Spark Stories Episode 11

Intro: [00:00:02] Welcome to Spark Stories, where entrepreneurs and experts share their brand story and how they found their spark, the spark that started it all.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:00:13] Good morning. Welcome to live Atlanta Business Radio with Spark Stories. I am your host Clarissa Jae Sparks. I am the founder of Sparks and company known as She Sparks, a brand strategy design consultancy at the core. I am a personal brand strategist, trainer, mentor and investor for women entrepreneurs. I’m so excited to be here today to kick off the season too, with our new series Own It. It is a series where we dove into the everyday operations of inspiring small business owners in our local community. You can listen live on Saturdays at 10 a.m. or play the rebroadcast at Business RadioX. Com. Not only are we kicking off the season with on it, we are celebrating Women’s History Month. Entrepreneurship is one of the best ways for women to create sustainability and create a strong economic future. And if history has taught us anything it says with proper support, women can help other women jump over hurdles and face and shine. Listen, let’s start this month off with a reminder to support women entrepreneurs, whether it’s with a message, sharing this page on social media, making a purchase, a partnership, investing it doesn’t even matter. Just support women. Today I’m supporting one amazing woman entrepreneur. Her name here in the studio today. Her name is Kristen Madison. Kristen Madison is a small business owner and business coach. She is a leader of the award winning fast signs here in Sandy Springs. It’s family owned, minority and women on sign and graphics enterprise. Kristen is also the founder of the Madison Coaching Collaborative, a boutique coaching agency dedicated to coaching fantastic clients who leap from corporate 9 to 5 roles into small business ownership, where there’s new business owners, seasoned business owners. Kristen has helped pave the way. Kristen, welcome.

Kristen Madison: [00:02:18] Thank you. Clarissa, happy to be here.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:02:20] Oh, I’m so excited for you today. Kristen, I just want to say again, thank you for being such a pillar in our community and I’m excited to have a conversation with you today. I really only have three questions.

Kristen Madison: [00:02:33] Okay, let’s.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:02:33] Go. We want to know who you are, what you do, and why it matters. So tell us a little bit about yourself.

Kristen Madison: [00:02:40] So Kristen Madison, small business owners, small business coach I am what I affectionately call a corporate dropout. My background is in law practice and corporate HR practice. I started out as a government auditor.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:02:57] Oh, wow. Those terms scare us. Audit.

Kristen Madison: [00:03:01] Oh, right, right. Well, I was the auditor and then the law firm snapped me up to actually defend the audits. So there was a I guess I redeemed myself at some point. But I you know, I have been in the in the workforce for 20 plus years and jumped from role to role and did very well in each of the roles, had great mentors and advisors, friends along the way, and decided that at one one day decided, I’m not sure that this is what I want to do, that this is what I was destined to do. So it took me a couple of years to really figure out that I didn’t believe that corporate, you know, had my best interest at heart and that it was me that was going to have my best interests at heart. And so I really started researching the idea of small business ownership along with my brother.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:03:50] Along with your brother. The last great I know a lot of entrepreneurs do have that conflict in the beginning. Do I leave my job or do I step out into my destiny to fulfill my vision? So again, as you’re going through this self-discovery process, what made you finally take that leap?

Kristen Madison: [00:04:08] That’s a great question. So my brother and I for years had thought about working together in a small business, and we knew we had some good funding behind us. But I think what really pushed us over the edge is at some point this was in, you know, after 2010, corporate started downsizing and laying off people, mentor started retiring, friends, you know, jumped to other companies. And when you’re with a company for so long, you know, almost ten years, people leave. And so it was a different environment. It was it wasn’t so much fun anymore. So that kind of pushed me over the edge. I decided, you know, it’s time to go.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:04:47] I understood. Now, in your statement you made that interesting point. You said that you had funding.

Kristen Madison: [00:04:52] Yes. So capital of the capital. So what that means is I had saved a good amount of money. Personally. And then also, you know, I’m thankful enough to have a mom and dad who really wanted to see their kids shine. And I think you said shine earlier in in the intro. That’s my word of the year. So they really want us to do well and kind of carry on their legacy and do better than they did. So, you know, my dad chipped in a couple of bucks. I’m sure he will, listening to this say it was more than a couple of bucks.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:05:24] Thanks, Dad. Thanks, dad. Right.

