Business RadioX ®

BRX Pro Tip: Niches Bring Riches

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BRXmic99
BRX Pro Tips
BRX Pro Tip: Niches Bring Riches
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BRX Pro Tip: Niches Bring Riches

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, today’s topic, niches bring riches.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:09] Yeah, this is something we’ve been preaching since we started Business RadioX and it’s something we do every day. We help our clients become that go to person for the niche that they serve and the niche here, the better in most cases. Our partners, Business RadioX sponsors and studio partners get this benefit. They have a tool that lets them meet the people they care about the most in an elegant, non-salesy surfer’s manner.

They have a tool that helps them build new relationships at scale and nurture existing relationships at scale. So, if building relationships and serving your community is important to you, then you should check out Business RadioX. We’ve been helping people do this and mind those niches for years and years and years.

So, go to BusinessRadioX.com to learn more. But if you are frustrated and you’re not able to talk to the people that are important to you, check us out. We have the tool that can help you meet the people you want to meet and serve the niche that you want to serve at scale.

Jacqueline Schadeck with Jacquelineplans

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Cherokee Business Radio
Cherokee Business Radio
Jacqueline Schadeck with Jacquelineplans
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Jacqueline-Schadeck-headshot-bwJacqueline Schadeck is a Certified Financial Planner™, Best Selling Author and serial entrepreneur.

Her mission is to empower people with the confidence to lead their financial lives. From writing books to public speaking, she strives to show others that money is a tool to be used to build the life you want to live.

Connect with Jacqueline on her website.

Lori Highby with Keystone Click

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Lori-Highby-Keystone-Click
High Velocity Radio
Lori Highby with Keystone Click
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Lori-Highby-Keystone-ClickLori Highby is a podcast host, speaker, educator, and founder of Keystone Click, a strategic digital marketing agency.

Using her vast multi-industry knowledge – gained from experience and education, She has the ability to see the potential of greatness within the already established good of a business.

Through strategic actionable moves, she has worked with Fortune 500 companies such as ABB and Syngenta to micro-business owners, to achieve their marketing goals.

Lori carries her energy and drive into her professional engagements in order to empower and educate other fellow life-long learners.

Connect with Lori on LinkedIn and Facebook.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why building a marketing strategy is so important?
  • When it comes to social media,  the best channel to use to grow your business
  • Common mistakes businesses should avoid when it comes to marketing
  • Best practices when it comes to building a new website

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:15] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast podcast Host, speaker, educator and founder of Keystone Click,Laurie Highby. How are you?

Lori Highby: [00:00:37] I am great. How are.

Stone Payton: [00:00:39] You? I am doing well. Really been looking forward to this conversation. Got a ton of questions. I know we won’t get to them all, but I think a good place to start would be if you could share with me and our listeners mission purpose. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks?

Lori Highby: [00:00:58] Well, to keep it short and simple, what we like to do is help businesses really maximize and leverage the power of Internet to market their business. Digital marketing is so powerful and so many businesses seem to be lost and confused and how to really use it.

Stone Payton: [00:01:17] And you’re right about that, including yours truly here I resemble that remark. But. But why, from your perspective, why is building a marketing strategy so important?

Lori Highby: [00:01:30] It is so important because there’s first off, a lot of business owners attend a conference, hear one speaker and go, Oh, we got to do that. Or they read an article and a headline that this new platform is the way to go. And and at the end of the day, there’s a lot of tactics that can go out there. But if if you’re not saying the right message to the right audience at the right time, which is all about being strategic, you’re going to miss a lot of opportunity. Yeah, that new tactic might work for a short period of time, but you want to look at the long game. I mean, you can create content that has a very long shelf life and will serve you very well for your business for a long time. But you have to do the research and be strategic about what is that right type of content to be publishing and where are you going to publish it.

Stone Payton: [00:02:17] So you mentioned very early on in our conversation, you mentioned the word digital. And so I’m kind of making the jump in my mind to to social media, those platforms. Is there is is there one channel better than another, or is it kind of idiosyncratic? And it just depends on your business and who you’re trying to serve?

Lori Highby: [00:02:37] Yeah, my my answer to that question is it depends. I mean, it’s really understanding that ideal customer that you want to get in front of what is the pain that they have, that you’re the solution for, that you can be creating amazing content in the channel that they’re engaging in most. So just because an article says every business should be on TikTok doesn’t mean that your business should be on TikTok because maybe your ideal customer isn’t. Spending time on TikTok.

Stone Payton: [00:03:07] Makes all the sense in the world to me. Okay, I got to know I want to hear a little bit about the back story. How in the world did you find yourself in in this line of work? What was the path?

Lori Highby: [00:03:18] When I started going to school for commercial art, which is referred to as more like graphic design nowadays? And then I actually switched my major to marketing after I took a sociology class, and I was fascinated how messaging and images can and culture can influence people’s buying decisions. And that’s where I really led into marketing. So I worked at a traditional agency for a little while and spent a lot of time fascinated with the Internet and have done a ton of research over my 20 plus years in the space. And I absolutely love digital marketing and 22,008 I started my own firm and here we are almost, almost 15 years rocking it.

Stone Payton: [00:04:09] So what was that transition like? Was it a little bit scary going out on your own?

Lori Highby: [00:04:15] Oh, hell yeah. Yeah. I’m going to leave a full time paying job with great benefits to have no money coming in and just totally winging it. I mean, I’m definitely a risk taker and willing to step outside my comfort zone. I got to say, if I were to go back and do it all over again, I’d still jump in the deep end. But I would find mentors and people that have done it to kind of really make sure that I’m not making all the mistakes by myself. And I learned a lot of lessons over the years. But one of the biggest things I’d say is having a strong community around you is so important to I don’t have to do it alone, you know?

Stone Payton: [00:05:04] So I realize that you help other organizations, other practitioners with their sales and marketing. How about your sales and marketing? How are you getting the new clients?

Lori Highby: [00:05:16] Well, our space, we target B to B, and one of the best moves right now from a B to B initiative is thought leadership. So a lot of what we do is simply educate our audience on how best to leverage digital, digital and what those best practices are for their website, for social media, for paid advertising, for media production and us putting that information out there, showing our expertise is organically drawing in that ideal customer that we want to be doing work with.

Stone Payton: [00:05:52] All right. So you’ve been doing this a minute now, as the kids say. While. I mean, I can tell you love the work. It’s, you know, it just comes across over the airwaves. But what are you enjoying the most? What’s the most fun for you now at this point in your practice?

Lori Highby: [00:06:08] Actually, I love the sales side of it. I love meeting new people and going through the discovery process, learning about their business, learning about their pains and educating them on why things aren’t working for them or what the options are to put in front of them to help them achieve their big picture business goals. I love that.

Stone Payton: [00:06:33] So since you do have that experience base under your belt, I wonder, do you find that there are some patterns? Like do you see some of the same? I don’t know if mistakes is the right word or not, but some of the same pathology, some of the same things that, you know, you meet a new client, you have a bit of a conversation with them, and maybe you don’t say it out loud, but you think to yourself, Yep, I’ve seen this one before. Are there some common mistakes in this in this arena?

Lori Highby: [00:07:00] Oh, absolutely. You know, I appreciate that there’s a lot of DIY tools out there. Like a lot of companies can build their own website or write their own social media. But the biggest one of the biggest mistakes I see people is not being strategic about it. Just because you can build your own website doesn’t mean you’re actually producing the content on that site that is going to be of interest to that ideal customer that you’re trying to do business with. And a lot of times everyone focuses on the features and what the core deliverable is without really getting to the root of the challenge that that customer is facing. If you think about your own Google search practices, you type in the pain that you have before you know what the solution is. Once you’ve learned what the solution is, then you start Googling some variants of the solution. But you have to start at that root challenge that people have that’s going to help position you as the expert by helping them understand what that pain is that they have.

