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The Wrap Podcast | Episode 065 | Navigating Opportunities, Challenges and Compliance for Government Contractors | Warren Averett

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The Wrap Podcast | Episode 065 | Navigating Opportunities, Challenges and Compliance for Government Contractors | Warren Averett
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Doing business with the country’s largest customer (the federal government) comes with requirements, opportunities and challenges that other organizations simply don’t have. So, what does it take to be truly successful as a government contractor?

In this episode of The Wrap, Amber Stout, CPA, Jared Sharp, CPA, and Todd McAdams, CPA, CGMA, MACC, join our hosts to discuss the nuances of leading organizations to financial and compliance success in the government contracting industry.

After listening to this episode, you’ll:

  • Be familiar with the opportunities and challenges that are unique to the government contracting industry
  • Understand how research and development expenses are capitalized and amortized—and one important nuance for government contractors
  • Know the basic information you’ll need to provide to meet the unique reporting requirements in this industry
  • Understand what really makes a “DCAA-approved” accounting system
  • Know a few of the most common tax and business mistakes contractors make—and how to avoid them

Resources for additional information:

TRANSCRIPT

Commentators (0:02): You’re listening to The Wrap, a Warren Averett podcast for businesses designed to help you access vital business information and trends when you need it. So, you can listen, learn and then get on with your day. Now, let’s get down to business.

Paul Perry (0:17): Well, hello, and welcome to another episode of The Wrap podcast. Glad to be back with you today for episode 65. Today, we’re going to be talking to some of our experts in the government contracting space. Look forward to having their expertise come through on the discussion and look forward to what that’s going to be. Today, my cohost for this podcast is Jessica Juliano. Jessica, glad to have you back with us today.

Jessica Juliano (0:44): Happy to be here. We’ve got Amber Stout, who’s a Senior Manager. We’ve got Todd McAdams, who’s a Member in our Huntsville office, and Jared Sharp. You guys, we’d love to hear just a little bit about what y’all do and your career with the firm. Tell us a little bit about yourselves.

Amber Stout (1:03): So, my name is Amber Stout, and I work with government contractors. We really focus on consulting and keeping them out of trouble with the DCAA. That’s very important and just all the different accounting and year-end needs that they have.

Todd McAdams (1:19): My name is Todd McAdams. I’m a member here in our Huntsville, Alabama office, and I help lead our Government Contractors Practice Group. I have worked with government contractors since 2001, so a little over 20 years at this point. In public accounting, but also in industry on that side of the fence. So, I understand all the nuances of what our contractors are going through daily, and as Amber mentioned, help our clients navigate the complexities of working with the United States’ largest customers.

Jared Sharp (2:05): I’m Jared Sharp in the Huntsville office. I’m a Member. I’ve been with the firm since 2005 and focus my practice on tax, mainly with technology, GovCon and spend a lot of time with the R&D tax credit, which we’re going to get into here in a little bit.

Paul Perry (2:24): Good deal. It’s good to have all of you all with us today. In this series of episodes, we have been talking to some experts within different industries. Obviously, the GovCon industry has a lot of unique challenges and opportunities that others aren’t facing. So, Todd, do you want to start us off with: what are some of those challenges or opportunities that this industry faces?

Todd McAdams (2:51): Sure. Thanks, Paul. As I mentioned previously, there are a lot of complexities doing business with the U.S. government. Number one is the compliance requirements that are inherent to doing business with the government. That’s one of our specializations, as Amber mentioned, helping contractors navigate those and make sure they are ready to do business with the government. I would say that’s one of the number one items that we get calls about: “Are we ready to take on this contract to work with the government? Is our accounting system ready? Do we have policies and procedures in place?” Those types of things, I would also say that political climate is always changing, and it does affect the defense industry. That is a concern on our clients’ minds. Then from an opportunity standpoint, they’re obviously in the defense industry. War overall is not good, but in the industry, which does heighten the need for what our clients are providing to the warfighters in the world, that’s certainly an opportunity.

Jessica Juliano (4:15): Thank you, Todd. That was a great summary. We have some topics we’d like to just hone in on. Jared, you mentioned the R&D credit: R&D 174. Do you want to give us a little insight into how that affects your clients?

Jared Sharp (4:35): Yes, certainly. The government contracting industry is unique in that they have some challenges with the way their contracts are structured and who’s actually on the hook for the R&D that’s being done. R&D 174 references an IRS Code Section that has been in the Code for a long time, but it got new life in 2017 with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that was introduced under the Trump administration. It did not take effect until 2022, and so it didn’t get a lot of publicity at the time when the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act came about. This Code Section that dealt with the research and development expenses was not highly publicized.

It was a revenue generator for the tax side. A lot of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act were tax cuts, and this was one way they had to balance the budget, to put in some revenue generators that are right for the tax side. This didn’t get the headlines, because it made people may pay more in taxes and that was not something they talked about back in 2017 when that bill was introduced. Here we are, obviously, through the year of 2023. We’ve gone through one round of filing tax returns with this being the law for 2022. It was very clear that there were not a lot of people that were ready for this, including most practitioners, right?

I mean, we run to the assumption most of the time that it was going to be overturned and that this bill would not see the light of day. That was all the talk you heard in 2022. 2022 came and went. That didn’t happen. Even in early 2023, we heard, “Well, it’s going to still be overturned.” People weren’t really giving it the attention that I think it needed, even though it had been out there. Now here we are at the end of October. We’re sitting here with a law that’s on the books that’s still being discussed in Congress and being overturned, but we’ve got one tax filing dealt with that had to have this in it.

What it is: If you have research and development expenses, you’re required now to capitalize those for tax purposes and amortize them over a five-year period if they’re U.S. based or a 15-year period if they’re foreign based. There’s a lot of confusion, because we’ve had the R&D tax credit up there for a long time. This does piggyback off the R&D tax credit. But it’s not mutually exclusive in that if I take an R&D tax credit, this provision clearly applies. Even if I don’t take an R&D tax credit, this provision may still apply. It’s a game changer. In the past, all these expenses can be deducted. So, there were immediate 100% deductions. Now, we’re looking at a five-year amortization, or 15-year amortization. It’s a big deal for taxpayers to have to pick up that in their reduction of their expenses and amortize those over a period versus being able to have immediate deduction. We’re seeing a lot of increased tax bills because a lot of people are paying more taxes because of this provision. Your government contractors are no different. The only nuance there is—and it’s still a little bit unclear because we’re still waiting on IRS guidance—but do contracts, or R&D done under contract, do those apply to this provision or not?

From what we’ve done in the past on R&D tax credits, it’s pretty clear that you can take an R&D tax credit related to firm fixed-price work that’s being done under contract. But if it’s T&M or cost-plus type work, it’s not allowed for the R&D tax credit. Well, under these 174 provisions, it’s a little bit unclear. Does that same guidance follow here or not? While I definitely think it follows to your firm fixed-price efforts and your internal R&D efforts, there’s still some question on: Do I have to pick this up in my 174 cost if I’m doing T&M work or cost-plus work, where I’m not really at risk for the financial piece of this, but I’m doing R&D under those contracts and I’m being paid for it?

Commentators (8:45): Want to receive a monthly newsletter with Wrap topics, then head on over to https://warrenaverett.com/thewrap and subscribe to our email list to have it delivered right to your inbox. Now, back to the show.

Jared Sharp (8:57): So, on the 174 provisions, the 2022 tax returns have come and gone. That was part of those filings. There was not a lot of guidance from the IRS on how to even treat some of these expenses for these 174 provisions. We have gotten some guidance that they released in September, although it’s a notice—not a regulation. The notice is the first thing that they’re going to put out there. It’s got some detail, but not a lot. We’ve got a little bit of initial guidance from the IRS; we do expect more guidance to come early in 2024. That’s the latest we saw. Those are going to be in the form of regulations, which will be a little bit more formal than what they introduced in September. But, you know, my thoughts are on just seeing what the IRS released in the notice.

There’s going to be a lot more detail that goes into these calculations than what I think we’ve done in 2022. For 2022, it was a reasonable method because there was no guidance. I think for 2023 forward, we’re going to have a little bit more emphasis on what actual expenses need to be done and how the allocations work for some of the overhead type items that are part of this whole calculation. I do expect there to be a little bit more heavy lifting in 2023 for some of these 174 calculations.

Paul Perry (10:10): I guess we should note that this was recorded on October 30, 2023. So, any changes to anything from a political landscape perspective may change some of the conversation we have today. But just wanted to make that note for the presentation. Jared?

Jared Sharp (10:25): That’s a good point, Paul, because this has been something that we thought Congress is going to overturn, even before it saw the light of day in 2022. That has not happened. There is currently a bill sitting in Congress that was introduced in June, which wouldn’t repeal this completely, but it would push it back to 2025. That has not been voted on. So, it still has a way to go to even become an actual law. But they are still pushing this in Congress to get this overturned. So, before the end of the year or even in 2024, there might be some political changes to this law that either change the way we’re dealing with it or completely do away with it.

Paul Perry (11:09): Todd, I want to go back to something you talked about. At the opener, when you said that the government people call you and say, “Are we ready to work with the government?” In my very limited financial statement auditor years, in dealing with maybe one or two, I do remember reporting was always a big issue: what they’re reporting and how they’re reporting to the government. Can you break down why that’s unique within this industry that maybe other industries don’t see? Todd and Amber, I’d love to hear both of your opinions on that.

Todd McAdams (11:42): Thanks, Paul. Yeah, there’s many compliance requirements to do business with the government. You know, from a reporting standpoint, if you have certain types of contracts annually, you must submit an incurred cost submission, which is due six months after your calendar year end or fiscal year end. That’s a pretty complex filing that that’s required. We help with those and help contractors complete and file those. But backing up, there’s a lot of information you have to capture to populate those types of filing requirements. That’s where the accounting systems come into play to make sure you’re tracking costs in direct buckets and indirect buckets—segregating those—and allowable versus unallowable expenses. One of the misconceptions with a lot of our contractors is that, “Okay, well, I’ve got this certain accounting system, and it’s DCA approved.” That’s not necessarily the case. If you have a certain product that’s commonly used in the GovCon industry, that’s great. But the system must be set up and operate in a proper manner.

Amber Stout (13:02): To add to that: For many of our clients, each of their contracts are unique in the requirements. Some contracts don’t require incurred costs, some require more. They require different areas to be tracked, along with the ability to propose on future legs of the contract. It’s really important to review each contract. The Department of Homeland Security might have different requirements. So, it’s just really important for them to read and understand each contract.

Jessica Juliano (13:39): As Warren Averett, we serve over 250 government contractors. Another important area we’d like to have y’all discuss is how you serve our clients in regard to DCAA compliance and the agreed-upon procedures that are currently part of your support and advice to our clients. Let’s talk about that a little bit.

Todd McAdams (14:04): Yeah, I can cover that. Thanks, Jessica. With the compliance with DCAA, they will want to come in and approve your accounting system. You can’t just knock on their door and say, “Hey, I’m ready for an audit. Come talk to me and approve my accounting system.” A lot of contractors think that’s the way it happens. But once you get educated a little bit and understand what DCAA does and who they work for, those pre-award accounting system audits or reviews, those are going to be requested by the contracting officer. If you’re proposing on a contract that’s cost-type in nature, that contracting officer is going to require DCAA to come and look at your system, because they want to make sure that you’re tracking costs adequately in the proper areas and that you’re going to be able to build the government in those cost buckets in the proper manner. It’s a little bit the chicken or the egg.

To get an approved accounting system, you must have a cost-type contract. You can’t get one until you have the cost-type contract. So, it’s a catch 22. What Jessica is mentioning, the agreed-upon procedures, we as an audit firm with the GovCon specialization, we can come in and do a mock DCAA audit. We take their programs that are public, the SF 1408, which is the system requirement checklist that they go through. We have worked with DCAA through actual accounting system audits with clients, so we’re very familiar with the process. We can come in a safe environment ahead of time, run through those checklists, run through the system, advise the client on setup, policy, policies and procedures, and recommend any corrections that need to be made. Then, we can opine on the system and provide the client an audit report that states what the DCAA’s report would. That can be used in proposal situations. It can be used if you’re a subcontractor that’s being awarded a large cost-type contract to give them comfort with your system. Because we get calls on this frequently as well, where a large prime contractor will call a small business, “Hey, we want to come look at your system to make sure it’s adequate.” It’s a very competitive thing. You don’t want to open your books to other contractors in most cases. A lot of times, they’ll accept an audit report from a CPA firm covering that adequacy.

Amber Stout (17:06): We’ve even had clients come to us, “Are we ready to go for a cost-plus?” They want to know that before they ever step foot in that door, “Can we do this? Are we prepared? What do we need to do? What infrastructure do we need to change to be competitive?” Sometimes, it’s just a comfort letter for the Board or ownership.

Todd McAdams (17:29): Yeah, and the sooner that you start thinking about an accounting system and having it approved, the better. We can do these agreed-upon procedures on the design of the system. So, it doesn’t even have to be operational yet. We can help on the very front end, structure the system, the policies and issue that design adequacy report. Then, we can always follow it up with an operational test if needed.

Paul Perry (18:04): Amber, I want to go back to when you’ve worked with some of those clients. I know y’all work with a lot of clients throughout the year. What are the top two things that you usually see that they must correct before they’re ready to jump into it?

Amber Stout (18:25): Top two things? Policies and procedures. Everybody in your company, your 1020-person company, knows what you do when XYZ occurs, but you must have it written down. DCAA is going to want to audit you on that policy. They don’t care if everybody knows it by memory, they want to see that. So that is something that a lot of when we come in, a lot of them don’t have written policies, and we help them. The other thing is internal controls. Everyone has access to the checkbook, and everyone can write a check. DCAA really wants to see that control. You know, the person who’s writing the checks also reconciles the bank account, just those simple things as a small business. Everybody’s wearing a thousand hats, and it’s easy to forget that as you grow, you’ve got control, and they want to see that you’re capable of being fiscally responsible.

Paul Perry (19:24): You just put some minds at ease. Because if there are 100 people listening to this, I bet you half of them said, “Oh, that’s me.” So, they need to know they’re all in a similar boat.

Amber Stout (19:34): Absolutely. Yeah. When you get your first contract, it might be just you or you and one employee. It’s not necessary at that time. Then, they love what you do. They love the service you provide. They’re like, “Bring me another employee and build me another widget.” Suddenly, you’re 1,015 people and you haven’t had time to slow down and even think about infrastructure. So, reaching out and talking to your consultant, “Hey, what can I do to be prepared for growth?” That’s a good first step.

Todd McAdams (20:04): Amber, I’ll add on to that as a great point. The opposite side of that, I’ve seen where a new contractor or small business will have googled policies and procedures for GovCon, and they have put something in place. It’s expansive policy and procedure. You can have the greatest policy procedure on paper, but if it’s not what’s happening in your daily operations, that’s not good. So DCAA certainly wants to see the policy and procedure, but also, as Amber mentioned, those being lived out each day.

Paul Perry (20:46): Jared, from a tax side, the same question. When people are getting into this, what are some of the pitfalls that they find themselves in from a tax perspective?

Jared Sharp (20:58): I think just making sure that you’re having conversations early, similar to the accounting system in that you understand: How am I going to be taxed? Especially if it’s their first venture into entrepreneurship and doing that, they’re not a hundred percent clear on the tax. How am I going to be taxed? Is it on my personal return? Is it a corporate tax expense? Just planning on that aspect of it, you know. Type of entity can matter. Having those conversations early on about what type of entity structure it is. Todd and Amber, there are certain reasons why a lot of our GovCon companies are S corps versus LLCs and partnerships.

