Debbie Longo with Life In Bloom NY

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

Trisha Stetzel: Hello, Houston. Trisha Stetzel here bringing you another episode of Houston Business Radio. Today’s guest is Debbie Longo, executive behavioral coach and founder of Life in Bloom, New York. With more than 20 years of experience in leadership development and behavioral strategy, Debbie helps executives and business owners identify and shift the patterns that hold back performance, profitability, and culture. She is also the host of two podcasts, Behavioral Profit and the six Figure Show, where she shares how subtle changes in behavior and mindset can create major business results. Debbie’s approach blends behavioral psychology with practical, real world tools, and her mission is simple help leaders shift behavior, lead with impact, and unlock growth that lasts. Debbie, welcome to the show.

Debbie Longo: Thank you very much for having me, I appreciate it.

Trisha Stetzel: I’m very excited to have you on the show today. So tell us a little bit more about Debbie. And then I want to dive into Life in Bloom.

Debbie Longo: Okay, so I’ve been in this business for about 25 years, and I had a spiritual teacher until 2021, until she died when she died of cancer. So I was. Now I’m on my own. But I was doing a lot of things with her, and so I was kind of doing some things independently also. So it kind of just was a flow, you know, just a natural flow that I could just turn around and start my own business because it was very sudden that she passed away. So that was exactly what I did.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. Well, I’m sorry to hear of the passing, but it does sound like that’s part of your story and how you started this business that you’re in. So talk to me about behavioral psychological psychology and coaching, especially in this executive space. How do how do all these things come together Debbie, in your practice.

Debbie Longo: Thank you for that. So the reason why I call it behavioral is because I’m focusing on it’s almost natural to say that it has to do with psychology. Okay. But I’m focusing on the behaviors of the employees and the executives and the business owners, which based on what their behaviors are exactly right most of the time negative and how it’s negative, that’s decreasing sales and profits. So just by changing their behavior, I can increase sales and profits. Okay. So, um, people think that it has to do with psychology. What I do is actually the opposite of that. Okay. Because I don’t want it to sound like. And be traditional psychology. Okay. If you believe in that, that’s fine. But I’m just going to say that there are people, individual people, business owners, all kinds of people that have tried that and that does not work. But if it works for you, you know, then that’s fine. But I’m focusing on the people that it doesn’t work for that need help that have decreasing, um, sales and profits that are going out of business. Maybe they file bankruptcy, um, you know, recently or, you know, and then they really need to, uh, get back on their feet again. Maybe they can’t afford to put food on the table for their family. You know, maybe they can’t afford to put gas in the car. You know, these are real world things that happen, you know. All the time. Right. They’re happening now. Right as we’re speaking. So, you know, there’s a lot of things here and a lot of people need help, but if they’re going to seek the help, then they’re going to want to do it. They’re going to have to see that just a little bit even there’s something wrong, just even a tiny bit, you know, and that this will help them increase sales and profits 100%. Because I know because I’ve been doing it 25 years and I know exactly what’s going to happen. And I don’t have to be a psychic to know.

Trisha Stetzel: Because you’ve seen it over and over and over again. So I heard you say that this negative behavior, these negative behavioral patterns are what’s limiting growth and profitability. How do you help shift that mindset from negative to something that’s not negative.

Debbie Longo: Right. So there’s about a hundred different ways. So what I do is I give people a free consultation okay. And possibly two. So and then I fill out, you know, I have them fill out things a survey and you know, some questionnaires and different things. And then, um, I make a plan for them. I make a whole outline for them. Okay. And then I give it to them and I discuss it with them, and then it’s their decision, okay. Whether they want to go through that or not. Right. So that’s basically my process. But I can tell you that there’s, there’s, um, control in the workplace where the executives are trying to control the employees and also vice versa, okay, where the employees could come in and they could just do whatever they want, right? They don’t focus on job duties or, you know, they’re doing insubordination. You know, where the executives are telling them what to do, and they’re blatantly just not doing it. You know, there’s so many things, but a control is a very big thing. Because here’s the thing if a company starts doing good, then it’s natural that the, um, executive or business owner, their ego is going to start to grow. Okay. And when they do that, right, then they try to control more. But I teach it that there really is no control. You can make goals. And there’s nothing wrong with that. I think every every company should make goals. But we don’t know if you’re going to reach those goals or not. And that’s why it’s called the goal. And that’s why it’s called goals okay.