Kristen Madison: [00:05:27] So that’s that’s what I meant.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:05:28] Okay. Understood. Now, what recommendations would you give for coming up with an exit strategy before you actually take the leap?

Kristen Madison: [00:05:36] That’s a great question. So as timing would have it, I have developed what’s called a corporate drop out 30 day checklist challenge. And the the checklist contains 30 steps that you can take if you if you know you want to leave and start your own business, but you have nowhere to start. Here are 30 actions that you can take to get you on that path. So it’s anything from researching how SBA grants work, how SBA loans work, talking to a friend who might be a small business owner about what their day in and day out life is like. Talking with your financial advisor about how you can start to save, you know, to inject your own cash into your business because you will have to do that. And just 30, you know, common sense, but not too heavy steps that you can take to move in.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:06:25] All right. Yeah, I think that’s very important to recognize that you do need an exit strategy before you take the leap, because entrepreneurship, there are so many highs and there are also a lot of lows. And I like you to be prepared in order for when those lows do come, that you can support yourself again. It’s about building a building a sustainable business. And so having that the resources in place and the actions in place is very important. In the foundational start of your business, how long have you been operating?

Kristen Madison: [00:06:56] Fast since we started in March of 2014. So we’re just about eight years.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:07:02] Oh, wow. So you are definitely in you’re on the journey.

Kristen Madison: [00:07:06] On the journey in it. Got the battle scars. Yes.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:07:09] Okay. Now, from my understanding, Fast Signs is a franchise correct organization. And so that gives you a little bit more structure and support than a startup. What was what was your decision on going the franchise route versus starting from scratch?

Kristen Madison: [00:07:27] Right. So one of the one of the steps on the challenge that I just mentioned is research what kind of business you’re interested in, you know, from the ground or franchise. That was a conscious decision we made. We attended tons of franchise trade shows and we looked at existing mom and pop businesses, but when it came down to it, we wanted the stability and support of a franchise. We didn’t want to start from square one. We wanted to start with a leg up with a franchise that had great training and support, notoriety. And then, you know, Sandy Springs came about because we wanted a business that was located in a thriving city, that was existing, that wasn’t a trendy business and was already making money. So we bought an existing business very good.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:08:15] And I think to having brand recognition in early on does help establish your your reputation, your perception within the community. So I think franchise is a great opportunity to explore. Yeah, oftentimes we like to, you know, a small business owner, we’d like to create things from the beginning, from our passion. But there are existing business models that are out there. Again, Kristen made a very great point. Do your research, do your research.

Kristen Madison: [00:08:43] And I will say the franchise was a great reason why we were able to keep our doors open during the pandemic. They really just were there for us.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:08:54] 24 seven Could you dove a little bit deeper into your experiences during, I guess, the life pre pandemic, during pandemic and now that we’re slowly coming out, what has been the trend?

Kristen Madison: [00:09:08] So right before the pandemic, we were having our best sales months and years possible. We you know, the sky was the limit. The curve was straight up for us. Once the pandemic hit, we definitely took a haircut in our sales, but we relied on our long term trusted customers to keep us through. They they stuck with us because they needed us. You know, the Fast Signs model obviously is based on a lot of entities who need signs. And the city of Sandy Springs is one of our largest customers and they needed to let their citizens know what was over and what was closed, you know. And so a lot of that involves signage, right? So a lot of communication to the public kept us of the need. I would say to communicate to the public is what kept customers ordering from us for safety reasons. Really.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:10:01] Oh, absolutely. That makes a lot of sense. So you weren’t working from home? You were working in the office?

Kristen Madison: [00:10:06] Yeah, we we were essential workers. I mean, the beauty of fast lines is that we have a great CEO who is very involved in lobbying on Capitol Hill. And so she lobbied hard for fast signs and the sign industry to be deemed an essential business. So we stayed open. I will say the first several weeks, you know, we would leave and go home at two. Normally we’re open 9 to 530, 9 to 5, but we would take calls in the afternoons from home. So we never stopped working. We worked a little less, but we were we were still open.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:10:35] Oh, well, thank you for your service. Keeping us safe with signage.

