Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. Oh my gosh, I’m so excited about today. We’re talking about community connection and mentorship and the impact we can create when we’re intentional about bringing those things together. Because sometimes the most meaningful opportunities to make a difference, start simply by opening a door and sharing an experience, or showing up for someone who may need to see what’s possible for themselves. I have a great group joining me for this conversation today, so let’s get right to it. Mel, let’s start with you. Tell us a little bit about who you are and the work that you do.

Mel Carr: Thank you so much. So yes, Mel C here. I’m founder of Cloversy. Cloversy is an executive virtual assistant all made up of 100% women based here in the US, supporting our clients as well as our publishing needs. That goes into the next company, six figure checks. So six figure checks is made up of 150 plus six figure earning females. And they’re all around the US and Canada. And Cloversy is a publishing company for all nine books that have been published, all international best selling books. We are working on many more books so that we have a greater impact around this great nation. And from six figure chicks, um, we created the nonprofit Her Right to Rise, which I’m sure you’ll hear a lot more about all of those things of are our opportunities of giving back to our community and the people, the young people that are in it.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Thanks, Mel. All right, Amanda, over to you. Tell us a little about you and your work with Archway Academy.

Amanda Flannery: So super excited to be with you guys today. Um, I am definitely a dedicated leader for passion and has a huge passion for helping young people navigate challenges, um, with education and the recovery kind of coinciding. Um, I’ve been the executive director of Archway Academy since 2023. Um, I definitely bring a wealth of experience around leadership and program management, um, to this small nonprofit that continues to grow and blossom. Um, I love, love, love our environment where we really get to put on, um, meeting innovative ways to shine in And education, which we’ll talk about a little later. Um, as well as making sure that recovery is a process that we all work with, um, day in and day out. Um, my work at Archway Academy really reflects my belief in the transformative power of education and my passion for making positive impacts on young people. Which brings me to a little about me. I have five, um, children and I just got married last month to my chapter two. So excited to be with you guys again today.

Trisha Stetzel: Oh that’s wonderful. Thank you so much, Amanda. All right, Renee, I’m coming over to you. So we need to know a little bit about you. And then I want to understand your connection between six figure chicks and Archway Academy.

Renee Stewart: Okay. Hi, everybody. I’m Renee Stewart, and I’m an executive leadership and business transformation coach. I’m also a human resources executive and leadership strategist with more than 20 years of experience developing leaders and strengthening organizations. That’s one of my lanes. I’d love doing that. Um, I’m also the board president for Archway Academy. And in that role, I mean, I have the great privilege and the responsibility of helping create an environment right along with Amanda and Marc, where students are not defined by their circumstances, but they’re empowered by their possibilities. Right. And my role is not simply to govern the school, right? But it’s also to protect the vision that every student deserves an opportunity to discover who they are, develop their gifts, and also, um, build a future that they can be proud of. And, um, you know, my passion is there. I’ve been with the organization for six years now. So my connection is I’m a six figure chick right along with Amanda. And I am in Houston volume two and I believe Amanda, you’re in Houston volume two as well, right? Yeah, she’s in Houston, volume two as well. So that’s the connection that I have with Mel and with Amanda with the Archway Academy.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, fantastic. Thank you for that, Renee. All right. Mark, coming over to you. I would say you’re bringing up and rounding us out here. So tell us a little bit more about you and your role at Archway Academy.

Mark Rector: So it’s an honor to be in the presence of so many successful women. I’m the only guy here. Um, so I’m going to do my best after all that shine. Um, so I’ve been working in addiction treatment, uh, for the past 13 years or so, pretty much across any job you can have in a treatment center. I’ve pretty much done it. Uh, but my specialty is in leadership and being an executive director. I came over to archway last year after working in the private sector for a long amount of time. Um, and when Amanda presented me with the opportunity to help out adolescents in recovery, pushing them towards a better future for themselves, uh, educationally, as well as supporting their recovery. Throughout that process, I jumped at the opportunity. I’m personally in long term recovery myself. I’ve been sober for the past 13 years. And so what I aim to do over at archway and working in conjunction with Mel and Renee and Amanda, uh, is to bring light and hope to our students and show them that there is a way out. And I think six figure checks is a perfect opportunity to give them hope when they’ve experienced so much darkness. So I’m really excited to be here and excited to work with such a beautiful team inside and out to support our students recovery.

Trisha Stetzel: I’m so excited to have the four of you on today. Mel, I’m going to come over to you. I because we’re talking about community and connection and mentorship. I’d love to know how you met these ladies.

Mel Carr: Mhm. Power of connection. Your inner circle is so powerful. And that I am actually in Scottsdale, Arizona, so I’m. I’m not in your area, but I so happened Houston was the very first book outside of our Phoenix nationwide books for us to expand. And it started with the first author in your book, Tricia, you were the second author signed on for Houston Volume one. And interesting enough, I was born in Houston, though I stayed just a couple of years. And so Houston has my heart and I love being able to give a platform for you all and the other women that are part of the book series. Um, that platform to be able to give back to their communities because it’s great to have the recognition, the visibility and credibility from being an international best selling author, but like, we can do so much more with our voices and our storytelling. And that’s so important for us to share our knowledge. We’ve been there, we’ve done that. So why not give it back to our next generation so that they can be as successful or more than us?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I, I love that and the whole reason why I got involved and wanted to be a part of what you were doing. Mel, because I could see that it was something so much bigger. And I told you that at least a thousand times. And I love the work that you continue to do. So, um, Amanda, tell us why you decided to tell your story in six figure Checks Houston volume two.

