angishields, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Richa Chadha with Coachampion

March 7, 2025 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Richa Chadha with Coachampion

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Richa Chadha is an Executive Leadership Coach, mentor, author, speaker & facilitator based in Silicon Valley.

She holds an MBA and an MS in Organizational Dynamics from UPenn, specializing in the human aspects of leadership and organizational behavior.

As the founder of Coachampion, she helps leaders, teams, and organizations leverage their strengths, navigate transitions, and lead with confidence.

With over a decade of corporate and coaching experience, Richa partners with senior business leaders, startup CEOs, and high-achieving professionals to elevate their effectiveness, fulfillment, and self-improvement.

Her coaching blends science-backed strategies with a human touch, creating transformative results.

Connect with Richa on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This 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 and less time. Stone Payton here with you this afternoon. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast, executive leadership coach, mentor, author and speaker, Richa Chadha. How are you?

Richa Chadha: I am great Stone. Thank you so much. It’s so amazing to be on your show tonight.

Stone Payton: Oh, I am so excited to have this conversation. I know we have a great deal of some insightful wisdom to share with our listeners. I think a great place to start would be if you could share with us mission. Purpose. What are you really out there trying to do for folks? Richa?

Richa Chadha: Yeah. And, um, like, you know, this fills me with so much of energy. Your question, like my mission and purpose, I think I am on a mission stone to help leaders, teams, and individuals pivot with purpose and leverage their strengths to navigate challenges and lead with confidence. You know, through my own journey, both personally and professionally, I have learned that setbacks can be springboards if we shift our mindset and take intentional action. And so that’s what I want to do for people.

Stone Payton: Well, let’s talk a little bit about that journey, the backstory. How did you end up doing this this kind of work?

Richa Chadha: So I have almost a decade of, uh, corporate background in the finance sector. However, I never felt fulfilled. Stone so I knew that there was something else that I wanted to do. So during the last part of my career, I started freelancing as a consultant, a leadership and team coach, etc. so I’ve been coaching even before I knew that I was a coach, and even before I knew that there was a professional training. Uh, right. You know, that was there. But when I moved to the US a few years ago, I had a choice. I could go back to banking, which was familiar, which was a known space where I thrived. I was one of the youngest, uh, managers in the country. And there was another choice, which I wanted to take for my heart, my soul, which was to empower people so that they thrive. I chose the latter. And then I am so grateful that I did, even though the paychecks, I really missed them coming every month, but I feel I am more fulfilled.

Stone Payton: So yeah, what was that transition like in the early going? It had to be a little bit intimidating, a little bit scary going out. Now you’re you’re you’re becoming a practitioner out in the wild and you’re running a business. Yeah.

Richa Chadha: So I think the same things that I said in the beginning, the mindset shifts, right? So like I used to think that leadership was all about expertise and strategy until I coached people and I just thought, I have to get my feet wet. I have to throw myself in the waters out there. So I coached people. I was like, I had imposter thoughts. I still do sometimes, but then that doesn’t mean I’m not enough, right? So, you know, people usually look for insights, perspectives, real talk, and imposter syndrome usually thrives in silence. The moment I started owning my voice, my value, it started to fade for me.

Stone Payton: So engaging in this kind of work, serving other people, helping them make these mindset shifts, uh, it concurrently, you’re you’re growing as well the whole time. Right?

Richa Chadha: Exactly, exactly. And, you know, I am a global mentor. I am a coach. And I believe that through each person I coach, I mentor, they grow and I grow alongside them. So each interaction is a learning a growth curve for me.

Stone Payton: Yeah. And you do make a distinction. If I remember from our previous conversation, uh, that you do make quite a distinction between coaching and mentoring, don’t you?

Richa Chadha: I do, I do, and, you know, a mentor once told me, here’s what I did when I was in your shoes. However, my coach asked, what do you think is the best path for you? That’s the difference. Stone mentor shared their experience to guide you. While coaches, they hold space for you to uncover your own solutions because they know you are whole, complete, and resourceful while both are invaluable. But coaching is where the real transformation happens because you become the expert of your own journey.

Stone Payton: So this idea of helping to facilitate a mindset shift for folks so that they can do more and do better and produce better results, and in less time. It sounds, uh, it sounds exciting. It sounds like incredibly rewarding work. But talk about the work itself, the mechanism. I mean, how do you help someone shift and maybe even define mindset, but how do you help them shift and change that mindset?

Richa Chadha: Well, as I said before, like, it’s not only about when you make those pivots or when you are forced to like, you know, work on your mindset. It’s also about how can you leverage what you already have. So that’s that’s what I do. Like, you know, when I moved from India to the US and later from corporate to coaching, I felt like I was starting from scratch. Stone but looking back, I wasn’t. The ability to manage teams, communicate effectively, thinking strategically, all of those skills traveled with me. And what was my biggest lesson? That I evolved my skills with myself only if I led them. So the key is to stop focusing on job titles or anything that’s holding you back, and to start recognizing the value of what we already have and what we already bring to the table. So that is a big mindset shift altogether. That’s what I help people do, help them leverage what they already have into navigating anything unknown or the challenges that they see in the future.

Stone Payton: You must be incredibly gifted, skilled at asking the the right questions for someone to sort of find their their own way. That’s. Well, and you probably you’ve got all this experience and probably some formal training in this regard, don’t you.

Richa Chadha: I do, I do. So I am an organizational psychologist. Uh, in fact, uh, I am still pursuing my second masters. I am an MBA and my corporate background, so I have a lot of practical experience. But now I’m also pursuing my M.S. in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. And then I’m also a professional certified coach and a credentialed team coach by the International Coaching Federation. So a bunch of experience, a bunch of training. I love psychology, and so my approach is science backed, wherein I also bring in my experience, my wisdom, etc. to meet you exactly where you are.

Stone Payton: So did you jump into the world of professional speaking in much the same manner, like with all fours as my dad would would say. And if so, I mean surely. I mean, was that a little scary at first too?

Richa Chadha: No. In fact, it felt natural because I’ve been doing it my entire student life. And, you know, I felt like I lost a piece of myself when I stopped being on the stage when I gave up the mic. Because, you know, the corporate rat took everything from me. And then it was just about, okay, How to survive one day. It was immensely, immensely like, you know, it did burn me out a lot the corporate. So but when I moved into what nourished my soul, which is org psychology, which is coaching, which is empowering others, I got all of what made me feel alive, which was writing I am a published author. I published, I coauthored my first book in the last year, and then we got it published in November. I am a speaker because these are all the things that come naturally to me. So it wasn’t scary at all. It felt like I came back home.

Stone Payton: Oh, you got to tell us more about this book. I’m interested in the content. I definitely would like to hear the content, how it was structured. Uh, but also the just the process of taking your ideas and committing them to, to paper. What was that like?

Richa Chadha: Oh, it was, I think, a journey of self revelation. So the book is about compassion fatigue. It’s called relit. And, um, it’s available on Amazon and other platforms, etc. but so we we authors, we came together to share our perspectives on compassion fatigue, how we navigated through it, and to provide the readers some practical insights on how they can navigate their navigate their path out of compassion fatigue and caregiver burnout. And we think that it is only with people who are taking care of elderly or sick family members, etc. but it is very much prevalent in the corporate as well. So like, you know, just to narrate a quick anecdote, I once coached a nonprofit leader who was deeply passionate about her work, like deeply passionate. But she was exhausted beyond belief. She felt guilty taking breaks because there’s always more to do. How can I take a break? But here’s the truth stone like you can’t pour from an empty cup, can you? Like sustainable leadership means recognizing that rest is not a reward. It’s a requirement. So leaders need to give themselves permission to recharge so that they can keep showing up for others, and that that’s the perspective that I brought in into my coaching as well.

Stone Payton: We can hear it in your voice how much you enjoy the work, how much you grow from the work. Like I have to imagine, just like the speaking and the practitioner work authoring this, uh, being a published author, uh, it’s probably made you that much better as a practitioner. Huh?

Richa Chadha: Oh, yes. And, uh, I don’t know. Of course, I’m sure, as a practitioner, but more so as a human being. I find myself to be, like, grounded more. I find myself to be connecting more authentically with people and to have much deeper connections than I used to before. So all of this has changed me tremendously, and I’m grateful for this journey.

Stone Payton: I’m sure every client is distinct and different and with with the varying challenges or things that they want to to work on. But I’m interested if you see any patterns, some things that crop up more often than others. And I want to go back to something you mentioned earlier and get a little more depth on this because I’ve heard the phrase imposter syndrome.

Richa Chadha: And I think this is one of the most common things. So I think high achievers having imposter thoughts are usually the kind of clients I attract, along with alongside people who want to build an executive presence. So I’ll quickly speak to both. So, um, and you know, why I can speak to it so intentionally is because, like, I have walked into boardrooms full of senior executives, like heart pounding, convinced I wasn’t experienced enough. Like, you know, as I mentioned, I was the youngest leader in my last organization in the country, managing a team of 15 people, of which half of them were like at least 5 or 10 years older than I was. So I had those impostor thoughts. I’m like, aren’t these people more experienced to be in my shoes? But, you know, halfway through all of those conversations, I would start to feel like, no, there is a reason why I am where I am. And I started owning my value, my voice. And that’s what I coach people on when they come to me with self-doubt, impostor thoughts. And the second thing which I talked about executive presence, like, you know, a lot of people come to me, they’re like, I don’t think I have that in my voice where people would listen to me. So you know what? I make them realize, of course, through, like, you know, appreciative inquiry through like just helping them discover what they have within themselves is that leadership is not about being the loudest, but it’s about being the most intentional. Right? So executive presence isn’t about being perfect.

Richa Chadha: It’s just like who is the most present? Who is connecting to the the teams or the colleagues from where they are, as we say in coaching. So, you know, some key strategies that we often discuss and we come up with is one, owning your voice. So stand up for what you believe in. And I’ve done all of this. And that’s why there’s a lot of conviction, even when I’ve talked, even when I talk about it. Speak with clarity, speak with conviction. Second, listen like you mean it. So when we were kids, we were all taught how to read, how to write, how to speak. We were never, ever taught how to listen. That’s what these are, the basics that we go to in my coaching where, you know, I tell people or I coach them into listening, becoming better leaders by listening better listen like you mean it. And third, and the most important is embracing the pauses, right? So when you’re having a conversation, have it like a leader. Do not rush to fill the silences. Confidence. Usually I see. I see that it’s the most powerful and it lives in the spaces between words. So all of these three simple tricks, tips and tricks that I share on my different channels as well. These are some things that we can build in our everyday life to become better leaders.

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

Richa Chadha: So my why, the reason why I do things, why I do, is because I want to empower others so that they thrive, right? So this is my why. And when I’m doing the work that I am doing. Stone this is I’m living my why. So this is the most rewarding, gratifying, and the most fun part of my job that it doesn’t feel like a job. It feels like I’m partnering with people and empowering them on their journey in in return, empowering myself as a coach, as a partner, as a thinking partner. So everything about it is fun. I’m working on my second book, I am I’m constantly like speaking at conferences. I’m constantly engaging with people, meeting new people, networking. I’m on the executive board of International Coaching Federation San Francisco chapter. That makes it so much fun when I’m doing and all of it is pro bono, like the ICF chapter work, etc. but the hours that we put into it and the reward, the impact that we see, oh my God, it’s it’s amazing, it’s beautiful.

Stone Payton: And it strikes me or I’ve come to believe that so much of of what you’re describing here actually has a great deal of solid foundation in science. I mean, there’s some real science behind a great deal of this, isn’t there?

Richa Chadha: And, you know, our mentor once told me that resilience isn’t about bouncing back, it’s about bouncing forward. And that stuck with me. Stone. So the toughest moments in my life, whether it was adapting to a new country, dealing with personal loss, health issues or starting over in my career when I was already doing so well, it wasn’t just about surviving. They were all of those things were about growing. And science backs this up. Resilience is built through mindset, emotional regulation, strong relationships, and staying connected to a purpose bigger than yourself. So all I have been a science throughout my life. Like I’m a graduate in zoology, then I have an MBA and then I have organizational psychology, second master’s. So everything that I do is science backed. And I am a big, big fan of these frameworks that tell me how human mind is so powerful and how can we make it work for our benefit?

Stone Payton: I suspect it’s so important for someone in your profession to to eat their own cooking. I think my mom would say, isn’t that you have to be like a model for some of these behaviors. What I’m what I’m getting at. I’m trying to get my arms around the depth of trust, uh, that you must have to cultivate, whether you’re in a group environment or with an individual to get, you know, some of this truly meaningful work done, you you really have to build a great deal of trust and fairly rapidly, don’t you?

Richa Chadha: And I think a lot of it comes from me being authentic, me being vulnerable. I do not I do not shy away from talking about how, as I mentioned in our talk before, like how imposter thoughts still sometimes haunt me. And that’s okay. We are all human beings and, you know, so leaving a stable corporate career to start. My coaching and consulting practice was one of the scariest, scariest things I’ve done. There was no safety net whatsoever, no clear roadmap, just a deep belief that this was the work I was meant to do. Looking back, I see that every job, every challenge, every moment of doubt prepared me for this. And your career is anyway never a straight path. It’s a series of pivots, and the magic happens when you start trusting yourself to make the leap. That’s what I did, and that’s where people see the authenticity into what I bring on the table. And that’s where they trust me to be their thought partner or their coach.

Stone Payton: Yeah. All right. I’m going to change the direction of the conversation for a moment, if I might, because I am genuinely interested and I think our listeners will be as well. Hobbies, interests, pursuits, passions outside the scope of your coaching and speaking work.

Richa Chadha: Oh my God, I am a big Adventurer and I am supported by my husband in this. So both of us are big foodies, big adventurers. So we’ve traveled to six continents in the world. We’ve traveled to more than 28, 30, I think 28 states. We are on to our 29th and 30th tomorrow, uh, 28 states in the United States. And, um, wherever we go, we we travel like a local, we live with locals, we eat local food. So all of these things, they kind of, um, you know, feed into my passion. That’s what I love about my life, that I get to do whatever I want from wherever I want.

Stone Payton: I’ll bet that you are a marvelous participant, but also a terrific observer. When you immerse yourself in these different cultures and you and you get the full enjoyment of that activity. But I got to believe it strengthens you as a practitioner when you come back to the to the job.

Richa Chadha: Absolutely. So, you know, when I was back in my country, we used to travel. Still there? I mean, a lot. But when I moved to the US Stone, I interacted with people. And my first home was MIT. Right. So there. My husband was an MIT student, and we moved straight from India to Boston, and I interacted with folks from around the world. And then I realized that it’s not about me. My problems are like, you know, not even like a dust particle in this universe. And people are grappling with much bigger things. So that broadened my perspectives, my horizons. And I began to be more empathetic towards others. And I started to realize that, uh, in this world, everything is not about me. We we tend to make ourselves so much big and more important than we are in our worlds, in our lives. But trust me, we are nothing as compared to when we see others and their problems and their situations. So I think every interaction that I have with anyone or that I’ve had has fed into me growing and evolving into the person that I am today. And I’m sure that process is still ongoing.

Stone Payton: You mentioned working on on your next book. What else is next for you? I mean, you’ve already done so much, but what’s on the horizon for you in the coming months, you think?

Richa Chadha: Yeah. So I’m working on my next book for sure. And then I’m also working on creating programs, uh, sort of like customized workshops for high achievers battling with imposter for people to develop their EQ. And that is something which I’m very, very passionate about. We believe that. And there’s so much of importance given to IQ in our cultures. In our societies we believe. We believe intelligence is everything. But research shows that 70% of all individuals who have succeeded, they? They do. They have lesser IQ than the remaining 30%. Yet they succeeded because they had a better EQ and we don’t talk about it. How much it’s important for us to have it in our lives to develop it. And it’s not like, you know, you have to be born with it. Um, you you can totally develop it. It’s a it’s a skill that you can work on and you can hone on. So I’m working on developing that program. And then of course my master’s is still an ongoing. So I traveled to Philly quite often. I’m traveling later this month for my spring course. So all of these exciting things and I’m when I speak about it, I think I’m filled with even more enthusiasm.

Stone Payton: Well, you certainly have a lot going on. And I gotta tell you, it’s I find it encouraging that this EQ is something that one can work on to improve. You’re not just dealing with the the hands you were dealt, let’s say.

Richa Chadha: Exactly, exactly. And that’s important for people to know.

Stone Payton: Uh, well, listen, before we wrap, I would love to leave our listeners with a pro tip for producing better results in less time, or connected to any of what we briefly talked about here. And look, gang, the number one pro tip I have for you is if any of this strikes a chord with you and causes some initial interest, and I’m sure it does. Reach out and connect with with Richie. But between now and then, let’s leave them with a little little piece of wisdom. Richie.

Richa Chadha: This piece of wisdom stone is more like a question, and I would love for our listeners to reflect on this. And if they want, I’m happy to, like, talk to them and just listen to their reflections. Right. And my question is, if you had to pivot today, how would you leverage your experiences to move forward with purpose?

Stone Payton: What a fantastic question to be reflecting on. All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to tap into your work? Get their. Their hands and their eyes on the on these books that you’re writing and the work that you’re doing, website, LinkedIn, whatever you feel like is appropriate.

Richa Chadha: So, um, all of like there are several ways to get in touch with me. I have an Instagram coaching community. Uh, the handle is co-champion dot global, and you spell co-champion s c o a c h a m p I o n. So co-champion dot global is my Instagram coaching community handle. I am on LinkedIn as Richa Chadha PCC Actc and then my website is co-champion dot com coach champion. So yeah. And there are links on my website where you can book a call with me where you can send me a message, and on LinkedIn as well, if you want me to reflect with you on your question or you have something to share with me, I would love to partner with you.