Those types of things can matter, when it comes to not just the tax, but also making sure you’re setting up properly for DCAA, contract rate purposes and all that. The other thing is even if you’re established business and you’ve been doing this for a while: the planning aspect of it. Just having the conversations throughout the year with your tax advisor on: What am I doing that can reduce taxes or am I doing something that can increase what I’m going to pay in April?

As an example, Amber and I have a client that is cash basis, and they just picked up a big contract. It’s going to be some money up front that might cause some tax burden now versus next year. Having those conversations just so they’re prepared, right? So, they don’t assume that this is not going to be taxable income to me, because I’ve not started the expense side of that contract. Those are the things that we obviously want to talk to our clients about throughout the year, not just when it comes time to file the tax return.

Todd McAdams (22:41): From a political standpoint, one of the largest challenges at this exact moment is that we’re under continuing resolution. So, there’s not been the annual appropriations bill passed. We don’t have a budget for fiscal year 2024. That continued resolution expires November 17. Hopefully, we’ll have everything worked out by then. But if not, there could be an additional continuing resolution and the president will sign the appropriations bill before the end of the calendar year.

Amber Stout (23:31): I wanted to add back to the opportunities. As Todd said, none of us wants to see a war. But when this happens, it does create opportunities. One of my clients won a contract to produce something they were producing in Ukraine, and the government couldn’t live without it. It was an opportunity we weren’t expecting. Of course, and fortunately, it came to us, and we were able to take advantage of it. As a small contractor, they had prepared with their budget forecasting, and were ready to take on unforeseen projects.

Todd McAdams (24:08): To tie in with that, Amber, with Jared’s comments on R&D, a lot of times and uncertainty with wartime efforts and support to other nations, the U.S. must reallocate or shift funds from R&D expenditure to those types of support efforts. Depending on the type of contractor and what they do, whether it’s heavy R&D, support, missile defense or things of that nature, we hear success stories in certain cases. Then, we hear, “Well, our funding’s on hold or it’s on the chopping block.” So yeah, a lot of opportunity. I love working with the GovCon industry. We support those who support the warfighter. That’s our motto within our GovCon Industry Group, and we strive to live that out each day to support them.

Jessica Juliano (25:09): Here on The Wrap, we’d like to wrap everything up in 60 seconds or less. What’s the one piece of advice you want to leave with business leaders today?

Todd McAdams (25:19): Don’t wait until you have to have one of these compliance requirements solved. The sooner that you can reach out to your advisor, the better. It’s much easier to put a system in place when there is no system. From scratch, it’s honestly easier to stand it up on the right footing. That would be my advice if you’re getting into the GovCon industry. Reach out to your advisor, and just surround yourself with those that have been through this before and can help you succeed.

Paul Perry (25:59): Amber?

Amber Stout (26:01): Going to echo Todd a little bit. You must be prepared because opportunities arise quickly. You can’t be looking back and going, “Wait, what am I doing?” You’ve got to have most of your ducks in a row. Also remember, your business is unique. Just because Jane or John next door is doing XYZ doesn’t mean you can’t do something else.

Jessica Juliano (26:28): Jared, how about you?

Jared Sharp (26:30): Yeah, Jessica, I would say as it relates to the 174 R&D tax credits, if you’ve not dealt with that and you’re doing R&D or thinking about doing R&D, whether it’s internally funded or under contract, we need to have a conversation and talk about what that entails. Do you have a tax credit out there? Do you have implications that fall under this 174 provision? Just plan on making sure that we handle it correctly on the tax returns.

Paul Perry (27:01): Ladies and gentlemen, this has been a wonderful conversation. Thank y’all for lending your expertise to this discussion. We appreciate having you here on The Wrap. We look forward to hearing from y’all soon.

Commentators (27:14): And that’s a wrap. If you’re enjoying the podcast, please leave a review on your streaming platform. To check out more episodes, subscribe to the podcast series or make a suggestion of other topics you want to hear, visit us at https://warrenaverett.com/thewrap.

BRX Pro Tip: When Do You Ask for Help?

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BRX Pro Tip: When Do You Ask for Help?
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BRX Pro Tip: When Do You Ask for Help?

Stone Payton : [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton, Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, one of many shortcomings, for me, I’m learning all the time is sometimes I’m a little slow to let people know that I need some help, and certainly to actually take the action of asking for help. What are your thoughts on this whole business of, I don’t know, when to ask for help?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:26] I think just ask yourself that question, when do you ask for help? Like, what has to be happening for you to ask for help? How stuck do you have to be? How desperate do things have to get? Think about it. When was the last time you invested in yourself? How much time have you wasted stuck in neutral, when there might be someone who has already been there and done that, and they’re available to help? All you have to do is ask them.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:52] So, you don’t want to have to keep waiting for a miracle. You can start looking for help today, and maybe that’s a coach. Maybe it’s someone you already know in your network. If you’re in a hole, the first step is to stop digging. The next step is to take action and try something else. So if you’re in a hole, try asking for help today.

GWBC LACE Awards 2023

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GWBC LACE Awards 2023
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The GWBC LACE (Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence) Awards is an annual black-tie celebration for GWBC members, recognizing our outstanding corporate partners and women business enterprises (WBEs) for their commitment and contributions to the mission of the GWBC.

Matielyn-JonesMatielyn Jones, GWBC

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for 2023 GWB Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. So excited to be talking to my guest right now. Matielyn Jones, Director of Operations at GWBC. Welcome.

Matielyn Jones: [00:00:38] Thank you so much. Thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:39] Now, are you excited about tonight’s event?

Matielyn Jones: [00:00:42] I am excited, I’m always excited to spend time with our women, business owners and corporate sponsors, so it’s going to be great.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:48] So what can people expect? What are some of the things that you’re looking forward to this evening?

Matielyn Jones: [00:00:53] Well, I am responsible for the team that manages the certification process. And so we have tons of applications that come through every single week, every day of the year. And I’m looking forward to putting faces with the names of all the.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:07] That’s right, because you’ve probably seen them or heard through email and over zoom or something like that. But you may not have met him in person.

Matielyn Jones: [00:01:14] Right, exactly. And so I we received their actual documents. So that would be all of their legal documents. And so we literally feel like we know them. Exactly. So, you know, the history of the business. Who started it. Where were they? You know, we’re looking at, you know, financial documents. We’re looking at who the owners are, all their resumes, all the things, the criteria for certification. So I literally feel like by the time an event like tonight comes around, I’m so excited because we get to put these faces with the names of people who, again, we memorize the details in our head of who these people are. So I’m excited.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:49] Now what for somebody who isn’t certified, what, like, what can they expect to go through the certification process? Like what are some of the things that they need in order to, you know, get through this process because it is arduous, because they’re it’s important to get it all right. And you can’t no one just because you say I’m a woman owned business doesn’t mean that you are really you got to jump through some hoops, right?

Matielyn Jones: [00:02:10] That’s right. And so we certify women owned businesses that can legally demonstrate that they are at least 51% woman owned, controlled, operated, and that they operate in a way that’s independent of any other business. And so we look through those legal documents to make sure that they are legally woman owned, 51% minimum. We my team, the certification team, does all the vetting of those applications. So we do the initial intake of those applications. We do the auditing, which is the line by line of every single piece of paper that comes in, which is which is very, very rigorous and tedious. However, we want to make sure that there is integrity in our process and that if we give someone that seal of approval saying they are a woman owned business, that we’ve gone through the process of making sure that they are legally so, and that process takes 60 to 90 days. Part of the reason why is because we do look at every single sheet of paper for every business that submits. Right now, we sit at around 1245 applications or certified businesses between Georgia and North Carolina and South Carolina. And we’re looking for ways to continue to make the process more efficient so we can certify more women do more outreach, things like that. So, yes, the process it takes about up to three months, but usually once people have submitted their applications and they’re good to go, we roll right along.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:30] And it’s important because a lot of the value that you’re going to get from being a certified business is that you’re going to have access to maybe some enterprise level organizations that are looking for these specific types of people to do business with, right? So you get fast tracked, and this could really change the trajectory of your business if you do this.

Matielyn Jones: [00:03:49] Absolutely. One of the things that is important to remember is that our certification process does not guarantee that anyone will secure a contract, but what it does do is it makes them competitive in the market for the contract. And so we are looking to certify because there are companies, corporations and the government that are both looking to spend money with women owned businesses, also with minority owned businesses, also with veteran owned businesses and whatnot. But for us, for women owned businesses, and they access our database to make sure that that vetting process is really done for them. And so they can search the database of all of our women owned businesses, because we this is a national certification that we process locally. And so they can use it nationally even though we process it locally. And so they look into our database to see who are the staffing agencies, who are the construction companies, who are, you know, whatever the business need is. And we take the vetting of that, you know, making sure that if they have this set aside for two to spend with women owned businesses, that at least this group of women owned businesses they know have been vetted as such.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:56] And that spend isn’t just a little bit of money, right? It’s. Billions and billions of dollars.

Matielyn Jones: [00:05:03] It’s billions last. Earlier this year in April, I went to the top corporations luncheon, and it was Maria and I who was the director of programs. It was our second day on this job. We both started in April. And you know the numbers in the room. 2 billion here, 4 billion there. It starts at 5 million money.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:22] Right.

Matielyn Jones: [00:05:22] It added up and I said, I said, I’ve never been in a room where it was like a flex. How much you spend with women owned businesses. It was exciting and it was a great welcome and introduction to the organization. But it was very exciting and I’m very proud of all the companies that come together to really support women owned businesses in this way.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:41] And for people who want to learn more about getting certified themselves or getting re certified, if maybe they have done it in the past, what’s the best kind of way to connect with you?

Matielyn Jones: [00:05:51] Sure, I think the best way is to go to our website. It is for the Greater Women’s Business Council. So that is GW, BC. Org, our certification team. Photos and pictures are there. You can email us directly at certification at GW PBS.org. You can also reach out to me directly at M Jones at GW PBS.org. But we would love to hear from you. I’m always open to questions and walking you through as best I can, high level through your application, but just know that our goal is to make sure that we audit these documents well, and that we really set people up for success who want to compete in this market.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:28] Well, congratulations on all you do. I mean, you’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Matielyn Jones: [00:06:32] Thank you so much. And thank you for having me.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:34] All right. We’ll be back in a few at GW. Bc Lace Awards Gala 2023.

Chef-MariaChef Maria Kemp, Beyond Decadence

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for ABC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for the 2023 GWBC Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. And one of those ladies here right now, Chef Maria Kemp. Welcome.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:00:34] Thank you so much, Lee. Hey, it’s finally great to meet you in person.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:38] I know we did an interview virtually, and now we’re meeting in person. For those who don’t know, tell us a little bit about your business.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:00:43] Well, I own Beyond Decadence, and I am the D and B pastry chef, which stands for diversity, equity, Inclusion and belonging. And I create a fusion between desserts and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging training.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:59] There you go. And then backstory how you got into this line of work.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:01:02] Oh goodness, I went to pastry school. Let’s just round up and say a million years ago, after spending, you know, 1,000,000.5 years in the IT world, went to the prestigious French pastry school in Chicago and became professionally trained and had a brick and mortar business, a couple pop up bakeries through the years in Illinois and now North Carolina, and then during the pandemic, ended up morphing. I like that word instead of pivot, because pivot was the most overused word of the pandemic.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:30] It’s an evolution.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:01:31] It is, it is. But I like the word morphed. So I ended up morphing. And, you know, combining two of my passions, you know, to be an advocate and an ally in the diversity space and baking, because I had done production, baking and catering for a long time and needed a change and something that was more impactful.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:49] Now, what’s your number one tip for that home? Baker?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:01:53] Um, probably similar to some of the trades where they say, what is it? Measure twice, cut once.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:01] Because baking is like chemistry, right? It’s not like yeah, just throw a little bit in. It’s not like cooking where you can just sprinkle stuff in or eyeball things.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:02:08] Yeah. The whole bam thing, you know that that doesn’t work in baking. No. You definitely need to make sure that you measure accurately, whether you’re using a scale or whether you’re using a liquid measuring cup or regular traditional dry measuring cups. Accuracy is key.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:23] Now, what about when it came to developing your programs involving baking and Di? How did that come about?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:02:31] It came about through a request from a client who said, you know, we really want to work with you, but we’ve been watching you and we work with the safe of Savory Chef last year, and we’d love to do something with you. And so that started and developed something for Juneteenth that paired together a bourbon sweet potato pie with marshmallow meringue and the messaging. But then it kept evolving through another client, Flagstar Bank and Amerihealth Caritas. Then there was Kimberly-Clark, and there was probably one other one in there I’ve missed too, but it really came together full scale when I got asked to or approved to be a speaker, a breakout session speaker at the 11th annual BMW Supplier Diversity Exchange and Conference, which is held every year for 11 years, ten, 11 years down in Greenville. And I led a breakout session, 100 people in each session two times, about 45 minutes, and just knocked it out of the park because people didn’t understand. They’re like, how are you going to merge together? Baking and pastry. Are you a pastry chef or your trainer? Are we going to cook something? Then other people are like, well, I heard you mention desserts from the podium. And is it bad that I came because I knew I’d get dessert? I said, no, it’s all part of my evil plan. That’s right. I just need to get you in here, and then I can explain it to you and help educate you.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:47] And then when you do your talk, they also. There is a dessert involved.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:03:51] No, I just tell them. No. I do know after I do the demonstration and walk through the experience of how desserts can be used to show diversity, equity versus inclusion, inclusion. Excuse me. Equity versus equality, inclusion versus exclusion, belonging versus not belonging. After we walk through that and they experience firsthand and say, you know, I didn’t like the way that felt or I felt bad for them because they didn’t get anything, I was going to give them mine. When you experience it firsthand, then it resonates. It becomes real. It becomes real. Then you can go out and be an ally, and then you can say, I remember how that felt and I didn’t like it. So after all of that, then they do get to eat their dessert. And that’s the best part.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:35] And that’s the beauty of this is they get to learn something, but they also get a sweet treat. Right?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:04:40] And food resonates. I mean, don’t we all wake up or fall asleep to Food Network every night or, or the Greatest British Baking Show? So when people, you know hear that they’re going to get dessert, but then they experience and get the lesson out of it, then get to, you know, enjoy the dessert as well, then that makes it stick. And it’s powerful. I mean, food is power.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:00] Now for folks who maybe aren’t certified yet, how has being certified helped you kind of have these conversations with those kind of folks?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:05:09] It’s opened me up to an audience that I would not have had access to otherwise. It’s easy to open any periodical and see who the major companies, the major players are in any city or any state that you live in. But to have events that take place where you have an opportunity to meet them and interact with them, but most importantly, build a relationship. Just being certified and saying, I’m certified, hire me now.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:35] Doesn’t work.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:05:35] That doesn’t work. That doesn’t work.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:37] Paying your dues and just waiting by the phone is not a good strategy, right?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:05:40] That’s that’s that’s that’s being hopeful. But building the relationships and them getting to know you, you getting to know them, understanding the problem they’re trying to solve and the solution that you can bring to it, but them also watching you. I know there’s people who watch me on LinkedIn. They’re watching me, what I’m doing, how my career is growing, what I’m getting involved in, the people I’m meeting, the exposure, the response, the reaction from the crowd reading the facial expressions like, wow, they were really enjoying what she was doing. So being certified has done nothing but catapult that and the people, if I started naming them. But I’m not going to name drop that I’ve had access to and exposure to and discussions with and discussions that are coming is mind blowing.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:27] So what do you look forward most to this evening? How are you going to get the most out of this evening?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:06:33] I don’t know, I’m so shy. I’m going to hide in the corner. I don’t think so. No, I’m a greeter. So you can’t hide. No, no, there’s no hiding. No, I don’t want to hide. Just interacting with people. I’ve met a lot of them, but there’s a lot that I have not met and just, you know, enjoying the experience and just expanding my network and building new relationships and furthering ones that are already established.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:57] Yeah, GWB does a great job of connecting people together and matchmaking and really putting names to faces that maybe you’ve met virtually, but now you can meet them in person, right?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:07:08] And we’ve a lot of us were just down at National in DC, but then we were in Greenville together, and I think there was something else in the middle. No, it was just those two. So I recognized some of the names. Right. Yeah. They’re going to be here tonight and they’re all friends tonight. They’re old friends. I’ve already emailed them. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:26] So if somebody wants to get a hold of you, what’s the website?

