Leading a Brand of Vision

Zahra  

Is my computer. All right? This is so much fun already. We haven't even started so much fun. Oh my god. Well, thank you so much for joining me, Amy. I'm so excited to have you today. So today we're going to be talking about leaving a brand of vision. And I just couldn't think of anyone else that I'd rather talk to about this than you because that is what you do. That is what you help leaders and CEOs find is that clarity, and that's how you're able to catapult them. So I'm just so excited to be able not just to talk to you because I feel like I'm gonna get a lot out of this maybe even more than most, because I'm going to ask you all the questions that I've always wanted to ask.

Amy  

I'm a little nervous now I'm a little nervous. 

Zahra  

Okay, I've got a list. So, before we get into it, though, just for those of you who have not had the pleasure of meeting Amy yet, I just want to tell you a little bit about her. So Amy is a business success coach and business consultant. She's a national TV contributor to politics and profits with Rick Amato. She is an active blogger, vlogger and speaker. She is regularly featured on publications such as Women on Business, All Business, Startup Nation, and many others. She's also the founder and CEO of Growing Out loud Darlin, as a business consultant, coach and trainer. She is an expert at helping business owners, executives and teams find the achievement and fulfillment they desire in business and in life. With over 20 years of marketing and business development in corporate America and entrepreneurial experience, building her consulting coaching and marketing firm, she knows a little something about what it takes to grow out loud. She is a Steel Magnolia and brings that sassy yah yah wisdom to help your business grow out loud darlin. I love Steel  Magnolias and I still cry. I mean, just cue the music and I'm a basket case. 

Amy  

I agree and people always go so who are you? And I said, I think I'm Corinne.

Zahra  

So just so you know. I want to say my OCD leaves me a little Sally Field. And I have it all together. Okay, so I Okay, so first of all, I love that in your business. Tell me a little bit about that. And then tell me about going out loud and growing out loud darlin, and what you do and all the good stuff.  

Amy  

All the good stuff? So yes, our name is a little little strange, right? People are probably going, that's a really long name and it doesn't really tell us what you do. Well, it does and it doesn't. So when I first started my consulting practice, which is really the arm of our business that began work began first. It was it was boring, it was Amy House Consulting, right. It's very boring and I would get asked to speak at groups. And I just kind of felt like that was a very well, it is my name, it's a flat name. And ultimately, the vision that I had for my business was to build a much larger agency with the idea that it would potentially be a marketable asset, meaning that I could sell it headed off to a family member, whatever I wanted to do, branding it completely to me would have limited that ability and would have valuated my business lower as I moved along. So that being said, I was always kind of looking for what is my business going to be called? I mean, Amy House consulting, not sexy, so was actually speaking at a group in Boise, Idaho. And, you know, this is a podcast so people can't see me most of the time. And I am today wearing a sparkly shirt, a lot of jewelry, bright red lipstick. I have a very defined hairstyle. I show up like a Southern woman, right and in the Pacific Northwest. That is not how women dress. They're beautiful. They are Southern women just have a very different style. Texas Women have an even different style, right? So I show up and stick out like a sore thumb. But that works for me. And I kind of switched into my Texas roots. The accent got stronger. I used a lot of things like well butter my butt and call me a biscuit kind of stuff was coming out in the talk. And people were rolling and at the end they had a q&a and someone said how do you really know that you are you are making an impact that you're building the kind of business that is creating results for the people you want to serve. And I said you'll know when you're growing out loud darlin, because other people will comment on what's happening, the impact you're having the influence you are the results that they're getting from the, from the services or the product that you provide. And I got in my car to leave and go back to the hotel, and it was like, crying out loud darlin, what I do is I help people through consulting and coaching and all of that, to get results in their business. And it never fails, clients come back, and they're like, this is happening, I'm getting these results. And people are saying this. And these are what my referrals and testimonials are now saying and all of that. So I know that when we do the right things in business, we get results. When we get results, people start noticing us, everything begins to sink together for momentum. That's really about growing out loud, darlin. And if you look at the acronym as well, it spells gold. And so we always say our tagline is we help people find a little more gold in business and lif and so it just kind of worked for us. But that was probably two years in to us building the consulting firm part of our business. It was certainly not something that I just woke up one day and had a brilliant moment. And it was literally by accident, it came out of my mouth. And I went well, there, there's the thing, right? So that's how it starte so people always ask, why a business consulting and coaching firm first, why not a marketing and advertising firm first and go the other way? So you have to understand I am what I call it business therapist. So I have a master's degree in counselin and I discovered that I'm a little too direct for the therapeutic group. I mean, seriously, people in therapy, you're supposed to kind of guide them to this epiphany and girl, I would just flat out go okay, quit doing that stupid thing. 