Debbie Longo: So. Right. And the the last thing that I want to say is, um. When I am doing something physical, okay. So the mind controls what I do physically, right? When I do something physical, right? I want to be able to produce results, like we said, like making goals and helping people. Okay. Speaking nice to people, respecting Thing, people, you know where it could be anybody in the company. Okay. And when I do things like that, those thoughts turn into physical things that I do. Okay. So I might, you know, throw papers around okay. Which these things are very common. They might sound like, you know, like people don’t do this, right. Like executives don’t do this. Right. But that’s what they do. This is all stuff that’s realistic. Okay. They might, you know, you know, just throw a pen, you know, or something at an employee, okay. Not even realizing it. So just expressing anger in all different ways, they don’t have to be yelling and screaming, you know, at the employee or something in order for them to, you know, to get the point across that they’re being angry. And that creates a lot of negative negativity. I want the employees to be excited to wake up and be excited to go to work every morning, that they have the best job on earth, and they love everybody in their workplace and they love their bosses, and they’re going to respect them and they’re really, really excited to go to work every day. That’s the workplace that should be happening.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, I love that. And I love that culture shift where everyone is happy to be in the workplace. So in your work, Debbie, are you working with just the leaders or are you working with the entire team?

Debbie Longo: Right. So I start off with the leaders, business owners and executives. Usually is what it is. And then if they have a problem, you know, a widespread problem, right, with the company, then as it grows with them. Okay. I would suggest to, you know, can can we do a team call where we have all the employees on. Can we do groups, small groups. Okay. Or can we do maybe one on one with the client and a few employees or one employee, different things like that. So that really depends on what the situation is. Okay. So everything that I do is tailor made to that client, right to that organization because there are so many different scenarios. You know, I can’t even, you know, I can’t even really give you really like an outline, you know, of what that would be. But the idea is to fix the whole workplace, right. So, you know, however I’m going, right, however I have to do that is how I’m going to do it. Okay. Providing that the business owner is willing to do that. So if they say, oh, I just want you to help, just me, you know, and that’s all the that’s all this. The problem is just me. And I know that’s not true. And then I say, okay. And then as we go along, I’m helping them, I’m helping them. And then he sees that it’s working.

Debbie Longo: And then he might say, oh, I have one employee that has this problem. Meanwhile, he’s got like 20 employees. I have one employee that has this problem. Okay. Can you help that one employee? Okay. So we’ll do that then he says I have another employee, you know. So so this is common. You know, that we start off gradually unless he really knows the problem. And then he says, you know, we gotta I know there’s a problem with everybody and, you know, everybody has to leave. I gotta fire everybody. Which is like, it’s a horrible way to do business, you know, because then he’s going to get more people. The problem is going to continue, right? Because he didn’t solve the problem to begin with. And then he’s going to fire everybody. And then the cycle is just going to keep going on. I have a store across the street from me that I buy vegetables from, and that’s what they do. That’s exactly what they do. And they just did it again, you know. So so this is the that’s why there’s so many different examples. And these are things that happen. It’s not you know, this is not like, you know, if you’ve never saw this before, you know, then if you’re listening to this podcast then you’ve just never seen it, you know. But I could tell you that it’s common.

Trisha Stetzel: Absolutely. Well. And oftentimes it’s the leader that needs the cultural shift. Right. And so probably why they continue to fire the entire team and hire a whole new team and have the same problem because they didn’t get to the root of it, which is in between their ears. I’m just guessing it happens, right? What? Um, so you described the negativity and how some of that may be seen physically in the workplace, maybe throwing a paper or throwing a pen. And so we see that negativity when you’re working with teams and you actually see that cultural shift from that negativity to positivity. What does that look like in the workplace and how does it impact performance and revenue in a business?