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:07:29] Website is WW beyond decadence.com. That’s w-w-w beyond decadence.com. Or you can find me on LinkedIn. Very active on LinkedIn under Chef Maria Kemp.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:41] Good stuff. Well Chef Maria, thank you so much for sharing your story, doing such important work. And we appreciate.

Chef Maria Kemp: [00:07:45] It. Thank you. Thank you for having me. It’s good to meet you in person.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:48] All right. This is Lee Kantor back in a few at the 2023 GW Black Lace Awards Gala.

Lashunda-BrownLashunda Brown, Odyssey Training Solutions

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for ABC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom. It’s the 2023 GWBC Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellent. And our guest right now is Lashunda Brown with Odyssey Training Solutions. Welcome.

Lashunda Brown: [00:00:36] Thank you. I’m happy to be here.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:38] Well what are you most excited about seeing at this great event?

Lashunda Brown: [00:00:42] Oh my. So excited to just join in the women who will be receiving their great awards for all their achievements, and to just join in and just accelerate them and edify them and just enjoy this fabulous evening.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:00] I know everybody’s all dressed up. The aquarium is looking great. Beautiful venue.

Lashunda Brown: [00:01:05] Absolutely. Thank you.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:06] Are you looking to connect with some folks? Maybe you’ve met virtually, but you haven’t seen in person?

Lashunda Brown: [00:01:11] I have, as a matter of fact, some of the folks that we were in sessions with this week for productions and things of that nature, being able to connect those faces with voices, it’s been exciting.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:21] Well, tell us a little bit about your business Odyssey Training Solutions. How you serving folks?

Lashunda Brown: [00:01:26] Yeah. So Odyssey Training Solutions is a full cycle really one stop shop for all your training needs. We provide professional management workforce development solutions. We have a array of training. And we provide not only virtual, but we also are doing a lot of in-person training again, which has been super excited. And we can pretty much customize and provide the solution that you need.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:52] Is there a kind of a sweet spot for an ideal client? Is there a size or the industry that you work in, or are you pretty industry agnostic?

Lashunda Brown: [00:02:00] We are across all verticals, all industries, and we have multiple subject matter experts.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:05] So now how did you get involved with GW, BC and get certified?

Lashunda Brown: [00:02:09] Oh well, I’ve been certified for over a year now and as a woman owned business, it was the obvious most progressive next step to make that connection. And one of my mentors was kind of like, you’ve got to be part of this now that you’re in Georgia. And here we are.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:29] Here we are. Have you met some interesting folks?

Lashunda Brown: [00:02:32] Always. I just love the wonderful array of just intelligence and the different fields and the line of businesses and industries that everyone bring to the table is simply a joy.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:44] Now, any advice for somebody, maybe who isn’t certified yet about getting certified? Is it something that you found beneficial for your company?

Lashunda Brown: [00:02:52] I believe that you, you know, certainly make sure that you are have your due diligence on paperwork and making sure that because, you know, it is a pretty lengthy process. So you want to make sure that you have your paperwork together. And I would recommend that, you know, if you’re doing it alone, perhaps connect with someone, maybe a mentor or mentee or even another WB that’s already certified so that they can, you know, provide you guidance to ensure that you get everything in properly.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:22] Now when it comes to getting involved in the business association like GW, BC how do you kind of wring out the most value? Like what do you do to kind of get the most out of your membership? Because it’s not you don’t want to just pay money to join something and then just sit back and wait for the phone to ring. That doesn’t usually work.

Lashunda Brown: [00:03:40] Oh, absolutely. I believe that, you know, if you’re going to put forth the effort, you need to be prepared to do the work, right. There are a lot of opportunities. There are a lot of events, the the wealth of information and the knowledge and the networking and the events that are available. You certainly have to take advantage of it. But again, once you get certified, you do have to do the work. You want to make the best of it. So it does become an individual decision to make that decision to go further.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:11] And then part of your decision was to come here and help out for this event.

Lashunda Brown: [00:04:15] Absolutely. I’ve been providing you know, I’ve been attending some events in the past and it was a need for volunteer. And I’m thinking, yeah, absolutely, I’ll help out. I love helping out in the community. I’m in other community service events and do other community service volunteer. So of course I wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to do so.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:39] And then if somebody wants to connect with you and learn more about Odyssey, what is the website?

Lashunda Brown: [00:04:45] Oh, absolutely. So you can find us at WW Dot Odyssey Training Solutions. And that’s with an S plural dot net. Or you can reach me personally at lashonda at Odyssey Training Solutions dot net.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:59] Good stuff. Well. Thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Lashunda Brown: [00:05:04] Thank you. Thank you for your time.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:05] All right. This Lee Kantor back in a few at 2023 GW BC Lace Awards Gala.

Vince-The-Voice-BaileyVince “The Voice’ Bailey, Vince the Voice

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for ABC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for the 2023 GWBC Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. Right now we have Vince the Voice Bailey, the emcee of tonight’s event. Welcome, man.

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:00:35] Hey, thanks a lot, man. Great being here with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:37] That voice is just it’s instantly recognizable.

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:00:42] Oh, thank you so much. Yes, yes. Great to be here. Great to be here with you.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:46] So when did you know you had the voice?

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:00:48] You know what, man? I’ve been doing this kind of thing for quite a while, and I just love to read it as a kid, to the point where the nuns were like anybody but Vince. Come up and read, and I haven’t stopped talking yet.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:02] So is it just years of smoking? What is your secret?

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:01:06] Well, that, to be honest with you, but I got into this world of media production at a young age and never, never let go.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:15] So what’s your favorite part of production?

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:01:17] You know what? Actually, it’s things like this tonight. I mean, I do commercials and shoot and all that and editing. But like tonight you have the affair and it’s over and the check is good and it’s a wrap as opposed to, you know, having to do some post-production stuff.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:33] Now, any advice for folks out there that are looking to do production? Because so many people I’m sure you’ve seen think they can do this themselves?

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:01:42] Well, I taught and I teach privately. Voiceover and I taught at Clayton State for 12 years. And so I’ll hit that because a lot of people, you know, how do you get into voiceover and what do you do. And so I’m going to drop some nuggets on you first of all, and that is that you begin 99 times out of 99in the world that you live in. So if you’re in education, if you’re in aviation, if you’re in medical, if you’re whatever you’re in, the first opportunities will present themselves in that arena before you go out there. Everyone wants to do the McDonald’s commercials, but who’s going to do Mike’s hamburgers down the street, if you know what I mean? And so I’ve had some success with that, more of a blue collar approach to this whole world of entertainment, and it keeps you working. So I think another thing along those lines, you mentioned productions here in Atlanta is such an entertaining environment, but it’s also a very, as you guys know, corporate environment and corporate entities need just as much production as as the singers and dancers and party people.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:42] So so that might not be as sexy, but there’s a lot of money being made in that space.

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:02:47] Look at me right now. I got on this suit and tie. The ladies is taking pictures with me. I mean, you know, I’d rather do it like this.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:55] So now, what about when it comes to video production? A lot of folks think, you know, I’ve got a camera on my phone, so why do I need to hire somebody?

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:03:03] Yeah, well, I hear that a lot. And people have gone to that. And then they come back to you because you as a professional, you know, I go into a situation. My first question to a client is what do you want people to do after they watch this. And that will dictate the flow? You know, the appeal. It’s got to be for a purpose. You know, I don’t we’re not just taking pretty pictures. We’re trying to get people to either buy this product or investigate this organization or donate or something. There needs to be a purpose. So that’s where the challenge comes in. And that’s why they need to hire somebody like me instead of your cousin with the cell phone.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:45] Now, what is kind of your ideal client? Who is it? Somebody corporate. You know what is what’s the ideal client for your production company? Well, I tell.

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:03:54] You what, this I this is, I want to say, my 10th year, I started in the back of the room as the voice of God. With this, I had met Ross Lewis through the Atlanta Business League back when. And so his voice of God. And then for probably the past seven, eight years, I’ve been on the on the stage and it has been a great relationship and so much so because, you know, the audience is is is a tremendous audience. And as a result, opportunities, some major opportunities have presented from from being in this room. And so events like that, you know, these ties and the bling bling that I have on, I emcee, believe it or not, guys, as a licensed National Dance Council of America ballroom dance competitions professional, I’m talking Russians and all over the country and outside of the country. And it’s amazing that, first of all, I have to pinch myself that I’m even in that environment. But when it comes to that, I think that part of the success has been I. Said, you know that a lot of Russians. I’m a stickler about names. So if her name is Oksana Zolotarev Skya, you need to say Oksana Zolotarev Skya. And a lot of times people, oh, you know, no, that’s their name. And there’s many names like that. That’s just a little thing, a little something different. And it enamors them to you and say, hey, you know, you want to make people feel good. So even though Sally weighs 430 pounds, that purple is popping girl, you know. And that was a great shot shot.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:34] So if somebody wants to learn more about your production company or hire you to emcee their event, what is the website?

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:05:40] Well, I appreciate that. They can look me up at Vince the voice.com. You can Google me. Vince the voice. I’ve been doing a lot of this. Like I say, the nuns are proud of me. I was a good speller and a good reader, and I appreciate the good enunciator and a good dancer.

Speaker5: [00:05:56] But I can break it down now for me too. It depends on what we’re selling.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:01] Well, thank you so much for spending some time with us this evening. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Vince “The Voice” Bailey: [00:06:06] It’s truly an honor. Thank you guys at Business RadioX.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:09] All right. This is Lee Kantor back in a few at the 2023 GW Lace Awards Gala.

Keya-Grant-Rachael-HumphreyKeya Grant, Constellation Brands and

Rachael Humphrey, Metro Records Management

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for ABC Radio’s Open for business. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for the 2023 GWBC Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. Keya Grant and Rachael Humphrey here, the co-chairs of this great event. Welcome, ladies.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:00:36] Hello, hello, hello.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:38] So for the folks out there who aren’t familiar with the event, tell us what you got planned.

Keya Grant: [00:00:42] So this is a night to celebrate corporations and clubs who have done exemplary work in their respective companies and fields. So we are looking forward to celebrating those phenomenal people.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] And then there’s also a silent auction.

Keya Grant: [00:00:59] There’s a silent auction.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:02] Go ahead.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:01:02] Yes. No.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:03] Jump in there, Rachael.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:01:04] No, no, that’s exactly right. Us. But Keya and I are the co-chairs of the awards committee. So we’re a subcommittee of the subcommittee?

Lee Kantor: [00:01:15] Yes, but you’re co chairs.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:01:16] Yes.

Keya Grant: [00:01:16] Correct.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:01:17] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:17] And then so for people who aren’t familiar with an event like this, so they can expect awards for great work throughout the year, but there’s also a silent auction to raise money, correct.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:01:27] Yes. This is a non for profit. Right. So there are wonderful items up for auction and trips and trips. Trips. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:36] And those power lunch power lunches right. Awesome. That’s awesome. Whose idea was that? The committee. Yes, I know, but you got great roster of folks to have power lunch with, correct?

Rachael Humphrey: [00:01:48] Yes.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:49] And how do you pull something like that off?

Keya Grant: [00:01:52] People are just really excited to support WBS and making sure that they are empowered and mentored. And what better way to do that than to have a power lunch now?

Lee Kantor: [00:02:02] How long have you been working with GWBC?

Rachael Humphrey: [00:02:06] Oh my goodness, I have been I have been a WBE, so I am a small business where Keya is a corporation right. So I’m a small business and I’ve been around for I’m just going to say many many many years.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:19] But what inspired you to get part of this great organization?

Rachael Humphrey: [00:02:22] I became a part because I wanted to network, I guess is a word which I don’t like the word network, but I wanted to be around women who are like minded, those who were looking for business just like I was, and the corporations that were looking for people like me. Right. So that is a partnership that you need, not just meeting people, but a partnership. You want to meet people who are looking for you and you’re looking for them. And that’s what this organization allows.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:50] And it’s it’s almost like a cheat code for a small business to get in front and build relationships with folks that would be very difficult to meet if they weren’t part of this organization.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:03:00] Exactly. And like you said, that there’s an opportunity for you to have lunches and to also partners. That’s one of the things that in the auction, people love that part of this, of this, this event, the event. Yeah. Right.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:13] Well it’s relationships now. Absolutely. Keya talk about from your lens about the importance of WBC. Yeah of course.

Keya Grant: [00:03:20] So I have been involved with GWBC for probably 18 years, and it has been through the capacity of working for a major corporations that support WBEs and this amazing organization. So I help to help my company, the companies I work for, find qualified WBEs to fulfill our goals and needs. Right. Yeah. And so and diversify our supply chain.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:49] And then how are you seeing, you know, being involved for so many years. Are you seeing an evolution of that women business owner. Sure.

Keya Grant: [00:03:56] Absolutely. I’ve mentored I can’t tell you how many women business owners in my career. And I can tell you what my my current company now, our largest spend is WBE spend.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:07] Wow. Yeah. So that’s inspiring to hear from a lot of the folks in this room, I’m sure. Yes.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:04:13] And he is being modest because I’ve been around a long time. And even if you’ve been around a long time, if you have someone like Keya in your corner, she’s going to introduce you to somebody and that’s what you want, right? And if it’s not something that I’m doing, then I know somebody who is doing something that she might need. Right? So continuous apart, like you said, not only mentoring but partnering, but also just referring each other. And that’s what it’s all about. You know, just people doing business. I tell people all the time, I may not know somebody, but I know somebody who knows somebody.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:45] And that’s that’s just as good.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:04:47] That’s important.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:48] Yeah. And a lot of folks get impatient. I think they think that, oh, I’m here for. Here’s my business card. Where’s the money? And it’s not like that. This is about relationships. And it takes time.

Keya Grant: [00:04:58] Exactly. And I try to I try. To mitigate expectations. And it is about timing and it’s divine timing. Right. And it is about just and I always tell people just because you’re certified does not guarantee you business. Yes, you have to be involved with the organization, right. You have to come to events, show.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:18] Up and volunteer here. Absolutely. Yeah.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:05:20] Exactly. Exactly. Because it’s not like Keya, you know, people like to pass out the card and think, oh, I’m gonna get new business. It doesn’t happen like that, right? I was with Coca-Cola and some other big names that that I had, but it took years right before it was my time. Right.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:37] Years to be an overnight success, right?

