Jacob Lapera, Author at Business RadioX ® Page

Dennis McKinley With Detroit Equities

October 22, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Franchise Marketing Radio

Dennis McKinley With Detroit Equities

00:00 /

Brought To You By SeoSamba . . . Comprehensive, High Performing Marketing Solutions For Mature And Emerging Franchise Brands . . . To Supercharge Your Franchise Marketing, Go To seosamba.com.

Dennis McKinley currently leads the Atlanta-based branding company Detroit Equities, which runs the Atlanta-based businesses Cru Hookah Lounge and the Original Hot Dog Factory.

Currently, he helps entrepreneurs and small businesses build their brands through strategic investments, and some of his previous background experience also includes real estate, e-commerce, and product development.

The Original Hot Dog Factory — Owned by Dennis McKinley. Known as an Atlanta staple, The Original Hot Dog Factory has received national exposure as it has been featured on BRAVO’s “Real Housewives of Atlanta” numerous times.

With locations in Atlanta, Philly, Brooklyn, Houston, Charlotte, Raleigh, and Birmingham, the chain is set to open locations in: Miami, Detroit and Cleveland.

He’s also owner of CRU Hemp Lounge, which has now become the largest black owned nightlife chain and largest hookah lounge chain in the United States. To date, they currently have four locations open in Atlanta (in Lilburn, Edgewood, Peter Street and Midtown), Houston, Dallas, Austin Birmingham and Charlotte.

Throughout this Summer and Fall, CRU plans on opening more locations in Atlanta (in Marietta, Alpharetta, Douglasville, Union City, and Morrow), Memphis, Washington DC, Pittsburgh, Miami, Macon and Phoenix.

Business Mogul and CEO of Detroit Equities, Dennis McKinley, Former VP for Remy Cointreau, Patrick Charpentier, and Jerome Hyafil, a former EVP, Seagram’s Spirits and Wines, formed a dynamic team to create NYAK Cognac, which is now the fastest-growing cognac brand in U.S. history with an unprecedented 1,000% annual growth rate.

NYAK is now in the top 10 of leading cognacs and growing. NYAK is 80 proof with a distinctive, finely graded VS and delicate distilled flavor that is perfect over ice. Its golden color with hints of amber heralds its complexity.

The nose offers up delicious toasty oak notes (Bourbon vanilla, toasted bread) that stand out against a delightful peppery gourmet base (pear, grape, light honey). McKinley is a University of Michigan graduate.

Connect with Dennis on Instagram and LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

About The Original Hot Dog Factory
CRU Hemp Lounge is the largest hookah chain in the United States
Detroit Equities in the next five years

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Welcome to Franchise Marketing Radio, brought to you by SEO Samba Comprehensive, high performing marketing solutions for mature and emerging franchise brands to supercharge your franchise marketing. Go to SEOSamba.com that’s SEOsamba.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Franchise Marketing Radio, and this is going to be a good one today on the show, we got Dennis McKinley with Detroit Equities, home of the original Hot Dog Factory and Cru Hemp Lounge. Welcome Dennis.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:00:49] And they thank you for having me, I appreciate it. Look forward to chatting about franchising today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:54] Absolutely. So how did you get into the franchise business?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:00:58] Well, the short story is I was on the other end of the stick. You know, I originally was a Subway franchisee. And you know, I thought, totally, you know, something totally different when I wanted to say, Hey, I want to open a subway. Right? I thought it was, Hey, it’s subway, but I’m doing my own thing, right? And I quickly learned that’s not what franchising is about. So Subway was my first university into what franchising really is.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:23] So what is it? How was it different than you anticipated?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:01:27] Well, you know, you see a subway on every corner and you kind of really don’t realize that, you know, even though you are an owner or franchise partner, you know, Subway sets the rules. They set the menu, they set the pricing right. They set the hours of operation. So really, you know, it’s not Dennis McKinley subway. It is Subway. So I was introduced to really, you know what a franchise model really is. You know, you got rules, you got regulations, you have brand standards, really introduced me. What a brand really is, right? And it’s not so much about you as it’s managing and understanding what a system is.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:07] So did you sell that? Is that how that story ended?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:02:11] Yeah. You know, I got up to four locations and I quickly realized that, you know, Subway is probably making a little more than me. So I sold that and look for some other opportunities. But I say, you know what? My ultimate goal is? I think I want to be a franchise. All right. I’ll see some things that could probably be improved. Some things that I thought that weren’t too fair for franchise partners, and I said I always wanted to be a franchise or if I got the opportunity and found a brand, that would work.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:42] So then how did you did you kind of come up with your own brand or did you find kind of a mom and pop that you thought was doing good work and partnering with them?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:02:52] Yeah, a mixture of both. So what happened was, you know, I’m from Detroit, and if anybody out there been to Detroit or understands Detroit food culture, they know that we love our Coney Island hot dogs, right? There’s a Coney Island on every corner in Detroit, basically, which is a a beef hot dog with, you know, chili onion mustard. But, you know, after I graduated from the University of Michigan, I traveled all around this country and I quickly noticed that one. But for one thing, everybody loves hot dogs, right? But but the second most important thing is it doesn’t matter where you go across this country. Everybody likes something different on their hot dog. So with the Chicago, you know they got the Chicago dog, right? You go to New York. They love some sauerkraut and brown mustard. You go out to Seattle. They put cream cheese and onions on their dog. And I said, Man, you know what? If I could just put every hot dog originally from across this country? Put it under one roof? That may work. So I was in Atlanta at the time. You know, so, you know, one of my businesses and I would try to find my next thing and I had a craving for a hot dog. I went into this place called the original hot dog factory, and they only had, you know, three or four dogs. I said, this may be my opportunity. And I went in there and I talked to the owner every day until he sold it to me. He sold it to me. I changed the menu. I put every hot dog that I’ve experienced personally and I can find regionally. That’s that was the new original Hot Dog Factory. Twenty five hot dogs from across the country. And it was reborn in 2015.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:26] So then you took an existing it was a mom and pop a single location.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:04:30] Yes, single location, mom and pop. And I scaled it.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:36] And then you just kind of used your franchise magic to improve it and then take it to a new level.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:04:43] Indeed. You know, what happened was, you know, we changed that menu. People started rushing through the door and people were asking, Hey, why don’t you have one on the east side? Hey, why don’t you have one down here in Columbus, Georgia? Hey, I’m from Detroit. This would work up there. And I said, You know what? There’s a demand. And you know, franchising is the the fastest way to scale.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:05] Now, when you took them over, did they have kind of the playbook that most franchises have or is that something you had to develop and you kind of used your previous knowledge on how to build that?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:05:17] Yeah, not at all. I mean, they were just a mom and pop. They didn’t even even have recipes. So we started from scratch. You know, we took some time to, of course, perfected menu, get our vendors together. And then we we developed the franchise playbook from scratch.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:33] Now is that something that emerging franchises kind of don’t put enough time into?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:05:40] You know, I think so. You know, I talked to probably, you know, five or 10 concepts a week with people saying, Hey, I got a great idea. You know, this is good, I think, you know, we could franchise and the most common thing I always miss is just, first of all, menu development, right? You got to have a real good hold on. If I take this out of my city and go to another state, am I going to have the same vendor relationships, right? That, you know, they don’t put enough time into just mean you develop and making sure that this is going to be able to scale? Not only are people going to like your concept when you go to a different state, but can you make sure it tastes the same, right? And that vendor relationship is critically undervalued. You know, when you talk about franchising

Lee Kantor: [00:06:27] Now in your work, you kind of went from hot dogs to hemp. How did that transition happen? Was it the same thing? You found something out there. There was a mom and pop that you said, Hey, I can scale this.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:06:40] Well, I got to be honest with you. Just, you know, franchising crew was. That was that just happened because of, you know, also also demand, you know, when I was when I had another business crew was across the street from my office. So admittedly I got to tell you, Lee, I used to go there, you know, pretty much every day after work and I would entertain clients, et cetera. And one day I looked at my bill and I said, Man, I just spent a thousand bucks on here. If I owned the place, maybe just maybe I would spend as much cash in here. So I talked to the owner and I bought it right. And you know, another thing I was inspired by a club out in New York City and I took, you know, a piece of what they had going on and I remixed it and we called it crew. Now down south and just, you know, culturally around the country, like hookah is like becoming a phenomenon. You know, all the kids like to smoke hookah while they drink, you know, and eat foods. So we’re not a club, right? We’re not a lounge. We’re like a we’re not a restaurant, we’re a hybrid of all three. And I concept work, right? So, you know, we were getting very popular in Atlanta and people used to come from all over the country. You know, Atlanta is a hotbed for transients and entertainment. They call Atlanta Black Hollywood. People were like, Hey, man, why isn’t this in Houston? Hey, we will this work well in Charlotte? And the light bulb went off and enough people start asking me and I say, You know what? Let me replicate this model as well. And that’s how crew helped launch a franchise and was born as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:12] Now is crew stand alone, or is that something that if I have maybe a restaurant or a bar, I can just have a crew inside of my existing location?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:08:21] No, when we look for a second generation, you know, restaurants and bars, you know? So no, you cannot have that as a standalone. I mean, that’s an entire package.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:32] So it’s the entire package. So you have to kind of go all in.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:08:37] Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:38] Now is it different kind of scaling a hemp crew rather than a restaurant or is it kind of the same? It doesn’t matter now. Now that you got the recipe to scale, you can just plug and play whatever concept you’re dealing with.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:08:55] Yeah, you know, at the end of the day, you know, franchising, you know, in my opinion, is all about the real estate. You know, your concept has got to work with landlords. You know, landlords already have an idea when they build something out, they already have square footage. If you know that information before you get a concept going, I think you’ll win big time. That’s what I really didn’t understand. What the hot dog factory, right? Hot Dog Factory. We prefer spaces that are about eight hundred square feet. Well, guess what? No landlord has spaces, you know, eight hundred square feet. They’re normally about a twelve hundred. So, you know, look, when you’re franchised, you’ve got to understand both sides of the game. And I think real estate is very important. You need to understand that Game two so crew a little easier to find space where about three thousand square feet, second generation restaurants, you know, do the Koven. I mean, there are tons of opportunity out here for those spaces, so it’s been a little easier skill versus the hot dog.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:56] So now what’s next? Are you just looking for brands?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:10:01] Oh, definitely. I mean, we’re always looking for brands. We do about again, about five to seven interviews a week just, you know, looking for different opportunities. I’ve had some, some good graces here in the past where we’ve got into some brands helped them scale and ultimately exit. So we’re always looking for brands. You know, I’m pretty agnostic, but definitely I’m a foodie, so I do love concepts that are centered around food. But I look at anything we’ve invested, you know, into CBD stores and party bus transportation businesses. We’ve also did some meal meal planning work as well. So look, I’m really foodie centric, but I love culture, so I love things that are hot or you know that we will be hot tomorrow. So definitely if anybody’s out there and they have a concept that they think that could scale or they can franchise, definitely contact us

Lee Kantor: [00:11:00] Now when they work with you. Is that something that you just buy them outright or you do a joint venture? What is the relationship typically look like?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:11:08] Yeah, normally we do 50 50, you know, based on, you know, what’s really involved in, you know, how far they’ve already scaled, right? You know, I am, you know, founder and entrepreneur friendly, right? I think if you, you know, have more than one location that takes a factor. How long have you been in business that takes this factor, right? How much work we need to put into fixing, you know, what’s needed to get to that next level? Oh, that’s always a factor. But we try. We try to normally go in and say different departments.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:37] Now, when you’re working with folks or working with your own brands, how do you attract other franchisees? How have you cracked the code on that? Because a lot of folks struggle in that area?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:11:48] Yeah. Well, I’ll tell you what you know, I always ask during this interview process with new brands how many people have already asked about franchising? I mean, you wouldn’t believe how many of our franchise partners are just fans of the brand. They just love the brand, right? That’s where are you going to get the most traction, right? Because you have people who are not just in it for the cash, right? They actually love the brand. It’s a difference. You know, people can throw money around, but you know, if they’re just looking to make a buck out of it and they don’t have a passion for what you’re doing, that makes getting even tough.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:25] Now, is there any kind of sweet spot in terms of the investment that you typically work with or the investment could be anything depending on the brand?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:12:35] Yeah, it could be anything depending on the brand, you know, that is very, you know, from, you know, twenty five grand, which is normally average PhD, work up to half a million bucks depending on what’s needed and what stage they are in their development. Of course, every brand the investment, initial investment to get location to open are different, so it depends on what kind of infrastructure that they have, right? We need that employee employees, et cetera. So it varies. But look, there is a sweet spot. You know, at the end of the day, it’s all about the brand, it’s all about what you’re selling and it’s all about, you know, that fan base that you created from what you’re doing.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:16] Now, any advice for the person that maybe is a mom and pop and how do they know if they have something that could scale?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:13:26] Yeah. Well, I mean, people always ask me like, OK, I gave you all this stuff. We’ve done all these interviews. You’ve been to my location five times. Like, what’s the mathematical equation to know? You know, being an investor, right? And really, to be totally honest with you. Look, we can do spreadsheets and all that stuff, which is important to investors and banks. You know, analysts, et cetera. But really, it’s about the good right where you go in there and you can kind of tell, you know, is this owner passionate? You know, when people coming through the doors, are they excited to be here? Do they really love the food or is it just, you know, a convenience for them, right? Those things matter way more important in, you know, how much revenue you’re doing, how much cash you’re putting on the table, because that’s going to make the difference between, you know, 20 locations and possibly getting to that magic number of 100. Right? That’s the difference.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:18] Now what about advice for that franchisee like you, when you started out, you had some. I don’t want to call it a misstep, but a learning opportunity. How do you advise a franchisee to choose the right brand for them?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:14:37] Well, look, you know, a lot of people say, you know, hey, I want to own a restaurant, but. But guess what? That’s not enough, right? You got to really dig deep into what you’re passionate about and let your passion lead your choice of your venture. Because look, there’s a ton of franchise opportunities out here. Some better than others. And you got to really be careful, you know, when you dove in because these are not, you know, overnight projects. I mean, most franchise agreements are ten years. Ten years is a long time, right? So you got to make sure you understand that you’re doing these deals. You’re married, right? You guys are married. Of course, you can sell your franchise, et cetera, but it takes that initial work to get off the ground. You know, nothing is going to be profitable overnight, so you’ve got to really dig in and put work in if you expect to be successful.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:28] So now. So what? How do you kind of see the future? Like you said, there’s a lot of opportunity now with real estate because of COVID as we come out of COVID. You know, it seems like people are, you know, yearning for some back to normal stuff. What do you see in five years for Detroit equities?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:15:49] Well, I think we need to move where the future is going, right? I mean, if you look at a lot of real estate technology around where restaurants are doing with third party delivery, ghost kitchens, food trucks, you know, I really think, you know, any restaurant tour or any franchisees in the food business has got to take that part of business very seriously. You got to understand some of the trends going on right now. Vegan food is extremely popular. You know, look, we’re right around the corner from, you know, marijuana being legal here and probably the next three to five years. So I think that’s going to be a big part of the food industry as well. And also, look, every restaurant, every foodie. Really, it doesn’t matter what business you mean, everybody is having a tough time hiring. So I think you got to really look at really look at technology as it relates to automation and robots and how that’s going to affect your brand moving forward. If you’re a restaurant that’s going to make things from scratch, et cetera. Look, I don’t know, he may be in trouble long term, right? Technology is really going to take over for automation, flipping hamburgers from scratch without employees here in the next three or five years, I believe. So that’s that’s going to take a toll on some of these concepts.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:14] And the same goes with franchisees as well. Don’t don’t you need to have like kind of an app that you can do the whole transaction and then the franchise door can kind of keep track of things through that.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:17:24] And there’s a technology that’s coming out right now is making it very easy for franchise owners to to get data right. And that’s the big word right down to, you know, how is used, how is it going to be used in the future? What is going on now? Real time? So, yeah, most definitely.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:44] Well, congratulations on all the success if somebody wants to learn more about any of your opportunities or Detroit equities, if they have a brand they want to share with you. What is the best way to get a hold of you?

Dennis Mckinley: [00:17:54] No, I appreciate that. They go online at Detroit Equities. Click on the form. Submit your brand. I go out about three times a week all across the country just looking at brands and tasting food, you know, looking at different concepts. And it doesn’t have to just be, you know, food again. I mean, we’re pretty agnostic. We’ve invested it into a wide range of things. Looking at a kid brand right now, that’s very exciting. So look, it doesn’t matter what you have if you think that your business can be scaled. Reach out to us and we’ll see if we can work together.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:28] Good stuff. Well, thank you again for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Dennis Mckinley: [00:18:32] I appreciate being on the show. I appreciate it. All you guys. Good luck. Keep at it and I’ll see you on the road soon.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:39] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Franchise Marketing Radio.

Darren Kanthal With The Kanthal Group Candid Career Coaching

October 22, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Coach The Coach

Darren Kanthal With The Kanthal Group Candid Career Coaching

00:00 /

Darren Kanthal is the founder of The Kanthal Group | Candid Career Coaching.

A New Yorker at heart, Darren has a uniquely unapologetic, yet compassionate style and his individualized, results-oriented approach helps leaders show up as the best versions of themselves at every stage of their career.

Darren’s career coaching builds upon an extensive background of HR consulting and staff augmentation projects.

