Business RadioX ®

BRX Pro Tip: Your Number One Job

by

BRXmic99
BRX Pro Tips
BRX Pro Tip: Your Number One Job
Loading
/

BRX-Banner

BRX Pro Tip: Your Number One Job

Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX. Stone Payton, Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, let’s talk about job one. What do you consider to be your number one job?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think this advice holds true whether you’re an entrepreneur, a salesperson, any kind of business person, or even a young person who’s has their first job. The number one job you have is to make your boss, and or your client, look good. If you can do that every day in some way, you will have unlocked the secrets of success in business. And this isn’t anything new. This is not earth-shattering news. This has been around forever.

Lee Kantor: Every person who’s ever wrote a book about how to get ahead in business talks about this. But when you help other people achieve their goals, it’s like magic. You have now become indispensable and you’re on your way to having all of your dreams come true. So, learning from others by helping them succeed has been the formula for success since apprentices have become a masters in ancient times. So think like them. Help other people achieve their goals and you’ll see, like magic, all of your dreams will come true.

BRX Pro Tip: Good Leaders Focus on Systems and Processes

by

BRXmic99
BRX Pro Tips
BRX Pro Tip: Good Leaders Focus on Systems and Processes
Loading
/

BRX-Banner

BRX Pro Tip: Good Leaders Focus on Systems and Processes

Stone Payton: Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton amd Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, under the banner of leadership, don’t you think good leaders focus on improving systems and processes?

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I’m a big believer in systems and processes. And this is where the majority of your energy should be focused in on in any business. I think that by having tighter and tighter systems and processes, that’s going to save you a lot of headaches. It’s going to accelerate your growth and you’re going to be able to create an organization that works well over time and can adapt.

Lee Kantor: I think the organizations where the leader is this hero who comes in at the last minute to save the day is not functional, it is not sustainable, and it’s not scalable. If you regularly have to jump in to fix something or save something, then you might be lacking as a leader. And you definitely are lacking systems that allow this type of activities from happening in the first place.

Lee Kantor: So, I think it’s super important to create systems that help other people become successful. Create a trusting culture that rewards autonomy in taking risks so others can rise up and get those wins. By empowering your team to make things happen, you will have a better chance to create and build this thriving organization.

Lee Kantor: So, focusing on the systems, focusing on the processes, and building a team that trusts each other, that has the autonomy to fail, to take risks, to figure things out, and if things don’t work out, to solve the problem themselves, and then you have an organization that’s thriving and growing.

Coach Kathryn Brooks of She’s Her Own CEO®

by

HVR-Kathryn-Brooks-Feature
High Velocity Radio
Coach Kathryn Brooks of She’s Her Own CEO®
Loading
/

Kathryn-BrooksKathryn Brooks is a Professional Certified Coach (accredited through the International Coaching Federation (ICF)) and doctoral student with professional experience encompassing corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and media.

With a positive and energetic coaching style, Kathryn actively partners with her clients to identify their talents to realize their full professional potential. Her coaching includes the development of leaders at the executive and managerial levels within the Fortune 500, professionals looking to make value-driven career transitions, current and aspiring entrepreneurs, and high-potentials.

Kathryn uses a flexible range of approaches from idealistic to pragmatic as well as assessments and psychometric tools to support a self-reflective coaching space for her clients.

Kathryn holds an MBA in Finance and has deep experience in corporate finance, brand management, and marketing operations supporting Fortune 100 brands. She was designated high-potential early in her career and has held leadership roles of increasing responsibility in finance and marketing operations at The Coca-Cola Company.

She has held full P&L responsibility and has managed teams supporting strategic brands and business partners. Often relied upon as a subject matter expert, she is also a noted people leader reflecting strong visionary and coaching styles.

She is currently a doctoral student pursuing a DBA in Strategic Management.

Connect with Kathryn on LinkedIn and follow She’s Her Own CEO® on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

  • Why you should hire an ICF-credentialed coach as a corporate or entrepreneurial business leader
  • Some of the quantitative and qualitative benefits of working with an executive coach
  • How coaching benefits both the individual as well as the organization, and how these benefits intersect
  • What new coaching clients can do to prepare and feel comfortable going into their first coaching session

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

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

Stone Payton: 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. This is going to be a good one, folks. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast Executive and Business coach and CEO of She’s Her Own CEO, Kathryn Brooks. How are you?

Kathryn Brooks: Doing well. Stone, thank you for having me in studio today.

Stone Payton: Oh, it is such a pleasure to have you in studio.

Stone Payton: You know, a lot of these interviews for this series have been from people all over the country, which I enjoy, but it’s just not the same. So thanks for coming down.

Kathryn Brooks: Thanks for having me. Beautiful. Woodstock, Georgia.

Stone Payton: So I got a ton of questions, but let’s start, if we could, with just sort of an overview for me and my listeners. Mission. Purpose. What are you really out there trying to do for folks? Kathryn.

Kathryn Brooks: Thanks for that. Stone. Yeah. Um, I’m an executive and business coach. I enjoy and feel very passionate about helping business people, helping entrepreneurs, helping C-suite executives achieve their highest potential. And you mentioned my business is called she’s her own CEO. And we are all CEOs. We first have to lead ourselves before we can lead others. And truly, that’s what I try to help reveal through coaching.

Stone Payton: So tell us a little bit about the journey. How did you get here? You didn’t start out coaching when you got out of school, right? Well, and you’re not out of school, which we’ll talk about more later.

Kathryn Brooks: Great. Great point. Um, and as you’ve probably encountered by now or have realized, most coaches have had some sort of prior career. They have some sort of field of expertise and maybe encounter coaching as a second career, maybe, you know, down the road. So I started as a corporate finance manager. I worked at Coca-Cola company here. Oh, I’ve heard of that. Yeah. You heard of them big Red? Um, gained lots of experience. Got my MBA pretty quickly out of my undergraduate. Um, so Rose rose up through the corporate experience in that way. Very grateful for that opportunity. Um, and along the way, just really realized I loved managing people. I loved seeing people grow and develop and prosper, no matter what level he or she was at at the time and even currently today. So, um, that became a passion for me. And then along the way on the side, I had developed an e-commerce business trademarked. She’s her own CEO and she’s her own CEO. Kind of took on a life of its own. And so meshing the coaching aspect, the professional development aspect with this trademark, I had, you know, trademarked along the way through my e-commerce platform just made the perfect segue. And here we are today.

Stone Payton: So let’s dive into the work a little bit. I’m operating under the impression that you work primarily with females. Yes.

Kathryn Brooks: That’s a great point, but not exactly true.

Stone Payton: Oh, okay.

Kathryn Brooks: Not exactly true. Most of my clientele is male.

Stone Payton: Oh, really?

Kathryn Brooks: Yes.

Stone Payton: Interesting. Okay.

Kathryn Brooks: Um, was never an intention for it to be, you know, a female, primarily female clientele based business. And again, most of my clients are male. I always, um, started with the proposition that, you know, the women in our lives, whether they’re our mothers, our grandmothers, or, you know, for for men, you know, their wives or sisters? Mhm. Um, they are the hub of the wheel. They’re the foundation of the family generally.

Stone Payton: Yeah.

Kathryn Brooks: And that’s kind of my mother and my grandmother were very, are very, very important to me and served as a firm foundation for who I am today. And so she’s her own CEO not only applies to my female clients. Um, but I think also males look at it as, you know, the women in my life are her own CEO, too, so.

Stone Payton: Yeah, well, certainly the case for me. You know, my mother is a very strong woman and has an incredible impact on all those around her. My wife as well. She she recently hung up her cleats, but she was, you know, just had a stellar career, uh, with much of it with IBM, another name some people have heard probably before. And. Yeah. So I’ve had a lot of strong women in my life as well. So talk about the work that you’re doing with men and women. What does that look like? Is it one on one coaching? Is it groups? What’s the mechanism?

Kathryn Brooks: So? So it’s both. It’s both. I primarily engage with my clients on a one on one basis. I do lead something called mastermind groups, which are basically curated groups that, you know, engage together. We learn from each other as a coach, any any coach that promises great and grand results. Um, to sell you a life of peaches and cream. Harmony. Um, may or may not be the best coach for you. Coaching is intended so. So we can go on that point a little bit. Um, certified coaches through the International Coaching Federation are held to very high standards. And one of those standards is, of course, ethically based, um, discussion and support of clients. Um, the client is always the best expert. It’s the coach’s job to help reveal, explore, discover, brainstorm creatively. Um, co-create results with the client.

Stone Payton: So what was that like? Because you you did invest the time and the energy, the resources to participate in that credentialing process. And I’m operating under the impression that it wasn’t necessarily just easy. It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies. It was a lot of work, wasn’t it?

Kathryn Brooks: It is. It’s a lot of work really, really is. And coaches that are accredited through the International Coaching Federation, which is considered to be the gold standard of credentialing for coaches around the world. There’s about 55,000 of us across the globe, which not very many. Well, in relative terms. Right? Right. Global population. Um, but the standards, the rigor, um, the the the practical application that the the written test that’s required. Um, the the knowledge base of the core competencies, the ethics. Um, it’s it’s time consuming, but it’s it’s a very rewarding investment.

Stone Payton: All right. So let’s talk more about what it’s like. And we can use me as a potential use case. Or maybe, you know you can pick a use case. Of course I don’t want to mention any names. That probably falls under that ethics thing. You got it. But let’s just not good mojo. But yeah, give us an idea of what to expect in a coaching arrangement, or at least in one with you.

Kathryn Brooks: Wonderful, wonderful. So, so corporate executive. Um, you know, it’s often thought that, wow, getting to the C-suite, that person has has it all has got everything put together home life, work life. You know, that person’s achieved the highest in corporate success. Not often. Always the case. Um, personally, you know, alignment of values and and work life balance. Um, a lot of executives come to coaching, you know, finding that their motivation is there, but something’s missing. Um, maybe maybe they’ve lost their values along the way or. Or maybe they’ve gone through a merger and acquisition and the new culture of the new team that’s being blended and, um, conferred upon them. And, and, you know, that CEO or that C-suite executive is suddenly tasked with not only delivering operational results, but driving culture, you know, creating harmony among a team, um, taking, taking maybe two subsidiaries that have very, very different work styles and cultures and bringing them together, um, to produce a, a new high performing team. So just just some examples.

Stone Payton: Yeah.

Kathryn Brooks: Sky’s the limit.

Stone Payton: Well, it sounds like marvelous work. It also sounds like it could it would feel to me a little bit intimidating because you’re trying to help someone who has achieved a great deal. But then I guess it occurs to me you don’t necessarily have to have you personally don’t have to have all the answers. You just got to help that person get to the answers, right?

Kathryn Brooks: That is so true. Okay, Stone’s such a great point. Um, and that is one of the tenets of, of, uh, ICF credentialing, is that. Yeah. The coach doesn’t have all the answers. It’s not a it’s not another modality such as therapy where we’re looking to the past or that therapist is looking to the past. It’s not a medical modality. It’s not necessarily consulting. Um, sometimes in corporate America, the term coaching gets thrown around and it becomes a catchall, like in everything but the kitchen sink. You’ll hear sometimes middle managers being told, oh, gosh, you got to go coach your employee. Well, what that what they’re really being told is, well, that employee may need some performance management. That employee may need some mentorship or some sponsorship or some, um, you know, delegation realignment something, but it’s not coaching. So what we’re talking about with regard to coaching, uh, coach is really there to collaborate with the client. And to your point, um, not necessarily half has to have the the specific resume based experience in direct alignment with that executive. But I will say that most clients hire a coach is a total person.

Stone Payton: Yeah. So so I’m thinking if I’m in a high profile position, I’m responsible to and for a lot of lives in what I’m doing, the level of trust that I would have to you must have to endure in me. I have to trust you incredibly. And I guess maybe you’ll help me. But you got to help me trust myself to do the really do the work and not keep keep everything in the box, right?

Kathryn Brooks: So true. And so we were we were chatting a little bit before the show today, the rapport and the level of skill that you have in building rapport with your guests and your clients. Uh, maybe somewhat similar to coaching. You want that client to feel not only tell them the standards of confidentiality that you’re going to maintain. Yeah, but I also want to just a personal level. You want that client to trust you to, to know that he or she can share and be open and to bring, you know, their hopes and their dreams and their problems and everything to the table.

Stone Payton: So when you made the transition because you were a high achiever in, in a, you know, very successful operation, making that transition to the, the, the business of being a coach, was that a little bit daunting? What was that like?

Kathryn Brooks: For me, it wasn’t that big of a decision. It was the right next step for me. Um, and I believe in credentialing. I’m a firm believer, believer in education, much like the background. You come from stone. Yeah, yeah. So it was the right thing. Um, I do see on social media, uh, a lot of people purporting to be coaches.

Kathryn Brooks: And, um, you know, oftentimes they’re From making big promises, big dreams, big, big results for for a high price tag. And there can be some, you know, people that become susceptible to that because it looks fun. It looks sexy, it looks like results oriented, which isn’t that what we all want? We want results.

Stone Payton: Absolutely. And would love to just write a check for it. Right?

Speaker5: Got it. It’s not that easy.

Kathryn Brooks: It’s not that easy. As any entrepreneur knows, it takes ten years to be an overnight success.

Stone Payton: Absolutely. At least. That is the truth.

Stone Payton: So, uh, early on, was it like, was it difficult getting clients or just running the business side of, of the business that you’re now in?

Kathryn Brooks: You know, um, for me, you know, coming coming from the business kind of corporate background, uh, you know, I was blessed with a with a strong network.

Stone Payton: Yeah.

Kathryn Brooks: And, you know, a lot of a lot of strong connections and, you know, a resume, so to speak.

Stone Payton: Right. Right.

Kathryn Brooks: Of topics. So having a finance background, having marketing operations background. You know, clients would seek that out. So so for any other coach that’s out there that has a specialty or maybe has a certain life experience, I mean, there are coaches from every specialty, you know, some specialize in family affairs or children’s upbringing. I’ve seen some pursuing kind of that neurodiversity topic lately. Um, you know, so so I would say, you know, make sure that you have as a coach, a firm foundation, a firm background, a firm resume. People can’t just go to coaching school and then call themselves a coach and expect to be hired. Clients ultimately want, you know, again, this is not a consulting relationship, but clients ultimately want to be heard. Isn’t that what we all want?

Stone Payton: Yes.

Kathryn Brooks: We want to be heard. We want to be understood. We want to know that we’re speaking the same language literally and figuratively.

Stone Payton: Right. So how would you characterize or articulate some of the key benefits someone can and should expect from engaging a coach?

Kathryn Brooks: Yeah, that’s a great one. Um, and there’s a lot of documented research in this area and more to come. Uh, but there’s a there’s a generally published statistic that, uh, the coaching relationship, whether it’s at the executive level or any kind of, you know, within a business of any size. Um, it can generate ROI of over 600%.

Stone Payton: Oh, my.

Kathryn Brooks: And this has been documented and proven over and over again. It’s in the literature. It’s in the academic literature. Um, more to come on this. I think there’s a lot of, um, runway ahead for, for this type of research and really understanding because, you know, with any kind of human based or organizational based modality, um, it’s hard to quantify results sometimes, you know, unless it’s something like, well, you know, I’m, I’m hiring this coach for my employee such that he can better manage his team and drive operational results of fill in the blank. Those things are easier to quantify. It’s like, okay, you went through the coaching. Did this happen? But for things that are more intangible, like building a team culture or, um, employee engagement or, um, learning to hire the right people, you know, how do you how do you measure that? It’s a little more difficult. It can be done. It can be done academically. But there’s a lot of runway ahead in this in this academic area.

Stone Payton: So at this point, what are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it these days for you?

Kathryn Brooks: Yeah, I like results. I’m going to be honest. Um, I having clients that are they come to the relationship, the coaching situation. The coaching relationship. As excited as I am. Um, you know, they’re willing to share. You know, we’re there to learn from the client as well. It’s a given. It’s a take.

Stone Payton: Right.

Kathryn Brooks: And you know we creatively co collaborate and just drive big results. So so yeah I mean obviously there’s a lot going on in the in the business conversation right now from you know efficiency conversations and realignments of workforces and mergers and acquisitions and, you know, international affairs and various things like that. So I mean, all of those topics come up in coaching. And so I think as a coach, it’s it’s really exciting to know and to and to to think about getting up in the morning and know that your day is never going to look the same day to day. You’re going to have different topics, different areas to explore. It’s exciting. It’s never a dull moment.

Stone Payton: Well, I’m learning that coaches, as a rule, are seem to be life learners. But but you’ve taken this to the nth degree. Uh, you’re already so well credentialed and educated, but you’re pursuing your doctorate. Speak to that a little bit.

Kathryn Brooks: I am, thank you. I really appreciate this topic. This is this has been on my bucket list for a while, and, uh, year or two ago, I just decided to do it, and I had I had a push from my coach, I’ll say a push, but, um, you know, I coached myself in a lot of ways through this to, to join this, um, I’m studying my doctor of business administration.

Stone Payton: Oh, my.

Kathryn Brooks: Strategic management. So it’s an applied doctoral degree. I’ve got about a year and a half left on it, so I’ve got I got some runway ahead of me, but, um.

Stone Payton: Will you write a dissertation as part of that? And do we, do you already know what that is or you know, you haven’t.

Kathryn Brooks: I have some areas of focus. Um, I very much enjoy the topic of mergers and acquisitions and that that’s where I’m leaning again, too early to commit. There’s a whole process, you know.

Stone Payton: Well, I do know. And for the listeners out there, look, I, you know, I went to school for 13 years and three summers. That’s not quite true. I really did go to college. However, I’m not anywhere near having a doctorate, but my folks both have terminal degrees, and so that’s where I. That’s how I know the word dissertation. And that’s where the knowledge begins and and ends. But but you’ll choose and with some help and get it approved with your. Yeah. That is cool. So, uh, I’m going to ask why, although I think I already know part of the why, but tell us more about why you’re doing that. Man, it’s a lot of work.

Kathryn Brooks: It’s, you know, a lot of it’s self-fulfillment, you know, just the need. Like you said, uh, coaches, we have a thirst for knowledge. We’re lifelong learners, and that’s that’s expected. You know, that that’s part of the job description in a lot of ways. Um, but, you know, doesn’t mean you have to do that, you know? But for me, I it’s always been on my list of things to do and time to do it. Um, but I also feel like, um, you know, it helps me bring a different dimension, a more expansive dimension to my coaching, uh, work And specifically with strategic management and my clientele that that I serve. Um, you know, again, looking for results. They’re looking for a strategic mindset that involves goal setting, planning, measurement, um, monitoring strategy, you know, kind of thinking about, um, things from the, the generally accepted business disciplines such as, you know, operations, R&D. But how do those things fit together? How can we build greater synergies? Um, how do they overlap? Um, you know, where are the gaps? Where are the voids? A gap is something you can fill in and grow into and explore and develop. A void is something maybe that’s that’s a no go, you know, no go situation.

Stone Payton: So so you dropped a phrase a few moments ago, kind of you hit it and you went on, uh, but but it caught my eye. I wrote it down. You said my coach. So you have your coach and you have a code.

Kathryn Brooks: Love that yeah, that’s a great point. So? So, um, International Coaching Federation certified or accredited coaches are required as part of their credentialing process to go through a mentoring process one on one with a more senior coach. So there are three accreditations. So there’s the ACC, the PCC and the MCC. So you would have to engage with a coach, um, at a level above you. Um, and that’s that’s part of the credentialing process. So uh, and then on an ongoing basis, coaches should be coached by other coaches. It allows for reflection.