Amanda Flannery: So my story talks a lot about. Um, and it really ties into archway. So like I see our students as warriors, right? A lot of them have overcome something at such an instrumental age. Um, when your body is changing, your life is changing, you’re deciding what you’re going to be. Um, and I kind of had to do the same. Um, when I first came on to archway, so I started with archway in November, um, about three years ago and had a normal Christmas. And then my husband of 16 years, um, unfortunately passed away. Um, and that was in February. And so while I always identified with the strength that our kids have, I saw my life going one way and it very, it took a very hard turn in a different way. And I now, um, even today on a tour this morning on campus, I was able to tell a mom like, look, I’m in the widow group. It wasn’t the group that I was excited to be in. Um, I’ve have this community that’s around me. We celebrate each other’s success. Um, a lot of these parents, they’re not excited when their kid comes to Archway Academy all of the time because they’re in a group where their kids are in recovery. But what I’ve learned in these communities is they are so needed and they build people up and they make people better. And Six Figure Chicks is another community that came into my life when I really needed some other strong mentors and leaders to say, put your boots on, girl. Here we go. And I’m so glad that it all came to my life at the right time when I really needed those communities. So archway six figure chicks. Um, and of course, the amazing people that I’ve met in the widows group have all just come around me to help me be successful. So those sweet set of, my three kids that were staring back at me, I could be that best person for them.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that. Thank you for sharing that and being vulnerable enough, Amanda, to not just talk about it here, but to write your story about it. So if you guys are interested, please go out to all of the channels that you can get a book from and get huge six figure checks. Houston Volume two. And you can see Amanda’s story as well as Renee’s. And if you’re up to it, you could get volume one and volume three while you’re out there because those are available as well. Uh, Renee, I would love to hear why you decided to share your story in volume two.

Renee Stewart: Um, it was brought to me by another six figure chick, um, Gabrielle out of, uh, volume one. And, um, I always kind of thought maybe I would write a book way in the future and then, you know, it landed in my lap and I was like, okay, it’s here now. Why not? But I wasn’t sure what I was going to write about. And then the story popped up. Um, that’s always been there. And I just kind of put it to, you know, the back of my mind and, um, it’s about adversity. I’ve been fired once in my life and that’s what it’s about. And, um, in my late 20s, it was the day before my 27th birthday, so I’ll never forget it. And, um, I’m not going to go too far into it, but it’s all about adversity. You know, we all get knocked down, you know, life happens to us, right sometimes. And you just have to kind of take a look at what happened, what you can learn from it, and how you’re going to pick yourself back up and move forward and, um, gain strength from it and actually use that energy in a positive way instead of, you know, staying mired in the negativity. So that’s what I did.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that. Thank you, Renee, for sharing. And Mel, I know you became vulnerable and was able to tell you told your story when we wrote Houston Volume one, which is something that you had not done before. So what I see here, the through is talking about the vulnerability and the challenges. And it’s not just about, oh, I’m a six figure chick and look what I did. No, it’s about all of the adversity and the challenges and the things that you had to do to get there. So, Mark, I’m going to come over to you because I know that you did not write a chapter in one of these books, but I want to hear from you why it’s important for the students at Archway Academy to have access to women who have been able to tell their story, like Mel, Amanda, Renee, and even myself.

Mark Rector: Well, I think there’s, you know, kind of two very large things that’s going to benefit our students greatly. The very first thing is they’re going to get to see actual real stories. Not up on a movie screen, not read in a magazine. Actual people who’ve been through adversity, been through challenges. Um, maybe not exactly the same as theirs, but in the same spirit of, and been able to been able to overcome and succeed. And that’s crucial in recovery. Um, you know, we see people telling their stories out in 12 step meetings. Well, why do they tell their stories? Well, to inspire others to do the exact same thing that they did. And I think having them out, having the six figure chicks out at archway is going to be a great model for what they can become. Additionally, my hope is that the students will take the time to sit down and talk with some of the authors and pick up some skills, either with mentality or some some literal logistical skills on how do I get an LLC started? I’m interested in starting a business. What did I need to do to do that? And what did you do? How did you succeed? What what roadblocks did you run into? And so I’m really excited and hopeful that our student population will take advantage of this, because you don’t see this in your typical school setting. Um, I’ve never seen a school setting. When I was in high school, none of this stuff was available. It was get to class, do your homework, get good grades, get out of here. Um, and so having a cool event like this for the kids that pushes them in a positive direction is, is not something, you know, our kids have experienced a lot of the time. And so I think that it’s going to be multifaceted and incredibly beneficial for our population of kids, especially the women.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. That’s exciting. Um, Amanda, so what do you think it means for these young adults to have adults with stories, uh, outside of their immediate circle show up and say, I see you and I believe in what’s possible for you.