Debbie Longo: Well, if it a lot of times it happens pretty quickly. Okay. It’s unless it’s a serious, serious issue and it has to be done very gradually. But even though if I give them a plan and I say, oh, you know, it might take months and months and months, they’re going to most likely nine times out of ten, start to see results almost immediately, right within like maybe a week or a month or something like that. And that’s just because the way that I work, right? Because I know you know what’s going to happen, right? So when I see that, that’s why when I start to see that change. Right. The business owner, the client is seeing that also. Now it’s a lot of times somebody sees the the gifts that we get or the positivity somebody else sees it before we see it in ourselves. Okay. So you know that happens a lot okay. But again, there’s so many different situations. But it’s you can see it’s like literally a miracle coming true. Because if somebody knows that they cannot fix themselves. It cannot happen. It’s impossible. And I just sit there and I’m like, okay, you know? And I just listen because it’s only words. Because it’s not true what they’re saying, you know, because I know that I could fix whatever, whatever it is, it’s, you know, it it it doesn’t matter what it is, but they don’t see it that way because they don’t know. Okay. So, you know, there’s a lot of things here, but it’s a it’s a huge transition to go from negative to positive. There’s so many different, you know, ways that I could feel it. You know, that the business owner can identify it. It’s just hundreds of ways I do something negative and then I’m not doing that thing anymore. Right. So that’s positive. It’s the opposite.

Speaker4: That’s good.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Well and you know the the things that we think about and practice the most do become our reality whether it’s negative or positive. Uh, and we push that into culture in our businesses. So we’re about halfway through, Debbie, and I’m sure that there are people who want to connect with you already. How what is the best way for them to get connected with you?

Debbie Longo: Sure. Well, I have a website, Life in Bloom, NY for New York, and, um, they can fill out a contact form and everything on there. They can also look on the website because I have a lot of information on there too. And I’m on LinkedIn. Okay. Um, they can just punch in my name, Debbie Longo, and it’ll come up. It comes up as a, um, revenue strategist on LinkedIn only because I’m doing audits right now, so but it’s part of the coaching thing. So if they if they, you know, you know, get in touch with me, I can you know, I can explain it. Um, so but it’s really the same thing. But so those are probably the two primary ways.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. Fantastic. Debbie. So you guys, life in bloom NY dot net is where you want to go. Or you can look up Debbie Debbie Longo. Longo life and bloom bloom, NY on LinkedIn and connect with her there. That’s how she and I found each other is on LinkedIn. So, Debbie, let’s jump back into the conversation that we were having and I’d like to tie this into burnout. So we talked about moving from negative to positive, creating unlimited growth and profitability in these businesses. Can we talk about how burnout plays into the the negative side of things and can maybe carry over when they’re first building this growth and profitability? Profitability?

Debbie Longo: Sure. Well, there’s it produces negativity obviously. You know, which is the most the most important thing that we don’t want. Um, but if I’m burned out, the common sense part of it is that I get very tired. Right. And I get sick and tired of being like this, having this attitude, doing these things. Okay. And this could be anybody, an employee or a business owner or whatever. But a lot of times the thing is that the burnout comes from what does it come from? Overworked and underpaid. So if they if the boss says, and again, this is another common issue, the boss says, oh, the person works till five, right? I know a lot of people work online and people work different hours. Right. So I’m just giving an example. Okay. The person works till five and the boss says the boss comes and pats them on the back and says it’s like 430 and says, oh, can you just stay an extra hour to do this one thing for me? And then the person says, okay, the next day the boss does the same thing. The person says okay. The next day the boss does the same thing. Now the employee is annoyed, okay, because they have things to do, and maybe they have to pick up their kids from school. Okay, you know, they might have to cook dinner or whatever. And the employee doesn’t want to say no because the employee thinks that she’s going to get fired. Okay. And she says yes. And then the paycheck comes. The end of the week comes. She gets the paycheck. She didn’t get paid for any of those days, any of those hours. Okay. So it’s like 3 or 4 hours in one week, okay. That they would say, oh, excuse me. They would say, oh, just do a little bit of this work.