Stone Payton: Richa. It has been an absolute delight visiting with you this afternoon. It’s, uh. Thank you for your insight, your perspective, your enthusiasm and the the work that you’re doing to impact so many. Keep up the good work. And and thank you again for investing your your time and energy with us this afternoon.

Richa Chadha: Thank you so much. It’s been an honor being on your show and connecting with your listeners. You are such a delight to talk to. Thank you so much.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. Alright, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Richa Chadha and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

Mindset and Leadership Coach Coach Cindy Ames

March 7, 2025 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Mindset and Leadership Coach Coach Cindy Ames

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Cindy Ames is a dynamic speaker, coach, and mindset strategist dedicated to empowering professionals and entrepreneurs to create the results they want by shifting their mindset and taking aligned action. With expertise in mindset coaching, leadership development, and instructional design, Cindy transforms the way individuals and teams approach success.

As a former National Director of Learning and Development, Cindy developed high-impact training programs that enhanced leadership effectiveness, communication, and business performance. Now, as a sought-after speaker, trainer, and coach, she helps professionals break through limiting beliefs, build confidence, and implement practical strategies to achieve both professional and personal success.

Services & Expertise:

✔ Mindset Coaching – Identifying and shifting thought patterns that drive success
✔ Leadership & Communication Training – Elevating team performance through clarity and accountability
✔ Goal-Setting & Productivity – Creating value-driven, achievable goals that align with long-term success
✔ Motivational Speaking & Facilitation – Engaging, interactive sessions that inspire action

Cindy holds a PCC (Professional Certified Coach) accreditation from the International Coaching Federation (ICF), as well as certifications in Emotional Intelligence Coaching, Master Training, and Instructional Design. She has been a featured speaker at conferences and a guest on multiple podcasts, sharing her expertise on leadership, mindset, and kindness.

Speaking & Training Topics:

✅ Managing Your Mindset for Peak Performance
✅ Intentional Conversations: Elevating Communication & Influence
✅ Holding Others Accountable with Confidence & Clarity
✅ Creating Value-Driven Goals That Get Results

Cindy’s unique approach blends mindset transformation with actionable strategies, ensuring that clients don’t just think differently—they take action and see results.
To book Cindy for a speaking engagement, leadership training, or mindset coaching, contact cindy@cindyamescoaching.com.

Connect with Cindy on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This 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. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast speaker, coach, trainer and mindset strategist, Cindy Ames. How are you?

Cindy Ames: I am so fine. How are you today, Stone?

Stone Payton: I am doing well. Really been looking forward to this conversation and I think a great place to start would be if you could share with me and our listeners mission. Purpose. What is it that, uh, that you’re really out there trying to do for folks, Cindy?

Cindy Ames: Yeah, absolutely. So I think my mission is really and I don’t think it, I believe it. It’s really empowering others to live their life with kindness so that they can achieve the results that they want in life. And how do we do that is by observing and creating awareness for our current mindset, so that we can determine if it’s actually giving us what we want in life.

Stone Payton: Sounds like very rewarding work if you can get it. How in the world did you find yourself in this profession?

Cindy Ames: Oh, that’s a good question. So I have been in the corporate world for about ten, 12 years, and Covid happened and I was laid off, as many of us were, and my work was in the senior living industry, and I was centered in learning and development, and I loved it. I created trainings mainly for sales, but I also created trainings for operations and memory care and compliance and so forth. And I love being able also to deliver those trainings. And when Covid happened, I was in the process of becoming an executive coach for my company. I was in the original coach and help out in that way. And so I got laid off and I realized that I really wanted to pursue coaching because that was something I was passionate about at first and foremost, because all the learning that I gained from listening to coaches and experiencing being coached myself, and I saw such value in that, I wanted to share it with others. So I went ahead and graduated from my class. I was certified through the International Coaching Federation and I created my own business and in it I offer mindset coaching, I offer training, development, facilitation and I’m hired as a motivational speaker at conferences, workshops and so forth. And so it’s it’s not what I had expected. I had expected that I would work for the same company and do what I was passionate about doing until I was going to retire. And so for me, this was a big shift going into my own business and being an entrepreneur. And I can’t say that I regret it. In fact, I gained so much from having my own business that I’m rather pleased that this is the way that my career is going to come to a close eventually.

Stone Payton: I have a lot of questions about this business of mindset, but before we go there, I want to hear more about this transition because I would think that is quite the the leap. Was it a little intimidating? A little? A little scary in the early going. Getting your own business up and running?

Cindy Ames: Yeah, absolutely. It was. I experienced a lot of uncertainty. That was how fear manifested in my brain with uncertainty. I didn’t know if I was going to be able to do this. It was, um, so many things that were new for me. You know, when you work in a corporate setting, all the things are done for you. Marketing stunt, accounting stunt, all of that getting clients is done. And so I had to learn how to do all of that. And so one of the things that I learned early on was I talked to my brain. And when my brain would throw up uncertainty and those feelings and you could feel it in your in my body, I could feel it. I would say, oh, wait, wait, wait, hey, I see, I see that you’re feeling uncertain that you, you’re kind of scared about what’s going to happen. It’s okay. We’ve got this I have resources. My daughter had a business. She was a great resource and I learned Google and ChatGPT and YouTube. They’re all my friends, you know. And so I would go to those resources and that would help me. So my my point is, I reassured my brain that it was going to be okay. And I told it how it was going to be okay. And then I don’t know if you’ve seen the show Ted Lasso, but it’s a great show, right? It’s one of my favorite. And so one of the things I did was I created a believe sign and I put it above my door, just like they have in the show. And I have a rock on my desk that says believe. And it was just a reminder to believe in myself. I have the capacity, as do others, to to choose things that are challenging What gets us through it, I believe, are two things. One, it’s our mindset and it’s being kind to ourselves along the way. That’s what helps us.

Stone Payton: So you mentioned being formally credentialed, going through a certification process. What compelled you to take that route, and what’s your recommendation for other people maybe wanting to enter the field, or are you glad you did that?

Cindy Ames: Oh, I’m so glad I did it. It for me, coaching is extremely, extremely rewarding in that I get to be a partner with somebody and when they are going through a process of discovery and getting that aha moment, that epiphany where they realize, oh, I could think this other way. And in doing so, I get so much more in my life than what I had before. That’s a truly, I think, sacred and beautiful thing to be a part of. And so it brings me a lot of joy to be that partner and I if if a person is a has a, I call it a servant minded spirit. If if that comes naturally to them. I think that coaching is a great thing. The thing about coaching that a lot of people understand is it’s not my job to solve the other person’s problem. It’s not my job to have the answers. My job is to be their partner and asking them questions to create awareness in their own brain for what or how they’re looking at something. We have certain patterns of of looking at things, certain perspectives, certain lenses.

Cindy Ames: And those lenses cause us to look at something a certain way. And in doing so, we tend to come to the realization that that’s the truth. And it is. It’s a truth for us. However, that truth or that belief might no longer be working well for us. For us. And so what I can do is I can shine a light on that truth that’s holding them back and say, hey, would you like to talk about that? And we talk about it. And because they’re adults, they get to choose something new, right? As children, we are often given our rules. We’re given beliefs from our family, our parents, and so on. And and we tend to follow those because we don’t know any different. As adults, we get to make our own decision. We get to say, oh yeah, that particular rule, it no longer works or serves me. I can create a new one in its place that’s going to better push me forward or propel me forward to get the results in life that I want.

Stone Payton: So say a little bit more about this certification process, because I’m operating under the impression, at least with ICF, that’s a pretty Any rigorous, uh, curriculum, isn’t it?

Cindy Ames: Yeah it is. So with ICF, you go through a a organization that is specific for coach training and I use six seconds. They are their niche, if you will, is an emphasis on emotional intelligence. And I really like that a lot. They also had a mindset tool that I use a lot with my clients. And that was something that was really important to me to have in the curriculum. And it’s based on behavioral cognitive therapy. And so I chose that school and I went through that curriculum. And then I took a I had 100 hours of coaching I had to experience before I could take the first test. Wow. I took it, I passed. Well done. And then I had 500 hours to accumulate. And then I took my second test. And then I’m a Professional coach. Certified coach is what it’s called PCC, and that’s the level of accreditation I have through the International Coaching Federation. I felt it was really important to have that certification because I my brain, how my brain works is it likes structure and it does like rules. And so I wanted to make sure that I was following the rules I wanted.

Cindy Ames: I wanted a layout of ethics. I have, of course, my own ethics, but I wanted to go beyond what I knew to make sure that I wasn’t missing anything. So that was a really important component that ICF provided for me was their ethics and their standards. And they recently changed their testing. And the second go round was very was very challenging. But I passed and that’s all that matters. And so I, I find that especially because I was going to start with Corporate, um. Corporate coaching. I thought that it would be good to have ICS certification because SHRM, which is an HR organization, um, is connected with their partners with ICF. I want you to know that anybody can call themself a coach. The coaching industry is not legalized in any way. There’s no, uh, regulations or anything like that. And so for me, I thought it added legitimacy that I was educated in coaching, that I was certified by a body such as ICF. For me, that was important for other people. It’s not, um, that I wanted to serve what was best for myself. And so that’s why I did that.

Stone Payton: So at this point in your career, uh, at this stage of your practice, and you touched on a little bit, but I’d like to hear more. What are you finding the most rewarding? What’s the most fun about it these days for you?

Cindy Ames: I think it’s the collaboration that I have with the client. Uh, again, I get to see an insight into their brain, and you don’t often get to do that. I also love being able to create that neutral space for them, so there’s no judgment. They can say whatever they need to say. It’s not my job to, uh, to judge in any way that my job is just to create awareness for how they’re thinking so that they can see if it’s effective for them or if it’s not effective for them. You know, we have we have so many beliefs, and oftentimes we move through life unconscious of those beliefs. We just do them, follow them naturally. And it’s probably when we get pushed up against a wall or when we’re, we’re stumbling in some way is when we it brings attention to us that we’re like, you know, this just isn’t really working. What might I change? And being a part of that change and seeing it firsthand, I think is really, really exciting for me.

Stone Payton: Okay, so let’s do let’s dive into the work a little bit all the way to I want to make sure we’re, we’re singing off the same hymn sheet as my daddy would say and defining mindset and yeah, talk to us about the mechanism for the the work and how and walk us through the a primer around mindset in the first place.

Cindy Ames: Sure. So mindset is simply your beliefs, the things that you think about yourself and all the things around you which are your circumstances. And I’m sure you’ve heard of the phrase a positive mindset, a negative mindset, or or maybe even, um, Carol Dweck has created a growth mindset. All of those mindsets are just ways that we believe and the ways we think. And so somebody who has a positive mindset is thinking, for the most part along positive lines. When we do that, it impacts our life experience. So oftentimes people will say, well, I really believe and I really think this is the way it is. It’s okay. Great. How is that impacting you? What life experience are you experiencing with that type of thought? And that’s the point I want to bring to people’s attention. So if you’re adamant about believing something and it’s holding you back, it’s limiting you or it’s causing negativity in your life, well, then that’s a really good time for an opportunity to look at it and and evaluate, is that really going to work for me or not? And so when we do our sessions, my job is is simply to listen and ask questions based on what the individual has shared. Sometimes I’ll also bring in tools as appropriate for whatever the topic of conversation is. For example, the mindset tool that I use is we look at everything outside of us and we have a thought about it. So if you let’s just use a person, let’s say it’s our boss, we have a thought about our boss and it could be positive, it could be negative, whatever. And in this particular instance we usually start with negative. So I have a thought about my boss.

Cindy Ames: And that thought leads to emotion. Emotions drive our behaviors. So we have some sort of action we take and that action leads to result. If I’m not getting the results I want, maybe in the interaction I’m having with my boss, I need to look at my thoughts. Once I do that, I can make the tie between my thoughts and my result, and then I can say, okay, you know what? I don’t like those Results. I want to shift to another way of thinking that’s going to allow me to get better results. I can also give you the example of if we thought, I can’t, I can’t do this. What does that lead? Leads to? It leads to feeling, um, unsure. And when I’m unsure, what do I do? Well, what do I do? Is I sit back. I don’t do anything. What are my results? I’m not going to get any results because I’m not doing anything. So then I need to look at the opposite, which is I can when I think I can, I feel empowered. That’s like a great feeling. The empowerment motivates me. It causes me to want to go and to explore, to try different things, see what happens. And then I get results because I’m trying things. I’m realizing, oh, this is working. This isn’t working. Okay, let’s follow the line of what is working, and I’m going to double down on that or I’m going to expand it, that type of thing. So the mindset tool is a way that people can take a tangible thing, if you will. I’ll call it a tangible thing. You can take that as a structure to evaluate your thoughts and how they’re either helping you or they’re hindering you.

Stone Payton: Boy, do I wish I had your skills and background and experience because I will share with you there’s someone in my circle right now that genuinely believes that it’s hard to help people and make money at the same time. Um, or maybe it’s more on the money side. They just think it’s hard to make money, but it sounds like with your process, like you could disrupt that pattern and get them out of that long enough to to achieve a little direction, maybe.

Cindy Ames: Yeah, yeah. Oh, absolutely. Money is we have lots and lots of thoughts about money. A lot of it we inherit from our families. So if we have the thought, it’s hard to make money. Guess what? It’s hard for you to make money. It’s a struggle to make money. You’re conscious about it. You put in a lot of effort and you don’t get a lot of results. So what we can do is oftentimes our brains won’t change quickly from it’s hard to make money to it’s easy to make money. The brain is like, nah, we have all this evidence that it’s hard to make money. We know this to be a truth with a capital T, this is a fact. And so what we can do is we can move from it’s hard to make money to. It’s easy to make money. We can we can make that move in our brain by offering it rich thoughts. And you know what? Bridge is simply a way for us to get from one place to another. Place where there is a gap in between. So a bridge that helps us to close that gap between it’s hard and it’s easy. So we could say it’s hard to make money. And I’m not so sure about that. It’s hard to make money. And maybe I’m wrong about that. It’s hard to make money, and I might figure out a way. It could be easy. So see how I’m moving closer and closer to the idea of it’s easy to make money.

Cindy Ames: And then once I get to the point where I’m believing it’s easy to make money, then I start asking my brain how. And our brain has the reticular activating system inside of it. And what that does is it is a filter. We have so much data coming to us at any given time that the brain uses filters to help us to, to survive. And so when we say, how can I do something, then what happens? And we keep that thought in our mind, keep it in our mind. Then we’re reading an article and pop it pops up. How I can do something. We’re talking with a friend and it pops up. All of a sudden we get all these different ways on how to do it. And if you ever want to test it out, this is one of my favorite things to do. If you’re driving down the street all of a sudden, think in your head, where are all the white cars? Then all of a sudden, all you see are white cars where you’ve never really noticed them before and you’ve got white cars coming, you’ve got white birds going. You look down the street, there’s white cars, you look the other way. There’s white cars. It’s so fascinating. I love that thing. So that’s a that’s one way to do it.

Stone Payton: And your work is it largely one on one. Is it groups. And you also mentioned speaking which I actually want to ask a few more questions about. But what’s the mechanism. Is most of it one on one groups a little bit of all of that.

Cindy Ames: So if it’s coaching it’s typically one on one. So I do two. There’s similar but different. I do two different types of coaching one an individual hire. Hire me to coach them on specific topics. It could be personal. It could be business. It’s just basically what’s going on in their life that they’re having a challenge with. I also do executive coaching, so I’ll have a company hire me, and then they have different people in their organization that I work with, and I coach them based on what I think needs a lot of that is centered around what’s going on in their company or in their role, and I help them navigate it. And in that job, it’s kind of like a coaching slash consulting, because sometimes it’s a matter of how do I talk to this person? And what we do is we brainstorm. Well, what do you think about talking about it this way, or what do you think? Have you said that? How might that work? What is it? Does that feel? Does it resonate with you? Does that feel like how you would express yourself? Right. And so we work through that together. Sometimes we practice it, sometimes they just take notes. And then we come back and talk about how that worked for them. So Coaching is mainly one on one. What I also do are workshops or I do training and those are group settings. I do a mindset training. It’s called managing your mindset and that’s done in a group training. I just had a company hire me yesterday and I’m going to be doing one for their HR team in April on that. It’s like an hour and a half webinar. I also get hired to go do trainings. I’m going to do a half day training in September in Chicago. So there’s just different ways depending on what the, uh, the client wants to have happen.

Stone Payton: Well, I’m glad I asked, because I was trying to envision myself in an authentic exchange with you about, you know, my belief systems. And I love this idea of bridge thoughts and and the idea of this. Uh Self-kindness. Right. And how I talked to to to myself. But I was also thinking, you know, if I were in a room with other people who ran an organization and had some of the same leadership pressures and that kind of thing as I do, and I watched them participate in this exchange. I just it seems like you could you could learn a lot from each other in that environment. It seems like there would be plenty to be gained in both of those environments.

Cindy Ames: Yeah, there are there are coaches that will have group sessions, and you do learn a lot from what somebody else is being coached on, because you can usually take just about anything and apply it to your own life in some way. Right. You. Yeah. You look at it and say, how does this apply to me? And you can benefit from it. So absolutely.

Stone Payton: Now there’s some honest to goodness real science behind. So much of what you’re talking about is, I mean, we have some data that suggests, yes, this is how the the brain works, right?