Amanda Flannery: I think it teaches them younger Tricia and I, you know, I just shared a little bit of my age. I mean, I really didn’t understand, um, the impacts. And I think Mel leads to this a little bit in her story of community until I was much older and you’re in high school, why not get the lesson now? And so, um, you know, I had to learn to ask for help for meals, for rides, because there was a million kids who, um, for prayers for encouragement. And so I think for them, it’s strong women and men don’t have to do it alone. Um, you can learn, lean on and then ask things from your tribe and then build new tribes. And I think that for our kids especially, they’re in their own tribe. You know, they’re with a lot of people fighting the same battle. So for them to really get that lesson and hone in on it would just be a privilege to watch. We get to see a little bit of it every year because it’s the seniors with the seniors and and so on as you go on down. But I think realizing that you’re really in that moment would just be spectacular. And I hope that that brings it home for them.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that. All right. Mel. I want to talk about her right to rise. You alluded to it, but you didn’t really tell us about it earlier. So I want you to talk about one, why you formed that and then follow on to why did you decide to work with Archway Academy for that?

Mel Carr: Yeah. Thank you. So I said earlier, you know, we created her right to rise purely from the opportunities these amazing women are gave me. I was meeting all of these new, successful females that were sharing stories in these books that they had never told anyone. Like there are family members out there after reading their chapter going, oh my gosh, I never knew that about you and people in our inner circles going, you went through something like me, and I saw that transformation first with the authors of going, whoa, I can’t believe I did all that or went through all of that. And then being able to see firsthand from the readers and the people supporting those authors transform in those words, those stories, and going, okay, we are making a big difference. We’re leaving a lasting legacy with our printed books, our stories. How can we make a greater impact onto the communities that we’re all in? And that’s when I was like, okay, well, we can go to a nonprofit organization, every community, and give back that way. But I know exactly who I want to impact and inspire and motivate with our journeys is young women because of my story that you know, I shared. Three years later after the first book, um, because the authors gave me the confidence to share my story, my, my deep, dark, raw, messy middle that I never shared with anyone for fear of judgment. And that’s what happens with us. We’re fearful of what other people will think.

Mel Carr: And so we don’t say anything. We don’t ask questions. And I thought, God, I was on my own at 15. I remember holding my steering wheel in my car at Red lobster going, I’ve got to make more money. I’m just going to drop out of high school so I can work more hours. Like, how many kids are like that right now going, I want to do something, or I’m going to make this decision that could change my life forever. And they do not know they have a mentor or somebody to talk to outside of their immediate circle. I didn’t have that when I was younger. So that’s where the passion and mission comes from, of I want every single young person out there to know they have somebody to come to. We’re here for them. They’re not alone. And so that is our mission now of, you know, closing that gap and going to schools. And I am so blessed to have this immediate connection with Archway Academy, to have, you know, two authors on their boards. And I just went to Amanda and I’m like, hey, would you like some six figure chicks at your school? And, you know, and the rest is history. Like, I’m just so excited to have these women come to the school and we will leave there with our lives forever changed And we hope to do the same to those kids. And I, I always say, if my story can change one person’s life. Job well done.

Trisha Stetzel: Absolutely. Thank you. Mel. Gosh, that. So we’ve talked about community and connection. I want to talk about mentorship. And Renee, I’m going to come to you because I, I feel like you have a perspective as a business woman and also sitting on the board and being the president of the board. So what what is it? What happens when business women and community leaders stop thinking about just networking and building business with one another and start asking how those relationships can be used to serve? Can you give me your perspective on that?

Renee Stewart: Yeah. Um, typically what I, what I do is kind of start thinking about my younger self, right? I wish I had a mentor, you know. How far would I be? What mistakes would I have, you know, avoided if I had that mentor? And, um, that’s one of the reasons why I sit on the board at archway and, you know, anything to do with, um, our young leaders. And because you have to give them the opportunity, you have to listen to them, share your experiences with them. They are like sponges. They just want to soak up everything that you tell them. They have excellent questions. I mean, better questions that I could formulate at that age. I’m telling you, they have really good questions. And I mean, it’s so it’s so cathartic for me to be able to give back to these young people. Um, and you just see that gleam in their eyes. They’re just like, you know, when you hit on something and just the sparkle, it just they light up when you’re sharing things with them or give them that next step or connect them with somebody that can help them. I mean, it’s just so fulfilling to be able to reach back, right. And pull a couple of people up right along with you. I mean, there’s nothing like that. Mentorship is awesome.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Who knew that telling your story, being visible, stop being invisible could make such a big difference to someone else. Those people that are looking and even Mark, he didn’t write a chapter, but he just told us his story and being vulnerable. And that makes a difference to the community and to the students. Knowing that you’ve been there, you’ve been challenged. All of us have had some kind of adversity in our background. And I think that, um, being vulnerable enough to pull that out or put that out is so important. Okay. I want to talk about the fun stuff. Now there’s an event coming, an event, an event, an event. All right. Amanda, tell us from your perspective what’s happening. Tell us when it is, what’s happening and what we’re going to be doing.