Kristen Madison: [00:10:39] Thank you. You welcome.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:10:43] That’s very good. Kristen, again, just like I said, you’ve been in business now about eight years. You took the franchise route and you’re encouraging those who want to leap out on faith to have an exit strategy, a 30 day plan. So once they’ve made the leap, they’ve gone through your checklist. They found the business that they want. What advice would you give to them?

Kristen Madison: [00:11:06] So what I would say is, number one, the advice is trust yourself, but understand that things around you will change. Seek out your peers. You’re now a business owner. You’re now a small business owner. You’re no longer a corporate employee. So your friends will change. Your colleagues will change. Seek out those people who are going through the same things that you’re experiencing. And that’s what brought me to be so engaged with the Sandy Springs Chamber, because at some point, you know, in the beginning I wasn’t necessarily seeking out a new peer group, but I also found that the people you know around me in the business that we owned, we weren’t speaking the same language. I was the owner. They were not the owner. I needed to find people who are speaking my language. And so that’s when I joined the chamber and started networking and interacting with other small business owners.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:11:54] Yeah, I think that’s important about building relationships, particularly in your local community, so that you can identify other individuals or organizations who can speak your language. I think that is very important in the early stages of business building, relationship building. So who else is in your network of business networking or have you created your own board of advisors?

Kristen Madison: [00:12:21] That’s a that’s a great question. So I will say early on. The Sandy Springs perimeter, the Sandy Spring perimeter chamber has a program called the Executive Roundtable. And so in the beginning that was a monthly meeting that I attended and they were my board of advisors. I’ve since moved on from the organization, but I would say my regular board of advisors are my financial advisor. My dad, my mom is kind of the Christine whisperer for the emotional part of it, but also other regular business owners who I see day in and day out. And after a while, I realized that, okay, yes, I need a actually, let me just say this. I also network with an organization called the Women’s Success Network based out of Roswell. It’s a close networking networking group with several seats of different businesses. And yes, I’m in the group for leads, but that group really provides the emotional support that I need as a small business owner and a female small business owner. So I would, you know, and then I have my, you know, regular friends and that kind of thing. But the closest people today are really related to business day to day.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:13:37] I think that’s very important. Now, you mentioned a couple of times emotional support. Let’s talk about the emotional component of being an entrepreneur.

Kristen Madison: [00:13:47] Oh, yes. The highs and lows, the rollercoaster. So I think primarily, you know, having a grasp on your emotions and really. Being able to understand what you’re going through as a business owner is a big deal. I go back to the notion that if you’re a business owner and you have friends who are not or you interacting regularly with people who are not, they really have no sense of what you’re going through. They really can’t understand that the material that you may need to complete a project that’s due tomorrow is, you know, isn’t coming in. The vendor doesn’t have it in stock or the customer is just so upset with you and wants a refund and it’s threatening to give you a bad review. Or your cash flow is not great right now. You know, the checks aren’t coming in as fast as you want. That creates so much emotional, emotional stress on business owners. And it’s I think at some point, probably two or probably two or three years in, I realized I needed to learn how to manage my emotions and care for myself while all this was going on. Because these are things that happen in business every day that is not going away.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:14:58] Right. So self-care is important. So is yeah. So it’s great that you do have a strong support system to support you. You called it a roller coaster. I like to call it a merry go round and the merry go round. Sometimes you have to eventually jump off so that you can find your place. And I think that’s very important to, again, put systems in place so that you can jump when you need to to take a step back, because it can be overwhelming consuming and you have to find that infamous work life balance.

Kristen Madison: [00:15:33] Yeah, I hate to sound cliche, but I did discover meditation early on in our ownership Reiki, you know, energy healing, that kind of thing. Beads, whatever.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:15:45] Works, say whatever sins, sin, assign. Right, right, right. Well, you know, like I said, I think, you know, whatever your choice of. Stepping back to reflect. I use journaling as a way of self-care and then, like I said, still trying to find that balance with family, friends and having an outlet. And so self-care again, is very important. So I’m glad that we were able to touch on the emotional components of entrepreneurship because excuse the way to say it ain’t easy.