Kathryn Brooks: Um, you can absolutely observe other skill sets in, in their powerful questioning and active listening kind of watch them, how they do their work with you.

Stone Payton: Right, right. The layers of value in that are just it really is multiple, isn’t it?

Kathryn Brooks: It sure is. It sure is. I mean, you can derive so much, but but it is it is a requirement for that initial credentialing. But beyond that, coaches should engage with a coach. Yes.

Stone Payton: Well, and I’m sure you will if maybe you already are. But we’ll get tremendous value from you being in that role of mentoring other coaches at some point.

Kathryn Brooks: Maybe. We’ll see. We’ll see. Not my primary business right now, but yeah, you never know.

Stone Payton: So that is your primary business. And you very much believe in the whole person, uh, passions outside of the work. What do you do when you’re not coaching?

Kathryn Brooks: Oh, gosh.

Stone Payton: That you really enjoy.

Kathryn Brooks: Writing papers. Um, I’m doing a lot of reading.

Stone Payton: You don’t have a lot of free time. Do you?

Kathryn Brooks: No, I don’t.

Stone Payton: Not now.

Kathryn Brooks: Not too much. Not right now. Um. I love the beach. I love, you know, anytime I can get to the beach, I’m there. Um, yeah. Not not too much free time right now. I’m really engaged with my work and studying pretty much right now.

Stone Payton: That is fantastic. So I’m going to switch gears on you, uh, here just a little bit, and I’d love to. Before we wrap, if we could, to leave our listeners with a pro tip or two. And I want to work. I really don’t want to reduce your work to a cosmopolitan article, but I still wonder if there aren’t just a couple little nuggets that we could share with them for, uh, for producing better results in less time. And maybe it is related to being a better coach in the environment they find themselves if they find themselves ever wearing that hat at all internally. Or maybe it’s, uh, you know, around engaging a coach, but let’s and look guys, the the the best tip I can give you if any of this is striking a chord for you, reach out and have a conversation with Kathryn. But, uh, but between now and then, let’s let’s give them a little something to noodle on.

Kathryn Brooks: I love this question, Stone. Thank you. And it’s really a partnership. It truly, truly is. Um, so so pro tip probably put some some bullet points in the pro tip. First of all, don’t be nervous going into a coaching session. I know that’s hard to say, especially for for people that are high performers. Those of us that like to have pre meetings before we have the actual meeting.

Kathryn Brooks: Those of us that almost shy away from having a meeting if we feel like we’re not prepared. I would discourage that. Um, your coach is inherently trained to listen to, to really engage with you, to be there for you to really immerse him or herself in, in you and the topics you want to bring to the table. I, I always say the client’s in the driver’s seat and the coach is in the passenger seat holding the map. Um, so so don’t be nervous. First of all. Um, you know, put some thought into it. Obviously. Think about what you want to get your coach. Um, opening question first. 5 or 10 minutes. He or she is probably going to ask, you know, what’s top of mind for you today? What’s on your mind? What brings you here today? What brings you to coaching? Why did you enjoy or why did you decide to engage with a coach? Um, maybe thinking through that, you know, taking some time. Um, there’s no right or wrong answer. Bring it to the table. And then third, I’d say, um, you know, be open. Be open with your coach. Um, the coach is not there to ask questions in kind of a ping pong or I’ll say, pickleball match these days.

Kathryn Brooks: Um, the coach is asking questions from a genuine, a genuine sense of curiosity, but it’s not from a sense of, um, nosiness or, um, trying to, you know, just get information out of you. It’s for the, the, the underpinning of the conversation. So, so, Stone, if I were to ask you, you know, what? What does that really mean to you? What what is this studio mean to you? Yeah, I’m curious, but I’m but I’m curious in the way that it supports our conversation. I’m curious in the way that I’m learning something. As your coach, I’m learning about your value system. I’m learning about how you want to serve the business community and that that supports the conversation and it moves the coaching forward. So being open with your coach, bring your values, bring your hopes, your dreams. If you had a bad meeting with someone that day, bring that to the table too.

Kathryn Brooks: Because those examples, those, you know, if you’re someone that likes to to workshop ideas, you know, sometimes you have a high level thought like, this thing has really been bothering me, you know? But if you delve into like, well, for example, you know, I had this meeting with this person today and this is how the interaction took place. You can really dig into that with your coach to to workshop it and to to break it down and to look at motivations and drivers and traits and maybe work styles and maybe how you can make it better.

Stone Payton: Yeah, man.

Stone Payton: Such great counsel. All of it. I like the mental imagery of me holding the map.

Kathryn Brooks: I’m in the driver’s. I mean, I’m in the passenger seat.

Stone Payton: That’s kind of cool. I like that. But one thing that really struck me, and it strikes me as a good skill discipline to have in any productive communication. Your words were, uh, were formed as a question, like asking what’s top of mind? But it suggests to me, you got to meet people where they are. And if you’re trying to have a productive conversation with them about expanding the community partner program or stuff I’ve got going on, the first thing you ought to do is find out what’s going on with them, because they could have something so close to them, they can’t even see past that. To even begin to have a real fruitful conversation about another topic. Right?

Kathryn Brooks: This is true. Oh gosh, that’s the beauty of coaching too, is, you know, we all know that we have certain things worked out in our head. We know what we have to do. Today. You were sharing stone your events of the afternoon coming up. You know what you have to do. You know who you need to talk to, and you know who you need to align with to accomplish what you want to accomplish today, but sometimes saying it out loud to your coach, you may find, wow, I left out a step. Or really, is that really what that person meant when they called me this morning and they were asking to postpone the meeting, you know, so so just saying things out loud.

Kathryn Brooks: Sometimes can bring a whole different awareness.

Stone Payton: So I wonder if the answer to this question, the first three words are going to be after my dissertation. But I’m going to ask you about what’s next. Is it is there a book in you beyond the dissertation? Is there continuing to scale different pieces of your business? What’s on the horizon?

Kathryn Brooks: There’s definitely a book.

Kathryn Brooks: There’s definitely a book in there. Um, I had a not anywhere near a successful I had a small interview series I ran a few years ago. I’d love to get that started back up again. Um, you know, possibly teaching. I’m not. I’m not sure I want to. I’m not sure I want to be a professor. I don’t know, I probably will do some of that, but I think scaling the coaching practice.

Stone Payton: Right.

Kathryn Brooks: Um, I enjoy very much doing the mastermind and the group coaching. Um, so much. I mean, you talk about efficiency and producing better results in less time. Join a group coaching platform. You know, um, there are so many. And, um, you know, you’re one on one coach can probably help with that as well. But, you know, not only getting that experience of working with a coach, but being in that environment of being in a group of your peers and whether it’s a curated group or not, you know, it doesn’t really matter. You’re going to learn something, you’re going to expand your network. Um, you’re going to hear from people from different industries.

Stone Payton: No, that’s great advice. And I suspect you learn a ton from other people, even if they’re, you know, like, I’m the number two man in a pretty successful media company. But to speak to the number five man in a surfboard company, I could probably learn a ton if that person is in the mastermind because, you know, they’re looking at things through different lenses, but yet there’s there’s some, uh, common aspects, you know, that we’re all dealing with some of the same things. I bet that would be incredibly powerful.

Stone Payton: Absolutely.

Kathryn Brooks: And that’s how the ICF defines group coaching. It’s really about, um, you know, different people from different backgrounds with a shared goal. And that shared goal could be success. You know, it could be. It could be just the word success. And success means something different to each of us. You know, um, sometimes we’ll see people that are teetering on retirement or what we would call creative retirement.

Kathryn Brooks: You know, could kind of stay in the workforce, the 9 to 5 arena, but also could go full time retirement. You know, the boat, the the volunteer work, the grandkids, the whole thing.

Stone Payton: Right.

Kathryn Brooks: Having someone like that in a group coaching environment is so powerful because that person brings, you know, not only the corporate experience or the business experience, but kind of the life experience. And maybe that person doesn’t feel as pressured to get that next job. So they’re in a more comfortable space to be able to give feedback.

Stone Payton: Yeah.

Stone Payton: All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to tap into your work? Stay connected and continue learning. Maybe have that conversation with you. Whatever’s appropriate website, LinkedIn, whatever you want.

Kathryn Brooks: Yeah, definitely. On LinkedIn, I’m Kathryn Brooks, MBA. On LinkedIn, my website. She’s her own ceo.com, just like it sounds. Don’t try to put the apostrophe in there. She’s her own CEO. Com. Um, my booking calendar is is a calendly link.

Stone Payton: Oh, nice.

Kathryn Brooks: Calendly.com forward slash. She’s her own CEO.

Stone Payton: Fantastic. It has been so much fun. So informative. Your enthusiasm, your perspective. And when I ask a simple question about a little bit of advice, we get just I mean, just pearls of wisdom coming from you. It’s such an information packed and, uh, thought packed exchange with you, and you do it with such energy and enthusiasm. Thank you so much for coming to join us today.

Kathryn Brooks: Thanks for having me, Stone. It’s been a pleasure and so wonderful that you’re taking this coaching topic under your wing and really showcasing to your audience how to produce better results in less time.

Stone Payton: Well, the pleasure is all mine. All right, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Kathryn Brooks of. She’s her own CEO and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you in the fast lane.

 

Actor Reggie Harper

by

FF-Reggie-Harper-Feature
Cherokee Business Radio
Actor Reggie Harper
Loading
/

Reggie-Harper-banner

Reggie-Harper-headshotReggie Harper is an actor with East Coast Talent Agency in Atlanta.

He graduated from The Ohio State University with a Bachelor of science in Theatre and can be seen in TV shows and movies such as Fatal Attraction, Homicide Hunter, ATL Homicide, Justice by Any Means, Your Worst Nightmare, Day of Vengeance, Rear Truth, 3 Day Weekend, among others.

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Woodstock, Georgia. This is fearless formula with Sharon Cline.

Sharon Cline: Welcome to Fearless Formula on Business RadioX, where we talk about the ups and downs of the business world and offer words of wisdom for business success. I am your host, Sharon Cline. And today in the studio we have an actor and entertainer at East Coast Talent Agency. He went to Ohio State University. He got his bachelor’s in theater. This is serious. He was on a show with me. My very first show. Fatal attraction, very happy to have in the studio Reggie Harper.

Reggie Harper: Sharon, thank you so much for that introduction. And thank you for having me here.

Sharon Cline: You are welcome. I’m excited to talk to you for several reasons. One is that I wanted to thank you because you were just so much fun to work with on on our show, which comes out in April. Oh, thanks. You play the how do you describe how you who you play.

Reggie Harper: Not describing him. I play a man dealing with substance abuse issues and a very volatile person. I’m trying to make sure I describe this man with dignity, because even though he did some bad things, he still he was a real person and he has a real history. So I’m trying to be very delicate with.

Sharon Cline: It’s very smart because this is a real case and it deserves like that sort of sacred attention to it. And these were real people, real lives. We were talking before the show about looking at characters as the human side of them, whether they’re a character you love or don’t, good characters and bad characters all have all of those ranges of emotions. And to be able to identify the human side of a character that maybe you wouldn’t naturally be in real life. Obviously that’s what acting is, but it allows you to identify with the the human side.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, absolutely. I don’t believe any of us are born evil or, you know, born bad. But, you know, things happen to us through our life. And some people, they deal with it. You know, the way they deal with it, sometimes they suppress certain things, or sometimes they let it eat at them and.

Sharon Cline: And haunt them. Right?

Reggie Harper: And haunt them.

Sharon Cline: Yeah.

Reggie Harper: And sometimes they express it. They express their pain by dishing out pain to, you know, people around them. You know the old saying hurt people. Hurt people. It’s. But I believe that’s a very true saying, you know.

Sharon Cline: Absolutely. Well, let’s go back to the fact that you were at Ohio State University.

Reggie Harper: And before we go any further, let me know, because anybody from the Ohio State University that’s listening to this or will hear this, will want me to make sure I make it clear that it’s the Ohio State University.

Sharon Cline: It’s not just Ohio State.

Reggie Harper: No, no. Absolutely not.

Sharon Cline: I’ve been saying it wrong my whole life. Who knows how I’ve offended people? It’s the.

Reggie Harper: Yes. You have to be sure to put thee in front of. Okay. So state. Okay.

Sharon Cline: So you went to the Ohio State University?

Reggie Harper: Yes.

Sharon Cline: Nice. Proud of myself. Um, how did you get from the Ohio State University to Georgia?

Reggie Harper: So I was attending the Ohio State University, uh, to get my bachelor’s in theater. And my initial initially, I wanted to move out to California or New York, but I was persuaded to move here to Atlanta in order to build my experience up first in theater or TV film, because, you know, they had just started. This was around 2008, 2009. They had just started doing a lot of filming in the South. So that’s how I came here. Um, just stayed. I did go to New York for about a year at one time, but I don’t know. Atlanta is just it got its hooks in me and I couldn’t escape.

Sharon Cline: Did you always want to be an actor?

Reggie Harper: I think I’ve always been an actor.

Sharon Cline: Ooh. Oh, damn. That was deep.

Reggie Harper: Well, you know, when you asked me that, I had to reflect for a second, like. Well, ever since I was a child, I’ve always been performing, you know, whether it was scripted or not, I don’t know, I think I’ve always been an actor. I think we’re all actors because we all have to play certain roles. But yeah, I think I’ve always been an actor. I just finally went to school to do it, so I don’t know if it was a conscious choice to be an actor or just a natural thing.

Sharon Cline: So when you got here to Atlanta and then you saw all the different opportunities that were happening, I saw that you were in three day weekend, which is it’s a movie, right? Or a short.

Reggie Harper: It was a short. And, um.

Sharon Cline: Is that like one of the first things that you did?

Reggie Harper: It was one of the first things I did and I forgot I was I don’t remember I don’t remember what I did in that movie. Oh, wait a minute. I was a bad guy in that movie.

Sharon Cline: Thank you. Yeah, that’s so funny, because I’m the same where I can’t remember all of the different jobs that I’ve done in terms of, you know, voiceovers or whatever. I have a list so that I can go back and go like, yeah, I forgot about that one. I just don’t live in that space.

Reggie Harper: Yeah. Um, and now, you know, I’m thinking more about three day weekend. I honestly don’t remember what I did in that, in that I was something. What does it say on the.

Sharon Cline: Oh, I should go back to your IMDb page and see. Well, you were also on something called Rear Truth. You were on Day of Vengeance. These are like the earlier projects that you worked on. And then lately you’ve been on Fatal Attraction, homicide, Hunter, ATL, homicide, Justice, by Any Means, and Your Worst Nightmare. All the good true crime reenactment shows that I am addicted to. No, seriously, it’s kind of. I mean, they’re all amazing, but you’ve been able to really get quite a resume.

Reggie Harper: Yes. And that resume actually should be. The list should be a little longer. I haven’t had that updated in years. And I keep saying I’m gonna do it. And I promise 2025 I’m going to make sure.

Sharon Cline: Okay.

Reggie Harper: All my work is listed because I’m doing a disservice to myself, I think by not having my most current projects listed on there.

Sharon Cline: You’re worth celebrating for those for sure.

Reggie Harper: Yeah. You know, I saw I do stand up comedy as well.

Sharon Cline: Well, look at that.

Reggie Harper: Um, people used to tell me all the time like, hey, man, why don’t you? You need to be leveraging the, the, the true crime stuff you’ve done to help boost your comedy career. I just don’t know how to do that because they’re totally polar opposites of each other. You know, the stuff that we do is real life or the stuff what we did together was depiction of.

Sharon Cline: A real.

Reggie Harper: Life, a real life thing, which it was tragic. So I just don’t know how I haven’t figured out how to. I can make a joke about that, maybe in one of my stand up routines. But as far as like using true crime to.

Sharon Cline: To make people laugh feels feels wrong in some.

Reggie Harper: Ways. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: Disrespectful.

Reggie Harper: Yeah.

Sharon Cline: I get that. I’m there’s probably some tropes, I guess, regarding true crime things that would be kind of funny to highlight, but you’re right. I like the notion of something being opposite. Opposite of comedy, obviously, is like the true crime things. They’re they don’t seem like they would relate, but somehow relating them would actually be interesting and funny.

Reggie Harper: But as a comedian, I shouldn’t have a problem doing it.

Sharon Cline: You should get it together.

Reggie Harper: I know. Yeah. You’re right.

Sharon Cline: I mean, on my own show.

Reggie Harper: No, the truth hurts.

Sharon Cline: No.

Reggie Harper: And I’m here for the pain.

Sharon Cline: No, this is no pain. This is all good and fun. Well, actually, before the show, we were talking. There’s such a depth to you, which I really appreciate. And we were talking about how when you’re studying why people do what they do, it really lends well to being able to be compassionate toward any character that you’re playing.

Reggie Harper: Oh, yeah. For sure. Like I, like I mentioned earlier, I don’t believe any of us are born evil or bad. Um, and I think it’s important to remember that, um, we’re all human. And, you know, we all have a story. Some people were able to cope and, I don’t know, deal with their traumas in a certain way. And some people were not able to cope or are not able to and choose to share their pain in ways that shouldn’t be shared.

Sharon Cline: Is there a role that you particularly loved that you were just like, this is why I am here. This is this is why I’m an actor.

Reggie Harper: I don’t have a there’s not one specific role where it was like, I wish, I wish I could say there was, but each role is, I don’t know. I have like I learned something from every role and I appreciate every role. And it’s kind of like, I don’t know, one row helps me with the with the next. Each row helps me with the next in some kind of way. So maybe the answer to that is my last one I did with you. Like everyone I do, every thing I’ve done like that, the last one. That’s why I do the acting. Because it’s all fulfilling. It’s very fulfilling. If I could do acting for free, if I. If my bills were paid and I could just act for free, I would act in community theater. I would act wherever just to act, because I love that connection. You, you, you can make with the character, the connection you can make with an audience, especially if you’re doing live theater. To me, live theater is actually more fulfilling than TV and film much more.

Sharon Cline: I did a play about three years ago, almost four years ago now in canton, and it’s the first thing I had done since in like 20 years, and I had forgotten how much I loved it. And I got to have an accent and it was great.

Reggie Harper: That’s always fun, right?

Sharon Cline: Well, it was a comedy too. So if at any time I delivered a line and people, like laughed, it felt like, well, damn. Heck, yeah. It just was so immediately satisfying. Is that what you’re. What you think it’s like?

Reggie Harper: Oh, yeah. For sure. Getting a reaction out of out of people. Which another reason why I love doing stand up. Because it’s all about getting the reaction. Um, but, you know, to go back to the question you asked me a little while ago.

Sharon Cline: What was that one?

Reggie Harper: I forget about the moment where I’m like, yeah, this is why I, you know, one time I was at I wasn’t actively in anything at the time, but I had been away from even stand up. But I went to, uh, a show and I forgot what the name of the show was. Um, but I remember just thinking, this is why I love theater. This is why I love acting.

Sharon Cline: You felt the energy of it.

Reggie Harper: I felt it. Mhm. Most definitely I felt it. And it actually brought me back to doing some more stuff because I had forgot I got so caught up in real life that I forgot my passion and why I like performing.

Sharon Cline: I think that’s very important to note because that’s partly why I do this show. So many people get, including myself, get caught up in the tasks of living and supporting yourself, that there’s a part of you that can kind of wither away. And and I love that you had a moment where you kind of were reminded and it touched your soul. Um, yeah. Because I think that’s what I don’t I don’t know, to me, if you have those reactions, I always think that that means that you’re on the right track somewhere.