Zahra  

Let's get to the bottom of it. 

Amy  

Yeah, you know, I'm just gonna call it out what it is don't do that anymor right? Well, that's not how therapy works. That's a little more how coaching works. So I wasn't feeling very, like I was doing my clients a good therapeutic service. So then I had to figure out what do you do with a degree that's very focused? Well, I could get people to do what I wanted them to do without them realizing I was getting them to do what I wanted them to do. Well, that's marketing and advertising, right. So I went into that world, worked with marketing and advertising teams on how certain words emit the brain to have a smell sensation, or a feeling sensation, how to help guide behavior through a marketing campaign. Then I moved into sales training, because really all sales and business development people are our athletes, that it's all about what they're saying in their head. And if you can keep their head tape rolling in the right way, they will hit consistent sales markers over and over and over. They're just, they're like high performance thoroughbreds. And then I went into HR, and human onboarding, culture development. Because really, what you're looking for are the signals, people give off without them realizing they're giving things off, when you're hiring, hiring them so that you're hiring the best for the team, that it'll work collaboratively with those around them. And sometimes interview questions, don't just cut it, sometimes you have to look a little deeper than that. And so did tha and then moved into senior management and really working with large divisions of companies. And part of that, was it because I have an MBA, or that I have a degree in accounting or anything like at all, in my opinion, all of those skills are learnable. Really, the thing about business we have to understand is it's all about people, how we work with people communicate with people, all of this stuff. Business is all about people, even when you're working with a client on a brand developing their brand and their brand story and all that goes into that what they're doing is communicating that human beats, it's still all about the you know, the human factor. So what I do a lot on the coaching and consulting and training side of our business is very much the human factor. And then the marketing side of our business came about because companies would say you know so much about us now because you've worked with us for so long. Can you just take over our brand voice and do ongoing, kind of keep it busy and as we grow other divisions of our company and then when we're ready to scale our marketing to another level. Can you I guess a referral to a company that can help us do that absolutely. So that's kind of what we began to develop. We call ourselves a boutique, consulting and marketing firm. Because we know that if we do our job, right, people should outgrow us, they should need to go elsewhere for the next levels of their business, we don't ever say we are the one stop shop for you forever so.

Zahra  

That is awesom there's so much goodness in there. First of all, I just want to say that I love what you said about and you're and you're clear. This is totally not the topic we were talking abou but I think it was just so so well said that I wanted to call attention to that, because a lot of our clients ask that question is my personal brand versus my company brand. And so really understanding what is your brand model going to be when you are doing your visioning work so I guess it does tie into the vision. When you're doing your visioning work, and you are looking forward into what is the legacy right? We always talk about that, when we first sit down with a client is, is this going to be your baby for now until forever, Are you always going to be in the business? Are you going to try? And are you just trying to grow your business and sell it? Is this will this be a legacy for someone else? And then we make those decisions on are we doing a personal brand? Or are we doing you know, a traditional brand and with that as the spokesperson, as the leader as the what does that personal brand look like separate from the company right? And so there's there and so understanding what we what we define that we create the brand model, right? So what does that look like organizing it creating frameworks for both and how they interplay with each other, is really crucial. And it was so hearing that even from an early stage, you knew, because you knew final destination, because you had a vision for what you wanted, at the end, you were totally able to say if that then this, then my name can't be tied to it, I cannot I want to be setting my sights on a beach somewhere I don't want to have up in the office every day, 20 years from now. And that was you know that, to me, I thought that was completely brilliant that you were able to see that even even just starting out. You know, I think I think that was fantastic. And I think you know, you're telling the story about you went to the northeast and kind of sticking out like a sore thumb. So I don't know if you guys know this, but advertising is a man's word. So when I started, I was totally that girl, and like blazers and suits, I couldn't even get my and so here I am sweating my butt off, you know, with with these suits and feeling super stiff that I had to look or be a certain way or people weren't going to take me seriously, or they weren't going to think I was capable or professional enough to you know, handle these things. And so, you know, was my makeup too much was my, you know, was I wearing neutrals, or can I work there or you know, and then at some point, you're like, you know, what you are who you are, your approach is different. You know, and so when we went and even when we went in to build our space, our offices we were very specific about we were not going to be in a high rise, we were going to be you know, 4 or 6 storeys or less was the was the goal. We were not going to have giant conference tables where we were going to slide paperwork across each other nothing intimidate we're gonna have couches and coffee tables we were going to have, you know, we weren't going to try and impress you with our snobby creativity. And we were just going to be a very zen commute like place where people to connect to exchange ideas. But all of that was very specifically don and we were able to do it once we just kind of embraced who we are, you don't have to be what the world is used to seeing. In fact, when you're doing it with intention, and you are different, that can actually be a benefit. So I just thought that that was a kind of...