Cindy Ames: Absolutely. So neuroscience has done a lot to uncover how the brain works. And and you know what happens. And one of the things that I think is really exciting is the brain, the concept of neuroplasticity, which means the brain is able to rewire itself. So we have thoughts and thoughts are just you think something in a neural pathway in your brain is lit up and and when you pay that thought enough attention, it becomes more solidified. And so what happens for us when we have that thought? It becomes a belief because we just thought that thing for so long. Mm. The trick is when we want to have a new thought. So if we go to our chant and our can example from before, if I have a thought, I fought long enough, I can’t. That’s pretty hard wired into my brain. But the cool thing is again neuroplasticity. We can rewire our brain. So then I bring in the new thought, and I bridge my way over to I can. And then I start thinking that thought again and again and again. It’s not a one and done. It’s work. There is a work to this practice. And so I think it long enough to where I begin believing it, I begin to see how it’s true. And I make that superhighway, if you will, stronger. However, one of the things we have to remember is that sometimes that old thought will come back in and we’ve experienced that, you know, oh no, you can’t or oh, do you remember so-and-so said this and you really believe that about yourself? They’ll pop up. That’s our opportunity. That’s our opportunity to say, hey, no, I don’t think that way anymore.

Cindy Ames: I now believe I can do it, And we have to be firm. This is just our brain throwing stuff at us. Just because our brain thinks it doesn’t actually mean it has to be true. And I. I liken our brains to a toddler. A toddler is going to throw things at you. Toddler is going to say, I want it to be done my way, but you’re in charge of your brain, and you can take that power away from your brain by just saying, no, we don’t think that way anymore. I mean, there’s sometimes I’ll wake up and I I’ve had depression since I was 16 and so I’ve not had I don’t really have it anymore because I’ve managed it and I’ve done a lot of work on myself, but I my body remembers it. And so sometimes I’ll wake up and I’ll have those the, the feeling in my body of the depression and I will tell myself it’s okay, nothing’s gone wrong, everything is fine. And I just repeat that mantra over and over again, and then my body calms down and then it. And then I’m, I’m just it’s in every it’s an every day. It’s just a regular day. I don’t have depression. My body just remembers. And so I think it’s important for us to remember that we’re in charge of our thoughts. And you can think anything you want to. I think to me, that’s one of my taglines. You can think anything you want to. So if something isn’t working for you, let’s get you a new thought.

Stone Payton: Well, it’s an inspiring tagline tagline. And I got to confess, Cindy, I’m finding one of the most empowering aspects of this conversation for me personally, is I’m walking away telling myself, my brain works for me.

Cindy Ames: Yeah, your brain works for you, not the other way around.

Stone Payton: No, I think that’s marvelous. Uh, I’m going to switch gears on you for a minute, if I might, and ask you about hobbies, interests, pursuits, passions outside the scope of your coaching and speaking and facilitation work. Anything you nerd out about, that’s not this.

Cindy Ames: Oh, that’s a fun question. Um, so I’m a I’m a voracious reader. I read 240 books last year. Um, yeah. I think the most I read, I think it was like around Covid time was 350 books. Um, and they’re they’re not deep philosophical books. They’re just they’re fun books. And I just, I love reading. I have ever since I was a little kid, I was one of those kids who go to the library and come back with, you know, ten books, read them all in a week. And so I love reading. I have four grandkids, loves spending time with my grandkids, my son, my son for Christmas bought me a Oculus, which is a VR headset. And so I’m having a lot of Burn playing Beat Saber every evening before I watch TV, and it’s just, uh, it’s just an online game that’s, you know, the six year old woman is playing Beat Saber. I just think it’s kind of amusing. So. And then I love traveling. My husband and I enjoy traveling, and I. I love experiencing other cultures, understanding people. Uh, seeing how I think the coolest thing about people and the understanding of them is that. Based on their experience where they live, the, the temperature, whatever, they’ve created certain things and things that I have no idea that that’s there or that they would think that way, but it makes sense that they do based on their circumstances. And I find that to be really fascinating. And so my husband and I like to travel and and experience that. And I love to see. I love to see the beauty in our world. And that’s a that’s a big pleasure for me to see that beauty. So I enjoy that both in what, um, the creation of the Earth as well as as what man humans, I should say, humans have created. Both are very fascinating to me.

Stone Payton: What a marvelous laboratory. Or maybe observatory is. A is a better word for it to travel and experience other cultures and and engage with and observe these, these folks. So especially with your unique lens, I bet that is a great deal of fun to do that.

Cindy Ames: And absolutely is.

Stone Payton: So what’s next for you? Uh, are you going to kind of just stay in your groove, keep doing what you’re doing? Do you have plans? Is there a book in you, or are we going to replicate the the Cindy Ames Method. What’s on the horizon?

Cindy Ames: You think a book would always be fun, but I don’t actually have an outline for a book written. But I think it’s going to stay an outline and that’s okay. I think that, you know, I’m looking for four years or so or six years and then retiring. And so I love what I do. I find so much pleasure in what I do that I am so content where I’m at now. I’m just open to clients reaching out for to work with me as either a coach or a trainer and doing a workshop facilitating, uh, or, excuse me, speaking at a conference. That’s kind of my jam right now. So I’m having fun with that, and I’m hoping that I will retire from doing this because it is bringing so much joy to my life now I just. And who knows, maybe I won’t retire. Maybe I’ll just keep on doing this. No, I can’t do it anymore. You know, that would be fun, too.

Stone Payton: Well, the only thing I’ve even been a little bit skeptical about during the entire course of this conversation is the idea that you would fully retire from this work? I don’t know, I think you’re too invested in and living your best life through it, so we’ll just have to see.

Cindy Ames: You’re probably right. You’re probably right.

Stone Payton: Hey, listen, before we wrap, I’d love to leave our listeners with a pro tip. And look, gang, the the best pro tip if any of this conversation. And it certainly has had to, um, stimulate and challenge your thinking, the best pro tip is reach out and have a conversation with Cindy. But, uh, let’s leave them with a pro tip for producing better results in less time or getting their arms around some of these topics we’ve talked about.

Cindy Ames: Yeah, absolutely. So producing better results in less time. Less time. Microchip would be. Treat yourself with kindness. What happens is when we have negative thoughts coming into ourselves about ourselves, it’s like having mud that you have to move through as you’re trying to achieve your goal. And it makes trying to achieve your goal so much harder. So if you shifted to bringing in kind thoughts, meaning, I can do this. I’m intelligent. I’ve got this. You’re doing great. I’m so proud of you talking to myself right when we say that those times, or even if it’s okay, I messed up. No big deal. I’m a human being. Human beings. Not sad. Let’s see what we want to do next. Let’s see how we’re going to fix it. We have that positivity toward ourselves. Then we’re not. We’re not slogging through the mud to get to the goal. And so that makes your pace in achieving that goal much quicker, and you have a beautiful life experience along the way. So self-kindness, that’s that’s the thing. That’s the key right there.

Stone Payton: Well, I think that is terrific. Counsel. What’s the best way for our listeners to continue to tap into your work, maybe get connected with you, maybe have that conversation with you? Let’s leave them with some coordinates.

Cindy Ames: Yeah, absolutely. So my website is w ww dot Cindy Ehnes a m e s Coaching.com. And I still send you the traditional way. Cindy. And you can also follow me on Instagram. And that’s Cindy Ehnes coach. So those are the two places to connect with me and to get a peek into who I am and and what what I can offer.

Stone Payton: So Cindy, it has been an absolute delight visiting with you this afternoon. It’s been an inspiring and invigorating conversation. I have personally benefited a great deal and you are clearly doing some tremendous work in serving others. Keep up the good work and thank you so much for investing your your time and energy with us this afternoon.

Cindy Ames: I appreciate it, Stone. Thank you for having me on your show.

Stone Payton: My pleasure. Alright, until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Cindy Ames and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.

Engineer and Business Strategist Sairan Aqrawi

March 7, 2025 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Engineer and Business Strategist Sairan Aqrawi

00:00 /

Sairan Aqrawi is both an engineer and business strategist, dedicated to helping individuals and organizations unlock their full potential through a powerful blend of technical expertise and strategic business insight.

With a focus on transforming midlife in just 28 days, Sairan empowers her clients to gain crystal-clear clarity, take bold, decisive action, and achieve meaningful, measurable results that last. Her unique approach combines the precision of engineering with the foresight of business strategy, enabling leaders to make smarter, more impactful decisions that drive both operational efficiency and sustainable growth.

Sairan works with clients to create custom solutions that seamlessly align technical capabilities with overarching business goals, fostering innovation and setting the stage for long-term success.

Whether individuals are navigating a career transition, or organizations are looking to optimize their business operations, Sairan’s guidance ensures they take purposeful, well-informed steps toward their desired outcomes.

Through her strategic coaching and hands-on expertise, clients transform their challenges into opportunities, turning midlife into a powerful launchpad for lasting personal and professional success. Sairan’s clients don’t just achieve goals—they gain the confidence, direction, and tools to continually elevate their performance and reach new heights in their careers and businesses.

Connect with Sairan on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This 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. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast Sairan Aqrawi. How are you?

Sairan Aqrawi : I’m doing great. Thank you for having me.

Stone Payton: Oh, I have really been looking forward to this conversation. A lot of topics I’d like to cover, but let’s start with just general mission. Purpose. What are you really out there trying to do for your clients?

Sairan Aqrawi : Yes. Thank you for the question. I feel that this time of midlife, for men and women, it’s very crucial to rediscover and reinvent themselves. My mission and actually my task. What I do in my coaching business is to encourage and guide those midlife men and women to discover what is their hidden talent and monetize it and get to their best version of themselves.

Stone Payton: So how did you get into coaching? What compelled you to get into this profession?

Sairan Aqrawi : Yeah. Um, it’s it’s kind of like, uh, you don’t plan for it, but it looked like it was my hidden gem a long time ago when I was younger. Uh, since I was a teenage, I always thought the universe problems are my problem to solve. Like I always wanted to solve people problem. Uh, you know, guiding people, teaching. I feel like I taught all my life I’ve taught swimming, engineering, coaching, leadership, business, communication. So teaching is something that I really enjoy. And when I went to engineering school, even though that I finished my degree and I earned my master’s master degree. It seems like my hidden gem was buried under this routine, and all the expectation and the daily things that I was doing in my life. Then it’s pop up and speaking gigs that I did at the university that the younger engineers thought, I’m a coach. And back then my life was all engineering, design, engineering, you know, um, titles make sure that you get the next training, the next certification. But then I knew that I have something else inside me that I can offer and leave an impact. That’s what I, uh, got introduced to be a mentor at the school and start coaching. And the rest is history.

Stone Payton: So I get the sense that you genuinely feel like midlife is a good, uh, time for a turning point for for changing things up. Yeah.

Sairan Aqrawi : It is, it is, it’s it’s the best job that chapter. Actually, when we are younger we are not fully understanding the term of lives. We expect everything go right and life is good. Everything is a straight line and we give so much value to other people’s opinion, we seek validation. The peer pressure. Even after college, we want to get a good job. We want the fanciest title in LinkedIn. We want a $2 million house. We want a student kids. We want a beautiful wife. We want a handsome man. Everything is external. Look to us very vivid and fancy, and we live in that until we really reach a point. I would say midlife. Some people say 35, others say 45. Let’s say just assume it’s the 50, it’s the halfway. And you turn around and you see that your kids already halfway in Halfway school. They are ready to go to college. And you look in the mirror and said, now what? This is my time. I mean, I’ve been working hard. I’ve been a parent. I’ve been a brother. I’ve been a sister. I’ve been taking care of their elderly parents or in-laws. Now is my time. I should take care of myself. I should seek the best version of myself. I should look what is inside me, what I can create, uh, as an impact when I leave this world. What else I can change in this world? And midlife. Uh, it’s. It’s a time that you really rediscover the stuff that you already have it. It’s all buried, uh, stone. We all have it. It’s just something inside us. We just need to sit down and ask a lot of questions to ourselves and discover that hidden talent and and just share it with the universe.

Stone Payton: Well, I wanted to ask you about that. How do you uncover hidden talents? And it sounds like part of it is asking yourself questions, or maybe having someone with professional experience and expertise like yourself, prompting us with the right kinds of questions. Is that part of it?

Sairan Aqrawi : Yes, yes. Totally. Stone. You got that right. Because this is not a formula. There is no manual and book that I can give you and said, hey, you’re going to discover your hidden gem in 48 hours. This is not a painkiller thing. This is a process that I call it 28 Days Discovery. And actually, even Robert Greene talked about it in the mastery book, and he called the hidden gem the Life Purpose. What is your life task or what is the task that you need to do? I call it the core genius because this is something that I cannot give it to you in one hour coaching session, you can’t just come to me and say, I don’t know what is my hidden gem? And I’d say, oh, let me ask you a couple of questions. Here it is. Go ahead and monetize it. It doesn’t work this way because as coaches, we always encourage our clients to make the discovery themselves. We don’t put words in their mouth. We don’t tell them this is the right path to do it. Rather, we guide them because for someone like me, I’m in my 50s, so I know what’s midlife, you know, for women is because I’m in it. I’m living it every day. Right. So it’s not like me talking about how is teenage feel.

Sairan Aqrawi : I’m not a teenager. I’m a woman in my midlife. So I know what we go through. Not just the hormones and other things, even like the way how we value ourselves at the workplace, the way how we look at ourselves. We keep labeling. We are old, we are old. I can do I cannot do this. It’s it’s time is up. I should play it safe. Let me stay on the lane. Those narratives should stop because 50. It’s your gold year. This is the year that you really want to thrive. This is the year that you really want to rediscover yourself and know exactly what is your what is your task? Going back to your question, the 28 days I used to have in my old niche, I used to have three months and six months, and I felt like the client really get drained with that long terms of process. So I shorten it to 28 days. And basically what I do, I ask a lot of question, but not only I, I don’t motivate motivate my client, I rather make make them take action. And I’ll give you an example to make it clear to the audience. For example, let’s say you come as a client and you tell me, um, I’m an IT guy and I’m making very good money in it, and I don’t want to quit my job.

Sairan Aqrawi : But since I was a child, since I was a teenager, I was always the speaker of the group. They always call me to be on the stage. I feel like I have a speaking skills and what I do, I don’t just give you books and video and encouraging you and say, great job, go ahead and be a speaker. I will make you do speaking gigs. I will throw you on stages and purpose. I will have you schedule with podcasts. I will arrange podcasts between you and people that I know that have podcasts, and I will have you speak at association. I will have you speak at event because without hands on, I am not making you doing any progress because your your dream will be just stay a dream. Its unless I make you do action. Whatever you are dreaming about, whatever you think is your core genius is still going to stay as a dream unless you take action. So that’s an example. Being an IT guy and want to be a speaker, I will never tell you to quit your job. I’m just going to have you to have that speaking skills in a site, monetize it, thrive in it, and have fun with it. Because side business, if there is no fun, don’t even do it.

Sairan Aqrawi : Same thing when I teach swimming when I was in my 20s. Um, you never saw me teaching. When I start teaching teenagers, then I start teaching after that adult, you know, in their 20s and above. You never see me telling the client who wants to learn swimming, look how I. I move my arm, look how I move my my my legs. No, I threw them on the swimming pool. I literally threw them and jumped after them. And because they feel I’m drawing, I’m drawing. I said, don’t worry, you’re not gonna drown. I’m the coach. I’m right behind you. Right? I’m jumping right behind you on the swimming pool. But without me putting them on the swimming pool, making them do the the action and the move that I teach them, they will never learn swimming. That’s the same thing with business. If you don’t put your client on the stage for what they really want to do. There is no progress and that’s apply to every hidden talent painting, speaking, writing. If you love to write and you are not writing any blogs, why are you even telling me you love to write? I don’t see your your writing anywhere, so you have to really take action in your in your passion. Without action, passion is just a dream.

Stone Payton: And do you find that while someone may have a career, or they may feel very confident and be very accomplished in another area, it’s not like they have to throw all that away to go into this. To do. They can they can maybe, uh, leverage the best of both worlds. Right.

Sairan Aqrawi : Exactly, exactly. And, and, uh, I remember who better than Malcolm Forbes said said something about this. He said the biggest mistake people make in life is not trying to make a living at doing what they most enjoy. That’s a mistake. If you really enjoy doing podcasts and you are not doing it for whatever reason, that’s, that’s that’s a mistake because you are good at it. So go ahead and do it. And people tend to brush off and ignore what’s really inside them because they think, oh, this is just a passion or I’m only good at that. Not a big deal. It is a big deal. If you really are an artist and you draw very nice and you keep those paint in the basement thinking that people will make fun of it, that’s that’s not fair. You need to bring that painting. You need to share it with the universe. At least start an Instagram page, put those paintings to the public, let people enjoy those color and talent because perfectionism will never come this way. You need the progress. You need the momentum. And by us, uh, as an entrepreneur, I think Jack Canfield also mentioned it. If you be an entrepreneur and you are not spending in what’s what exactly is he mentioned? Actually, he said, most entrepreneurs spend less than 30% of their time focusing on their core genius and unique ability, which is me. When I become an entrepreneur and I forget that I’m a speaker because I’m doing all the finance marketing, I’m doing the meeting and I forgot that my core genius is speaking. I’m not going to thrive as a speaker. So as an entrepreneur and for all the audience who’s listening to us, if you are good in something, focus in that one things and leave and dedicate all those admin and all the other stuff that relate to your core genius to other people, because you want to focus on what you really thrive on without focusing, you are not going anywhere.

Stone Payton: So I can hear it in your voice and I know our listeners can too. You obviously find the work incredibly fulfilling. What what are you enjoying the most at this point in your practice? What’s the the most fun about it for you?