Kristen Madison: [00:16:22] It is not in the least.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:16:24] It ain’t easy and it’s not for the faint of heart. So like I said, you will have those the highs and the lows and. But as women, we are fearless, we’re confident and we make it happen. And so we just again, on our journeys, whether it doesn’t matter what state you’re in, if you’re in the beginning stages, your mid business owner, seasoned business owner, you still have to have those systems in place for that strong the strong network and support.

Kristen Madison: [00:16:54] That’s right.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:16:56] So Kristen, what differentiates your business or. Yeah. From any other fast sign company?

Kristen Madison: [00:17:04] Thank you for that. So yes, fast science does have multiple franchise locations worldwide. There are ten plus here in the metro Atlanta area. But what I think distinguishes fast signs of Sandy Springs from from anybody else is that it has myself and my brother. We are a brother sister team. We are. Any day you come in the shop, you’ll see us there. We are involved in the community. We love the Sandy Springs community and we’re able to work with each other eight years in. I think that’s that’s pretty.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:17:36] That’s longer than eight years. It’s a lifetime.

Kristen Madison: [00:17:38] It is. It is. If you walk into any fast line, you’ll you’ll get a different response. But, you know, there there is not a a brother sister team in Atlanta. And, you know, we’re thriving in a community that really took us in. There was there was a previous owner, excuse me, who owned the business for years. And so we had to really turn that tide around and let the community know that, you know, yes, there are new owners, but we’re here also to partner and serve. So there’s only one. Kristen Madison There’s only one J.R. Madison. And you only get that at first. Signs of Sandy Springs.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:18:17] Very good. So what challenges did you and J.R. face or are facing? Well, when we first.

Kristen Madison: [00:18:29] Started. It was really about people coming in and asking for the former owner, the previous owner, and us having to say, you know, he’s no longer owner of the business, it’s us. How can we help you? And so we were challenged also to, you know, to let it be known that we were the new owners, but also we had some challenges with retaining existing customers. You know, there were some big corporate customers that he had that stuck with us, but we had to work to keep them there. There were no guarantees. So I would say those were the early challenges. What are the current challenges are? Not working so much in the business. The you know, we.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:19:10] We.

Kristen Madison: [00:19:12] Went down a person during the pandemic. And so it was my brother and I working heavily, heavily and still to this day in the business. So the challenge is trying to extract ourselves right now from that so that we can work more on growing the business.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:19:26] Do you have employ other employees?

Kristen Madison: [00:19:28] Yes, I have a full time graphic designer, full time production and installation person as well.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:19:36] So good. So facing those challenges. So what have been, I guess, that out of the challenges you’ve overcome? So what has been that learning lesson that you would like to share? Who?

Kristen Madison: [00:19:53] It’s a lesson I think that I would like to share is. Just to stay in your lane, focus on you, don’t necessarily worry about the competition because if you’re worrying about somebody else, you’re taking your eye off of your own business. You know, with there being so many fast signs in the area, I could be easily consumed by what everybody else is doing, what you know, what downtown is doing, what Norcross is doing, that kind of thing. But there’s enough work for everybody. If you work hard enough, the work is there for everybody.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:20:26] Yeah, I kind of subscribe to that as well. There is enough out here for everyone. If you differentiate yourself in the market and you position yourself. You will win. Yeah, you will thrive. And again, you keep your eye on your vision, on your goal, and be always mission focused.

Kristen Madison: [00:20:49] Yeah, I kind of liken it to dating the dating scene. Ooh.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:20:55] Do compare.

Kristen Madison: [00:20:56] All right. So. So there’s a lot of competition here in Atlanta. Yes. And at some point when I moved here in 2004, I quickly realized that, you know, Kristin, whoever is meant for you will find you just keep your head down and keep doing what you’re doing. And he will come and he eventually did. But, you know, it’s like the dating scene. I mean, a customer has a choice to go anywhere else for the product that they want. But you just have to have faith in yourself and believe in yourself. Yes, you need to do the business things that will set you up, set you apart. But at the end of the day, I’m a big believer in faith.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:21:29] Yeah, right. Faith, definitely. I think that is one of the key components that we should embrace as business owners, because it is. Again that high, the lows, the roller coaster, the merry go round, whatever you want to compare it to. You still have to believe in what you were told or what you see. And I think that is so important to. Never forget your why. Why am I doing this? Why? What gets me out of the bed every single morning to work these 14, 16 hour days and wearing the many hats of an entrepreneur is, again, especially in the early stages where you are the visionary, you’re the graphic artist, you’re the social media specialist. You are so many things to so many different people. So that does require faith.