Debbie Longo: Right. Sorry. And when they know that that work is going to take an hour, and that boss knows that that work is going to take an hour, and then he says, oh, can you just do a little bit of this? It’s not going to take that long. And then they’re there. You know what I mean? They’re there for an hour. So this is the thing. So that is a huge thing that bosses do. And then they feel that because the employee said that they would do it, that the boss doesn’t have to pay them. Now they get resentments. The employee gets a resentment, the boss, they have an argument about something, and then they get very angry. And then the employee now doesn’t care, right? Because of all this, that’s happening because she’s not getting paid. And then the boss says, we are going to have to come to an agreement that either you’re going to leave or you’re going to get fired. Okay. And now the employee loses her job when none of this had to happen at all. Okay. If the boss would just pay if you asked somebody if the, the the job duty and the contract that you signed with that company is 9 to 5. If you ask one employee or anybody to work 5:01. That is the the the manager’s or the executive’s duty. Okay. Ethically and morally and legally to to pay that employee. That’s what the employee is there for to get a paycheck and to, you know, be, you know, like what they’re doing or whatever. Right. But this is the thing. So there are a lot of examples of this, right? But to me this is like the most common sense thing. And it’s also the most common.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. Um, can we talk a little bit about six Figure Shift Show, which is one of your podcasts? I’d love to hear a little bit about the show. And if it’s I don’t is it a solo podcast? Are you inviting guests and what that looks like?

Debbie Longo: Right. So I have two podcasts, Behavioral Profit and six figure shift show. But what happened was people were because I have a forum for people to fill out, right. And I have a lot of episodes. I have like 25 episodes in like three months. Okay. So what people would I know what people were doing was they were filling out. They were starting to fill out the application for the behavioral profit, and then they realized they didn’t qualify because they couldn’t answer the questions. So they called me or, you know, on email or whatever, got in touch with me and said, I don’t qualify for this. And I said, why? And then they said, well, you know, this is my business. I do this and that, this and that. So I made a show. It all started with one person. Okay. So I made a show just for I know it’s like, you know, this is what I do, right? I’ll do it. You know, anything for anybody. It’s like weird. So I made a show just for somebody. Then somebody else came along, the same thing happened, and then somebody else came. The same thing happened, right? And so now I have the show, but the whole thing is on behavioral profit. Okay.

Debbie Longo: But it indicates it, right? It tells you in the beginning, you know, even in the title. Right? It’ll say six figure shift show, but it’s all on behavioral profit. But eventually I’m going to separate it. Okay. And the behavioral profit is exactly what I talked about in the beginning of this podcast in my introduction. It’s the opposite of psychology. I don’t do psychology. Okay. I’m not a psychologist. I’m not a therapist. I’m not certified. Okay. In that field, not only would it be illegal for me to do right, but this is what I’m trying to not to do, okay? Because so many people, for so many people, it just doesn’t work. Right. And I’m the type of person that even if it’s virtual, right? I’m not sitting at a desk, okay? They’re showing me, you know, their office through the camera, you know, through video conferencing or whatever. It’s a very on, hands on thing. Believe it or not, even though I’m not really there. Right. So there’s all, you know, there’s all different things. You know, I have them sometimes I have them put up posters like in their office, like think positive, different things like that. It’s called visual manifestation. That’s what it’s called. But that’s another whole story.

Trisha Stetzel: That’s another podcast I think. Daddy, don’t start another one.

Speaker4: Right. Exactly. Don’t start another one.

Trisha Stetzel: Um, tell me who your who are your best clients? I know that they need to want and, uh. And they need to want change. They, they need to want to get from negativity to positivity. But who are your typical clients that you work with.