Sairan Aqrawi : Yes. Um, so although I’m still a full time engineer because I’m still in love with engineering, I don’t hate my job, I love engineering, I think I want to be an engineer, but at the same time, I. I feel like me just solving equation and being and being good in math, that’s not enough, because I have other skills that I can utilize and leverage in order to make an impact. I feel like the the most enjoy that I have in my side business. It’s the feedback when I pick up a client who has no confidence about what they really have, and I walk them through and I walk with them in the journey, and we go through the process. And when I meet them after a couple of months and I see the, the, the different the jump they made in their personal and professional life just because they work with me one month. And I’m not saying that one month is, it’s a, it’s a, it’s a magic or I’m a magician or I’m doing like things and overnight it’s matter of fact in coaching Waldstein, we said the real coaching happened between session, which is true.

Sairan Aqrawi : I might talk to you today and you go to vacation and we have a gap between the two sessions. Three weeks while you are on vacation, you’re gonna remember everything I taught you the first session. So the real coaching really happened between the line between the session, not at the session, because he’s going to start thinking, oh, well, she said that. I think she’s challenging me. I’d better to do that. She’s right. I need to build that confidence. It’s the inner voice talk. You keep telling yourself that you have the ability you just need to take action on. So when I see those clients and we come back to me and said, wow, you don’t believe what we did, you told us to write a book. We did. You told us to be in podcast. We did. You told us to apply for that job, which always scared us. We did. Now we are in a better place because we have confidence that whatever really scaring us the most is the best. Things happen in our life if we just touch on it.

Stone Payton: Do you find sometimes, at least early in the relationship with a new client, that some people at that midlife especially are feel like it’s just too late to to start something new? Do they ever come to you feeling that way?

Sairan Aqrawi : Of course. And it’s it’s normal. I mean, you can say that’s not happening. Most of them, 90% of those midlife. When I talk to them, they said, oh, no, 50. That’s old. I’m too late. This is late in the process. Even men, I mean, uh, they have this stage. They think, oh, I’m not doing the new business. I’m not changing my job. I’m not writing a book. I’m 55. Well, my answer to all those, including my client, if it’s it’s it’s better late than never. I mean, if you just push it and say it’s late, and when you are in, you know, deathbed and leaving this world, if you keep telling yourself, I hope if I did that, I hope if I hope, if do you want to bring all those I hope ifs to the bed with you or you want to act upon them now just do it. Because when you do it, you have either you’re going to succeed right away, first time good luck, or you’re going to learn the lessons and you pick up another foot in front of the another and try another path. If you are not doing now, then when it’s time, midlife is your time. This is the wisdom that you earn for the past. You know, 20 years raising kids, being a team team, team player at work, uh, do coaching. Even when you coach high school student, you learn from every event in your life when you are about thinking about your retirement? Why are you even thinking this is the end? This is not the end. You might retire from your job, but this is not retirement from life. It’s the beginning of your real life. It’s right now.

Stone Payton: You must be particularly adept. You must be really good at at helping people build their. Build their confidence.

Sairan Aqrawi : Uh, yes. And I think my engineering background helped me in a way, because everything is strategic. Everything is a plan. Everything is structure. There is a there is a blue map, right? There is a blueprint. There is a map in front of you. I’m not just going to motivate you and say, oh, look at yourself. In five years you’re going to be rich. You’re going to have two businesses. This vision is beautiful. But if I don’t be strategic with you, if I don’t give you a map and guide you and be accountable, partner with you saying, this is first step, this is where you’re going. And I have passion in it because I did it myself. I mean, I cannot encourage people to do something that I didn’t succeed at. I still have a job and I have a side business. And and I never tell my client, hey, quit. That’s not my call. If they did so much, you know, profit and their book make Million Dollar, they’re going to quit without coming back to me. Right. If they write the first book and and make a lot of money, why? They need me to tell them to quit. They just need to start believing in their hidden talent, and they don’t need to brush it and bury it under the routine and daily activity that we all do. We just need to discover it, cherish it, celebrate it, and share it with the universe.

Stone Payton: No doubt that every client situation is different, unique. Uh, the challenges are unique, the opportunities are distinct. But do you run into some patterns. Like do you see some types of challenges on a on a regular basis like, or is there like a common group of challenges that you run into?

Sairan Aqrawi : Yeah, yeah, yeah. Of course the pushback, the midlife, uh, client, they push back because they are very comfortable where they are. They have a paycheck, they have a routine job. They go to the to their office, they come back, pay the bills. Life is good. And when I tell them life is not good, they laugh. They said, what do you mean? I said, that’s not a life, that’s a routine. What you describing to me? You’re going to work, come back and have dinner with your husband and take two vacations in a year and take pictures. And you call that a life? They said, yeah, I said, that’s not a life. That’s a routine. Life is challenge. Life is doing things that scare you. Life is to do everything that you, you, you dream and hope for. When you are a teenager and you never had the chance to do it, that’s the life which should happen in the 50. You have no excuse. But the pushback come from they. They are scared from the failing. Now I’m going to fail. I’m 55. What do you mean? I need to write a book now.

Sairan Aqrawi : Yes. Write a book now. Why not? If it’s not now, then when? Well, how about if my book doesn’t make any money? Well, that’s not the the question here. It’s not about the money. Your your dream since you were 25 years old to have your own book, then if you are not doing in your 50, then when y you have to wait until you are 70 and 80 and feel sorry for yourself. Why you don’t start in your midlife and just enjoy everything. Come your way and challenge yourself. Don’t don’t don’t, uh, don’t agree with this routine life that you have right now. Challenge yourself. Do scary stuff. Jump, jump if you don’t jump. I mean, life is it’s worth jumping and take risk. And I always remember what Joe Rogan said. He said, just be the hero of your own movie. And that’s true. Try to be the hero of your own movie. Who better than Joe Rogan saying that, right? Right. Just do the scary things and just do it.

Stone Payton: And then I know the answer to this is yes, but I’d like to I’d like you to speak to it to some degree anyway. I can envision that some clients, maybe a lot of clients, uh, achieve some some progress, you know, following this 28 day action plan, having that accountability, having your direction, having that confidence building. And then maybe, uh, what’s the right word? The snap back a little bit or, or regress a little bit is it’s probably not all just forward momentum. Right. It’s like how do you keep it sustainable and keep it going.

Sairan Aqrawi : Yeah. I think um, I always tell my client, although it’s a 28 days, that doesn’t mean after that you are done. It’s it’s a you have to, you know, continue doing what you have done with me in the process. It’s an endless journey. A stone. This is not something you’re going to learn in 28 days and celebrate and done. For example, we talked about the speaking or the writing or the singing or the knitting or any other business that you think this is your core genius. You’re not going to practice it right after I’m done with you and the coaching. It’s a continuous it’s a continuous action, right? It’s an endless thing. And I always tell my clients, don’t come back after three months. And you said that, um, the the spark is gone. Like you don’t feel that, um, what you call the passion anymore because you haven’t took many action on what we talked about through the process. It’s all on you. Don’t blame the universe. Don’t blame the environment. Don’t blame your boss. Don’t blame your partner or the coach that you are still not fulfilling your dream. It’s all on you. It’s all on the client shoulder. It’s inside job. Coaches, mentors or consultants. We are just accountability partner. We are just guiding you through the map. We’re holding the flashlight. If there is a dark spot, we are just holding the flashlight for you. But we are not the problem solving you are. I’m not here to to to solve your problem. This is your own problem. You have to solve it. I’m just guiding you. What is work for some client might not work for other client, right? So for example, when I certify an ICF and I become an ACC and now I’m a mentor coach so I can actually certify new ACC through ICF.

Sairan Aqrawi : I have my own coach. Still, I pay money to a guy to coach me because I have to upscale my game. If you met me five, ten years ago, I was not sounding that confidence because I just started a journey. I had so far I had three coaches until now. Each one teach me something else. So I have to build. I have to scale up my game as well. Not because I am coaching you. That’s mean. I don’t need coach. Everyone needs a coach and a mentor. Everyone. Because you don’t want to sound and act and do the same action you did five years ago. You have to to, to to upgrade your game. You have to be in a different scale. And that’s what I define success. Stone I said success, I always define it. I never change the definition of success. Success to me is the relentless energy to keep progressing. That’s success because you keep progressing. If your podcast now it’s better version and quality than two years ago. That’s a success. You are not here doing this because you are competing with Joe Rogan. That’s not your game. That’s not your goal. You want to be a better version of yourself two years ago. So that’s success. And people see oh my God, he’s doing way better two years ago. That’s success right? So it’s your it’s your version. You competing with your old version. That’s the success.

Stone Payton: Were you obviously have a tremendous amount of passion for this work. And as you mentioned earlier, you still thoroughly enjoy your career as an engineer. Uh, hobbies, interests, pursuits outside the scope of those things. Anything else that you like to do that we might not guess?

Sairan Aqrawi : Uh. Oh, God. When I was younger, in my teenage, I loved dancing. So now I’m. I’m away from that. But I still love swimming. Uh, but the hobby that I always loved and I still love doing it is reading and writing. I love to write. You can leave me in a room with a cup of green tea, and I will be in that room for 3 or 4 hours just writing nonstop. I love to write. Yeah, that’s one of my most loving passions.

Stone Payton: Well, what a great segue, because I, I wanted to ask you what’s next for you? And maybe the answer is is a book.

Sairan Aqrawi : It is. Yeah it is. I’m working on it. Yes.

Sairan Aqrawi : And it’s about the midlife.

Stone Payton: Well, I’ll hope you’ll let us continue to, to follow your story. And you don’t have to wait till you write the book. But we definitely want when when the book, when you get ready to release that book, we want to, uh, check back in with you and see how that’s going.

Sairan Aqrawi : Yes, definitely. I would love to. Yes, definitely. Yeah.

Stone Payton: All right. What’s the best way for our listeners to tap into your work? Stay connected, learn more. Whatever you feel like is appropriate. But let’s give them a way to connect.

Sairan Aqrawi : Yes. So I have only two platforms. The LinkedIn is my professional work at my day job as an engineer. Uh, a lot of clients reach me through LinkedIn because they are younger engineer who are seeking, you know, to advance their degree in engineering or Stem. They want to build a better LinkedIn page, or they just seeking promotion or be a team lead. They can reach me in LinkedIn. But if you are an entrepreneur, if you want to start a small business and you know and you are clear that you have a hidden talent, that you would love to monetize and make money out of it, you can reach me at Sharon Cline with one word in Instagram and I will be more than happy if they mention your channel and they mention your name, I will give them a complimentary 30 minutes consultation session.

Stone Payton: Fantastic!

Stone Payton: What a delight to visit with you this afternoon. This has been a very informative conversation. You’ve built my confidence and inspired me and I know you have for our listeners as well. You’re doing good work and we sure appreciate you.

Sairan Aqrawi : You so much, Stone. Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it.

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

Curtis Forbes with MustardHub

March 7, 2025 by angishields

Houston Business Radio

Curtis Forbes with MustardHub

00:00 /

Curtis Forbes is the Founder & CEO of MustardHub, a team engagement platform helping companies become destinations for workplace happiness. A 5X founder with three exits, Curtis has built and scaled businesses across education, technology, and creative industries.

With degrees from Berklee College of Music and NYU, his creative approach to leadership is influenced by his background as a musician and performer.

Outside of work, Curtis is a husband, father of four, and storyteller — with adventures ranging from visiting every MLB stadium in seven weeks to surviving a rattlesnake bite.

Trisha and Curtis Forbes discussed the importance of Mustard Hub, a team engagement platform that fosters workplace happiness and helps companies become destinations for employee engagement. They also addressed the challenges faced by businesses in adapting to the changing workforce and the need for budget-aligned solutions to address these challenges.

Curtis further explained the benefits of Mustard Hub, a platform designed to foster workplace equity and culture, and shared a success story of a preschool owner who saw a significant increase in employee satisfaction after using the platform.

Connect with Curtis on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

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

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. It is my pleasure to have this guest on with me. We actually met at the Franchise Business Review last year, which happened to be in Denver. And we’ve also had the opportunity to meet and talk about his incredible company. Curtis Forbes is with me today, founder and CEO of MustardHub, a team engagement platform helping companies become destinations for workplace happiness. Curtis, welcome to the show.

Curtis Forbes: Really happy to be here. I appreciate you having me.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I’m super excited. I’ve had the opportunity to take an inside look at this amazing platform that you’ve built. And we’re going to talk a little bit about that today and a little bit about Curtis. So for our listeners who don’t know who you are or may not know who you are, tell us a little bit about you.

Curtis Forbes: Oh, gosh. Well, um, I might my early background is in music, actually, um, graduated with a degree in jazz composition, a master’s in jazz studies. Uh, spent about 15 years on the jazz circuit, performing up to four nights a week and teaching everything from privately up to higher education. So, um, I’ve performed with Grammy winners and was actually an active member of the Texas chapter for many years. I, uh, started an education company a little over 20 years ago while I was still performing quite a bit. And, uh, that was my entrance into the business world. And over the past 20 years, I guess we grew that small business and scaled the company to ten major markets across the country. And as I started to wind down my performance career, I also I built a startup in the video software space around 2012. Um, later exited a couple of years before Covid and and then, as the new world of work reared its head over the pandemic, I focused my energy on solving much bigger, much bigger people problems. But I’m a teacher, an entrepreneur. I think most importantly the the father of four amazing humans, a husband to my incredible wife who puts up with all my shenanigans.

Trisha Stetzel: Uh, I can’t imagine no shenanigans. Yeah. Uh, yeah. What an interesting path for us to go from music to education to business ownership. Although not strange. Just interesting. Right? Circuitous.

Curtis Forbes: Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: Absolutely. Um, okay, so where does Mustard Hub come in? And before you go there, I want to ask you about the name, because that is one of the first questions I asked you before we even got here, right when we were getting to know each other. So tell me about the basis for the name first, and then tell us a little more about Mustard Hub.

Curtis Forbes: Gosh. Well, it was a little bit of an aha moment. You know, a mustard seed is is one of the smallest, um, seeds that can grow into one of the largest plants. And, you know, at the time when we built it, we were solving a problem for companies that work with a lot of independent contractors, organizations with team members who may feel disenfranchized or disassociated or even unable to access, you know, these types of benefits that, uh, um, you know, a lot of enterprise businesses can. And so, you know, it was this idea of being part of something bigger than just an individual, um, you know, so that’s sort of the genesis of where the name comes from. Um, I, I wish there was a a little bit of a better story, but I think that as you as you see the logo and I think, I think as you think about, um, what it means to be connected with a company that has a big, you know, a big vision or a mission that’s really meaningful to you. Um, but may not be, you know, one of their leadership or salaried, you know, it’s it’s a way to sort of be a small piece in a much bigger thing and feel a part of that.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. You should not undervalue the story behind mustard. The name Mustard Hub I think it’s fantastic. I love it and I see it and even through um your emotion and your values that you put out there for people to see, I think it’s really important that, uh, this just being a part of something bigger. Right. So tell me a little bit more about the the platform, not the technical parts of it, but why is it important to have something like this.

Curtis Forbes: Why is it important? Well, I mean, we now we now live in this culture driven workforce economy. I mean, times have changed, but companies are still operating, you know, the same way they did in the 50s, right? They’ll hire somebody. They hope it works out. Their employee sticks around for 30 years until they retire with with a nice gold watch and a trip to Florida. But we all know that that that doesn’t happen anymore, right? Almost half the entire workforce already has one foot out the door. Over 40%. And that’s on average, you know, in small businesses suffer disproportionately. You know, each marginal staff departure makes up a significant piece of the team. And in many cases, you know, that experience, the customer relationships, the institutional knowledge, it goes right along with it. And I think that given that, given that these times have changed, it has set up this scenario of winners and losers, right. You fight the change and you’re going to face more than two and a half times higher turnover rates, you’re going to have over 60% lower rate of revenue growth in a business life expectancy of, you know, less than eight and a half years. And if you embrace the change, you’ll find turnover can drop more than or up to about 150%, you know, four times higher revenue growth than between 300 600% ROI on your investment in people. So, you know, simply put, like there’s a new expectation in the workplace and traditional benefits are merely table stakes.

Curtis Forbes: There’s, you know, there’s over 11 million SMEs that feel the pain. A majority of them counted as their number one problem, right? Engagement, turnover. Most of those 11 million businesses have no solution for their people problem and no way to, I think, really empirically measure the real effects of their company culture on time, money and personnel. But like beyond that, the workforce is changing. You know, just like what I was mentioning a moment ago about, you know, some disconnected workforce, over 60% of the US workforce is going to be in the gig economy in the next five years. So how do you incentivize contractors? How do you incentivize small teams that can’t even provide benefits to their employees, like some preschools or salons or fitness centers that work part timers, you know, or hourly work workers? How can businesses that rely on this diverse worker classification use incentives and reward performance while keeping costs low? So I think that when you ask what’s important about it in these in these economic headwinds, this is a very budget aligned solution for something so comprehensive that I think many business owners often have anxiety over. And I think such a powerful solution to deal with this societal change that many business owners aren’t really sufficiently prepared to overcome.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. So I’m thinking about the challenge, right? The challenge that Mustard Hub resolves or at least tackles. And a couple of things that you said, like engagement and turnover and benefits, I think are really important parts of what your platform can help with. Right. Or at least help start to tackle some of those challenges. So now people are even more curious, I’m sure, as they’ve listened to our conversation. What exactly does hub does Mustard Hub do?

Curtis Forbes: Well, what we set out to do, um, you know, Mustard Hub Operationalizes great culture by making personnel personal. Um, you know, it sounds, uh buzzwordy. But, you know, it is an employee and engagement platform like you described. It helps organizations develop winning company culture, uh, to help eliminate turnover and actually gain access to a lot of revolutionary business intelligence data to make better people decisions.