Reggie Harper: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. I mean, we only get to do this one time, this life, as far as we know. Um, so, I mean, make the most of it. And if something makes you feel good or is gratifying. Yeah. And happy and it’s not, you know, um, hurting anybody. Then by all means, do it.

Sharon Cline: Did you always want to be a comedian as well? Like, how did that whole part of your life happen?

Reggie Harper: Um, I was, so I lived in England as a child, and I remember one time I was always a class clown, but I didn’t want to be a comedian. And I remember this, this young English. This English girl was like, you’re going to be a comedian when you get older. I didn’t even know what she really meant by that. And and I always thought about that as I got older and, um, started paying attention to stand up. Um, I think when I was in high school was when I told myself that, yeah, I’m going to be a comedian one day. But that was ages ago. I didn’t actually do it until it’s been about 10 or 11 years. But, um, when Comedy Central first came out at night, I would go to sleep to that, uh, as a child, as a teenager. And I don’t know, I just thought it was amazing to see these guys be able to go on stage and make a whole room of strangers laugh and make me laugh at home as well.

Sharon Cline: And they’re so smooth about it.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, but, you know, there’s a lot that goes into that. Like, it’s not what people think. You don’t just go on stage and. And even I didn’t realize what it’s almost even with acting, I’m sure from the outside looking in, before you start getting into acting, you had your your perception of it. Yeah. And once you get into it, you’re like, wait a minute. This it’s kind of like what I thought, but there’s a lot extra that I didn’t realize went into this. It’s the same with stand up comedy. You know, a lot of people who are not in it, they think that the comedians just get on stage. A lot of times and just make up what they’re doing as they go along, which is part of the craft of doing stand up. It’s it’s supposed to look like that. But I would say for the majority of the comedians, professional or even amateur, I mean, they. Well, if you’re professional, you’ve practiced these same jokes over and over and over again. And there’s a lot of work that goes into it and it’s not. There are some parts of a show that are ad libbed, right?

Sharon Cline: Like when you’re interacting with the crowd, especially that.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, you might think of a joke while you’re on stage and tell it, but it’s it’s rehearsed.

Sharon Cline: So it’s scripted like a play for sure.

Reggie Harper: And and sometimes if you’re not careful as a comedian, you can let something throw you off. And you were so stuck on the script how you had scripted it out before you got on stage that it just completely. Oh, no. Yeah, I’ve seen it happen to well, it’s happened to me, but I’ve also seen it happen to other comedians.

Sharon Cline: Where do you perform?

Reggie Harper: Um, wherever I can, really. But mostly in Georgia. Uh, Alabama. Tennessee, Florida.

Sharon Cline: You’re all over. I didn’t even.

Reggie Harper: Know I have been all over. There’s some other states, too. I’ve performed in California, New York, um, just wherever I can. Um, it’s getting a little bit harder because it’s like there’s so many comedians out there now or people that say they’re comedians. Yeah. And sometimes, sometimes I’m like, man, you probably need to. You need to go back and rewrite. You’re making it. You’re making comedy look bad. You’re running around saying, you’re a comedian and you’re not funny at all, and you’re not even taking the time to learn the craft. And it just for like people, comedians that take it serious, it is so irritating. It’s almost like there’s everybody’s a rapper. No, you’re not like you might have wrote a rapper to maybe your neighborhood knows you, but that doesn’t until you’re actually really doing it out there regularly.

Sharon Cline: You’re still you’re just playing around.

Reggie Harper: You’re just playing around. Yeah. And not that I’m, I’m not a household name or anything like that, but I’ve been paying dues and I continue to keep paying until that time comes, you know. And if it don’t come, that’s fine because I’m really enjoying it. I don’t do anything that I don’t want to do and I enjoy doing it all. So, you know.

Sharon Cline: Isn’t that great though. Just that statement. You get to do what you love, the freedom to do what you love.

Reggie Harper: It’s awesome.

Sharon Cline: That’s a gift.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, it hasn’t always been there, so I don’t take it lightly. Very appreciative.

Sharon Cline: So who are your comedians that you kind of looked up to and and thought, well, you know, I’d like to be somewhat like them.

Reggie Harper: George Carlin, Richard Pryor.

Sharon Cline: The greats.

Reggie Harper: The greats, of course. Yeah. Almost every comedian, almost every comedian is going to name Richard Pryor or George Carlin. But yeah, I was watching George Carlin live at Carnegie Hall. This is the moment that I was like, I really got hooked into comedy. I think it was like 1984. I was a little kid and I seen George Carlin didn’t know who he was, but he. I watched him do Carlin at Carnegie, and I was just hooked on comedy After that. It’s like stand up not just being a funny person, but stand up comedy.

Sharon Cline: Yeah, his his comedy was so had such depth to it as well. And it was such storytelling with it. It wasn’t just trying to make someone laugh like one liners, it was really.

Reggie Harper: And they had points.

Sharon Cline: Yeah, they had deep points. Yeah.

Reggie Harper: Even if you didn’t like him or his position, you know, you still had to be like, wow, I didn’t really think about it like that. And you do have a point there.

Sharon Cline: Yeah. Because he could be obviously very political and controversial.

Reggie Harper: Very.

Sharon Cline: But he would have reasons behind it. So you’d listen and it would be funny as he’s telling a story. You know, he reminds me of that is Bill Burr. He’s very much like that right now. He has his stories, you know, but he’ll have a reason why he says what he says. And he can be very controversial, too. Sometimes I’m like, I can’t believe he said that out loud. Like twice, you know, reiterated it. So. Yeah, but.

Reggie Harper: Bill Burr is one of my favorites.

Sharon Cline: You either obviously they can be very polarizing, but, um, interesting to kind of get the vibe of what what you find interesting as your as your kind of comedy platform.

Reggie Harper: Well, yeah. Um, and one thing that I didn’t realize about George Carlin until I got older was the use of his voice as an instrument, because he also has a nice voice for doing what he did. Also, I did some research on him and kind of found out that I believe his his father, like he had some type of connection to like the radio voice or something.

Sharon Cline: So you know that.

Reggie Harper: Mhm. So um, I don’t know. They just gave me a deeper appreciation for his craft or his.

Sharon Cline: Yeah. The presence of being on the stage wasn’t just what he was saying but his voice.

Reggie Harper: Yeah his voice as well. And it made me think like that. That’s part of it. I mean, that’s part of the package. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: Because even Bill Burr will start to, like, yell, you know what I mean? I mean, I don’t know. Or you listen to someone. Who else? John Mulaney, he’s got a whole kind of way. He uses his voice and the cadence of his speech.

Reggie Harper: It’s. Yeah, it’s I mean, it’s part of the, the the shtick or the act or whatever, but it’s part of the package.

Sharon Cline: Um, how.

Reggie Harper: Does that.

Sharon Cline: How does that being a comedian lend into your acting life, though? So do you want to choose roles that allow you to be a comedian? In some ways?

Reggie Harper: Um, not when it comes to acting. I really only want to be a let me take that back. I prefer doing like dramatic roles when it comes to like TV or film for stage theater. I like doing comedy, and I wouldn’t mind doing comedy for like TV or film if it’s a funny, if it’s funny, but I prefer like for comedy. For me being funny, I just prefer to do stand up. Mhm.

Sharon Cline: So you’re actively doing stand up these days like so I could get a group of friends to come and cheer you on.

Reggie Harper: I haven’t done stand up in since 2024. The next time I’m going to do stand up is July in Little Rock, Arkansas. Oh. Um, I had.

Sharon Cline: A road trip that we’re talking.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, well, I’ve had I had life last year that that got in the way. And I’m doing things right now that have taken my focus away from entertainment. That ends in April. And matter of fact, two and a half weeks to be exact. So I’ll be able to get back, um, into the comedy clubs and open mics to try new jokes out. Um, but yeah, I’m only booked right now for July.

Sharon Cline: All right.

Reggie Harper: That’s going to change.

Sharon Cline: Yeah, I was going to say just for right now.

Reggie Harper: Just for right now. That is definitely, definitely going to change.

Sharon Cline: So in the meantime, you get to still be doing your more dramatic acting like what we did with our show. What are some of the projects you’ve been working on lately?

Reggie Harper: Lately there’s not a project other than that one. Yeah, because I’m just I’m trying to put things in place in my personal life so that I can get back focused on the the other things that I love, which is entertainment.

Sharon Cline: So how what is it about your personality that allows you to follow your dream, and even spend the time to set up your life to be able to follow your dream more thoroughly when so many other people allow other aspects of life to keep them in their routine.

Reggie Harper: It’s about, in my opinion, it’s just about your priorities and also thinking long term, making decisions, long range decisions and sacrificing, you know, so that you can do what you want to do later.

Sharon Cline: Where does fear play in your life?

Reggie Harper: Fear can be a great motivating factor, or it can be a debilitating, um, the very first, the most afraid I’ve ever been in my life, literally. And I’ve been lost on the border of Iraq, in Kuwait when I was in the military.

Sharon Cline: And thank you for your service.

Reggie Harper: Oh. Thank you. But doing stand up comedy for the very first time is probably not. Probably was the most scared I’ve ever been, and I’ve had a gun put to my head. I’ve had all types of goofy stuff happen to me when I was younger, been in goofy situations, but for some reason, doing stand up comedy that first time was like I was sweating bullets. My shirt was like soaked. Before I even got to the stage. I kept thinking, like, I’m gonna forget what I’m supposed to say. It was. It was terrible. It was terrible.

Sharon Cline: How did it go? I’m like, scared to ask, you know?

Reggie Harper: It actually went well. The first 30s was like, I started looking for the exit. But after that, you know. So what happened was I wrote out my jokes and all that, and I tried to do them the way I wrote them and it wasn’t working. So after I got my first laugh, I got a little more comfortable. And as I went on, I realized I started being more me and not the words I had wrote down. And I went into a zone. And this is really weird because it doesn’t happen often, or it hasn’t happened often to me, but I went into a zone and I don’t know, it was like it was surreal and I’ve never felt that since then. But that first time, though, yeah, I went from, um, bombing like crazy to killing it and knowing I was killing it and just it was an out of body experience. Really. Wow. And, um, I’ve never been able to experience that again. I mean, I’ve had great shows since then, but that was like my first time. I think I had like, just, I don’t know, disconnected from reality for a minute or something, but it was great. It was really awesome. And I love seeing other people go up for the first time because I watched them, and I’m waiting for that moment before they go up where I can see it in their eyes, like they’re terrified because it always happens. And then I feel good for the person after that, because I think you need that fear to help you stay on your P’s and Q’s.

Sharon Cline: You didn’t get complacent Or what do they call it where you just expect you expect it to go well?

Reggie Harper: Yeah. Well, you know, you want it to go well when it comes to comedy. Um, but I think there’s always a little bit of fear because there’s always a chance that it’s not going to go well. Like, I’ve been doing it long enough. To where? Um, I feel comfortable in front of any demographic. I have jokes for any demographic. But you still there’s still always that. What if these people are, you know, everybody’s in a bad mood. Yeah. You know what? If everybody was fighting for, I can hear, you know, it’s like you never know how it’s going to go.

Sharon Cline: So do you feel like there you could say the exact same jokes in in two different nights, and you’d have completely different reactions depending on the crowd. And you can’t even figure out the rhyme or reason behind it.

Reggie Harper: I’ve had that happen before. Most of the time it’s the comedian’s fault.

Sharon Cline: I love how honest you are.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, because it’s true. Like some audiences are going to not really be into it and some audiences will be into it. And you can do the exact same set, but you have to adjust, you know, if you just have to adjust. And I think the more you do comedy, the more experience you get, and the more times you run into these situations where the crowd ain’t feeling you, you just you learn how to navigate through that, not around it, just through it. And when you’re on a show with 20 other comedians, you’re going to get a lot of different things. And depending on what order, as the comedian, you’re depending on the order, like where you pop in at, um, it could really affect, uh, the reception of your set. For example, if the first 6 or 7 comedians are raunchy and the crowd has gotten used to that, and or the crowd likes that, and then you come on and you’re rated G, you’re not going to do as well as if you went first and then the raunchy people came on after you.

Sharon Cline: Wow. Okay.

Reggie Harper: And then there’s, you know, 20 different comedians. You’re going to have 20 different personalities and.

Sharon Cline: And different subjects.

Reggie Harper: Mhm.

Sharon Cline: It’s really interesting. But I also love that you’ve got this other side of you that’s it’s obviously comedy. But the other side of you that is very serious with the acting side. So you get to kind of do both.

Reggie Harper: Mhm. I do and it’s gratifying.

Sharon Cline: It makes you well-rounded I guess like a well-rounded actor. If you wanted to you could go into either or. But I think most people that I’ve spoken to have been actors on the show have said the same thing that you have is that if they could just do this without having to worry about making money, and it’s such a shame, you know, that we all have to have something right now to bolster our lives. You know.

Reggie Harper: I think a lot of us, um, a lot of actors, I mean, we really are in it for the love of acting. Yeah, we want to make money. But, you know, this is like a passion of many of us. And if the money comes, great. If it don’t, as long as I can eat. You know that starving artist is there really are starving artists out there and they’ll take whatever work they can get.

Sharon Cline: Do you have a dream role?

Reggie Harper: I used to.

Sharon Cline: Uh oh.

Reggie Harper: I used to know. I used to wish I could play Marvin Hagler. He was a boxer. Oh, or some other boxer, because I love boxing as well. And I did a little boxing when I was younger and in the army. Oh, I do, I want to play Ming in a remake of Flash Gordon. That’s what I want to do. That’s my dream role right there.

Sharon Cline: Is that your dream role?

Reggie Harper: Like all jokes aside. Uh huh.

Sharon Cline: Okay, we’re putting that out into the universe.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, we are right now. That’s my dream role.

Sharon Cline: Isn’t there a new flash?

Reggie Harper: Did I not? I hope not.

Sharon Cline: Oh, I don’t know why. I think Flash Gordon is on my mind lately, but I’m not sure why. I saw something recently. I can remember it, like in the 80s. This awful, campy version of Flash Gordon.

Reggie Harper: That’s the classic.

Sharon Cline: Oh, sorry. I mean, it’s a classic version of that. I’m just saying. I remember that, so that’s when I think about it. Anytime I hear Flash Gordon, that immediately goes in my head, so I don’t know. I heard something recently about it. Good to know. Okay, so we’re putting it out in the world. That’s your dream role? Why?

Reggie Harper: Well, because Ming was. I don’t know, I just thought he was a cool guy. I mean, he’s evil, but he had a bald head like me. He’s got a goatee like me. He, um. He was running things on the planet in the universe until flash came along. But I would just. I don’t know why, but that’s my dream role. I think maybe, too, because I just can’t see them putting a man, a person of color in that role. Not to say a person of color can’t play it because I want to play it, but I don’t know, I just don’t. But in this day and age, you know, with nontraditional casting and all that, it’s you’re likely to see anybody in any role.

Sharon Cline: This is good to know. In the industry in general, I like knowing that.

Reggie Harper: Knowing what?

Sharon Cline: That there. That there’s not as much of a boxes that they’re putting people in.

Reggie Harper: Oh, no. But, you know, I don’t know how I feel. I have mixed emotions about that.

Sharon Cline: Really?

Reggie Harper: Yeah. Because, I don’t know, I’m used to Snow White being white.

Sharon Cline: I mean, The Little Mermaid or whatever it is.

Reggie Harper: Yeah. Like, seriously, like, I, I’m okay with them staying white. And, you know, we just blacks or whatever minority create. Let’s create a new one if we ain’t got one already. I don’t want to change what’s already been established.

Sharon Cline: Got you.

Reggie Harper: Yeah.

Sharon Cline: I like both.

Reggie Harper: And that’s fine. I don’t have anything against it. I just prefer it staying traditional.

Sharon Cline: Right, I got you. It’s just I can think of some of the videos I saw of of, um. I can’t remember her name, but the woman that played The Little Mermaid and these little girls that were, like, had never seen a woman of color, and they’re like, crying. And it just was so touching to me, and it kind of made me mad. It’s like, how underrepresented are you? Like, it’s just I want everyone to have something that they feel like inspired by whatever it is. So I like I like both, but I, I also love that there’s more diversity in general.

Reggie Harper: Me too.

Sharon Cline: Um, yeah. For sure.

Reggie Harper: The mermaid is a fish, so that don’t count. Whoever can play that. I just don’t want to see a black. Snow white. That’s it. I got to draw my line somewhere.

Sharon Cline: You’re allowed.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, but I’m all for diversity. I’m all for. Yeah, I love diversity. I mean, we had a long talk. You know.

Sharon Cline: I know we talked for, like, 30 minutes before we did this show. This happens to me all the time. I should be more disciplined. I was like, wait. Don’t talk about that yet. Let’s let’s press record.

Reggie Harper: But I think it’s good, though, because that way you kind of you get a better feel of who you’re dealing with.

Sharon Cline: Yeah. I mean, a lot of times they’re just strangers coming in here where I’m like, thank you for responding to my my stranger email or my message on Facebook. You know, but it’s strange thing when I, when we leave, it’s like, I know them and we know each other because I’m just kind of get to focus on one person at the moment and just kind of see what it’s like to be you. So what do you think people don’t know about the acting industry in general, that you think you could give them some information about?

Reggie Harper: First of all, I would say throw away all your preconceptions of what the industry is and don’t think that it’s going to happen overnight. I don’t care who you are, and if it does happen overnight, it’s probably only going to be overnight. Like, you really have to you have to you have to be prepared to pay a lot of dues, a lot of dudes. Um, especially if you don’t have connections in the industry, because even when you have connections, it’s still not everything is guaranteed. And even when you sign the paperwork, everything still ain’t guaranteed. There’s many actors who have had roles pulled from up under their feet after they’ve signed. I’m talking big name actors. So I don’t know. Well, not like a Denzel Washington, but you know a recognizable name. Um.

Sharon Cline: They end up on the cutting room floor kind of thing. Or recast.

Reggie Harper: Well, recast. Mhm.

Sharon Cline: Well, I always think of that story about Michael J. Fox who was in back to the future. The original actor is a person. I can’t think of his name, but he played the role initially and he was. They filmed five weeks of back to the future.

Reggie Harper: Really?

Sharon Cline: Yes. I have to look it up. Go ahead. Go ahead and chit chat for a second about something. Well, let me ask ChatGPT. No, I’m trying to remember who it was, but the original actor, um, was just not the exact right energy. And they had filmed five almost the whole thing.

Reggie Harper: So now that you mention that there’s something else, that’s something else I want to mention when you ask me about the industry. And so for people coming into it, I don’t know if people understand how much thought goes into the actual Will casting. You know, when we watch a movie or a television show, it seems like everybody is perfect for that role. And it’s because a lot of thought went into the casting. And just because you audition for something and you don’t get it, it doesn’t mean you did a bad audition. You might have knocked it out of the park, but maybe there was somebody on the cast who has more rank didn’t want you there, or maybe somebody else was a little bit taller than you, or the voice was a little bit deeper or a little bit higher. I mean, there’s so much that goes into it. Um, people getting into the business will be like, well, I’m, I’m good at this, I’m good at that. So I’ll get cast or there’s no way I won’t be noticed or discovered. Yeah, there’s plenty of ways, because there’s so many people out there and they have so many choices now and now in today’s into in today’s day, you don’t have to go into the office to audition anymore. So now they can look at hundreds of auditions in a week. Where, you know, back in the day.

Sharon Cline: You’d have to travel.

Reggie Harper: You had to you had to travel. Yeah, you had to travel. Sometimes you got to fly. People in. People got to actually come into the studio to audition. Um, not to say it doesn’t still happen. I’m just saying now, because of the way things are set up and technology, there’s more competition out there, much more.