Stone Payton: [00:08:07] And what you’re saying makes all the sense in the world. And yet I suspect that some out there would be like me and and at least initially want to kind of lean into all the cool stuff about the solution, right?

Lori Highby: [00:08:20] Yep. Oh, yeah. But you can’t you can’t go right to selling the car without talking about what type of car is important to them. And is it a family vehicle, Is it a race car, the sports car? You know what? What is it that they’re looking for? So you have to start at the root cause and then work your way up. And that’s all about showing that expertise that you have. The other thing I see a lot of businesses making this mistake and this one is very common. They start on a social platform or they start a newsletter or they start blogging and then they stop. Now, the issue with that is if you’re starting something and you’ve got some momentum happening, you’re building a following. That’s amazing. And it’s going to take time for that following to continue to grow. But as soon as you stop, you’ve lost all of that following. And if you want to start up again, you’re basically starting up from scratch and it’s going to be harder to win over those people that already gave you their trust as opposed to reengaging them right away. So you want to keep that momentum of creating content going and a consistent, consistent format overall.

Stone Payton: [00:09:30] So you mentioned a moment ago, you talked about website and gearing a website to to be SEO friendly to me makes a lot of sense. Not that I would have the first clue about how to do that, but maybe I’m beginning to learn. But what are some best practices, particularly if you’re building a new I say building if you’re if you’re engaging someone maybe to help you build. What are some best practices when it comes to building a new website?

Lori Highby: [00:09:55] Sure. So obviously we want to look at your structure and everything, but you want to think about the user experience. And I call this the billboard test. Basically, whenever I’m having that initial discussion with anyone specifically around their website, there’s three questions that I ask. And if none of the questions or even one of the questions is an answer that tells me there’s some major issues with their site. First and foremost, is it clear and obvious what it is that you do and who you do it for? If your website on any page does not answer that, what do you think that person is going to do when they land on their site? They’re going to hit the back button and they’re going to look for the next site that tells them this is exactly what I do and who I do it for. The next thing is you have to have some sort of trust or credibility. You said that you can do this. How do I know that you can actually do that? That’s where testimonials, if you’ve won awards, if you’ve got media exposure, any sort of credibility that says, yes, I can do this is going to help establish trust a lot faster. And the third thing is, once those other two boxes are checked, okay, yes, you can do what I’m looking for you to do, and I trust that you can do it. How do I engage you to actually do this? A lot of websites are missing that. Very simple yet very important call to action. And that needs to be on every single page of a site.

Stone Payton: [00:11:23] I am so glad that I asked, because while I asked it in the frame of building a new website, I think this is a good conversation to take back to the team and look at the existing website. Do we pass the Lorri test? Well.

Lori Highby: [00:11:39] Honestly, most don’t. It’s exciting when someone does and I applaud them, but most are not right now.

Stone Payton: [00:11:45] So for those of you out there listening, if you’d like to get some some free advice, some from some really smart people, get you a radio show. It’s a marvelous way to learn a ton. Speaking of which, you have your own podcast. Talk about that a little bit and maybe, I don’t know, maybe some of what you’ve learned or observed in the process of interviewing. I mean, you’ve interviewed hundreds of professionals all over the planet, haven’t you?

Lori Highby: [00:12:12] I sure have. Yep. I actually have two shows now, but I’ll focus on the one social capital where I’ve interviewed. I think I’m at about 380 ish right now, professionals globally on the topic of networking. And I would say there’s there’s three things that I’ve learned that are a common thread and so important and I kind of call them my three golden rules of networking. First and foremost, be authentic because people can smell fake. I mean, there’s no doubt about that. Just be genuine and be real. Two is to give first. So don’t ask for something, but give first. If you if you connect with someone and you know what something they like in their personal world or if they have a need that you can fill in their professional world, give, give it away first. And third is follow through. If you tell someone that you meet that you’re going to do something, and this is the first part of that relationship and you don’t follow through on what it is you said you’re going to do, You basically put a negative vibe on that relationship going forward. So super simple. Be real. Give first and follow through. Yeah, you’re going to have great relationships going forward.

Stone Payton: [00:13:32] So in just a moment before we wrap, I’m going to make sure that our listeners have contact information so that they can have a conversation with you to begin to tap into your work. But before we do that, I’d love to leave them with a couple of actionable pro tips. I mean, number one Pro Tip gang is reach out and have a conversation with Lori or somebody on our team. But maybe even before that step, maybe there’s something that we can be thinking about reading, doing, not doing. Let’s leave them with a couple of tips if we could.

Lori Highby: [00:14:06] Oh, man, I don’t know if I was ready for that one, but I’ll wing it. You know, I mentioned that it’s always extremely important to have a good tribe around you. So when I first started my business, I had this It’s lonely at the top kind of mentality. But now I’m surrounded myself with others that are in similar lines of business and in similar roles. And that has been a huge game changer for my business. The other thing, regardless if it’s your marketing or anything related to business, it’s extremely important to be strategic. You don’t want to be throwing darts in the dark and hoping and praying you hit the bull’s eye. You want to be confident in whatever plan is that you’re you’re pushing forward.

Stone Payton: [00:14:50] Well, I’m glad I asked, and I think you were more than ready to field that question. No, you clearly have a great deal of depth and substance and and obviously, relationships are important to to not only you, but all the people you’re trying to serve. And you clearly are helping them cultivate those relationships and strengthen them. What what a that must be incredibly rewarding work.

Lori Highby: [00:15:19] No, I enjoy what I do. I love meeting new people and I like connecting others as well. It’s fun to see relationships grow.

Stone Payton: [00:15:28] Okay, let’s do make sure that our listeners can connect with you, Tap into your work, whatever you feel like is appropriate. Website, LinkedIn, Email. I just want to make sure that they can they can connect with you.

Lori Highby: [00:15:40] Yeah, I’m pretty active on LinkedIn. Just search for Lori Hobby and you can hit the follow button or connect. If you connect, you know, make sure you mention mention this show in this episode. Otherwise Keystone clicked. Com. You can take a look at some of the work that we do there. We have a ton of educational content, blogs, webinars, videos. As I mentioned, it’s all about teaching and educating our audience. So reach out if you have any questions.

Stone Payton: [00:16:06] Well, Lori, it has been an absolute delight having you on the program this afternoon. Thank you for investing the time and energy to visit with us and share your insight and perspective. Your you’re doing important work and we we sure appreciate you.

Lori Highby: [00:16:23] All right, thanks. This is great.

Stone Payton: [00:16:25] My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Laurie Habib and everyone here at the business Radio X family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

 

Life and Business Strategist Regina Gulbinas

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Regina-Gulbinas-headshot
High Velocity Radio
Life and Business Strategist Regina Gulbinas
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Regina-Gulbinas-headshotOver the past 20 years, Regina Gulbinas has worked with over 100 businesses, helping them scale correctly and in many cases re-organize.

Regina’s function is to work very closely with the CEO and teach them how to run and grow their company correctly, improving their cash flow and position for long-term success and profitability.

In 2019 she expanded by bringing 17 years of her expertise online to teach online entrepreneurs how to be profitable CEOs.

People do not just pay for her time but invest in the opportunity to collapse time and tap into 20 years of real-life business-building experience.