Trisha Stetzel: Hmm. That’s interesting. So I do want to ask you that. I mean, we all know that data is important. Some of us use it, some of us ignore it, but we know it’s important. So the type of data that you’re able to collect with this platform is mind blowing. I, by the way, if you didn’t hear me say this before, those of you who are listening, I’ve had the opportunity to see the platform and it is really, really cool. I’m going to have Curtis tell you how you can connect with him in a few minutes, so that you can also see how amazing this platform is, but it it’s mind blowing the data that you can get from this platform. So you talk a little bit about the data, Curtis, that you’re pulling.

Curtis Forbes: Sure. Well you know, data first of all gives you insights into um, you know, a lot of things you might not necessarily see otherwise. Insights with objective evidence, right? Our culture intelligence data can can tell you intrinsic and extrinsic motivators of your teams. They can level up management without really any training. Lift can alert you when your next employee is leaving the company before you, or maybe even they know. Um, that’s that’s pretty powerful stuff. I mean, imagine a scenario where you may not only be able to predict your next, uh, excuse me, your next staff departure, um, with accuracy, but but even help identify the next hire who has the experience, the expertise and personality attributes that are, you know, best going to succeed in that role. I mean, this this is what data can do, right? And that’s that’s incredibly powerful. We’re collecting millions of data points on virtually every type of interaction and activity that happens on this platform that can tell us, you know, a lot of this really, really incredible stuff that we wouldn’t be able to see otherwise.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. One of the things that really stood out for me as you took me through the platform is this whole idea of, um, the I’ll just call it assistance with benefits. Uh, as I engage, I’m, uh, able to earn points or as the employer, I can give points. Right? Can you describe that a little bit to the audience?

Curtis Forbes: Sure. I would probably call it nontraditional benefits. I think benefits is a is a word of art that, uh, you know, means a lot of very specific things to specific people. Mustard hub does not carry, uh, health insurance. We are not a carrier. We don’t carry plans. Um, we don’t provide, you know, 401 K’s specifically. Now, what’s really unique and interesting about our platform is that we do have partners, um, and agency partners, and in our marketplace where team members can actually redeem these points, which I’ll talk about in a moment, um, towards, uh, purchases on the public health insurance marketplace, on Obamacare. They can actually use their points towards their monthly premiums, which is incredibly powerful. Um, so, you know, the way that, uh, the way that some of these things work, um, you know, businesses using sort of an agnostic currency on the platform. Right. Points to, um, businesses can incentivize their team members, um, with, you know, whatever behaviors that they’re really looking to promote. And so these employees, you know, or contractors really can rack up these points via a variety of different, you know, ways, both in the social engagement activity and also, you know, um, with regard to behavior recognition, etc., and then turn around and redeem these points in in this marketplace, it has over 1.5 million participating vendors that include everything from gift cards to exclusive vendor partners and even, you know, agency, insurance agency, partners, etc.. So that’s a little bit of how that works on the platform. Is that is that helpful?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. There. So I have like 5 million questions. So I know we’re going to run out of time here. But I’ve also had the pleasure of seeing the platform. So since I’ve said that multiple times I think there’s probably some curiosity right now. Curtis, on what does that look like? So what’s the best way to get in contact with you? If someone’s interested in learning more about Mustard Hub.

Curtis Forbes: Uh, they can reach out to me directly at Curtis at Mustard Hub Comm. They can also email hello at Mustard Hub Comm, which would be our general mailbox on our website. There’s also a way to get on our website at Mustard hub.com. There is a way to connect with us. Um, you know, to, to learn more. Also.

Trisha Stetzel: Um, something you said earlier about contractors versus W2 employees. You may not have used that language, but that’s the language that that I would use. I’ve run organizations where we had a mixture, um, whether people agree with it or not, it does happen. And organizations have, uh, mixtures. So your tool, your platform can actually allow engagement without the challenge of this difference of W2 versus contractor. Can you talk about that.

Curtis Forbes: Yeah. So workplace equity is really important to us making sure everybody can be part of the discussion, but also giving the business owner the ability to configure it in a way to where he’s, you know, empowering all sides. Um, we never wanted to build a platform where a business owner or an administrator or whoever had to make a choice of whether or not they wanted to add certain team members or not. So we don’t have per user per month fees. We wanted organizations to sign up and add your entire census and you can actually configure these hubs, these these discussion areas, right? Based on the members, the team members that, um, that you are adding so mustered up essentially creates this environment where people can build relationships, right? They can collaborate, share, they can appreciate the contributions that each individual makes. And it doesn’t really matter what your employment classification is. Right? So this is where these businesses can celebrate people. And there are mechanisms built in that incentivize that recognize and reward employees for their behaviors that the business wants to promote. And in addition to the values that they want their teams to embody.

Curtis Forbes: And that doesn’t matter if you’re a contractor, it doesn’t matter if you’re on, you know, an hourly worker. It doesn’t matter if you’re working through the drive through or if you’re, you know, in an office in corporate. So the key here is that the businesses can really be intentional about the culture they want to create. And we all know that if you don’t create the culture intentionally, the culture will create itself. So there there is opportunities here for automation on the platform, which saves, you know, small business owners time and effort. There’s social engagement component that fosters collaboration. And business owners can configure that in a way to allow and disallow means very granular the customization. And we can also promote surveys, challenges, competitions to further engage staff with really little effort. So um, that’s kind of how we’re able to just bring everybody together, but then also give tools to the administrator to make sure that they’re creating it in a way so that whatever the stakeholders that are in this organization are able to access it and interact with it the way that they want them to.

Trisha Stetzel: Mhm. Is that something to me the last time we spoke two words. Operationalize. Operationalize that. Operationalize culture. Yeah. Get it out. Right. Talk about that. You said a little bit about culture. I was hoping that you would say that. So I wouldn’t have to because I just butchered it to death. It’s a big word. What can I say? Uh, but talk a little bit more about that, because I think that’s such an important part of what Mustard Hub brings to an organization.

Curtis Forbes: Well, you know, these these this system, it’s, um, the flexibility, I think. Second to none. And what’s really nice about the flexibility is being able to create these automations that can save time and effort, that can essentially create these, these conversations without a lot of manual lift. Right. Uh, rewards can be created for achievements that business owners want their employees to work towards. But it’s all simplified in just a click away, so to speak. Being able to promote these surveys or challenges, creating this conversation makes these relationships stickier. And it’s a self-perpetuating culture, right? It’s a self-perpetuating. It’s a mechanism that self-perpetuates this culture that you have intentionally created and developed without a manager needing to, you know, be in there spearheading every single conversation. Right. And so I think that that ultimately is some of the biggest value, because I think constantly business owners are having to having to either think about or figure out how can I more efficiently and effectively run my business, while also simultaneously creating this culture that I want to create, right? And, you know, is it expensive or how do I do it? Or what are the ways that I need to interact with my employees that will get them to feel or embody or demonstrate, right, this culture that I’m trying to actively create and that can feel overwhelming for a business owner. I know I was one, I wore that hat. I wore all those hats. Right? A lot of small business owners do wear all those hats. And so this platform essentially gives that business owner almost like a sidekick, right, where they can level up management, um, without, you know, really any, any, any training almost in a sense. Does that does that make sense?

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Um, who. So if I’m a business owner, I’d like to know if this is the right platform for me. So what type can you describe the business business owner or owner business leader that be able to utilize this tool in their business.

Curtis Forbes: Sure. Um, well, it, uh, I it would, it would probably feel like grandstanding if I just said everyone, uh, you know, really would like to sound like, say, everyone. But, I mean, right now we’re built to scale up to teams of thousands, but we specialize with small businesses and franchises. It’s it’s a freemium model, so customers love us since there is no risk. It’s easy to use. And the upside is through the roof. You set your own budget and you can actually, you know, set safeguards so that you’re not going over budget. Partners love us as a huge value add to their suite of products and services. Since there’s no pressure on sales and support staff, you know, and the rewards can be pretty significant. So like I said, while it’s built for teams of thousands, there’s there are enterprise solutions that are out there. I should I mean we tried many of them for some of the other businesses that I had owned or worked with, and they didn’t really support the small business model, and they became challenging to use because of that. And so this was intentionally built to serve this, you know, marginalized community who theoretically might even need it more because of that disproportionate affect of each staff departure.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Which I it’s I think you’re back there. There’s a piece of your background that I think is missing from the story. So I want to find it. So we know like your background background and you came into business ownership. But how about the birth of Mustard Hub? Like, why did that even come up?

Curtis Forbes: Okay. Well. Years. So years ago, we built Mustard Hub as an internal tool to solve our people problem in the education company that I had owned. Um, it was built on top of some proprietary software we already had owned. And not long after we rolled it out. I mean, it completely transformed our ops and culture in ways I couldn’t even imagine. It solved our problems and the results were far beyond expectations. In fact, we saw turnover drop 80% in year one, and our top line jumped 42.5% in the first year alone. So I took this tool and we implemented it in the portfolio companies, in a holdings company that I had also owned, um, all of which had suffered from the same, you know, very real problems with the goal, I think, of incentivizing our entire census of members of full time, of part time, and of all those contract workers. Right. So you start to see, this is this is why it was built the way that it was. And after implementing this portfolio wide and seeing the same results. I productized it and I launched an MVP a short time later and began onboarding customers. And you know, it’s been an incredible journey with so many success stories. And since we launched actually a few years ago, we have had zero churn. Think about that.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. Zero.

Curtis Forbes: Zero. Nobody believes me. I don’t know. I’ll take a lie detector test.

Trisha Stetzel: I believe you. We’ve spent enough time together. I can tell you’re telling the truth. Uh, amazing. So I’m glad that we filled that gap, because I think that’s an important piece to what this platform is really all about. Like you built it for yourself. You built it for your businesses before you rolled this out to others. And you know that it works. You proved it to yourself, right? You. You bought the platform. Built and bought the platform all inside, right? I’m just kidding. I’m kidding. Uh, as we get to the back end of our conversation, you talked about success stories. I love to hear one of your favorite client success stories.

Curtis Forbes: I would probably have to say one of my favorite was or is a, um, a preschool owner in southern Ohio. Um, Ruth Ann Brown, an incredible business owner. She’s a multi-unit preschool owner. And, um, she’s been on the platform for, for some time. Um, hearing how it’s so dramatically changed, I think her culture, I mean, her employee satisfaction, she actually just gave us some data on this about a month ago has jumped to 92%. Think about how incredible that sounds. She, um. She was she she saw, I think immediately what this was doing for her organization and actually became a very early investor because of it. So that’s probably one of my most favorite stories. Um, it’s, it’s it’s such an incredible feeling to work with such, you know, smart people. I think, you know, who who do such an incredible job at what they do and find so much success doing it. And individuals like that, seeing a platform like this, using it, finding success with it, and wanting to be part of its, I think its growth story.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah. That’s amazing. I’m so excited that you came on. It’s been a long time coming. You and I met way back in October. Uh, the Franchise Business review connected. Uh, I got to see your platform in action and then invited you to the show so that we could talk about it, because I think that there’s something huge around operational design. Oh, I see. I get it.

Curtis Forbes: I see culture operationalizing culture.

Trisha Stetzel: I can say it. It’s okay.

Curtis Forbes: Just take it. You know what? I’ve practiced a bunch.

Speaker4: So you said it so many times. Uh, but.

Trisha Stetzel: I think that there is something really special about that. You know, we talk about culture all the time. Culture this culture, that culture, the other. But can we actually measure that? And the answer now is, yes, we can. And it’s your platform mustered Hope, which I think is amazing and beautiful. Well, thank you for joining me today. This has been an awesome conversation. I’d love to have you back to the show, because I’m sure there’s so much more that you could share about the platform and all of the amazing clients that are using it and those that may be interested in using it in the future.

Curtis Forbes: Trisha, thank you so much. I’m very I’m grateful to you as always, and I love chatting with you every chance I get.

Trisha Stetzel: I thank you, I appreciate that. So, Curtis, if people want to reach out, would you please give them your contact information one more time?

Curtis Forbes: Sure. Um, Curtis at Mustard Hub Comm can reach me directly. Uh, mustard. Uh. Excuse me. Hello? At Mustard hub.com is a great way to get in touch with the platform. Um, general inbox. And then on our website, mustard hub comm is a way to to connect and get more information as well.

Trisha Stetzel: Fantastic. Thanks again. I appreciate it.

Curtis Forbes: My pleasure.

Trisha Stetzel: That’s all the time we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another exciting episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep thriving in the Houston business community.

Charles Read with GetPayroll

March 7, 2025 by angishields

Beyond the Uniform

Charles Read with GetPayroll

00:00 /

Charles J Read is a CPA, U.S. Tax Court Practitioner, Vietnam Veteran, and Founder of GetPayroll, providing payroll and payroll tax services since 1991.

With over 50 years of financial leadership, he’s the author of four books, including The Payroll Book, currently a top-ranked small business guide on Amazon.

Trisha and Charles discussed the importance of promptly addressing IRS notices and the benefits of outsourcing payroll services to avoid tax penalties and related issues. They also emphasized the importance of tax compliance for businesses, particularly startups, and the need to prioritize employees’ needs over one’s own.

Charles also introduced his book, “The Payroll Book,” which provides insights into payroll taxes, deductions, and related topics.

Follow GetPayroll on LinkedIn.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix.

TRANSCRIPT

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

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. Beyond the uniform series, I have a very special guest with me today, Mr. Charles J. Read, who is a certified public accountant. I promise it’s going to be a good conversation. Not boring. Right, Charles? Uh, he is also a US Tax Court practitioner, a former member of the Internal Revenue Service Advisory Council, a Vietnam veteran, and the founder of GetPayroll. Charles, welcome to the show.

Charles Read: Trisha, thank you for having me. It’s a pleasure to be with you.

Trisha Stetzel: I’m so excited that we met a few weeks back. I knew that you would be perfect to come on the show. And let’s let’s bring some light to a conversation that some people might avoid or get very nervous about as a business owner. So, Charles, tell me a little bit more about you.

Charles Read: Well, I’m a midwestern boy. Uh, I grew up in Iowa. Um, graduated from high school, joined the United States Marine Corps, spent four years, uh, including two years overseas in combat tours in Vietnam. Came back, was stationed in Kansas City, met and married my wife. She was ten years older than I was and had five children. When I married her. I claim insanity, but we were married for 45 years before she passed, so it worked. In 1972, we moved to Texas, basically been here ever since. And and, you know, pretty much consider myself a Texan now after more than 50 years here. So we I went to work, I did my college. I went to work for Texas Instruments. I worked in the corporate world for 15 years. Large companies, small companies, turnaround startups. Wonderful experience. Realized I was never going to get to the top of a company. I don’t have the political skills. I’m unwilling to stab people in the back and toss them off the ladder, and I have a tendency to speak my mind. So if I was going to run a business, I’m going to have to start my own. Ruth and I started our own business here just a third of a century ago, uh, in 1991, and continued to grow it. I sold off the accounting portion here about a dozen years ago to my partner, and kept the payroll portion, and have continued to grow it to this day.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that it’s beautiful. So you can find Charles Reid, get payroll if you just do a search for him. But we’re going to talk about some more interesting things as we move through our conversation today. So I’ve heard occasionally a business owner will receive an IRS notice. That’s pretty darn scary. So if I received one of those notices, what should I do?

Charles Read: Well, first of all, do not ignore it. I have clients that just put them on the shelf and wait for me. But don’t. Don’t do that.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay.

Charles Read: Open it up. Look at it, read it. Now, if it’s taxes that you owe that you’ve forgotten for some reason, miscalculated. Whatever. Pay them and move on. Um, if it’s taxes you don’t owe and it’s $20, just pay it. It’s. It’s cheaper than fighting it, okay? Discretion is the better part of valor. Don’t don’t don’t don’t don’t fight minimal stuff. We get them from our clients. Sometimes we just pay them because it’s not worth talking to the client about. You know, we send the IRS a check for $7 just to be shut of it. And in all probability, two years later, they’ll get a refund for the $7. Uh. So look at it now, if you don’t owe the taxes, then write the IRS and tell them why you don’t owe them. Okay. Now, understand, the first letter you send will be you’ll get a form letter back saying, no, we’re not going to abate any taxes. They don’t even they don’t even read your first letter. They just send you a form letter back saying no. The second letter, uh, 95% of the time you’ll get a no. They they really don’t read that one. Only the third letter you sent. And this is a series of that. You send them, they’ll send you back. You send them, they’ll send you back on the third letter. You have a reasonable opportunity to get the the penalties abated. Okay. Or the tax is reversed if they’re wrong. Uh, but the IRS is a whole series of no’s followed by a single. Yes. So if the penalty or the taxes are wrong. Appeal appeal appeal appeal appeal appeal appeal and keep doing that until you get a yes.

Charles Read: Because if the IRS makes millions of mistakes every year, the IRS is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Don’t ever believe that they make millions of mistakes. Billions of penalties get reversed every year because the IRS is 100,000 civil servants using technology. In some cases, that goes back to the 1960s. Stuff that I worked on when I was in the Marine Corps. Uh, it’s it’s really a lot of problems. They don’t have the budget they’d like to do their civil servants. There’s training problems. There’s all kinds of things, as we all understand with government. So don’t ever think they’re unquestionably right because they’re not so. Appeal. Appeal, appeal, appeal. That’s why I became a US Tax Court practitioner. Because I can take my client’s case to U.S. Tax Court without being an attorney. I operate as a attorney, per se in the US Tax Court. I have a bar card, and I’m able to represent my clients in front of the tax court. And the nice thing about Tax Court is 95% of all tax court cases are settled. Pre-court the IRS at tax court level is very want to settle cases. So it’s a good route to go if you’ve got something that there’s a lot of argument about, you’ll get a settlement offer. So never give up. And one tip for your listeners. The IRS cannot penalize you for a simple mistake. They can only penalize you for gross negligence. The problem, of course, is who defines gross negligence? The IRS thinks they do, but in fact they don’t. The judge does. Okay, so don’t don’t ever give up. Just appeal appeal appeal appeal appeal.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay, so, Charles, everyone needs you on their side. I’m just saying, you have so much knowledge and experience to offer here. I want to back into then why business owners should think about and engage with a payroll company. What’s the benefit?