Rachael Humphrey: [00:05:39] Yeah. Exactly. Exactly. So. And you have to be patient.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:43] So let’s talk about your businesses for a minute. You want to talk about your firm.

Keya Grant: [00:05:48] Sure. So I work for Constellation Brands. We are the number one beer company now in the world. We are based in Rochester, New York. In Chicago, our portfolio includes modelo, Corona, Pacifico, Svedka vodka, we’re Bridge Wine, Robert Mondavi, Meiomi. We have a huge portfolio of brands.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:08] And then so folks can talk to you at GWBC you’re involved in hiring, like, what are the typical hires?

Keya Grant: [00:06:16] No, do not call me.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:17] Don’t call you.

Keya Grant: [00:06:18] I’m not hiring. But of course we’re looking for a WBE right.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:22] Like to partner with correct. There are certain niches that you look for.

Keya Grant: [00:06:25] So logistics marketing and it good stuff.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:30] Yeah. And then Rachel yes.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:06:32] Well I’ve been in business since 1998. It’s woman owned minority owned and I do mail copy print I do it managed services. I have a partner. And having a partner allows you to expand what you do. So I have a managed service partner that I’ve been with for over 14 years. And we do equipment. We do like we we are the ones who do the excuse me, your office, if you need an equipment to do your copiers and your right.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:04] So yeah, any type of equipment.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:07:06] Any type of equipment, we can do that. And we do phone services as well. We do what you get when your phone. So it’s been a good partner. But I learned in this and not only just as a person in a business, it’s good to partner with people. That’s right. And it’s not only in as a corporate but also a WB. I partner with WB because I may not be able to fulfill with the right partner.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:30] You can do anything correct.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:07:31] You can expand what your needs and it helps to build capacity and scale. Right. Exactly, exactly.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:37] All right. So before we wrap up website for Constellation Brands.

Keya Grant: [00:07:40] W-w-w dot C brands.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:42] All right. And Rachel?

Rachael Humphrey: [00:07:43] WW dot w metro records management.com.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:48] All right. Well thank you both for participating. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you know thank.

Rachael Humphrey: [00:07:53] You for having us.

Keya Grant: [00:07:54] Thanks for having us.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:55] All right. This is Lee Kantor back in a few at 2023 GW BC Lace Awards Gala.

Sharon-GoldmacherSharon Goldmacher, C21PR

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for ABC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for the 2023 GWBC Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. And one of those ladies is here tonight Sharon Goldmacher with Communications 21. Welcome.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:00:36] Hi, Lee.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:37] So for the folks who don’t know, tell us a little bit about communications 21.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:00:41] Absolutely. We are a digital marketing and PR firm based here in Atlanta. We have clients across the country. We do a wide range of services, including creation of websites. We manage all social media. We do email marketing, anything digital and online that we can measure. We typically do, including videos. We love to work with folks like yourselves to get the word out. We do traditional PR as well event planning and execution, media relations, executive media training, and more.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:17] And full disclosure, one of your clients is GW.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:01:20] They are one of our best clients.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] And then talk about an event like this. How does this fit into someone’s kind of marketing plan?

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:01:27] Well, this is the culmination of an entire year of events and programing for Greater Women’s Business Council, in part because they are crowning the achievements of both corporate partners and women business enterprises that they work very hard with all year. And we’re happy to be a small part of it in terms of promoting it on social media, doing videos as part of the program, and really and we’re also actually honored because we are entered for a Trailblazer Award this year. So we’re excited about that. But yeah, it’s Roz Lewis and her team work very hard to both increase the number of women owned businesses in our region, and then honor those people who have worked really hard to achieve the mission of WBC.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:15] Now. Any advice for the maybe the women business owners that are listening here on how to, if they can’t afford their own PR firm like yours? What is some of the low hanging fruit they can do to help them get the word out?

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:02:28] Social media is a very powerful tool. Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn those are great ways to self publish and really get their expertise out there. In addition, going to their local newspapers and magazines and just saying, hey, you should know that I do this and I may be the only person in town that does this, and I’d be happy to talk to you. So what we do and what I tell my team is what we do is not rocket science, but we love doing it. And there are many of our clients who just don’t have time to do it and don’t really know where to begin. So we try to make it easy for them and give them advice.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:10] Now, when you’re saying to reach out to local media that’s in their area, that means to actually reach out and build a relationship, right? Like this isn’t something you just spam them with emails about, hey, you know, I’m doing this thing right? You’re right. Really. Invest in relationship. That’s the only way that this really works for any length of time in our.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:03:30] Industry, it’s called media relations. And that’s why it’s called building a relationship with media.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:35] It’s a key component to that.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:03:36] It is the component. Absolutely. So, you know, understanding what a reporter writes about and what interests them is also really important because you can’t just, as you said, spam them with information that they have no clue or it doesn’t make sense to their audience. So you have to know who you’re talking to and then make it relevant to them.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:57] Now for what’s kind of your elevator pitch for WBC. Like, how would you kind of synopsize what they do for people who aren’t familiar.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:04:07] They educate and empower women business owners.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:12] And then any women business owners should seriously consider being certified. For what reasons?

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:04:18] It really does get you in front of a large audience of corporations and businesses that are looking to meet their supplier diversity goals, and they know that with the certification from Webbank and WBC, that you already meet the gold standard for doing business with them. So they’re not going to waste your time because you’ve gone through and done the hard work to get certified.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:46] And then the amount of money that’s available for women owned businesses or minority owned businesses or veteran owned businesses, can you give them the listener an idea of the quantity of money that’s out there? It’s it’s not just it’s in the millions.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:05:01] If not more. Yeah, there’s a very intentional focus on trying to lift up women owned businesses as well as minorities and veterans. But it’s a maze to really understand how to access that. And organizations like GW, BC and Webbank work hard to simplify that for women owned businesses because they build the relationships with the corporations like BMW or Truist, who are looking to meet those supplier diversity goals. And they rely on GW, bc to make those relationships happen.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:41] Right. And they’re kind of the bridge between a lot of these enterprise level companies and these small businesses.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:05:47] Yes, they are the bridge. Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:50] So if somebody wants to learn more about your PR firm, what’s the website?

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:05:54] Our website is C 21 pr.com. And you can find us on the web and on social media. And we’d love to talk to anybody who is interested.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:04] Well, Sharon, thank you so much for sharing your story today. You’re doing such important work and we appreciate you.

Sharon Goldmacher: [00:06:08] Thanks, Lee. You as well. We appreciate Business RadioX. Thanks.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:12] All right. This is Lee Kantor back in a few at the 2023 GW BC Lace Awards Gala.

Moira-VetterMoira Vetter, Modo Modo Agency

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TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for ABC Radio’s Open for business. Now here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here, broadcasting live from the Georgia Aquarium Oceans Ballroom for the 2023 GWBC Lace Awards Gala, Ladies Achieving Continuous Excellence. And one of those ladies is here right now Moira Vetter. Welcome.

Moira Vetter: [00:00:34] Thank you so much.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:35] It’s been a hot minute since we’ve last chatted, I think. Would you say seven, ten years ago?

Moira Vetter: [00:00:39] Something like that.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:41] We’re still here.

Moira Vetter: [00:00:42] I’m still hear going strong all these years later.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:44] And you’re up for a Trailblazer Award. Talk about it. How did that happen?

Moira Vetter: [00:00:48] You know, we have had a really good year. You know, I think any time you’re doing well as a business, you know, you talk about your blessings and the team that you have. We’re really fortunate. You know, the world is still very interesting. There’s a lot of change and turmoil, but we are just really committed and flexible. And, you know, I think we have really resilient people and we have very close relationships with our clients. And that, you know, enables us to, you know, at times like these when it gets interesting, really kind of hunker down and focus on the stuff that matters. And so it’s really it’s paid off for us. We’ve had a lot of wins in the last year. We’re an Inc 5000 company for the fourth time this year and an Inc power partner, which is a B2B award that they have and have had all kinds of other things. But, you know, those are the ones that really speak to us because they come directly from the work we’re doing with our clients.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:44] So talk about your firm. Who do you serve and what’s the pain that your clients are having when they call you? Yeah.

Moira Vetter: [00:01:51] So we are Moto Moto Agency. We are a creative and media agency here in Atlanta, heavily serve B2B clients, not exclusively B2B, but often very complex global businesses. It’s very difficult to manage your brand and your position in a world that is in turmoil. And then you think about all of the changes in the the workforce and all the all the labor challenges and the economic challenges. It gets really hard to plant a flag, you know, and, and to sort of be your brand and be consistent about it when it needs to be changing all the time. And so our clients, you know, sometimes they come to us because their whole industry has changed and they want to lead that effort. Right. They want to be at the forefront and they want to be very visible for the leadership that they provide. Other times, it really is about being an extension of their team and partnering with them. So if I think about last year, last year was heavily about we are down, we’re down, men, women, children, you know, like we just don’t have the people that we need. And we don’t just need doers. We need thinkers who can come in, assess and go. And so, you know, last year was a lot of that. It was a and it was also about helping them recruit and find team members this year because the economy has been so, you know, uncertain. That’s everybody’s favorite word or the headwinds. Right.

Lee Kantor: [00:03:21] Everybody because there’s always certainty in the economy. Right. Sure.

Moira Vetter: [00:03:24] Right. That’s yeah. Somebody said to me today it feels kind of uncertain like like every other day. Yeah. But you know, I feel like this year it’s been more about how do we get quicker returns, how do we convert sales, how do we focus on the activities that correlate directly to revenue because the pressure has come back? I think people had a little more flex in coming through the pandemic. Everybody was surviving, and I think the focus on KPI lifted a little and it was, you know, keep the wheels on, keep going. And 2023 has been the year of don’t keep going, only keep going on the things that are delivering. Right. Yeah.

Lee Kantor: [00:04:05] And it’s hard to prioritize in a world like this. Right. Is this where you’re kind of expertise and the thought leadership and the trusted advisor role that you have? It really comes in handy to give them that, that third party fresh eyes looking at this stuff.

Moira Vetter: [00:04:20] Yes, yes. And you know, one thing I will say, you know, agencies are infamous for high turnover and short tenure. You know, the agency industry is very dynamic and fast moving and, you know, perhaps has a higher, you know, transiency. And we’ve been able to buck that curve. Our average team member has been with us over four years. We’ve got people that have been at the company 14 years, 12 years, you know, which is kind of, you know, outside the ordinary. And the benefit of that is when our clients come. It’s not just that we have, you know, somebody that writes well or, you know, hey, I need a good designer. It’s. I need a team that knows how to work together to solve problems like this, and they can just leave it at that. And so, you know, I feel like that’s people want people to know what they need. They don’t want to have to tell you what they need. They just want to be able to frame challenges. And so that’s really where we try to put more senior people in front of our clients, who are typically more senior people and just, you know, think as creatively as possible and be here, right, and have that same team here to deliver that.

Lee Kantor: [00:05:37] Now any advice for that woman business owner when it comes to building a culture like that? Because that doesn’t happen accidentally. That’s because you’re a visionary. And and the culture is where the rubber hits the road. There’s a lot of people that would like to have a culture as strong as yours, but you’re actually delivering this, obviously, with the success and recognition you’re getting here and, and all those other places you mentioned. So how do you build a culture that can kind of last and stand the test of time like you have?

Moira Vetter: [00:06:06] You know, one of the things is you have to keep telling people what that culture is and why it’s important to people. I think, you know, lots of people have, you know, mission and vision statements and they’re interchangeable.

Lee Kantor: [00:06:19] Like, you can you can’t.

Moira Vetter: [00:06:21] Tell the brand, say those things. Right. But, you know, we try to really show people what the benefit of those things are, both to our to us internally and to our clients. You know, I think part of it is just intending to scale. I gave a talk recently to the Cobb Executive Women’s Group and part of the Cobb Chamber, and one of the things I was doing, I was looking at statistics on businesses that scale, and I was looking at SBA insights on small business. And the average small business in the country has 1.9 employees, which means small businesses on average are a job, right? It’s one person with a job and their cousin. Right. So, you know, scale is a challenge. It’s not just a challenge for women. It’s a challenge for lots of businesses. And I think being intentional about having a plan is really important. I think one of the hardest things for women is when you know someone doesn’t fit the plan, help them find something else, right? Which doesn’t come second nature to a lot of women. I think women are comforters and, you know, try to make it work, right. We’re going to make it work and we’ll find the thing. And if you’re really serious about scale, you also have to be able to accept that sometimes you can’t do that.

Lee Kantor: [00:07:46] Right. And it’s one of those things where you’ve got to know when to say yes and when to say no. Yeah, and it’s important to cut people loose. If it’s not, if it’s not an ideal fit, then let’s there’s a big world out there.

Moira Vetter: [00:07:57] Exactly, exactly. And you know, I think that also, you know, we were talking about we’ve been around a while. It’s something that you don’t know early on. Right. Early on the idea of maybe having someone that’s not a fit and having to let them go seems like the end of the world until you get to a place in your career where you meet somebody that you, that your paths diverged and you realize, oh my God, they’re in the perfect place. Like they thank God we got to this place where we realized that we weren’t perfect together, because look at who they are now or look at what they’ve become. And that doesn’t happen when everybody just keeps trying.

Lee Kantor: [00:08:35] Now talk a little bit about why it was important for you to get involved as a certified woman business owner and be part of Jdbc and this event.

Moira Vetter: [00:08:45] So I’d love to say before it was cool to be on a supplier diversity list. We did this, but we specifically did this because we had a client Southwire company actually years ago was getting very serious about their supplier diversity. It was in the one, I don’t know, 2008 nine ish timeframe. And so Moto was new at the time and our client said it is critical to our leadership team that we diversify our vendor list. And in order to prove that, you know, we need people that are certified. And I said, well, if it matters to you, it matters to me. And so, you know, initially it happened because it mattered to our customer. Increasing it has also been a benefit to us. You know, we have had times where we would have had very extended payment terms. And I know that is a very that’s real difficult thing right now. The the US Chamber of Commerce has just advanced something on a quick payment pledge for large corporations that bring in small businesses because.

Lee Kantor: [00:09:53] Their time frames the 30, 60, 90, 120. And it’s crazy.

Moira Vetter: [00:09:57] Yes, yes. And it’s coming up more and more. And to I’m not. I’m going to say it’s nothing to them, but it is more a line item on a on a sheet and a.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:06] Spreadsheet for them, a spreadsheet. It’s their, you know, their family’s life. Exactly. Small business.

Moira Vetter: [00:10:12] So, you know, we’ve been able to use our Webbank certification before when someone wanted us to have 90 day payment terms and get, you know, 30 day payment terms. So it was hugely advantageous to us. You know, we have used referrals that have come through the network. We have used education. I was able to benefit from a education program that we Bank and Bank of America put together with Cornell University, which was a certificate in entrepreneurship specifically for women. And so, you know, there’s really been so many ways that that being involved and being certified within Webbank and with, you know, Georgia Women’s Business Council has really paid off for us.

Lee Kantor: [00:10:59] And if somebody wants to learn more about Minamoto, what’s the website?

Moira Vetter: [00:11:03] All right. So first of all, Moto Moto is not moto. So we’ll start there. It’s Moto Moto Agency. So m o d as in dog o m o d o agency.com. Everybody thinks of the animated movie with the moto character and so that that that that t is going to be the death of me.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:24] But so Moto Moto.

