influencer. But at Brittany, Victoria is my pages. So that’s where you can find me.

Sharon Cline: [00:52:27] Well, Brittany, I can’t thank you enough for coming today. You’ve been on my mind all week, and I was saying before the show that there must be a reason this timing is the way it is, because, um, I don’t know, you just kept popping in my head and I’m like, okay, okay, okay, I’ll ask her, you know, ask her to come on the show. So thank you so much for coming today and sharing your story, and really inspired us to look at my own self and reframe some of the ways that I function through the world. Um, without that anxiety lens, but more of just a a vibe lens and a peace lens and not put undue pressure like what’s going to happen if I don’t if I have dishes in the sink, does anything happen? The answer is no.

Speaker3: [00:53:05] No. I mean, maybe.

Sharon Cline: [00:53:07] My own anxiety.

Speaker3: [00:53:07] Maybe like after.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:53:08] A month you might want to.

Speaker3: [00:53:10] Reevaluate. We won’t go that far.

Sharon Cline: [00:53:11] But yeah, you’re right. Like there that reframing and just thinking of it as a, um, just where I am is fine is a lesson I think everyone can benefit from, but specifically myself. So thank you so much for sharing that for me today.

Bryttany Victoria: [00:53:24] Thank you for having me. I’m honored to be here.

Sharon Cline: [00:53:27] Oh, yay. Well, come back come back in six months and we’ll do a checkup and we’ll see how how things have progressed for you and what other fun things you’ve learned on Fearless Formula. Um, well everyone, thanks for listening to Fearless Formula and Business RadioX. And again, this is Sharon Cline reminding you that with knowledge and understanding, we can all have our own fearless formula. Have a great day.

BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Value

March 19, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Value

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BRX Pro Tip: The Value of Value

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Lee, let’s talk a little bit about the value of value.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:09] Yeah. If you’re a service provider, it’s so important to just kind of overdeliver results. You got to be providing 10X value for your clients that’s reliable and predictable. And if you can overdeliver these results, then you can charge more. Your clients are going to stay with you longer. And they’re going to tell other people about you and other people will find you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:36] If you’re only delivering a little bit of value, that is going to be a lot harder because people are going to shop you. They’re going to be looking for a better solution. That means you got to be better at sales and marketing because you’re going to have to talk to a lot of people. And you got to do that in order to keep your pipeline full and keep that flowing.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] But if you provide 10X value, you don’t have to keep that pipeline as full because your work is going to be talked about and people are going to find you. And they’re going to want to get that same result you’re delivering.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] So, I find it’s much better to focus on providing overpromise and overdeliver. Keep that value bar super high. Your clients are going to be happy. They’re going to stay with you. And you’re going to be able to attract a lot more faster.

BRX Pro Tip: Word of Mouth

March 18, 2024 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: Word of Mouth

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BRX Pro Tip: Word of Mouth

Stone Payton: [00:00:02] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, let’s talk a little bit about word of mouth.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:10] Well, word of mouth is super important in B2B selling. It is probably over 50% of all sales are referred by somebody in your network or somebody who knows something or suggests something. So, how do you become more referable is really at the heart of word of mouth in our world. So, what things can you be doing in your studio or for your show to be more referable? You could share more stories, you can connect more people, you can show up at more places where the people that matter to you hang out. The key is to matter the most to the people who matter the most to you. So, what are some ways you can be ubiquitous to the people that matter most to you? How can you surprise and delight the people around you, so they think of you when it’s time to recommend or to refer? Those are the things you should be thinking about. Those are the things we think about in our studio every day.

Stone Payton: [00:01:09] And to me, that’s one of the reasons that it’s so important that you’re real focal point, your litmus tests, I guess I would say, of a show, how you conduct it, why you conduct it, the way that you drive an episode of your show, you want to create an episode that your guest is really excited about sharing to their extended network. That is absolutely critical to this whole enchilada.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:36] Right. And that’s why when you’re interviewing, we recommend an interview style that supports and celebrates. It helps them out of kind of areas when their mind wanders, you want to rescue them, and make them look good, and help them create content they’re proud of, so they happily share it. They want to share it. If you’re not doing that, then you’re not going to be referable.