Charles Read: Well, when I grew up, Pelé was the world’s best soccer player. Wonderful athlete. But if you took Pelé and you put him in the New York Yankees uniform at second base, he’d be lost.

Trisha Stetzel: Yes.

Charles Read: He doesn’t know the playing field, the rules, the, you know, pick up the ball with your hands. It would be a disaster. He’d still be a great athlete. So when you have a a business man or a woman who’s successful produces a service or a product, uh, has employees, has clients, is a growing business. And now you say deal with the IRS. Mhm. They’re playing second base. They’re lost. This is what we do for a living. We live and breathe this stuff. I know it sounds boring, but you know it’s CPAs. What what what can I say. Okay. Uh, we we deal with the IRS daily. We get the trade magazines, we get the IRS updates, we read tax law, we study taxes. You know, we do all these boring things, which we enjoy. Uh, so our clients don’t have to. And on top of that, in doing payroll, we have all the equipment, the software, the facilities, the experience, the banking, relationships, everything to make it simple for us and very, very simple for our clients because they don’t have to go through all the 30 years of of toil and trouble that we’ve gone through to get to that point.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. And for those of you who are listening and you’re still doing payroll, stop it. It is affordable and you should make it an investment in your business so that you have people like Charles and his team on your side. That’s just the bottom line.

Charles Read: In in reality, a payroll service bureau is a profit center for you, for your for for our clients, we save them more money than we charge them in time, energy, effort, facilities, equipment, software aggravation, tax penalties, everything else. We we’re free. So I mean, you know.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that. I think that’s fantastic. And what a great way to look at it. It is not a cost to your business bottom line right. So if you’re not using a payroll company you should. And Charles is going to tell us about the payroll book which is something very very important. So Charles, let’s talk about this book you wrote.

Charles Read: Well, I looked around here a few years ago to to have something to give to clients, uh, to, to help them and have a reference guide. The only thing out there is the payroll source from the American Payroll Association, and it’s $600. So I said I’ll write something. Well, two years later and and with the help of Wiley and Sons Press, uh, they’re obviously a huge, uh, publishing house. Uh, we produced the Payroll book, a guide for small businesses and startups. I refer to it as 30 Years of Wisdom, distilled down to 95,000 words. Uh, it’s done very well on Amazon. Um, we’ve sold a lot. We’ve given away a lot of them. Uh, it it’s a base for small businesses and startups. I mean, if you’re a 10,000 person company, it’s not for you. But if you’re a small business startup, it gives you a lot of information about payroll taxes, deductions. Who’s an employee? Who’s a contractor? Uh, how to handle aliens? Uh peos. Uh, employee handbooks, overtime taxes, tax penalties, tax forms, states, all these things that are involved in payroll. Because payroll is a very complex subject, when you when you get into it, it’s not just, you know, give the guy, you know, 200 bucks. Uh, that’s the simple part. Everything after that becomes complex. Uh, and whether you have to withhold taxes from that $200 or not. And what do you do with the withholdings afterwards? And where do they go? And what do you deduct from that $200? And, uh, what do you add on top of it and all these other things? So it’s 95, 95,000 words of, of of experience. Uh, lots of horror stories, lots of things not to do. And we’d love to offer it to your listeners if they’d like a copy, if they will go to the payroll book.com and hit the Discount Code podcast, we will ship them a free copy. No shipping, no handling, no cost, uh, to them if they would like to have a copy of the book.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. Wait, wait. Charles, did you say free? Free? Free.

Charles Read: Free from a CPA?

Trisha Stetzel: Free what? I love that, that’s fantastic. All right, you guys head out to the payroll. Book.com using the code podcast. And you can get your free copy of this amazing 95,000 word ebook that Charles has poured 30 plus years of experience and expertise and stories into. Wow. Thank you. That is amazing. I’m going to go get my copy today. So, Charles, besides the book, we know we need to send people to the payroll. Book.com how else can people get in touch with you to have a conversation?

Charles Read: We’re all over the web at Get payroll.com. My personal email is c j r at Get Payroll. And if they’ve got just something they need a quick answer to. (972) 353-0000.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. Fantastic. Charles, you’re such a great resource. I’m so glad that you came on the show today. All right, um, let’s dive back in. I know everyone loves taxes. Everyone loves the IRS. Kidding. Not kidding. Um, what’s your advice on or tips to avoid employment tax penalties?

Charles Read: There’s five big things that cause tax penalties, uh, that the employer can avoid. Now, there’s lots of tax penalties the IRS creates from their mistakes and their problems that you can’t avoid. But the five things you can do as an employer. First of all, the biggest source of penalties is arithmetic errors. I mean, people add, subtract, multiply and divide and put the wrong number down. So don’t do it by hand. Use a computer or use a service bureau. Okay, you use us. Don’t. Don’t do it by hand. If you do, use a calculator and double check your numbers, okay. That will eliminate a lot of penalties. The next two things. The next thing is to know what you have to withhold from your employees paycheck. You have federal, state, and in many cases local taxes that you have to withhold. You’ve got to know what those are. If you don’t know, find out. Read my book or call us. We’ll take care of it for you. Then know when you have to deposit those. Because if you deposit one second late, there’s a penalty one second late. And that’s not a simple mistake.

Charles Read: Normally that’s a gross negligence and you’re not going to get out of that penalty. The next thing is know what reports you have to file. Again, it’s knowledge. What gets employers into problems is they don’t know what they don’t know. Again, you have in Texas, you have the the TWC which is state unemployment. You don’t have a state revenue department for income tax withholding outside of Texas. Most states you will deal with two agencies, the the revenue portion where you have pay in the state, income tax withheld, and the unemployment where you pay in the unemployment withheld. In some states, they throw in other things worker’s comp, um, disability, all kinds of things. You’ve got to know what those are so you can withhold them and deposit them. And so you can report them to the state. And then you need to know again when you need to report it. Texas. If you’re a day late with your TWC report, it’s a $50 fine. Even if you owe no taxes, it’s $50 just for being. If you if it’s postmarked a day late, it’s a 50 bucks.

Speaker4: And oh my gosh.

Charles Read: Yeah. You can normally talk to TWC out of it on the first one. But the second one. No.

Trisha Stetzel: Wow. Oh my gosh. So Charles, this is why we need you, right? So that we don’t have to deal with all of the the questions and the ambiguity around these things because you have the answers. You know exactly what needs to be done.

Charles Read: That’s that’s our job. And we work at it very hard. And we keep up with, with all the states and everything else. And it’s, uh, yeah, that’s what we do.

Trisha Stetzel: So if people are listening outside of Texas, they can still call you.

Charles Read: Well, absolutely. We operate in all 50 states. We’re a national service bureau. Uh, and for Texas clients that have employees in other states, which is becoming more and more common. Yes. We’ve gone virtual to a great extent. One of my ladies has worked for us for ten years, got married and lives in Louisiana now, so it’s okay. You know, with technology, it doesn’t really matter so much anymore.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Charles Read: So it’s in many cases you’ve got a good employee and they want to move to Montana. If that job can be operated, you know, on a computer, who cares, right.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: But you need to understand how to be compliant, which is why we need Charles.

Charles Read: And and and there are there are all kinds of nuances of dealing with remote employees in terms of payroll and HR that you need to be aware of and up to speed on. If you’re not, you need to get with somebody who is. Yeah. Us?

Speaker4: Yeah. That’s right.

Trisha Stetzel: Get payroll. Dot com. Okay. Charles, we’ve talked a lot about established businesses or businesses that are in a position where they need to make a decision. They shouldn’t be doing payroll anymore. They need to hire a service. But what about brand new businesses? So if I’m a startup, what do I need to be concerned about to be tax compliant?

Charles Read: Well, first of all, if you incorporate, which I normally recommend as a CPA for tax savings, you’re an employee. If you work in the business, you’ve got to be on payroll. You can’t just take a check every week or month, whatever, or as needed. That’s not acceptable. The IRS will come in and say, part of this is compensation, and you’ve got to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes on it. And since you didn’t, here’s all the penalties and interest on those payments that you didn’t make.

Speaker4: Okay.

Charles Read: And in my book, I have a story about a CPA who just took draws from his business, and the IRS came back in and reclassified half of what he took as compensation. And the penalties and interest were, you know, tens of thousands of dollars plus the taxes. So you you can’t just do it now if you’re if you’re a sole proprietor. Yeah. You can just write checks and everything goes on your 1040 and you pay all your employment tax purposes, uh, at, at when you pay your 1040. That’s an expensive way to go. You will overpay taxes that you don’t need to.

Speaker4: Okay.

Charles Read: Okay. So check with your CPA. Um, but the moment you hire anyone. You need a service bureau. You need a you need a payroll company. Don’t try and do it yourself. It’s not worth it. You don’t know what you don’t know. And this is this is the whole concept. We all outsource things. I, I quit working on my own car when my little milligram needed a clutch replaced. And the book, the Chilton book said. Step number one. Remove the engine. Okay, I quit working on cars. Then I, I, I went and bought two pair of shoes yesterday. I don’t make my own shoes. I don’t make my own clothes. I don’t even mow my own lawn. I’d rather do a tax return than mow the lawn. So I’ll do the tax return and make enough money to pay the guy to do the lawn and then buy dinner too. So we all outsource things. Payroll is one of those things you should always outsource. I always did when I was in business before I started my own company. It’s not worth doing. Don’t be Pele at second base.

Speaker4: Mhm. Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: Don’t be Pele at second base. Thank you for sharing that story. It really does bring to life, uh, the chaos and disorder that can happen. And the penalties and the IRS letters if you put Pele on second base. Right. I yeah, I love that. Okay. So as we’re moving to the back end of our conversation today, I know it went by so fast. I want to dig back.

Speaker4: Into.

Trisha Stetzel: Your history of being a Vietnam veteran. So you spent four years as a marine? R is there 1 or 2 things that really things that you learned at being in the military that you’ve been able to bring into, whether it was you working in corporate space, working for someone else, or even into your own business? Charles.

Charles Read: Well, as an NCO in the Marine Corps, um, one of the things you’re taught is how the Marine Corps thinks about things. And one of that tenets is mission Min self. You complete the mission regardless of what it takes. The mission comes first. You accomplish the mission, then you take care of your men. Then you take care of yourself. Uh, I’ve seen this, and I’ve seen it from from good officers. Uh, they’re the one of the last of the chow line. Okay. They make sure everybody gets fed before they do. Okay. Um, that translates into business very well, as far as I can tell. Our job is to provide a perfect payroll on time. Every time we bend over backwards. For that, we do whatever it takes to accomplish that for our clients. And then I take care of not only my clients, but my staff. I couldn’t do the business without them. Um, as I retire, they’re going to get the business because they helped me build it. Um, so I take care of my people, and then I worry about myself. If you’re in business, if you can’t pay all the payroll, it’s your payroll that doesn’t get paid, not your employees. It’s it’s. You’ve got to put them ahead of you to be successful. That’s something that translates very well from the military. Now, one that doesn’t is of course, the military is a very hierarchical.

Speaker4: Yes.

Charles Read: Um, operation. And everybody, you either jump for them or they jump for you. Well, thankfully, my wife was very much of a people person and helped break me of those habits.

Speaker4: Uh.

Charles Read: You know, when I, when I had a family with five kids at 21, uh, and the boys were 14 and I was 21, uh, she, she had, she had to teach me to be a, a much better person and, and much less of a marine. Uh, so, uh, and I am eternally grateful that I found and married Ruth. Uh, it was the best thing I ever did in my life.

Speaker4: Mhm.

Trisha Stetzel: I love.

Speaker4: That.

Trisha Stetzel: And Ruth is listening to us right now. I’m sure of it. Yeah. Looking down on all of the amazing things that you do for others. So thank you for sharing that. You know, sometimes those lessons come from things that we shouldn’t be doing. Uh, and it sounds like Ruth helped you with that direction. Wonderful. So, Charles, as we close today, uh, I’d love for you to tell folks how they can get your book again and how they can connect with you if they’d like to learn more.

Charles Read: The book is available, the payroll Book.com enter the Discount Code podcast. We will ship it free of charge. No shipping, no handling. And if you find yourself still confused, my number’s in the book. So feel free. Uh, we’re on the web at Get payroll.com. I’m c.j.r at Get Payroll. That’s my email. And the phone number for the office. (972) 353-0000. The only good thing GT ever did for me.

Trisha Stetzel: I love that, Charles. So he makes it very simple. Can you guys see the incredible opportunity to work with Charles here, where he’s taking things that are really complicated and bringing them down to very simple steps that you can take in order to create some space in your business where you can focus on the things that you should be focused on versus the things that Charles can focus on for you and do an amazing job. Charles, thanks so much for joining me today. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Charles Read: It is my pleasure. Thank you for having me on.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Trisha Stetzel: You bet. Again, guys, you’ll find all of Charles contact information in the show notes. If you happen to be in a place where you can point and click. Otherwise, you have everything verbally. I hope you’ll reach out to Charles. And please take care. Take advantage of the payroll Book.com with podcast as the code so you can get that book from Charles. That’s all the time we have for today’s show. Join us next time for another exciting episode of Houston Business Radio. Until then, stay tuned, stay inspired, and keep thriving in the Houston business community.

BRX Pro Tip: 5 Ways to Get More Weak Ties

March 7, 2025 by angishields

Women in Construction: Monica Reyes’ Bold Move in a Male-Dominated Field

March 6, 2025 by angishields

Women in Motion

Women in Construction: Monica Reyes' Bold Move in a Male-Dominated Field

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In this episode of Women in Motion, Lee Kantor is joined by Monica Reyes, the founder and president of CME Landscape Corp. Monica shares her inspiring journey from starting a residential landscaping business to expanding into commercial services. She discusses the challenges of navigating a male-dominated industry, the importance of client relationships, and the value of certifications. Monica also highlights her commitment to community service through the Mi Hija Foundation and the significance of networking and mentorship for women entrepreneurs.

Monica Reyes is a dynamic entrepreneur, industry leader, and passionate advocate for community empowerment. As the Founder, President, and Chief Visionary Officer of CME Landscape Corp, CME Drain Solutions, and Mi Hija Foundation, she has built a legacy of excellence, innovation, and social responsibility.

Since founding CME Landscape Corp in 2015, Monica has led the company to become a premier provider of landscape services, specializing in ground maintenance, water control, irrigation, agronomy, pest control, and property consulting.

Under her leadership, CME Landscape Corp has earned WBENC (Women’s Business Enterprise National Council) certification, positioning it as a top-tier, woman-owned business in the competitive California market. Committed to sustainability, she is driving CME towards compliance with California’s evolving environmental regulations.

Expanding on her expertise, Monica founded CME Drain Solutions, offering specialized water management services to improve drainage, and enhance environmental sustainability in residential, commercial, and municipal properties.

Her commitment to service extends beyond business. Mi Hija Foundation, inspired by her personal experience as a caregiver and case manager for her family, was created to advocate for individuals and families navigating essential support services. The foundation provides resources in healthcare, financial assistance, mental health, housing, and food security, ensuring that underserved communities have the tools they need to thrive.

A dedicated leader, Monica is certified to expand opportunities and increase diversity in supplier networks. She is also actively implementing strategic growth initiatives to scale CME Landscape Corp from a $150K to $1M revenue business through operational efficiencies, CRM integration, and market expansion.

Monica’s leadership is guided by resilience, innovation, and a deep commitment to both business excellence and community impact. She is a proud daughter of Mexican immigrants, an advocate to all caregivers, and a visionary entrepreneur determined to leave a lasting impact on the industry and beyond.

Follow CME Landscape Corp on LinkedIn, Facebook and Instagram.

Music Provided by M PATH MUSIC

This 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 wouldn’t be sharing these important stories. And this month, we are highlighting women in construction. So excited to be talking to Monica Reyes, who is the Founder, President and Chief Visionary Officer of CME Landscape Corp. Welcome.

Monica Reyes: Hi. Hello. How are you?

Lee Kantor: I am doing well. I am so excited to learn about your business. Tell us about CME. How are you serving folks?

Monica Reyes: Well, we are serving a commercial landscape, companies, properties all over Southern California. We’ve been around for… Our ten-year anniversary just occurred. And it’s a very, very exciting time for women in construction and definitely in a genre of landscape that has primarily been male-dominated.

Lee Kantor: Can you share a little bit about your journey? How did you get here?

Monica Reyes: Well, my love was never grass. I met a lovely man who had 30 years of landscape and ground management experience. His name is Clayton. And as partners in love, we became partners in business. And he decided he would do the heavy lifting, and I would do the operations. And here we are a decade later.

Lee Kantor: And so, can you talk about your business or do you specialize… You mentioned commercial. Did you start in residential and moved to commercial, or were you commercial the whole time?

Monica Reyes: We started in residential. You know, one lawnmower, one truck, one blower helping and doing work in the neighborhood. And as we began marketing, we found a need for commercial properties, which then took us into property management companies, retail spaces. I’ve done work with the federal government, State of California, and really, really exciting clients that we’ve got to work with these last ten years.