Connect with Darren on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

About emotional arborist
The practice and impacts of Positive Intelligence Executive Coaching
Career coaching

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:02] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Coach the Coach radio brought to you by the Business RadioX Ambassador Program, the no cost business development strategy for coaches who want to spend more time serving local business clients and less time selling them. Go to BRXAmbassador.com To learn more. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Coach the Coach Radio, and this is going to be a fun one today on the show, we have Darren Campbell with The Kanthal Group candid career coaching. Welcome, Darren.

Darren Kanthal: [00:00:44] Thank you. It’s good to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:45] Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about candid career coaching. How are you serving, folks?

Darren Kanthal: [00:00:51] You know, there’s a little bit of a story, of course, and without being too long winded, my story starts in corporate America, which quite frankly, was not my place. Arguably, I was too candid. I would say I had a lack of discretion during that time frame, and when I felt like I experienced in corporate America was don’t talk about real problems, talk about surface stuff and move forward. And I didn’t grow up that way in my house. We talked about conversations and we were deep about the things we talked about. And so my coaching practice, I get I hope it’s OK to curse. I get cut through the bullshit, talk about the real things and help people move forward.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:31] Now what drew you initially to this corporate kind of career like so you were going through, you know, high school college and you were aiming at corporate and then you realize once you were there that that wasn’t the right fit? Or was it something you were kind of like on autopilot? This is what people like me do. We get a job at corporate?

Darren Kanthal: [00:01:52] You know, interestingly enough, my father was an entrepreneur my whole life, and he passed away in nineteen ninety seven in August. I graduated college in December of ninety seven and no joke. My dad’s side of the family is Jewish. So is Shiva, my uncle who like five foot four Puerto Rican guy strong as an ox said to me, You’re going to run your dad’s business. And being in shock that my father was passed, I was like, Yeah, I’m sure I could do it. And he held me by the shoulders and looked me in the face and said, No, you are going to run your father’s business. And that 30 second exchange was it meaning I finished my last semester of college and I took over my dad’s business. So when I left college, I was an entrepreneur from the gate or out of the gate. You know, my stories got some sympathy in there. I had a house fire. A couple of years later, I lost all of my stuff, personal and professional. Truth be known as the business was a dying breed, and I let it go. And without much of an idea of what to do next, I found myself in corporate America, stayed there for, I don’t know, 15 or 18 years. And without knowing it, I had this entrepreneurial burning inside of me or this entrepreneurial spirit. And in my last corporate gig, I had a boss, my last boss, who was the worst boss of my entire career. And I hired my own career coach and my words to her were I got to figure out how to play nice in these sandboxes. And The Sandbox is our corporate America and these bosses that I did respect. And her words to me were, Maybe you should change the sandbox. So just like the words of Uncle Ralph, a 30 second exchange with my coach led me down the path of I’m going to be an entrepreneur. And that led me to coach in.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:46] Now going, having gone through what you’ve gone through kind of makes you uniquely qualified to help a wide swath of folks, I would think because you’ve. Kind of were involved in the entrepreneurial pursuit. You know, maybe before you were really ready for it and you’ve kind of got all the scar tissue from corporate America, so you can really empathize for from an entrepreneur’s point of view as well as kind of a corporate refugees point of view.

Darren Kanthal: [00:04:17] They’re the corporate refugee. I like that. Yeah, I like to believe so when people ask me about my value proposition. Again, sometimes long winded, long winded, but I talk about a few things. First is I’m a New Yorker and I resonate with being a New Yorker, meaning I’m direct. I do speak with empathy, and I get that feedback before which I love and allows you to cut through the bullshit, as I said earlier. So that’s one. Two is yes, I have fallen flat on my face in corporate America. I’ve been beat up. I’ve been shut out. As a 30 year old man, I literally called my mom crying because I got let go from a job. And yet again, I was pointing the finger at myself, saying, What’s wrong with me? So I’ve been I’ve been around my own block. And interestingly enough, is the people that are drawn to me are often in similar boats, meaning they are unhappy at work and they don’t understand why their ideas are not being heard or explored. They, too, are finding that they’re working for leaders they don’t respect. And this is my story. All those things are the same for me. And so yes, I have a unique perspective. I started as an entrepreneur, as a young man, and I think you are right. I don’t think I was ready for it, but life didn’t really allow me to be ready. So that was it. I was raised to be independent and to rely on myself to make things happen, and that comes out in the way I conduct myself and my coaching. But yeah, I do think I’m well positioned to coach the folks that I work with now.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:48] What drew you kind of to the HR side of business and this career counseling or career coaching? Like, what about that kind of niche? Is what is what’s attractive to you? So what do you like about it?

Darren Kanthal: [00:06:06] Yeah. You know, I like a lot of people, I kind of stepped in air by accident and maybe it wasn’t really by accident, but in I think I think it was 2000. I had two interviews in New York City where I was living. One was with Samuel Adams, which is a Big East Coast beer brand. It’s kind of like fat tire out here in Denver. And I had this other interview with a recruiting firm, and without going into too many details, I accepted the job in the recruiting firm. And and that was the start of my HR career. And how it kind of morphed is I was good at it. It allowed me to kind of drive the ship. I was autonomous. I got to play quarterback. So there was an element of control in there, which I do have a little bit of control freak in me. And I was good at it, as I said. And so I went from a recruiter to leading teams. I was an our business partner, had a unique title out of Fortune, one hundred company of a talent acquisition program manager. So throughout my career, I had both had to influence with authority and also at times influence without authority. And the way that’s parlayed into my entrepreneurism now is that I’ve learned a great deal about the job search process. So the tactics and strategies of how to go about finding jobs. I also did a lot of work with professional development. So for those people that are either gainfully employed or aren’t quite sure what they want to be when they grow up, I’ve got a lot of coaching tools and H.R. tools that I can bring to the table to help folks figure that stuff out. And it all serves me very well, and especially I’ve heard from some clients is that it does give me some validity that I’m not just some guy off the street saying I can help you find a new job or whatever may be is that I’ve got that HR background and people value that. So it’s pretty cool for me.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:00] Now when you’re working, are you working typically with that executive or maybe the middle manager that wants to level up? Or maybe that new executive that hasn’t had this maybe leadership training before? Or is it a firm hires you to coach a bunch of their people? Like what is your engagement typically look like?

Darren Kanthal: [00:08:20] Yeah, it could be any of the above, which is a very broad stroke, what I would say is where I’m really carving out a niche is what I call the non c level executives. And I use that word executive a little loosely, and that could be shame on me, if you will. But more directly, as I work with the new leader up until the leader who is not quite at that C level or aspires to be. And it’s a really good it’s it’s a place that I know because that’s where I played to be direct. I did not achieve the sea level and, you know, I’ve not sat in the boardroom and some people say that makes puts me at a disadvantage to coach those folks. But the mid-level folks, those are the ranks that I achieved in corporate. I relate well to them. I find that oftentimes they’re quite willing to do the self work that’s required. Self-reflection, contemplation open the growth, quite frankly, exploring their emotions and how that drives their actions. And so I’ve really carved out quite a nice niche with middle management or those non C-level executives.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:27] And then what? What is typically the the impetus of them contacting you? Or are they just frustrated or they, you know, in kind of uncharted territory what is usually that trigger that creates that first engagement with you?

Darren Kanthal: [00:09:45] It’s usually multifaceted, but yes, it typically is built upon something in the frustration bucket. They’re frustrated, they’re annoyed, they’re unhappy, they’re unfulfilled, there’s dissatisfied, they’re stuck, they’re questioning the decisions they’ve made about their career. And oftentimes they’re not often, excuse me. Oftentimes enough. A spouse or significant significant other has not given an ultimatum per say, but it said something’s got to change because you husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, whoever it is, you’re spending more time at work than you are at home, and the person contacting me is starting to realize that their life is out of balance. And so when they come to me, oftentimes these middle managers, non sea level execs are gainfully employed, and the way I describe it is they want to level up. They want to be better at life and at work. And oftentimes what I’m seeing is that their own internal struggle, their own internal insecurities, saboteurs, if you will, are holding them back. And what I get to do is the term I like to say is I help help them see the forest through the trees, recognize who they are, what role they’re playing in the outcomes of their life. And if we partner well together. I said oftentimes I think 12 times now, but oftentimes we see growth in them as human beings, their minds are more at ease. The conversations they have with themselves are more positive and the outcomes are greater performance at work. Healthier relationships and their own health and wellness improves.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:27] Now you use the word saboteur earlier, is that something that the people you deal with and maybe just humans as a whole have some built in saboteurs when it comes to their own behavior, their own thinking that they don’t see it? Maybe it’s, you know, subconscious unconscious that they are. They think they’re doing the same thing, but they’re kind of repeating the same mistakes over and over, and it is kind of a self-inflicted wound.

Darren Kanthal: [00:11:57] One, 100 percent. There is a program that has been life changing to me that I’ve also gotten certified in, and I get to lead others through it, which is called positive intelligence. It’s a very simple, very simple conceptually, and there’s a practice and a structure behind it without getting too detailed into it. Just at this moment is, yes, what you’re saying is one hundred percent accurate. We, as humans have these things behaviors, thoughts, actions, tics, nuances, whatever you want to call them, that are typically born from something fear based. Something negative. Insecurity. Fear of failure. Fear of being embarrassed. Fear looking foolish. Fear of something. And often what we do is we have these coping mechanisms to protect ourselves. And yet these coping mechanisms are often sabotaging us in the same way as protecting us, which sounds so bizarre to say, but it’s really what happens. So yes, we all have them in some way, shape or form. And the question becomes, are you is one willing to explore them and be open to what they may be doing to you?

Lee Kantor: [00:13:10] Now, can you share? Obviously, don’t name a name, but an example of what one of these? Kind of sabotage, sabotage, sabotage behaviors were with some. One of your clients so that maybe the listener can understand that this could be happening to them. To me, an area to explore in this under this kind of topic would be if you’re making the same or you’re you’re there’s a saying that says if you see a jerk. Today, you’ve seen the jerk today, but if you’ve seen a jerk every day, you might be the jerk. Is there anything that you can share like from your experience where you’ve seen a person just like, I don’t know why this is happening every time I do this, this outcome happens in these crazy people are all like, they don’t even see that it’s them that is at the heart of the the problem. But it just like kind of like, Wow, this is just everybody’s conspiring against me again.

Darren Kanthal: [00:14:14] It’s funny you say that. I’m laughing because I’m going to use myself as the example. I love the jerk analogy, too. That’s perfect. I love it in the world of positive intelligence. The names of the saboteurs are very simple. It’s things like controller, stickler, pleaser, avoider, victim, hyper achiever, hyper rational. And there’s two more that I’m forgetting off the top of my head. So these words, without even knowing the work of positive intelligence, I’m sure you and listeners can start to form what conclusion they may about those very names of saboteurs. For me, my top two are restless and controller. Now, it’s also important to point out that there’s a tense saboteur that we all have, and it’s simply called the judge. And some people relate to it as the imposter within us, the inner critic. I’ve heard people call it my dark angel. I’ve heard it referred to as Achilles heel. Whatever you want to call it, great holistically in peak intelligence. We call it the judge. Now, for me, very specifically, is my judge convinced me that I was unworthy. I was not good enough. I’m not smart enough. I’m not good looking enough. And when things go wrong, of course, it’s my fault. And because I was coming from a place of a lack of worthiness. Bottom line is I was insecure about who I was. In order to try to compensate for that. The way I showed up was, I had to prove to you that I was right and that I was worthy because I had something to offer a situation based upon intelligence that was typically how I showed up.

Darren Kanthal: [00:15:56] And so my controller would show up in the sense of give it to me, I’ll do it and I’ll do it because I have to show you that I’m capable of doing it and prove it to myself as well. And that showed itself in a million different ways, anyone who is a control freak in any way, shape or form, I’m guessing, can relate. I’ll have some people in my life who are pleasers. I won’t name names. The pleaser often puts themselves second to you, being first. And what happens is the beautiful thing, right? We find them very altruistic and caring and that kind of good thing. The challenge is for the pleaser is they give so much to others and put themselves second, third, fourth that they become resentful. They bottle up their emotions. They start to have their own self-worth issues because they say, I do all this stuff for everyone else and no one does anything for me. So these are just two examples. There’s many more. And and I find that a lot of people can relate to being a pleaser, doing a lot for others or being a control and saying just give it to me because I’ll do it.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:02] Now in your work, you use the phrase emotional arborist. Can you explain that?

Darren Kanthal: [00:17:08] Yeah. I’m laughing, I was working with a with a coach who helped me with a keynote speech I was putting on. And when he asked me what I did, I told him I was an executive coach and he sarcastically and he’s like, Yeah, I know a million of those. And so over time, the emotional outburst was really borne because I love the image of trees. There’s something about nature and tree. I’m so drawn to that image. And as I was talking to my coach about the work of positive intelligence, my love for trees, he came up with the emotional arborist. So I give him all the credit for that. And depending on the setting, when someone says, Hey, what do you do? I say I’m an emotional arborist and like Smokey the Bear, I believe only you can prevent unintentional wildfires, emotional wildfires. And if someone is like, All right, what does that mean? The story says, I get to work with clients on three things. The first is your roots and just like a tree. We know that when you a human being man or woman, when your roots are strong, you feel confident. You feel secure. You feel competent. You feel happy. You feel positive. Now, just like a tree, we know that when you have really strong roots, you also need the right environment to grow. The right environment could be the right job, the right boss, the right relationship, the right house, the right physical location. We know that just like trees, when we have strong roots and the right environment, our canopies thrive, we perform great at work. We have really healthy relationships. Life is good. So as an emotional arborist, I get to work on my clients to strengthen their roots, find the right environment and watch them thrive.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:55] Now, if somebody wants to learn more, get on your calendar or learn more about the different programs or coaching opportunities, what is the best way to get a hold of you? You have a website.

Darren Kanthal: [00:19:05] I do so there’s there’s two ways I am lucky enough to be the only Darren Campbell on LinkedIn, and I am quite certain. Our family of cannibals is the only ones in the United States. My grandparents emigrated from Germany and during World War Two. So Darren Kanth on LinkedIn and my website is candid career coaching.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:28] Good stuff, Darren. Thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Darren Kanthal: [00:19:34] Thank you, we appreciate you, too. Thanks a lot.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:36] All right, this is Lee Kantor, we’ll see you next time on Coach the Coach radio.

Celia Willis With KWI Communications

October 21, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Atlanta Business Radio

Celia Willis With KWI Communications

00:00 /

Celia Willis is CEO of KWI Communications, the small but mighty force that serves as a key communication and community-building mechanism behind some of Atlanta’s most respected corporations.

A trailblazing leader, she boldly fosters a company culture characterized by collaboration, innovation, and a truly people-first vision, which guidesKWI’s approach to its client work and business. Celia connects with her team and manages the balance between growth and community within KWI.

She loves the challenge of building a company of dynamic, strategic consultants who move with an ever-changing client landscape. With a background in economics and communications, she brings a unique perspective to client projects and business management.

Prior to KWI, Celia was the communications director for Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, a local non-profit, and The South Fork Conservancy, which focused on connecting communities with inner-city trails.

Her top strengths are Connectedness, Futuristic, Strategic, Ideation, and Arranger.

Follow KWI Communications on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

About KWI Communications
A unique approach to solving business problems for your clients
Role of communication in business
End-to-end guidance and support

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio brought to you by on pay Atlanta’s new standard in payroll. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:24] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio, and this is going to be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor on pay without them. We couldn’t be sharing these important stories today on the Atlanta Business Radio. We have Celia Willis with KWI Communications. Welcome.

Celia Willis: [00:00:43] Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, I’m excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us about KWI Communications. How are you serving, folks?

Celia Willis: [00:00:50] Well, so Kateb, why is communications and management consulting agency based here in Atlanta? We actually began as an internal comms team with an embedded with embedded consultants who worked hand in hand with corporate communications staff to really build employee engagement within companies.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:09] Now, what is kind of the the typical client you have, are they like large enterprise companies?

Celia Willis: [00:01:16] Yeah, we tend to have sort of mainly private companies. Fortune two hundred and Fortune 500 generally at least one billion dollar companies.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:26] And then what’s the pain that they’re having that K-Y is the solution?

Celia Willis: [00:01:31] Well, a lot of companies reach a size where they suddenly realize they’re having trouble maintaining quality standards, reaching people, making sure people have all the information they need to do their jobs well. And that’s where we come in. Or is this how we started? So and we’ve expanded over the years to helping them with other pain points related to people. So not just communications, but how how is their structure enabling people to do their job as well? What do you need leadership development? You need coaching. So we do a lot of things to address people pain, so to speak.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:07] Now what are some of the symptoms that like things are happening? It’s a larger company. How do they know they have a problem like I do? Certain incidents happen is that they’re having a hard time filling slots. Is it? They’re getting a lot of turnover, like are there symptoms that are telling management that, Hey, this is something that’s not right, we’ve got to fix this?

Celia Willis: [00:02:30] Well, it’s interesting. You use the word symptoms. We actually like to talk about organizations as though they’re a human body. So if you think of the human body, there’s different muscles, there’s the skeleton, there’s the connective tissue. We say that the different departments may be the muscles. The connective tissue is the communications that keeps everything together. The skeleton is the company structure. And then at the heart of the people. Right. And so what we do is we kind of go in and diagnose the problem. We use surveys, focus groups or just anecdotal evidence if we can’t do those other things. And it’s usually we’re brought in because someone says they’re not hearing us. People aren’t doing what they need to do or like, you just said, we’re losing people, we’re not communicating well enough with our salespeople because they’re not selling the right products, you know, so it’s different for everybody. But we like to come in and do a really deep analysis of what’s going on

Lee Kantor: [00:03:26] Now, a trend that we’re seeing in just the economy, in business in general. Is this great resignation, right? What does that speak to you regarding this issue that the dissatisfaction that employees are having, it seems like across the board, across industries, at all levels?