Amanda Flannery: We are having, um, the amazing authors, um, from all three volumes onto our campus on September 17th. We are going to start up bright and early, um, at about 830. And our first period class is going to have all the authors from volume one share a little bit about their story and then have a question and answer. Same thing for second period volume two and then third period volume three. We are creating a pink swag bag from each of the authors. So somebody that attends all three will get a swag bag and the authors will also autograph the books and have a question and answer session in each one of those 50 minute sessions to really give back, um, and talk about what they did, what they did overcome, what are some insights that they wish they would have had everything we basically touched on here, um, and be prepared because Renee hit the nail on the head. They have really good questions. Um, and so really excited to see, um, what that brings forward and out of us even further. Um, and then excited to see what that trajectory takes. I think this is one of those things where the ripple in the pond will probably go on much longer, much further than we realize. And I’m just so blessed to not only be a part of this, but to watch it unfold in a school where people really are molding and investing in themselves. Um, these kids have opportunities just like anyone else to go to a multitude of places, especially in the med center in Houston, Texas. And we’re privileged to have them come to us every day and an even more privileged to give them opportunities like this. So again, just want to say thank you to everybody involved. And thank you for the platform to share with everyone about this amazing event.

Trisha Stetzel: Oh my gosh, I’m so excited about it. Mark, I know you alluded to the amazing things that are going to happen when we have this event. What are you most excited about when we’re talking about this actual event happening on the 16th?

Mark Rector: I mean, I think I commented on it earlier, but I’ll double down on it. Um, opportunity, um, opportunities for our students that you’re not going to see in a typical high school, uh, I think is wildly, uh, wildly beneficial to our clients, not only from an opportunity perspective, but from a clinical perspective. Um, I’m hoping that the students see that, that we are taking extra measures to invest real time in some real opportunities that could yield some real results, either in mentality or possibly even flourish or encourage. Excuse me, um, a business idea of some sort. Um, I don’t think our kids have a ton of opportunities or have had a lot of opportunities yet to see, uh, you know, up close and personal, really successful people with really incredible stories persevering through hardship and still making it with their head held high. And so I think it’s just a wonderful opportunity that most high schools are not going to get. Uh, and I’m just really grateful that that Mel and all the authors have agreed to come over and, and show the kids, um, some inspiration.

Trisha Stetzel: It’s going to be amazing. Thank you. Mark. And yes, we did need to double down because sometimes people forget from the first of the show to the end of the show. Thank you for that, Mel. From your perspective, tell me. Tell me about the event and gathering of all the women who have been authors in, um, each of the volumes.

Mel Carr: Yeah. I’d like to just follow up with what Mark said is that, you know, our, the young people are so inundated by picture perfect stories, as he had mentioned earlier, but we’re flooded with Hollywood and social media where everyone is like done up to the nines. If you are successful and you have a lot of money for the children to see real people like people around the block, in the community, in the grocery store, and the malls come up to them and want to open up and talk to them like one on one real people, like we’re on the same level as them. We’re not any better. We don’t, you know, want to hold anything back because we were there. And for us to be like, they walked into a room with all of us in there, and they would have thought of us differently. Not in a bad way, but they would have already prejudged like we all do naturally, right? But for us, we’re going to be walking into their space and we’re going to be having open arms and real conversations. Not all the fluff and the stuff that we post. It’s going to be like, hey, yes, I was where you’re at.

Mel Carr: Or I had some major roadblocks and challenges in my life. I pushed past them and this is what I did and how I got to where I’m at today. Like we’re not, we don’t hold back because they expect as much as we can give them and more. And they’ll respect us for opening up our, you know, some of the Stories and moments in our life that we don’t talk a lot about. And that’s where, you know, our readers and people who are supportive of our community, that’s what they think too, of going, wow, okay. She was really brave about putting it all out there in a book for the whole world to see. I have so much more respect for her. I want to have a conversation with her. She seems more approachable now. She seems like a real person now because yeah, that’s what it is. We’re just real people, normal lives, and we want to ensure that those kids know that they can ask anyone that they’re around. And, you know, maybe 1 or 2 of us will leave with a lifelong mentee. And wouldn’t that be amazing?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I was thinking, Mel, while you were talking about that, how it could change our lives or some thought or mindset that we have, and how those students could actually affect the way we are and the way we show up. And I, I hope that that’s something that we can all take away as well, that it’s helping us grow as grownups, uh, just as much as they’re able to, as young adults. Take away from the conversation. Renee, what are you most excited about for this event?

Renee Stewart: Um, I’m excited to see and to hear the questions that the students ask. I really am, um, because to me, that’s what it boils down to. It’s about the students. It’s not about us. You know, we, we’ll tell our stories. Yes. You know, we’ll be transparent and vulnerable, but I’m excited to field those questions to see how I can help someone, you know, help one of the students, point them in the right direction. Share, you know, some adversity I went through or hear some of the other authors sharing some of the roadblocks and challenges, like Mel said, um, how they overcame them because to me, those are the lessons right there, those right there, not all the everything that went right. It’s the things that, you know, that threw us curveballs, right? And we’re standing there with the bat in our hand and the ball went past and we’re like, hey, what just happened? You know, I really think those are the lessons right there that I really, really, really want the want the authors to share with the kids and just to see what they do with it.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. That is so exciting. All right, Amanda, I’m going to put a shameless plug out there that we’re looking for more media outlets to talk about this amazing event. So tell us again the location and the time and we can maybe even shout out like, hey, channel two, we need some media coverage. I’m just saying shameless plug. So Amanda, tell us one more time about the event details.