Kristen Madison: [00:22:28] Yeah. And you’re also the janitor.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:22:30] Oh, you’re the janitor. You can’t forget about that, too. You do get your hands dirty. Yeah.

Kristen Madison: [00:22:34] There’s a humbleness that you have to have as well. Yes. I’m writing a blog for some of my readers that says I think the title is No One Cares About Your Degrees at some point. You know, I’m a lawyer. I’m a you know, I have a bachelor’s degree or whatever. But at the end of the day, that sometimes doesn’t matter to customers. They want what they want. And you have to be you have to be humble. All right.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:22:56] Now, you bring up an interesting point about education. A lot of entrepreneurs, if they kind of get that, what we like to call the imposter syndrome or they feel like they’re always lacking a skill or set, I am a lifelong learner. I think education is important to get the skills that you need in order to continue to grow. What advice would you give to an entrepreneur who wants to? I guess maybe halt or slow down the pace of the entrepreneurial journey to pursue education.

Kristen Madison: [00:23:37] So imposter syndrome is one of those things that comes up for a lot of business owners. I think it comes up when you’re doing good, when you’re stretching yourself, when you’re beyond where you thought you might be. You’re over your skis, but you’re still doing the thing. I would say. That impostor syndrome is one of those things that never goes away. It’s just, you know, it’s always on your shoulder whispering that you can’t or that you’re not good enough. But I will also say that imposter syndrome may also bring up a need for you to rethink maybe the things that you’re doing. As far as do I really need to be doing this, or do I have enough funding to bring on somebody who can do this for me, who can do it better than me? So there’s the kind of the subbing out of certain aspects of your business to a contract or something like that. But I would say that there’s always room for education. I am a lifelong learner as well. And I think in what was it, year six or so I, I decided to go to school for coaching and I believed in myself as a business owner that, you know, fast signs was stable at that point. So I said to myself, as a seasoned business owner, what’s next for me? And and some additional education for me was not a bad thing and it brought me into coaching. So I would say if there’s a, you know, little voice in the back of your head saying, hey, if you want to pursue this, go do it, then go do it. But just put your set yourself up smartly in your business to be able to step away, have the right people and processes in place so that you can step away.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:25:13] That goes you know, you set the word again, processes and systems in place. I think that is essential to sustainability so that you can step away and go from that owner operator to actually just, I guess the overseer. You can wear that badge of honor of CEO and direct from afar because you have the systems and the process is in place for you to go out. Because if you’re like me and most other entrepreneurs and small business owners, you’re multi passionate, right? And there’s so many things that you want to do all at the same time. So you have to find that balance in order to. I say you can have it all, just not all at the same time.

Kristen Madison: [00:26:02] I love that. I think you’re absolutely right. And for those of us who are overachievers, we want it all at once. But I think you have to know that you can’t have it all just in in seasons, if you will, in seasons.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:26:12] So now, you know, you’re you’re operating fast signs. You realize that you still had a passion to serve until you decided to do coaching.

Kristen Madison: [00:26:24] Yes.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:26:24] Tell us about coaching.

Kristen Madison: [00:26:26] So I had a coach I hired my own coach when I was still in corporate, probably around 2011, because I wasn’t at a high enough level, quote unquote, to be given a coach by the company. But I had a new challenge in front of me. I was I had been selected for a new job. And, you know, the word was given to me that you need to, you know, knock this job out of the park or.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:26:49] Else or else.