Celia Willis: [00:03:46] Yes, the great resignation is something I’ve been talking to clients a lot about, and it was something that I kind of felt coming in the industry. I think that the past year and a half has kind of shaken people up in lots of different ways, and it’s caused them to pause and reevaluate their lives, which is a very common reaction after someone experience experiences something dramatic or traumatic in their lives as they reevaluate. And I think that to a certain extent is just that. But they’re looking at their companies and they’re saying, Why? What am I doing here, right? Do I feel connected to what this company is doing? Do I feel like I’m growing here? I mean, that I think is at the core. A lot of these people’s resignations is that they they don’t either connect to what the company is trying to do. They don’t feel like they are making a tangible impact. In some cases, they just realize they’re in the wrong careers and the companies can’t do much about that. But there it is, a time for companies to reevaluate their why and how they’re communicating that to their people.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:47] Now what about this kind of lack of trust between management and the employees in terms of, you know, with all the the layoffs and the reorganize and all this stuff that the employees are just getting kind of deaf to the promise of this better future where they just it just been there, done that. I’ve seen this happen. You know, why should I trust you now that this is somehow going to be different than it was, you know, two years ago before the last reorg?

Celia Willis: [00:05:17] Oh, man, this is this is the this is the question. It really comes down to, I think, companies taking fast action. So identifying what they can do right away. And then I didn’t find what’s going to take more time because on the other side, if they move too quickly, they’ll they’ll also get criticism for not doing things right and for not communicating enough and et cetera, et cetera. Right. So it’s sort of a catch twenty two situation, but I encourage companies to really identify those quick wins, the low hanging fruit that they can just go in and say, OK, we’re going to do this, this and this right away. Here are our long term plans and really involving the employees in creating that change and implementing it. So they have a saying that no one thinks their baby is ugly. If someone has a hand in creating something, then then they’re going to be much more forgiving of it.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] Now. Some of your work is around culture, and to me, culture is something that is going to be created, whether you’re taking any initiative and being proactive about it or not. What are some of the things that companies can do a better job at improving their culture, at least even having it resonate with their folks? Because it seems like there’s just a big disconnect between what maybe management thinks their culture is and what it actually is?

Celia Willis: [00:06:39] Yeah. Well, I think the first thing they can do is understand that culture is not a stagnant concept. It’s always changing. It’s always, as we call it, community and community to me is both culture and the people. Because as you bring in new people, as you bring in news, offering services, customers, your culture will shift as it should to morph into this new thing based on what people are bringing to the table. So I think companies really need to regularly tap in to say, Who are we now? You know, we’ve grown or we’ve shrunk or we have changed direction. So who are we? What is our culture? What are people value? What do they need? And that requires very regular touch, especially right now when there’s so much change happening and a lot of resignation and hiring and all sorts of challenges. So I think really, at this point in time, almost quarterly deep dove check ins in different ways could really help companies understand what their cultures are.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:35] Now, how do they how does a company kind of improve their culture and community when, you know, sometimes half, if not more of their employees are remote?

Celia Willis: [00:07:47] Yes, and that’s been a challenge. Again, I think it comes back to listening, I found that in a remote world, you know, it becomes a lot less about the office parks and things like that and more about how am I growing, how am I connecting again to that vision of mission? I think when we went remote, all those in office perks, especially for big corporations, were gone. And so what people were left with was, what am I doing here, right? So that clarity of mission and purpose becomes so, so important and also knowing how am I valued, which is how am I growing in the organization? Do they value me at all anyway? And making that very clear, I think is now the new the new currency

Lee Kantor: [00:08:30] And how well the job. Do you think that these large enterprises are doing when it comes to telling the story to their their people? How how are they able to articulate kind of their dream to their individual stakeholders? Because I think there’s sometimes a disconnect where the upper management, you know, they want to go somewhere, but the people that are doing the work are kind of like, I’m not saying that, that’s not how I see the company.

Celia Willis: [00:09:05] Yeah. I think the rate of change has been really challenging for companies and for the people. They feel lost in it. And I think the best thing companies can do in terms of how well they’re doing, it varies. I think everyone’s struggling with it. I don’t think anyone’s saying we’re amazing right now. We’re communicating perfectly for something. There’s not really such a thing. And especially now, it’s almost impossible to communicate everything going on because it’s so complex and changing so quickly. And so I think the best thing they can do is bring them along pretty transparently on that journey and say, Look, we’re in this together. We’re we’re all in a pandemic for the first time to hear, right? So come with us and talk to us, you know, really keeping that open line of communication is going to be their best option to make people feel connected to what’s happening now.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:57] To me, there seems to be an opportunity when you are kind of enabling and empowering your people to be the storytellers about their experience. In some ways, it’s a risk because you may not be happy about the story they’re telling. But on the other hand, it could be pretty powerful to the people around them because they’re getting to share what they’re seeing and articulating it and and sharing it among their team and the whole company.

Celia Willis: [00:10:23] Yeah, I think authenticity is a growing idea. Even in corporate America was not something that people even really thought was an option even 10 years ago to be their authentic selves. But with the digital revolution and the social media just taking over, there, really, companies cannot stop people from telling their own stories, so the best thing they can do is lean into that and empower them and really see their employees and their customers as their best assets, their best ambassadors, and be prepared for the negative feedback they get. But really empowering people to be authentic and tell those stories and about how they connect with the company. I think is is what companies really have to. Like I said before I lean into

Lee Kantor: [00:11:14] Now, are you seeing more kind of employee resource groups where there’s groups of like affiliate groups, affinity groups among their employees in terms of allowing them to kind of gather and kind of build community among themselves?

Celia Willis: [00:11:30] I actually know I’m not seeing it increase. I think that was definitely very active beforehand. And I haven’t really seen it grow since everyone went remote. I wouldn’t actually be surprised if those kind of groups took a little bit of a hit just because a lot of that was fueled in person. So I think it’s, from my perspective, stayed relatively stable.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:56] Is that a good thing, or do you think it’s something that that’s an opportunity for enterprise to really connect and build community among their people with that?

Celia Willis: [00:12:05] Oh, absolutely. I think that the idea of communities is changing and people are reevaluating what communities are. They’re a part of who they are. I think there’s a lot of identity soul searching happening right now, to be honest with you. And companies have definitely an opportunity to tap into that, that search and say, OK, well, let us help you figure out where what your community is and help us build a community that you feel like you could be a part of.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:31] Now, a lot of this stuff sounds good on paper. Is there kind of any metrics or stats that say, Hey, investing in our people in this manner and the community and the culture really pays off?

Celia Willis: [00:12:48] Oh, I mean, absolutely, Gallup is often a really great resource for stats like that. There’s lots of there’s lots of evidence. And I’m trying to think I don’t have any at the top of my head that say that the engaged employees are 10 times more productive and they are much more loyal. They stay the companies longer if you build a strong community. Ultimately, people, when you ask them why they stay at their jobs, it’s because of the people over and over and over again. They want to work with a team. They like that they feel connected to that. They feel supported by and a company they feel supported by. They want leaders who have vision. They want to feel connected to that vision. I mean, that’s really what it comes down to. It’s very relational, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:13:40] Relationships, I think, are critical. That’s a point of differentiation. I think among the successful companies that, you know, they say that people don’t quit companies, they quit bosses. So if you have a really strong team where people respect each other and want to be around them, that person typically isn’t going to leave to make a few thousand dollars more a year.

Celia Willis: [00:13:59] Right? Exactly. I mean, and here we go. Here we go. So companies in the top quartile of employee engagement are twenty one percent more profitable, seventeen percent more productive and experience 60 percent less turnover and plus companies with a great culture experience, they experience three times better stock performance. It’s just there are clear business results from it.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:24] Now is there any low hanging fruit a company could take to improve their community and their culture and their kind of way they’re dealing with their people?

Celia Willis: [00:14:32] I think so. You know, if a company isn’t able to take any major actions. I would tell them to at least do a deep dove survey and be really careful about the questions you ask, make sure they’re actionable because then what they need to do immediately after that is every action they take in reaction to their feedback they’re receiving from their employees. They need to say, because you said this, we did this. It comes back to that communication. Funnily enough, it’s really connecting the dots for them. You said this, so we did this right because they will not make that connection unless it’s very, very clear and they can be really, really small things. I’m trying to think of an example, but it doesn’t need to be totally restructuring the company. It could be, hey, we’re going to start communicating on a biweekly basis because you wanted to hear from us more or we’re going to stop sending so many emails because you said it’s flooding my inbox. I don’t have time to read all these is just things like that can make a huge difference as long as it’s in direct, direct reaction to what the employee needs and that makes them feel heard. It makes them feel like they’re part of something important.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:44] Now, when kW takes on a client as it typically start with one project and expands, or are you doing some kind of major renovation work when you go in there?

Celia Willis: [00:15:55] Oh, it just depends. I would say so. We either start from the very top, so we either go in and say, OK, we’re here to do a company wide community survey is what we call it, our community diagnostic. We go deep, we give them amazing data, we do focus groups. It’s a really fun process and so interesting. Or someone comes to us and says, Oh, I’m drowning, can you just help me? And then we can talk about the strategy later. So we come in from both ends of the spectrum. It’s really we try and meet our clients needs, but we have found that if we’re just there to execute, there’s a limited amount of impact long term that we can make. So we always try to bring in that strategic mindset as well.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:36] So you mentioned at the beginning, coaching is a part of this. How are you seeing more and more companies kind of lean into coaching and not just save coaching for the highest level people, but it kind of drilling down to some of the, you know, people throughout the company?

Celia Willis: [00:16:52] Absolutely. I mean, there was a lot of evidence, especially toward the beginning of the pandemic, that middle managers were hit hardest. By this, they were suddenly remote. They didn’t know how to manage remotely. They had trouble managing in person. And and so we’ve seen this huge increase in demand for training for four managers. We’ve been doing it for clients. We have St. Cloud, our leadership enablement program, and that’s for managers. It’s not for executives. The executives are actually their coaches. We empower their bosses to coach them after our trainings take place, but they’re finding that middle management really is the key to success. And so I’m really pleased to see that that level is getting a lot more attention than it ever has before.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:36] Now, if somebody was to institute a coaching program for the first time, can you share some kind of do’s and don’ts?

Celia Willis: [00:17:44] Sure. So I would say, don’t assume you know what your employees need, but meet in the middle tight business results. Give them a clear direction. What they’re trying, what they need to be doing. So clear competencies is always something that we, we really recommend be consistent. And I think we found great success is that we’ll we, for example, will do the trainings. We’ll do daylong trainings with employees. But having their bosses equipped to then coach them on implementing the things that we have trained them to do is essential to the success. So make sure you have a follow through plan. Don’t just tell someone to go do something and expect it to happen that follow up and that accountability is essential.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:30] So now your your company might have started out in communication, but obviously it’s expanded beyond that. Is there anything that you want to share about how to maybe begin an engagement, as you know, we talked a little bit about what they typically look like, but if the ideal client came to you, what would be that starting point?

Celia Willis: [00:18:56] Well, you know, I would say that the starting point is saying companies that say, you know, we’re having something’s not working right, we’re losing people, we have a people related challenge, right? They’re not happy, they’re not performing the way they need to. That’s the first indicator that we can serve them if they want to gather more information or great resource for that. If they want to build programs and say, Well, we’re not exactly sure what’s going on, but we know we need to do something. We can really come in and help them figure out what’s going on, what they need to do if they’re having. If they don’t know how to communicate, we will come in and build structures for them. We will help them staff. I mean, there’s a lot that we do in addition to helping them just get the work done.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:40] Now, if you can look into your crystal ball for the rest of this year and into next year, there’s this great resignation. Is it begin to wane? What’s going to happen moving forward in your mind?

Celia Willis: [00:19:53] You know, I think it’s difficult to predict. I don’t think we’re at the end of this sort of deep, self-reflective time period that people are in where they’re moving on. I’ve seen a lot of people just quit completely. They haven’t even gotten another job or they’re going out on their own to do something they’ve always wanted to do. I do think it will slow. I think it’s already slowing down. And I think it will. It will slow down. But we’re going to see a shift in how the marketplace works, I think.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:21] And if somebody wants to learn more about Kawhi and get a hold of you or somebody on the team, what’s the website and best way to get a hold of you?

Celia Willis: [00:20:29] Yeah, reach out to our team and we’ll take the conversation from there are our web addresses. Ww w w w.i seo com yeah. We’d love to talk to you. Well, thank you. You can also connect with me on LinkedIn too.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:47] All right. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Celia Willis: [00:20:51] Thank you for the time.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:52] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see our next time on it. Land that business radio.

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Dorian Webb With Dorian Webb Lifestyle

October 21, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Bay Area Business Radio

Dorian Webb With Dorian Webb Lifestyle

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Dorian Webb the founder of Dorian Webb Lifestyle, creates intentional semiprecious and precious jewelry, artwork, and bespoke home décor that celebrates women, the beauty of connection, and African American culture.

The company, which Dorian began while studying at Yale University, found early success at its first trade show where Neiman Marcus purchased the line for their stores, and a stylist featured Dorian Webb earrings on the cover of Essence.

This success led Dorian to expand into home décor. Not just utilitarian objects, Dorian’s chandeliers were shown in museums in a 7 year, nationwide traveling exhibition that showcased African American polyrhythmic art. Recently, a solo exhibition of Dorian’s most recent sculptures and paintings opened at the Thelma Harris Art Gallery in Oakland.

Community service plays an important role for Dorian Webb who often donates the proceeds of her designs to charitable causes. To encourage networking and mentoring opportunities for women of color, Dorian launched the “Women in Business” series for the Alameda County Small Business Development Center, now in its 5th year. A frequent lecturer at universities and conferences, Dorian was also the recipient of the 2019 Madame CJ Walker Entrepreneur Award.

A former board member of the Museum of the African Diaspora and a founder of the Yale Arts Alumni League, Dorian has written columns on design and life from an African American perspective for trade and shelter magazines.

Dorian is one of six recipients of the Natural Diamond Council’s 2021 Emerging Designer Diamond Initiative which supports BIPOC jewelry designers to develop a diamond collection. Dorian’s 18 karat gold and diamond collection, entitled Quality || Equality launched on October 15th, 2021.

Connect with Dorian on LinkedIn, and Twitter and follow Dorian Webb Lifestyle on Facebook,

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

Create intentional pieces
About Dorian Webb Lifestyle
Latest collection

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:06] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in the Bay Area. It’s time for Bay Area Business Radio. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Bay Area Business Radio, and this is going to be a fun one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, Leah Davis, coaching inspiring women of color to claim their wealth legacy. Today on Bay Area Business Radio, we have Dorian Webb with Dorian Webb Lifestyle. Welcome, Dorian.

Dorian Webb: [00:00:39] Hi Lea, so glad to be with you today.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:41] Well, I am excited to learn what you’re up to. Tell us a little bit about Dorian Webb lifestyle. How are you serving, folks?

Dorian Webb: [00:00:47] So I create intentional jewelry and home decor. Intentional meaning pieces that have meaning that speak to the idea of celebrating women. The power of being in the moment and also my African-American heritage.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:10] Now what’s your back story? How did you get into this line of work?

Dorian Webb: [00:01:13] So I started my company when I was a junior at Yale University, and after spending a semester in in Italy, which I absolutely loved with a limited skill set, I decided that there are some way that I could find a reason to be able to go back to Italy six times a year. And so I kind of constructed the jewelry business around that. And then over time, that morphed from not only using Venetian glass, but then incorporating sterling, silver and semi-precious stones. And to my latest collection, which is now 18 karat gold and diamonds.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:54] Now, when you’re getting involved in that kind of work that’s in and around lifestyle, that it’s a kind of a nice to have product rather than a must have product. How did you decide to kind of position yourself in the marketplace?

Dorian Webb: [00:02:09] Well, I mean, I think for me, the the the thing I think that differentiated me early on was my use of color, which is very kind of celebratory. And I think also in some ways kind of speaks to African-American culture and that love of just really strong colors. Interesting color combinations and polyrhythms within the designs. And I think that people just really, you know, just really kind of responded responded to that.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:43] Now, what about in terms of pricing, how did you decide on what price point you’d be selling it?

Dorian Webb: [00:02:50] Well, I think a lot of that was determined by the materials that I was, was using or am using. And because I am, I mean, for me, it was a conscious decision to enter the kind of the luxury market because I think there’s something meaningful about having items in your life that surround you, that are of quality and that sustainability is not only about kind of recycled metals, which I which I use, but but it’s also just about purchasing things that you love that can grow with you over time and that kind of almost, you know, develop or with you so that there’s always something that you can kind of gain from, from using those, those items. So for me, that was that was kind of the driving influence and just knowing wanting to create things that people would, would love. And sometimes that comes with a without a sort of an elevated price point.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:54] The reason I’m asking is that a lot of folks, they don’t choose that route. They they choose a lower price or in order to reach more and more people. And I just. Is there any lessons for folks out there because I am on your side, I think that it’s OK to be a high priced service or product. I believe that that is in a lot of ways easier because you can find your clients a lot easier and you’re signaling certain types of value that when you’re lower priced, it’s more difficult to stand out. Can you just share a little bit about your thought process? Was that a hard decision for you? Was that just something that was just part of your confidence and your character? So then that wasn’t that big of a decision to go that route?