Amy  

I would agree with you 100%. I mean, it even goes as far as how you use your time and in the day. So I will coach a business owner and they'll say, you know, Amy, really from one to about two, I need a break. I need a reset. But I feel like I can't take that reset. I feel like I need to schedule meetings, I need to take meetings, I need to answer phone calls, do the email. And I'm like, why? I'm like it's your business you? Well, I don't want to have to explain to people that I'm taking a break or taking a nap or whatever. And I said well you don't explain to them anything. You just you're unavailable from one to two right? Even last night my husband and I are 50/50 business partners and so we were talking about probably in another year, year and a half we would need larger space and we would like to stay in the building that we're in we just want a bigger office right and he said well we really won't need all of the next size office up I said sure we will we need a nap room. And he goes a nap room I'm like we're gonna put a cot or a twin bed in there because there are just some days, I need to go take a 30 minute power nap to reset. And I said, I think that should be okay. Yep. You know, I think we we think we have to fit a professionalized model of what our brand or industry whatever should look like. And really everything is up for negotiation and you don't have to explain to anybody why you did it that way. Why you thought that I hear people all the time that name their businesses after themselves and I'm like, that works great for you. But it's not what I was looking for because you are right, there is a day that I just want to live on a beach with a stack of books and my dog and be free.

Zahra  

I 100% echo that sentimen and I think that when you finally stop combating what you think you should all the shoulds and just be who you are, you find so much more success. So I remember, one of the big things for us was we wanted to have at the office, I wanted to have an office dedicated to zenning and relaxing and have a room for the kids to come and play in and you know, because I have young have a son who's six and people other people in the office have what Ian's got a two and a half year old and a newbor and so you know, we've we need a place for diaper changes and play things but like how would that look at an advertising. But you know what we did it we just hit you know where we said it happens, kids come over, they have a good time, I want to be able to see them. So we hired someone to watch the kids we made one of the rooms, the the playroom, and stick a big ol futon in there so grownups can take naps and have our little bookshelf in there. And, and but that's, you know, that's, that is, and being able to just accept that. Yes, you know, and not worry about productivity and hitting our markers. It just it just...

Amy  

No and even like, people say all the time and bless his heart, you know, being a business partner to me, I'm sure creates obstacles for my husband all the time. Because they're like, the name of your business is very feminine. And he'll be like, yep and they're like, but but you're you're a part of that, did you not have a say in that. And he's like, you know, here, here's the deal. The the story behind the name, and the brand is the same. And he's just as much Texan as I am. And in fact, his accent is probably way thicker than mine is. So your perception that something is feminine or masculine that's about your response to it our response to it is we're all about results. We're more focused on the growing out loud than we are the darlin.

Zahra  

Well, and even so anytime somebody so whenever we do brand work, and people are like, I don't know, is this name too weird? The one reply, I always say is Yahoo.

Amy  

Or Google.

Zahra  

Google yeah, thats right. Really is sky's the limit. And, you know, it's only confusing if your brand is not clear. You know, it makes total sense. But see when I see you and I hear groan out loud, darlin, it's like, total sense. Have you ever looked at someone and say, they look like a Jennifer, you look like a star like. I mean I also wanted to touch upon the way that you approach your expertise, I think is truly remarkable. And it's leading it's really like, to me, that's what puts you in that thought leader category is that you understand that people don't work in silos. And so I love that you can take that holistic approach to say, if I'm going to help you as an entrepreneur level up, let's take a look at all the other areas of your business. And I think that you know, and I love that you say that because we you know, when we talked about branding, it's very similar. So, you know, branding isn't about the logo and the color. I mean, it's a small part of i but if I don't understand your offer structure, if I don't understand the ideal customer avatar, if I don't understand what your growth patterns are and what your what you hope to accomplish in the past year, and where you see yourself and the brand going, if we don't have all that information, if we don't look at the reviews and pull the comments and you know, look at psychographic markers and you know, test out the products and you know go secret shop the services and how do how can we really help you achieve the goals and authentically articulate who you are Aren't your core it just doesn't happen you know we can't just say, well give me what you've got, you know, and we'll see you in three months with a super snazzy presentation and tell you who you are. And we're on tap with that, yeah, we're gonna ever get to, you know, let the liquor pour, and we're gonna be super confident wo there's no debate. We nailed it. We got you.  That's it and so I just I love that, that you do it that way. So in working with all these CEOs, tell me what are some of the traits that you find in common amongst the ones that like, really sore? I mean, the ones that take off, like, what do they all have what is that thing?