Connect with Regina on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Main components every business consists of
  • 2 Main reasons companies experience failure
  • Why the money is in the relationships (with employees, clients, and supplies/vendors)
  • How to produce better results in less time

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity Radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:15] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio Show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast, Regina Gulbinas. How are you?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:00:31] Well, I’m very excited to be here. Thank you for having me.

Stone Payton: [00:00:34] We are delighted to have you on the program. I’ve got a lot of questions. I think the first place may be the best place to start would be if you could share with us mission, purpose. What are you really out there trying to do for folks?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:00:50] A great question. So I’ve spent the last 20 years helping the companies reorganize back to profitability. And most of the 17 years of the last 20 has been hyper focused on that. So this has been an amazing journey When you can walk into a company that’s millions upside down, they’re about to go out of business and you get to participate in saving, not just restoring the company, but employees get to keep their jobs, marriages get to stay intact because we know financial cash brings a lot of cash into marriages and things like that. So this has been an incredible mission to walk with people and help them restore their lives, restore their businesses and continue to rise up, be profitable. And that actually affects other people that they’re employing and their families. So this has been a huge part of my mission just serving, supporting and serving CEOs, entrepreneurs, small business owners, and the last three years of the 20, I just felt God calling me into the online space. And I’ve shifted a lot of my focus to helping female entrepreneurs versus executives, CEOs in creating just businesses that they’re obsessed with lives, that they’re obsessed with just the life of business strategies. But to have the ability to leave your fingerprint on someone else’s timeline, that’s really how I see what I do.

Stone Payton: [00:02:07] Are you finding that businesses often fail or come close to failure for some of the same reasons? Do you see some of the same things over and over again?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:02:17] You know, believe it or not, it’s pretty much all of the same reasons. Yes, absolutely.

Stone Payton: [00:02:22] So what are what are some of the the ones that you typically see, some that may be when we have the benefit of listening to this conversation, we can say, okay, we’ll try to avoid those.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:02:33] You know, for small business owners and small, I would say maybe like under 15 or $20 annually, something like that for a small business owner. A lot of it is two main reasons. Number one, the needs of the company outgrow the knowledge base of the CEO because as long as long as your company continues to scale, you need additional information to run and support the infrastructure and the cash flow of the company. And in that case, I’ve noticed CEOs and small business owners are not often quick enough to catch that sweet spot and say, okay, the company needs outgrowing my knowledge. I need to bring additional support on board with an outside perspective to support the growth. So the moment the company needs begins to outgrow the knowledge base of the CEO. As the company grows, the gap between what the CEO knows and what the needs of the company are. When the gap becomes too high, they start to slide back and go into negative. Because if you don’t have enough information, you can only take your business so far and the needs of the company just grow. And the second thing, a lot of it is lack of infrastructure. A lot of businesses have lack of infrastructure. They don’t have the correct employees on staff. They don’t have the finances to hire the right people that can actually see the bigger picture. So the two main reasons that I mean, I’ve done over 100 corporations through reorganization. So the two main reasons are the needs of the company outgrow the knowledge base of the CEO and the CEO doesn’t get support fast enough and the lack of infrastructure within the company.

Stone Payton: [00:04:07] So tell us a little bit more about your backstory. How did you get into this line of work?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:04:16] You know, this is one that most people don’t believe. I don’t have formal training and education. School was not my thing. Struggle through high school. Every teacher said, very intelligent, very smart. Doesn’t show up to class. I just didn’t. School wasn’t my thing. Bottom line. Got a two year degree just to get my parents off the back of my back. You. I went to college because everybody was doing it. And like in fashion merchandizing, I don’t even know. I just took the cheapest, easiest thing I could do. I just. I was hungry for life. I knew that God made me for something impact driven. And I was very restless until I found that. And at the age of 24, I got hired in a company as an accounts payable clerk who was going who was at the tail end of a Chapter 11 reorganization. And the moment I walked in before I knew what they were doing, you know, like when you get that feeling, you’re like, okay, I know I’m supposed to be here, but I don’t know why. I knew I was supposed to be there, not necessarily in the company, but I was supposed to be there in that moment. And then I realized that they’re going through reorganization. And the gentleman who was reorganizing them, I realized I understand why. And I worked with him for 17 years as his right hand. And I just naturally understand people and money. It’s not of in numbers. There is a big difference between numbers and money. People confuse. They think it’s the same thing. Numbers and money are very different thing. And I naturally have gifts and abilities to understand people, to speak to people, to negotiate with people, to lead people, to navigate people and do the same thing with money.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:05:49] And businesses are, I mean, the two main components every business consists of. I don’t care where in the planet you are, what you sell, what are the two main components in any business, people and money. But from a very young age, I knew that I had got to just put something in me. I knew I wasn’t meant to just be an employee to five. Nothing wrong with that. I just knew I was supposed to. There is an impact. There is a fingerprint. I’m supposed to leave on the timeline that I’m here, that I get to be here, and then by mistake, bumped into the world of corporate turnaround. And I came alive. I knew I’m supposed to be there, but it was a very hard journey. It’s not like I bumped into and I said, I belong here. And it was easy. I’m 24 years old. Nobody cares what I say when it comes to reorganizing companies. No formal training, no education. And I fought for my spot. I fought for my voice. I worked extremely hard to prove myself to every single CEO that I that I came in contact with, that I am not only qualified, I’m much more qualified than anybody who can go to school for this because I have something I have something that you can’t just learn in school. Basic like mechanics, you know what I mean? And it was just the perfect fit. It was the perfect fit for me.

Stone Payton: [00:07:05] Well, I fully anticipated a conversation about numbers and money, but you’ve also mentioned every bit as many times people speak to people relationships that side of this, because this is an important aspect of this work, isn’t it?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:07:22] Absolutely. I believe that the money is in the relationship. The money is in the relationship while we focus on making money, which is important. You’re running a business. There’s nothing wrong with that. You should be aware of your numbers. Profitability, margins. Which clients to keep. Which clients to let go. But I’ve also seen some extraordinary things happen when we take care of the relationships. I have worked with big construction companies where clients will literally pay more money for per contract for whatever they can get, like a home built or a high rise built for less just because of the relationship of my client and the safety that my client provides in the transaction. They know they can hand off the product, they can hand up the the the construction aspect of it like a GC to a sub. They can hand it off and not have to worry about. People will literally pay more money for a peace of mind. I have seen people be able to charge more because the high quality of service that they provide. And again, when the client can hand off a project to you and walk away, not to have to worry and babysit their suppliers, they’re going to get done. Is it going to get done on time? People will pay more money for that. Same with the employees. Employees will work better if they feel like they’re part of the family. They’re part of the they’re not just an employee. So I think we often forget how much money is in the relationships. I’ve negotiated insane things for clients who were just filing bankruptcy and suppliers don’t want to really touch. They cut people off on credit. When people file bankruptcy and I completely understand, a lot of people don’t know that actually bankruptcy works.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:08:55] Just because you filed, you still have to pay, especially for new products. When has the file 100% of the dollar. So and that scares them. A lot of suppliers are scared. I’m going to cut you off. I’ve negotiated deliveries of like steel and material and all of these things after people have filed because I’ve maintained such a good, honorable, respectful relationship between supplier and client prior to that. And because of that, we didn’t have to shut up, shut production, for example, again, relationship. You know, I always tell my clients my like no people’s even personal know their birthday. I mean, how simple is it to keep a calendar of people that are like the key players in your business? The key players in your business are not necessarily in your business. Keep certain things that are important to the people, that are key players to your profitability, even if their customers are suppliers. These little things I have seen miracles be pulled off because I maintain these relationships for clients, for suppliers, for for my clients, for their vendors, for their suppliers, so and so for employees. The money is in the relationship. And I think it’s very important not to underestimate how much more money we can make, provided that the relationships are taken care of. If you take care of those relationships, I’ve seen those relationships take care of my clients when it was the hardest thing and nobody else would give them benefit of the doubt. And the people who really took care of really came through because we needed them. Otherwise, if there is no supplies, if there is no production, clients want their deposits back. It opens a chain of of bad reaction for for many pieces of the puzzle.