Dorian Webb: [00:04:46] Yeah, I think that there was a little bit of there was a little bit of trepidation. But I mean, I think in some ways that happened organically. In other ways, it was a very. It was a very calculated decision, and I say that it was organic in that when I did my my first trade show, Neiman Marcus picked up the line for their stores. So already there was kind of, you know, sort of validation that what I was doing had an audience and that had a very kind of specific audience. But I also just think that, you know, a lot of times when people start out beginning a business, especially if they haven’t had any experience in in running a business at all. Similar to my background, the inclination is to kind of draw people in with a lower price point. And it just so hard for people to. And I’ve done actually a significant amount of business consulting. And one of the things I always kind of underline in that is that it’s just so hard to compete on price because those customers that you get on being the cheapest are those are the same customers who will leave you if they find something else, that’s that’s a slightly cheaper. So what you’re doing has to be about more than just price point. You really have to give value. And I think that that also in kind of carving out your your niche in the market, you know, price has to be has to be a part of that. And it also has to be a part of the story that you’re that you’re telling. And I think again, you know, here is where perhaps the my African-American heritage kind of comes into play. But there is a lot of times an assumption that the things that I would be creating with my racial background would be kind of lower end. So it’s, you know, in some ways, it’s also just very. It’s, I think, just just, you know, kind of taking a stand on what I’m about and what my culture is about and ways that are not always typically seen or acknowledged.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:20] Yeah, I think a lot of people struggle with this in terms of having the confidence to charge what they would like to charge. And I think that a lot of people’s default position is to always their first move is to go cheaper. And I think that that’s a mistake in when you’re selling anything, whether it’s a product or service. And when I’m working with people and coaching them about this, I like to tell them at least the starting point is a rate that you can look at yourself in the mirror and not laugh. You know, you have to have the confidence to say that no, without blinking. And it’s just matter of fact. And a lot of people I find just instinctively don’t go higher. They go lower and it kind of drives me crazy. So I celebrate you and you have the the confidence to go after the price that you want to go after. I mean, a lot of this stuff is subjective. So why be subjectively cheaper when you could be subjectively, you know, have more deliver more value? So I say, you know, kudos for you for going there.

Dorian Webb: [00:08:34] Yeah. And as I said, it’s also, you know, the part of what I enjoy is the personal connection with my with my customers. So a lot of times that involves custom pieces that involves searching out particular stones, that involves, you know, again, the use of 18 karat gold or, you know, kind of finer materials and that sort of thing. So that’s also kind of part of the part of the advantage of of selling a luxury product is being able to also provide a luxury service that goes along with that experience.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:13] So now at the beginning, I guess your work was inspired by your love of Italy and wanting to go back there several times a year. Has what inspired you kind of evolved over the years?

Dorian Webb: [00:09:26] It has. It has. I think now I’m very much, and I think this is in many ways sort of a large part of what we’ve a result of, what we’ve all kind of been been going through the last year and year and a half. And so my work has become even more, even more intentional in terms of wanting to take a stand on certain social justice issues, inspiring women to vote, creating pieces around the Black Lives Matter, creating pieces around the idea of hope. And then the latest collection that I did quality to equality is still about that idea of using quality materials and the idea of having that access to resources are part of kind of leveling the playing field.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:31] Now in your work, jewelry is obviously an important component, but there’s also the art and sculptures and paintings. Can you talk about how that are those kind of hand in hand or is that kind of a different part of your brain that’s working on those kind of larger pieces?

Dorian Webb: [00:10:50] Those also tie in to just the idea of again, wanting to have things around you that are meaningful and eye, the paintings in the sculpture were part of a larger project that I called the marriage project and that was featured in a local gallery. I had a solo exhibition and and those pieces again, are kind of color driven. They use a lot of the elements of the of the jewelry in terms of incorporating semi-precious stones. And then the paintings are all kind of larger scale pieces that that just talk about the experience in the various stages of marriage and what it’s like for women kind of moving through that that space.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:40] Now, in a I guess a part of your work is to inspire and mentor others. Has were you doing that, you know, since day one or is that something that’s just kind of started happening lately?

Dorian Webb: [00:11:55] That’s something that, you know, I started my business of a fair amount of time ago, and I guess it was during after the recession, I closed my close my business for a bit and moved to from from New York to the West Coast. And at that time, I helped my employees kind of start their own businesses before leaving. And then when I moved to the Oakland area, I started teaching Low-Income women how to start their own businesses and then moved on to other types of business consulting. So that definitely has been kind of a part of what I’ve been interested in doing for for quite some time because I just think that there’s no reason for for anyone to kind of reinvent the wheel. And if there are those resources out there that you can access and then then you should. And people who have those resources, whatever those may be, I think, have a responsibility to share that, that information and those and that those opportunities with with others.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:03] So now when you’re talking to those women that are just starting out, what are you seeing? Are you seeing something or are they optimistic? Is this something that they were kind of born to do? They had an itch that needed to be scratched or they kind of just frustrated by the job market. So this is kind of just something they feel that that that they have more control of their destiny. Like what is kind of behind these women that are kind of going forward and kind of trying to carve their own path?

Dorian Webb: [00:13:36] Yeah, I think that it seems like lately that people have been leaning towards just I think again with after sort of going through all the things we’ve we’ve all been going through recently that that there’s a there’s almost a recognition that nothing is guaranteed that life is short and that you really if you have a talent or if there’s something that you really wanted to explore that that this is the time that that there’s no better time than than the present to kind of get started on those on those things. And and I think that there’s also to a greater realization of the resources that are out there and there is a little bit more support for businesses and women owned businesses, minority owned businesses, veteran owned businesses. So there’s there’s I think it’s a little bit. Um, I mean, it’s never easy, but it’s I think it’s a little bit easier in this time to really kind of be able to go to go out there and just start a business. And also with the recognition too, that there are a lot of places that rents are now lower. They’re more accessible and and people can start something that is that basically enables them to work a little bit more ways that are more streamlined with outsourcing help as well. So there’s there’s just all these support systems that are available now that I think that people are accessing, which is wonderful.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:14] So now for you, do you get the same rush of, you know, creating and selling a piece as if one of the people you’re mentoring, you know, has a victory?

Dorian Webb: [00:15:24] I do, I do, I do, I mean, I think it’s always that that that measure of excitement when you go take something from an idea to to a reality and then also realize that that that’s something that you’ve made is going to bring people joy, that there’s something in that that’s just that just pure magic each and every time it happens.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:48] Yeah, I’m of the mindset that the entrepreneur is an artist because they are creating something from nothing.

Dorian Webb: [00:15:54] Exactly, exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:56] Now what’s next for you? What is the end of this year and next year look like?

Dorian Webb: [00:16:02] So I’m excited to launch my my new, my new collection with a major online retailer modus operandi. And we’ll also going to be doing a kind of an introduction to the new collection on the here on the West Coast. We had just a launch last last week in New York. So very excited about that. And I’m also going to be putting into or giving life to a collection that I’ve been thinking about for quite some time. That is that is based on Harriet Tubman. And they’re really excited about that collection as well. And yeah, just a lot of a lot of different projects that are kind of building on on the the the platforms that we’ve kind of laid laid thus far.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:56] Now, how has kind of the digital world impact your art? You mentioned this online partnership. You know, probably when you started, that wasn’t a channel choice for you. Do you think that that’s kind of expanded the reach of your work now that people all over the world can see or have the opportunity to see your work?

Dorian Webb: [00:17:17] Yeah, I think it definitely has. I mean, honestly, for me, there’s been a little bit of a of a learning curve because it seemed like this. Things change mightily when I was taking some time out and teaching and mentoring women. And so, you know, for me, it’s exciting to use these new this new technology to be able to access customers, to be able to kind of control the message, to not be as reliant on individual retailers, but instead be able to communicate directly with the customer. So that has been really kind of, you know, game changing for my business.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:06] And any advice for others that are in this kind of business have had to build that database and how to build those direct lines to customers that that way you do have access to them when you want to have access to them, rather than rely on other channels like, you know, Facebook or even, you know, the the retail stores.

Dorian Webb: [00:18:26] Yeah, yeah. I mean, I think that that’s the mailing lists and your database is that’s that’s the key to your future. We all felt a little a little bit of a jolt. I guess it was a couple of weeks ago when some social media platforms went went down for five hours. And for some people, that that meant that they had no more access to their customers. So it’s always so important to be able to whatever platform you’re on, however, you’re reaching your customers to make sure that you are transitioning them into your database and that you are nurturing them and giving them information that they need on a regular basis so that you are the primary contact with, with those, with those with those customers. Because otherwise, you know, it’s like if you don’t have access to your to your customers, then you are forever beholden to someone else.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:30] Yeah. Amen to that. Now, if somebody wants to get a hold of you and learn more about what you’re up to, what is the website or the best way to get to follow you?

Dorian Webb: [00:19:39] Yes, so I am at my website is Dorian Web.com, and that’s web with two BS and I’m also on Instagram, which is at Dorian Web. And I also would love to extend to your to your listening audience a 20 percent discount on on my pieces from the quality to equality collection. And that’s with code biz, radio biz radio.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:14] Well, that’s a very generous offer and thank you for doing that.

Dorian Webb: [00:20:18] Sure. Sure, sure. My pleasure.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:19] And thank you for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Dorian Webb: [00:20:23] Thanks so much for having me on, Ali.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:25] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see all next time on Bay Area Business Radio.

Wendy Taccetta With Verizon Business

October 20, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Atlanta Business Radio

Wendy Taccetta With Verizon Business

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As Senior Vice President for Nationwide Small Business and Channel Chief for Verizon Business, Wendy Taccetta is responsible for driving results in several strategic areas of the business. They are focused on creating the best end-to-end wireless experience for small business owners who trust their business to Verizon.

She is also focused on developing a customer-centric Partner Program at Verizon. They understand that a great partner experience will always deliver a better customer experience. Channel Partners has called their strategic focus “a historic revamping” of Verizon’s channel program. Their ambition is to make it easier than ever before to partner with Verizon.

Her team of 1,400+ employees is committed to accelerating small business growth, driving transformation across the Verizon Business ecosystem, and fostering a culture of collaboration every day.

She has held a variety of roles during her 21-year tenure at Verizon, which has allowed her to build a diverse resume of experience in business and consumer sales, business transformation, and sales operations. Most recently, she served as Senior Vice President, Global Commercial Operations at Verizon Business.

She is a second-generation V-teamer, whose father was a field technician for 35+ years. She lives in New Jersey with her husband of 17 years. When she is not working, she is baking, spending time with her family, cheering for the Yankees (or Cowboys), or planning for their next travel adventure. She currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Northeast Boys and Girls Clubs of America. In 2020, she was named a Channel Chief of the Year by CRN.

Her personal ethos aligns with Verizon’s commitment to the four stakeholders: customers, employees, shareholders, and society. She is a passionate employee advocate, committed to leadership development, and a champion of women and other minorities in business. She believes diversity is not only the right thing to do but that it creates a stronger company and society.

Quote she lives by: “When you’ve worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back, and you give others the same chances that helped you succeed.” – Michelle Obama

She works hard to keep the door of opportunity open and am committed to sustaining efforts that will give the same opportunities to others. She is proud of the work that she has played a role in over the last 20+ years and is excited about the possibilities that lie ahead.

Connect with Wendy on LinkedIn and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

Do not be intimidated by technology
More than 60% of the hacking starts with individual behavior
Expand the ways to support
Verizon has a pillar about helping society

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Wendy Taccetta: [00:00:43] Thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us a little bit about Verizon business. How are you serving, folks?

Wendy Taccetta: [00:00:50] So I am what they call a Verizon baby, actually. I’ve been with the company since 1999 and my dad was a tech for thirty five years. And it’s a different company than it was when my dad started. We are now all about mobility, making sure that people can stay connected, but that they can do bigger things as they recover from COVID and making sure that companies can not only survive this moment, but that they can thrive through it.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:18] So now how do you recommend small business folks to leverage all that is Verizon business?

Wendy Taccetta: [00:01:27] I think the biggest thing for small business owners is to not be intimidated by technology. So what’s interesting when we talk to small business owners, we just completed a survey of 600 owners and what they told us is they’re more optimistic about their future now than they were a year ago. But they also know that they have to keep changing if they’re going to keep pace. So of course, it starts with having a great cell phone and a great cell provider, and we are proud to be that and that’s been our legacy. But it’s so much more. If you want to be a small business owner these days, you’ve got to be agile. You’ve got to be able to do appointments at your customers home. You’ve got to be able to let your employees work from home. You’ve got to make sure your data is secure. All of those things are technology. And what we know is you may be a fabulous landscaper, but understanding cybersecurity that may not be your biggest strengths. So what we’re focused on is you can come to any of our stores across the country. We have 7200 locations, and on any day we will sit with you and do a consultation to figure out how to really enable your business to do even more than you do today. So it’s been exciting because business owners know they need to do this work. They don’t know where to begin, and they trust us because we’ve always been reliable. And what we want them to know is we are more than a cell phone company. We have so much more to offer them than we ever have in the past.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:00] Now isn’t the difficult part for an initiative like this is to even open the mind of your customer to even think of Verizon as a potential solution partner in this area. Their business, like it’s just been kind of ingrained in us that Verizon is the, you know, Verizon and cell phone are, you know, arm in arm, and that makes perfect sense. And it just to then to then say, OK, I’m going to also go to them because I’m having, you know, a strategy issue with my business. If I should, you know, go into this area or if I should, you know, you know, reach out to them because, you know, cyber, you know, somebody’s a friend of mine got hacked. I wonder if that’s going to impact me.

Wendy Taccetta: [00:03:43] So you are absolutely right. It is not what people have always thought of when they think of Verizon, so they created my role about four months ago and my job is to be obsessed relentlessly about small business owners, to listen to them and to listen to our teams about what are these businesses struggling with. And I want to give you a great, really great example. The biggest thing we hear is that I need more capacity and I need more agility. It used to be great to have the best location on the corner, but nowadays you need more than that because everyone doesn’t want to come to your location and you may want to serve customers beyond your own community. Well, there’s technology that makes that possible. But here’s the other thing we know customers are not willing to trade quality for access. And what I mean by that is they still want a rich experience when they do business with you. They want to see videos. They want to be able to do instant payment. They want to know that their data is secure. So as a business owner, you have to be thinking about those things. But there’s so much that comes with that you get access to more customers.

Wendy Taccetta: [00:04:59] If you can be digital, you get access to more revenue. If you have the ability to come to my home as well as to let me come to your office location. And you have access to more workers if you allow employees the flexibility to work from home or to work from your primary site. Technology lets you do all of that. And the good news is we are doing that with more than seven million customers across the country today. We have this expertize and what we’ve done is take the best of the things we do for enterprise customers, for government agencies, and we are making sure it is fit for small business owners. And the way that you do that is by listening to them. So every day I listen to what small business customers have to say. We check in with them. That’s what I’m doing in Atlanta right now. And then we talk to our teams, and if they’ve got a problem, we are going back to our teams and headquarters and saying, How do we fix it? Because customers deserve more and every small business deserves somebody willing to support them as they figure out what comes next. And that’s where Verizon business comes in.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] Well, it is a very noble aspiration and goal, and I sincerely hope that you achieve all that you dream of achieving with this initiative because believe me, all I do is talk to small and mid-sized business people every day. That’s all I do is interview business people and and there is a lack of support from enterprise level organizations. I have seen lots and lots of small to midsize business partners. Business folks struggle with the exact things you said. Like that landscaper, that landscaper is great at landscaping and then now the person wants to pay they they want their person to pay him with a check or something, and they don’t know how to pivot to a digital payment that would make the transaction easier or or, you know, seamless and safe and secure. And there’s a lot of opportunity there if you can get this right. So I’m very excited about this. How? Walk me through like, I’m that landscaper and I’ve been using Verizon as my cell phone carrier, so I got that part. How do you kind of kind of just open their mind to say, OK, is it go into your local Verizon shop and then have a conversation? Is that my new best friend? Like, is that my partner locally in my in my area that I work? And then together we’re going to come up with a strategy like, what is that relationship really look like when it’s happening to that individual business owner? Or how do you expand it beyond? Oh, yeah, that’s my cell carrier.

Wendy Taccetta: [00:07:41] So what’s interesting is that in the past, it would have been come to our store and we’ll talk to you. Part of what we’ve done is expand the ways we can support you. So I actually have a team that goes out to two small business owners, knocks on their doors, the ways we used to and comes to meet you where you were. We have the teams that are in our stores so you can visit any of our locations. But I also have a virtual team so that we can do a video conversation. We can do it over chat. We are willing to find you whatever way makes you comfortable so that we can start the conversation. But here’s the thing because ultimately what you’re saying is how do you get started? I don’t even know where to begin. I would like every small business owner to understand this. More than 60 percent of the hacking that we see starts with individual behavior. It starts with someone clicking into the wrong website, downloading a form. It starts with the access that your employees have and how. How you protect your data. So the first thing you can do is have a policy of what your users can and cannot do. And we actually have templates that let you get started and up and running in 30 minutes. But then you want the way to use a dashboard. How do you know what they’re doing? So we’ve built a product business mobile secure that lets you see what’s happening on all of your devices that you are connected to the internet.