Amy  

So the first thing that I always tell people, when they work with me, whether they are the CEO of the company, or whether I'm dealing with an executive or a department head, whatever that looks like, is I always say up front, there will be a day that I say something that will make you mad, not just make you mad, but like you want to fire me as your coach or consultant that day. And what I want you to do is take 48 hours, and remember, you hired me to tell you truth. And what you need to think about is, are there elements in there that you need to hear? Are there things that you have been ignoring, or whatever that looks like, right? So I tell them upfront, I have yet to have a client who does not say at the end of the time that we work together oh, let me tell you, you said so many things that made me mad, right? The key to this is, are you ready to hear what you need to hear, to be challenged on the things that you're ignoring. Maybe you're telling stories to yourself about things that you just, you believe that you have never really questioned why you believe that right things of why you can or can't do something why you're good or not good at something. A lot of that is a story that we tell ourselves and so I will challenge that, I will also challenge them on things that they say they're not good at. I have had clients say I'm terrible at networking. I'm terrible at prospecting, I'm terrible at this. And I will go with them, I'll invite them to networking events, I'll do whatever, so that I can see them in action. And I'll go you are telling yourself a lie. Or I will have people say that they're really good at something and they're really not. Right, and then you have to go okay, so let's break apart a couple of things, why you're not getting the results that you want. I think if you're able to step back, instead of having the emotional knee jerk reaction, and go, what element of truth do I need to hear in that, then they will make progress. I think the second piece of that is they have to be willing to try something new, implement something that will make them uncomfortable, growth will never ever be a comfortable process.

Zahra  

Sorry, that made me giggle. It's so true.

Amy  

I know. There is there is no easy button for that. I don't care what guru you listen to, if they ever tell you that change or growth is a easy process, if you're just in the right mindset, that is a lie. It will even in the right mindset growth will be an uncomfortable process. And so if you can work with a client who is at least willing to be awkward, to be uncomfortable, to try it, to analyze the response that they get from it to tweak it and try it again, then you're dealing with someone that exponentially will lock in to how to harness that and go. The people that I can have a session and I can say before we get together for our next session, I would like for you to do x, y, z. And they'll go okay, and then they come back and I go did you do x y, z? No, I just didn't have time. You're telling me that in two weeks you couldn't even attempt X or Y or Z? Well, okay, before we get together again, XYZ has to get done, okay? They come back XYZ is not done and I'm like, then you don't want growth. Because you want to stay in your comfort zone and growth will never happen in your comfort zone. Now, how far outside the box we go, that's different paces for different people. But if they're willing to take feedback, and if they're willing to get a little uncomfortable in 100% of cases, they get extraordinary results. And it and they usually blow themselves out of the water. And they go I didn't know I could do it and you're like, it's only because you finally took off have some blinder and you've finally said, enough with this, I'm gonna do the thing so.