Amanda Flannery: Yes, ma’am. September 17th, 9 a.m. to 12 p.m.. And yes, all channel news in Houston. We welcome you to a stunning event where we collaborate with educators, the Sobriety community, Archway Academy, and all the supporters of youth empowerment in general. Um, it’s going to be an exciting day. It’s going to be transformative and very, very lucky to have this platform to be able to support, um, not only our youth, but the leaders that are, that are continue to give back to it as well. So it’s going to be magical.

Trisha Stetzel: Yes. And that my friends, my news friends, my media friends is a community story. So we need it, right? We need it for sure. All right. Last question for, um, each of you, Mark, I’ll come to you first. What is the one thing, just one thing you hope a student walks away with believing about themselves from this event.

Mark Rector: I can do anything.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Oh, I love that. Just. Yeah.

Mark Rector: Uh, I don’t think kids are given that message of the American dream enough anymore. Being all trapped in social media. Um, and I think what I hope to leave them with is I can endure and I can do anything. Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: That’s beautiful, I love that. All right, Mel, what’s the one thing you hope a student walks away with believing about themselves?

Mel Carr: Uh, that they matter. That’s the one thing that I, I think of is at 15, 1816. If I had said I mattered, my life would be different, not better, but it would be different.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Mhm. Thank you. Mel. All right, Renee, how about you?

Renee Stewart: I would say, um, just because you’ve gone through, um, some challenges, your story is not over and your future is still waiting.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Oh my gosh, you guys have said so many profound things. Amanda, I’m coming to you.

Amanda Flannery: And this doesn’t disqualify you. It equips you. Every scar is proof of survival. I actually have that written on my mirror. Um, somebody told me that a week after Brennan passed, and I’ve never taken it down. Um, scars are important. They’re a part of us forever. And we all have them.

Trisha Stetzel: We all have them. And we need to show them because somebody behind us, beside us, or even in front of us is watching. And it’s so important to to be visible for those who are watching, so that we can show them the way and show them the possibilities. You guys have been amazing. This is really enlightening and maybe a little fun. Renee made us laugh a few times. Thank you guys for spending your time with me. I can’t wait for others to learn more about six figure Chicks, about her right to rise, about Archway Academy and about Renee Stewart coaching. Thank you all for being with me today. All right. Thank you for being. Yeah. Thanks you guys. Um, I appreciate your time and even more importantly, for being willing to show up and have this conversation. It’s so important. We were talking about community and connection and mentorship, which is so important. And I think this is a great reminder for all of us that community doesn’t happen simply because we live or work in the same place. We create it when we connect, people share what we’ve learned. Open doors for one another and choose to show up. You guys. That’s all the time we have for today. If you found value in this conversation, please share it with others who might find this message important to them, or they can share it with their communities. Be sure to follow, rate and review this show because it helps reach more bold business minds and people who want to give back just like you. So your business, your leadership, and your legacy are built one intentional step at a time. So stay inspired, stay focused, and keep building the business and the life you deserve.

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Houston, Texas. It’s time for Houston Business Radio. Now, here’s your host.

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio is my pleasure to introduce you to Shadi Yazdan, strategic AI advisor and founder of SY strategy. Shadi helps business owners, CEOs, and leadership teams move beyond the hype of artificial intelligence by understanding where AI creates real business value and where it introduces risk. A four time founder with two successful exits and recognized as a 2024 top woman in AI, she specializes specializes in helping organizations adopt AI responsibly through practical strategy, governance, privacy, compliance, and thoughtful leadership. Her philosophy is simple solve the business problem first, then determine where AI fits. Shorty. Welcome to the show.

Shadi Yazdan: Thank you so much for having me. I’m so excited to be here with you.

Trisha Stetzel: I’m very excited too. We started this conversation months ago, and I’m so glad that I was finally able to have you here to have this conversation. So why don’t we start with, tell us a little bit more about you?

Shadi Yazdan: Absolutely. So my work currently in the AI space, I call it the wild, Wild West of AI, really focuses on the foundation a business needs before they even think about bringing in any AI tools. So this could include access to clean and reliable data systems that work together. Clear ownership. It could be strong security, the right internal skills and the well defined priorities responsible governance, privacy, compliance, readiness, employee guidelines and also, most important, human oversight.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, human in the middle, I love that. And I know we’re going to probably tackle that topic, but first let’s talk about why business owners should even care about AI privacy, governance, and compliance right now.