Wendy Taccetta: [00:09:08] But those are simple things that every owner could do, investing less than an hour of their time just to get started. And here’s the way that I think about it any solution can be as big or as small as you want. So we have products like one talk, which allows your phone to ring. Whether you’re in the office, it’ll ring on your cell phone. It can ring on a desk phone. It can also ring on multiple people’s phones, all at the same time. It’s a phenomenal product because eighty five percent of people say they call a small business and they don’t answer, they’ll never call again. Well, we built this product. Initially, it had a desktop phone because everyone was in offices. Two months ago, we actually launched new pricing on an app so you can take the existing equipment you have and just start the app and immediately you’re answering all your phone calls and you’re not missing those customers. There are small steps that every business owner can make today that can change their business. And then as you want to grow, we can grow with you and you can grow into those desktop phones and you can grow into bigger technology. But, you know, I like to think every big business starts small, and it’s up to us to figure out how our small business owners can be as big as they want and sometimes as lean as they want with technology.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:35] So tell me about the partner program, how is that kind of coincide with this initiative of focusing on the small business owner?

Wendy Taccetta: [00:10:46] It does. So I’m also in charge of our third party partners who sell on behalf of Verizon. So you may you may actually do business with them as well. And my job is to make sure they have access to the same products that we are building for our direct sales teams. So it shouldn’t matter to a customer, whether they’re doing business with one of our channel partners, they’re doing business in one of our agent locations or they’re doing business in one of our direct stores. It is a one Verizon experience and my job is to make sure that the customer is never in the middle of that and that our partners have what they need to serve customers. Because here’s what I know people experience is what leads to a customer experience. So my job is to make sure that the partners, our sales teams, they have what they need because if they’re frustrated or customers are frustrated. So I get to obsess about a lot of things. But in the end, it’s about how do small businesses come back faster than we’ve ever seen from a moment like this? And I think there’s a path and that technology can help.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:51] So now who makes a great partner in your partner program?

Wendy Taccetta: [00:11:56] Pretty much. I would tell you that we are proud of everyone that’s in our partner program these days. We are pretty ruthless about making sure that we stay partners with people who put customer first, who do business with integrity and who can adapt to change. And I’m proud to say that that’s the partner portfolio that I represent today and whether that’s in one of our indirect stores or whether that’s through one of our partners that comes to you directly. I’m pretty proud of the partnerships that we’ve built, and we’re all committed to the same thing helping these businesses come back.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:33] So now right now, you’ve only been doing this, I guess you’ve been in charge of this just for a few months. Is there anything that you can share in terms of the success story that now that you’re going out there and meeting people and talking to people and seeing listening? Is there any learning that you can share that can, you know, maybe jump start a small business out there that’s struggling?

Wendy Taccetta: [00:12:56] So my favorite is that Verizon has a pillar about helping society, and we actually just launched small business digital ready, which is our commitment to do through grants and through tools and resources, support a million small businesses over the next decade. And we don’t mean to support them once and be done. We mean we will measure our success on the percentage of those businesses that are still thriving 10 years from now. I am super proud of that because when we talk to small business owners and when we say, what do you need, the answer is different for every one of them. So my job isn’t to create a single product that’s going to be fit for everyone, but we’ve created this digital platform that helps you be more present online helps you figure out how to really sell beyond your community. We’re pretty proud of it. We’re about a month into that and we are actually doing better than we expected, which is great news because that means we’re helping more businesses. And I had a chance to sit with a few of them last week, and their stories are just amazing. They’re figuring it out and these resources are good, but it’s the community they’re building, getting to know other business owners beyond the ones in their neighborhood. So so far, I’m excited about it. I wish that we would hit our million or million small businesses and before the end of the year, I’m sure we won’t get there, but that would be a phenomenal problem to have. But we know that they can’t come back alone. We have to support them with our wallets. But we also as enterprise, as enterprise businesses. We have to support them with our programs, and I think digital already is a huge part of that.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:40] So if somebody wants to learn more about either the partner program and or this small business initiative, what is the website?

Wendy Taccetta: [00:14:49] So the best place to start is Verizon forward slash business, and you will see all the information, including the survey that’s out there, that tells you what other small business owners are telling us. And you can enter your information and we will get back to you as quickly as possible or come into one of our stores and see us seven days a week. We are open and ready to help.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:12] Well, when they thank you so much for sharing your story today, you’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Wendy Taccetta: [00:15:18] Thank you for having me. I love that you’re supporting this community, too. I think it’s going to take all of us.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:24] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.

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Mark Jameson With NerdsToGo

October 19, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Franchise Marketing Radio

Mark Jameson With NerdsToGo

00:00 /

Brought To You By SeoSamba . . . Comprehensive, High Performing Marketing Solutions For Mature And Emerging Franchise Brands . . . To Supercharge Your Franchise Marketing, Go To seosamba.com.

An experienced franchise and retail executive, Mark Jameson leads the FASTSIGNS® Franchise Development team in all aspects, from “lead to lights on”, which includes franchise sales, real estate and development services.

Mark is currently the Chief Support and Development officer of Propelled Brands. Our family of brands includes FASTSIGNS®, NerdsToGo®, MY SALON Suite® and Salon Plaza®, all of which found tremendous success in their respective industries. FASTSIGNS is the leader in the $29 Billion sign industry, while NerdToGo is a growing franchise organization in the IT services business. MY SALON Suite and Salon Plaza are a principal leader in the rapidly growing salons and beauty services sector and are on the way to becoming one of the nation’s largest salon suite franchisors.

His role continues once centers are open by overseeing training and operations support and supply chain for the entire franchise system. Prior to joining FASTSIGNS, Mark served as the VP of Franchise Development for franchise-owned brands at CCA Global Partners, including ProSource Wholesale Floorcoverings.

His extensive franchise background includes experience in franchise relations and operations, training and company store operations, marketing and merchandising, sales and development, real estate, franchise law, technology and intellectual property.

Mark is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) with more than 20 years of experience in all aspects of franchising in both consumer industries (home services, food and retail) and in business-to-business (flooring; signs and graphics).

His extensive franchising background includes franchisee relations, operations, training, company store operations, franchise law, intellectual property, financial management, procurement, technology, and sales and marketing.

He joined FASTSIGNS International in 2009, and today leads Franchise Support (including Training, Operations and Supply Chain) and global Franchise Development. Mark’s responsibilities cover overseeing “lead to lights on” support (through Franchise Sales, Real Estate and Development Services teams) and then continue seamlessly into providing ongoing, lifelong franchisee support (through the Training, Operations and Supply Chain teams).

Mark has been a panelist and panel leader for sessions at many International Franchise Association Conventions and at the Franchise Development Leadership Conference, and has spoken at international franchise forums in Middle East, Peru and the United Kingdom.

Since joining the company, the brand has added more than 200 locations domestically and signed international agreements to enter twelve new countries (UAE, Malta, Italy, Greece, Chile, Spain, the Caribbean, and 4 others in the Middle East).

Prior to joining FASTSIGNS, Mark was the Vice-President of Franchise Development for 8 years for multiple franchise-owned brands at CCA Global Partners including ProSource Wholesale Floor Covering.

Connect with Mark on LinkedIn and Twitter.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

Benefits of NerdsToGo
Innovations or changes made to business during the pandemic that will continue to be a part of the NerdsToGo business
Growth of NTG through adversity
Lessons learned through challenging times
Strategies to continue to grow as a franchise
The vision for NerdsToGo for the next five years

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Franchise Marketing Radio, and this is going to be a fun one today on the show, we have Mark Jamieson with nerds to go. Welcome, Mark.

Mark Jameson: [00:00:42] Thank you, Lee. Excited to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, I’m excited to learn about your concept. Tell us a little bit about nerds to go. How are you serving, folks?

Mark Jameson: [00:00:50] Absolutely, I’ll start real quick that Nerds to Go is part of our platform company called Propelled Brands and Propelled Brands, owns three different brands Fast Signs, My Salon Suites and Nerds to Go. We acquired nerds to go in September of 2020. And you know, it is just a wide open space. That’s what we love about it is everybody has a computer, be it at home or being or in their business, and nerds to go serves both direct to consumer, with now a focus primarily on the B2B customer and driving that business. And you know, anybody who has a connected device, which is you and I probably know is everybody recognizes that there’s a need for a nerd in their life.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:39] And then what are what are some of the services that nerds to go provides for the consumer?

Mark Jameson: [00:01:44] Yeah. So Nerds to Go opens up in about seven hundred to nine hundred square foot storefront locations, typically in a well-traveled area at the location. We do break, fix, walk in some computer peripherals and equipment that we sell, and that could be either direct to the consumer or the B to B. All of our locations have a fleet of vans that that the nerds go out and directly serve customers. On the B2B side, we do a number of things. We’re doing everything from data security to protection. We also have a managed service plan that we call nerd assure, and that is to monitor their computers and software for health, making sure there’s virus protection in place. And then we notify the customer if we see anything out of the ordinary that often leads to other things, like the sales of hardware and software, and we might help them onboard to a different platform, maybe moving to Outlook Online or Google online, even things like phone systems, because all of those today are based on a connection to the internet. So really a wide array of services, our customer tends to be small and medium businesses that do not have anybody that fills a CIO or a chief technology role. And so we’re really there outsource technology team.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:09] And then I would imagine with, you know, a big portion of the business world going remote, you can help maybe get those people set up if this is the first time they’ve ever kind of had a remote workforce.

Mark Jameson: [00:03:22] A great great question. And yes, you’re a hundred percent, right? Actually, the pandemic, this is one of the businesses that did exceptionally well because as we all had to relook at how we operated, operating remotely or having your employees operate remote meant that if you’re working from home, you need to have good internet connection and good connectivity to others on the team. And so for us, that is a big part of what 2020 was, and I think probably we’d all agree that the future is going to be more and more people working remote and nerds to go is well positioned to help not only the consumer in their homes, but their businesses make sure that their workforce has access to everything they need to be successful. So big part of what we’re doing today, being part of the future and really allowed our franchisees to completely be considered a an essential business and operate during the pandemic.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:19] Now, I would imagine there’s some opportunity in all those folks that maybe got laid off or displaced and started their own business, and they were used to having some sort of enterprise level help desk that handled a lot of the technical stuff that maybe they’re not familiar with it that needs to go is a great solution for those folks who need help in that area and just, you know, didn’t want to go on YouTube and start figuring stuff out on their own.

Mark Jameson: [00:04:44] Yeah, a hundred percent agree, and then as you’ve probably seen, there’s all these virus attacks now and other things that are being publicized so small and medium businesses, be it startups like you talked about or others, are recognizing that today there’s a lot more than just firing up your laptop and hoping you’re connected to the internet. You need to have protection over your data and security and customer’s information, and nerds to go helps with all of that. But yeah, I mean, we serve very many start up businesses as well that are trying to understand how to build a network out. What does that look like? How does it deal with employees that are both maybe remote and and not remote? So you know, what’s great about us is we are really a custom solution house, so we meet with the customer. We try to understand what their needs are and then the nerds to go team both in the local franchise. Working with our support corporately provides a great solution and options for the customer.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:46] So now has the ideal, have you got a handle on the ideal franchisee? What is the make up of them? Kind of from a more so from, I guess, a psychographic rather than a demographic?

Mark Jameson: [00:05:59] Yeah, great question, you know, surprisingly maybe to some is we’re not actually looking for technology people. You know, as our business is technology driven and you can hire a, you know, a Level one or level two tech relatively easily. Really, what we’re looking for our franchisees that want to be able to build an enterprise. And so very often people who come out of a sales experience or background, even if it is technology sales is great. However, people who sit in a senior role in technology like a chief technology officer, this isn’t they almost overthink the business. This business is not about setting up massive mainframes and networks for large companies about supporting small, medium businesses and people at home. So what? We really want our franchisees that are looking to build a business, build a team, create an organization, and much of this business, like any B2B, is relationship driven. And so our best franchisees are typically engaged in their local community. They may have business contacts already. Certainly, they’re going to join the chamber and and work with other businesses. But but they do not need any experience. They should be comfortable with technology, obviously, but they don’t have to be an IT professional and in many cases, we actually prefer that they come from an experience of more leadership and management because that’s what they’re doing is building an organization.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:29] So now is the actual work. Is that done by corporate that that’s part of what the franchisee is paying for? Is there getting some smart people at corporate that can diagnose some of these issues? Or is it something that they have to hire locally?

Mark Jameson: [00:07:43] It’s actually a combination of both. So every new franchisee starts with one or two what we call nerd’s, which is the support both in the location as well as going out and visiting customers both at their home or in their place of business and providing consulting services. Those are what, as I said before, a level one, level two people who have good experience understand computers and have training, and then we also have certification and training as it gets more complex and you go into products like Nerdist, sure, which is a program where we monitor networks for small and medium businesses that we actually housed at our headquarters in Dallas. And we work with our franchisees to provide them support and monitoring of that. And then if they have a very complex job, we actually have a gentleman on the team who is our senior director of technology, who works with franchisees. So if they have something that’s more complex and they need help and support, maybe it’s got more project orientation to it will step up and help them and oftentimes even travel to their market to help them set up those things. So it’s really a combination most of the business has done local and market by people. We help train and provide ongoing training, but then the corporate office sort of needs to go, which is part of propelled brands, has probably 20 plus people in our corporate IT team that also provides support.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:11] So now what is kind of the main revenue streams for the franchisee?

Mark Jameson: [00:09:17] You know, it’s a little split. When we bought the company, Lee, it was primarily driven by consumer walk in, break fix, some home visits and that was maybe, you know, depending on the location, 70 30. We’re making all of our efforts today to drive that business more on the B2B side. And so I would see those numbers in a couple of years flipped for us, where we may be as much as 60 or 70 percent B to be and 25 or 30 percent walk in traffic, some direct to consumer. The reason we love the B2B model is it tends to be reoccurring revenue for the franchisee. And so what we do with Natasha is we set up a customer, charge them based on workstations, so it might be the lowest six hundred in some cases to three thousand a month. We’re monitoring their systems. We’re really they’re outsourced I.T. department and for our franchisees, that reoccurring revenue has a lower cost base and really helps them get to profitability quicker. The walk in traffic, the break fix that sort of my iPhone needs a new screen or my laptop isn’t working, but there’s some good, steady income there, and that’s what we perform, typically at the storefront locations. But but no doubt the focus is the B2B side with the reoccurring revenue on managed services planned.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:43] And like you said, the idea of franchisee, they’re spending their time kind of immersing themselves in the community and being that go to resource and then selling this stuff and then having either corporate or one of their employees doing the work of the kind of the ongoing support moving forward.

Mark Jameson: [00:11:02] Exactly. We believe that there are certain things that owner can do that you can’t hire, right? And that’s exactly what you talked about. It’s the relationship being in the community, having that sense of ownership, creating culture. We can hire good technical technical people. We can hire customer service people to answer the phones and nerds to go out on calls. And so the role of the owner is to drive the business forward, preferably in a relationship business development role, while obviously making sure that the team is living up to the customer service standards of nerds to go and taking care of the customer. So there’s a little bit of that daily workflow meetings making sure we’re good, we’re getting out to the customers. We need to get to handling anything that needs to be resolved that comes up. But I would say the bulk of the role the owner, certainly after they’ve ramped up the businesses, is customer relations as well as business development, exactly as you describe.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:58] So now what are some kind of best practices that you’ve learned in order to help the franchisee, you know, kind of build their book of business?

Mark Jameson: [00:12:08] Yeah, it’s a great question, I mean, the new locations we’ve opened, and this year we’ve already opened, we’re averaging about one or two a month. And we see that number considering increasing in twenty twenty two. You know, the big focus is for them to make sure they have got the right staff in place hiring. Today’s a challenge in any business. So hiring people, making sure that they get trained and that the owner is really in an oversight role, knowing the business, knowing what has to take place. But hopefully not the one that’s actually performing the technical assistance so that they can drive the business. But I think in many cases, the role of that owner, the role in the beginning, what we’ve learned is that the franchisee needs to spend much more time on developing the team, developing the people. And then, of course, following up with customers. These monthly reoccurring customers need ongoing communication, and I think that’s one of the things that we’re continuing to fine tune is how do we follow up with them? What else do they need? How do we leverage things that are happening in the news that kind of scare people to make sure that they feel protected?

Lee Kantor: [00:13:19] Now, how does the local person get most of their business? Is it through their own kind of effort in networking or is this something that digital marketing helps kind of bubble up leads?

Mark Jameson: [00:13:33] Good question. And really, the answer is both. We would expect our franchisees to have an open house and invite other local small businesses, join lead groups and Chamber of Commerce so that they are in fact doing it that way. But we also have a social media campaign and a digital marketing campaign that is focused that we manage for our franchisees through a third party that helps them drive leads, target people. And then we have a proprietary program that is really almost a lead shepherding system that keeps in front of the customer that say, Hey, is it time for a fall cleanup or this holiday? May there be some issues that you want to deal with. You’re hiring a new employee. We can help you with making sure you’ve got the equipment you need. So it’s really a combination of our efforts as a brand to drive leads on the web to our franchisees because most people today go to the web first when they’re looking for these products and services dovetailed with the local franchisee in their market going out and and maybe not so much hard core calling, but really building relationships. Doing some demos at chamber events to talk about safety and security. To kind of wake wake people up to the opportunity that, you know, look, if your computer is at risk, your business is at risk.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:54] Now, are there certain markets you’re targeting or is this kind of, you know, the whole country available right now?