Moira Vetter: [00:11:26] Agency.com is the website and of course we’re on LinkedIn and all the things, but very active on LinkedIn with some good thought leadership there too.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:35] Well, congratulations for all that you do and good luck this evening. And thank you so much for taking part of this. You’re doing important work and we appreciate you.

Moira Vetter: [00:11:44] Thank you so much and thanks for sharing everybody’s story.

Lee Kantor: [00:11:46] All right. This is Lee Kantor back in a few at 2023 GW Lace Awards Gala.

 

Sherry Bailey with Got To Media

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Sherry-Bailey
Cherokee Business Radio
Sherry Bailey with Got To Media
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Got-To-Media-logo

Sherry-Bailey-v2Sherry Bailey is the founder and CEO of Got To Media, your go-to destination for all your digital marketing needs!

We are a boutique agency based in Canton, GA, specializing in Website Design, Local SEO, Email Marketing, Social Media Management and Content Marketing.

Follow Got To Media on LinkedIn and Instagram.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:05] Coming to you live from the Business RadioX Studio in Woodstock, Georgia. This is fearless formula with Sharon Cline.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:19] And welcome to Fearless Formula on Business RadioX, where we talk about the ups and downs of the business world and offer words of wisdom for business success. I am your host Sharon Cline. And today in the studio I have the founder and CEO of a boutique digital marketing agency. They provide high quality social media management and digital marketing services that produce tangible results for their clients. Please welcome to the studio CEO and founder of Got to Media, Sherry Bailey.How are you doing?

Sherry Bailey: [00:00:48] Good. How are you? Doing great.

Sharon Cline: [00:00:50] I’m so glad you’re here. It’s. I always reach out to people kind of, like, randomly, like, hey, you’d be interested in talking about this. And it was funny because initially you were like, is this not a real thing? Right?

Sherry Bailey: [00:01:02] We get so much spam these days, you just never know.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:05] It’s true. So I was so happy to find that you realized I wasn’t spam, but. And also trusting me, a stranger, basically to come on in and tell your story. So thank.

Sherry Bailey: [00:01:13] You. Yeah. We got to take a little risk once in a while, right?

Sharon Cline: [00:01:15] Heck yeah. Out of our comfort zones. That’s always where I find that I’m never unhappy. That I was brave, you know?

Sherry Bailey: [00:01:22] Yeah. No, it doesn’t matter if you face plant. Either way, you know, you learn something. Don’t do that again. Right.

Sharon Cline: [00:01:28] Let’s hope that’s not the case here. No face planting. We’re going to have the best time. So one of the reasons I reached out to you is because I really find media companies and agencies very interesting, because these days everything is kind of melded together in so many different ways. So I was wondering if you could tell me a little bit about how you got to be the founder and CEO of Got to Media?

Sherry Bailey: [00:01:49] Well, it’s kind of an interesting story, I guess you would say. I, I was I had opened a company that did helped businesses get loans. So it was Enlightenment Capital funding. And I went through the same process that everybody does. When you open a business, you go and you have to do the branding and you need to meet with, you know, different. I met with several different marketing firms to put together the whole campaigns. Well, I just kept finding the same thing, though. I felt like I kept asking, like, what? But don’t you want to know about my business? Like, I just felt it was really impersonal, I guess you would say. Well, I was recovering from a pretty major surgery, so I had some downtime and I just started studying it and ended up putting my whole company together myself. I was out meeting with clients and they started asking, who did your website, who did your branding, who did you this? And I said, well, that was me, actually. And they go, do you mind doing mine? And so the next thing you know, I was doing more of the marketing for businesses than I was lending stuff. No kidding. And yeah, so one after another after another. Needless to say, after a few years I was like, okay, yeah, this is probably where I belong. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:06] So how fascinating that you kind of on your own decided this has got there’s got to be a better way.

Sherry Bailey: [00:03:11] Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, I just felt like they were they were very efficient. A lot of them. They definitely had this whole streamlined. But I felt like nobody wanted to. And the whole thing was like, it should be personal. It really should be more on a personal level. Because when you’re marketing for a business, you need to know. You need to understand who they are in order to ever communicate in their tone, in their voice, their products, their services. You know, correctly, I would think.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:39] You know, a slightly off topic a little bit, but did you watch Mad Men? Of course. Did you find it so interesting to to kind of see the backstory behind some of the iconic ads that we all know and love?

Sherry Bailey: [00:03:51] I can’t remember off the top of my head, but I do remember watching the show.

Sharon Cline: [00:03:54] Yeah. So like I remember one was about Lucky Strike and how do you market cigarets, you know, and things like that. So I guess you’re right. Just looking at I know it’s a fictional story, but the idea of being able to identify with the company that has a product and be what’s important to that company, what do they want out there?

Sherry Bailey: [00:04:11] Yeah, it’s well, it’s putting yourself in their shoes. But most importantly, it’s what do you buy? Who are your buyers? Who are your end users? And what I mean, what do they do for a living? What do they eat? What do they read? Who are they? Because when you’re communicating the product, that’s who you’re looking at. But you have to know the product first. You have to know what you’re marketing in order to even dive into more of who you’re marketing to.

Sharon Cline: [00:04:34] So you initially started your own company because you wanted to have a different spin.

Sherry Bailey: [00:04:40] Well, I didn’t really mean to, but I just started studying it and I had done I’d been in sales throughout my years, and I’d done several other things, but for the most part, it wasn’t until I found this that I realized I can be really good at something. Like I was really good at it, just naturally. And I was like, Holy cow. So. And I just couldn’t get enough. I mean, I could not get it. I still to this day can’t get enough. So I realized, you know, I didn’t even think twice of it until people started asking me to do theirs.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:08] Yeah. So like do their websites. Yeah.

Sherry Bailey: [00:05:10] Do their websites, then their social and then their this. And I thought okay, yeah I might be good at something, might be really good at this, you know. So so I just kept. Steady and kept doing it. And through the years I just I’ve never been able to put it down.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:23] How long have you been in business?

Sherry Bailey: [00:05:25] So I opened Got to Media in 2018, 17, 18, somewhere around there. But I had had started the whole process back in 2013, believe it or not. And when I built my first site, I guess you would say back in the day. So. So it’s been several years now.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:41] Yeah, ten years, if you think about it. Technology has changed so much in ten years, right? Yeah.

Sherry Bailey: [00:05:45] Talk about talking with, you know, your brand voice. We didn’t even really talk that way back then.

Sharon Cline: [00:05:50] Yeah, right. I guess you’re right. There is like a tone change. Yeah. As well as I’ve spoken to some other media companies where they talk about how much it’s everywhere. So social media having power in terms of TikTok and ads on Facebook and, and Instagram and then Google Analytics, you know, being able to market yourself that way. So I can only imagine what you’ve had to try to keep up with.

Sherry Bailey: [00:06:16] On a daily basis.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:17] On a daily 24 over seven. You know, it’s.

Sherry Bailey: [00:06:19] A revolving door. It’s always changing. I guess I kind of like that, though. I’m I work on that level, you know, I like the, the speed of it, but at the same time it does get a little like, okay, I just finally got and now we’re going to change it again. Like, really? Come on Facebook, stop doing that crap.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:36] Stop growing. Stop.

Sherry Bailey: [00:06:38] Stop messing with me.

Sharon Cline: [00:06:39] So who is your ideal client?

Sherry Bailey: [00:06:42] Oh, geez. Well, I think that. Who is your ideal client? I mean, you know, anyone who’s who’s willing to and ready to grow their business and understands that it’s an investment. Marketing is an investment. It’s not really. It’s a lot of people go, well, I have word of mouth and I think that’s awesome. Word of mouth nowadays is through social though, you know, and and so and keeping brand awareness and so forth. So anyone who wants to grow now I do kind of hone in on a few industries, but at the same time. I don’t really turn away at the same time. It depends on, you know, I don’t usually have to turn away too many people. So I’ve done everything from restaurants to bands to, you know, corporate larger, you know, to medical, to construction, to roofing. So yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:34] Girl, you’re.

Sherry Bailey: [00:07:35] Everywhere. Well, you know, I don’t know if that’s the best thing to do because I’ll be honest with you. You need to definitely niche. But yeah, but at the same time I like helping people.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:44] Well, that is the ultimate goal, right? Like you win. They win because they need your help and you know how to do it and you’re good at it.

Sherry Bailey: [00:07:50] Well, if they’re making money, I’m making money. I mean, honestly, if they’re not making money, if I’m not producing enough that it’s not working, then it’s not good for anybody.

Sharon Cline: [00:07:57] What do you think is the most surprising thing about your industry that you think people don’t know?

Sherry Bailey: [00:08:03] So that’s so my my thought on that question is, you know. What would you what would you think that I mean, when you when you look at the that I don’t think people know. I mean, that’s such a I have no idea really. I mean, there’s, there’s quite a few different avenues we can go there.

Sharon Cline: [00:08:19] But would you say that, like if a client came to you and their expectations are much bigger than what you think is realistic? What I mean is that something that you think people don’t really have the pulse on? What’s realistic?

Sherry Bailey: [00:08:32] Well, I think that too many other agencies have set them up to fail. I think too many people give them false expectations, and then when it comes crumbling down, they go. They don’t trust anymore. And I don’t blame them. They’ve been misled. They get overpromised underdelivered. So when they come to me, I go, this is what it is. This is what I can do. I like to do the opposite. You know, I like to overdeliver and under-promise because honestly, that’s kind of like living below your means, you know, never go too far. As long as you know that you can produce a certain level with what they’ve got, you know? So honestly, it’s just about setting proper expectations on what you can produce.

Sharon Cline: [00:09:12] Do you feel like, um. With the with social media being 24 over seven that you’ve had to. Change like it’s no longer billboards as much out in the world or, you know, you’ve had to change to adjust to be more digital, I guess.

Sherry Bailey: [00:09:31] I think everybody does. It’s, you know, I’ve met with companies who have not really done anything digital, and they’ve just they still do the radios, they do radio stuff and sports events or but they really haven’t gone digital. And so, I mean, unfortunately it catches up to you though, and they know they need to, but they don’t know exactly what direction to go with it. So it really just it’s about sitting down and communicating where you are and where you want to be and then putting a plan together because it’s all about the plan.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:06] What’s your favorite? Do you have, like a favorite marketing campaign that you did?

Sherry Bailey: [00:10:11] Um, I’ve had some favorite clients.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:13] Favorite clients.

Sherry Bailey: [00:10:15] I’ve had some. But, um, to be honest with you, my clients have. I’ve got. They stay with me. They’ve been with me from. Usually I have a two year to two and a half year where they stay with me, so that says a lot. Yeah, well, I think so. I think if, if it wasn’t working, if I wasn’t doing my job properly, they wouldn’t stay.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:33] So is there anything that you wish that you had known before you got started in this industry that you wish you could go back and tell yourself? What lessons have you learned?

Sherry Bailey: [00:10:44] Oh, there’s so many. But honestly, I don’t believe in regrets. Like, I’m the kind of person that believes that every single lesson I’ve learned has formed me into who I am today. And so I don’t know if I, I don’t really look at life that way either. I don’t.

Sharon Cline: [00:10:58] I love that though. It frames it as everything has a lesson to learn and it’s positive. It’s not so much negative.

Sherry Bailey: [00:11:04] You can find something out of it, and as long as you don’t repeat it over and over.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:09] What are you watching? My life. That’s exactly what I do.

Sherry Bailey: [00:11:13] It’s catching yourself the next go round. Like I’m not going to just do that over and over again.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:16] Yeah. All right. So I love I love the notion of there are no mistakes.

Sherry Bailey: [00:11:21] Well not to me. I mean, yes, we even if even if you do make a mistake, it’s the worst case scenario. Well, you just learn from it.

Sharon Cline: [00:11:29] Yeah. I mean you say it’s like yeah, yeah. I wonder why it is that I can be so, you know, beat myself up easier. You know, when I do that.

Sherry Bailey: [00:11:39] Yeah, we all do it. I mean, you know, that’s bound to happen. We’re all going to we’re harder on ourself than we are anybody else. But I guess part of I don’t hold on. I don’t want to hold on to things, you know, so especially negative energy. My thing is like, ah, okay, I have to hold on just long enough to not do it again. Right, right. But then it’s time to move on. I just don’t want to live in a, you know, a world where I’m harping on myself or anybody else for that matter. It’s too heavy a to to bear. I think I get.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:06] That, and I think that there’s something really like peaceful about knowing that even even in your industry, as things are changing and you have to learn and continue to grow, and if you don’t know something, you go find it. It’s like there’s a go to attitude about it. There isn’t a oh no, I don’t know. Oh no, this is going to hold me down.

Sherry Bailey: [00:12:23] Right. Well I’m just not a believer in anything holding me down, to be honest with you. I mean, I really don’t I mean, I’ve always said I, my grandmother when I was a kid, where there’s a will, there’s a way. And sure enough, you know, and I just, I really do. If all else fails, I will will my way through it. You know, I love.

Sharon Cline: [00:12:39] That, though, because it’s like, what great words of wisdom that, you know, it’s so simple. But everyone needs a little bit of that encouragement, I think, because I can get for myself in particular, I can get very much into my own head where I’m like, oh no, you know, I don’t know how to do this. I don’t understand anything about it. And already I do analysis paralysis and shut down.

Sherry Bailey: [00:12:57] Yeah, that’s yeah, that’s what happens. It’s don’t get me wrong. I mean, there’s things like, you know, jumping out of a perfectly healthy airplane. I’m. Nope, not going to happen. Right? I’m not. I don’t even want to learn it. It’s okay. I’m not going to do that. But for the most part and I mean, I mean, there’s just about I have taken on I mean, I am the, the the handyman around the house. I am the, you know, the lawn and maintenance I am. And it’s all been just learning and figuring out on my own throughout the years. It’s been like, okay, what can stop me exactly? Except for yourself. Truly, I love that.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:30] It sounds like, okay, what’s the next problem? Okay, well, I’ll figure out how to handle it. Right. Take attitude.

Sherry Bailey: [00:13:36] Yeah, well, I don’t know. Yeah. It’s just kind of a mind frame, I guess. Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:40] Look at you. And look you did. You created your company? Yeah, a.

Sherry Bailey: [00:13:43] Couple of them.

Sharon Cline: [00:13:44] A couple of companies. Okay. What’s your other company?

Sherry Bailey: [00:13:47] It was Enlightenment Capital funding. It was. Oh, okay. Got you. I went into that business just because I had. That’s what I had known I’d been in lending for for many years. And so I figured, well, I need to do something. I know, not really something I had, you know, again, though, I went at it same similar with got to media. I wanted to help businesses, I wanted to truly help them. And but I found myself in marketing, you know, and the next thing you know, I just I fell in love. I fell in love with all of it.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:15] What do you love the most? The people I was thinking, you said you’ve got clients that are your favorites. And it is about people, isn’t it?

Sherry Bailey: [00:14:22] Yeah, it’s about people. And they inspire me and they they amaze me, their stories, everything about it’s people that probably inspire me. Most of all.

Sharon Cline: [00:14:34] I think that’s what inspires me to especially this, this show, fearless formula, talking to people and finding out what what their stories are. Why do they do what they do? What kind of journeys have they been on? What what things that make us more alike than different are things that I can kind of learn from.