Kristen Madison: [00:26:50] So I hired my own coach and I said, you know, David, I’m not going to I’m not going to fail. Right. I will not fail. So I hired a coach and so the coach stuck with me. I, I, I knocked it out of the park, I continued in the job. And then when I left corporate, my coach followed me into small business. So he was with me, you know, coaching me through what is this thing, what is this new lifestyle? And, you know, eventually. Down the path. He said to me, You know, I got to the point where I started thinking, okay, what’s my next move? And I had thought about coaching. And he said to me, I think you’d be an excellent coach. And this is a coach who has been coaching for 20, 25 years. And to hear him say those words was all the permission that I needed. And that’s essentially what a coach does, right? You have the ability to affect whatever change you want in your life. A coach is there to sit alongside you and make it happen. So he gave me that permission.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:27:44] Yeah. And that permission is good. And that’s again, going back to the words we’ve echoed several times today and that support. Exactly. Every business owner needs a strong support system. Even if you have to go out and hire them. You can’t always rely on your family and your friends to understand your thought process. I think we entrepreneurs, we’re wired differently. And so I think that having that guided support to give you permission and most importantly give yourself permission to pursue whatever your passion is. So it sounds like coaching is a part of your why.

Kristen Madison: [00:28:23] It is. It is. You know, I look back at my transition from corporate to small business. And he he gave me that helping hand. He extended the hand to me of understanding, of support, of compassion for what I was experiencing and vision. He gave me vision. He made me shift, you know, not made me but he allowed me to shift my mindset into this new this new realm that I was entering.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:28:55] Well, welcome to the wonderful world of coaching.

Kristen Madison: [00:28:58] Thank you.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:29:00] That’s really good, Christine. You’ve definitely given us a lot of food for thought today. A part of being that lifelong learner and. What books or podcasts or resources would you recommend for us to read so that we can continue to grow?

Kristen Madison: [00:29:21] So my favorite book, business book, I will say that I that I read a couple of years ago that just totally took the blinders off for me was the one thing.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:29:31] The one.

Kristen Madison: [00:29:32] Thing what’s the one thing you can do right now that will make everything else unnecessary or easier? And once I saw that, I looked at my list of, you know, 25 daily things to do.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:29:42] Oh, the entrepreneurial checklist. Right.

Kristen Madison: [00:29:45] And I just realized. All right, so now I employ the concept, what’s the one thing I can do right now that will make all of this easier or unnecessary? So that is that’s a big book. But I will also say that I’m, you know, I, I read I read a lot of books, but I also listen to a lot of podcasts. I will listen to Amy Porterfield podcast. She’s big in email list, building and entrepreneurship and online courses. Gosh, there’s so many. I honestly will say I’ll read a lot of fiction books to kind of turn the entrepreneurial mind off. But the one thing I’ll just give it to the one thing, okay.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:30:23] The one thing. And who’s the, you know, the author.

Kristen Madison: [00:30:27] I know you’re going to ask me that, but I think that one or more of the authors is the founder of Keller Williams Realty.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:30:36] Okay.

Kristen Madison: [00:30:37] I have a friend of mine who is a realtor, and she actually we actually had a great conversation about the book, and they use that pretty heavily with their agents. So I’m sorry, the name. Name is escaping me.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:30:54] Gary Keller.

Kristen Madison: [00:30:55] Gary Keller.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:30:56] Yeah. And Jay.

Kristen Madison: [00:30:57] Patterson. Yes.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:30:59] All right.

Kristen Madison: [00:30:59] Yes.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:31:00] So that’s the one recommended book, The One Thing by Gary Keller. So I’ll definitely have to check that out because again, I’m always looking for inspiration and a little guidance. So that’s really good. And then, you know, like you said, there are so many podcasts out there can give you the inspiration or increase your skill set and your knowledge. So I definitely encourage people to tap in again with great books and podcast. Let’s see here, what can we do as a community to better support you?

Kristen Madison: [00:31:36] Wow. That’s really that’s really a great question. Thank you so much for asking that. So I would say the way you can help us is really to think about what needs you have as far as the signage, as far as the signage needs. So if you have an event coming up, whether it’s personal or professional, if you have friends who are in the construction business, the property management business, those are heavy core industries that we serve commercial real estate. If you think about any public place, you cannot navigate it without a sign.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:32:13] All right.