Mark Jameson: [00:15:00] You know, today we’re lucky with this brand that we’re wide open. We have only about 30 locations, another 10 to 12 in development. And so we’re wide open and we’re looking for franchisees and in every market from medium small markets. We’ve just opened in Asheville, North Carolina and Nashua, New Hampshire and Waco, Texas, and we’ve got sites under construction now in Dallas and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, other areas. So we’re pretty wide open. We’re really looking for the right franchisee. We seek somebody with a net worth of about three hundred thousand and about eighty thousand of that liquid. We have financing in place so we can help them finance the business. But no, we’re we’re lucky at this point that we’re wide open, like I’ve seen from our other brands. I suspect markets that are fast growth, like Atlanta, where you are, Dallas, where I am, most of Florida, Phenix, those markets were getting such high level of inquiries that I would expect we’d be getting close to sold out in those in two to three years. So we’re excited about the response we’ve got.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:09] And since you bought the brand, has anything changed in your kind of prognosis and forecasting?

Mark Jameson: [00:16:17] Yeah, I mean, I think that we’ve done a significant job in trying to bring value and savings to the franchisees when you’re an emerging brand with only 30 locations. It’s harder to dedicate resources. So after acquiring the brand, we’ve done a number of things. We’ve hired more technology enabled staff. We’ve implemented a new point of sale system. We implemented the managed service or what we call nerd assurer plan, and we are continuing to develop tools very much focused on driving profitability for our franchisees, reducing their costs and then helping them with training and education and new products and services. And that’s what we do as franchise or there is one company store. We still operate in Guilford, Connecticut, where the company was founded, and that’s a good learning for us to kind of stay grounded and understand what needs to happen at the store level. Because, look, we don’t make any money at an office in Dallas. We make the money in the field supporting our franchisees.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:16] So now is there any are you are you putting together any incentives for propelled brands as a whole to say, Look, I got the sign company now I can, you know, add nerds to go to my portfolio as an individual franchisee in a given market.

Mark Jameson: [00:17:31] We do. We encourage franchisees of all of our brands. If they’re interested in another brand in their market, we offer them a referral or a discount of 5000. The other thing I should mention that is a big thing we added to nerds to go after we bought the company is, you know, at fast times. For many years, we’ve worked very hard to attract veterans and first responders. And so we added 50 percent discount to veterans and first responders for the franchise fee for the franchisees of about 50000. We cut that in half. Wow. Because they are great franchisees, they obviously know how to follow a system and in fact, signs. Today, about 14 percent of our network is veterans. And our hope is to grow the nerds, to grow, nerds to go brand with veterans and first responders. And it’s our way of kind of giving them thanks for all they’ve done.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:27] Well, congratulations on all of the success. If somebody wants to learn more about the opportunity. Is there a website?

Mark Jameson: [00:18:33] Yeah, absolutely. They can just visit us at nerds to go and click on franchise opportunity. Also, happy to have anybody e-mail me at Merck Mrk Dot Jamison J.M. Itsown at Nerds to Go franchise.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:51] All right, Mark. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Mark Jameson: [00:18:56] Thank you, Lee. A pleasure to be with you today.

Lee Kantor: [00:18:58] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you next time on Franchise Marketing Radio.

Ron Jennings With A&W

October 19, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Franchise Marketing Radio

Ron Jennings With A&W

00:00 /

Brought To You By SeoSamba . . . Comprehensive, High Performing Marketing Solutions For Mature And Emerging Franchise Brands . . . To Supercharge Your Franchise Marketing, Go To seosamba.com.

A&W Restaurants has signed agreements with multi-unit restaurant operators Ronald and Nadyne Jennings for three locations in the Gastonia and Kings Mountain areas of North Carolina, as well as the Rock Hill region in South Carolina. Ron and Nadyne, who are multi-franchise owners, also own Schlotzsky’s and Moe’s Southwest Grill locations throughout the Carolinas.

Established in 1919 in Lodi, CA as a roadside stand, A&W Restaurants now stands as a thriving part of the American experience. With 500-plus locations across the country, including300 standalone restaurants, the brand remains a one-of-a-kind true original. Even its signature A&W Root Beer, served in an iconic frosty mug, is handcrafted at the restaurant. Today, that traditional approach is resonating strongly with consumers, who are looking for authentic brands.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

Experience expanding A&W in the Carolinas
The decision to join the A&W franchise
The most appealing about A&W

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Franchise Marketing Radio, and this is going to be a fun one today on the show, we have Ron Jennings. He’s a franchisee with A&W restaurants. Welcome, Ron.

Ron Jennings: [00:00:43] Well, thank you, Lee. I definitely appreciate being here, getting a chance to talk to you, and I’m excited.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:51] Well, before we get too far in the things, share with our listeners a little bit about the concept that AMW concept.

Ron Jennings: [00:00:59] Well, ANWR is is an old brand. It’s a very iconic brand one. Well, actually a couple of things that they have that is very, very iconic. But one is the fact is they are actually the creators of the bacon cheeseburger. I’m pretty sure everybody loves bacon bacon and they are the first inventors of that. And then also every single location that you go to, you get fresh brewed and root beer. And the brand has been around for well over 100 years now.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:38] So you’re you own several franchises. This is one of several that you’re a part of, right?

Ron Jennings: [00:01:45] Yes, that is correct.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:47] Now I’m starting to see a trend I’m not starting to see, but I’m just for the first time observing a trend that as we come out of the pandemic, it seems like there’s more and more what I call professional franchisees, the people who have done well with one franchise and are cobbling together a portfolio of maybe complementary or similar type brands. Are you that kind of describes you, right?

Ron Jennings: [00:02:14] Yes, it does. And, you know, whenever you build a portfolio, a lot of people, what they like to do is actually diversify a little bit. So, you know, that’s exactly what we’re doing. We’re we’re diversifying, diversifying our portfolio right now.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:30] But within the kind of restaurant category, right? Like you’re not now doing a Jiffy Lube, you’re the kind of restaurant oriented.

Ron Jennings: [00:02:39] Yes, that that is correct, actually, we started off by purchasing two car washes. My wife and I and then from there we transition over to the restaurant industry and we just been growing, growing the restaurant industry.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:55] So now talk about kind of those early days, like what was the impetus to even choose franchising as a path at that point was that had you had your own business, were you part of a, you know, a larger enterprise and then kind of decided to change directions?

Ron Jennings: [00:03:14] Yeah, so I would say probably around the time after graduating high school, my mother set me up with a business. It was a packaged goods business and I did that for roughly about five years, five to seven years. And then after that, I graduated college and, you know, got my degree in finance and accounting, you know, climbed the corporate ladder and then said, you know, I felt like something was missing. And I went back to being the business owner. And then from there, we purchased two car washes and then I just noticed that the car wash that we purchased, even though that they were buy the same, you know, from the same owner, there really wasn’t any systems or processes in place to duplicate. You know, at both locations and then from there, you know, I always was interested in food. And excuse me, especially the brands that we have now and ANWR was top of mind. And I started speaking to ANWR immediately. So I’ve been talking to ANWR now, probably for roughly about four years.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:28] So you started out, though, as you had one restaurant or one brand restaurant brand. And then and then that started doing well and you started to see like, Hey, let me kind of build a little empire here and then start kind of expanding. And then at some point you were like, Hey, if I can do this with this, I’ve already got the infrastructure, the systems in place. It’s kind of it makes sense at that point, right to go, what if I got another brand going? I already know I got the lay of the land here. Is that Howard just kind of organically happened like opportunities just started presenting, you started to see opportunities?

Ron Jennings: [00:05:07] Yes, that that is that is very that is very, very true. So it actually started with one brand which was slot skis. And then, you know, we noticed with with the pandemic that a lot of people that actually had their restaurants, you know, for 10 or 20 or 30 years, they decided to retire. They they were done. So we actually started buying restaurants from people that were, you know, in their mid-60s, ready to retire. And these were established brands and establish locations. And we quickly grew from our first location back in December to five locations within six or seven months.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:54] And then when you did that, like something you were doing was working, so what enabled you to grow so effectively where maybe they had plateaued?

Ron Jennings: [00:06:03] Um, it was it was it was really the fact that a lot of the the people that actually used to own it, they were they were just tired. So when we took over the locations, what we noticed was there was a lot of systems that were not in place, for example, like PA sheets, things of that nature. And we utilize inventory better inventory management processes. We actually went ahead and followed the franchise model. And then our revenue actually increased dramatically. Our first location, we I think we increase revenue by 20 to 30 percent within three months. And that now is one of the the top locations of slot skis right now in the world.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:56] So how did you go about kind of choosing which brands to kind of pursue because there are so many of them?

Ron Jennings: [00:07:05] Yes. So I actually went ahead and looked at a couple of brands that was in the area, and I really focus on the fact of the food, the food quality slot, skis we absolutely loved. You know, the sandwiches, everything was made fresh and you’re probably going to notice you’re going to notice a similarity between all of them. When we acquired Moz, we went there because everything is made fresh to order as well. And then we went to AMW. Excuse me, with the fresh air, fresh root beer.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:46] And so that that’s kind of the thing that draws your attention, and then once you kind of are digging in deeper, you have to like kind of the systems and the processes and the brands that are, you know, semi recognizable that you know, you can build market share around.

Ron Jennings: [00:08:03] Yes, exactly. So and and a lot of the consumers now they they really pay attention to the freshness and the quality. And then if you have better inventory management, the food gets the food is fresher then than your competition around you.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:23] So now, as an owner of multiple franchises, is there any advice you can give that person who has maybe one brand and hasn’t kind of taken the plunge to to kind of own several brands?

Ron Jennings: [00:08:37] I would say follow the systems that are in place. That’s what we did. That’s how we were able to grow very fast. If you follow the systems that are in place and then if you embrace technology, that’s something else that we also notice to as well. A lot of the locations that we acquired, you know, they were not utilizing technology at all. And that’s what we that’s what we embrace to grow as fast as we did. And then also get a very strong support team, AMW, even though the the other brands you might see more often. The one reason why we’re growing with AMW and growing very, very fast. You know, we signed on to having three locations right now, but we do see ourselves adding on even more as we grow is to is to support AMW, the management team there. They really, really support our support, our group. And that’s one reason why we have chosen the AMW brand to accelerate our our growth with.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:49] Now what’s an example, like something that someone could kind of latch onto, and it’s an example of them being more supportive than maybe other brands like what’s something that they’re doing that stands out to you, that you’re like, Wow, that is really helpful.

Ron Jennings: [00:10:06] Um, the excuse me, the fact that I could actually get on the phone with management and ask them questions such as How do I grow our current portfolio from five to 10 or even 20? Um, what systems and what systems should I have in place? They will direct me over to another franchise that might have 20 or 50 locations to help me. And also they they have knowledge, you know, a brand like this that’s been in existence for over a hundred years. The team have has a lot of knowledge and they support me 100 percent.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:55] Now you’re in the Carolinas. Can you talk about what that market looks like in terms of opportunity is there are a lot of opportunity for your growth there in that region as well as maybe other complementary brands.

Ron Jennings: [00:11:09] Yes, actually, the Carolinas is is is poised for growth with with AMW, and that’s where we really, you know, going to branch out to because the Carolinas really doesn’t have that many and they have maybe the old concept of AMW with, you know, combined with Kentucky Fried Chicken and. And, you know, other brands underneath one umbrella that they that they did back in the day before they became their own entity, but to build out a single unit AMW, there really is not that many in this market. And that’s why we’re expanding very fast with them now.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:57] Has the size of the restaurant changed at all, like post-pandemic?

Ron Jennings: [00:12:03] Um, the restaurant right now, they are looking at roughly about twenty two hundred square feet size. Size wise and and of course, they are focusing more on speed and getting customers in and out, you know, improve and drive, drive through performance and things of that nature.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:25] So drive throughs a critical element in the well, not in all the brands you chose. But then they end up you.

Ron Jennings: [00:12:33] Uh, yes, yes. Yes, it is.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:36] Now in the other brands, I would imagine curbside and to go things like that, maybe third party delivery, that’s an important component.

Ron Jennings: [00:12:45] That is a very, very important component and we have notice of, you know. A great uptake in the online sales and also catering, catering is, you know, you could really grow with catering just as long as you focus on accuracy and timeliness. And that also goes with online ordering in general.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:10] And that’s something that may be a new franchisee wouldn’t think about as a potential revenue stream. But if you that could be really attractive and and a nice addition to your kind of the growth of a given store, right? The catering element.

Ron Jennings: [00:13:26] Yes. Yes. My wife and I, we that’s really where we focus a lot of our time on catering. You know, for example, this week we had a we had a very large catering order at one of our locations. It was roughly for roughly about 1200 sandwiches. Wow. Yes. So, you know, catering, you could definitely grow with catering. Catering is definitely, you know, one of our areas that we focus on a lot.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:57] Now is there any advice for people who aren’t kind of tapping into catering? Like, how do you get more catering business?

Ron Jennings: [00:14:04] I say you focus on. So what we have to our advantage right now with the brands that we do have is easy cater and we’re easy cater. There’s, you know, you can actually mark it right on the website, which is very good. So what we did do for a couple of our locations is they have a point system. It’s kind of like a rewards rewards thing that you know a lot of people have on their credit cards, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:14:34] The loyalty.

Ron Jennings: [00:14:37] Exactly. Exactly. So currently, you know, well. Before we took over, a lot of a lot of our locations actually only was given out one point. We actually update the five points and we have seen the growth there, definitely with that.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:57] That’s a that’s a great example of leveraging technology, though. I mean, to use technology to help build loyalty, which builds repeat customers may be coming more frequently. I mean, that could really move the needle.

Ron Jennings: [00:15:10] Yes, definitely. And also knowing your partners, too as well. So I actually have basically all my managers does this as well, too. They actually follow up with the customer afterwards just to check and make sure that the order arrive, you know, accurately and timely, because we also utilize DoorDash actually to do some of our deliveries for us, for the catering orders as well. So we just follow up. So this way the store is actually the last point of contact.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:46] Now how has the kind of the the war on talent impacted you and your brand? So you have any kind of solutions to that? Have you gotten some things that help keep employees there and keep them energized and productive?

Ron Jennings: [00:16:03] Yes, I think we have, you know, to our advantage since we are a family business. You know, that’s how we are starting out and we believe in the family culture at all of our locations. They get a chance to see, you know, I’ll go to one of the locations and I’ll pick up a broom and I’ll I’ll sweep the floors. My wife cleaned off the tables. Our daughters will be at either one of the locations working, you know, behind the counter, and we due to the various different drop ins at all our locations. And they they know when we come there, we’re not one of those owners that just sit behind the, you know, sit behind the desk. We actually get out there and we’ll actually help them on the line. You know, we’ll we’ll interact with the customers and, you know, even even with our car washes, it’s the same thing, too. We’ll go there and we’ll clean the car and we really have not had that much turnover. You know, as some of the other locations, all our locations actually have been open during the pandemic. And, you know, we’re building up that, you know, that that employee relationship that you know, that a lot of our employees are not leaving us, they they are actually sticking by us, you know, because they know we’re in it together.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:39] And that’s a great example for other people. People don’t quit jobs. They usually quit bosses. So if you have a culture that really cares and and the and it’s authentic, then your people are going to stay.

Ron Jennings: [00:17:54] Yes, that is very true. And that’s that’s what we focus on.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:58] So now is this kind of this kind of empire you’ve built with these multiple brands and just the expansion and so many of them? Is this how you envisioned this when you first started out? I mean, there was this kind of beyond your wildest dreams because this is quite an achievement.

Ron Jennings: [00:18:18] Yes, this is what I you know, it’s one of those things, this is what I envisioned, but I didn’t realize that. Well, I guess I did realize it, but the fact of the matter was that you could take something and you could visualize it, and you can actually, you know, make it make it happen. And that’s that’s where we where we’re enjoying this. This is this is fun for us. My wife, my kids, they really enjoy this. They talk about it every day, you know, and then also growing out the brands, we don’t only we grow out of brands, not only for ourselves, but also to support other families. So, for example, you know, with our location in Colombia, we’re building, we’re looking at more locations there because, you know, we have general managers, you know, in the Colombia market that eventually want to become a district manager. But, you know, with, you know, they know that grown with us, they will get that opportunity. You know, as we grow out more locations and then, you know, one of our other locations in Charlotte, you know, our GM there, she is absolutely ready. And I guess in the last month or so, she has hired several managers from local franchises, restaurants, well established restaurants, you know, to come in to support her. And they are all ready to go and build this out because they know our vision and they are looking forward to it.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:05] It’s an amazing story. Congratulations on all the success. I mean, the impact that you’re making in your community is real and the ripple effects are amazing. I mean, you should be so proud of yourself. This is such a great story to be able to do what you’ve done. Congratulations.

Ron Jennings: [00:20:22] Thank you. Thank you, Lee. Definitely appreciate it. And you know, we we would not be able to do it without them.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:30] Well, what I mean with I have a thing I talk about in my company is with the right partners, you can do anything and it sounds like you’ve aligned yourself with the right folks.

Ron Jennings: [00:20:40] Yes. Yes, I definitely agree. I definitely agree.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:43] Now, if somebody wants to learn more about the AMW opportunity, is there a website for them?

Ron Jennings: [00:20:49] Um, yes, it’s. It is actually franchising that AMW restaurants dot com.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:59] Right? The website I got on my sheet is franchising A.W. restaurants.