Sherry Bailey: [00:14:49] And that’s marketing in a nutshell, pretty much. You, you have to know who your audience is. You have to understand them. And if you have that curiosity, which I think, you know, obviously you do and I and I’m curiosity killed the cat, but I’m not going to stop being curious. Right. So and I just because of that curiosity and then a part of me is a very creative side combination. And that’s that’s what marketing is.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:13] So do you have would you say that your grandmother was one of your mentors, or do you have a mentor?

Sherry Bailey: [00:15:19] Well, I think that I’ve had several, but one one was an owner of a radio station, believe it or not. Wow, I one of my first jobs was working for 97.7 radio.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:31] Well, you have a great voice, by the way. Just listening to you. I’m like, what? You can talk to me all day like you just do. It’s such a nice sound.

Sherry Bailey: [00:15:39] Well, it’s certainly not a high pitched, that’s for sure.

Sharon Cline: [00:15:42] But I love it either way, you know. Yeah.

Sherry Bailey: [00:15:45] They he he gave me the ropes. He taught me the ins and outs of when you walk into a room and you’re meeting with people, you’re not there to sell them something. You’re there to listen, you’re there to hear them. And if there’s something you can help them with, then fine. But you’re not going in there trying to sell them something and that that, you know, that gave me the foundation.

Sharon Cline: [00:16:05] Well, that sounds so. So when you’ve got a client that you’re meeting, when you come in, you’re not trying to convince them to be with you. You’re actually just trying to hear what they want in their story. I bet they can feel the difference they have.

Sherry Bailey: [00:16:17] I mean, I would assume, I mean, you know, it’s it is about reading the room, obviously, but for the most part, you’re not going in there trying to sell them anything. You know, if you can help people. Ultimately people don’t want to buy from you when you’re trying to sell them something anyway. They they want help if they need help from you, great, right?

Sharon Cline: [00:16:36] So if they have a problem, they want to know what your solution is, but they’re not looking for you to try to give them something.

Sherry Bailey: [00:16:43] And in the same thing, when you’re putting out your digital marketing on social media, you’re not looking to constantly sell. Sell. This is me. You’re looking to answer questions. You’re looking to provide real, tangible things that people find helpful, right?

Sharon Cline: [00:16:59] Like solving a problem. Like, here’s my problem, right.

Sherry Bailey: [00:17:02] You know, so think about what your your people, your your buyers problems are first and then how would you go about solving them? Can you solve them. And you want to put that kind of stuff together? When you’re putting stuff out on social media.

Sharon Cline: [00:17:16] How do you advertise yourself as a media company?

Sherry Bailey: [00:17:23] So it’s kind of like it’s kind of like the my dad, he he owned a construction company, yet our house was constantly it was like the worst. Like, when are you ever going to fix this? My mother would say, well, it’s kind of like the same thing with us digital marketing companies, where we tend to be the worst with our own stuff because we’re too busy doing everybody else’s. Right. So and I and I tend to, you know, I’ve really tried to step up my game more lately, but, you know, I get so immersed in doing my thing, I, you know, I’m a bad example. But no, I put together I do, you know, obviously my search engine optimization is very important. That’s how you found me. Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:04] That is how I found you. So it worked?

Sherry Bailey: [00:18:06] Yeah. It’s working, it’s working. You know, of course I try to do some organic stuff, but I really am. You know, I do a lot with my customers and a lot of stuff on theirs, and. And I don’t hold back. For instance, I’m well known for going the extra mile. You know.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:21] I go the extra mile, look.

Sherry Bailey: [00:18:22] Like everybody says something different, but everybody says the same thing pretty much that she goes the extra mile. I think I just, I go all in. I’m a commitment person, right? So when I’m, when my clients need something and we’re working on their stuff, it is about, you know, a, I don’t like to halfway do something. If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it right. So and I like to make sure that. You know, I’m not constantly like, well, you know, well, this is going to be this then if I’m going to go, you know, I’m just a giver. I’m a natural giver, I guess you would say.

Sharon Cline: [00:18:53] Well, I like the the idea is that you at least the way I’m understanding it is that you are there, committed to your client. And it’s not about, okay, well, I spent 15 extra minutes and I’m going to bill you for that. It’s more about let me give you your value.

Sherry Bailey: [00:19:08] Right? Yeah. I think it’s probably why they they stick around, you know.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:12] Well, no one wants to feel nickeled and dimed in this industry. I’m sure yourself included, you know. All right. So how. If you had to say the most difficult thing that you’ve had to learn through this process of owning your company, what would you say that is?

Sherry Bailey: [00:19:30] I think what a lot of business owners do, which is delegation and single mothers, you know, I mean, we’re very familiar.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:41] You are right.

Sherry Bailey: [00:19:41] So here we are. You know, we do it all right. We are the one all the be all the no. One, you know, picks up our slack. So to delegate is is really difficult. But it’s so important. It’s so, so important.

Sharon Cline: [00:19:55] Do you have some people that you feel like you can rely on?

Sherry Bailey: [00:19:58] No no no that is a flat.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:01] No, no.

Sherry Bailey: [00:20:05] You know I, I.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:07] Who do you delegate to? Yeah.

Sherry Bailey: [00:20:09] Well I mean well it workwise as I have my projects, obviously I have to bring on, you know, people that for larger projects and I don’t currently have someone full time, but I’ve had people before that were full time and and it was about letting go and delegating off to them, you know, and just have they let you down, you know, in this life, I mean, who doesn’t eventually. But that’s part of life too, is that people are human and they’re bound to do that. But. That’s okay too.

Sharon Cline: [00:20:36] I think that’s a hard thing for me to delegate because I’m always like, I know I’m going to do it and do it right, and I’m not going to worry about whether I’m meeting my deadline because I’m in charge of me. And, well, I don’t want to be let down. I think I struggle with that.

Sherry Bailey: [00:20:47] I think we all do. We all struggle there. However, if you don’t take a risk on people, then they can’t ever come through for you. They’re never able to. One of my hardest things was ever asking for help in general. Forget about it. And then I realized I wasn’t even giving anyone the opportunity that I didn’t realize. I didn’t look at help like I thought, well, if I’m helping, I’m going to be a burden. If somebody if I’m asking them, I’m going to be a burden. I don’t want to be a burden on anyone. And then I realized. I like helping people. You know, I really I like it. And so what if they never gave me the opportunity to help them, you know, and I’m realizing. Okay, I guess come to find out, there are people that, you know, it’s not always a burden to help. Not to them at least.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:30] It’s so nice. It is true because I like opportunities to help, but I don’t like being the one needing help. But then I’m providing an opportunity for someone to have the same feeling. Maybe, I guess. But yeah, it’s a struggle. You know? So much can be on your shoulders. Especially women.

Sherry Bailey: [00:21:44] I mean, women, we really have a hard time with it. They say men have a hard time with us. Women we really don’t like, you know, like we don’t want to ask for help either. So no one really does. But essentially it’s it’s it’s crucial.

Sharon Cline: [00:21:56] Do you feel like there are lots of things in your past that have helped you to skill wise? Everything succeed?

Sherry Bailey: [00:22:02] Yeah, everything. And I think that’s one of the most important things when looking back on on your life in general and to, well, I wish I hadn’t done this or I wish I hadn’t done that, but I wouldn’t be who I am. I wouldn’t be that curious person that I am, or that creative person, or I wouldn’t be that person that’s so in tune with others and all these things that that made me kind of hyper focused and gave me that ability is through all the things that you go through in life. Right?

Sharon Cline: [00:22:29] So I, I think about sometimes the adversity that I have had, just general in a general sense that if I am hyper attuned to things, then it can be considered a negative, but can be a superpower in the right environment.

Sherry Bailey: [00:22:46] Just like most things in life. Right? It can be a superpower. It can be, you know, six one half. Yeah. I mean, it’s nothing in life. Nothing. No part of us is is ever not running at that speed. I mean, you’ve always got these parts of you that can be great and then some that not so much. And that’s okay too. I mean, it really is. It’s okay because essentially it’s it’s you, it’s, you know, you take you take me, you take.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:10] This is where I am.

Sherry Bailey: [00:23:11] This is who I am, and good, bad and ugly. And let’s just hope you think it’s cute, okay? Let’s just hope.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:18] Right?

Sherry Bailey: [00:23:18] Because some people find my odd parts of me actually cute. And. And that’s all I’m looking for. Because if you don’t think it’s cute, then you need to move on.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:26] Exactly. Amen. I would just like to say I love the idea of like, look, if I don’t work for you, it’s totally fine. It’s okay. Yeah. I’m not supposed to. Right? Everybody just the right people, right?

Sherry Bailey: [00:23:36] Exactly. The one that does find all those little things that you do that you know, that you do, but they think it’s cute. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think there’s a groove and there’s something to that. I don’t know what exactly, but there’s something here.

Sharon Cline: [00:23:49] Is there kind of a general mistake that you find that a lot of companies are making in advertising?

Sherry Bailey: [00:23:55] I think that a lot of companies, when it comes to their social media especially, and that’s what I’m, you know, really their website content as well. I think a lot of companies, if there’s one thing that I see a lot of, is that when they are putting their content together and out there, they aren’t putting together for they’re putting it together to sell instead of to for for their audience, you know, to. So, you know, always look at it like when you’re putting your content together and you’re putting your social. Ask yourself these questions. You know, are you you know, you know, the first thing most people want to know is, well, what’s what’s in it for me, right. What’s in it for me? Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:24:33] Why do I need this cup?

Sherry Bailey: [00:24:34] What’s in it for me or whatever? So when you put your stuff together, what’s in it for them? You know, that’s that’s how you’re putting it together. Now I do me, do me, me me. But what are you, you know, what do they get out of it?

Sharon Cline: [00:24:44] But that’s important, I think, because when you’re buying in to something, it’s that feeling of you’re my hero. In this scenario, I have a problem with cups, and you sell cups and, you know, it’s like or whatever product.

Sherry Bailey: [00:24:58] Yeah, yeah. Ask, ask the questions, know your audience, I think. And most importantly, don’t forget the call to action. Right. Nobody knows. You know, what are you going to tell them to do next. You know, go to your website. You know, like this. Share this something. But you know, tell them to do something. Tell them to do something because that’s how we’re going to start interacting. You know, that’s that’s how you’re going to, you know, be able to to really get to know your audience as well.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:21] How important is advertising on Facebook and doing, I don’t know, Instagram and TikTok.

Sherry Bailey: [00:25:27] It’s crucial. No way.

Sharon Cline: [00:25:29] It’s definitely crucial.

Sherry Bailey: [00:25:30] And the reason is, is because, well, how how when you’re thinking about your brand and you know, how will people know, you know that if they’re in the back of your mind somewhere, you know? So when they do need that service, they’ve, they’ve seen you’ve got some brand awareness out there. But if you aren’t, it’s kind of like opening up a business and not telling anybody you opened. Right. It’s like I opened this business, but I didn’t tell anybody. Well, they might have that might be one of the issues there. So so it’s important now most people say, well I start you know, I put some post out there on social and organic is tough nowadays. I mean, organic organic, organic is tough. I used to all I always do all organic. But you’re not going to see instant growth. It’s going to take time. And it’s it’s getting more and more crowded out there. So my thought is, you know, it’s important to run the ads as well, but don’t do them yourself unless you really know what you’re doing.

Sharon Cline: [00:26:25] What mistakes do you see people do that or what is it like someone just standing outside with their iPhone? Like a little ad that way?

Sherry Bailey: [00:26:32] No, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s it’s the there’s 100 different things that go into putting decent ads together that people just don’t know. And of course, they don’t know. That’s not what they do for a living. You know, that’s why you’re here, right? They’re like, I don’t know. And so and it’s my job to spot these things because when I spot it that way, I know if they’re asking me why, I don’t know, I put that together and it just never went anywhere. So I don’t I don’t get it. Well, okay. Let me take a look and see where the holes are. So when I’m able to do that often I’ll find that, well they just don’t know what they don’t know. So it is important to find someone that knows what they’re doing in that area. Just like, you know, I foolishly tried to cut my own hair not too long ago and realized this is not what I do for a living. What was I thinking?

Sharon Cline: [00:27:18] I think people underestimate how important ads are and how important even like voiceover work. I always think this because it’s such a shock when I do a nice intro for a podcast or something, or an ad where they hadn’t had their name or their company associated with something that sounds so professional that all of a sudden there’s an energy, a difference that’s.

Sherry Bailey: [00:27:41] A whole different ballgame. Yeah, it is about the energy as well. And and that’s another thing when people are putting together things, you know, you know, come up with a plan, have a plan. And oh my goodness is that my phone ringing.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:54] No worries at all. Calling me.

Sherry Bailey: [00:27:57] Oh my goodness.

Sharon Cline: [00:27:59] No problem no problem. Listen this is real life girl. You’re a busy businesswoman. Your phone is going to be ringing. No worries.

Sherry Bailey: [00:28:08] But yeah, you know, tell your stories. You know, share your story. You want to connect, connect, connect. So. And it is about the energy. So when you’re thinking about putting your brand stuff together and putting your, your digital marketing out there in the world, what do you want people to feel when they see your your content, your stuff? How do you want them to feel? Not what do you want them to know? How do you want them to feel? Because that’s what they’re going to remember.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:32] They’re going to identify with that. Like that was exciting or that was reassuring.

Sherry Bailey: [00:28:37] Or it’s just how they it’s the same thing in anything. When you meet someone, it’s they may not always remember what you said, but they remember how you made them feel.

Sharon Cline: [00:28:44] Truth. That’s like one of my favorite quotes because and it’s absolutely 100% true. And I know, I know for myself, even if I haven’t seen somebody in a long time, I mean, we don’t remember our conversation, but I remember you were very warm to me, or you always made me laugh or were kind when you didn’t even need to be. You know, those things.

Sherry Bailey: [00:29:02] You just felt something. Yeah. That’s the same thing in the business world of how to market your business. It’s it’s how do you want people to feel when they see your brand? And if you’re not putting anything out there, then, well, they’re probably not going to be able to feel much now. You know, you rely on a certain thing. Now, I personally believe that there’s nothing wrong with doing things the way. You want to do things, but if you want to grow, it’s kind of like, who moved my cheese? You know that book? I love that little book. I read it many, many, many years ago. But, you know, well, how do we how do we get out of that, that we’re going round and round in the maze. Right. And we’re wanting a different solution, but we’re not doing anything different about it. So.

Sharon Cline: [00:29:43] Well, it’s it’s that definition of insanity, you know, doing the same thing over expecting something different. Right. Well why not? But why not? I’m just gonna keep trying until someone gives up. It should be.

Sherry Bailey: [00:29:54] Here. I’m still mad about it. It’s not changing, but I’m still doing the same thing, right?

Sharon Cline: [00:29:58] Yeah. So how do you feel that people are using TikTok to make you feel things? So, you know, because I do watch TikTok and, you know, I get ads. All right. Yes. Problem. But or a good thing I guess in either in advertising world. So what are the strategies that they’re using? Are they trying to get me to be excited or feel nostalgic or.

Sherry Bailey: [00:30:19] Well, it depends on their brand. Right. So they they.

Sharon Cline: [00:30:22] I’m wondering how I manipulated a little.

Sherry Bailey: [00:30:24] Bit. Oh well you’re always you are 100% put the stamp on it, send it to the bank. It’s been done. You are being manipulated on a daily basis from everybody out there, right? I don’t care where you are. You search one little thing like, how do I find a black belt in my size? And five seconds later, everywhere you go, there’s black belt. Black belt. That’s true. You are being manipulated, no doubt. Now the difference is, are they communicating? Are they. Are they trying to, you know, sell you something? Well everybody is and that’s where it is, you know. Is it something that you need. Are they going to steal your money? Probably not. Not unless you actually are buying something that isn’t going to show up. Right?