Debbie Longo: Right. So believe it or not, okay, like any business or anything, the people who are familiar with your business are most likely going to be your best clients. Okay, from down from the fast food store, you know, restaurant all the way up to, you know, stockbroker, you know, financial company, okay. Because they’re going to understand really what you’re doing, okay. And they’re going to 100% believe in it rather than trying to convince somebody to believe in it. Okay. So the people that really understand and anybody I can help anybody, they don’t have to be in this specific field, okay. But I’m just doing it for the purposes of answering your question and just making sure that, you know, this is clear, which is fine. The question is fine. Okay. So. People who are in the health field, in the mental field, natural health, chiropractors are okay. Astrologer I had an astrologer on my show once. Um.

Speaker4: Okay.

Debbie Longo: Maybe medical doctor, because a lot of times they medical doctors now they teach about health and holistic different things like that. Okay. But most of the time a massage therapist. Okay. I had another guest, too. That was a massage therapist. I had one that was a psychotherapist. Also. I had another guest too, but she was a coach and she did other things too. She just didn’t do, you know, she just didn’t do your typical talk therapy. She did other things also. So people who are in the holistic field, okay, and who understand mental health and who go beyond giving medication, you know, what we teach in the Western world, okay, take a pill and that’ll solve your problem. You have anger. Okay. I’m going to prescribe you some medication. Just take a pill, okay? If you’re in a depression because of why, you know, there’s a lot of.

Speaker4: Reasons why, right?

Debbie Longo: I’m going to give you a pill. Take this. Right. And then you’ll get out of the depression. It works. And then this is just my experience. If you’re taking the pills and it’s fine, that’s great. But a lot of people, it works. And then it doesn’t work anymore. And then they come back to it because they haven’t solved the problem in the first place.

Speaker4: Right.

Trisha Stetzel: And one pill leads to the next pill to the next pill. And by then we’re just masking side effects of all of the things right that we’re putting into our bodies. So I love that you, um, have a lot of clients that are in the holistic space. Uh, I love, uh, that we take care of people holistically from, you know, business all the way to personal and sleep and all of the things that we should be doing. But I also understand that you can help anybody out there who’s looking to move from this negative space to this positive space. So as we wrap up today, I have one more question for you. Your company is called Life in Bloom. So if you could leave our listeners with one piece of advice about how leaders can truly bloom in both business and life, what would it be?

Debbie Longo: Think about what we talked about today on this podcast. Everything that we spoke about and think if you can relate to anything. If you can relate to one single teeny drop of one part of any sentence that we talked about in this podcast, then think about if you might need help in any way, shape or form. And also you can do an inventory yourself. You know your workday. You know your workplace. Okay. Take a piece of paper. Say this is the start of my workday. And as things go on, do write it down. This one was angry at me. I was angry at that one. And then do an inventory. And then by the end of the day, look at that. Okay. And that will tell you most likely. Okay. What your problem is. Right. So these are things that people can do on their own. But that’s not going to solve the problem. That’s going to tell you what the problem is. That’s it.

Speaker4: Mhm.

Trisha Stetzel: Okay. And then you’re going to help them get to the core and actually make the shift.

Speaker4: Right. That’s the point. Right. Exactly right. Exactly.

Trisha Stetzel: Debbie this has been such a great conversation. Thank you for coming on with me today.

Debbie Longo: Thank you for having me I really appreciate it. It was fantastic.

Trisha Stetzel: Yeah, absolutely. So you guys, if you want to connect with Debbie, of course all of this will be in the show notes. So if you’re sitting in front of your computer you can just point and click. Otherwise, when you get home from listening to this in your car, you can visit Life in Bloom, NY for New York dot net, or you can connect with Debbie on LinkedIn. Debbie I l o n g o and it will also say life in bloom and why there? Debbie, again, it has been such a pleasure to have you on the show.

Debbie Longo: Thank you very much. I really appreciate you having me. Thank you.

Trisha Stetzel: That’s all the time we have for today. If you found this conversation that I had with Debbie today. Of value or even of greater value than you could have ever imagined, then please share it. Share it with a fellow entrepreneur, a veteran, or a Houston business leader. Ready to grow. Be sure to follow, rate, and review the show. It helps us reach more bold business minds just like yours and your business. Your leadership and your legacy are built one intentional step at a time. So stay inspired, stay focused, and keep building the business and the life you deserve.