Ron Jennings: [00:21:05] Yes, that’s correct.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:07] Well, Ron, thank you so much for sharing your story today. Like I said, you’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Ron Jennings: [00:21:13] Yes. Thank you so much, Leigh. I definitely appreciate you.

Lee Kantor: [00:21:16] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you next time on Franchise Marketing Radio.

Business Strategy Expert Tra Williams

October 18, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Franchise Marketing Radio

Business Strategy Expert Tra Williams

00:00 /

Brought To You By SeoSamba . . . Comprehensive, High Performing Marketing Solutions For Mature And Emerging Franchise Brands . . . To Supercharge Your Franchise Marketing, Go To seosamba.com.

Tra Williams is a speaker, author, entrepreneur, and nationally recognized expert in entrepreneurship and business strategy. He has sat at the helm of two international brands and has supported thousands of entrepreneurs on their journey to self-employment.

He has been featured or quoted in numerous publications, including Forbes, Bloomberg, and Franchise Times, and he often speaks at economic development conferences and company conventions.

In his new book Boss Brain, Tra reveals the shocking truth behind the decline of American entrepreneurship and provides a scientifically proven system to unlock your entrepreneurial instincts so you can leave traditional employment forever — that’s the real American Dream!

Connect with Tra on Facebook and LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

American entrepreneurship is at an all-time low
The hardwired psychology behind why most people feel they were meant for entrepreneurship yet never act on that instinct
Society is collectively advancing while individual fulfillment and happiness are waning
The gap between entrepreneurship and employment in America grows larger every year

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Lee Kantor: [00:00:32] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Franchise Marketing Radio, and this is going to be an interesting one today on the show, we have author Tra Williams. Welcome, Tra.

Tra Williams: [00:00:41] Hey, there. It’s great to be here, it’s really my pleasure, thanks for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, tell us about your writing.

Tra Williams: [00:00:48] So the book came out last week. It is called Boss Brain and it is about unlocking your entrepreneurial instincts. The book is one that I formulated after years within the franchise industry myself, where I saw this inherent battle in aspiring entrepreneurs minds, and it really is the battle between optimism and uncertainty. It’s one that I think most of us lead every day and we still battle. We’ve been battling it for millennia and these days and the western world where we have a tremendous amount of certainty. The book really reveals how so many of us have succumbed to that, and it’s really smothered our entrepreneurial instincts.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:27] So now talk about your journey and franchising.

Tra Williams: [00:01:32] Oh, I stumbled in the franchising way back in the Ufot era. I’ll date myself with that statement. Most of the folks in the industry will remember previous PhD universe franchise offering circular, and I had no idea what I was doing in 2000 when I first tried to franchise a concept. But I learned some some lessons through the school of hard knocks and was able to successfully franchise a concept was welcomed into the franchise community. As the franchise community always does. It’s an incredibly supportive and and nurturing community. Spent some time at Petrus Brands over a couple of different brands in Atlanta after they had after we had acquired some some brands from raving brands and really helped them bring those into the national spotlight before one of them was sold off to tasty delight. And Jim Amos and the folks over there incorporated it in as a co-brand with them and at that point went out on my own to help emerging franchise owners.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:31] So now have you seen a different type of franchise e post-pandemic or during the pandemic and post-pandemic rather than prior to it when you were getting started?

Tra Williams: [00:02:43] I’m loving right now, is that what I’m seeing are the aspiring entrepreneurs who have had this smoldering inner calling. The word entrepreneur coincidentally means inner calling, and they’ve had this inner calling for some time. And I think the pandemic really revealed the so-called stability of 26 paychecks a year and 14 days of vacation to be a bit of a house of cards. And it really released these these instincts and cause folks to follow this. This inner yearning is inner calling that they’ve had for a long time. So what I’m hearing is a lot of folks saying, you know, I’ve been wanting to do this for decades, and the pandemic really made me realize that there was never going to be a perfect time. And also the pandemic sort of. It changed the market in a way that made this a really unique opportunity in history to seize market share in a variety of ways.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:38] Now do you find that young people are drawn to kind of the phrase or term entrepreneur? I find them to be very. They like the concept of being in control of their own destiny, and they kind of have a negative feeling about business, though. So do you see any of that?

Tra Williams: [00:03:57] Yeah, you know, that’s a bit of an enigma, right? So what’s important to remember is 70 percent of the American workforce has indicated that they want to be self-employed. That’s one hundred million people. So there’s a hundred million people out there who really feel this desire to be an entrepreneur and aren’t converting that feeling into action. The book goes into great detail about why this is happening, and it gives you a framework for for how to get out of it yourself. But what I’m seeing in this younger generation is one of the things that I talked about specifically in the book, which is our inherent optimism ebbs and flows throughout our life in the time in our life when we’re making these decisions about entrepreneurship and careers. Let’s say after college, mid and early 20s is the time in our lives when coincidentally we are least optimistic. And this goes against conventional thinking. Most media would portray the youth as this unappreciative of the hard work that the world requires, and they’re naive and they’re too optimistic. But it’s actually the opposite of that. We’re most optimistic when we’re 55 years old, and we’re least optimistic when we’re in our 20s. So these young folks who do feel that inner calling are really becoming subject to that, that hardwired negativity that is inherent at that age.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] Now, is that is that a recent development or historically have the young people been more optimistic than they are today?

Tra Williams: [00:05:29] I think it’s just a sort of misperception when we’re looking at youth and we we think of those in their 20s as as being overly optimistic in the media has always portrayed it that way. But if you read Tali Chirac’s book Optimism Bias, you’ll see that in that time frame is actually when we’re least optimistic and it’s such a it’s such a tough thing because it’s at that very moment when we are making those crucial decisions. And what ends up happening is we choose predictable adequacy. We choose 26 paychecks a year. We choose a job over our college.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] Now, do you find that folks who. I don’t know, I’m just the world that I’m seeing doesn’t align exactly that way. I’m seeing a lot of folks, especially young folks, who aspire to maybe a life of things that I don’t even want to call it entrepreneurship, but like a series of projects or gigs or activities that pay them enough to live the lifestyle they want. They want their flexibility and they don’t want necessarily a a job that that that’s not kind of mission oriented or rewarding. I’m just that’s what

Tra Williams: [00:06:48] I see what you’re saying that certainly the gig economy is something that those who are 21 years old were born into. Everyone knows that the traditional work day of eight to five o’clock and et cetera, et cetera, is a relic of the industrial revolution. At a time when when America needed workers and we need them to be safe and healthy and not burned out, and we started measuring and maintaining the amount of time people spent on their job. So, yeah, and a lot of ways I can see that had that gig economy been in place when I was born, I would have felt the exact same way about traditional work environments and corporate structure in the workday. No doubt about it, but that’s simply the world that they were born in to be, albeit an antiquated.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:30] But that kind of world is whether they call it that or not, to me, that is being an entrepreneur because you it is an eat what? You kill a lifestyle.

Tra Williams: [00:07:38] I couldn’t agree more. Yeah, I agree with you completely. But despite all the hype of the gig economy, 93 percent of Americans still work for the other seven percent, and the percentage of people in America that are self-employed is at an all time low.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:56] So the people that are in the gig economy, you’re finding they have a job somewhere that’s providing maybe some of the stability and structure and maybe benefits that they they desire

Tra Williams: [00:08:08] Hustle, right? A lot of side hustle, a lot of multiple jobs at the same time. And certainly, the pandemic created opportunities for underemployment where people needed to have that supplementary income. And then maybe they found that to be a lifestyle that was attractive to them. But the the what’s not happening is there isn’t enough of the younger generation converting their their entrepreneurial desire into action to reverse this downward trend of entrepreneurship in America. It’s been falling since the mid-1940s.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:42] So is it falling just because that’s the evolution of entrepreneurship? And maybe this is too hard of a path and it’s it’s going to kind of just go away at some point.

Tra Williams: [00:08:54] Well, it’s too part of a path. Relatively speaking, what’s happening is we’re becoming victims of our own success in America. Your safety is, is is always much higher than in other places in the world. We have a grocery store right around the corner. The media excuse me to the poverty level in the United States, about $12000 a year is 20 percent more than the median income on the planet, which means the poorest people in America make 20 percent more than half the globe. So in America, we get a lot of certainty. That doesn’t mean that we don’t have opportunities to bring people up out of poverty and expand the middle class. But what it does mean is this certainty has really undermined our entrepreneurial spirit. And what you can see is a one to one expansion as as the middle class expands starting in the nineteen forties in the post-World War Two Baby Boom era. Till now, a direct, excuse me, an indirect proportional relationship with entrepreneurship as the middle class rises in quality of life becomes better, entrepreneurship declines.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:03] And then so. I’m seeing a lot of people in franchising that are those second act entrepreneurs that after maybe they have that nest egg, then they’re willing to take the risk after they see, like kind of no way to replicate that salary when they get laid off or they retire. Sure, that it kind of forces their hand almost to be an entrepreneur and buy something. And even in that case, I mean, you can make a case that they’re picking a safer route in terms of picking a franchise rather than kind of building their own thing.

Tra Williams: [00:10:36] One hundred percent. I mean, I’m a huge franchise advocate for that reason. And more businesses were started in 2020 than have been started in any year for the past 15 years. So, yeah, the pandemic really released that and sort of unchained all of those aspiring entrepreneurs who had not reached the point of comfort level to make that decision on their own and the pandemic made that decision for them.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:01] So what’s your kind of prognosis looking into your crystal ball in the future? What’s going to happen?

Tra Williams: [00:11:09] I’m a I’m a recovering optimist and

Lee Kantor: [00:11:13] That means you’re over fifty five.

Tra Williams: [00:11:14] So well, what it means is I’m I would never bet against America or American entrepreneurs. I think every time entrepreneurs have been called on, they’ve risen to the challenge. Whether it was converting soup factories into ammunition manufacturers during the World War Two or converting automobile assembly lines into ventilator assembly during the pandemic. I think you can. We should never bet against the American entrepreneur. And really, my mission is to bring awareness of this decline because on the current trajectory by the mid 20 40’s, ninety nine percent of Americans are going to work for the other one percent, and I do not want to allow that to happen.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:57] Now I’m seeing and I’ve done work with some universities that they’re trying to build as part of their curriculum and entrepreneur. Kind of element, whether it’s a entrepreneurship classes available to anybody in any major or majors or minors in entrepreneurship. Do you think that that’s something that’s going to help stem the tide and at least open up young people’s mind to this as an option rather than I have to work for somebody else?

Tra Williams: [00:12:29] I hope so. Lee But here’s the sad truth. There are about 5000 colleges in America, and among them less than 300 of them have entrepreneurship or small businesses, a major about four or five percent of the universities. So the message that they’re sending is resoundingly clear, and that is, we are training you to be an employee and there is an expectation of assimilation. So I’m proud that there are colleges and universities out there who are who are supporting these entrepreneurship programs and recognizing the importance of it, if for no other reason. Because capitalism works best when there is competition and in order to have that competition, we need a flourishing small business environment that can hold corporate monoliths accountable through innovation and through their agility that the larger companies don’t have. So without those small businesses, capitalism doesn’t function as well as it normally would.

Lee Kantor: [00:13:27] So now do you think that there has to be some sort of intervention when it comes to these corporations, these mega corporations just kind of sucking all the oxygen out of the room and and that they’re almost. I don’t I really don’t want companies that are too big to fail. But some of these companies are trying to play both sides of an equation. You know, they’re building a platform, then they’re selling stuff on the platform and then they’re, you know, learning from the people, using the platform to create their own things within the platform, like it becomes very incestuous and I think it becomes it opens up the possibility of corruption and not a true market.

Tra Williams: [00:14:07] Yeah. To answer your question directly is, I think that intervention and regulation is what caused this disparity. I think that government intervention has always been lopsided towards bigger businesses and still is lopsided toward bigger businesses. If I’ll give you a shining example of this throughout the pandemic, your locally owned ace hardware could not be open, but Home Depot never closed. Right? Your local farmer’s market office could not be open, but every large grocery store chain of Walmart was was open. So that message is resoundingly clear, and I don’t want to intervene more than we’ve already intervened. What I want is the government to get out of the way and allow the free market to work the way it’s supposed to, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:14:48] But don’t you think that that right? But those government choices typically stem from the larger corporations that are lobbying to create that kind of squashing of the small folks?

Tra Williams: [00:15:02] Yes, I don’t I don’t want more intervention on their side. If we’re going to intervene, we need to intervene as a consolidated effort of the people to support small business and the importance of propping up entrepreneurship.

Lee Kantor: [00:15:15] So, so what’s the answer then? Like, what are you going to? What’s going to be the impetus to get any change, especially among these mega-corporations?

Tra Williams: [00:15:25] So I’d like to think that you’re seeing this happened in the pandemic released this already. I don’t know if you saw in the news, but in August, four point three million people quit their job. That’s the highest number in a single month in American history. And they weren’t fired. They weren’t downsized. What happened was the pandemic exposed that there is a quality of life that may be existed differently than the corporate world that they lived within. And when they went back to work, they hated it, and four point three million people quit their jobs in August. So you’re asking me what the answer is? I think the answer has been revealed to us. And when you have that many millions of people leaving on their own either to seek better employment or start their own gig, you know, this is a revolution that that I want to be part of.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:13] But when they’re leaving, are they just going to a different, you know, kind of entity? Like you said, a handful of corporations are running the show. So are they leaving one just to go to another, you know?

Tra Williams: [00:16:25] I don’t. I don’t think that folks are quitting large corporate monoliths to go to another large corporate monolith. I think that COVID has really revealed the importance of us working together on a hyper localized basis in a lot of the businesses that you see flourishing right now are flourishing within their hyper local community precisely because the pandemic revealed the importance of us working together as a community, but also because corporate monoliths are struggling with logistics right now. It’s all over the news, and they can’t get products and services to these smaller mid-tier and small markets. So what an incredible opportunity that is for entrepreneurs to take market share away from these massive organizations right now, when when they were pandered to early in the pandemic, but are now crippled by logistical challenges.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:13] So then this requires the individual to step up and seize the day.

Tra Williams: [00:17:19] Right? I can tell you, I couldn’t said it better. That was a perfect way to say it. Absolutely. There’s never a perfect time, but I have to say that so many of the market indicators are in place right now, from real estate availability to consumer demand and shifts and evolutions in how services and products are being provided to actually have whitespace for the first time in America, and some time to have a new landscape of business environment to be able to step into without having to step into one that is mature and well formulated. Where you have a lot of steep competition, you can literally be the tip of the spear right now.

Lee Kantor: [00:17:56] So what would be some practical tactical action someone could take right now?

Tra Williams: [00:18:02] And I will tell you two different ways, so my my standard answer to this is belief is reverse engineered for those who don’t necessarily believe they can be successful, you never will believe and still you until you start taking action and then you start seeing yourself as the kind of person who could be successful in that area. And my other answer to this is to latch hold of the incredible amount of service industry opportunities that are being provided. The real estate market is a prime example of this. I live in Florida. A thousand people a day are moving to Florida. That’s a real number, and those people are either buying homes or renting homes. So there’s this enormous opportunity for appraisers and remodelers and skilled labor force and HVAC companies and all of these amazing service, industry related or real estate related services that I know a guy who’s a home inspector and he’s booked for the next eight weeks. You can’t get a home inspection right now in the state of Florida. It’s really difficult. So for those franchises that do home inspection, I’m sure they are trying to find new franchisees and what an incredible opportunity to join an industry that’s in such incredible demand, right?

Lee Kantor: [00:19:14] So now in your practice, do you spend most of your time speaking or you consulting?

Tra Williams: [00:19:20] I did most of my time speaking, and I also consult with chambers of commerce and municipal entities. I recognize that I’m never going to be able to rescue one million entrepreneurs from traditional employment the way I would like to. By doing it, one entrepreneur at a time, I know that we’re going to have to effect change at a policy level. So I consult with a lot of chambers of commerce and municipal economic development councils on how to set up the infrastructure and the the attractiveness to allure those entrepreneurs into those markets, or to be able to have those that already are in their markets finally take that leap.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:57] And if somebody wants to get a hold of you or get a hold of your book, what’s the website?

Tra Williams: [00:20:02] I’m really easy. You can go to Trey Williams. I’m Trey Williams. The book is called Bus Brain. It’s on Amazon. You can. I was proud to see I made number nine on the new releases and the startups category this last week on Amazon, and I really was humbled by the support and the outpouring of support for this. I think a lot of people recognize the importance of entrepreneurship as as as an American really fundamental and the importance of keeping capitalism working at its finest by always having great competition. So anyone who like to pick up the book and contact me to have those discussions, I’m always happy to talk to entrepreneurs.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:40] Good stuff. Well, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Tra Williams: [00:20:45] It’s my pleasure. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:47] All right, this Lee Kantor will sail next time on Franchise Marketing Radio.

Bob Spiel With Spiel Consulting

October 18, 2021 by Jacob Lapera

Coach The Coach

Bob Spiel With Spiel Consulting

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For over 30 years, Bob Spiel’s passion has been developing inspired leaders while building high-performance teams. His firm, Spiel & Associates, transforms general and specialty dental practices by building leaders at all levels.

In his 15 years of consulting and speaking, Bob has seen time and time again that leadership can be taught and teams reborn – what it takes is genuine desire, the willingness to be coached, and an unwavering commitment to personal and team growth.