Shadi Yazdan: I’m so glad you asked that question because it’s not asked often enough, I have to say. Currently in the US, there is no federal law that’s covering businesses and even the use of AI. But you know how quickly we’re moving with AI and how many companies are adopting AI technology in one way or another. Um, existing laws and obligations still apply. Absolutely. And these are the ones currently around privacy confidentiality, consumer protection, employment discrimination, intellectual properties contracts and professional responsibilities. But actual laws pertaining to AI, we don’t have anything in place yet. The technology is moving faster than the laws. So states are pretty much on their own, um, to put something in place. And a number of them have. But still, it’s a lot of work that has to be done in this place. But that doesn’t mean that we need to forget about what it means to prepare our clients and anyone that we’re working with, and ensure that their information is private, ensure that we are following the right compliant way that we should be in order to make sure that we are securing any data that we’re feeding into any of these AI models, because a lot of them, uh, are still training on data that people are inputting into these, uh, into these tools because that’s how they get better. And that’s how you get more of a robust output out of them. But businesses really need to be aware of this, not just to protect themselves, but to protect their clients.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. So it really is, it feels like the wild, wild West. So for the business owners that are listening today, where should they start before employees start using AI for client work or even internal operations inside their businesses?

Shadi Yazdan: Uh, very good question as well. First, I want to say I’m not a lawyer. I don’t provide any legal advice. So my essentially my role is to help businesses identify where AI creates business risk, establish responsible practices, ask those better questions and recognize when they need support from legal, privacy, cyber security or compliance specialists. So that’s first and foremost. So the first step really for businesses is to really understand how people are already using AI across their business. So when I say people, it could be their people, but it could also be external people, so their employees and so forth. So many, many leaders assume that their company, um, has not adopted AI because they haven’t purchased an official AI system. But we know that a lot of employees are using public AI tools for whether it’s marketing research, meeting notes, proposals, client works, hiring, or even internal decisions. Um, and you need to understand what tool people are using, what work they use them for, and what information they’re actually entering into these tools. And the next step is to really review any sort of an existing agreement and policy that they currently have in place, because we have to understand a lot of the agreements, contracts, policies that businesses have in place were written before the age of AI.

Shadi Yazdan: So they need to be updated. Um, even newer agreements may not clearly address AI. So business owners right now should be asking themselves, do our client agreements allow us to use AI when completing work with them? Uh, do we need to tell the client what AI tool we’re using, how we’re using it, how we’re collecting their data, what we’re doing with their data, who owns work that’s created using the AI models, who has access to that work? Who’s going to double check it? And, um, do we even have employee policies that are in place to explain which tools people use, what information they must never enter into these AI models, which is a huge question. So all of these have to really be taken into consideration. And this is really the core focus of the work that I do with a lot of the business owners. I help them understand how AI is being used, identify where their agreements and policies, don’t address it, and decide what responsible AI could look like for them, for their business moving forward to help protect them, even if the laws are currently not in place yet.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, lots. I heard a lot of questions in there, a lot of things that have to be looked at and thought about. So can we talk about the exposure, the exposure that companies have when they use AI without these updated contracts, scopes of work, privacy, language, or even internal policies?

Shadi Yazdan: Yeah, absolutely. Um, so as I mentioned earlier, we know most of the agreements and contracts, contracts that currently clients sign don’t clearly address anything about AI and how the company is going to be using AI to run anything. And it could be anything from marketing to sales to whatever it may be. All of that needs to be articulated to the to end user, that this technology is going to be used for this purposes and without clear direction, um, whether it’s the client or employees, they’re making their own decision and their own assumptions. And this creates risks around confidentiality, privacy, ownership accuracy, and of course client trust. So this is something that’s really core and needs to be explained. Because when that data leaks and we’ve heard about this, this over and over again, where sometimes the information that you add into any of the AI models, and let’s talk about the popular ones, whether it’s ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini copilot, that information belongs to that organization, and they may use that information any which way they want. And not so long ago, there was news about how a lot of the information that we were inputting into ChatGPT was leaking into Google. This is your private client information that’s going out there into the the World Wide Web, and anyone can access it. So again, that is going against any of the privacy laws and regulations. And also you’re sharing information about your client or your employees or sharing information about the client without the client having that information, which opens you up to lawsuits. And even worse, I don’t even want to mention criminal offenses. And the list goes on and on that companies need to be aware of.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Oh my gosh. Okay. So we’re, I like on the edge of this scare factor. Like we really need to be paying attention to this stuff because many of us, many business owners have. It came so fast and we weren’t thinking about all of the work that you’re doing to teach business owners how to do it safely and in compliance. It’s so important. So let’s dig a little bit deeper into what you’re seeing in the market. When clients ask companies about their AI, use the data protection and the confidentiality and the risk.

Shadi Yazdan: Yeah, absolutely. So not only is the technology moving fast, AI technology, but every five minutes it seems like there’s a new tool on the market. How on earth are you supposed to keep up? And what I’m seeing in the market is that many companies are already using AI, but their leadership team have not agreed on how it should be used. So and there’s no discussion there being a lot of the leaders within some of these companies are being pressured by their boards to do something AI, I. And oftentimes they don’t know what that is. So they just want to check off a box. So it could be they would come and say, oh, we are doing something AI, we’re using ChatGPT, we’re doing something AI we’re doing using cloud. But the problem becomes obvious when a client starts to ask questions like, are you using AI in our work? What happens to my data? Who has access to it? How do you protect confidential information? Who reviews the output? And more and more clients are starting to ask these questions. And many leaders and also vendors don’t have a clear answer because they’ve never even considered or thought about this. And this, as I said before, is creating risks for everyone that’s involved. And I also see companies responding only after a client starts asking these questions. And that is an issue. You want to make sure you’re prepared already. And this is where I’m constantly coming in and supporting leadership teams, helping them understand their current exposure. You know what necessarily they need to have in place and how to prepare the answers that they need to give to the client. If the client were to come back and say, hey, how are you using my data in this work? And what kind of AI tools are you using for the work that we’re doing together?