Zahra  

I absolutely love that and I agree with you 100% the best coach I ever had, kicks my ass. And I remember three minutes after I pay you over what at the time was a fortune for me was the first offense was the first slap to my ego right? And it was and and, you know, it was a very difficult process because I came from corporate world and the corporate world, everybody says all the nice and right things to not get you in trouble with HR. And so to have somebody so direct, like I'm paying you don't mean to me. What is this, but I will tell you that within the first week, and instantly I remember the moment and I can't remember, Oh, I wish I had remembered what I'd said. But it was it was in a Facebook group, right and they and I just started and I was like, All right, I was like, this has got to be it. If you can't teach this to me, then I am a lost cause like this is you know, and I can't remember I was like, I've got like, I'm gonna get it this time, or something like that. I can't remember but I posted in there and he and he replied, he's like, What if I told you that what you just said, tells me you already don't get it? And I was like, oh. And my first reaction was this bleep bleep bleep, right? How dare he, he doesn't know me, right and so all of a sudden, like those defenses came up, and I was very angry. And then I was like, whoa, whoa, whoa. I said, you need help. You don't know what he meant by that is like, is it more is it more possible that he has a personal vendetta to squish you down to a pulp, or that he's trying to give you something that you need to hear which is, in fact, what you pay him to do? You know, and so I think when it comes to coaching, like that, being successful, and I was like, I guess, you know, like therapy or anything else, like, you've got to be able, you know, one of the things that, I say to myself, when I'm having a moment like that, where it's like, Oh, I do not want to hear this right now. And I've got all my excuses, my stories, my limiting beliefs, you know, everything. You know, I have to tell, I have to ask myself, I was like, is it more important for you in this moment, to be right or better. And then like that all like, that's like the defusing when, when the smoke is coming out of my ears when I'm super intense. Like, that's the phrase, you know, that I tell myself to like, shake myself out, like, snap out of it. Let the ego go and open your mind. Because if you knew all the answers, you'd have Jeff Bezos as a neighbor, and you don't. Let's just hear what they have to say before you, you know, offhandedly discard it. Because there might be something there for you to learn. And it is a very difficult thing, and it is a very uncomfortable thing. But the more you realize that you don't know half the things you think, you know, the easier I feel like it becomes to accept that fact. Yeah. And just after a while, it's like anything new, right? Like it's your new state of normal. And I think we're so used to as humans, needing to have all the answers, having to know being able to predict, you know, like, what is our favorite thing to say, after something happens, I knew that was gonna happen, I told you, so being able to predict something. And so we're so used to being in control of all things at all times. It's very uncomfortable to not know and not be in control. But the more you do it, I feel like the more comfortable you get, you're like, you know what, I've been here before, I've been in the place where I don't know my head for my you know what? It was better?

Amy  

Yeah, no, absolutely. 100% me and in what's funny is I actually have a T shirt that says, don't make me use my my business coach voice. But I mean, literally, I have clients that say, there are moments in time now that I hear your voice in my head, that I'm sitting with a client and I'm doing something and then I suddenly hear your voice say something like I, you know, or what are you doing, you know, and they're like, or my favorite is just do the thing. And there's like, in the moment, and they're like, I know I should just step over this line of fear and have courage and do it. And it's almost like you're standing behind me shouting, just doing the thing.

Zahra  

Any of you listeners are parents but it's kind of a thing. We know what to do with our kids. Like so my son has a habit of doing that right where he always says, but what if this happens and so we but what if it doesn't, you know? As adults, we need to hear that sometimes like but what if it doesn't? What if the world doesn't crack into what if it doesn't, you know, what if it doesn't end and just do it? Yeah. Let's talk to me about that. Tell me a little bit about limiting beliefs and how you overcome them for yourself, and then how you help, you know, enable your, your, your students to overcome them, you know, in the moment, like when you're not there, like, what are some coping tools that you give them for that?

Amy  

So, I firmly believe we don't read enough, right? I always tell people that the reason you should continue to read books of any nature, just in general is because the more you know, the better decisions you make. Also, the more you know, the more you question why you think certain ways, right? It makes you challenge that. But also, because it's an emotional bank account that we carry around in ourselves all day long. And all day long. You're, you're paying out other people, clients, team members, whatever this storehouse of stuff, even family members, children, spouse, and if you do not on a daily basis, feed a little bit of the headspace in a positive way, you will be bankrupt within 48 hours. I mean, there are tons of people and we know them, they're walking around, emotionally bankrupt, they can't deal with their marriage, they can't deal with children, they're having trouble at work, their finances are out of life, every aspect of their life is in chaos. Well, they're emotionally bankrupt, and in effects work. So if you're not doing that, there's an issue. The second thing is if you want cheap therapy, buy a journal. And you're not writing for Mrs. Smith honors English class in high school write, however you want to write, I'm a bullet point writer. I don't like writing a narrative. I can do it, I don't like it. But so when I'm writing, for me, it's all these random bullet points. If you are a doodler, and part of your journaling, brain dumping process is it looks like pictures and random words. And if people were to look at it, they wouldn't make hides, or hair of what you just wrote. It's not for them. Journals are not intended for the most part to be published and seen by the world. It's a tool for you and so a lot of times when I brain dump on a piece of paper, I can even see the gaps that I've got going on or the places in the holes. And then I give people around me full carte blanche to call me out. Literally, my husband has carte blanche, in business, babe, you've got to tell me, if I do something off my decision makings skewed. I'm not getting all the facts that at whatever it is, you got to call me out. We even meet with our staff, every quarter, we take each one of our staff to lunch every quarter. And part of that is not only a hey, this is what we're seeing you do super well. Here are things in the next 90 days, we got a plan for here's your part of that. What are your thoughts on that but it's also a time of hey, as your leaders, where can we get better right? Where do we need to open the the topic, the conversations, I have to be willing to hear from other people where I need to get better? Because we're not as self aware as we would like to be. And so, a lot of times, I'm amazed at the things that come back to me and I'm like, wow, I had no idea that that's how that was perceived or seen or whatever. And I'm, I'm glad you shared that with me. Now, how I move forward, I'm gonna have to figure that out. But obviously I need I needed to hear that. I think as leaders, we need to, we need to ask for people to be honest with us, because you're right in the corporate business world, everybody is trying to be so PC, that we are not having true conversations. And because we don't have true conversations, change doesn't happen that needs to happen. We don't know when we've offended someone. We don't know when we need to adapt. And if someone just said, You know what, I appreciate that you have no idea and I just wanted to let you know, that kind of bothered me. And I would love to talk about what are some other ways that you could have shared that with me in a way that wasn't offensive. If I know that I'm going to make a change but if you just hold it in and be PC about it I'm never going to know right. And so I think that's just part of you gotta keep filling the tank. You got to have a mechanism whether it's a coach, a therapist, a journal, whatever that you, you can process your own stuff. But I think you also have to surround yourself and give people permission to tell me the truth.