Sharon Cline: It’s true. I think about, um, if you’re auditioning for a role and I, I have the same hair color or same coloring or something, they may want someone different. So it doesn’t matter if I’m great, right? There’s something about me that wouldn’t fit with who’s already there.

Reggie Harper: Sometimes that is definitely the case.

Sharon Cline: Okay, so it was Eric Stoltz. He was, uh. I’ll show. I’m going to show you a little picture of him. He was the original actor cast.

Reggie Harper: He kind of looks like Michael J. Fox.

Sharon Cline: He does a little bit. But, you know, he’s a wonderful actor. He’s a serious actor. But there was just a little bit of a comedic timing that Michael J. Fox had that brought brought a little something different. So even though five weeks in he was the main character.

Reggie Harper: Wait, wait a minute. So okay, I’m just now fully understanding what you’re saying. They actually did the work for five weeks and they cut him loose after that.

Sharon Cline: They cut him loose after that.

Reggie Harper: That’s crazy.

Sharon Cline: I know when you think about it, because you’re in it. Because you’ve been in it and you’re cast in it. Yeah, but they had to reshoot everything. Yeah.

Reggie Harper: Wow. That’s wild.

Sharon Cline: I know, and I actually, I think about, um, you know, you can be perfect for something and like, the energy of you, like Michael J. Fox. He came in. He was just destined to be in this part. And no matter what, it was supposed to be his even five weeks of other filming. And there’s something I like about that is like, if something is meant to be yours, it’s going to be yours no matter what.

Reggie Harper: Exactly. And that’s another reason why I don’t get mad if if I don’t get a part or a role. Um, I can’t tell you how many times that I’ve got an email or a text and they’re like, it’s down to you and one other person for like something that will definitely change the trajectory of my career and it doesn’t happen.

Sharon Cline: Oh, wow.

Reggie Harper: And it’s like, man. So I wonder, you know, it could have been anything. Person could have had straighter teeth than me. I don’t know. A lot of times you never do know.

Sharon Cline: I think that’s the case too. In the voiceover world, I always think about that. That someone will love my voice, someone will hate my voice. And there’s no way to know whether they’re going to like it or not. So I just try to stick to me. It’s forced me, absolutely forced me to be good with who I am. I cannot change myself because if I change it, I could be changing away from someone who would like me, and there’s no way for me to know if I’m doing that. So any time I do get cast in anything, it’s so validating for me because I’m like, okay, well then who I genuinely am and how I was put together was honored or valued. And it’s very moving to me. I feel like so, so honored that they chose me.

Reggie Harper: Well, I was given advice early on. I was told if they’ll cast you in small productions, they’ll cast you in big productions. I mean, you’re castable if if you can be cast. Yeah. I mean, that’s just a way to think about it.

Sharon Cline: Yeah. To look at.

Reggie Harper: It. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: I love that. Um, so knowing knowing this, it actually gives me a little bit more perspective as I’ve been doing different auditions. I had one the other day. I have one tomorrow morning, and as much as I’m enjoying it, there’s part of me that’s like a little bit afraid that I’m actually going to get cast because then I’m going to have to really be an actor.

Reggie Harper: Oh, I’ve thought about that so many times.

Sharon Cline: Like, I’m going to have to really do this. Like I’m not just playing around anymore. You know, there’s a little bit of fear of, oh, no, I can’t let them down now, you know, I’m just playing around right now.

Reggie Harper: There’s been oh, there’s been so many times where I’ve had the thought like, man, I don’t want to be the guy that stinks up this, this production. You know, I don’t want to be that actor that ruins everything.

Sharon Cline: That’s what I think about a lot.

Reggie Harper: And then two, you know if you audition for something and you get cast? You were saying you have to work. You know, once they cast you, now you’re locked in or whatever. You have to make sure that you’re going to be available to. That’s true because there’s a lot of people depending on you. So sometimes depending on the shoot schedule, I won’t even.

Sharon Cline: You won’t apply.

Reggie Harper: I won’t even apply because I already know. And the last thing I want to do is have them have to tell somebody, know who’s going to give me an opportunity because I don’t know, they might take that personal and never give me another opportunity just because I turned them down the first time.

Sharon Cline: And you have your agent to think about, I’m sure there’s like, I just got signed to an agency last week.

Reggie Harper: Congrats.

Sharon Cline: Why thank you. And now I feel pressure in a different way because I want to please my agency and they’re taking a chance on me. It feels like.

Reggie Harper: They are, um.

Sharon Cline: I don’t want to let them down. Or myself.

Reggie Harper: If they signed you, they. I’m sure they they feel comfortable with you and and are looking forward to working with you. And I’m sure they, they understand that, um, it could be tomorrow. It could be next year. It could be ten years from now. But you know, they they they believe in you. So they signed you up.

Sharon Cline: They believe in you too.

Reggie Harper: Well, thank goodness.

Sharon Cline: Somebody does. Somebody does.

Reggie Harper: Yeah.

Sharon Cline: I believe in you. Okay. Thank you. Set it on the show and everything. So. Okay. So what would you say your fearless formula is? How do you keep going? You know, when things are unsure.

Reggie Harper: Well, first of all, for me, I do have a goal. And when things aren’t going according to plan, I try to remind myself that I have very limited, um, control over the way things play out. I can only do my best to, you know, do my part in making things happen. But I also know that well, my belief is that everything is pre-planned and preordained, and if it’s meant to be, it’ll be. But in the meantime, I’m going to enjoy the process, because I think the now is is more important than what’s going to happen in the future. Not to say you shouldn’t focus on the future as well or be prepared, but really all we have is like right now. So where do you make it or not? Try to learn and enjoy from the process.

Sharon Cline: Um, not always looking at the outcome as being the most important, but just actually auditioning or actually getting up on stage. Those are all things you can celebrate for yourself.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, because I think a lot of our fear comes from not being able to control the outcome. Um.

Sharon Cline: That’s how I feel.

Reggie Harper: Yeah. And people, sometimes they want to give up because it’s not happening fast, and they fear it’s not going to happen. But you can’t let fear deter you. Um, because again, there’s only so much control you have, and you have to do what you can do. And as long as you’re being productive, though, I mean, something good is going to come out of that. It may not be exactly what you wanted, but it’s going to be what you needed, I believe.

Sharon Cline: And maybe something better.

Reggie Harper: It may. Well, I think most of the time it is something better. You know, a lot of us, we go into entertainment and we want to be rich and famous, or at least rich or at least famous. Um, but it’s not all it’s cracked up to. I’ve never been rich or famous. I mean, I’ve had money before, and I felt like I was rich, but I don’t need a lot in my life to be happy anyway. So having a, you know, just having money that’s expendable makes me feel good if it’s there. But, you know, people go into entertainment, um, in my mind, with the wrong goal because, um, there’s more of us that are not going to be rich and famous than there is that’s going to actually make it. And I think you have to go into it with that, uh, that understanding that there’s more chances you’re not going to make it than that you are going to make it. But in the meantime, enjoy the process because you’re doing it and you’re a success just even embarking on the journey. Don’t you know, putting your fear behind you and embarking on the journey is that makes you successful in my mind. You know, if you’re just sitting on the couch thinking about, I know so many people that in my life growing up who talked about doing things and never did it, and they probably could have really succeeded, but they never even tried. And those are the failures right there. Um, if you if you embark on a journey, um, and you don’t get to the destination that you set out to get, you’re going to get to a destination. But just enjoy the ride on the way there and be cognizant of the blessings and the just the opportunities and whether they turn out to be, you know, big opportunities or they don’t pan out the way you want them to. Um, just take joy in those little victories. Getting an audition. You might not you might not get the role. But you know how many people wanted just the chance to audition?

Sharon Cline: It’s a gratitude, right?

Reggie Harper: Yeah. And gratitude goes a long way. And I believe the universe repays you when you show gratitude.

Sharon Cline: We were talking about energy before the show and kind of, um, like the way people vibrate almost. Or. I don’t know if that’s the right word, but frequency, the frequency that people live.

Reggie Harper: On vibrate is a good word to use. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: But when I know that I have an attitude of of being, you know, gratitude, attitude or attitude, gratitude and being grateful for my life and many things. It’s so much sweeter. I just saw this woman post a video about her, like her ideal house was like just this little cozy place. And she said this, but with not with no man yelling at me this, but with books around me, this, but with coffee and quiet in the morning. And I thought, wow, you know, there there are people that would trade a million bucks for some of the things that I have, and I’m grateful for that. And I need the reminder. So when I really come from that place, it’s I don’t know, there’s it changes the frequency of how I feel and how I think and what I see, what I notice. It’s so much better than when I’m like, oh God, I just have another audition to do. And I’m really tired. I don’t know, a million ways I can look at things as being negative, but you’re right to have an attitude of being like, wow, I’m really lucky. Sometimes when I’m in my booth, I’m like, golly, I can’t believe I get to audition. And I always wanted a booth. And there. There are aspects of my life that I have now that I prayed for, you know, and that was the dream. And I got to actually live that, to remember that makes me feel, um, it’s just the the energy of it is so much better and sweeter than being, um, annoyed.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, well.

Sharon Cline: It’s a good word.

Reggie Harper: Yeah. It helps your quality of life when you. When you focus.

Sharon Cline: On. Right. The time is going to go by.

Reggie Harper: Mhm.

Sharon Cline: Yeah. Think about that.

Reggie Harper: You know um some people they want like mansions and all. I was thinking earlier today I don’t even leave my bedroom. Like I literally barely leave my bedroom, except maybe to go get something to eat or leave the house. So I don’t know, imagine for me wouldn’t it would be a waste. It would be a complete waste. Um, I’m happy with, like, the smaller things in life. Honestly, the more simpler things.

Sharon Cline: I have the same thing. Um, it was funny when we were filming the show. Um. Fatal Attraction. I was so crazy happy. Poor Carl, detective number one. I was just, like, the best. He’s like, okay, relax. Okay. I was just like, I’m sorry, but. But there are very few times where I have had such joy, even though it wasn’t some major role or whatever, just being part of it. Oh my gosh, I cried when I got the role. I cried the night it was over. They were like, okay, we’re wrapping. I’m like, no, like we want to go. But at the same time, the feeling of like, oh, I got to be part of something bigger than me. Mhm. Um, it was such an honor. And I tell you, I can’t imagine. What other role would I need to feel such joy? Like it was, I was exactly where I felt like I needed to be in that exact moment was so felt so lucky. And I know it’s something small, but the joy that I felt was profound.

Reggie Harper: Okay, so it’s more for you, but for the person, other person that wanted that role that you got. You know.

Sharon Cline: That’s so true.

Reggie Harper: It’s big and.

Sharon Cline: That’s a good point.

Reggie Harper: And the people who are watching this story be retold, it’s I’m sure it’s big to a lot of them. Um, and this story is going to be here when you’re not anymore. So, I mean, this is it is big.

Sharon Cline: Thank you.

Reggie Harper: Yeah.

Sharon Cline: Right. Because it’s the internet’s forever.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, the internet is forever, and I’m. But I’m glad you see it as something, um, I don’t know, you appreciate it for what it was, and, uh, I don’t know. It says a lot about you as a person.

Sharon Cline: Oh. Well, thanks. I tell people I’m amazing all the time.

Reggie Harper: And I’m seeing it firsthand.

Sharon Cline: Oh my gosh. Wow. Well, um. Yeah, I can be nice for an hour or so. It can be amazing for an hour in a in a studio.

Reggie Harper: I’ve been around you much longer than an hour, so I know you can.

Sharon Cline: Well, you were really nice on the set because I was like, you want to get dinner after? Like, I just didn’t want it to end. And it was just really fun.

Reggie Harper: I know what you mean. And I’m gonna tell you something I don’t normally, I’m not anti-social, but I don’t like hanging out with groups of people. I just don’t. I’d much rather be. I’m in my bedroom all the time. Like, that’s. That’s my safe space. And, uh.

Sharon Cline: I couldn’t I. You poor thing. I first met you, and I was like, can I take a picture of you or a video? Can I follow you on Instagram? And I kind of forced you to, like, be my friend. Sorry. I just realized that. No, I don’t give you many choices there.

Reggie Harper: I didn’t take it that way, though. It didn’t feel that way.

Sharon Cline: Oh, well, then I’m good at it.

Reggie Harper: It felt. You seem like I mean you to me, you’re a genuine person, and I don’t know, I’m attracted to genuine people. So I didn’t see you as being, like, intrusive or.

Sharon Cline: Oh, cool.

Reggie Harper: Or anything like that. No. And plus, I mean, in our profession, that’s what we’re supposed to do. I’m just not good at it, that’s all. I’m just.

Sharon Cline: I don’t know, you played along.

Reggie Harper: Know what I mean? Is you initiated it though, right? Yeah, sometimes I will, but it’s very rare. Um, and it’s not that I don’t like people because I love people, I love humans. I’m just I don’t know.

Sharon Cline: Well, you know what I struggle with, here’s my struggle is that energy will go out that way. But I have just as much that I need. No energy going out. So I’m. I’m extroverted and introverted, like, equally. So I can can do all of that. But if there will come a point where I’m like, okay, I need to now do nothing and I need to talk to nobody. And so it’s almost like a currency to me, energy is like spent, I spend it. But then I realized that I need to save. Now.

Reggie Harper: It is.

Sharon Cline: It’s a struggle. I struggle with that almost every day.

Reggie Harper: It is currency.

Sharon Cline: I get pulled and then I’m like, okay, I can’t handle another somebody, you know?

Reggie Harper: Yeah, energy is like currency and you have limited amount, you know, in a day, in a life or whatever, and you can only put so much of it in so many places.

Sharon Cline: Exactly what it’s.

Reggie Harper: Like until you deplete yourself.

Sharon Cline: Yeah. And then I’m like, I feel okay. I’m not going to respond for the rest of the day to people, and I don’t mean it anything about them. It’s actually just me. I need quiet just to.

Reggie Harper: You just touched my soul on that one because I’m just. I get text messages and messages and I’m like, I just don’t want to. It’s not. I love these people. Yeah. I just don’t feel like dealing with people right now or dealing with anything.

Sharon Cline: Has nothing to do with anyone else. It’s just me. Yeah.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, exactly.

Sharon Cline: I’m the same. Yeah. So I can be extroverted and chit chatty and all of that. But then, yeah, if I don’t have enough quiet time, like, I have this great motorcycle group that I ride with, and I love them, but I don’t know what happens to me. It’s almost like a switch where I’ve been with them all afternoon and I’ll be like, all right, I’m going home now. I just and I don’t even have any warning. It’s like nobody nobody did anything. I just I’ve reached my limit.

Reggie Harper: Well, you spent you spent it all.

Sharon Cline: I spent it. Didn’t even know I was ending. I’ll be like, okay, guys, I’m heading out. Yeah, I spent it all. But, you know, I kind of, I at least I recognize this about me. So I’m very strategic. I’ve been more so about how I spend my time and where my energy goes.

Reggie Harper: I’m the exact same way.

Sharon Cline: It’s a thing. But even in the acting world, like tomorrow morning, I’ve got to do this audition. I can’t be depleted. I’ve got to, like, draw.

Reggie Harper: See, this is why I was saying, like, I haven’t done anything because I’m focused on some other stuff right now. I just don’t have the amount of energy in me to. I don’t to to do everything I want to do at the same time. So I got to break it up into pieces.

Sharon Cline: Because you care, right? You don’t want to half ass it, right? No. You want to be 100% you. You honor what? It is interesting.

Reggie Harper: I don’t want to half ass anything in my life. Especially if it’s something that will always affect me or, you know, I don’t know. Follow me. You don’t want to. You don’t want to go into a role and then half do it, and then it’s always there on record and for people to see like he, you know, she only gave half effort in this scene or whatever. Like it’s you don’t want that. You don’t want that to be your legacy. It’s truth.

Sharon Cline: Well, I think that way about some of the books that I’ve done that I’ve been the narrator for, because in the early ones I wasn’t as great at it. I mean, I just didn’t have enough experience to really be perfect. And I’m still not perfect, but, I mean, I’m better at the way I edit, the way I all, of all of my equipment is just better. And so when I listen to the early versions of books that I’ve done, I’m like, oh man, if I could go back, I would have done it so differently just because my standard is and I’m more experienced. So yeah, I would, I would want the highest I can possibly. I mean, that was the best I could do at the time. It’s fine, but it still bothers me now. But I would want it to be like in the acting world. I would want to know that I gave at that moment. That’s the best I had, but that’s honoring the craft of it.

Reggie Harper: Absolutely.

Sharon Cline: Which other people that have been on the show who are where actors have said the same thing, so I must have. Good taste in acting. Asking people to come up, you know, and talk about it because. Yeah, it’s such a serious industry and profession. If and it can affect so many people in such a profound way.

Reggie Harper: Oh my goodness. The first time I, um, you know, I got into acting. Part of it was because I wanted to. I got into entertainment because I wanted to affect people. But when I was in school, um, we did a show, and it was a pretty it was fairly powerful. It was about police brutality. And, um, that was the theme of it. But after the show, these two older white ladies came up to me and they was crying. And, um, they kept apologizing to me. And I’m like, well, you know, I this I appreciate it, but I was just playing a character and, you know, I didn’t know what else to say to them, to console them. But they was like both of them was literally crying. And I had mixed emotions. It felt good that I was able, not just me, because it was a whole cast. We were able to affect them like that, but at the same time it felt kind of bad too, because it’s like they were really feeling it. And this is after the show. We’ve already left the stage and changed into our clothes and everything, and they were still bothered by it. Oh, it was kind of a, you know, during this rehearsal process for this show, I had, uh, it was the first time I lost myself in the role. So it was kind of scary because after the director had called scene or whatever, but I couldn’t get out of the character, so I actually had to leave the theater. I had to, like, leave the theater space for a while.

Sharon Cline: Oh my goodness.

Reggie Harper: And go get it all out and then come back and, um, but fortunately, like the director, she understood what was happening, so she didn’t give me no problems. I mean, I left the theater and just came back when I was ready. Um, but that was really scary. Wow.

Sharon Cline: So interesting to lose. To lose yourself like you should. Right. To become somebody else. But then want to come back to your own.

Reggie Harper: And that be able to. That was very, very scary.

Sharon Cline: There is this scene in a movie that I saw. It was a background. It was after they yelled cut! And there was a camera still rolling. This gentleman, um, was grieving over a violent act that happened to his girlfriend. And the camera that was on him, he was sobbing and he could not get past it. And so the crew, like all these people, were coming up and hugging him. And there was something just so pure about that moment that I thought, that’s that’s amazing. To be able to identify something so strongly with yourself that you can’t get out of it.

Reggie Harper: And that’s exactly what it was. I had my character had witnessed something, police brutality against his son, and I don’t know why like that particular day. That particular moment wasn’t the first time we did that scene, but it was the first time that I actually was really into character and just could not get out of it. And I don’t know, it felt good and bad at the same time because I’m like, okay, this I think this the way I’m supposed to be doing it. You know, I’m supposed to be feeling this bad, but I don’t think I’m not supposed to be able to stop crying or truth. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: Well, but she felt it that deep.

Reggie Harper: Yeah, I did. And so did those two little old ladies.

Sharon Cline: Oh they did. They probably still talk about that. Wow. You know, I actually I’m, I think it’s so interesting that it felt so real to them that maybe you did shift something in their soul. And and that is why you do what you do. I imagine why I would want to do what I do. Yeah. For the better is what I.

Reggie Harper: Mean by better. Yeah. Yeah. For the. Absolutely. For the better? Yeah, for the better.