Trisha Stetzel: Gosh, this has been such a great conversation already, and I know we’re only halfway through here, but I know that there are business owners out there that want to learn more. What is the best way to connect with you or follow the work that you’re doing so they can learn more?

Shadi Yazdan: Best way number one is LinkedIn. I’m very vocal on LinkedIn. Um, email. Also my website reach out. I always offer a 30 minute, no obligation call to anyone that has any question and wondering if it even makes sense for us to work together because there’s, again, so much confusion in the market. And I advise people to actually talk to those that do describe themselves as AI experts to see how they can really support you in what you need to do. And with a lot of the clients I work with, I oftentimes start my engagement with going in and doing, whether it’s a lunch and learn session, whether it’s an hour workshop, half day full day. And that’s a really great way to just help them and their team and the people that are at the company, just to wrap their head around what AI is, what it’s not, what are the possibilities for them, and how do they move forward effectively without opening themselves up to any lawsuits, without chasing tools after tools, and ensuring that anything that they do is founded in their core strategy and not beyond that.

Trisha Stetzel: Oh, and that’s such important work that you’re doing, you guys, this is how I found shady was on LinkedIn. So if you’re looking for her there as SHADIYAZDEN and she’d.

Shadi Yazdan: A.

Trisha Stetzel: Nanodan. Pardon me. Uh, SHADIYAZDAN. And she writes some really great stuff out there, so you guys should go connect with her and learn more about her work. Let’s get practical. Why don’t we get practical? So what practical steps should leaders, those who are listening today take now to protect their company and even their clients, without or without stopping responsible AI use?

Shadi Yazdan: First of all, they should ask the question why? Why are they thinking about AI? Many, believe it or not, have a hard time answering that. Um, and then they should also start by understanding how AI is already being used across the business, whether they know it or not. And then from there they need a clear ownership approved tool system, simple rules for data and confidentiality and a clear process for human review. Because regardless of what anyone tells you, you’re still going to need the human to review the work that the AI is doing, and they should also make sure that they really go back to all of their agreements, privacy, language, employee policies, client commitments, all of that to ensure that it reflects how the business really operates today and how they’re using AI technology. Now, the goal here is really not to frighten people or to block people from using AI. It’s really to create enough structure for people to use it safely and confidentiality and confidently. This is the work that I continuously am really passionate about and love doing, and help leaderships do to identify those gaps, make the right business decisions, and put the right foundation in place before risk, confusion, client concerns, lawsuits, anything becomes more expensive.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And just a little sidebar on the human in the middle. You talked about a couple of times how important it is that humans are paying attention in the world. How important is it to have that human in the middle when we’re talking about AI?

Shadi Yazdan: Sorry, can you repeat that again?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. No problem.

Trisha Stetzel: Just coming back to the human in the middle, how important is it for that human to be in the middle of AI, where we’re not letting all of that technology just take over the business?

Shadi Yazdan: It’s crucial. I mean, we hear every day, and I think a new term that people have learned is hallucination. And that is when the AI models make a mistake or they go rogue. I mean, we just heard about a major event that happened with OpenAI, where their AI models just pretty much got loose and started causing havoc. And this is very important that businesses really need to be prepared, um, to have someone that’s double checking any sort of an output that the AI model is giving them to ensure that it’s a accurate information that, you know, aligns with the data that they currently have and just double check. I don’t think we’re ever going to just be able to set it and forget it, which is what people really want. And there’s so many vendors on the market that are selling their products as something that you set and forget, and that’s just not the reality. You’re always going to have to double check, make sure mistakes aren’t made. And we hear these stories every day, from the law firms to the small little businesses to even enterprises that have gotten themselves in hot water because somebody didn’t check the output that was put out there through the AI that gave them the results that they were asking for.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Yeah. Hallucinations. I’ve seen a little bit of that in my tools, for sure. So let’s go a little deeper into how you’re supporting businesses as an outside AI expert, when they need help making these decisions about the tools that that they are using, building governance and compliance foundations and responding to client concerns.

Shadi Yazdan: Yeah, I help them really make clear decision about where AI belongs and then identify any gaps that they have and whether it’s in their business and also their governance, privacy, compliance and internal policies, and then really help them prepare for questions that clients could potentially have for them about data use, about confidentiality, risk, and human oversight. I also help the business decide what needs to change before legal counsel, updates their formal language in contracts and policies, and the result really is, at the end of the day, the leadership team that feels more confident, protects important client relationship, really avoids costly mistakes and is able to make better AI investment. Every day we’re hearing about how AI implementation is failing miserably, and I have to say it’s because the foundational pieces aren’t in place and they really need to be before any discussion is to be had about any sort of an AI tool.