Zahra  

I love that and I have to say, I really love what you said about the journaling. So I, you know, been an avid reader my whole life. Most people don't know this about me but I used to be a ghostwriter for brands, which is how I kind of got into it kind of explains the Brand Author thing, but that's a topic for another day. But um, but I, I write for literally wrote for, you know, content and ghost writing for brands and journaling has always been the most difficult thing for me because I cannot, it is so difficult to write, without structure. And that, you know, so I'm trying to journal my feelings like, how does this support my thesis, you know? 

Amy  

There's no thesis.

Zahra  

The storyline it was hard for me. And I felt like a lot of pressure and stress and anxiety over of all things. And so I had to find a way and I had to modify, you know, and how I journaled, what do I want to get out of it, what you know, and to find a way that actually worked for me, and once I was able to find a system, then it really does help, because I think and, you know, I feel like, especially as, as women, we always have the thoughts, running, and running and looping, you know, all day, every day. And so having a place to just kind of dump that, so that you make space for other things can be really powerful. And, you know, so even if you've never had success journaling, or you're hearing this and you're like, Oh, I hate journaling, you don't have to use it to find the thing that works for you. The two things that used to drive me nuts when people say meditate in general, like, I don't want to do that and the cool thing is, is that you can do both of those things. Because I do both of those things now, and I had such a resistance to both of them is just about don't give up. Run it like an experiment, try different things that work for you figure out what you need to get out of it and then that will kind of help you figure out what to do.

Amy  

Yeah and when I die, and my family reads my journals, they're gonna go she was psychotic and I go exactly, yeah.

Zahra  

I have another question for you that I'm dying and I can't let you go until I ask you this question. Tell me about how having a vision and a clear sense of your brand can be really instrumental as a CEO so that they can get out of that manager role and get into that leadership role.

Amy  

So even recently in our business, so I always tell people that I'm not coaching or consulting people in a vacuum, like I'm not doing the same things that I coach other people to do. So recently took a hard look at our business, and realize that we had five core things that we seem to do, but we had about four outlying things that were happening, and that they were such small percentages of our company. But two things one, did, we need to spend our time doing that, because it was only one or two clients. And number two, how much time was being spent on these peripheral things that we needed to come back into the five core things that we do, and made the decision. Now, what we do is this, and while we can do doesn't mean we should do or need to continue to do. And so we've had conversations with a couple of clients that we love you, but here's when we will not be providing that service anymore right? And I think we always get into this mindset as business people that we've got to keep holding on to something because what if this falls apart or that part of your vision for your business, your vision for your brand needs to be so rock solid, in where we're going, that you're okay, seeing notice some things that you're okay from a branding and marketing standpoint. No, I don't want us published in that magazine. It's not on on brand for us. No, I don't want to be this, that or the other, it's not on brand for us. No, we won't provide that service while it seems like it's a logical add on and easy enough for us to do and we're clearly capable of doing it. No, that's not the zone of genius we want to stay within. I think having a clear vision of where you're going allows you to say No, it'd be like traveling down a walking path, right hiking, and they have all these signs that you can take this path and that and yeah, eventually you'll get to your destination. But along the way, we're going to take this really long detour well, sometimes the things that we've got to say no to keep us on track faster to the bigger vision, versus saying yes to be side trails, that yeah, we'll still get there but it's a longer journey. I think having a clear vision allows you to say no and I think especially for women, saying no is difficult. So the more work and the clearer you get about where are we going, then the easier it is to know exactly what you shouldn't be doing what you You are wasting time on, all of that becomes clear, and then you gotta be willing to say no to it. 