Stone Payton: [00:10:37] As we’re having this conversation, your eyes light up. There’s so much energy and enthusiasm and passion in your voice. I know our our listeners are picking that up over the airwaves. At this point in your career, what are you finding the most rewarding? What are you enjoying the most about the work?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:10:57] You know what? Interestingly enough, the most I enjoy is when I see the transformation in the CEO that I’ve worked with, because your profitability is nothing more than the byproduct of your decision making abilities. That’s it. The numbers in your balance sheet, the numbers are European, your penal, are simply a reflection of the decisions you make, the decisions you make on a daily basis as a CEO. So when I talk to the CEO, when I give him the lessons, when I teach them, lead them, navigate them, inspire them, and I see the shift in their behavior and they see that it impacts their entire life, their business, their marriages, their relationships with clients, the relationships with people. That, to me, is the ultimate win, because money is one thing. I mean, I love the hustle, I love business. I thrive on it like I am a strategist, that God made me a strategist. My mind is like a puzzle and it goes a million miles an hour. But to watch when you have helped somebody, you have changed to help them change the perspective of how they make their most important decisions in their life. Once you see the shift in their eyes, their eyes light up and you see that it’s impacting literally every aspect of their life, because if they can decide better in their company, they will decide better in their personal relationships, they will decide better when it comes to other things outside the company.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:12:13] Once you see that shift and you actually realize that what you’ve done is allowed somebody to change so much and have supported somebody in so much change that you have now impacted not just their life, but perhaps their bloodline for generations to follow. Because if they know better, if they do better, they will teach better in their family. They will lead their household better. What does that mean? Their children are watching. They will do better and their children. So I think a lot of times when we work with people in mentorship and things like that, we think we’re working for the moment like we’re here now. I don’t see it that way. If I can help a company or if I can help a woman build an incredible business and everything in her life changes and she takes it home and her kids now do better and they learn better. I’ve now impacted multiple generations. I mean, how massive is that? If you really think about it.

Stone Payton: [00:13:07] It’s incredible. Now, are you finding that you are drawn to kind of gravitating toward a certain type of business or industry?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:13:18] No, I don’t care. What industry Do I care who you are. I care who you are. So the clients that are just looking for a short fix not going to touch that clients where there is bad behavior manipulation, kind of not follow through with people that they work with, things like that. Not going to touch that integrity is really, really high for me. But no, I don’t care what industry. Money is money. People are people. It’s all the same thing, processes or processes. I care more about who I work with versus what they’re selling. I don’t care about that. That’s easy. That’s business. But I care. I look at who are you as a human being?

Stone Payton: [00:13:56] How do you get the new clients? Is it all referral at this point, or do you do some kind of proactive marketing to get out there and educate and inform and draw people to you?

Regina Gulbinas: [00:14:07] Referral. But I work mostly with online companies, so I do like online organic advertising. I’ve been here for three and a half years on line of position myself offline. Old clients still come back, ask for support. People refer me interviews just like this. A lot of people hear me and reach out. Just very organic.

Stone Payton: [00:14:25] So one of the things, as you might imagine that I found really, really attractive and smiled early in the conversation, you used a phrase that included fingerprint on the timeline because we’re all about producing better results and less time here at High Velocity Radio. Speak to that a little bit more and maybe talk about a little bit about what the the work looks like, especially in the early stages when you first start working with a company.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:14:52] Their work in the early stages is to, number one, see where the company is at. Because before I can change the behavior, before I can change the decision making process, I want to know where the company is at, what what’s impacting them. What are the numbers? If the numbers if you’re bleeding all over the place, so then do we. We have to plug the holes before we do anything else. Right. Because the business needs to continue. So first, I will it’s always able to want to look at the numbers. The numbers always tell me the how, the how the CEO makes the decisions. I don’t need the CEO to tell me a single thing. I can look at the numbers and know if there is a pattern. If there is, if there is, if there seasonal, if there this, if there that, if they’re short selling themselves, if they’re under charging, if they’re not paying careful attention. I don’t mean to talk to the CEO or the piano on the balance sheet will tell me everything I need to know how the CEO operates in their mindset. Everything. The numbers tell a story. The numbers really, really tell a story. It’s not just the numbers. I don’t look at the numbers. I look at the story. I don’t see just the numbers on paper. I see someone else’s decisions.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:15:53] So I look at the numbers first. I talk to the CEO. I’m highly intuitive. I just I kind of pick up on people who they are, how they operate. I want to know how they move, how they run their operations. So I observe a lot, I observe a lot, and then we just go to work and we start at the most critical to the least critical. What’s the first thing? Like I said, if they’re bleeding margins, if they’re bleeding in labor on the floor, if they’re just if they have clients that have terms, I’ll pay you when I feel like we need to fire some clients. Do we need to negotiate the terms? So I guess it depends on what’s happening in the company at the moment, but the numbers are a big chunk of it at the beginning, but the numbers are just the story. And then I don’t live by the numbers in a company. I live by the global operation. So when I first walk in, I want to know if there is a critical environment, if there is a critical environment, we have more time to put certain things in place. Maybe we have more time to plug some holes. We have time. So to make some additional decisions, if it’s a critical environment, what’s the low hanging fruit? Let’s get you guys into the safe waters.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:16:57] Let’s make sure you can stand up strong. And then we go on fixing things and making it more of a more of a just a tight ship to run. Because a lot of the times people bleed hours, people bleed and just unnecessarily cost and things like that. So a lot of shoring up. But again, ultimately it’s the decision making process of the CEO. And the CEO tells me a lot even through a conversation. And a lot of people will let people have terms on whatever they want. They will under charge, they will this, they will build that. So it’s a matter of shoring everything up, because what I’ve noticed often just by shoring up, you will end up more money to your bottom line with no changes, with zero changes outside of the current infrastructure, meaning with no additional from outside, but just shoring up within, looking at the cost, looking at the labor, looking at a decision making process, looking at the payment terms, looking at the time versus how much looking. Just by cleaning up inside, you can get a lot of work done and sometimes it’s even shuffling the right people into the right place because very often people have wrong people in the wrong position. They’re great people. They’re just not for that job. So sometimes you’ve got to shuffle people around.

Stone Payton: [00:18:10] Okay, let’s make sure that our listeners can reach out, connect with you, have a conversation with you or someone on your team. I want them to be able to tap into your work, whatever you think is appropriate. Website, LinkedIn, email. Let’s make sure that we can get them connected with you.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:18:27] Absolutely. Thank you. So I’m on LinkedIn, not very active on LinkedIn, but if you send me a message and link that, I definitely get it. Facebook Social media is the way to get in touch with people right now. Regina Gilbert News.com But people don’t necessarily contact me through the website, so people are welcome to check out the website of great testimonials there. But LinkedIn or Facebook is a perfect way to get in touch with me or my email is simple. Nicole Vena said gmail.com.