Kristen Madison: [00:32:14] So the property managers, the operations managers, the administrative assistant who make all the signage happen in the facilities that you either work in or visit on a daily basis, or those event planners, those are ideal customers.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:32:30] That’s very good. So, you know, in this conversation, you’ve told us who you are, what you do, and why it matters. Can you give one piece of advice to someone who may not be as far as long on their journey and may not have the same resources that you started out with?

Kristen Madison: [00:32:51] The one piece of advice I’ll give and it’s pretty simple, but it means a lot is to keep going. When you see that obstacle, find a.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:33:01] Way or.

Kristen Madison: [00:33:02] Ask somebody for help to get around it. There is a way around it. A lot of a lot of people in myself included, sometimes are afraid to ask for help or hesitant because it’ll make us look a certain way or people, you know, we think people might perceive us in a different way. But it’s important to ask for help, but just keep going. The only way, you know, people will get through a marathon is to keep going one step at a time. One foot over the other. Keep going. That’s what I say.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:33:29] Keep going. And as you were saying, keep going. I don’t know why Dory came to my head from Finding Nemo. Yeah, just keep swimming.

Kristen Madison: [00:33:38] You swimming?

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:33:38] Just got to keep swimming and you’ll get there.

Kristen Madison: [00:33:41] You will get there. And you mentioned the name. The name Dory. Dory Tuggle was one of my biggest mentors when I worked at when I worked in corporate. And those people who want to see when are out there, you may not recognize them on a daily basis, but they’ve been there all along wanting to see you win. So mentors are are great advice givers.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:34:03] Yeah. Again, that’s about building your own support system through mentorship, through education, through, you know, just again, creating those needs and those boundaries that are going to keep you on the journey.

Kristen Madison: [00:34:18] Yeah. And going back to what you said earlier about corporate and how to, you know, what to do as far as research for landing in your small business, it is just important to get you to move into your small business. But how you leave your corporate job also is important. So there are mentors that you work with now who can help you make that exit, who can give you advice on, Oh, maybe you shouldn’t leave now. Finish that big project first. Right? It’ll help your resume look even better when you leave. So the exit. The exit of your corporate job tactfully is important.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:34:52] Thank you. That is a great reminder, again, for those who are, you know, either. Thinking of wanting to leave their corporate and to jump or leap into entrepreneurship again, establishing and maintaining the relationships that you’ve built in the corporate world, because they do follow you over into the world of entrepreneurship.

Kristen Madison: [00:35:16] They do. I have called on several mentors since I’ve left. They’ve helped me execute projects. They’ve given me business leads. And so mentorship, I believe, is lifelong. And you’ve got to you’ve got to get the right ones and pick the right one to, you know, who drive with you, so to speak. But you can’t do it alone.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:35:34] You can’t do it alone. For those who are listening, how would you. What advice would you give them to selecting a good mentor?

Kristen Madison: [00:35:43] So if you’re if you’re sitting in your corporate job right now, a possible mentor for you, is that that peer or that leader above you or maybe even a different department that you’ve always admired and respected from afar because of how they move and how they operate. And and that person also may be the person that gives you that advice that you need that you may have forgotten. But if you look back, they’ve given you advice all along. They want to see you win, too. So if you sit and just become quiet about who those people are in your business, that’s your mentor. And and, you know, that’s the person that you might want to approach. Now, I will say that when you do approach them and when they say, yes, it is your responsibility to to maintain the relationship. My mentors don’t call me, I call them. And so you’ve got to be prepared to maintain it.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:36:32] Very good. Very good. Lastly, Kristen, how can we continue to follow you on your journey? Where are you in the World Wide Web?

Kristen Madison: [00:36:43] Thank you. So my website is Madison coaching collaborative dot com and you can find me on Facebook and Instagram at Madison Coach Collab.

Dr. Clarissa J. Sparks: [00:36:54] Very good. So thank you for sharing who you are, what you do, and why your brand matters. Listeners, please remember to support women entrepreneurs. We just really want to give our hats off today for Kristen for sharing her experience. So go out to social media, tag a woman, small business owner, and express your support on her social media platform. Again, I want everyone to create a great day. Thank you for listening to Own It, one of our new series on Spark Stories here at Atlanta Business Radio. Have a great Saturday.

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