Zahra  

So for those of you guys who didn't catch, I just want to re say this, because I think it was, so just love me and re-save this piece. So the thing that you said, that really stuck out to me is just because you can doesn't mean you should and I think that's so powerful, because we talked about that all the time when we talked about brand clarity, and we look at that, you know, one of the things that we see often when we're looking at, you know, when we're working with our clients is that your volume might be increasing, your sales might be increasing, but your profit margin will be shrinking. And that is a red flag when we get somebody in and that's where we go through and do an offer analysis to say, alright, what percentage of your revenue, what is your net margin for, you know, each of the offers that you have versus, you know, and so we can see where the gaps are, where the holes are. And sometimes it's a matter of reorganizing things in a better way and sometimes it's a matter of making edits. And knowing that it's okay to say no, and one of the things that I think is so important about that is the way the way we explain it is, every time you say yes to something, you are making it harder, you are sticking another weed between you and your ideal customer avatar, you are making it harder and harder for the person who values you the most, who is willing to pay the most reasonable value in the work that you do. You're making it that much harder, because it's one more distractions for more obstacles. One more thing like, Hmm, I don't need that. I mean that that other thing, right. And so just I always haven't think of all all of these periphery things is like a wall between them in you. And the more things you have up there, the harder that becomes now, can you diversify, absolutely. But even take a company like Nike, they made a running track shoe, and they made that running track shoe, and only that running track shoe for a very long time until they saturated the market. Once they figured out how to have success with that running track shoe, then they spread out now you can get the gym bag and the shorts and the you know, sweat bands and the you know, their shirts and everything else. But they had to create market saturation and success in that one area first. And a lot of times, and I but I guarantee you if they'd have started with the socks and the sweatpants and the T shirts, nobody would know who Nike is today. No, they had to focus in on that and then spread out, you know, and so I think that, you know, saying like what you just said about that and having that that vision is clear. And when you say no to things, it doesn't always mean no to forever, it means not now, no, no, right now, we'll talk about it again and 12 months is a better fit.

Amy  

So no, and I think that that's just part of the process it those are all skills, we're not born with their skills, we have to be intentional about doing and learning and applying and that's that's just part of the process.

Zahra  

And you know, like you said, it is a learned trait, even you know, we do this all day, every day. And we had a few clients that were asking us coincidently at a time when our sales were not where we would like them. Hey, could you post my social media for me and we were like, it was it was so tempting. We thought man, that's easy money, it's recurring money, we can do this easily. We have all the design artwork we've made for them anyways, how hard could it be and then we just thought, you know what? It's, it's, you know, you started doing the math and you start, you know, it's not in your zone. And then does that make us a marketing or does that make it you know, and so, all of a sudden now we're like, well, what was it cost us and brand equity, what will it cost us and brand clarity to do it, you know, to do that? And what staff will we need and you know, now we have to learn something new. So where it should take a seasoned person, you know, who knows how to use all the software and who knows how to use the auto schedulers and knows how to make a reel in 30 seconds. You know, it will take us hours and so you know, we couldn't price compete with people who's do that daily. But you have even for us who know the answer, we still had to, like, get to the answer that you already know. Because it is it is a very tempting thing and depending on where you are in business, that can have a big factor on it, you know, like, well, we just need to make the sale or we just need to, you know, get us out of a, you know, out of a sales rep, or whatever that is. And so those things become suddenly very tempting and hard to kind of stick to your guns. But when you have like you said, when you have that clarity, and you have an articulated and you have it written down and you use that like a teacher answer key, the answer to your question is right here.

Amy  

Answer is no, just say no yeah.

Zahra  

It doesn't fit in this guideline that we've made in this framework for what we said our brand is going to be. So I love that. Okay, so I would like to do it's like a fun thing that we do at the end of our shows. There rapid fire questions are you down? All right dream vacation.

Amy  

London. 

Zahra  

Habit that boosts your confidence. What's your go to thing to boost your confidence?

Amy  

Red lipstick.

Zahra  

Love it. Okay, what is the hobby or habit you adopted during COVID? 

Amy  

Cross stitching.

Zahra  

Cross stitching?

Amy  

Very relaxing. 

Zahra  

Is it, is that like embroidery?

Amy  

It is, it's just the same stitch but you might do pictures. yu follow the patternn , it s very mindless for me.