Trisha Stetzel: And that’s so important. Thank you for bringing all of this. I feel like, um, good detail, but in ways that we can really understand it, particularly as small to mid-sized business owners, we, most of us are using it and we have employees that are using it. And I think that there is definitely a conversation that we all need to have or, uh, get out and have with you or learn from the work that you’re doing. I really appreciate you sharing all of that. Do you have a I know that you talked a little bit about the market and some stories that are out there. Do you have something that comes top of mind from a story perspective, either with a client or outside of your clientele? That has a lot to do with this human in the middle and making sure that we’re doing the right things before we implement these tools.

Shadi Yazdan: Um, so how scary do you want the story? Should it be G rated or PG?

Trisha Stetzel: Or how about we do PG 13? I think my audience can handle it.

Shadi Yazdan: Pg 13. Um, I’ll just give you a story because this is top of mind because it just, it, it, it happened and, and we’ve gotten on top of it. But there was this, um, company that I was working with midsize and I’m going to protect their identity. I’m not allowed to, uh, you know, discuss that. But what ended up happening is I came in because they were saying how they were thinking, and they wanted to use AI, but weren’t sure how to get started. And then very quickly, um, I discovered through the discussions I was having with teams, um, that many of the employees were actually using their mobile device, um, their own data because the company had blocked everyone accessing using the company Wi-Fi, accessing ChatGPT cloud or any of the other tools, but the employees were using it with their own data to run. And then they were uploading like private client documents to get results. And, um, conclusion about, oh, what does this data, what, what is this data really saying? And they were doing that constantly. And the worse was that they were using free version of ChatGPT, which means if you’re using anything that’s free, you are the product. Many of us who are Facebook generation learn that lesson the very hard way, because we don’t have access to any of our pictures or anything we ever shared when we started using Facebook. So you’re the product, so you are sharing all this information and the ChatGPT of the world.

Shadi Yazdan: And I don’t want to just blame ChatGPT because the other models do it too. It’s just it doesn’t come out in public as much as ChatGPT because they’re always the ones in the spotlight, but they’re running. That’s how they improve their AI models. They’re training them on your data so that information gets leaked into like World Wide Web, Google, or wherever. That’s your private client information about their revenue, about, um, everything that you can think of. Gov. So I always say if that if the information isn’t available publicly, then you should not be including that in any sort of a AI model out there whatsoever. You should be very careful. But even the ones that you pay for, I always say caution people and say, be mindful of what you’re sharing and how you’re sharing. I advise my clients remove names, remove ways of identifying the particular client and then running that data. So yeah, it was quite interesting. Um, trying to, um, work with this client to make sure this wouldn’t happen again, um, in the future. But again, it’s a very tough lesson to learn. And I think all of us are so excited about these tools. We look at them as these shiny, exciting tools. And I completely understand, but none of us are thinking about what could potentially happen and where that’s going to end up taking us.

Trisha Stetzel: Right? Absolutely. And that’s where you come in. And the work that you’re doing with your clients is so important when it comes to this, because they’re there doesn’t seem to be the governance and compliance and all of those messages that you talked about today, coming down to the small to medium sized business owner, where many of them have adopted because it made their work easier and they were able to spend time doing other things as they adopted these tools. This has been amazing. So, Shadi, if our listeners take away just one idea, just one from today’s conversation, what do you hope that is?

Shadi Yazdan: Go back to your agreements and contracts. Rewrite them with AI in mind. You don’t have to mention every single tool and how you use it and where you use it, but just make sure you do mention that you are using if you are what you’re using and how you would be using it. And again, I’m happy to work with anyone that wants some guidance. That is the core of the work that I’m doing now, um, to help you ensure that your agreements are compliant so they won’t get you into those hot waters.

Trisha Stetzel: We. So I’m from Texas. I’ll call it a pickle.

Shadi Yazdan: Yes. There you go.

Trisha Stetzel: Don’t get into a pickle pickle. Oh my gosh.

Shadi Yazdan: I have to say one good thing about Texas. You guys are actually implementing some really great laws right now. Yeah. When it comes to AI and governance. So good on Texas.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, thanks for the shout out. That’s fantastic. All right Shorty, one more time. Where’s the best place for people to connect with you as well as find more information about the work you’re doing.

Shadi Yazdan: So thank you for asking. Linkedin number one, email number two and my website.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, fantastic. And by the way, you guys, as always, we’ll have all of that in the show notes. So if you’re sitting in front of your computer, you can point and click to get in touch with Shorty. Otherwise you’ll have to wait until you get home in front of your computer and you can find the notes that you need in order to connect with her. Shorty has been my pleasure to host you. Thank you so much for spending your time with me today.

Shadi Yazdan: Thank you so much for having me. I really enjoyed it.

Trisha Stetzel: All right, you guys, that’s all the time we have for today. If you found value in this conversation that Shadi and I had, please share it with a fellow entrepreneur, veteran or Houston leader ready to grow. Be sure to follow, rate and review the show. Of course, it helps us reach more bold business minds just like yours and your business. Your leadership and your legacy are built one intentional step at a time. So stay inspired, stay focused, and keep building the business and the life you deserve.