Throughout his career, he’s been called “Mr. Team”. Bob had the opportunity to take on tough, turn-around situations as an operations director for two Fortune 500 companies, leading teams of over 400 employees while creating world class systems and cultures. Later, as a hospital and Surgical Center CEO, he led the transformation of two near-bankrupt entities, bringing them back to profitability.

He is the author of Flip Your Focus – Igniting People, Profits and Performance through Upside-down Leadership.

Connect with Bob on LinkedIn.

What You’ll Learn In This Episode

Turning your career into a calling
Finding your “sweet spot” as a coach
Having an abundance mindset
Mentally managing the risk of failure
Small business leadership — coaching your clients to compete against who they were yesterday
Transforming your job as a small business leader
Building high-performance teams with your clients and for you

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:02] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Coach the Coach radio brought to you by the Business RadioX Ambassador Program, the no cost business development strategy for coaches who want to spend more time serving local business clients and less time selling them. Go to brxambassador.com To learn more. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:33] Lee Kantor here, another episode of Coach the Coach Radio, and this is going to be a good one today on the show, we have Bob Spiel with Spiel Consulting. Welcome, Bob.

Bob Spiel: [00:00:42] Thanks, Lee. Great to be with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] Well, I’m excited to learn about your practice. Tell us about spell consulting. How are you serving, folks?

Bob Spiel: [00:00:49] Well, Spiel Consulting is a health care management firm that specifically targets non-hospital settings. Okay. I’ve been a hospital in surgical center CEO, so I made a decision about 15 years ago to leave that in the rearview mirror, and we try to teach practices and practice leaders how to do more and less time with less stress. So they’ve got they’ve got more of life when the day is over and more life inside them.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:20] So now, based on your background, what kind of drew you to this side of the equation?

Bob Spiel: [00:01:27] Great question. My I’ve got an MBA and I’ve loved through my whole career solving problems. Actually, what drew me to this side of the equation to become a coach was based upon an experience I had about 15 years ago and I got fired as a hospital CEO. I was looking for my next CEO gig and you know, my son Adam, who is now 38 years old. He was younger then, but still very, very wise. He approached me early and he said, You know, dad, have you ever thought about working for yourself? And my instant reply to him was, no, I can’t do that. And about a month later, he came back to me, says Dad, have you thought anything more about what we talked about and I said about what he said, Well, do you think he could work for yourself? And I said, Adam, that’s not me. Now, just as a quick aside, all the while I’m looking for my next gig, I’m getting calls from doctors in the area saying, Hey, I understand you’re looking for work right now, but I’ve got a problem in. Could you help me come solve it? And I thought, Yeah, this is a great diversion.

Bob Spiel: [00:02:39] I think it’ll be fun. It’ll get my head into something else, so I mind looking for my real gig. And that kept growing while I’m thinking, OK, I need to find my next position. Finally, Adam came up to me and maybe three or four months in this whole search, and he said, Dad, why don’t you think about working for yourself? And again, there’s this limiting belief leave saying, Man, I can’t do that. I work for somebody else. And he said, Well, listen, dad, you’re an independent thinker. And if you can just find the intersection of your knowledge, your experience and your passion, that’s your sweet spot. And if you stay there and you play there, you no longer have a job, you have a calling. And money finds you. About 15 years ago, and he was spot on in every regard. I left behind the thought of ever working for somebody else. I’ve now reached the point where I realized I’m unemployable. But you know, it’s just been a blast helping clients have hope. How strategies find answers and get their life back.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:57] So now when you kind of as a CEO, some people would think, well, you were your own boss, like you were in charge, you were making decisions. But you felt that because of the ecosystem and health care that it’s hard even as a CEO to be someone that is kind of controlling their own destiny.

Bob Spiel: [00:04:15] Absolutely, yeah, especially in the health care type setting the CEO pardon the expression is actually a monkey on a chain. Now, a CEO of a health care entity is not controlling their destiny whatsoever because they either have a board that they’re answering to or a group of doctors that they’re answering to. And one little secret inside this hospital CEO group that I was a part of is that before you accept your position, you negotiate a really healthy severance package because typically boards and doctors have this kind of Alice in Wonderland off with your head mentality. So unless you’ve got a really sweet package or parachute, it’s hard to to execute within your position because every other month they want to fire you. Um, so no, as a CEO in that type of entity, you’re not in control, I’ve even got a good friend who’s the CEO of a public entity. He’s not in control because he’s got a board and he has stock analysts that he has to answer to. Like a good friend of mine said, who is also a coach and has done so for his whole career, he said, You know, Bob, you can make a living working for somebody else, but you only make a life working for yourself. And that’s also true.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:40] So now was that kind of the mindset shift that you needed was that you were having a career that by every kind of measure from the outside looks extremely successful and you were just not getting fulfilled. It just wasn’t filling you up that you felt that there was more out there that you buy controlling your own destiny, that you can be more you can help more people and make more of an impact.

Bob Spiel: [00:06:09] Yes. And you know, anybody who’s who’s launched in this type of profession understands there’s some real white white knuckle moments as you begin this whole venture because, you know, at first it can be pretty lean. But what I found with his his advice, knowledge, experience, passion, stay there. I did, and it became extremely fulfilling. It is absolutely fulfilling today, and I’d have to say that, you know, I don’t view my job at all as a job. It’s a calling and 90 percent of the time. I love what I do. The rest of the 10 percent is when I’m on a plane.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:57] Well, I don’t think anything would be 100 percent, but I guess we all aspire for that.

Bob Spiel: [00:07:01] That’s correct. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:03] Now talk about kind of some of the logistics, how when you were kind of at first when these people were coming to you for advice, were you charging them or were you just being a friend like, well, here this one I would do or and then at some point it moved into a there was some sort of a financial transaction.

Bob Spiel: [00:07:21] I charged him up front, but what I charge was very, very modest compared to today’s rates, you know, and still today, there are times that I’ll pitch in and listen to somebody for an hour and give them some free advice and and kind of believe in the philosophy. If you cast your bread on the waters, it comes back to you. But I think Lee, the best thing I did was once I determine that this is where I really wanted to go. I had two other things that I had to overcome. One was the fear of failure. And the fear of failure really was huge in my mind, because when you’re in a successful career and then you kind of get bucked off the horse as I did, you really wonder man, is this going to happen again? And if it does, what do I do? I read a great book again. My son Adam referred to me called Outwitting the Devil by Napoleon Hill, the, you know, the grandfather of all the success literature out there from the 1920s. A fascinating book that was actually published like 50 years after his death. But what that book taught me was that every one of the self-made men or women of his day and age had experienced profound failure before they had experienced tremendous success. So I realized, you know what? That’s just part of the deal. And if you fail, you’re going to learn from it and you’re going to pick up and keep moving on. And so that was the last piece of the paradigm that had to be cemented in place after that. Then I went out and found a mentor, somebody who is doing this actively and could teach me some of the ropes and allow me to learn his model, which I’ve since evolved multiple times over that. But it just gave the confidence and the kind of I’m not really creative, but I am a great person at following a template and then building off of that. And that’s what I did.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:27] And then was that person in health care. Were they in just executive coaching? So was in your same industry?

Bob Spiel: [00:09:32] Well, yeah, same industry. Although I’d have to say that he was in broader than me because he was coaching lawyers and CPAs and, you know, a lot of other entities that kind of had the same vibe to them of highly educated professionals that never learned how to run a business or lead a team.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:57] And and then where do you see your niche?

Bob Spiel: [00:10:01] My niece is is exactly that it’s teaching in particular dentists, dental specialists and then early health care entities how to run a business, lead their team and get their life back.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:16] So these are kind of more emerging like there or they they could be or they mega, you know, like,

Bob Spiel: [00:10:24] No, no, I don’t. I’ve had some experience with the Megas. I really love the small practices, the solo practice owner up to, you know, four or five six operators within a within an entity just because it’s faster to turn that ship than it is to take a huge operation. Huge operations take up a lot of time and can be highly change resistant where if you can develop the trust of a leader or leadership team, it’s amazing how quickly you can transform things. And that gives me a real rush every time I see things that we’ve put in place make a difference quickly. And it’s not startups. It’s not large guys. One of the best things that I that I experienced early, probably eight nine years ago, was sitting in a meeting and I heard a fascinating consultant to the actual credit union and banking industry. Her name is Roxanne Emmerich, and she took us through an exercise to figure out who your ideal client was or is. And I’d been at the game long enough that I had, you know, a book of business that I could really start to parse through. And the first thing that she asked us was look at those clients that give you energy and those that take it away. I’ve now call those energy suckers. And look at those that give you energy and then go through and look at they’re not their demographic trends, but their social geographic trends. Meaning how old are they? Which is demographic. But where do they live? What’s their background? What do they do in their off hours? Do they have faith? What are their hobbies? All these other fascinating ancillary things about them? And when did they become your client? What was the type of problem you were solving, et cetera? And I worked through that, and it became one of the most clarifying moments of my entire career as a coach because I determined who my I knew my sweet spot. Now I knew who my target audience was, and I’ll always remember the comments she made at the end of this presentation, she said. Marketing is knowing who you don’t want to talk to.

Lee Kantor: [00:12:49] Yeah, something I’ve been telling folks is back in the day, ABC was always be closing. And then as you get older and more mature in your in your work, it becomes always be curating your. Yes, you’re picking the right ones, the perfect fits and taking and spending less time on the ones that you know you may have forced into the funnel back in the day. But as you get older, yeah, it’s like, I just want to work with people I want to work with, and then I know I can solve their problem rather than force people into my machine. There’s lots of other machines out there. It’s that abundance mentality, I think.

Bob Spiel: [00:13:28] Mhm. Absolutely. There’s more than enough for all of us and find those clients that you can develop a very high trust level with that fit your sweet spot and that gives you energy. And when that happens, it’s magic. And it’s a really fulfilling experience to work with them. And, you know, it’s not abnormal for a client after one of these engagements to, you know, pull me aside and say, Hey Bob, I love you. And thanks for your work,

Lee Kantor: [00:14:02] You probably weren’t getting a lot of that earlier in your career.

Bob Spiel: [00:14:06] No, I wasn’t. Not at all. In fact, it was the exact opposite. It was the. What have you done for me recently? You know, type mentality that private coaching is a totally different environment.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:22] Well, it feels I mean, I didn’t know you back in the day, but it feels like there’s a lightness to you and that there’s kind of weight off your shoulders that maybe you’re living a life now. That is easier in a lot of ways.

Bob Spiel: [00:14:35] I’ve never worked more hours. And my wife has some reservations about that, although I’ve learned how to stack my schedule so that I’ve got, you know, some pretty good, free time, but, you know, I’ve never had more fun in my whole career.

Lee Kantor: [00:14:51] Yeah, that’s really coming through. Now talk a little bit about your firm is called Spiel Consulting, how are you kind of drawing the lines between coaching, consulting or is there a blurring the lines like where your work is kind of some consulting, where you’re actually kind of rolling up your sleeves and helping them solve problems? Or is it more coaching? That’s more, you know, consultative and you’re just kind of letting them solve the problem and you’re just kind of helping guide them.

Bob Spiel: [00:15:17] Yeah, actually, it’s even in the consulting realm of things. It’s more of the latter than the former because what I found over the years is as a good friend of mine, Katherine Mitel once said that people will fight an idea that’s given to them, but they will defend to the death, something that they have developed on their own. So I try even in a consultative status, to try to first find out where are the answers in the room and actually to help facilitate that. I play a lot of games with my clients when I’m on site. I was on site with two clients just last week in a consulting mode, but in the afternoon we had team training meetings with both of them. And often I tee up where I’m hoping to take them to with again because I found that adults learn best if they’re on their feet. And if you can have some very wise but also insightful ways to get them to play together, you can not only see how the group shows up, but you can then create a common context for where you’re trying to take them next and how you’re pulling the answers out of them. So it’s a very blurred line to answer your question.

Lee Kantor: [00:16:43] Now, can you give some advice for that leader that’s struggling? Is there anything they could be doing on their own right now, some low hanging fruit that you would recommend maybe an activity or just kind of a mindset shift exercise that can help them maybe see what they got right now and maybe some baby steps to improve something?

Bob Spiel: [00:17:05] Yes, please. First and foremost, I’d say grab my book. I wrote a book five years ago called Flip Your Focus, Transforming People Profits and Passion through upside down leadership, which is my leadership philosophy. It’s real simple. It’s the idea that my job as a leader is to work myself out of a job, and I do so by shifting my mindset from everybody here to see that I succeed to. I’m here to see that they succeed. And then there are three simple behaviors that I teach actively to my clients, and the first is clearly set expectations. The second is create a culture of participation. And the third is to show genuine appreciation. So if a leader honestly wants to change tomorrow, just how they show up and what they’re doing. Begin to catch your people doing stuff well and telling them, thank you. Sincerely and the best thank you have three components, not only what did they do, but why it matters to you and how it made you feel when you saw them do it. That’s the easiest way to begin to transform the leadership. There are other things as well. Clarity seems to be something that’s missing so much in business, whether it’s large or small, being clear about how everybody plugs in and what their piece of the puzzle is. I borrowed from Stephen Covey, who’s a hero of mine and was one of the guys that I learned how to think about business some 40 years ago. This idea of roles, goals and expectations. And so I actively teach clients to work through those type of exercises to know what the roles, goals, expectations and then metrics are for your team members. And if you can’t define them as their leader, then chances are they have no clue exactly what you’re wanting from them. So those are just some ideas.

Lee Kantor: [00:19:12] Well, I appreciate you sharing that. Is there like what’s the pain that your next client is having right now? What are some of the symptoms that they say they it’s going to get them thinking, I better call Bob on this team?

Bob Spiel: [00:19:27] Mm hmm. Well, hearkening back to this whole exercise about who is your ideal client, what I learned, my ideal client is somebody who’s been in business for five to 10 years and they’re stuck. What that means, Leigh, is they’ve succeeded in spite of themselves. But now they’ve kind of painted themselves into a corner and they don’t know where to go next. Typically, what that tells me is that they’ve got. Deliberate approach in their practice, what they do resonates with patients, but they’ve never really worked through what are their systems and what are their communication strategies and how do they lead. And so that’s where I plug in and help them work through those three things.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:15] But when you say stuck, a lot of people don’t have the self-awareness that they’re stuck like. It might be. Is there some symptom that, hey, revenue hasn’t moved in a period of time or, hey, I’m losing a lot of people like, are there some some breadcrumbs that are kind of a trigger to, you know, someone leading a practice that says, Hey, we might be in trouble, there might be a, you know, an iceberg ahead, but you know, I’m seeing some clues, but I’m not sure.

Bob Spiel: [00:20:42] Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah, it’s even easier than the other two, although the other two you mentioned are perfect to look at turnover, to look at what are your numbers telling you? But the biggest metric that I found is burnout.

Lee Kantor: [00:20:55] So the leader is just like kind of at the end of their rope, like, why am I doing this kind of thing?

Bob Spiel: [00:21:01] Exactly, yeah. The phrase in dentistry, but often in small businesses, you feel like you’re on a hamster wheel, you’re running and running and running and you’re not getting anywhere. And that’s the biggest telltale sign right there that they’re stuck and that they could use help. Then there’s, you know, the next big hurdle after that is to say, OK, now if I’m stuck, how can I afford the help? But just like I was talking to a client yesterday during a call in a comment she made to me was, you know, Bob, there’s a scary juncture that you have as a business owner when you realize that you’re stuck and you realize you need the help, you think, Man, I just can’t afford the money to make it happen. But she said the best thing that I ever did was hire you. This is somebody who 50 percent at her practice the first year she was with me, and now she’s 100 percent of her practice this year. And before that, she was flatlined, you know, for three years. So that’s a big mental gap that has to be closed. Just like for me, it was, you know, I can’t work for myself. There’s this mentality that takes place while I know I’m stuck, I can’t pay for that. That’s a limiting belief that needs to be actively challenged. And then just, you know, put to the side because when somebody’s stuck, they succeeded. And now they don’t know where to go next. That’s when they need to bring in a coach and that coach is going to pay for his or herself. Hands down,

Lee Kantor: [00:22:45] Right? And it was just like you went through the first thing or one of the first things you did was find an expert. Yeah. To help guide you, to give you structure and to give you kind of a direction and say, OK, now I can take this and now I can, you know, put my secret sauce to this and take it to a new level. I mean, there’s no shame in that. That’s no, there’s not. That’s not a weakness. That’s a strength.

Bob Spiel: [00:23:07] Yeah, it is. And you know, and I paid him about the same amount that one of my clients will pay me in year one. And it was worth every penny is absolutely worth every penny because it set my feet on the path with the confidence and the competence to jump into this. And after that, then you know, you start to find yourself just meeting people and finding opportunities, becoming a part of established networks and finding additional mentors that can continue to take you further and further and further.

Lee Kantor: [00:23:42] Well, Bob, congratulations on all the success you’re doing. Important work and we appreciate you. Is there a website people can go to to learn more about your practice and maybe get it on your calendar?

Bob Spiel: [00:23:53] Absolutely. Yeah, my website is spiel consulting and it’s spelled S’s and Sam P like in Peter IBL consulting all one word. Or, you know, I’m also happy to be able to have them reach out to me. They can text me, which is probably the best way to get in touch with me. Just at two 00 eight five two zero six nine zero zero and I’d be happy to. Talk to anybody who’d like to talk to me.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:23] Well, Bob, thank you again for sharing your story.

Bob Spiel: [00:24:25] Okay, thank you, Lee. Great to be with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:24:28] All right, this is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you next time on Coach the Coach radio.