Sharon Cline: [00:31:00] It’s not existent.

Sherry Bailey: [00:31:01] It doesn’t exist. But for the most part, that’s what marketing has always been. You know, it’s they figure out who you are, right? And they cater to that. It’s been there. Sad. Yeah. Well I know but but I like it.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:14] Well I mean they know what I like and it keeps coming at me. Well there’s Google Google Google. Yeah really it really is.

Sherry Bailey: [00:31:21] It’s amazing. I’m like, do you know me better than me? Yes.

Sharon Cline: [00:31:24] Because now I know. It’s like, what? How did you know? I was thinking about getting a new water heater in the next thing. Did I say that out loud? No. Did I actually.

Sherry Bailey: [00:31:31] Google that or was I just saying that what happened there?

Sharon Cline: [00:31:35] Know how did they know Google? How much does artificial intelligence affect what you’re doing right now?

Sherry Bailey: [00:31:41] Oh boy. So so I am I’m pretty big into AI stuff, so I really, really am. I enjoy it so much and it really does help a lot. And I would advise it for anyone out there too. I like using AIS because it as far as for content or getting ideas, because it’s not going to write everything for you. No, but it can help inspire. And it’s kind of like Google you’re searching. I use it a lot for, you know, when I’m looking for information on topics or industries, pain points, understanding, you know, all these different things. So as I put together my what I call research and development phase of any project, I like to use eyes a lot, the good ones at least.

Sharon Cline: [00:32:24] So when you’re looking at AI and you’re using AI and you are finding out positives about an industry or negatives about an industry so that you can kind of become informed about that industry, I can see how that’s so helpful. But you also use it with copywriting because so many people use it this way. Because I just got started into copywriting right at the moment, that it’s really not necessary to have a human doing copywriting, but it is. I mean, I know that there’s there’s definitely a human touch.

Sherry Bailey: [00:32:51] Of course. Yeah. I mean, now you can tell it to talk like a human. It’s pretty cool. But I mean, no matter what, you still got to go. I mean, you know, it’s if you want it to, no matter what, you know, you need a human, a part of it because it’s going to give you some. But, you know, you still have to do, you know, I mean, no matter what content I pull, I still have to do it myself. I still have to go through it. I still have to, you know, you can tell it to do just about anything, which is super cool. And for research, I love it.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:16] I was going to say I would love that for research to get really the ins and outs of an industry in a very concise way.

Sherry Bailey: [00:33:22] Right. So you can like with ChatGPT the pro, you know, they have where you can search, you know, the, the internet actually with it versus just from up to 2021. But I love Jasper. I’m a big Jasper fan. It’s it’s an AI that, that I’ve had for for quite some time now.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:40] You don’t just use it for your marketing or.

Sherry Bailey: [00:33:43] I use it for everything.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:43] I say. So many people like every part of our lives.

Sherry Bailey: [00:33:47] Somebody was asking me, what is? How do you write something? They were asking me about some size or what did you put the little quote at the end? And I just popped it right in, as if I used to do with Google now. I was like, let me just find out.

Sharon Cline: [00:33:57] Oh, that’s so interesting. So you. So it’s not as much Google anymore as it is not for me.

Sherry Bailey: [00:34:01] No I’m not I don’t know about everybody else, but I certainly am using much more the, the AI searching than I am.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:07] Is AI searching, keeping track of the things that you’re searching so that you can be marketed to it?

Sherry Bailey: [00:34:12] No. Well, okay, I don’t know what it’s going to, but it’s not turning around and spitting it right back in front of me like Google is. No right.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:19] It’s I’m wondering who’s going to monetize it.

Sherry Bailey: [00:34:21] Right? Yeah. Those are those are big things that people are talking about right now. No doubt.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:27] So who knows how much they’re tracking or if they are tracking.

Sherry Bailey: [00:34:31] Yeah, there’s lots of things that we don’t. Well, we know that it’s we know that it’s learning. Right? We know that they’re learning and they need the data. But as far as some of that other stuff, yeah, we don’t we don’t know.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:43] It’s still new right.

Sherry Bailey: [00:34:44] It’s still new. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:45] My voice has been cloned but I don’t like how it sounds.

Sherry Bailey: [00:34:51] Your voice has been cloned.

Sharon Cline: [00:34:52] How cool is that? Yes. To do voice over things, but I sound. It doesn’t sound like it sounds like me, but it’s a very strange version of me, right? Very robotic version. And and I like that. It is, because then I’m like, well, yeah, you still need me. You still need it.

Sherry Bailey: [00:35:05] Yeah. I think a lot of people fear that, and I don’t think they really should. I think it’s actually going to open up some more jobs because there’s going to be there are more happening right now because of it. I think it’s it’s I mean, I personally love it and I think it’s great for, for lots of lots of different things basically. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:35:24] So how can I help you in any possible way in your industry? I love that I’m able to have a platform where you can get your story out and have people know more about you, and, you know, it’s everybody’s got their niche, like you said. So for me, it sounds like if you want someone who’s going to go the extra mile and someone who’s really going to care and not worry about, okay, well, I’ve spent 30 minutes thinking about this before I went to sleep tonight. So I’m going to start charging you for whatever nickel.

Sherry Bailey: [00:35:52] And dime you. Right?

Sharon Cline: [00:35:53] Yeah. No, but.

Sherry Bailey: [00:35:54] Yeah, if you’re wanting a cost effective, if you’re wanting someone who will genuinely a knows what they’re doing because that helps. But be that more of a like you said, a boutique agency now that’s good and bad to that. And one of the good things, though, is that it allows me to be more hands on. You don’t have to worry about well, I know I asked them, but they said it would be Tuesday before they get back to me about something. You know, like you can reach me. You know, I make sure my clients feel and know valued and that most importantly, I produce results. And I think that’s that’s kind of what counts, right? You want the results? And I and I watch numbers and I want to know the return on their investment. I want to know that, you know, I’ve covered mine. And they understand that this is an investment that they’re going to get back, you know, very quickly and then continue to earn on top of that.

Sharon Cline: [00:36:44] So so I didn’t think about the fact that being a boutique agency, you’ve really got your hands in everything. You don’t have to ferret out to everybody and then hope that or answer to a bunch of different people about a decision that you’ve made. This is your baby.

Sherry Bailey: [00:36:59] Yeah, it is my baby. It is. And it’s, you know, some of the larger projects that I take on, you know, it can be tricky because, you know, I definitely have to do I have to go. Okay. You know, but I make sure to hire the right ones, you know, that come in and I and I, I’ve learned some lessons through the years on, you know, those we all think, well, you know, there’s so much cheaper if I just hire them from out of this country right here. All right, I’m going.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:22] You pay another ways though.

Sherry Bailey: [00:37:23] Oh, but you do, because you got to redo everything you do. And and they don’t understand. Bless their hearts. But needless to say, yes, I’ve learned some lessons. So. So now I make sure, you know, like I, you know. Yeah. We’ve all learned lessons. We all have. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:38] Well, I mean, fascinatingly, I didn’t really think even also about the fact that you do have international options, but it’s not the same as having someone right here in your neighborhood who knows the market so well, who lives in this market.

Sherry Bailey: [00:37:53] Believe it or not, I have most of my clients aren’t even here in Georgia. Some of them are, but a lot of them, they’re in Texas, New York, they’re all over the place.

Sharon Cline: [00:37:59] So that’s really cool. Yeah. I mean, they found you.

Sherry Bailey: [00:38:03] They did find me. They did. They found me on social media. They did. And believe it or not, you know, so a lot of people will use their personal account, you know, and they’ll and so may. But, you know, I try to keep my business on my business because they’re not following my personal for my business stuff. However, most people have found through the personal. And then they said, well, what does she do for a living? You know, so I’d always say, I always tell my clients, make sure to update your personal profile with what you do for a living so they can learn about this. I used to.

Sharon Cline: [00:38:32] Have two Instagram accounts and it was too much for me to keep up with. It was like, well, some of them, they overlap, you know? So I just got rid of that. Now it’s just me. But it’s an odd thing to be a brand as well as here’s my kids, you know, and this is what I’m doing this weekend. And it’s very odd. It is.

Sherry Bailey: [00:38:50] Well yeah, it is odd. Now I do keep things pretty, you know, I, I guess because when you’re, when you look at my personal profile, it’s a public profile. So I try to make sure that, you know, I don’t I don’t put a lot of kid stuff on there. You know, I watched something the other day terrified me. It was like, now they know where your kids go to school, you know, all this things. And I was like, Holy Mother. Yeah. Like what? So I do put, you know, like, as long as there’s nothing in the background that anybody can trace and track. And I thought, well, there’s some there are bad people out there.

Sharon Cline: [00:39:18] Very bad. Unfortunate. It is unfortunate. That’s the best way to put it. Oh my goodness.

Sherry Bailey: [00:39:23] I didn’t know. You know, I’ve been told many times, like, you know, you just don’t have that thing inside of you that warns you, like I don’t. I trust people and I believe in people. I always, I just don’t think the worst. It’s just not in me until you got to really prove me wrong to be like, yeah. And so I until I watched that, I was like, oh my goodness, let’s just pray.

Sharon Cline: [00:39:44] I don’t know if that’s the right thing to say, but like, just I don’t know, believe that, you know, the bad things maybe. Or you’ll be able to handle whatever does come. I think that’s one of the.

Sherry Bailey: [00:39:52] Most important things to ever realize is that you can handle it in the end. God never gives you more than you can handle.

Sharon Cline: [00:39:59] I believe that so far. Yeah, it’s been true. You know.

Sherry Bailey: [00:40:02] There’s many times that I’m like, I don’t know, this.

Sharon Cline: [00:40:05] Might be.

Sherry Bailey: [00:40:05] Really you know, you really are testing me, you know? And my grandmother used to say, well, you know, he never gives you more than you. And he must really have something in mind for you because he’s been testing you, man. And I thought, does he really know? Or is he just like to test me? He just really likes to test me. Danny, what do you do?

Sharon Cline: [00:40:22] How do you balance your life now that everything can be 24 over seven? Like, what do you do to make personal time personal and not always be on? Because it is up to you. It is.

Sherry Bailey: [00:40:33] It is.

Sharon Cline: [00:40:34] Um, what are some strategies?

Sherry Bailey: [00:40:37] So I want to be honest, I got into gardening, so I did I built my own garden and and it was it’s kind of my, my, you know, before it got cold outside, it was my escape. I found I have hobbies, you know, so these projects that I do from, you know, making like a behind the couch table, you know, and building stuff, you know, that’s amazing. Give me some tools from, you know, give me some tools and some lumber and you know, and I just go at it. So I would say my projects, my hobbies, you know, that you can’t be.

Sharon Cline: [00:41:10] On the phone and hammering or whatever, or gardening. You need both hands. Well, I just leave.

Sherry Bailey: [00:41:14] The phone, you know, I’m not one to. I mean, obviously as a business owner, we have to keep our phones with it. But I will put that thing down in a heartbeat and be like, nope, you don’t get to play with me anymore. I’m going to go. Is it a.

Sharon Cline: [00:41:24] Challenge or are you good at it?

Sherry Bailey: [00:41:26] I’ve become very good at it because I would get distracted so easily, you know. So if I, if I allow myself that, then I would never finish anything so true. If I allow myself to constantly be shiny.

Sharon Cline: [00:41:39] Ball syndrome is what I call it, like squirrel, squirrel, squirrel, squirrel. Yeah, right.

Sherry Bailey: [00:41:43] That’s been my nickname several times for years. Squirrel. So? So yeah, if I allowed myself that, I would be all over the place. And so I have to I have to just, you know, I have to take that time to finish projects. I have to take that time for myself. I’m not super good at it, but I do try.

Sharon Cline: [00:41:59] Well, being a business owner, isn’t that that fear that, you know, if I don’t answer this call, they’re going to go to somebody else?

Sherry Bailey: [00:42:04] Yeah. I mean, I think that, yes. But I mean, if you don’t actually take that time for yourself, then you know, how how can you? They say, how can you be great for anybody else if you’re not good to yourself?

Sharon Cline: [00:42:16] It’s true. But I have that fear in terms of the voiceover world, because I can audition 24 over seven, you know? And so if I don’t do these auditions, if I’m not disciplined enough with it, someone else will get this job. And so it’s up to me. So there is a feel feeling I have of hurry. I don’t know if that’s the right word. Hurry.

Sherry Bailey: [00:42:35] Yeah. Feeling like if you don’t, somebody else will, you know. Yes, a fast paced, a fast. And I know.

Sharon Cline: [00:42:40] Some things are meant to be mine. If they’re meant to be mine, they’ll be mine. And I do have some peace in that. But I always have a feeling of you’ve got to be. You’ve got to be hustling.

Sherry Bailey: [00:42:49] Yeah, you have to be hustling, no doubt. But but you have to also, I mean, for me, like I look at it like, okay, I’ve got I have to take everything in stride. So if I’m going to do something even good, bad or ugly, I’m only going to do I’m never going to go an extreme, you know, I think no extreme. So now that doesn’t make me the best athlete. No, because I’ve never I’ve never been one to go chasing balls around a corner. You know, it’s just not me to do that. So I’m like, throw a ball at me. It’s either going to hit me right in the forehead or go flying. It’s like, knock something down because I’m not chasing that. I’m not chasing the ball. So but when it comes to, you know, being competitive and making sure that you’re on top of your stuff, you know, design that, that time frame, this is the time I’m going to do it. This is my commitment. And then this is the time I’m going to reserve for me so that I can be the best so that I can provide the services so I can do the voice so I can do it as well as I can. I need to decompress or reboot or, you know, clear your mind. Well, I.

Sharon Cline: [00:43:48] Know when I do that I generally am happier, like in every aspect of my life, you know, it’s not just my work life, but everyone else is happier when I feel more balanced. I know that’s true. I mean.

Sherry Bailey: [00:43:58] It’s an energy, right? We put that energy out in the world and whether or not we’re, you know, whatever we feel. So let’s say you’re job hunting like crazy and looking for everything. But if you’re in this, this wound up state inside, you know, that’s what you’re projecting to the world around you, right? Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:44:13] True. And I do I do think so much of it is energy.

Sherry Bailey: [00:44:15] Oh it is, I mean, to me at least. Yeah. You can feel it off somebody walking in the room like, oh my lord. Yeah. You ain’t happy are you, darling? Sorry.

Sharon Cline: [00:44:24] Do you ever see ads or marketing where you’re just like, I could have done so much better. Because. Because I do. Sometimes I’ll hear, like a voiceover. Or there’s one that keeps playing all the time. And I hear it on WSB and I’m just like, this is a horrible app, and it kills me. But I don’t know. I was just curious if you ever do that because I don’t know.

Sherry Bailey: [00:44:42] Yeah, no, I don’t. I guess the way I look at it is I’m usually looking at it like, what was your goal here? You know, I’m looking for their goals and what they were trying to accomplish. And I and I usually see okay, I see what they were going with it. So usually I’m looking at it like, if could I have helped them, you know, could I have helped, you know, if they. But I don’t know, I usually just look at it like, okay, but I guess I do see some stuff once in a while where I’m like, wow, what in the world were you doing? What were you doing? You just like, spit that right on out there for the whole world to see, you know, like, yeah. But for the most part, I don’t. I’m just looking to see if I can help.