Stone Payton: [00:18:52] Well, Regina, it has been an absolute delight having you on the program this afternoon. Thank you for sharing your insight and your perspective. And I got to say, your energy with us this afternoon. You’re doing such important work, impacting so many lives. And we we sure appreciate you.

Regina Gulbinas: [00:19:11] Thank you. It’s it’s been a pleasure and honor. Thank you so much for having me.

Stone Payton: [00:19:14] My pleasure. All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Regina Gubbins and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

 

Elizabeth Pampalone with Absolute Marketing

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Elizabeth-Pampalone-Absolute-Marketing
High Velocity Radio
Elizabeth Pampalone with Absolute Marketing
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Absolute-Marketing-logo

Elizabeth-Pampalone-Absolute-MarketingElizabeth Pampalone is a Marketing Minimalist, Content Creator, International Speaker, and Innovative Podcaster. She has developed proven formulas that help herself and her clients to create 1 year of marketing content in 5 days.

Her creative approach to marketing has helped overwhelmed business owners and burnt-out nonprofit directors achieve success and freedom through the power of Absolute Marketing™.

Connect with Elizabeth on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • About Absolute Marketing
  • Advice for those just starting out
  • How Elizabeth came up with the Absolute Marketing 5 day system

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for High Velocity radio.

Stone Payton: [00:00:15] Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Absolute Marketing. Elizabeth Pampalone. How are you?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:00:34] I’m doing good. How are.

Stone Payton: [00:00:35] You? I am doing well. Really been looking forward to this conversation. I think maybe a good place to start is mission purpose. What are. What are you and your team really out there trying to do for folks, Elizabeth?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:00:49] Well, we are creating one year of marketing content in five days. That’s our goal and we pretty much get it done every time.

Stone Payton: [00:00:57] Well, I got to say, that is a good match for a show called High Velocity Radio. How in the world can you really do it? Can you can it really be done that quick?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:01:08] It can. A lot of what we find is that the back and forth between the designer and the owner and the person making the decision is a lot of unnecessary emails and time and meetings. And so we’ve just cut all that down by asking the client to sit with us for an eight hour day to complete one project. And then we have about eight different day options that they can choose from based on their needs.

Stone Payton: [00:01:35] Now, do you find that some types of industries, businesses really fit this mold better than others, or are you finding there’s quite a wide variety of businesses that can employ this?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:01:46] A lot of businesses can do this. We have one of our days where you can create one year of social media content in a day. And unfortunately, some people are too skeptical and they don’t take the chance. But we’ve had several real estate agents and other industries where they are constantly receiving new information. And so they think, well, how could I put together one year of marketing content in a day, especially social media? And it’s actually surprisingly easy and it does give them a leg up on their competition.

Stone Payton: [00:02:18] So is this an idea, an approach that was brewing in your mind for a long time, or did you stumble into it? How did you land on on this one year of marketing content in five days like that?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:02:34] Well, I actually had been doing it for myself for many years. This is my 15th year in business as a marketer, and I had been running my own marketing in this similar way. I just didn’t really see it as a thing, right? I just do it that way because that’s how I do it. It’s me. But I was doing the traditional marketing for other people where a website could take 30 to 60 days. You know, a logo could take 2 to 4 weeks. It just all these same typical things you hear. But when I actually came to it, I was like, Why am I not using my own process that I developed for myself on my clients? And in 2017, I took everything off my website and said, We only do day projects. Here they are. And that’s what we do still today.

Stone Payton: [00:03:21] Well, you clearly enjoy the work. I can hear it in your voice and I know our listeners can’t can too. At this point in your career, at this point, in your practice? What are you enjoying the most about the work?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:03:34] Really seeing people have that aha moment. It’s usually on. We work with people anywhere from 3 to 5 days as a typical engagement and it’s usually on day one. We’ll do that first day with them and somewhere along the way and that first day they just kind of look at me and go, This is really possible, isn’t it? Or We’re really doing this, aren’t we? And so I think that’s my my most exciting piece is for them to have that aha moment in that first day and then just be ready to jump into the second and third and etc. days and and really put everything they can into it because they, they do know that it’s possible.

Stone Payton: [00:04:13] This strikes me as such a pioneer move. The answer to this may be no, but I’m going to ask anyway. Have you had the benefit of one or more mentors along the way on this path that have helped you kind of navigate that terrain?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:04:30] Not this particular one. I’ve had mentors over the years who’ve really helped me to kind of break through some of the blocks I was having, whether it was naming the system or coming up with that tagline. Things like that to really help me market my own system because I am a marketer. But as you know, marketers need marketers, coaches need coaches, all that kind of stuff. And so I’ve had people come along the way and kind of help me see my own business from a different angle. But as far as like the actual concept, that was really something that I came up with after really, really reading about Parkinson’s law and a couple of other time saving energy saving tips and like theories from other people that don’t have anything to do with the marketing or technology field. These were like people who wrote in the early 19th century or early 20th century. So it’s something that I try to incorporate other types of modalities into what I do. And for me, it was looking at the process and going, Wow, this is just taking way too long and nobody really has time for this, especially me, especially the clients and just finding a solution.

Stone Payton: [00:05:41] Well, you bring up an interesting point, and I saw this happen a lifetime ago when I was in the change management consulting arena. Often, I mean, a drug company can look at the way a surfboard company is executing on some of its business practices and learn a ton, sometimes more than they can looking at their company. So kudos to use for sort of going outside of the of the established pattern and then then re synthesizing it to to to serve your clients. I’ve got I guess this is kind of a more of a tactical question, but and I certainly don’t even know that I understand the word, much less the the process. But you talked about social media. Where do algorithms and all this play into this whole process?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:06:33] Well, I actually build something called algorithm proof social media. That’s what that full day is about. It’s an eight hour day. And what we really focus on is that organic growth is more important and credibility is more valuable to a business than the number of followers you have or the number of likes you have. And so because those things can be manufactured, but credibility cannot, we really focus on going kind of around the algorithm, almost ignoring it completely and giving the client the best chance they have at being competing with the big guys, essentially, because as most of these small businesses I work with, they don’t have the ability to pay for these massive ad campaigns and things like that, which the big guys are doing and really dominating that space. So I’d rather make them really credible in their field, in their industry, or even in their local area, in their industry, in their local area, and have them compete on the level that they need to compete on rather than focus so much on ad spend and things like that. So really my focus is algorithm algorithm and really go around it and go for the credibility aspect.

Stone Payton: [00:07:43] I think that’s great. Now you’ve had an opportunity to serve nonprofit enterprises as as well. Speak to that.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:07:51] A little bit.

Stone Payton: [00:07:52] Yeah.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:07:53] Yeah. I love working with nonprofits because a lot of times they are really, really clear on their message, but they’re really, really unclear on their audience. And so this gives me a chance to come in and help fix that foundational piece when the house is kind of falling down around them and they’re not really sure why the donations are down and they’re not able to help as many people as they need to. This is a really great option for them to get this done quickly and have that credibility boost. But then also really focus on, oh, this is our actual client. And once those that piece of the puzzle is fixed, the website falls into place. You know, the social media falls into place. Email, blogging, if needed, podcasting, all of that starts to make more sense once they’ve clearly defined that audience.