Lee Kantor: Was that a difficult transition to go from kind of a B2C model, where you’re dealing with individual people, to a more complex sale of dealing with, you know, like you mentioned, kind of larger groups and larger organizations?

Monica Reyes: You know, that’s a great question. In one way, it was challenging in the sense that when you’re dealing with a residential client, your primary contact is one individual, A to B, A to C, excuse me. But when you work with a global company, then, of course, you’re working with portals and vendor management and different contacts. So, it gets a little bit convoluted but, operationally, very sound. I think the other part is when you start working with a commercial or large organization, they’re very clear on their guidelines and what their expectations are, and that makes life easier for both parties.

Lee Kantor: But does it give you an opportunity to kind of uncover opportunities within the opportunity you have? So, if you’re working somewhere and they’re telling you, “I need you to do A, B, and C,” but you’re like, “You know what? If we did D, E, and F, this thing, you’d be happier and you’d get a better outcome.” Do you have those, kind of, opportunities to kind of go back and forth and share your expertise? Because they don’t know what you know. This is what you do every day.

Monica Reyes: Right and well said. You know, it’s interesting because in landscaping, there’s a mindset of you cut the grass, you cut the hedges, maybe you plant some flowers. Where our expertise is really beyond that. It’s really looking at how do you obviously maintain your property but look beyond what may be issues – water leakage, irrigation, water management because of California and some of the guidelines, we had sustainability, which is huge for our company, stepping into battery operated machinery, looking at how the climate is affecting your landscape. So, there’s a lot more consulting and relationship that we really like to bring to our clients. And at the end of the day, it’s not just a business-to-business relationship. We really bring it as a personal relationship. They know me, they know Clayton, they know our team, and they know what to expect.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think that that’s one of the things that people don’t realize, that you want to kind of elevate yourself from being a vendor to being that trusted advisor. That you’re there watching their back and that they can lean on you to get… you know, if they could just tell you what they want, let you kind of have some freedom to come up with some things that they don’t know about or hadn’t thought of.

Monica Reyes: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. You must have had a lot of experience with landscapers, Lee.

Lee Kantor: I have not, but I appreciate the art to it. I think there’s a lot more to it than, like you said, just mowing and grass or blowing leaves. I think that if you focus in on just the elements of what you’re doing, you’re missing out on a lot of the value you can provide, like you said, about kind of the water, the sustainability and just kind of a healthier use of the land.

Monica Reyes: Agreed.

Lee Kantor: So, now, do you mind sharing some of kind of the highs and lows of your journey? Has there been some mistakes you made that you learned from? Has there been some unexpected things that you stumbled upon that are now part of your business? Can you share a little bit about kind of the good, the bad, the ugly of your journey?

Monica Reyes: Oh, Lee, I think I’ve done everything wrong as an entrepreneur that’s possible, from being self-funded, and really jumping in with a vision, and yes, some corporate knowledge with regards to internal operations, but really how to work on your own as an entrepreneur, let alone work with your partner, which is a whole other aspect. I think that the experience of failing, of not being able to make payroll, of dealing with clients that you couldn’t provide a solution and losing contracts, by being underbid, also learning about, for me, to elevate my company from a residential to a commercial company. And then working with municipal and state contracts, I had to become certified.

So, I am a C-27 licensed landscape contractor through the state of California. And what that took, it wasn’t just write a check and jump into this type of business. The research, the training, it was much more than what I bargained for. But I will tell you, I have learned the best lessons, and I’m so grateful for all these bad and ugly mistakes because it’s really helped me to help other people with their journey, as well as really having me think as an entrepreneur and be very focused on driving sales, driving a quality business, as well as taking care of my employees.

Lee Kantor: So, how do you kind of maintain that focus on your vision? Do you have a team around you? Do you have people that you lean on to mentor you in terms of knowing what the true north should be? Like, how did all of that come about?

Monica Reyes: Well, honestly, desperation was one of them. But otherwise, as it stands now, I rely so much on our Women’s Business Enterprise program. I have had so many wonderful cohorts and coaches and opportunities to really centralize and, like you said, focus my business, whether it’d be just webinars or seminars that are available, whether it’s meetups or also literature that they’ve provided. Most recently, something called the 12-Week Year has been a tremendous input for focusing on my business.

Lee Kantor: Can you talk a little bit about your foundation and how did that come about?

Monica Reyes: Oh, my foundation is called Mi Hija Foundation, which translates to My Daughter Foundation. And that really came from becoming a caregiver for my father. My father recently passed of prostate cancer. And what I found was (a), being an entrepreneur but also being a caregiver, there were so many opportunities and resources that were being missed for myself to help me during this time. And I found that not only did I gain benefit, my dad was a veteran, he worked for a union, he had a lot of options that we could engage in that would help our family and help me as a caregiver. But really, I found so many people that needed a helping hand and didn’t know how to do it, whether it’d be technology, whether if they knew where to go and how to do it. And that’s really where my heart is out of CME landscape, that out of our business, we really get to make a difference for our community in the idea of family and contribution.

Lee Kantor: And the community that you’re building, can you talk a little bit about that? Because it sounds like it’s now well beyond just the landscape community, that you’re expanding outside of that through your drain solutions and your foundation. I mean, your impact is getting bigger and bigger, it seems, by the day.

Monica Reyes: Well, our drain solution is a subset of CME landscape. We found that the water management, and we would come out and they’d say, “I need a plumber, I need some help with water systems,” and that was just an extension of our business. And hopefully as we grow, our CME Landscape Corp umbrella, that there’s other options that we can support with our community, whether it’d be local, whether it’d be, again, county-wise. And who knows, we might even open up into Northern California and into other states in the near future.

Lee Kantor: And then, landscape doesn’t necessarily mean outdoors, right? There’s indoor landscape opportunities for you as well.

Monica Reyes: Yes, there’s something called biophilia. And that is sustainable bio landscape that, really, say you go into a beautiful corporate office, and you see the green walls, and you see that environment, the beauty and the aesthetic, that’s something that we also are engaged with because there’s a feeling that you get when you’re around beauty and you’re around living things. And that’s something that we also provide as a landscape aspect, but also kind of in the humanity aspect as well.

Lee Kantor: And is that for people who already have an existing indoor landscape in their facility, or can you help them create one in their environment?

Monica Reyes: Oh, we can help them create. Without a doubt, we can do both.

Lee Kantor: Now, you mentioned a little bit about how the certifications have helped you in the learnings that you’ve gotten through there. Is there anything specific from WBEC West that you can share? An anecdote maybe, a connection or a opportunity you were able to get from being part of the WBEC West community?

Monica Reyes: Oh, gosh. You know, a lot of my exposure through the WBENC community was because of being woman certified. I was able to obtain a very large federal contract. And that was the primary reason they felt that we were a differentiator in the sense of going through the certification project or process, and then really being proud of that, and sharing that as a landscape maintenance company. So, working with organizations like Home Depot, which acknowledged the WBENC certification and really even interacting with other communities like Loyola Marymount, Los Angeles Latino Chamber of Commerce, they really are interested and engaged in women that take that next step with their business.

Because it takes something to get certified. For anyone that thinks it’s an easy process, it’s not, but it’s so well worth it. The value that I’ve gotten with the contracts that I’ve worked with, as well as the connections and network that I have now, which is so important. You know, when you’re an entrepreneur, you feel a lot of times alone. Like, you’re in this journey by yourself. And to know that, at any time, I can go into the WBENC community, whether it’s online or through a telephone call, and connect with someone for support or advice just is invaluable, I must say.

Lee Kantor: Now, is there any advice you can share with the women that are in a male-dominated industry? Is there anything you’ve learned that helped you get through that or kind of just leverage the opportunity that you had in that space? Is there anything you’d like to share to other women who are thinking about it but are maybe nervous about that opportunity?

Monica Reyes: You know, I stepped into this opportunity on the operations and sales side, and had very little experience, and would have meetings where people would question me about my experience and my knowledge. And most of the time, it was men. So, what I found was I had to be clear on my business, also clear on what I did and didn’t know, and really be candid with what I could bring to the table as someone who had been in corporate America for 20-plus years, Maybe my experience as a landscape person initially wasn’t as strong, but it gave me even more incentive to really learn my business, to become certified, to become someone that understood the practices of what we provide.

And I was glad I was in this male-dominated field because, again, I get to be different in a realm that’s not usually engaged with women. And it also gives a view of it’s possible. It’s possible, I’m capable, and let’s just go to the next opportunity. And that’s what I keep looking at. That’s what keeps me going is especially with WBENC, there’s so many women’s stories that when I feel down in the dumps because things aren’t happening, I can connect with someone and feel that spirit of entrepreneurialship again and really go for it.

Lee Kantor: So, what do you need more of? How can we help you? Do you need more clients? Do you need more workers? What do you need more of? How can we help?

Monica Reyes: You know, I love new clients. I love creating new relationships and being a contribution professionally and personally to the people that we serve. As well as with regards to my foundation, I’m always looking for sponsors, with individuals that want to make a difference in their community and not let resources go by the wayside and rot. And I’m always open to be of service to other entrepreneurs that need a helping hand. But for CME to make the biggest difference, I’m looking at fortune 100 companies, fortune 500 companies that see the value of a woman-owned landscape company.

Lee Kantor: And if somebody wants to learn more about CME, is there a website? What’s the best way to connect with you or somebody on the team?

Monica Reyes: Yes, you can go to CMELandscapeCorp.com or connect with me directly at MonicaR@CMELandscapeCorp.com.

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

Monica Reyes: Thank you. Thank you, Lee. It’s been a pleasure to be with you today.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Women in Motion.

BRX Pro Tip: B2C Subscription Models Don’t Translate to B2B

March 6, 2025 by angishields

BRX Pro Tips

BRX Pro Tip: B2C Subscription Models Don't Translate to B2B

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BRX Pro Tip: B2C Subscription Models Don’t Translate to B2B

Stone Payton: And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Lee Kantor and Stone Payton here with you. Lee, there is clearly a very real distinction between B2B subscription models and B2C subscription models. Yeah?

Lee Kantor: Yeah, absolutely. Those are two different distinct models, and there’s two different, kind of, strategies around them. And a lot of B2B companies I see are just trying to slap on a B2C subscription model strategy into a B2B business, and they’re not going to be successful. They’re just going to be frustrated. It’s not going to work out because the buying decision, when it comes to a B2C product, a B2C product usually is less expensive. It doesn’t require a committee to make a decision. The people who buy B2C subscriptions, cancel them quickly. B2B subscriptions usually are more complex. It requires several people in the company to make the decision, especially more expensive ones. There’s a much longer sales cycle. So, the acquisition cost is going to be much higher in a B2B subscription model, so you can’t use the same strategies. If you’re selling B2B subscription, you can’t use the same model that Netflix is using when it’s a B2C product. It’s just, a B2B client needs more bespoke solutions. And that’s hard to pull off in a standard menu of items.

So, whatever subscription model you’re using, if you’re a B2B company, it has to include value-added services like training and support. It has to include regular updates. And these things are not happening in a B2C subscription model. So, you can’t copy the B2C brands when it comes to your subscription model. A B2B subscription model is much more complicated. It requires more buy in. There’s a longer sales cycle. All of these things make it more difficult to just kind of cut and paste a B2C strategy on top of your B2B service.

Teresa Brazen with Brazen Leadership Development

March 5, 2025 by angishields

High Velocity Radio

Teresa Brazen with Brazen Leadership Development

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Teresa Brazen is a leadership coach with over 15 years of experience helping leaders thrive. With a background in human-centered design, Teresa has worked with organizations like NASA, Cisco, and Clorox to help their teams work smarter, lead with purpose, and innovate.

As the driving force behind the global expansion of Cooper Professional Education, she expanded its reach into ten countries, establishing it as a leader in design and creative leadership training.

Through her unique Inspirational Leadership model, Teresa helps leaders break through challenges, tap into their personal strengths, and cultivate a leadership style that’s authentic and powerful.

She uses a combination of one-on-one coaching, workshops, and team development programs to empower leaders to make brave, impactful decisions that reshape their organizations for the better and drive lasting change.

Teresa believes that leadership is about more than just strategy—it’s about leading with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to personal growth. Her mission is to inspire leaders to not only achieve their goals but to become the kind of leader others want to follow—one who lifts their team, amplifies their impact, and creates work cultures that truly thrive.

Teresa’s bold, action-oriented approach is perfect for leaders who are ready to take risks, challenge the status quo, and make a real difference in their organizations and beyond.

Connect with Teresa on LinkedIn.

This 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. You guys are in for a real treat. Please join me in welcoming to the broadcast with Brazen Leadership Development. Teresa Brazen, how are you?

Teresa Brazen: I’m good. Thank you so much for having me. I’m glad to be here.

Stone Payton: Oh, I have so been looking forward to this on air conversation. And I think maybe a great place to start is if you could share with me in our listeners mission. Purpose, what is it that you are really out there trying to do for folks? Teresa.

Teresa Brazen: Um, I love this question. Um, so here’s the thing. Businesses are designed generally not to care about people. They’re designed to make money. Right at the end of the day, that’s that’s their ultimate goal. And that is why I think we need good people who care about people to run companies. And I want to see a world where caring leadership is the standard. It’s not the exception. And where that kind of leadership drives both healthy team culture, where people thrive and financial success. And the research shows those two things work in tandem. So it’s not rocket science. But what I’m seeing in the world is a lot of very transactional leadership that’s very self-referential and not necessarily the kind that I think is in service of the greater good of human beings. So the work that I do is all about helping leaders who care about people become the kind of leader that other people want to follow. You know that type of leader that you may have worked with at some point in your life that lifts people up, lifts their team up, amplifies their impact, and creates work cultures where people are really thriving and excited to come to work and doing excellent work. So that’s that’s the big picture. But that that might sound easy. There are a lot of great leaders out there who have really good intent, but they’re struggling. And, you know, some of the things I often see are, you know, leaders who are running on empty, they’re putting out fires all the time rather than being able to think strategically, or they have a team that isn’t really acting with agency and they’re not really taking ownership of results, or they’re not producing really innovative work. They’re just sort of doing the same old, same old, or they’re struggling with cross-functional relationships in very siloed environments where they have to partner with people across lines to get their work done. But that’s really hard. And so, you know, I help people work through those challenges so that they can be more effective leaders and get more of this kind of, um, people based, inspirational approach to leadership out into businesses more.

Stone Payton: So what brought you to the profession? What’s your backstory?

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. So I, um, I actually started out both in the nonprofit world and as a visual artist long ago, and I then I moved into the world of design. And, and I bring up my past experience because, um, the two things that inspired me early, early on were, you know, in the nonprofit world, it’s all about it is about helping people, right? And in the art world, it’s about creativity. So when I moved into design, it was a little of both. Right. Um, there’s a particular kind of design that I used to work in called human centered design. And it’s about making products and services that really support people and help them to achieve their goals in delightful and useful ways. So that field sort of brought together those two loves. And then I ended up, um, moving into professional development. I did a lot of teaching creative leaders how to be more effective leaders. And I ultimately the thing that I loved about my work then I was running a team. I scaled that team globally is, you know, helping people, um, grow and helping people have those like one of my favorite moments, for example, if I was teaching a class about leadership is these aha moments that I could see in people’s eyes, you know, that click where they’re like, oh my gosh, I’ve been thinking about this in a way that isn’t serving me. I should totally try this other way of leading. And then they go out and practice it. So I don’t know if I answered that very well.

Stone Payton: Well you did. I’m also curious about the transition from doing that kind of work and jumping into this profession. Not only the work itself, which I definitely want to dive into here in a moment, but also like the business side of it, like just getting the clients and, you know, and running a your own business like that. Mhm.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. Yeah. I um, I call myself an unexpected entrepreneur because I actually got into building my own coaching practice, which I’ve had for um, I think going on five years now. Um, actually it started early in the pandemic. So I was running a learning and development, um, line of business, and I was teaching people how to lead. And I ran a team that did that. And, um, we were shut down very, very early on because all of our classes were in person. And it was a very jarring moment because, you know, I had an amazing team and we were very mission driven. Everybody was really committed to helping people become better leaders. Um, so it was hard when that transition happened. But, you know, I did what people do when facing the unexpected, and I just recalibrated and I thought about what I’d like to do and what did I love most about my work. And I ended up deciding to get certified in coaching with the International Coaching Federation. Um, and people were asking me to coach and to facilitate workshops, and my business sort of unfolded. Um, and, and there was a certain point where I looked around and I was like, oh my gosh, I am a business owner. And not only that, I’m an entrepreneur. Um, and so I’ve been, you know, I think one of the things I really enjoy about my work is that one, I get to see the impact of my work very directly in real time, which not everybody gets to do in their work. Um, so I see teams do things differently because of the conversations and the work that we the conversations we have in the work we do together or individuals. Um, but also I’m very stimulated by the business side, um, like learning. To me, it’s very creative as well. And it’s really challenging. It’s very intellectually stimulating, um, challenging and stimulating too. So I’m learning all the time which any good job, you know, is a job where you’re learning constantly.

Stone Payton: So you mentioned being formally credentialed going through this certification process. So it sounds like you’ve had the benefit of of that. And likely, I suspect, the benefit of one or more mentors to kind of help you navigate this, this terrain over the last five years.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah, yeah, I’ve had I mean most coaches have coaches, so I’ve definitely had coaches that have helped me with my own coaching practice and also with like building a business. Um, and, and I will also say to some degree was doing some of this work because I ran a team before. Right. And, and, um, and I had learned a lot about how to lead and, um, not necessarily. Well, even the business side, when I was in, in my prior job, I was running a line of business and I scaled it globally to ten countries. So I had to figure out, not by myself, obviously, with a team of people, but we had to figure out together, um, how to help offices and ten other countries, um, sell training, sell leadership development. Um, and we had to teach them how to teach. They didn’t teach and they didn’t sell teaching. So, um, so I learned some there too.