Sharon Cline: Their perspective. Well, Reggie Harper, I’ve just had the blast chatting with you. It’s been so much fun. I mean, we could talk forever, but I really appreciate you coming down to the studio and being so genuine to us and caring so much about not just the craft, but like what it means for people who watch. And also, I love that you have a balance in your life of like, things that make you happy in a joyful way, like comedy, but also you get to identify with the depth of the drama of life.

Reggie Harper: I’m very blessed in that respect. Very, very. And I appreciate you having me down here on the show. It was much more funner, much more fun than I thought it would be.

Sharon Cline: Really? Well, that makes me happy. This is a happy Friday for me. Fearless formula Friday. Same here. And thank you all for listening to Fearless Formula. I’m Business RadioX and again this is Sharon Cline reminding you with knowledge and understanding we can all have our own fearless formula. Have a great day.

 

Breaking Barriers: Neetu Sadhwani’s Journey to Empower Women in IT

by

WIM-Sunrise-Group-Feature
Women in Motion
Breaking Barriers: Neetu Sadhwani's Journey to Empower Women in IT
Loading
/

In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor interviews Neetu Sadhwani , co-founder and president of Sunrise Group. Neetu shares her inspiring journey as an immigrant and female entrepreneur in the IT sector. She discusses the challenges women face in the male-dominated tech industry and emphasizes the importance of equal opportunities. Neetu highlights how Sunrise Group differentiates itself through personalized service and a strong focus on client needs. The conversation also explores the significance of community support, the impact of emerging technologies, and valuable advice for aspiring entrepreneurs.

Sunrise-Group-logo

NeeTu-SadhwaniNeetu Sadhwani, President of Sunrise Group, is at the helm, driving impactful strategic initiatives and cultivating a dynamic leadership team with nearly two decades of expertise in IT and HR services. Recognized for her global business strategy, innovation, and partnership acumen, Neetu spearheads the North American growth strategy and established crucial near-shoring and offshoring capabilities.

Beyond her corporate role, Neetu is a dedicated advocate for women’s organizations, championing educational equity through active involvement in the local Girls Scouts and local school boards. Her empathetic and influential leadership at Sunrise Group is lauded for its remarkable scale and value.

Holder of a Master’s and bachelor’s in business with a specialization in Accounting and Taxation from DAVV University, Neetu has further honed her skills through transformative programs such as the Goldman Sachs Small Business program, PSP, WeTHRIVE by WBENC, and the MGM mentorship program. These experiences enrich her role as President, propelling continuous growth and excellence for the company.

Neetu is not only committed to professional success but also passionate about community impact, aligning with the core mission of Sunrise. Actively engaged with several nonprofit organizations in Southern California, contributing her time and expertise to initiatives that drive meaningful change.

As a mother raising two daughters, Neetu actively supports and encourages them in all their endeavors, showcasing her dedication to both family and community.

Connect with Neetu on LinkedIn.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios, it’s time for Women In Motion. Brought to you by WBEC-West. Join forces. Succeed together. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Women In Motion and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, WBEC-West. Without them, we couldn’t be sharing these important stories. Today on Women In Motion, we have Neetu Sadhwani, she is the Co-Founder and President of Sunrise Group. Welcome.

Neetu Sadhwani: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: Well, I’m so excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about the Sunrise Group. How are you serving folks?

Neetu Sadhwani: Sure. So, we at Sunrise Group, we provide IT services. We’ve been in business since 2008. I came to this country as an immigrant, and when I got the opportunity to start my business, I knew exactly what I wanted to do. So, I started my consulting company where there were no discrimination, there were equal opportunities for all, because I personally faced them. I knew what it was like to be female in IT.

Neetu Sadhwani: So, when the time came and when I got the opportunity, I started the IT consulting company where all are welcome. We focus on your talent and your skills that you bring, not who you are, not who is the person bringing the talent and skill. Just the resume. The focus is just a resume. And we provide IT consulting services all over United States and Canada, and we are hoping to expand as much as we can.

Lee Kantor: Now, I’ve done a lot of work interviewing folks, especially females in IT, and they tell a similar story that like they’re the only ones when they were getting into it, and it was kind of lonely getting into it. Do you have any kind of theories about why that is? Why there are so few women in IT?

Neetu Sadhwani: I think it’s such a male dominated industry. Not as much as it used to be. But let’s say you walk into an office and you are asking for the CEO, your first instinct is this guy is going to walk in to the room and he’s going to introduce himself. Very rarely you would see a female walk in. And that had happened to me because my name doesn’t tell you what gender I am, right? So, when you are looking at me, too, you can’t put me in a box yet. But if I was to talk to a John, you know a guy is going to walk in.

Neetu Sadhwani: But if you see my name and you see me coming in, there is a little taboo still there, because I still don’t think that we are ready for a woman leadership to society yet. I’m not saying I’m the only one. And I’m sure everybody you’ve spoken with, like you said, has seen or experienced a similar experience that I have when you, as a female, working especially in IT. I think we have to try a little harder to prove because we don’t get credit. Our managers would get credit, right?

Neetu Sadhwani: Because when I was a consultant, I would work and, obviously I wasn’t the manager yet, so when the work was done, I’m sending it out to the manager, and the manager is proposing the whole project. And guess what? He’s the one who’s getting the pat on the back and then kudos and thumbs ups, and whatnot. But, you know, my name is not there. And at least I felt that way, that it was because me being a female, me being an immigrant at that time, that hindered a lot of growth and opportunity.

Lee Kantor: Now, when you were young and you were going through school, were you noticing that at some point there were less females and you were one of a handful of females? Like at some point, females are kind of self-selecting out of these classes that you need to be successful in IT.

Neetu Sadhwani: Yes and no. So, I grew up and went to school in India. I came here when I was ready to go to workforce. And coming from a business entrepreneur family, my dad had a huge business, I always helped him in the accounting, and whatnot, so I knew what I was capable of. But when I came here to United States, it was a little different scene. Even though in India, they still call it underdeveloped nations, and whatnot. But I saw there were actually more females in my school than there were males.

Neetu Sadhwani: And when I came here, I did go to school for a couple of refreshers, and whatnot, yes, I was mostly surrounded by males, whether it was an accounting class, whether it was an Oracle class, or be it the project management course or the business analyst course. Everywhere I went, it was mainly males around me.

Lee Kantor: So then, after you went through that, did you always work on your own or did you work for an organization and then split off on your own?

Neetu Sadhwani: I did work for an organization because I had to. When I was allowed to or when I was free to leave my organization, that’s the first thing I did, I started my own company. But it was still full of challenges being a female business owner, especially in IT, because IT industry is so much segregated – or not segregated – saturated already, and if you bring in a female in IT and from India, I think everybody’s like, “Oh. We have seen it all.” It’s nothing special. Like you can all do the same thing. But I think we all have our different strengths, and different skills, and different niche that we all bring in the game.

Lee Kantor: So, what’s the differentiator for Sunrise? What makes you special and different?

Neetu Sadhwani: What makes me special and different is – and everybody will say that, but I truly mean it when I say it – it’s the quality of the service that you’re going to get. Because I’m a small company, right? Every client is a big client for me. So, the kind of attention, the kind of focus the customer gets from me, you’re not going to get it. It’s unparalleled.

Neetu Sadhwani: So, when you come to me as a customer, my focus is just on Lee Kantor right now. Like, how do I make sure that Lee is getting the best of the best qualities, best of the best services from me. From other companies, they might just give you an account manager. But in the beginning, I personally get involved and I bring in my partner with me, and we both are just focused on what you want to do.

Neetu Sadhwani: We have a proprietary method of not just screening the candidates. We select them. We prepare them if they need any certificates that the client is looking for. We happily pay for their certificates. We happily pay for their trainings, and whatnot, that the client is asking for. Every service that you get from me, it’s customized and tailored to the client’s need.

Neetu Sadhwani: And I started my company as a project management consulting company because that’s what I was in my previous life. So, I really wanted to focus on what I do best, and very proudly, I can say 98 percent of my projects have been successful within budget, within the timeline that I had provided to the client. So, I think that’s my biggest differentiator.

Lee Kantor: And then, now you’ve expanded into staffing?

Neetu Sadhwani: Now we expanded into staffing. So, once we started our project management consulting, project management is just not run by project manager. You kind of need the entire team to have a successful project. And the client would be like, “Can you please bring in more people?” And then, I would say yes, because I’m not going to say no to a new business. So, I started bringing in more people and that’s how the staffing and the rest of the IT arm grown as we were expanding, and we haven’t stopped since.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any maybe advice you can share when it comes to staffing? Like IT staffing probably has a negative unemployment rate, right? People aren’t just unemployed waiting to look for a job. They’re usually at a job and they’re switching to a new job. Is that accurate? First, that’s my hypothesis.

Neetu Sadhwani: Yes and no, both. A lot of us are very happy where we are, and a lot of us are always looking for new challenges, new technologies and new growth. Sometimes a move from a different state can trigger new job searches also. So, it just depends on what that individual is looking for.

Neetu Sadhwani: The job market is pretty good. It’s actually spiking, especially in IT, I would say especially IT staffing, because every day you wake up there is a new technology, there is a new way to solve a problem. And we all are just wanting to do that, wanting to solve problems for our clients that they are facing. And the new technologies that we are seeing every day, that’s going to just bring in new jobs. And the job market is actually getting better when it comes to IT.

Lee Kantor: Now, what’s something that a person that’s looking or maybe, you know, is getting frustrated where they’re at or they were curious about what’s out there, what’s the best way for an IT professional to get on your radar so you notice them, so you reach out to them to say, “Hey, here’s a new opportunity”? Like, what do they have to do to be an attractive candidate for you? What can they be doing? What action steps could they be doing to stand out?

Neetu Sadhwani: So, follow me on LinkedIn. My profile is out there, Neetu Sadhwani. Follow the LinkedIn page of my company, Sunrise Group Inc. on LinkedIn. We post our jobs regularly on our LinkedIn page and on our careers page. I can drop in my phone number, 949-331-3678. My email is my first name, Neetu, N-double E-T-U, @sunrisegroupinc.com. Send us your resume. Try and make an appointment with us. Email me, and then I will happily give you 15 minutes to get to know you better, get to see what your objectives are, what your goals are when you’re looking for a new job.

Neetu Sadhwani: Or if there are any challenges, or if there is any new technology that you’re interested in and you’re wanting to step your foot in there, I’m going to try my best to help you, because that’s what I’m here for. I’m trying to help my clients solve their problem, and at the same time, I’m helping people find new jobs.

Lee Kantor: Now, in today’s job market, is having kind of, like you said, the latest certifications or experience and the latest softwares carry as much weight as maybe a college degree did at like an Ivy League school? Like what’s more important to today’s employers, knowing and having experience with the latest technology or have graduated from some college?

Neetu Sadhwani: Oh, that’s a tough and good question. If you are newly graduated, I think you already have a good understanding and the knowledge of new technology. But definitely, I think experience helped. And there are companies, there are clients who are wanting to hire, like, really freshly graduated people also. And there are clients who are looking for very well seasoned and well experienced candidates. So, I think depending on the client’s need.

Neetu Sadhwani: But I would say the education definitely helps. And sometimes people who have been in the market who did not just graduate, who’ve been in the industry for as long as they have, I think their experience also counts a lot. Because there is no better teacher than experience because you are in the workforce already, you know how to deal with the team, how to work with the team, and if you have to lead something and things like that. I think it’s a mix of both. But there is tons of opportunity for freshly graduate with special technologies like AI and machine learning, and whatnot, every day, I think the world is just full of endless opportunities.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned AI and machine learning, obviously that’s getting all the headlines today, and every company has put budget towards that in some form or fashion, it seems. Are those some of the challenges with the businesses you’re working with? Are some of that kind of digital transformation that maybe it’s a good idea to hire an expert like you that has a lot more resources than probably a lot of individual firms?

Neetu Sadhwani: Absolutely. Because I think with having an expert like ours, we know we are keeping ourselves up to date with the new technologies and new AIs that you see every day. We have experts in the industry. And I work with various different verticals. We work with utilities, banking, automotive and so on. So, having those experts in-house, I think that definitely gives us an upper hand of having the tools and technology in our belt. So, it definitely will help the client bringing in an expert.

Neetu Sadhwani: Digital transformation is something that we’ve been working for quite some time now. Especially after COVID, I think that just became such a new norm in every company, whether you’re small or whether you are Fortune 500, Fortune 100. So, we have experts who can help you. We have talent that can definitely come and solve that digital transformation or digitization or AI or moving to this new digital world, for sure.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a sweet spot when it comes to your clients? Are they those super large enterprise level, Fortune 500, 100 companies, or are they mid-market? Are they industry agnostic? Like, do you have kind of a sweet spot where you work primarily?

Neetu Sadhwani: I don’t discriminate by the size. So, I have companies who have five employees and I’ve helped them find the right IT people that they needed for their growth, for their digital transformation. And I have Fortune 100 clients that I help with. So, no size is too big or too small for us. Like I said, being a small company, we are such a customer-centric or client-centric focused company that we can help with anybody.

Neetu Sadhwani: And especially with new technologies, IT, it’s a need for everyone. I’m sure you use IT. And then, if you were to go to a huge company, Big Fortune 500, Fortune 100 company also, we all need IT. So, no size is too small when it comes to the client. But we do work a lot with utility companies all across U.S. We have automotive clients here in Orange County in Texas. We have financial industries back here in Orange County. And the list is just so long. So, regardless of the vertical or the industry or the size, we can help anybody.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there a story you can share? Don’t name the name of the organization, but maybe share the problem they came to you with and how you were able to help them solve it and get to a new level.

Neetu Sadhwani: I won’t name the names right now. But during COVID, everybody was wanting to work remotely because you couldn’t go on site, but there is a lot of IT you can do remotely. I remember there was a client in Orange County and they were looking for a network hardware engineer. And hardware is not something that you’re going to get it done from work. You have to go in. You have to get your hands dirty. You have to go in the server rooms and fix the cables, and whatnot. And this client reached out to us.

Neetu Sadhwani: And mind you, I’ve been wanting to work with this client for so many years, and I’ve been in touch with them, building the relationship, nurturing, and whatnot. And all of a sudden I get this very short email that I need a network engineer who can come to the office, and this is what they’re supposed to do.

Neetu Sadhwani: And I’m like, this is COVID. Nobody’s wanting to go there, and whatnot. But with my recruitment team, I got my hands in, and then we were all looking for the right person. And I literally was thinking that I just need to find a unicorn. And I think in almost three-and-a-half days, we found somebody. Not only that they had to go on site, they had to go get vaccinated as well because it was just such – we all remember what COVID was like, so I think that success story, even though it was just a network hardware engineer, but to me, I still get the email from the client saying that if you can do this, you can find me this also. So, I think we have spoiled them by finding them that unicorn that nobody was able to find them, and that person is still there working for them and he has grown and he has been promoted so many times.

Lee Kantor: Wow, that’s such a great story. You must have been so happy at the outcome. And, also, that’s a great example of when someone gives you a chance and then you deliver, then you know that becomes a customer for life potentially.

Neetu Sadhwani: Absolutely. And I think that’s where the small businesses stand out, because for us, no matter how big the client is, no matter how big or small their ask is, I think we are so ready to provide the service that you’re looking for and to prove that, yes, we can do it. I think that just makes you want to – you know, it should make you want to work with small businesses more than ever.

Lee Kantor: Now, why was it important for you to become part of the WBEC-West community? What did you hope to get out of it and what have you gotten out of it?

Neetu Sadhwani: So, to be very honest, I’ve been in business since 2008, and I only got certified in, I believe, it was in 2020. And thanks to one of my clients, they were the ones who requested. And to this day, I still kick myself like why didn’t I get certified before. It is such an amazing community of people that I belong to. I’m actually on the WBEC-West Board of Orange County.

Neetu Sadhwani: And I think it’s just so much support that you get there. When you are down, it’s like when you share your struggles, you don’t feel like I’m the only one who’s going through this. You share so much stories that people will share. They share their losses. They share their wins, their struggles, and whatnot.

Neetu Sadhwani: And I think certification is definitely a feather on the head that it shouldn’t be the one that should differentiate you, but sometimes it does matter. When you talk to big companies, they’re like, okay, if you are certified, then definitely there is an opportunity. And then, the moment you throw in yes, I am WBENC certified, I think that just gives you that extra brownie points or added points that, yes, they’re wanting to work with you. Being part of this amazing community, I think, I have met some amazing people that I’m going to be in touch for the rest of my life.

Neetu Sadhwani: I have genuinely made some amazing friendships, and we meet, we talk, and we share. And a couple of them are in the same industry, but we don’t see each other as competitors. We see each other as somebody that I want to join force with sooner or later to see how we can win big.

Neetu Sadhwani: So, definitely, a lot of camaraderie, a lot of support, and the educational opportunities they have provided. Especially for me, I think that has been really helpful. Being in business for so long, I think I learned more about my own business when I’m going through these trainings and the opportunities that WBENC has provided, WBEC-West has provided. I think they are just something that one should definitely experience if they want to grow and they want to understand their own business better than they have already.

Lee Kantor: Now, do you have any advice for the aspiring entrepreneur, especially the women that are looking to break into tech and consulting? Is there any kind of do’s and don’ts that you would recommend?

Neetu Sadhwani: Yes. I would say, embrace the resilience. Don’t be afraid to ask for support. Myself, as an immigrant and women-owned business, I think I’ve learned a lot that growth requires a lot of perseverance and a lot of networking. I used to be very shy when it came to networking. I would stand in the corner and I would wait for people to come and talk to me. But, you know, being part of this certificate, I’ve learned so much the importance of networking, of meeting people, finding yourself good mentors, and then mentors who will align with your passion, your values, I think that is so important.

Neetu Sadhwani: And, also, I feel like as a business owner, especially as a small business owner, we are always saying yes to everything that comes our way. But we need to be very intentional. We need to be very intentional about who we are partnering with, intentional about setting boundaries and what truly moves the needle to your business because you can’t be just saying yes to everything. Just be resilient. Don’t be afraid of saying no. Not every answer has to be yes for everybody. We don’t have to say yes to everything.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about your work, what’s the best way to connect? What’s a website?

Neetu Sadhwani: The website is www.sunrisegroupinc.com. There is a whole page where you can leave a comment, leave a question. And one of us will personally reply to your questions. We don’t use bots to chat with people. One of my team members will get back to you. And if it’s a high level question, I will personally reply to you. But, yeah, do visit our website, connect with us on LinkedIn page, Sunrise Group Inc. Connect with me on LinkedIn, I’m more than happy to connect and answer any questions that you have and help you in whatever way I can.

Lee Kantor: Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Neetu Sadhwani: Thank you.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor, we’ll see you all next time on Women In Motion.

 

BRX Pro Tip: 2 Tips to Prepare for Your Next Networking Event

by

BRXmic99
BRX Pro Tips
BRX Pro Tip: 2 Tips to Prepare for Your Next Networking Event
Loading
/

BRX-Banner

BRX Pro Tip: 2 Tips to Prepare for Your Next Networking Event

Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, what are some ideas for preparing for a networking event that you’re going to attend?

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I think people don’t put enough time in the preparation part of networking. They know “Oh. I got to do networking,” and they just kind of on autopilot go to these events. But I think if you spend a few minutes preparing for your event, you’re going to get a much better ROI.

Lee Kantor: One of the first things you should do for any networking event is research who’s coming. I mean, I would be identifying a handful of people that you want to meet in advance and set a goal to meet X number of attendees by the end of the event. So, if you know who’s there, you know where to spend your time, and you know what area you should be looking in order to get the most out of that event.