Stone Payton: [00:08:43] So my instincts are that part of the answer to this question is going to be, as my daddy would say, eat your own cooking. But I wanted to ask about sales and marketing for you, for your firm, how you get the new interest to the new clients.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:08:57] I educate. I actually go out and teach quite a bit. I am teaching probably anywhere from 20 to 40 classes a year for any range of volunteer organizations to paid speaking engagements that are across the country. I also do a lot of podcasts like this one and just try and give people kind of a hope that there’s another option out there for them, especially if they’re frustrated or confused by a lot of the marketing stuff. And then also just doing a ton of volunteer work through the small business organizations that are in my local area and then also nationally. And then I also do a ton of networking as much as I can with all the other stuff that I’m doing. And I love doing that because it just helps me to see people in the in the field, if you will, and give them that small tidbit of, Hey, did you know this is happening? Yeah, you could definitely talk to this person and just make those connections and help people to see that there’s there’s other options than just, oh my gosh, I have to do social media again, you know?

Stone Payton: [00:10:04] Side note to our audience, Elizabeth is being very modest. She said, you know, she does a lot of podcasts. Yeah. I’ll say, like you have gotten on a hundred plus podcasts in in less than a year. Any secret sauce there that you’d be willing to share with some of our folks who want to get on shows more?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:10:22] Yeah. Yeah. It was really funny because in 2020 my goal was to be on 100 shows from March to December and I ended up getting on over 200. So it was really exciting and it was a lot of work, a lot of time. However, I’ve kind of got it down to a science now where if you have the right pitch again, knowing your audience, knowing your signature, talk to huge points and if you have the right elements. So for example, I have a press kit that I put together that has everything that you would ask me. Stone Everything you would need from me is in that press kit. And so I can literally send you that press kit and you have everything you need. You don’t even have to ask me for anything. And all we do is show up and have a great conversation. But that that pitch is what really gets me into the shows. And so I try to make it fun, I try to make it interesting. I try to put my best foot forward. When it comes to the topic of the show, I’ve spoken on everything from shows about old movies to shows about dancing, divorce, technology, marketing, sales, everything you can think of. And I really try to go outside the box when it comes to which shows I choose to go on. And I probably applied to get on those 200 shows. I applied to about 500 shows. So it’s not like it was definitely a game of numbers. It’s not like I got every show I applied for, but I really just tried to follow the trend of Where is the last show I was on, Who else was on that show and what other shows have they been on and kind of followed people through that path of this guy I really like. He was on one of the shows I was on and now I can apply to these other shows he was on and say, We were on a show together over here. You should check it out, you know, that kind of thing, and use that credibility to build on other credibility.

Stone Payton: [00:12:08] And you also have spent quite a bit of time on the other side of the mic and you are a podcaster. Talk about that experience a little bit, what you’ve learned and and your perspective on if other people ought to be exploring that as well.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:12:23] I think being a host is amazing opportunity and I have been in radio since I was in my teens and then I started podcasting in 2014, walked away from it for a little bit and then I restarted my my own show marketing minimalism in 2010, 20, 20, early 2020, before everything went crazy. It was like January. I thought, I’m going to try this again. I’m going to see what happens. And my show is a little different. I wanted to choose something that would fit my lifestyle. A lot of people say podcasting is really time consuming. While it can be, you can really choose what fits your lifestyle. Your show doesn’t have to be an hour long. My show is only 2 minutes and I have guests. Stephen So if you’re interested, you can check that out and hear how I accomplish that.

Stone Payton: [00:13:12] Well, let’s make sure we leave people with an easy way to to get there, including me. I want to go listen to those two minute bits. Absolutely. So I know that you say your company, you don’t say that your company sells marketing. What do you say that you sell?

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:13:29] Relief. We’re like Rolaids. We we sell relief.

Stone Payton: [00:13:37] So relief from what? Just the headache, the burnout, the stress of.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:13:41] Yeah, all of that. I mean, I was in a session, I was teaching a session and a couple of a year ago, and I asked the audience, I said, how many of you on a daily basis feel anxiety over your own social media campaigns? And this was a room full of marketers and they all raised their hand. Anxiety or stress on a daily basis because of their social media. And I thought, that’s insane. So for me, it’s really about if I can take something off your plate or I can explain something to you that you didn’t understand before and make it easier and make it more manageable for you. Again, fitting it into your lifestyle wherever you are, whoever you are, then that’s my whole goal. And a lot of people that do the year in a day or do the year and five days, they walk away with so much accomplished and they see that it’s been possible in such a short time. They can now, one, go out on their own and just do it themselves, which I’m happy that they should do. Or they can know that this is not as hard and as time consuming and as arduous as they thought initially.

Stone Payton: [00:14:50] All right, before we wrap, let’s leave our listeners, especially those that are just kind of getting started. Let’s leave them with a couple of pro tips, maybe some do’s, some don’ts, some go read this, be thinking about that kind of thing.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:15:05] One of the things people always tell me is you’re too expensive because I am not cheap, let me tell you. But the thing I tell them is go read profit first and come back in three months. And a lot of them do, surprisingly, because profit first really helps small business owners to get a handle on their cash flow management. It’s not necessarily about budgeting, it’s about cash flow management, and that’s not something they teach entrepreneurs. So I highly recommend that as first thing it’s called Profit First by Mike McCullough. It’s very popular book. You’ll find it right away if you Google it. And then the second thing would be, once you have that budget and you know what you’re going to be able to spend on marketing, I would say set aside anywhere from 5 to 10000. If you’re starting out and you want to do it like all upfront and get it all done and do it right. But the first thing that has to be done is branding. If you don’t know who you are, what you’re doing and who you’re sharing it with, then there’s no point in the rest of it. Everything else will fall short. Everything else won’t work. It’ll feel tough. It’ll feel like this isn’t working. Why am I trying? You just keep trying and trying and nothing works. So brand is the first thing. Got to get that right. Then follows the website, then your social media, all these things have to come in this order for them to be successful. And then you can add things like blogging, podcasting, and definitely don’t forget email marketing.

Stone Payton: [00:16:25] Well, given the counsel that you just laid on us in 90 seconds, I have no problem believing that you can get an awful lot done in the course of a few days. Incidentally, I can’t pronounce his last name as eloquently as you do, but we interviewed the gentleman who wrote that book, Profit First, and it was a fantastic conversation. He’s amazing. Okay, let’s make sure that our listeners can get in touch with you. Let’s leave him with some coordinates. Email, LinkedIn, whatever you feel like is appropriate.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:16:56] Well, you can go to our website and get absolute marketing, and there’s actually a free tab there where I have every video I’ve ever made. It’s all free. And our free library. And also you can get my pro tool kit. It’s every tool that I use in my own business and for my clients. And there are discount links in there as well.

Stone Payton: [00:17:15] Well, Elizabeth, this has been a blast and it’s gone by incredibly fast. I have thoroughly enjoyed the conversation. Thank you so much for hanging out with us this afternoon and sharing your insight and your experience. This is You got me fired up. Now I’m going to go back, reread Mike’s book Profit first, but I’m also going to put some thought into these topics. You’re doing important work and you’re obviously doing a great job with it. And we sure thank you and appreciate you.

Elizabeth Pampalone: [00:17:42] Thank you so much.

Stone Payton: [00:17:44] All right. Until next time, this is Stone Payton for our guest today, Elizabeth Pantalone with Absolute Marketing and everyone here at the Business Radio X family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

 

The Wrap Podcast | Episode 057 | Don’t Freak Out: Reasons You Shouldn’t Fear an IRS Audit | Warren Averett

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Wrap-Episode-58
Birmingham Business Radio
The Wrap Podcast | Episode 057 | Don’t Freak Out: Reasons You Shouldn’t Fear an IRS Audit | Warren Averett
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The Inflation Reduction Act appropriated $80 billion of additional funding to the IRS, which includes funding for tax enforcement activities. For the average person, this sounds like increased potential for an IRS Audit.