Zahra  

Oh, that's really interesting. I'm totally missing the point of rapid fire on a tangent, favorite thing about your job? 

Amy  

Oh, watching people succeed. 

Zahra  

What is the book you are reading right now?

Amy  

Make it rain.

Zahra  

Make it rain? Do you happen to know the author, I never know the author's people always ask me who's that by? And I never know.

Amy  

Arriva Martin it's all about using the media to revolutionize your business.

Zahra  

Well, it's working because I've seen that you just got that everybody grab a copy of that book. You want to national spot you need to get that book. paper planner or digital planner.

Amy  

Oh paper paper paper. In fact, just look at the planner.

Zahra  

What is your favorite place in San Antonio right now.

Amy  

You know, I like any park or garden. Japanese Tea Garden, the Botanical Gardens I love. I love culture nature. I'm not so much go out into the wilderness kind of girl. I like manicured stuff so any garden is nice.

Zahra  

I'm with you, my boys are trying to convince me to go camping and I'm I'm working on it. I'm not sure how to get out of it. What is the mantra you wish every CEO would say when they wake up in the morning?

Amy  

Just do the thing. Today just do the thing. 

Zahra  

Awesome. I love it. Amy, thank you so much for joining me today. I think it was such a hugely important episode. Because it's so crucial to constantly be working on yourself as brand leaders. And it's like that old saying of putting your mask on first so that you can help the people around you and as leaders, you know, sometimes we forget that and and we feel like, you know, the way to serve our team is by making sure we've got something in us to serve them with. And so I love that you exist in this world and that you spread that to leaders because you're not just impacting the people that you work with but you're impacting their teams and those families you know, and I think that's just amazing like we love talking to people who are making an impact and sharing your wisdom. So how can we get in touch with you give me your your social media deets.

Amy  

So they can find me on social media obviously Growing Out Loud Darlin' on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, we have two YouTube channels so you can find Growing Out Loud Darlin' on YouTube but you can also find the He Said She Said in Business Show. It's on podcast as well as YouTube or you can email me powerhouseAmy@growingoutlouddarlin.com dropped the G's y'all because we are southern.

Zahra  

Love it. And for those of you guys who didn't catch that, not to worry if you go to our website and we'll have a link here at the bottom but we'll go to if you go to our website we've got the show notes page has got all about Amy, it'll have all of her contact information, some notes of what we did today and some really cool links. Is there anything going on with growing out loud darlin that's coming up that you wanna. 

Amy  

So one of the things that I know is that people always think, Oh, I'd like to have a coach or consultant and it is, it's a scary thing, because you got to be pretty, pretty ready to make change have skin in the game. One of the things that we do if you're not quite ready for that step is we have mastermind groups here in the San Antonio area, at least, in which small groups of 10 business people get together and essentially act as a board of directors for each other, and we guide them through that process. But it gives you some feedback, some direction and accountability so if they're interested in that, just, you know, go to your show notes and find me, come yell at me, I'd love to have some of you join some of our groups, we have some groups with open seats, because we do limit them to 10. But it's a place that people can connect and get some, some beginning coaching before they're really ready for the big time.

Zahra  

I love that and for those of you guys who are listening, this is an investment that is worth making, invest in yourself, that is the most valuable thing that you can bring to your company, you are the most valuable thing that you can offer to your company. And if you are not working on that, I was highly resistant. When I first before I started doing coaching, I remember thinking all the things, I can't afford it, I don't have time for it. But if not now than when, you know, you got to ask yourself, if, if I don't try something different. I'm gonna continue on the path that I'm on. And is that where I want to be in five years and 10 years, you know that and so get help get support, nobody does this alone. Entrepreneurship, that is the biggest lie in entrepreneurship, that it is lonely. It doesn't have to be if you've got the right support, it makes all the difference. So however, or wherever you get it, I highly encourage you, obviously, you know, Amy's my recommendation, but wherever you get it, you know, whatever your budget is, start with something, whether it's a mastermind, whether it's a journal, whether it's, you know a podcast that you religiously, listen to, to hold yourself accountable and keep you growing and thinking outside of your perspective. But be working on yourself, take that time for yourself, because you need it. It really really and truly, to be a visionary, to be a brand leader. You've got to do the things that visionaries and brand leaders do and I guarantee you all of them get coached I guarantee you all of the people they're accountable to...

Amy  

Tell them the truth over and over and over.

Zahra  

Absolutely All right, everybody. Well, thank you so much for listening, and we will see you next time.