Lee Kantor: And secondly, this is something that I think introverts would really benefit from is practice some elements of networking ahead of time so you’re ready for the event. And some of the things to practice are how you’re going to answer the question “What do you do?” I would also practice a way to ask what the person does in an elegant way that doesn’t sound too salesy. And most importantly for any introvert, you should practice an elegant way to end the conversation to move on to the next person.

Lee Kantor: If you do these two things, kind of doing your research of who’s attending and practicing some elements of networking, then you’ll find your next networking event doesn’t have to feel stressful or icky.

The Roadmap to AI Mastery: Seven Stages Every Business Must Navigate

by

GPBR-This-Dot-Labs-Feature
Greater Perimeter Business Radio
The Roadmap to AI Mastery: Seven Stages Every Business Must Navigate
Loading
/

GPBR-Banner

In this episode of Greater Perimeter Business Radio, Eric Boemanns speaks with Tracy Lee, CEO of This Dot Labs, about the intersection of technology and business, focusing on AI integration. Tracy shares her experiences in technology consultancy, emphasizing the importance of aligning AI initiatives with business value. She introduces the seven stages of AI adoption and highlights the role of skilled engineers in leveraging AI tools. Tracy also discusses her community engagement efforts and offers advice for new founders, stressing the importance of mentorship and building genuine relationships.

Tracy-LeeTracy Lee is the CEO of This Dot Labs, a leading software development consultancy that partners with companies like Stripe, Xero, Twilio, and Google to deliver innovative web solutions and empower startups from proof of concept to implementation.

With 16 years of experience as a startup founder and angel investor focused on developer tooling, she is passionate about go-to-market strategies, automation-driven customer acquisition, and open-source ecosystems.

A recognized JavaScript developer and RxJS core team member, Tracy is also a Google Developer Expert, GitHub Star, and Microsoft MVP who spends her time building products, communities, and mentoring entrepreneurs. This-Dot-Labs-logo

Connect with Tracy on LinkedIn and X.

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

 

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Greater Perimeter. It’s time for Greater Perimeter Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: This episode of Greater Perimeter Business Radio is brought to you by Mirability with their new compliance Exo service taking you from it risk to it reward. Now here’s your host, Erik Bomans.

Erik Boemanns: I’m joined today by Tracy Lee, CEO of This Dot labs, a software consultancy firm dedicated to empowering businesses leaders to execute technology roadmaps with precision and speed. She is a founder, an angel investor, a speaker, a mentor, a technologist, and a community builder. Tracy is also recognized as a GitHub star, Google Developer Expert, Microsoft MVP, and a Google Women Techmakers lead, as well as a member of the RxJS core team. Welcome, Tracy. What’d I miss?

Tracy Lee: Thank you. A few things, but that’s okay. I think I do too much now that I heard you read that right.

Erik Boemanns: So, um, it’s great to have you here. And I know we first met through a networking group and kind of quickly learned just from meeting you all the different groups, organizations that you’re involved with. Um, how do you decide what events that you want to support and be a part of?

Tracy Lee: It’s quite difficult. I think one of them is who’s who’s the loudest, right? The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but it also has to kind of align, if you will. And then I think another thing is what excites me right now. So there’s definitely been situations in which if something isn’t giving you joy, bringing you joy, then you shouldn’t really be doing it. I think a lot of times we get into habits. I think this is why Covid was really good for us. It kind of forces you to stop doing the same thing over and over and over again, and it forces you to kind of reevaluate and reset. So I don’t know. I mean, there’s a lot of, like, community things that aren’t happening now, but I think it’s for the better because I think those people who were running it before who aren’t doing it now are happier.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah, that makes sense. And so you mentioned it has to excite you. What is exciting to you right now?

Tracy Lee: Oh my gosh, I is exciting me right now. I know it is exciting or annoying everybody, you know. I definitely am. I do a lot in the healthcare and life sciences space. And you know, previously I’m on the Tag Digital health board. And one of the guys there was like, yeah, you know, I went to vibe, I went to health and everything was I, I, I, I, I. So it can get annoying to keep hearing that. But it is really, really, really exciting for engineers. It is really exciting for businesses. What you can do now and just how far the journey has taken us, just even in the past year.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah. And I know that since you’re in the technology consultancy space, I’m sure your clients are asking you about AI, AI, adoption. Are there things that they need that they can be thinking about from how do they get involved with I.

Tracy Lee: You know, I feel like last year we had a lot of conversations about POCs. We had a lot of conversations about executives getting aligned with, okay, what does this actually mean for our business? A lot of the consulting we were doing was trying to make sure that I wasn’t just a buzzword that leaders were wanting to integrate into their organizations, but more something that actually added business value. I think that’s difficult to make sure that you actually do that. You know, you can you can build a chat bot, you can do a lot of things. But if you’re not, you also have to maintain technology, right? So if you’re not doing something that actually adds business value, then it’s just going to be a flash in the pan.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah. And you said a couple of things. I think that I want to come back to the idea that AI is a buzzword. Absolutely is right. If you just add the word AI to your product, It’s worth more now, right? Even though it may actually not do anything different.

Tracy Lee: It is wild. One of my friends over at Stackblitz, Erik Simons, um, he he’s in the Silicon Valley and he went from 0 to 40 million in. I can’t remember if it was three, 4 or 6 months, but that is insane. You know, 0 to 40 million. And then he just raised 80 million on a $700 million valuation. I mean, before Stackblitz was not I, you know, it’s it’s basically a tool. They have a product called bolt dev. Everybody should definitely check that out. V0.dev is another one of my favorite products, but it allows you to just rapidly prototype something using AI. Um, but I mean, my gosh, that’s crazy. It’s amazing.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah, completely. And I think one of the questions I think because we just said AI is the buzzword. Yes, there’s actual technology, real meaning behind that. And to your point, some of those have business value and some of those are just buzzword flash kind of ideas. How do you break that down for your customers, your clients?

Tracy Lee: Well, I think I think that a lot of people are just saying I. But if you really dig down you, you if you really look at what people are doing with AI, sometimes it’s like, oh yeah, we are AI enabled. Okay. What does that mean? That means we have a chatbot like. Yeah okay. Sure. So there’s the operational side of the things that I can do to help you. And then there’s the actual product side, if you will. Right. So, um, I think that the biggest business value that people are going to get these days and the things that are kind of like the low hanging fruit, if you will, are definitely on the operational side. And I think everybody sees that. Right. Like every marketing team, every ops team, every development team. Right. They’re just using AI tools to kind of just make your job a little bit faster. I always like to tell the story of, you know, once upon a time I was a non-technical founder at a startup and I had this boyfriend, and he was an engineer, and I would come home to him and tell him my problems. And for about a week he would always say, just give me five minutes. And what he would do is he would write me a script. And by the end of that week, he basically eliminated someone’s job, right? So not eliminated, but she was able to do other things. But that saved me like 40, $50,000 of him doing five minutes a day of just writing scripts for me. Right, right. And so that’s kind of difficult for people who are non-technical to understand unless you’re sitting next to an engineer, which is why I like just having engineers and talking to them is really great. But I think with AI, that type of help just becomes infinitely more accessible.

Erik Boemanns: Sure. Yeah. Because it it can write the scripts for you now, right? You can have.

Tracy Lee: Exactly.

Erik Boemanns: A conversation with it that you were having before.

Tracy Lee: Exactly.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah. So a business has identified a technology that makes sense for their for them, whether it’s automation, whether it’s a chatbot, whatever it is. Right. And they have, um, kind of tied that back to the business value. I’ve heard this, um, this idea of a seven stages of adoption. Do you want to talk about that?

Tracy Lee: So the seven stages of AI adoption. I actually haven’t googled to see what other stages of AI adoption are out there, but it was something that I was just so passionate about. And so I wrote it up and I’m going to start giving talks on it, actually. So I’m happy to go into companies and talk about this, because I think one of the biggest things for me as a technologist is accessibility and educating people. Um, but I really do believe that, like, there’s this seven stages of AI adoption, you know, specifically for developers. You can probably apply this to anybody really using AI. Um, so the first is denial. Like AI is just a fad. It’s not going to work for me, right? Like a lot of people are like, this is just hype. When is it going to die down? Um, and then the second is okay, now all of a sudden are tools are becoming more and more and more common. So a lot of people are kind of here where oh, okay, we’re looking at AI, but you hear all this stories of, oh, it wrote this, it wrote that or like it made this mistake. And so people are dismissing AI or they feel overwhelmed. Right. So I don’t know if it’s like an anger thing, but it’s kind of like a, like a dismissal kind of phase, right? Um, a lot of common thoughts in this phase are, wow, AI generated code is trash. Um, juniors, you know, aren’t going to be able to learn the fundamentals because they’re not actually coding or this is going to flood the industry with, like really bad quality developers.

Tracy Lee: I think at any stage, you’re still kind of having these conversations and trying to figure out what AI is going to do when it comes to working alongside engineers. Um, and then kind of the third stage is like, I don’t know, another path along the except like another stage of the path of acceptance. So this idea of bargaining. Right, like, oh, well, maybe I can just use I for a small thing. So one great thing is, you know, developers, I mean, some developers love writing tests. Some developers don’t love writing tests, right? Yeah. Um, but if I can write those tests for you or do, um, uh, translate small things for you, then you know, all the better, right? So they start using it for small things. And, uh, you know, again, it’s this whole idea of, like, I’m only going to let I do the small things and I’m going to do the important stuff myself. Right. Uh, and then I think the fourth is this idea of just kind of being a little bit depressed, like, am I even needed? Like, I is just doing my job for me. Why should I even bother? Right. Um, and, uh, you know, then then the next step is really acceptance, right? And I actually think that doesn’t stop right there. But acceptance is really just understanding that are is just a tool, not a replacement. And that’s really important to understand. But it’s so great for just doing the stuff that is boring to you. Like the menial tasks like folding your laundry, right.

Tracy Lee: Or whatever. I mean, it would be amazing if I could fold your laundry. Soon. Soon, I would hope, I would hope, but for engineers, it’s the same thing, right? Like God, there’s even tools out there that will actually write documentation for you using AI these days. I mean, I know some developers love to write documentation, but most developers do not love to write documentation. Same thing with commit messages. Imagine if all your commit messages could be written for you. Like, all of this stuff again is just very, uh, you know, stuff that you it would be nice if you didn’t have to do. Yeah. Uh, but then the sixth phase of adoption is kind of like this slump where quality actually decreases. So now developers have adopted it. There is an acceptance, but then they decrease because they’re overconfident in what I can do for you. So then they become lazy. Or like developers start relying too much on AI generated code. They skip the critical thinking. They don’t think they have to think anymore, because all of a sudden AI is doing my job for me. Um, and I think also at this phase, it’s trusting the AI too much. All of a sudden you think like, maybe the robot is smarter than you. So then you decide that, you know, you’re kind of like, not in the driver’s seat anymore. Yeah. And I think that’s where I mean, I’m sure you’ve seen, like, everybody can go into code and just be like, well, this was AI generated, you know, so.

Erik Boemanns: Or a online post. Right. Whatever.

Tracy Lee: Exactly. Yes, I know all of us, you know, on LinkedIn are like, oh my God, here we go. Here’s this AI crap. Um, but then is really mastery. So being able to have that superior outfit. And I think that’s when you’ve decided okay. Yes, I is tool. Yes, I am going to use it. But then you’ve decided that like wow, now I have breathing room and space to be more strategic, right? To, to use the intuition I have, the creativity I have the problem solving skills. And that’s really again what I is trying to do. Like if we can be more creative, have more problem solving, be more strategic and make better technical decisions, because all of a sudden, if you can think of AI as junior developers, you have somebody you’re managing, then like, I don’t know, life is just amazing.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah. And, um, I’ll say that’s kind of I’m not sure I’ve gone through all the phases just yet, but I have kind of ended in that last spot where when I’m using it, I think of it as that junior developer. Right? I’m like, help me with this. I have this, do that, and then I review it, and then I make sure that to your earlier point, it doesn’t just look like it’s machine generated code. Yeah. Or I do and I because I don’t care what depends on the problem that I’m trying to solve.

Tracy Lee: And I think that’s okay too. You know, if you think about it, I think a lot of people kind of like in phase one and two, right? That the people who are kind of, hey, you know what? This is generating crappy code. Did you see that? I did this thing like, it’ll never replace a human. It’s not meant to replace a human. It’s meant to be a tool. And a lot of the the skeptics are like, well, a junior developer wouldn’t even have made this mistake. A human wouldn’t have even made this mistake. Well, yeah, that’s. Yes, that’s very true. But you kind of have to view like these little AI developers or whatever you decide to call them, right? Um, as you know, a new thing. Yeah. Like a new a new being. And, and and this AI is not going to behave like a human. So you shouldn’t be skeptical, but you should just understand that, like, okay, well, this is like another thing I need to learn, like another culture. I need to learn. And as I talk about that, I’m like, oh my gosh, I’m literally talking about AI. Like it’s like a, like, you know, somebody from another country, right? Yeah.

Erik Boemanns: And so I can the seven stages I can definitely. You hear how they can be mapped out to like even an organization from an individual to an organization, different careers. But what struck me as you walk through all that is AI consulting might be better done as counseling, like you’re actually offering counseling services to people like, let’s let’s help you get through this AI experience.

Tracy Lee: And yeah, I mean, I think as a consultant, you know, I mean, this thought we we do application development, right? So, um, you know, we’re not like a branding agency or a website agency, but it’s it’s we’re focused on problems that are a little bit more difficult, whether they be migrations, whether they be like ambitious mobile apps that you want to build. Right. Um, you know, our clients are people like Roblox, Twilio, Wikimedia. Um, Google, meta, uh, stripe, DocuSign. Right. We love working with startups too, though. It’s really great. And obviously on the mid market side it’s great to come in like kind of like as a fractional, um fractional CTO type type person for those types of teams. Um, but one thing that we’ve been doing that I think is really great because I’m big on education, right, is, well, actually get two engineers who really know how to use AI and embed them into teams. And the reason is because it doesn’t matter what stage you are at, right? Like the seven stages of AI adoption, every developer, every human, every business is going to be on, you know, it’s not going to be aligned, right. It’s not like everybody in your company is going to be at stage three at the same time.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah.

Tracy Lee: But it’s really inspiring to just work alongside somebody. So embedding somebody in your team that is AI focused. Have them use AI in their day to day jobs and, uh, see what happens. Right. Like inspire your team and then your team will start adopting it. But they’ll do it just because they’re exposed to it. And I think that exposure of people who are like really, really heavy AI engineers is something that the industry doesn’t have yet is something that a lot of companies don’t have yet.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah. And that kind of brings me to the next question is we hire consulting companies when we have a hard problem, we can’t solve ourself. Right? Yes. And so I’d be curious to hear some stories from this dot, from this Dot labs where you have some interesting problems, whether they’re AI or not, and how you’ve helped those clients.

Tracy Lee: We do like to focus on the hard problems. So, you know, this started off in big tech, right? So a lot of the companies that I just named to you are, you know, really big tech companies. And that’s amazing because I think for most of our clients in big tech, you know, especially in the Silicon Valley, right, like a lot of our business comes from the Silicon Valley. They look at engineers and consultancies out there and they’re like, well, you know, the talent pool is so great in Silicon Valley. If I’m going to be hiring a consultant, they better be as good as what I’m going to hire full time. So the fact that, like our engineers are up to that level is awesome, right? We try to keep that quality bar pretty high. Um, and then I think the second thing is if you’re going to be embedded into a team, right. Like, especially these days with how the economy has changed in the past year and a half or so, like you don’t need a butt in a seat, you need somebody who is going to add business value immediately. Right? So one of my clients over at Roblox, he said, Tracy, one of the greatest things about working with your team is I never had to communicate business value. I never had to have a conversation and justify the contract with the C-suite. Um, and he said it’s because, again, every single week we delivered value, right? So with Roblox, for example, some of you may be familiar if you’re if you’re really techie, maybe familiar with, um, probably last year or so, there was a there was it went viral on Reddit.

Tracy Lee: Uh, Roblox basically converted the entire react ecosystem into Lua. And so which is like difficult, right? And being able to like, maintain everything and contribute upstream and like just keep all of that without like a big team of engineers. But what we did is we actually worked on that project. So again, being able to like maintain parity with like the react ecosystem, um, and then being able to automate it so that we weren’t needed anymore was a really, really, really fun project. Um, I think another one, uh, we really love doing is just platform validation. We’re great at, uh, marketplaces. So we recently helped DocuSign launch their marketplace last year. So platform validation and then also helping them build out the first app. So built out some of the apps we’ve worked on. There are Monday.com, Jira, Monday.com, Jira, uh, slack, asana Sauna and I could go on about a few more, but that type of stuff is just so fun. And then again, being able to translate that into other industries like health and life sciences or financial services, and kind of bringing that like big tech perspective of best practices into people who are really deep in their kind of like knowledge space is really, really fun for us.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah, I get that. And so as we think about AI kind of takes all the oxygen out of the room in terms of IT topics right now. But there’s all all the other topics are still there and still matter kind of. What are some other top items that people are coming to you for?

Tracy Lee: Well, we’re past the framework wars. You know, we do a lot of front end development, web development. Um, you know, a few years ago there was like this framework war thing. Right now, we’re kind of going into the meta frameworks. I think everybody has kind of accepted that, um, server side rendering is huge right now. Right. Performance, I feel like is huge right now. Um, you know, a lot of times when we go into companies, It’s it’s really not you know, it’s kind of like this idea of like paying a plumber. You know, sometimes it’s like, oh, you just paid a plumber $500 for five minutes of work. What the heck, right? But it’s just kind of being able to figure out what the actual problems are. And again, just like I said, right. Like as how the economy has changed. I think, um, businesses, you know, more and more need to have people by their side who are more partners in anything. You know, you need somebody who’s kind of like in it when it comes to AI, you need somebody who’s kind of like forward facing on the trends and the technologies, at least to make sure that you’re just like generally on the right path. Uh, before you, you know, go off and do whatever you need to do. But like, I think getting people on the right path is really important. And, you know, I mean, it’s the same reason anybody goes to a coach or something like that, right? Like even if you go to a coach and do like executive coaching every quarter, every month or so, it’s just to make sure you’re like continuously on the right path and trending forward.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah, I think that makes sense. Um, so if somebody is interested in having you speak to some of the AI education that you mentioned earlier or this Dot labs to help get involved with their technology projects, how do they find you?

Tracy Lee: Well, you can check us out this dot dot co. That’s t h I s dot dot co. Or you can find me on LinkedIn. I’m Tracey S Lee on LinkedIn. Um I’m also on Twitter slash x uh so you can find me there at Lady Lit. Uh, we do a leadership podcast as well, which we’ve had you on or had you on for Erik. And, um, just a lot of really fun stuff on YouTube. You know, we have a top ten, uh, web podcast, for example, as well called the Modern Web. So doing again, a lot in the healthcare and life sciences, doing a lot with women in leadership. I feel like I’m hosting a lunch and doing things like every single week. I think I am.

Erik Boemanns: I think so, yes.

Tracy Lee: Um, so really just getting a contact if you just want to be connected, right. I’m a part of chief as well. I host those lunches every month. Um, I don’t know, it’s just fun. Life is fun. Atlanta is growing. It’s. It’s just really fun to be here right now.

Erik Boemanns: Yeah. And part of that, I think, is a lot of there’s a strong startup community here as well. And as a founder yourself, what are some words of wisdom that you give to those new founders who are just getting started?