So how do businesses navigate complicated tax issues and proactively prepare in case they are chosen for an audit? What are the best practices to keep an IRS audit from becoming too burdensome?

In this episode of The Wrap, our hosts welcome Ronald Levitt and Gregory Rhodes, both Shareholders and members of the Tax Practice Group at Dentons Sirote, as well as Warren Averett’s own Will Aderholt, CPA, CCIFP, to discuss how business owners and high-net-worth individuals can best prepare for a potential IRS audit.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

  • How increased funding to the IRS through the Inflation Reduction Act could lead to increased audits
  • Potential roadblocks to the IRS’s expanded capabilities
  • Areas the IRS is most likely to focus on in the near future
  • Why you shouldn’t fear an IRS audit if you’ve planned ahead, kept proper documentation and worked with a professional CPA.

Additional Resources:

BRX Pro Tip: When You have a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail

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BRXmic99
BRX Pro Tips
BRX Pro Tip: When You have a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail
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BRX-Banner

BRX Pro Tip: When You have a Hammer, Everything Looks Like a Nail

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor, Stone Payton here with you. Lee, I have heard this before and it is so true and it’s definitely worth revisiting. When you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:17] Yeah, I see this kind of come to fruition on LinkedIn all the time. I can’t tell you how many people connect with me on LinkedIn, and their first move is to sell me something in the literal second message after we’ve connected. It’s because I fit some profile and they have some solution. They don’t know if I have that pain. They don’t know if I need that solution. But because I’ve met some kind of criteria, they assume I have that solution that they have.

So, they’re not gathering any information to see if I’m a good fit as a prospect. They’re just making assumptions because they have a solution that solves problems for people that sometimes look like me. So, they’re assuming that I’m a good fit and that they’re saying I should buy their service. So, they don’t know me, they don’t know if I’m a good fit. They don’t even know — it’s not even the appropriate time to make a recommendation yet.

So, what they think they’re doing is, you know, prospecting to leads. But what they’re really doing is creating a negative connotation between their brand and me. So, if you’re not a good fit, you should tell people you’re — they’re not a good fit for you and help them find the solution that can help them. But you won’t know that until you have a conversation with them to determine that. Don’t make assumptions and don’t move too quickly to recommend before knowing what a person’s problem is.

So even though you might have a great solution, you can’t skip the step of getting to know someone first to see if your solution is right for them. So, the clearer you can be regarding who is a perfect fit client and who is not will help you sell more. And don’t prematurely assume that someone is the right fit before having a conversation. So, when you have that hammer, everything looks like a nail, but not everything is a nail. So, you’ve got to get to know people before you can make a recommendation.

WBENC 2022: LaKesha White with WBENC

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GWBC Radio
WBENC 2022: LaKesha White with WBENC
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Lakesha-White-GWBC-WBENC-National-ConferenceLaKesha White, Vice President, Certification, WBENC

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here live from the Georgia World Congress Center at the WBENC National Conference 2022, inside GWBC’s booth. We have LaKesha White. Welcome.

LaKesha White: [00:00:30] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:31] Now, you’re one of the big shots at WBENC, right, LaKesha? Rumor has it. Probably, one of the founding mothers of the organization. Now, really, talk about your work at WBENC.

LaKesha White: [00:00:46] So, my work at WBENC spans almost two decades. I started within the WBENC family back in 2003.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:59] Before it was cool.

LaKesha White: [00:01:00] Before it was cool. Before anyone knew what certification was. At our regional partner organization in Louisiana. And then, because I am a military spouse –

Lee Kantor: [00:01:14] You might travel a bit.

LaKesha White: [00:01:15] … prior military, he is actually retired now. So, clearly, I had to leave.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] Periodically, that happens, right?

LaKesha White: [00:01:24] Yes. Just a little bit. So, no one can keep up with where I am. And, luckily, I was able to land in the hands of Roz because I moved to her territory in North Carolina. So, I spend a couple of years there, and then I had to move again. So, you know, that’s the life of a military spouse.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:48] A little nomadic.

LaKesha White: [00:01:49] Yeah. Sometimes you have to start over. So, I had to leave Roz. I moved back to Texas, to San Antonio, Texas, and actually did some things for the RPO in Houston because they covered that territory.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:06] So, you collect all the RPO –

LaKesha White: [00:02:08] Pretty much. I almost call myself, like, the RPO stepchild because I go all around.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:14] You’ll get there. You get a punch card, right? You get at all 14, you win a prize.

LaKesha White: [00:02:17] Yes. So then, finally, there, I got a call from the national office, because WBENC had been approved as a third party certifier for the WOSB certification and they were looking for someone to pretty much launch that, and offered me a position. So, enter LaKesha into the actual WBENC staff in 2011. So, this year will be 11 years of being with the national office.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:50] So, how is this event? I know you haven’t had the event for a year or so because of the pandemic, and now you’re doing this event here in person. And it’s pretty exciting to have everybody all together like this, right? It’s kind of like a reunion.

LaKesha White: [00:03:02] It is. I think it exceeded our expectations because, you know, with COVID, you don’t know how comfortable people are going to be. So, to know that we have over 3,000 attendees, clearly we’re doing something right. They wanted to come.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:21] People are so hungry for this, right?

LaKesha White: [00:03:21] Yes. And they just want to be together. And I’m shocked because I just didn’t think I would ever see this again in one space.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:28] This many people.

LaKesha White: [00:03:29] But that’s been our number one priority, is, you know, trying to make it as safe as possible, which is why we changed the entire structure of the conference. You know, no longer having the workshops kind of in closed in rooms. We’re just in this big open space so people can feel a little more comfortable moving around. But it’s been great.

LaKesha White: [00:03:57] And, you know, we’ve seen each other over the last years in the squares, like I call it Hollywood Squares. So, it’s so nice to see people. And some people just walk by you because you may look a little bit different than you look in that square.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:10] You’re a lot taller in real life.

LaKesha White: [00:04:12] So, thank God for the the name badges. Like, “Oh, that’s really you.”

Lee Kantor: [00:04:18] So, over the years of seeing the evolution kind of WBENC, do you feel positive about the trend of women certified businesses? Is this something that you feel optimistic about?

LaKesha White: [00:04:31] Absolutely. It’s funny to say that I think it’s in to be a woman, like, it’s finally our time. And I’ve seen that kind of transition over the years. And I hope it’s creating more opportunities for our WBEs. And I’m so glad those who made the decision to come, I’m sure it’s going to pay off for them. So, I’m like, “Use it to your advantage.”

Lee Kantor: [00:04:59] Sure. Now, is there a story you can share or maybe something impactful of a woman that you helped certify or got certified that, you know, it changed maybe the trajectory of their family or their life or their community?

LaKesha White: [00:05:15] I have one. So, from my first RPO in New Orleans, her name is Teresa Lawrence. She’s the owner of Delta Personnel. And she started the process. You know, I was the certification manager. And it was all in the midst of Katrina. And so, clearly, after Hurricane Katrina, we were all displaced. Like, I was in Texas. I’m from Texas, but evacuated to Texas for a month. And then, even when we moved back, working from home. That was my first experience of working from home way back in 2005 because of Katrina. And I just kept after her, because people’s lives were in shambles. They’re trying to figure out how they’re going [inaudible].

Lee Kantor: [00:06:06] [Inaudible].

LaKesha White: [00:06:07] You know, forget about this company. I don’t know where my family is.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:11] I have to eat tomorrow.