Stone Payton: So let’s talk about the work. And one of the things that kind of brought you into our circle and put you on our radar, and one of the main reasons I wanted to have this on air conversation is to learn more about this inspirational leadership model. Can you speak to that some?

Teresa Brazen: Yeah, yeah. So this is a leadership model that I developed to help leaders elevate their mindset and their behaviors and skills so that they can inspire really exceptional work. And those, you know, that that thriving workplace culture that I was talking about earlier. So it really emphasizes leading from within and acting as a catalyst for the growth of your team and the people around you. So it’s um, it’s a compass, inspirational leadership compass. And it’s intentionally that because, um, there, you know, the, the ways in which you need to flex your leadership vary. They vary by person. Like what you know, Stone, what you’re strong in might be different than what I’m strong in. And where you need to work might be different than where I need to work, right? Um, and also, it’s, you know, the ways in which you need to flex your leadership varies by environment, too. And what’s happening. Right? So, you know, I’m talking I have a client right now who is, um, about to have to lay a bunch of people off. And so, you know, in that case, he’s thinking a lot about what kind of leader he wants to be through that process. Um, how to do that in a humane and a humane way? Um, but, you know, someone else might be, um, let’s say, you know, they, they just their team just doubled in size. They inherited a new a team from another part of the business. And so they’re having to step into leadership in a different way. And the things that they have to work on are different in those different contexts.

Teresa Brazen: So, um, I just say that, you know, to, to say that it’s Intentionally, um, not linear. It’s supposed to be like a compass. Adapted to context. So there’s five pieces of it. There are. And I think of these as. Where they are, there are five components of what can help someone to become a more. Inspirational leader. So one piece is purpose. Um, and that’s about clarifying and leveraging. Both a personal and an organizational purpose to guide decisions and to inspire commitment. Um, another piece is energy management, which is about prioritizing self-care and. Promoting healthy team dynamics to sustain high performance without burnout. Um, there are a lot of leaders that I interact with at. One of the first things we figure out is like, oh, we got to work on energy management because you can’t even do the work of coaching and evolve your leadership if you don’t. You have no energy left in your battery. Um, influence is another piece, and that’s about, you know, learning how to more effectively navigate organizational dynamics, um, how to, to do strategic relationship building, how to be a persuasive communicator. Um, innovation is another piece. So that’s really around cultivating a culture where creativity and innovation just naturally flourish. Um, and then the last piece is unleash, and that is empowering other people and unleashing their potential and their their leadership abilities because, you know, the sum is greater than the parts. If you can unleash the leadership potential within your whole team, you’re all going to get a lot further. So that’s high level. Those are that’s what it’s about.

Stone Payton: And the mechanism for the work is that one on one, is it group facilitation speaking or maybe a little bit of all that.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah, yeah yeah, yeah. Um, it’s one on one coaching. Well, it depends. So very tailored. Um, I use it in my one on one coaching, for example. Um, and we might identify different areas to work on in coaching, but when I’m working with a team, for example, um, it might be so one on one coaching, uh, workshops around each of those areas. I have longer like a inspirational leadership program for leadership teams that’s, you know, over a much more extended period of time where we go deep on all those things. And the the big thing I would say about how I approach all of this is I am very much, um, an advocate for experimentation. Um, I, I want people to try things and try things that are uncomfortable but not have the pressure of getting it right. Wow. So a lot of, a lot of the work that I do is around helping people figure out what are or working with teams, individual or teams. Um, what are, you know, micro experiments that they can conduct to practice new skills or a new mindset or a new behavior? Um, in new ways. So even as as I’ll give you an example, um, one of my clients, um, is a product leader and has, uh, got some poor performance reviews.

Teresa Brazen: Um, but is has really great intention, wants to be a really great leader and manages a team. And one of the things that we realized thinking about influence and the way that he was influencing the behavior within his own team and with his partners, is that he was leading in a very directive way. So when we would have conversations, um, he usually began with what he needed or wanted or his perspective. And so he made one small shift, which was to focus on every meeting that he went to, whether it was a direct report or another partner or leader, is to remind himself before he went in to, um, lead with curiosity. And rather than beginning with what he wanted or needed or his perspective, he began with questions. And so he’d ask more to understand more about their perspective and what they needed as a starting point. And immediately his relationship started changing. And that’s that’s a very accessible kind of experiment. Do you see what I’m talking about?

Stone Payton: I do. And it strikes me as an incredibly powerful shift that probably had some tremendous impact very quickly. What I’m trying to envision is both in a group environment and individually. You must have to create a level of trust well beyond what a radio host has to.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah, well, you do a good job of it too. Yeah, absolutely. Yeah. I mean, people need to know that I or anybody else that I bring in that’s, um, doing this work with me that we will one know what we’re doing? Do you mean trust in in me, or do you mean in as in in themselves or within a team? What? Actually, let me clarify that for me.

Stone Payton: Yeah. Well, I think maybe. Yes, across the board. Like I’m envisioning me as a participant. Right. So I’ve got to trust the room of people. I’ve got to trust the environment that you’ve created so that I really can try on some of these, uh, these new behaviors and approaches in a truly safe environment. I’ve got to trust you then. But, you know, maybe I gotta trust myself, too, to open up a little bit and take the mask off for a little while.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. You know, it’s funny, I was just writing a a LinkedIn post today about, um, acting before you feel the way you want to feel. So let’s see if I can make this make sense. So, um, the reason I like experiments and micro experiments is it forces people to try something, even if they don’t feel like they’re ready for it. Mhm. So on one hand yes there is. You have to build trust. But also if you wait to feel like you trust yourself, for example, you’ll never do the thing that you’re afraid to do.

Stone Payton: Mhm.

Teresa Brazen: Right. So there’s, there’s a little of both. Like I obviously have to build trust with my clients. Right. And they need to know both that I know what I’m doing, but also that I care about them, that I really am in it for their wellbeing. Well-being. I’m not just trying to, like, sell a program. Right? Um, I, I also need to help them, um, build more trust in themselves. But what I know is that you build more trust and confidence in yourself through action, because it starts to teach your brain that something’s different. So whatever patterns you have, like narratives you have going on in your mind around like that, you can’t do something, let’s say, like, you think you’re not a good public speaker. And so you, like, shy away from doing presentations. Um, the best way through that is to actually start doing it and know that you’re going to be uncomfortable for a while until you start building new patterns in your own brain. And over time, if you practice uncomfortable things enough, you become more comfortable with them and they become a part of who you are. A great example is I was terrified to teach. I got into teaching and for the first I was teaching people who were CEOs, um, VP’s, you know, like very high level folks in these leadership classes and, and and they, um, they had more experience than I did. Terrifying. I mean, imagine that, right? Like, I’m going to teach these people something about leadership. Um, and for the first six months of that job, I, I mean, honestly, I just felt like ill all the time. And I remember thinking at a certain point, I don’t think this is the right job for me. Like, I can’t imagine feeling this terrified all the time. Like, this isn’t sustainable. But around six months, I had done it enough that my internal internal feelings about it changed. And now I’m super comfortable. Like, I mean, it’s not like I never get nervous, but in general, I’m I’m very comfortable in that space. Um, and it was the action that got me there.

Stone Payton: So what have you discovered? That is the art and science or approach or discipline or rigor, whatever it is that, um, that allows the change to or gives the change a reasonable chance at really sticking. You know, you have this great two day experience or this great one on one session. Yeah.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. Yeah. Um, well, I feel like I’m going to repeat myself a little bit, but I’ll give you an example. So it’s, um, repeated action. Mhm. I mean, at the end of the day that really is what it is, is you have to you usually don’t get it right the first time or the second time. Right. And, and the other piece I would say is reflection. Um, I’m a, I mean, the way that you in learning and development, like what we know is that the moment of learning and insight actually happens in reflection. It’s not even just the action. You have to reflect on the action. So in coaching, um, you know, I’m often creating a space for individuals or teams to reflect on what did we just learn from the thing we tried? And then how does that change or does it change? Um, that action moving forward? Should we iterate on what we were trying out? So, you know, for example, I go back to the manager who was trying to, um, act with curiosity. Right. Um, maybe the first few times I’m making this up because I don’t know exactly. But, you know, maybe the first few times he had conversations, people looked at him like he was weird because it was a totally different way of being. Right. Um, and, you know, maybe we talk about that, and then and then in reflection, he realizes there are some modifications he could make to the way he’s opening up those conversations. And so he tries a modified version of it. Do you follow?

Speaker4: I do.

Teresa Brazen: Um. Oh, gosh. There was something I was going to say. What was your question again?

Stone Payton: Well, I was just asking about driving that lasting change and having it go well beyond the fervor of, you know, the afternoon of day two, which is awesome, you know, or whatever. Yeah.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah, yeah. Okay, I got it. Um, the other thing I would say is so it’s repeated action, it’s reflection, and it’s time. I love doing workshops. They’re so fun. And you can really get deep with people and they can have big aha moments. But you know, and I know that there is a high likelihood that everybody is going to go right back to business as usual.

Speaker4: Yeah.

Teresa Brazen: So when I, um, work with clients and they want me to do a workshop, I, I always try to convince them to let me do at least one, hopefully a few more follow up sessions that are they can be very short, you know, they can be like two hours and they can be remote. But, um, they are basically accountability, reflection and iteration sessions. So I bring them back together and we talk about what did you try, what worked and what didn’t work. What did you learn and what will you do moving forward? And if we can do multiple of those, it keeps people coming back to the work. So, um, yeah, that would be another piece.

Stone Payton: Well, that makes all the sense in the world. I’m so glad I asked.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. It’s also why my, my preference is to, to do programs with, with teams over time or in the case of coaching, like I don’t do one off coaching, I don’t do just a session. Right. Um, I do multiple sessions over time.

Stone Payton: So what are some signs to look for or some things that might be happening in my personal or professional life that as an individual, I should be thinking, hey, maybe I should engage a coach or as a leader looking around the organization. You know, maybe we should bring someone in here to work with our group. Are there some things we should be looking for? That tell us? Yeah, maybe something we should consider.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. So, um, that’s a good. And I’ll think about I’ll talk about this through two lenses. So for an individual, you know, some common signs that a coach could be helpful would be you don’t have time to think you are. You’re totally caught up in busy work. You don’t have space to think strategically or in a zoomed out way about what you should do next, either career wise or even just at work. Um, or you’re burnt out. That’s a big sign that you need to pause and recalibrate. Um, it can be things as like you’re flying off the handle a lot at work. Um, you’re, you know, snapping at people and regretting it after. And it’s becoming a pattern. So there’s something going on. Um, maybe you feel stuck in your career. It feels misaligned, but you’re frozen by the idea of actually trying to act on it. Or similarly, you have a big a big goal like, um, you want to move up to an executive position or you want to start your own business, you know, like it could be anything but something that feels daunting, um, is a great time to bring in a coach. Um, other things would be imposter syndrome. So, you know, you feel like a fraud, and it’s holding you back from taking the next step in your career. Um, or you’re having challenging relationships, especially, you know, I work a lot with leaders on their cross-functional partnerships.

Teresa Brazen: Um, and for a team, you know, I would say the big thing I often work with teams on is actually helping them to become a team. Um, and what I mean by that is many times, and I’ve experienced this myself. I’ve been on a leadership team. Great people. We all got along, but we weren’t a team. We were individuals responsible for our own parts of the business, and we didn’t have any real shared goals. Um, and we didn’t lean on each other for support. We just when we got together, it was basically status updates, right? Here’s what’s going on with my part of the business. Here’s what’s going on with yours. Um, so if you have a team that feels like that, um, that’s that can be a good time to bring in a coach to or a new team is forming. I’ve been doing a lot of work with, uh, teams that are that are just being gelled together and helping them come up with operating principles, which are, uh, just basically some agreements around, um, what what kind of team they want to be together and how they’ll show up for each other and how they will make decisions and act together so that they can be really intentional about the culture they they build between each other.

Stone Payton: Yeah. So how do you pick the right coach? I mean, I don’t even feel like I would know what questions to ask. Like, if I were talking to 2 or 3, like, what kind of questions I would. Yeah. Any insight on that?

Teresa Brazen: Well, the biggest thing I would say is chemistry. I mean, it’s it’s deep and personal work, even on a team level. Um, and you, you want to work with someone that you feel a connection with? Um, partly because of what you brought up earlier, which is trust. You need to build trust with this person, right? Yeah. You know, I would say giving coaching is a really there’s there’s a whole landscape of coaches, right? And coaching actually kind of means different things to different people. Given that it’s a, it’s such a, I would say inconsistent industry. Um, you know, if you’ve never found a coach before, I would recommend looking for somebody that has some kind of certification in the International Coaching Federation is a good one. They’re like the governing body of coaches, and it all it does is help you feel calm or actually not just helps you feel confident. You can be confident that that person has gone through training specifically to learn how to coach. They’ve been observed, they’ve been given feedback, they’ve worked with people for a decent amount of hours where they have enough practice under their belt. You know, that’s not to say that someone who’s not certified is not necessarily great because they are. It’s just certification can be a way to help you narrow the pool to to people that have, um, have some training in it. Um, I’m trying to think of what else. And then I think the other thing is like, does their approach resonate with you? So I described to you my approach is very experimentation forward. If that resonates, then we might be a great pair. If that isn’t something that naturally appeals to you, then my approach might not be the right fit for you. And then lastly, if you know there’s a certain area that you want to work on, you know, like let’s say it’s, um, leadership development specifically, then you probably want to work with somebody who works with people on leadership development, right? Um, or if you want to do career change, you may be able to find a coach that has experience with that.

Stone Payton: So really, this chemistry thing, I mean, you may be talking to a very competent, well accomplished practitioner, but if the chemistry’s not right, I mean that really, because it goes back to the trust thing we were talking about the whole bit. Right?

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. Yeah. It’s a partnership. That’s what coaching is. It’s a partnership. It’s you and I are deciding together that we are we’re going to roll our sleeves up and we’re going to help you get to a goal that is really important to you, and you’ve got to be able to lean into that person. And yeah, chemistry is is one very telling way to know whether you could roll your sleeves up with them.

Stone Payton: I’m going to switch gears on you here for a moment, if I might, and ask. Hobbies, interests, pursuits, passions outside the scope of of your professional work. Anything you nerd out about?

Teresa Brazen: Yes. Um. I have recently been taking ballroom dancing classes. Um, specifically Latin dancing. I, I love salsa dancing, but I’ve never until recently, you know, taken classes from a ballroom teacher. Um, so that’s been super fun. And then I love I love outdoors exercise. I love being in the outdoors. I love hiking, um, nature travel. I I’m a travel geek.

Stone Payton: Me too. I, I haven’t picked up salsa dancing, but I certainly like to travel. I did buy dancing lessons one time, and then we never went. That didn’t get me a lot of points.

Teresa Brazen: Uh, you can learn. You can learn. Stone. You know, the reason I got interested in it is I went to a ballroom dancing competition, and I was amazed that there was every age range. There were literally people in their 90s competing. I’m not kidding. And and I was like, and there were kids and there was every age in between. And I was like, oh my gosh, I didn’t. In my mind, it was going to be, you know, like 20 something people that were amazing and they were all good in their own way. But I was just like, oh my God, I would love to learn something that I can do, you know, basically until I can’t move anymore.

Stone Payton: So, well, it goes back to your experiential and experimental nature.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Stone Payton: Hey, listen, before we wrap, you know, the tagline of the show is producing better results in less time. Let’s, uh, if we could, I’d love to leave the listeners with a pro tip.

Teresa Brazen: Yeah. So better results in less time. Um, one thing that can help you get better results in less time at work is being more intentional about your relationships with partners, and a technique for doing that is to create something that’s called a persona. In the design world, it’s basically a summary of what are the goals, motivations, behaviors, pain points, and challenges that this type of person faces. Um, so a lot of times with my clients, I have them identify who are a few key partners that they need to build better relationships with and for, you know, a week they will observe them. They might have a conversation with them to learn more about some of those things I just talked about and the exercise of doing that. So it takes a minute to do that, right? To be intentional about like, okay, what unpacked? What do I know about them, and what more do I need to know about them to understand what makes them tick as a person? But it’s sort of the slow down to speed up thing if you invest a little bit of time to do that. It enables you to be much more effective in the way that you communicate and engage with that person, and that ultimately speeds up everything that happens later, because so much of work is really just about relationships.

Stone Payton: It really is. And what marvelous advice. If our listeners would like to continue to tap into your work, reach out, maybe have a more comprehensive conversation with you. What’s the best way for them to do that?

Teresa Brazen: Um, they can reach out. I have a website. Uh, Theresa. Brazen. Com which soon will be brazen leadership development. Com. Um, and they also can email me at Theresa. Theresa brazen.com and I’m on LinkedIn. I’m very active on LinkedIn. I share lots of leadership tips there. So if that’s something you’re interested in, you can get a little taste four times a week. And there’s also some tools on my on my website that you know, are relate to some of the topics that we’ve talked about that are free and you can download. So some resources that they could check out.

Stone Payton: Theresa, this has been an inspiring and invigorating conversation. I have thoroughly enjoyed the visit. You’re clearly doing important work. Keep up the good work and thank you so much for joining us.

Teresa Brazen: You are welcome. Thank you. Stone, it’s really nice to be here with you.

Stone Payton: Absolutely. My pleasure. All right. Until next time. This is Stone Payton for our guest today, Theresa Brazen with brazen leadership development and everyone here at the Business RadioX family saying we’ll see you in the fast lane.