Tracy Lee: Oh my goodness, there is so much. I mean, you just got to be coachable. It’s funny because if somebody is not coachable, I don’t know how you tell them to be coachable. I feel like people just give up on them. Yeah. But if somebody’s giving you advice and you want them to keep giving you advice, then listen to their advice.

Erik Boemanns: That is true.

Tracy Lee: Yes. I mean, some of my very first investors, you know, I remember Will bunker, founder of Match.com. He was actually my first investor and I wasn’t even trying to get him to invest. I was just like, can you just give me some advice on this pitch deck? Um, and I sat down and I started going through the slides, and after the second slide, he was like, look, let’s just have a conversation. And then, you know, he gave me some advice and then I was like, okay, I started doing it because, you know, I, I trusted him and, you know, admired what he did. Um, and then at some point in time, he decided to invest in the company. And I still remember, like my co-founder, my technical co-founder at the time, he was still working a full time job. And I said, if Will joins the team, tell me, you will quit your job tomorrow. And he’s like, if Will joins the team, I will quit my job because, like, there’s no way the founder of Match.com is going to join like our random startup, right? Um, but then he did, and then my co-founder quit his job, and then we decided to do it full time. So, you know, it’s really amazing. Again, like the people you meet and the connections you make. So I think also like making things less transactional, right. If you’re going and you’re going to like, let’s say a bunch of investors or a bunch of people you want business from, and you’re just trying to be like, hi, I need your business. Listen, you know, like, people want to work with people. You know, life is long. And so if you’re not enjoying the people you work with or building relationships with the people you work with, then they’re not going to want to work with you.

Erik Boemanns: That is great advice and very true. Very true. Um, so yeah, thank you. Tracy Lee, CEO of this Dot labs, for being here. Anything to close us out?

Tracy Lee: Uh, no, that is all. But I’m excited to work with you, too. So Erik and I met through, like, a fractional C-suite. I don’t know, community or something like that, but, Erika, Erik’s going to be helping us with our, uh, certifications. So I’m really excited.

Erik Boemanns: To be there.

Tracy Lee: Yeah, I know. Super excited about that. So definitely check out Erik and Mirability as well.

Erik Boemanns: All right. Well thank you.

Tracy Lee: Thank you.

 

About Your Host

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

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

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

Connect with Erik on LinkedIn, Substack and Medium.

From Burnout to Breakthrough: Transforming Leadership with Britt Hunter

by

HVR-Britt-Hunter-Feature
High Velocity Radio
From Burnout to Breakthrough: Transforming Leadership with Britt Hunter
Loading
/

HVR-Britt-Hunter-Banner

In this episode of High Velocity Radio, Stone Payton talks with Executive Coach Britt Hunter with Focal Point. Britt discusses her mission to empower servant leaders, emphasizing the balance between empathy and business acumen. She shares her decision to join Focal Point for its structured support, her use of AI tools like ChatGPT for marketing, and her plans for free webinars and an eight-week leadership program. Britt also reflects on her journey, the importance of mental health over job security, and her passion for continuous learning and cultural experiences. The episode underscores Britt’s commitment to fostering leadership growth and personal development.

Focal-Point

Britt-Hunter-micBritt Hunter is a dynamic leader, speaker, and executive coach dedicated to empowering future changemakers. With a background that spans elite athletics, education, and corporate leadership, she brings a unique perspective on resilience, mentorship, and innovation.

As the former #1 basketball recruit in the nation, Britt played at Duke and UConn before an injury abruptly ended her career. Facing identity loss and depression, she discovered a new passion—mentoring and leadership.

This led her to education, where she spent seven years shaping young minds before transitioning into the corporate world, now thriving as a leader at Microsoft.

Britt is known for her candid storytelling, humor, and ability to make complex leadership lessons accessible. She speaks nationally on topics like innovation, self-leadership, and team dynamics, delivering engaging, interactive sessions that leave a lasting impact.

Through her executive coaching practice, she helps corporate leaders, educators, and student-athletes sharpen their leadership skills and navigate their careers with confidence.

A Vanderbilt MBA graduate, Britt is also the creator of the podcast “Thanks But No One Asked You”, where she and her guests offer unfiltered insights on leadership and career growth.

Whether in the boardroom, on stage, or behind the mic, Britt’s mission remains the same: to equip leaders with the mindset and tools to inspire, innovate, and make an impact.

Connect with Britt on LinkedIn and find out about upcoming events and workshops here.

Transcript-iconThis transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

 

TRANSCRIPT

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

Stone Payton: Welcome to the High Velocity Radio show, where we celebrate top performers producing better results in less time. Stone Payton here with you this morning. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming back to the Business RadioX microphone executive coach with Focal Point, Britt Hunter. How have you been?

Britt Hunter: I’ve been good. Well, let me not say that, um, my kids used to say I’m doing good. You don’t. Superman does good. You’re doing well, so I’m doing well, Stone.

Stone Payton: I am delighted to hear it. And I’m so excited to get caught up on your activities. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed our on air conversation. I don’t know, it’s been months now, I think, and knowing you, you’re probably up to all kind of new stuff. Have some exciting news. But before we go there, uh, maybe let’s get grounded in fundamental mission. Purpose? What are you really out there trying to do for folks as an executive coach?

Britt Hunter: Yes, yes. So I want to pour into servant leaders, period. That’s the tweet. You know, servant leaders. You think of servant leaders, think of executive directors of a nonprofit. Think of a head of a school. Um, think of an empathic leader of an organization. These are people who are constantly pouring into others, and typically no one’s pouring back into them. And it’s it’s not something that they think about. People who are empathic are typically thinking about themselves. Last, but when you’re running an organization, you’re going to need coaching because you have to balance so much. You know it’s not enough to care. You do need to have a little bit of acumen. And so that’s where I come in to say, you know what? I’m also an empathic leader. But there’s a business to run here, right? And you want to stay a leader. So let’s get back to the basics of running this business. Delegating work, um, giving people the empowerment to do their best job all the time and also make some money for your foundation and your school, you know? So that’s what I do. I pour into servant leaders.

Stone Payton: So why focal point you could have just hung out your your shingle right. Yeah. But you decided to go with a, with an outfit that has some discipline, some rigor, some structure. Yeah, yeah. Say more about that.

Britt Hunter: Yeah. So I found out last year, the last time we were on the show, I was kind of doing my own thing. I built three workshops and two keynotes, and I delivered those across about 10 or 12 universities. Talk to college students. And it’s fun because I’m storytelling and I love to story tell. Storytelling is just storytelling. Sometimes you need like a framework, sometimes you need some data. You just need a little bit more concrete stuff. Some people need that, and I wanted that structure and focal point had that. Brian Tracy is called to the point, you know, focal point get to the point because it’s simple, simple, basic. You know, here’s a short story and here’s the point. And I love that. You know, just be clear. Keep it simple silly. You can’t say stupid anymore. Maybe we can keep it simple. Stupid. Um, keep it basic, you know, and it just fit perfectly. And talk about talk about collaboration. I’m already starting to collaborate with other coaches, and that’s in me to do naturally. So, um. Yeah, I mean, I think even day one of meeting somebody in my cohort, they reached out right after the call and said, we got to work together. And I said, great, let’s set it up.

Stone Payton: Sweet. So yeah, that is one of the benefits of, uh, of of an organization that has that kind of brand equity, that kind of reputation. There’s a what would you call it, a community of practice that, uh, and if you, if you run into something, an opportunity or a challenge. Chances are one or more people in that system have been there and can really help, either formally through a collaboration or just, I don’t know, over a beer and a sandwich or a phone call. Just.

Britt Hunter: Yeah, that’s that’s how I did it. That’s how. Oh, Stone, you’re speaking my language. So having most recently worked at Microsoft, you know, you learn very quickly. It’s a behemoth of a company. And no matter what great idea you have, somebody probably already had it in another org. So we always say don’t reinvent the wheel. Go find somebody who has it and just leverage their work. That’s actually a core pillar of Microsoft is part of your review is whose work did you leverage and who leveraged your work? Those are two of the three core pillars. So, um, it came it came natural for me to say, hey, you did this already. Can I have it? I’d like to. You know, I’m happy to give you credit, but I don’t really want to do this from scratch. Um, and so a perfect example, Todd Masters, if he’s not been on the show, he’s got to get on the show. I’m going to get on him about it. I said, Todd. Todd is a ChatGPT whiz. He has created about eight different chatgpt’s. One for marketing, one for time management. I mean, and he’s just he gave him to me. I said, Todd, I will buy you beer if you sit down with me for 90 minutes and explain it to me. And we sat down for about almost three hours and we, you know, he shared his, um, his skill set. And I said, okay, great. I’m going to run these workshops and I’d love to funnel people to you if they’re not a good fit for me. So let’s, let’s, let’s do work, you know. And so it’s really just that easy.

Stone Payton: So what are you learning about AI like ChatGPT? Is it helping you frame up a conversation? Is it helping you in the sales and marketing? Is it like, where are you? Where are you choosing to use it so far?

Britt Hunter: So I have um, I’ve the first thing is just doing my LinkedIn posts. I have a very specific tone. You know, I’m I like to be. I like to be candid. You know, I don’t I don’t if you ask ChatGPT the free version and you say, hey, write me a post, it’s going to sound like, um, I don’t know, a commercial from 1995. No offense to 1995, but I am not a commercial from 1995. I speak a certain way, I talk a certain way. And what I love about the AI is, you know, once you pay for it and you start training it and you start talking to it and, um, it, it starts to absorb how you are and it makes some of the more administrative things much easier. Right? If you’re thinking of the best way to frame an intro to an email, you kind of sit there and think, oh, how do I want to do this? Oh, I don’t want to say that. Oh, is that weird? Those questions that you’re asking yourself, just ask ChatGPT. I tell my friends this all the time. They’re like, well, I was wondering if like, this sounded bad. Ask ChatGPT. It’ll just do it for you. And takes a lot of the guesswork out of some of the more mundane tasks. So you can start thinking about, like, bigger fish.

Stone Payton: Well, and speaking of paying for it, our experience so far has been we’re not talking about a crazy investment either.

Britt Hunter: It’s $20 a month. Yeah, $20 a month. And it is. I mean, you got to use it. Yeah, but I think it’s that it’s that reflex. I don’t know that a lot of people have that reflex of I’m going to ask ChatGPT. Um, I think people need to kind of shift to, I don’t know if I’m allowed to do this, but I’m doing it, people. I’m not going to say don’t use Google anymore. But those questions that you used to ask Google once you asked ChatGPT, you’re going to get a more comprehensive answer that’s going to answer the questions that are behind the question that you that Google wasn’t going to give you. It was going to give you links. Chatgpt is like, look, here’s the thing. You know, I know what you asked me. So I’m going to answer all the five questions that you didn’t ask me that I know you’re asking. And that’s that’s super helpful.

Stone Payton: Well, I have very high hopes for it and for our Business RadioX Academy, because we have a community of practice around people who run studios like this. And we, you know, we’ve got 21 years of, you know, thought leadership and IP that I want them to be able to tap into. And it’s one thing to go search in a big pile for how to conduct a pre-call conversation. It’s another because it’s our understanding we can make one that just, uh, like a large language model, I think.

Britt Hunter: There you go.

Stone Payton: Lm and it just talks to our stuff if we want it to.

Britt Hunter: That’s exactly right.

Stone Payton: So it’s it’s an exciting time.

Britt Hunter: That’s exactly right. Todd Masters did just that. He put the focal point material in it so that I can say, hey, hey, ChatGPT. Well, actually, it’s called Marketing Masters because this last name is Masters. I can’t believe we’re talking about Todd Masters this much, but.

Stone Payton: Yeah, I’m gonna send him an invoice.

Britt Hunter: But, uh, he he put our focal point information in it so that when I want to build a workshop, I can say, hey, these are the three things I want to talk about in my workshop. Where is this material? It tells you the name, what folder it’s in, where to get it, and what you can draw from it, and it’ll give you some other options in case you don’t like those. It’s like it just cuts down your time of sifting through, you know, just sifting. And it’s especially great for people who are who are typically CEOs or CEOs and had administrative assistants. You forgot how to schedule stuff on your calendar. You probably forgot how to write an email. You know, you that’s not something you did. And now if you’re going out on your own, you have an administrative assistant right here. You just you need to upskill and learn it. But I mean, spend two days in it. You’ll be hooked.

Stone Payton: So talk about workshops. So this is one expression of your work. You’re doing probably one on one work maybe group work workshop. Tell us about the work a little bit. And then I’d love to hear a little bit about what one might expect if they participate in a in a workshop.

Britt Hunter: Yeah. So I’m going to do a few things. So first I’m going to I’m going to host a series of three free webinars okay. Because one you know we talked about this stone I like I like to share things. And sometimes even in spite of my wallet, I will share things for free because I just like, you know, I don’t I don’t a lot of people share things with me. That’s how I got to where I am is people seeing potential and pouring into me. So it’s only right that I pay it forward. So I’m hosting three free webinars starting next Wednesday. Oh my. And so they’re going to run concurrently on Wednesday Thursday. Same topic the following week Wednesday Thursday same topic. So we’re going to talk about a few things that I think are very timely. One is time management right. It’s called Master Your Minutes. It’s not a Todd Masters reference. It’s called Master Your Minutes. The next one is Command the Room. So I love public speaking. People always say oh you have a presence. And yes, I’m six three. So I do have presence. But I also have have studied a lot of really good speakers. A lot of really great storytellers. Um, and there are some things that they do that make them impactful. And the last one is disk decoded. And this is a yeah.

Stone Payton: That’s the assessment thing. Right.

Britt Hunter: Assessment. And I’m going to show parts of my assessment. You know, um, there may be people out there like me, but it’s not so much just my assessment. But it’s like, how do you leverage this to figure out how to work better with people who are a little different than you or people who are just like you, right? And so I’ll show, uh, how I leverage the disk to think about my business moving forward. And so in case people want to also get curious about their disk, they should. So those things will happen, um, for three weeks in a row. And what I want is to build a cohort. And so I’ll start to host a eight week long program. Um, one is called Executive Essentials. And so for eight weeks we’re going to talk about those same topics and a few more in depth across eight weeks. So once a week for 90 minutes, a cohort of ten people will come together virtually on zoom. You’ll get worksheets, you’ll get an assessment. You’ll get two, one on one calls with me and you will walk away. One if not being more confident about your abilities, but you’ll walk away with some tangible next steps. How do I get Ahold of my time today? How do I trust people to start delegating more? How can I ensure that when I show up in a room, I’m respected by how I sound, by how I look, by how I move, right? Things that are very important to a leader.

Britt Hunter: And then we have a signature series. Now this is going to be for people who are in the Georgia area. And I love a signature series because at the end of the eight weeks we have an on hand, a hands on experience, and this one will be a cooking class with Chef Zach. So Zaza’s kitchen. She is an incredible chef. I met her at the Cooks warehouse where I volunteer. We got to talk about that. You should volunteer at the Cooks Warehouse. It’s amazing, amazing chefs in there. And after eight weeks, that cohort, we’re going to get together and we’re going to do a cooking course. Everybody’s going to get a hands on experience cooking something that Chef Zach has prepared for her. So, you know, I’m a very experiential person. Um, maybe that’s because I like field trips from my teaching days. But, you know, I want people to be able to come into a group, be surrounded by like minded people, and get it done. We don’t need to spend 18 months learning a new habit. You do need accountability, which is where I come in, but you just need a few weeks of consistent communication about and drilling the same thing. And you can’t change everything all at once. But you can change at least one thing.

Stone Payton: Now, these initial webinars you’re describing, you’re doing those at no fee. Is that accurate?

Britt Hunter: That’s 100% true because it’s 100% free. Wow.

Stone Payton: Because the reason I ask it strikes me as this easy entry opportunity that you’re providing is. And with the objective of creating a cohort that then wants to go in and do deeper work. Number one, it certainly is living into your mission, um, of, of of wanting to, to pour into servant leaders. But it also strikes me as a very savvy, uh, sales and marketing strategy to do that, build the cohort, do the work with the people who want to do the the work. And I mention all of that because I am interested and continue to be fascinated and try to be a student of the business side of coaching as I’ve been doing this series. I think a lot of coaches, at least in the early going, really struggle with the getting that first handful of clients. The the whole sales and marketing thing. Do you agree?

Britt Hunter: Yeah. So I think it’s it’s a few things. Right. I think it’s putting yourself out there. Um, I think when you become a business owner and I say this to my, my black owned businesses on the west side of Atlanta, you know, I’m on the board of the Northwest Business Association. And I tell them, when you become a business owner, you are chief of marketing and sales. Just to be clear, I know you have a passion. I know you have a vision. I know you have this dream you have to be selling. You have to be selling, right? You’re in charge of sales. That is your job now. And, um, I just I have no fear. You know, I’ve embarrassed myself enough times. Um, I’ve seen myself flop enough times, and I’m still here. I’m still surviving. And so I really want to just kind of inspire people and share my story as I go through this journey of, like, listen, I’m going to do this webinar, okay? Five people could show up, right? It better not be five, y’all. Somebody better show up to this webinar. But if five people show up, five people show up. I hope those I hope that those five people really enjoyed their time. I’m not going to be bogged down by numbers because it’s a long game, and I know that just from life, you know, nothing is built in a day. We say that and we agree with that sentiment. But then when we don’t see immediate gratification, we we kind of falter. No no no no no no no. I’m going into this assuming the number will be low. I’m always blown away. But I want to go in humbly saying, you know what? No one has to come to this. There’s a million people offering services. There’s a lot of noise out there. You could go on YouTube University. No one has to come to this. But the people that do come, I’m going to make sure that they leave satisfied, because that’s more what I’m concerned with. And if I’ve done my job right, they’re going to tell their friends and someone else is going to come.

Stone Payton: Absolutely. So what else are you learning about the the whole the business side of being a practitioner? Because, I mean, you’re out there, you’re practicing your craft, you’re learning different ways to serve even more effectively. And oh, by the way, to your point, you got to run a business. Yeah. So, uh, anything else surprise you or something that you’ve learned about? Just the business side of the coaching business?

Britt Hunter: I would say, you know, I think when it comes back to the selling side, I am not a sales person. I don’t want to force anything on anybody. I know that, you know, ABC always be closing. Always be closing. But what I have found is it’s much easier to sell something that you actually care about. So if I’m, you know, I don’t know, selling a workshop on how to get rich quick, it’s not going to go very well. It’s not going to go very well. I’m going to feel bad for charging you for that, you know, because I’m not going to fully believe in that. I don’t really believe in getting rich quick. I don’t know, and I don’t really know how you define rich. Right. And so there’s levels to it. I care about what I’m talking about because I care about, um, those kind of servant leaders. Because I’ve been one. I’ve been a vice principal. I’ve been a dean. I’ve been a teacher in Harlem. And it’s. You need people to pour into. You need people to develop you. And if you don’t have access to.

Britt Hunter: That that can’t be the reason you don’t get better. That cannot be the reason you don’t get better. Especially if you’re serving children. If you’re serving elderly people, if you’re. If you’re serving vulnerable populations, as you say you are, you have to get better. Period. Full stop. There’s no exception. And I feel passionate. I’m doing it now, Stone. I’m selling now it’s selling, but it’s actually I’m just excited about it. Yeah. And so I would I would tell people, you know, if you’re not like, really excited about it, you’re actually not going to sell, you’re going to withdraw from it. You’re not going to want to do it. So maybe it’s it’s not that you need to get out of the business. You need to pivot it and really find your why step. Take a step back and think about what is my why here? And I know it sounds corny, and I hate to sound corny, but it is. Um. It’s just true. You know, it comes much easier when you. When you wake up thinking about it.