LaKesha White: [00:06:11] And things like that. And so, you know, just kept after her. And I’m sure she had some choice words for me, like, “She keeps bothering me.” But she’s like, “She changed my company because if she wouldn’t have kept after me, I wouldn’t have had all these opportunities.”

Lee Kantor: [00:06:33] She wouldn’t have done it. Right.

LaKesha White: [00:06:33] And so, that is my joy in all of this is to see, you know, small business when they’re sponsoring events and things like that, they’re up on the panels giving that advice and being the mentor. So, that makes all of this work that – I always say – back in 2003, I answered an ad in the newspaper job interview and it turned into a career.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:01] Yeah. And the passion. It’s a life’s work. It’s almost a calling.

LaKesha White: [00:07:05] Yes. You know, it’s like you feel like you are are changing the world.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:12] Well, you are one business at a time, one business person at a time. It’s true. I mean, it sounds silly in some ways, but it’s real. I mean, to that person, their life changed, their family changed. They have a better tomorrow because of what you did yesterday.

LaKesha White: [00:07:27] Yes. And it makes it all worth it. And people ask me like, “Oh. Does it inspire you to be a business owner?” And I’m like, “Oh, well.” Like, Look, we all have our place.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:38] We got our lane. I’m helping you.

LaKesha White: [00:07:38] I’m going to be the champion for you, but I like taking vacations. So, that’s what my calling is, you do the hard work and you inspire me, but I don’t know if I want that seat.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:52] So, the conference has, you said, 3,000-ish people here.

LaKesha White: [00:07:58] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:00] When you were drawing this up on the chalkboard of, “Okay. We got Atlanta.” And I know you had to go higher, River Valley was the one before this, and then that got postponed, and they combined the two host committees for this one.

LaKesha White: [00:08:14] Well, no. It was always supposed to be combined.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:17] Oh, it was supposed to be combined.

LaKesha White: [00:08:19] Yes. So, we were coming here and because of kind of the territories bordering, you know, decided to combine it. So, it wasn’t a missed opportunity. We came back.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:27] So, they just made sure that they hit them and didn’t skip them.

LaKesha White: [00:08:32] Yeah. No skip.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:33] So then, it’s here in Atlanta, so everything was kind of touch and go for a while almost to the last minute.

LaKesha White: [00:08:40] Yes. We didn’t know. And you have to fill it out.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:47] You have to be bold. It’s the theme, right? You have to be bold.

LaKesha White: [00:08:47] And, look, we just had to go with it because after a certain point, you have to commit. Like, we had a very small kind of boutique event in November to where we could fill things out, and it really was depending upon the corporate members, because for a long time they couldn’t travel and that’s the concern.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:08] Budgets were cut.

LaKesha White: [00:09:09] Yeah. The WBEs, we absolutely promote doing business with one another, but they also want to meet the corporate members.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:16] Right. It’s an ecosystem here that every part has a role.

LaKesha White: [00:09:21] Yeah. So, the November meeting, it was nice and definitely the WBEs were all in.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:28] Yeah. They’re in no matter what was happening.

LaKesha White: [00:09:30] And then, when we got kind of the green light from the corporate members like, “Yeah. I’ll be able to travel.” We’re like, “Okay. We’re full steam ahead now. We’re going to make this happen.”

Lee Kantor: [00:09:40] Game on. So, now, what’s kind of your view of next year, like next conference? Is this just bigger and better? Is that the plan?

LaKesha White: [00:09:49] I think so. We’re going to Nashville next year. So, yeah, it’s always a little competition. Like, each year, we want it to be bigger and bigger and bigger. And then, the RPOs, because they host, they have a little competition going, so it makes it interesting. But we’re always going to top it going forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:15] So, one action step before we wrap, for a woman business that isn’t certified, what should they be doing to think about to get ready to go through certification and why should they be doing certification?

LaKesha White: [00:10:25] So, I say, certification is a marketing tool for your company. It’s not a guarantee for business, but it can possibly give you the leverage that you need to get that opportunity that you want. And it’s really about having all your ducks in a row. Clearly, we know the process is a little intrusive. However, it really is a learning experience for a number of our WBEs to see that, “Oh. I didn’t realize I needed that in place.”

LaKesha White: [00:10:57] So, reading your bylaws, making sure you have those things in place to protect you, and to ensure that it mirrors your actual operations of the company. And if you have all the documents together, you’re operating according to our standards, then absolutely apply. And if you have questions, we are available to answer them. Don’t assume, because that could be a waste of your time.

LaKesha White: [00:11:24] So, contact us, email us. We are very responsive. I hear that some organizations aren’t. So, I pride us on having excellent customer service, gold standard customer service. So, please, we will respond to you. We even have someone responding now. We’re here at conference and a couple of our team members had to stay back because of COVID, but still operating.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:50] Because customer service is important.

LaKesha White: [00:11:51] Yes. It’s customer service, so we don’t stop.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:54] Right. And that’s the thing, you don’t want to just think that you fill out a form and this is going to take care of itself. If you have a question, ask the question. There’s no dumb questions. It’s important. And be bold. Take the steps. Be certified. You can catapult your business to a new level if you just do everything right, and play by the rules, and be at the standard that’s needed in order to get certified.

LaKesha White: [00:12:19] Yes. And get involved. The people here are involved. That’s what it takes.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:25] You got to show up and do the work.

LaKesha White: [00:12:26] Yes. You can’t just think that you’re going to have the certificate and then everybody’s going to want to do business with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:32] It doesn’t work like that.

LaKesha White: [00:12:33] It doesn’t work like that. We do business with people we know.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:35] Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. What’s the website someone can go to for more information?

LaKesha White: [00:12:39] It is wbenc.org, www.W-B-E-N-C.org.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:46] All right. Well, thank you again for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

LaKesha White: [00:12:50] Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:51] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll be back in a few at WBENC’s National Conference 2022.

 

About WBENC

The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) is a leading non-profit organization dedicated to helping women-owned businesses thrive.WBENC-Logo

We believe diversity promotes innovation, opens doors, and creates partnerships that fuel the economy. That’s why we not only provide the most relied upon certification standard for women-owned businesses, but we also offer the tools to help them succeed.

About GWBC

The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business. GWBC-Logo

GWBC® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.

BRX Pro Tip: Are You Burning Out?

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BRX Pro Tip: Are You Burning Out?
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BRX Pro Tip: Are You Burning Out?

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you this morning. Lee, today’s question, are you burning out?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:10] Yeah. A lot of folks are suffering from burnout and stress and anxiety. And you might be, too. You just may not be realizing it. A sign you might be burning out and a quick way to reset yourself are what we’re going to share today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:25] So, a sign you’re burning out is if you’re feeling like life is like the Groundhog Day movie, where you’re doing the same thing every day, you feel like you aren’t making any progress. You might be in a rut. And that usually comes from trying to control things that you really have no control over and you’re feeling overwhelmed and frustrated. That’s usually a symptom of burnout. That’s usually what burnout is.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:47] A quick fix is to re-evaluate your goals and make sure they’re still aligned with what you want to be doing. And, really, is your true north still your true north? Is that really the direction you want to go? Is that objective still the most important thing? And then if it is, and maybe it isn’t, but if it is, then just try to take a baby step in that direction.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] What is the smallest, easiest activity you can be doing today to get you going in this new direction or this maybe slight alteration of the goal? When you can identify a baby step to begin, just take that action and kind of reboot a little bit and then go boldly forward. But a lot of folks are feeling a lot of anxiety and stress because there’s so much uncertainty, which there has always been uncertainty. But if it’s affecting your day-to-day life, it might be time to reset yourself.

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