Stone Payton: So you got to tell me more about this. Cooks warehouse.

Britt Hunter: Cooks warehouse. Okay, so I’m just marketing everybody else’s business, but my own. Apparently, Cooks warehouse has this incredible program where you can volunteer. You have to go to little training for, like, 90 minutes, and then you become, um, you know, a chef’s assistant. And so about eight of us will be in a kitchen, and the chef is going to teach a class. It could be eight people. It could be 30 people. It holds up to 30 people in this kitchen, man. And complete strangers could be date night. You know, it could be a corporate team. And they’re coming in. Now, I will say there are some people who I’m looking and I’m like, I don’t think this person has ever held a knife before, and I’m concerned, but I can’t say that out loud. You could just observe, but you go in and, you know, you help, you help the chef prepare the food. You cut things up, you put them in the bowls. You. You also assist the people who are learning to cook that day. You’re following the chef’s guidelines. Now, the reason I like it is because I don’t have to do any of the cooking, but I can watch and learn, um, how to use a knife properly. How to cut. I did not know how to cut a bell pepper properly to remove the seeds in one one fell. Just one cut.

Stone Payton: I’m pretty sure I don’t either.

Britt Hunter: No one does except for the chefs. And so you have all these different chefs coming in to teach, you know, sushi making steak night, uh, pasta from scratch. Oh, wow. And it’s it’s fun. It really is fun.

Stone Payton: So as you, as you practice starts to unfold, are you going to focus primarily locally, regionally, or are you going to have that effort going and some national stuff, or have you have you mapped all that out yet?

Britt Hunter: Oh honey, I’m all over the place. So I’m only thinking nationally and I need to be thinking internationally. Stone I need to think bigger. But right now I’m aligning some some keynotes. So I have a keynote in Denver with Forte Foundation that is a women’s focused MBA prep program. So women who are going to get their MBA, it’s a it’s an accelerator to get you started. Right. They’ll help you get an internship before you go to business school, which is so important because when you go to business school, you’re going to drown. You haven’t been to school in a in a while, and it’s intense. And the objective is to get a job. So they give you that mental support you need to get back into it. So I’ll be doing a keynote there in Denver. Um, and I’m going to continue to do that. Right. I definitely want to still reach out to my colleges and universities with their student athlete programs. As a former student athlete, I, I definitely want to pour back into those people because I remember being lost thinking, well, all I’ve done is my sport. Am I good at anything else? And the fun fact is, y’all, you’re the best at a lot. Turns out you have the most amazing soft skills that you can’t you can’t pay for. And they don’t know that. And so I like to go around and prove it to them. Given my experience in education and corporate. Um, I also want to focus, you know, on the D2 and D3 schools. The D1 schools have resources. Yeah, they can bring in, you know, a Dale Carnegie somebody, somebody. Um, I want to go in and, and also a lot of student athletes look like me anyway. So I want to go talk to them and and let them know you got it. Just get focused. But you got this. So yeah, I want to go all over the country and run my mouth as much as I can.

Stone Payton: So in, in the local market, where I have every confidence that you will own your backyard, as some marketing folks say, uh, it have you, have you kind of landed on a descriptor or set of descriptors for an ideal client like this is really the person I want to work with, you know, here and here in the local market. Yeah.

Britt Hunter: So, um, it’s so funny when I introduced myself. People see me and they see a six foot three black female who’s, you know, pretty confident, pretty confident in how she speaks, sounds. And so they immediately go, oh, you must be working with women owned businesses, women, women leaders, black leaders. And I’m like, look, if you met my friend group, it’s a rainbow. Um, and the only thing that ties us together is our mindset. We all want to get better at something. We’re all striving to get better at something. That’s the only commonality that I’m looking for. I when I go to a university and I’m working with student athletes and the ad says, well, who who’s your audience? I said, kids that want to be there, please don’t volunteer for any student athlete to come hear me speak, because it’s not going to go well. I might change their mind, but that’s not. That’s not my focus. My focus is to pour into people who want to get better. So that is my ideal client. I don’t care how old you are. I don’t care where you come from. I don’t care what you look like. You could be shorter than me. You could be taller than me, I don’t care. Do you want to get better? Because if so, I’m your person. That’s my ideal client. I hope that’s clear.

Stone Payton: And since you don’t really have enough going on, you decided to go ahead and get a get get a radio show up and running as well. Right.

Britt Hunter: I got a podcast coming out, y’all. It’s coming out in May. Um, the podcast is called thanks, but No One Asked You, and there’s an eye roll in there in case you didn’t see it. That’s after the thanks. And it’s where storytelling meets unsolicited advice. And I am a professional advice giver. Um, unsolicited specifically. My friends know this. You know, I like to tell people I’m not the person you call day one after your breakup. You know, you want someone to, like, coo and rub your back and say, it’s okay. I’m the person you want to call when it’s seven weeks in, and you kind of are just tired of lamenting and you want to get over that hump. Call my phone. I’m going to get you there. Let’s, let’s let’s move forward. You’re absolutely right. This has gone on too long. None of that made any sense. I’m glad you’re here with us. Now let’s move forward. So, um. Yeah, I’ll be giving unsolicited advice about just my experiences. Right? Working in corporate, working in education, being a student athlete at Duke and UConn, um, all of the things. And I’m really want to target my early career people, my early career people have a lot of advice coming at them. Unfortunately, most of it is on TikTok.

Britt Hunter: Um, some of the things that people are telling me, I’m not on TikTok or Instagram, by the way, y’all, y’all can’t find me there. You can find me on LinkedIn. But, um, I got off social media in 2019 because I did feel like I didn’t have any control over what I was taking in, and I felt overwhelmed all the time. And I’m like, why do I feel overwhelmed? Like my life is fine? Why am I feeling like this? Well, I didn’t have any real control over what was coming into my eyes because I’m constantly picking up my phone. So I want to just be the person that’s like, listen, listen, listen here, shut it down, okay? This is the real skinny. There’s no get rich quick schemes. There’s no feel better tomorrow it’s you got to go through it period. Full stop. You have to go through life and no one can tell you how to do that better than your own experience. And so I want to share my experiences to prove that I’m excited about it. It’s going to be fun. I’m going to have some animations so that people, you know, I know our I know our attention span is a little low. So I got some animations I got going on. It’ll be fun.

Stone Payton: Well, I can’t wait to see it. It’ll be fantastic. So, speaking of advice, what do you think is is maybe one of the best pieces of advice you’ve ever received and maybe one of the worst. Does anything stand out?

Britt Hunter: Honey, you know, I’ve been thinking. I thank you for asking me that question, because I have been thinking about the worst advice that I recently got. Um. Some of the. I’ve had a lot of really good advice, um, especially from my coaches growing up, but some advice that I’ve kind of gotten here and there that now I share with everybody is, I call it the power five. And when you get older, as you get older, you things happen, right? You could come from a small town and you go to college and then four of your closest friends don’t. That’s fine. It doesn’t really matter, but something shifts. You’ve been exposed now to a whole new world of people in this university because that’s colleges. That’s what college is about. It’s not really about the credits and the schoolwork. It’s about acclimating to other people that you otherwise would never meet. And so your your mind has expanded in a different way, but your friends from back home are still kind of doing the same things, and that’s okay. But you slowly start to see that rift. That rift is going to happen over and over and over again in your life, especially if you continually want to do more and more and more. If you want to travel, if you want to climb the ladder, if you want to own a business, and there are people that you know and have known for a long time but aren’t necessarily on that same wavelength. So the advice that I like to give people is find a power five.

Britt Hunter: These are five people that are running faster than you. They’re smarter than you, and they want to achieve a lot more than you do. One person at the top should be your mentor. The two people to the side should be your peers, right? They don’t manage you. You don’t manage them. They’re just your peers. They work alongside you or they’re just your friends. And then you should always be mentoring two people below you. Now these are going to be really I have two mentees that are beyond impressive. Right. And one of them goes to Georgia Tech. And Georgia Tech kids are so impressive. It’s crazy. They think I’m impressive. And I’m like, honey, you’re you’re at Georgia Tech doing biomechanical whatever. I don’t know what. And you’re 21, like, you’re so far ahead of where I was at 21. You’re incredible. But they they keep me eager to do better because they’re watching me. And so get a power five so that when you’re ready to do the next thing, you’re already surrounded by that energy. You’re already surrounded by that energy. Let’s talk about the worst advice that I most recently got stoned because wow. So I was at, um, I just recently left my employer, Microsoft. Um, And it’s not quite public knowledge why I left, but a lot of people are like, oh, she wanted to do her own thing. I left a toxic. I left a toxic manager, and it was toxic for a very long time. Um, over a year, I did all the things that I needed to do to handle it, and it didn’t work out.

Britt Hunter: And so I kind of just got to this point of like, all right, no one’s coming to save me. You know? I got to save myself. So what am I going to do? And so here we are. Um, but I reached out to a lot of women who, you know, some I, some I confided in and a lot of I didn’t confide in too many people, but one of the women who I wasn’t really friends with, you know, she was just newer to the team. She kind of gave me her rendition of. Listen, you know, I do what I do because I like my lifestyle. I like, you know, pretty much I like the money that I make. And that’s my reason for putting up with the nonsense. And I was just kind of like, well, that’s weird, but okay. Like, immediately I said that, well, we’re not aligned because I don’t I’m not going to do too much of any of that for paycheck. And her suggestion was to just put my head down, figure out my why, and keep going. And I thought, that is the worst advice I have ever heard. And I hope that she never gives anyone advice like that again. I you should never feel disrespected and depraved at work. Never never never never. My parents. Your parents. Right? Sure, they they felt like maybe that was the option that they had. Maybe it’s a little bit of entitlement on my end, but there’s just a level of respect.

Britt Hunter: And I’ve had harsh managers. I mean, I played for Geno Auriemma, so I know what harsh looks like. I know what nurturing, no nonsense nurturing looks like. This was different. And her advice to me was like, yeah, these things happen. Keep it. Keep it going. Uh, no, I’m not going to do that. I’m going to leave because no. And some people will say, well, that’s a very privileged thing to say, you know, leaving your job. Sure. I mean, sure, I think there are people who have less than me, though, who have left their job because what’s more important to you, your paycheck or your mental health? How you show up around your family, how you show up around your friends because you’re just so drained. And I was I was drained, I had I picked up a smoking habit. Shout out to the smokers out there. No offense to the smokers, but I just, I don’t smoke. I picked up a smoking habit. I, you know, have an anxious tic where I pull my hair and I was pulling, I created a bald spot like, I’m sorry, no, I don’t need to stay anywhere where I’m causing myself harm to get through the day. So that was the worst advice. I would never tell anyone to do that. I would actually say, what is your plan to get out? Let’s talk about action Step. Let’s not sit in it. Let’s talk about what’s your plan to move out of this situation. Um. That’s it. That’s the tweet.

Stone Payton: Well, no, you kind of. And now I’m beginning to believe it was a little bit tongue in cheek. You talked about early in the conversation about giving unsolicited advice, and it’s like, I don’t know that you really do on a day to day basis. I think you created an environment where someone can kind of discover the next few steps in their path. The more I’m hearing you talk.

Britt Hunter: Yeah, I do both, I do both. Okay, okay. So, you know, I try to do a little breadcrumbing. Let’s talk about how you want to get there. And then there comes a point where it’s like, all right, cut it out. Like, let’s let’s stop. You know, this is the pattern I’m hearing. This doesn’t make any sense. Don’t do this. Sometimes you just need to be told, don’t do this or this is not helpful for you. And I’ve had a lot of mentors do that for me and I’m so appreciative.

Stone Payton: So I got to know. I don’t even know where it would be on your calendar, but I’m interested to know what, if anything, do you do when you’re not assistant cheffing doing webinars? You know, building cohorts, doing one on one coaching, anything like just out there that you do that we might not? Or do you still play a little basket, a little sandlot basketball?

Britt Hunter: I can’t play basketball anymore. Um, but I do, I like running, I go to the gym a lot. I play with my dog a lot. I’m a regular at fetch. Um, I don’t think people at fetch know my name, but they know my dog’s name. His name is ace. They’re like, oh, that’s Ace’s handler. Um, I don’t I’m not a dog, mom. Y’all didn’t have puppies. Um, I’m ace handler, and, um. Yeah, I go to all the fetches. The fetches are amazing. Alpharetta. One is beautiful. If you’ve never been.

Stone Payton: I’ve not been. But I’ve heard dog owners talk about these places. And apparently, in the last time I heard someone talk about it was at a young Professionals of Woodstock gathering. Believe it or not, I’m in the young professionals of Woodstock. But someone was saying, we need to fetch out here in Woodstock.

Britt Hunter: You do? This would be the perfect place. You could just open up, you know, a fake. Fetch a stone, fetch or something. A stone’s throw away. All right. That was bad. Edit that out. Um, yeah, I, I, you know, I like to also, my friends know I like to just go to completely different things, so I, I love going to the symphony. The symphony is actually has some of the most incredible shows. We also have the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra also has one of the only female principal conductors in in the world. Oh, um, don’t ask me her name because I’m going to say it wrong, but look her up. Um. Pretty fascinating. Um, I love going to the high museum. Of course. Um, any kind of any kind of thing that’s just like, a different cultural experience. That’s not something that, you know, I would wake up and just naturally do is something that I want to do.

Stone Payton: I believe that about you. I think I feel like you are the kind of person that is you just ready, willing and able to jump into another culture for a little while. A different arena. Something foreign to you? Immerse yourself. Take it in. Not be judgmental, but. But be observant.

Britt Hunter: Yes.

Stone Payton: You’re that person, aren’t you?

Britt Hunter: Yeah. I think it should be mandatory in high school that every high schooler spend 60 days in another country.

Stone Payton: Amen.

Britt Hunter: 60 days?

Stone Payton: Yeah.

Britt Hunter: You know, and then come back home and tell me what’s hard.

Stone Payton: Yeah.

Britt Hunter: Come back and tell me what’s challenging. You know, like, just. I love traveling solo. You learn a lot. And then when you travel solo, you’re forced to talk to strangers. When you travel with your friends, you only talk to your friends.

Stone Payton: Oh, that’s a good point.

Britt Hunter: But when you go out, I mean, and for the first day, I don’t really meet anyone because, you know, it is a little awkward. Um, and I realized for 24 hours I’m not talking. Wow. Because I have no one to talk to. I’m not going to talk to myself. Um, but by day two, I found a group and I’m running my mouth. So, yeah, I think people, you know, take a risk, go do something new. Go somewhere new.

Stone Payton: So what’s the best way for our listeners to continue to tap into your work and reach out? And it’s going to be a long list because you got a lot going on. I gotta make sure that people know how to get to all of this stuff. Or maybe there’s a hub that’ll that’ll help them.

Britt Hunter: There’s a few hubs, so the first place you should definitely find me is on LinkedIn. I’ll make sure that stone has stone. You have that link. That’s my only social media platform for now. I will eventually be on YouTube in May, but the next thing is I’ve created a collection of events on Eventbrite. And so through that collection you can find the free webinars, you can find the cohorts that I’m building. I’m building several at a time. And yeah, I want to make it super easy. And of course you can go on my website and all of those things will be there. So, uh, Britt Hunter, Dot focal point Coaching.com that is my website.

Stone Payton: Britt, I so appreciate you coming to the studio. This has been a blast. I knew it would be because of our earlier conversation, but no, you just you you just have an energy about you and I’m sure it comes across over the airwaves as well. You just want me to go experience more and do better and pour into more people and all of those all of those things. Thank you so much for coming in.

Britt Hunter: Thanks for having me.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Britt Hunter with Focal Point and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying, we’ll see you in the fast lane.

 

BRX Stories – Legacy

by

BRXmic99
BRX Pro Tips
BRX Stories - Legacy
Loading
/

BRX-Banner

BRX Stories – Legacy

Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. And, Lee, I got to tell you, I am really enjoying relating some of these stories. They’re fond memories for me and they serve as such great reminders of the good that we’re doing out there.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think it’s important for people. I know a lot of times when people are thinking about a service, they are so focused in on the money, the ROI, how much money is this going to generate. And they kind of lose sight of things that are really part of their core values, like legacy and impact.

Lee Kantor: Have you kind of run into anybody or have any stories when it comes to them articulating the importance of legacy and impact in their lives, that a lot of times that’s going to supersede the money part of this. It’s the goodwill that you’re doing to the community.

Stone Payton: So, yes, I have a ton of those stories, but the most recent was this morning. I am part of a group called Young Professionals of Woodstock. My studio is in the City of Woodstock, which is a suburb of Atlanta, and it’s in Cherokee County, so my studio is referred to as Cherokee Business Radio.

Stone Payton: One of my clients is a member of this group, Young Professionals of Woodstock. And this is not a traditional network-y kind of group. I’m not a very network-y guy. It’s not my vibe. And I don’t need to do that traditional networking because I have the benefit of the Business RadioX platform. But I really enjoy this group. And this group is much more about building relationships impacting the community.

Stone Payton: The format for this group is we have a question every week, and this morning’s question was, when you pass away, how would you like to be remembered? And there were two or three people that went before this young lady, her name is Sharon Cline. She’s a client. She hosts the show Fearless Formula at Cherokee Business Radio on the Business RadioX Network. And they had good responses, and they talked about, you know, doing well with their kids so that some of their values would live on. They talked about that they hoped that they had encouraged other people to pay it forward. And they were all great answers.

Stone Payton: And, incidentally, the reason Sharon’s a client, she’s a voiceover artist and she does corporate work for audible and for corporations. So, she does everything from reading those novels to doing corporate training, audio tracks, and that kind of thing.

Stone Payton: When it got to Sharon, she said that when she passes, she hopes that she would be remembered as someone who had really put a dent in the universe – was the way that she put it – had a genuine impact on her community and specific individuals in the community. She wanted to leave that kind of legacy. And she said, and that is why I love so much hosting a show on the Business RadioX Network, because it gives me an opportunity where I can let people in the community share their story, promote their work, and just authentically get the word out about what they’re trying to do for their community, their profession.

Stone Payton: And when she said that, Lee, I got to tell you, man, I welled up. I could barely hold it together. I mean, I had tears in my eyes and people could tell. I was getting tears in my eyes, I’m telling you right now, because this was just a few hours ago. But it filled my heart. My chest swelled. I walked out of that room nine foot off of the air, and it helped me realize and it made me feel so good that what I’m doing has impacted Sharon, but there’s like this multiplier effect, because as a result, Sharon is able to do this for the people she brings into the studio. And I’m sure, I know that there is effect beyond that and it feels so good.

Stone Payton: And it’s another one of those things that, I guess, intellectually, I’ve known all along that we’re doing that. And it’s another one of those marvelous gifts that, I think, sometimes we take for granted. But, man, it really underscored for me the importance of legacy for most of us, and the gift, the blessing, the vehicle we have here for intentionally leaving the kind of legacy that we choose to leave.

Our Mission

We help local business leaders get the word out about the important work they’re doing to serve their market, their community, and their profession.

We support and celebrate business by sharing positive business stories that traditional media ignores. Some media leans left. Some media leans right. We lean business.

Sponsor a Show

Build Relationships and Grow Your Business. Click here for more details.

Partner With Us

Discover More Here

Terms and Conditions
Privacy Policy

Connect with us

Want to keep up with the latest in pro-business news across the network? Follow us on social media for the latest stories!

Business RadioX® Headquarters
1000 Abernathy Rd. NE
Building 400, Suite L-10
Sandy Springs, GA 30328