Sharon Cline: [00:45:20] You know, that’s such a nice attitude here. I am all critical. This is a horrible idea. And you’re like, oh, I could have helped. I would love to know if I could help. That’s so sweet. I need to change my ways.

Sherry Bailey: [00:45:30] No, that’s not well. I actually am too sweet for my own good, but, you know. But at the same time, I guess I’m just. I don’t. Because most of the time when people are doing this, they are trying. They’re trying to figure out, you know, they’re small businesses and they they don’t have the marketing person on staff. They don’t know that they even have someone in their price range, probably out there. So they’re trying to wing it. And I’ve been there. I was that small business when I first started out trying to figure it out, so I know what they’re going through. So usually I see it from a much more empathetic, probably so nice.

Sharon Cline: [00:46:01] Well, I think that’s important to note that you don’t have to spend thousands and thousands of dollars to have an effective ad out there in the world.

Sherry Bailey: [00:46:07] No you don’t. I mean, you do have to ask the right questions and and hopefully have that person that you can contact and be like, hey, this is what I’m thinking about doing, you know, just even it. Yeah, yeah. Just talking to someone who knows, you know, that industry often can help alone. Yeah.

Sharon Cline: [00:46:24] Well, if anyone wanted to get in touch with you, what is the best way?

Sherry Bailey: [00:46:28] So, you know, email, text call. Yeah. Go ahead. If I can’t answer, I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. But yeah. So it would be Sherry at got to dot Media.com. And that’s goto media.com. And you can go to my website goto media.com as well. And (678) 274-8505 is the company number.

Sharon Cline: [00:46:54] So I hope lots of people come and visit with you and get to know sort of why you do what you do. And clearly on this, this interview, it’s been so nice to understand not just that you want to help people, because obviously we’re all trying to help each other. Right? And we should be. Yeah, well, we’re making money. Everybody wins. Like, you have a service and this is what I need. But you also really have your finger on the pulse of what’s really important, clearly. And and you have results to prove it. So yeah. So that’s.

Sherry Bailey: [00:47:22] That’s that’s the good part. Right. And I make you money okay. I make you.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:26] Money. Win win win. That’s my favorite.

Sherry Bailey: [00:47:29] I’m not making you money. Then it ain’t going to work anyway. Now is it.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:33] So true no one will be happy. But clearly this is this is the right spot for you. And I’m so grateful that you were able to come in today and chat with me about everything that I don’t know about the media world. And yeah, I hope some people give you some, like a little heads up.

Sherry Bailey: [00:47:48] Yeah, well, hey, I’ll take a look at your stuff too while I’m here.

Speaker3: [00:47:51] Oh, girl.

Sharon Cline: [00:47:52] We help each other. Yeah, exactly. So nice. Well, thank you again for listening to Fearless Formula on Business RadioX. And again, this is Sharon Klein reminding you that with knowledge and understanding, we can all have our own fearless formula. Have a great day. All right.

 

Meena Lahku with 52 Beginnings and Holly Payton with IBM

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Charitable Georgia
Meena Lahku with 52 Beginnings and Holly Payton with IBM
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Meena-Lakhu-headshot52 Beginnings was created by Meena Lahku, a Brand Marketing Expert and Publisher of Neighbors of Towne Lake.

Simply put, life is just a series of experiences, some good and some, well not so good. And what we do, as a result, is up to each of us.

This chapter of Meena’s life has presented an opportunity that she never would have ever dreamed about, but makes perfect sense and clearly gives all those experiences a better meaning after all.

She is able to help, give, grow, and continue to learn as she makes a positive impact by simply doing what she has always done naturally. Building relationships, being a good listener, and giving people what they want or need, and quite often, they just want to be heard, and that’s ok too.

At the end of the day, it all works out exactly the way it’s supposed to and Meena sleeps well knowing she did her part. So now, she enjoys the ride and finds inspiring people and credible businesses to share with the communities important to them. It really is about bringing good people together.

This page is sponsored by 52 Beginnings Local Media to give the people, organizations, and groups a voice in the community to reach more people.

Holly-Payton-headshotHolly Payton is an Executive Consultant for IBM. She has a proven track record of over 25 years’ experience in the change management and learning arena, helping to accelerate user adoption of major business transformations.

Holly is an active participant in Woodstock Arts; teaching watercolor classes at the Reeves House, acting in ‘Murder on the Orient Express’ at the Elmstreet Theatre, and taking clay classes at the Kish House.

She and her husband, Stone, live in downtown Woodstock and are the parents of two daughters, who have been married in the past 12 months.

This transcript is machine transcribed by Sonix

TRANSCRIPT

Intro: [00:00:07] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX studios in Atlanta. It’s time for Charitable Georgia. Brought to you by B’s Charitable Pursuits and resources. We put the fun in fund raising. For more information, go to B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. That’s B’s Charitable Pursuits dot com. Now here’s your host, Brian Pruitt.

Brian Pruett: [00:00:45] Good, fabulous Friday morning. It’s another fabulous Friday, and we’ve got two fabulous guests here this morning. We’re supposed to have three, but our other guest is sick with a stomach bug, so we’ll get her back on here. But again, we’ve got two fabulous guests. And if this is your first time listening to Charitable Georgia, this is all about positive things happening in the community. So we are going to get started with Meena Lahku. I say it right. That’s right. Awesome. I get brownie points for doing it right. So you’re with 52 Compassionate Hearts as well as Best Version Media. So we’ll get into all that in just a second. But you’ve got a pretty cool backstory and it leads into your passion of what you’re doing. So if you don’t mind, just share your story with us.

Meena Lahku: [00:01:23] Okay, well, that’s. How much time do we have?

Brian Pruett: [00:01:27] I’ve got till 5:00. I don’t know about Holly, but.

Meena Lahku: [00:01:30] Okay, well, where should I start? I mean, you’ve heard the story, so it could. It could? Well, just.

Brian Pruett: [00:01:38] Our listeners don’t know anything about you, so just give a little bit about your background, and then while you’re doing well, we’ll talk about 52 Compassionate Arts in the magazine. But there’s a reason why you’ve started both of those. But so share just a little bit of share as much as you want to. Because like I tell people all the time, you don’t know who’s listening, who might need to hear your story.

Meena Lahku: [00:01:54] Right? Okay. Well, so there’s definitely a significance behind the name 52 beginnings. And just to kind of back up a little bit, you know, I guess the story started of the main part of it started. I’ll say like in 2019 and basically decided to start a business of my own with somebody that I was engaged to at the time. And, you know, things didn’t go as we had planned, so that relationship didn’t work out. It wasn’t a very positive relationship, to say the least. And, you know, I kind of came to a point where I had to make some decisions and decided to to to leave that opportunity. Although I loved the environment, the place that I was in, the type of work which was more in hospitality, it was a bed and breakfast, a a historic home that was transported up to the North Georgia mountains. There was an event venue seated 200 people. It was just a gorgeous, gorgeous property and I loved it up there. But it was also a toxic personal environment. Somewhat, I hate to say it, but somewhat of an abusive relationship that I had, I had to get out of. So I made that decision in 2020 to just leave and cut my losses. And whatever happens, happens. And chips kind of fall where they may. And so that happened in March of 2020, and we all know what happened that month as well. So, you know, just as things would have it, that particular week that I left, Covid was not as big of a deal.

Meena Lahku: [00:04:09] People were talking about it, but it wasn’t like there wasn’t a lockdown or anything like that. We had just had some guests from China and directly flew in from China. There was a international boarding school located next to us, so they just had flown in. My daughter wasn’t feeling well and so I did not go visit my dad and. You know, for obvious reasons. And so I left that week, and later on that week my dad passed away. And that same within a like the day before that. That was a Saturday. So like on Friday the world decided to shut down. And so timing like everything was just awful, awful, awful. Like when it rains it pours type of thing. You know, we had to have the funeral at home. It was just nobody knew what anybody else was doing. It was just a bad time. So basically from there, just, you know, we were all at home. I went to real estate school online because what else can I do? And my heart wasn’t really in it. I really that’s not what I wanted to pursue, but I knew what I didn’t want was to go back to work for somebody else on somebody else’s time and money and work every weekend, work at nights, and miss the summers and miss the holidays and all of that.

Meena Lahku: [00:05:38] So, um, and I and if I didn’t mention this, I’m a single mom. I have three kids, so that in itself is a challenge. Anyhow, long story short, I was blessed enough to have the opportunity within that next couple of years after that to be able to take my mom, to go visit family and able to take care of her while she had knee replacement surgery. Things of that nature. Um. When it came to a point where, okay, I need to, you know, figure out what I’m going to do next. Uh, you know, I took odd jobs in between. And one of them was to basically, you know, help a person that I considered a good friend of mine at the time, we had known each other for ten years, somebody I trusted, somebody who I laughed and cried with, like, everything. And basically that ended up into another bad situation where basically I just did not get paid for about nine months worth of work and it just wasn’t good. And just to kind of make things right, I won’t get into big, big long story, but to make things right, I. I pretty much demanded that. I guess things be put in a manner that that they should have been in, in terms of payments. So I started an LLC and I was 51 at that time, and I was on the verge of turning 52. And I’ve always been the same person I am today, which I’ve always had a positive outlook in life, and everything happens for a reason.

Meena Lahku: [00:07:32] I don’t know why all of this has happened, but something good is going to come out of it. I don’t know what it is, but something good is going to happen. I was about to turn 52 and I just went with 52 beginnings, knowing that there was a bigger, brighter future ahead. So that’s where 52 beginnings comes from. And, you know, moving forward from that is when I connected with Best Version media and it just aligned with every single. Way my brain thinks and feels about the community, about being compassionate, about being having a fun, loving spirit. A professional will and a compassionate heart. Those are the three pillars that they stand by. Almost so good that I kind of didn’t believe it. You know, I was like, oh, this is way too good to be true, right? So anyways, that’s that’s where that comes from. And I, you know, moving on with that, I basically turned it into 52. 52. 52 beginnings local media, which has with the print and digital publication in the town lake area, there’s about 42 publications now in the Georgia area. Most of those are in the Atlanta area. So, you know, with that, it goes into another big long story. I don’t know how much you want to hear, Brian. You like opened up a. That’s right.

Brian Pruett: [00:09:17] The people tell me I do that all the time. So well a couple of questions. So first of all, we had one of your cohorts on here, Caitlin Thomas, who’s doing the Cartersville Living from Virgin Media over there. So and she’s got the same kind of heart. So my first question is going through what you did, especially with somebody you thought was a friend and, and then dealing the stuff with your dad and all that. A lot of people might have shut down at the time and said, you know what? Community is not there. It’s just it’s terrible. It sucks. Whatever the case may be, you decided to turn that around and keep going and push through and you have a heart for community. So why is it important for you to be part of the community?

Meena Lahku: [00:09:56] I just have faith in people. So, you know, there were so many times that people told me, you’re just too nice. You’re too nice, and that’s why this happens to you. I’m like, I just. Yeah, that’s great and everything, but I’m not going to change the way I am. I mean, I like who I am, I like being nice, I like being compassionate, I like helping people, and I believe that there’s other people that feel the same way. So why why become something that is so unnatural and something that I don’t want to be, you know, just to get further in life monetarily. You know, that’s I don’t I just don’t personally believe. That’s right. So I believe that there is a community out there of people which I have seen in the Cherokee County area that do have a compassionate heart, that that that do look out for each other.

Brian Pruett: [00:10:53] Which, you know, there’s a there’s a lot of pockets out there of these types of community from Cherokee and Bartow. You know, Cobb, you know, and I sit down and talk to people every day and learn their stories. And that’s what birthed Charitable Georgia, because there’s a lot of great stories out there, and that’s what needs to be heard. Not all this negativity and scare tactics that the mainstream media puts out. So it’s just great to I mean, you do so much for the community. I mean, you you’ve even turned your backyard into an event facility, which you just had an event. So you kind of focus right now on working with people with the brain, brain injuries, brain tumors, all the above. We share about that.

Meena Lahku: [00:11:30] Sure. So. When it came to my first publication, I had one full page that was generously donated by a corporate sponsor who didn’t need the space he just donated. You know, the the cost of it. And so I needed to put something on that page, and I wanted to give it back to a cause. And so upon doing some research, I found out that this was in the month of July. And so I found out that July 19th is Glioblastoma Awareness Day. It was the fifth year that it’s been nationally recognized. I was dumbfounded and like that. I didn’t even know that that existed because my brother passed away of a glioblastoma. And so the moment I saw that, I knew that that was it. I knew that I had to do something to bring awareness to that day and to to all the different types of brain cancers that are out there, because there is such little research that has been done in such little progression in decades with treatments and things. So, you know, basically what ended up happening was I had a friend of mine, do, you know, kind of get the information together. He’s a retired physician. I figured he’d be the best person to, you know, get all this together for me. And things didn’t quite pan out. And I stayed up the night before my deadline thinking, oh my gosh, what am I going to put on this page? I don’t know what I can do, what I can’t do.

Meena Lahku: [00:13:17] I’ve never done this before and ended up connecting with someone at the National Brain Tumor Society almost, almost by accident. We both almost thought it was the wrong number and hung up, but ended up spending probably an hour and a half or so on the phone with her. She. The night before, while I was trying to figure out what I was going to do with this page, I my wheels just started turning and I like had all these ideas of, oh, I could do this, I could do this. And so when I was sharing that with her, she was like, we could totally do that and we will support you in that. And within a couple of hours, I was, you know, connected with their marketing department and we got that page together. We didn’t know exactly what we were going to do at that time, but we knew we were going to do something. So that’s how 52 Compassionate Hearts began. And it’s basically a year long fundraising effort that started on July 19th of this year. That will go on through July 19th of 2024. My goal is to to work with 52 compassionate hearted people or businesses and create these teams where we’re all supporting each other. We’re all supporting the communities, whether it’s the families or the businesses, that doesn’t matter. There’s a way that everybody can make it work and it doesn’t cost anybody any money, which is amazing. And and my goal is to raise $52,000 by that date.

Brian Pruett: [00:14:50] So you just said it doesn’t cost any money. Can you share more about what that looks like?

Meena Lahku: [00:14:54] Sure. So the way I’ve got it set up with the National Brain Tumor Society on the site is you can either donate money and just just do that and be done with it and no big deal. Or you can become a fund raiser where you can either join an existing team or you can create your own team. So if you either want is fine, if you create your own team and neither one of those options cost any money, it’s just a way of you to be able to participate. But with that, if you create your own team, you get your own web page where you can customize and, you know, put in your if you’re a business, put in your business logo. If you’re an individual, you could, you know, if you want to do it as a family incentive for the kids or, you know, use it personally, just, you know, you can customize it however you want and do a fundraising campaign on your own or not. Just do it like if you want to lose weight, if you set up a goal to every time I lose a pound, I’m going to donate a dollar, you know, set it up however you want. It doesn’t matter. It just matters that everybody participates in one way or another. And at the end of the year, if we all do it, then I don’t think getting $52,000, I know it won’t be a problem.

Brian Pruett: [00:16:14] So share right now, if somebody is listening and says, I want to be a part of that, how can they do that? How can they get a hold of you or go build their team, or what they need to do.

Meena Lahku: [00:16:21] So they can connect with me on? Well, there’s a couple of ways. I think the easiest way would be, well, there’s Facebook, you can look me up on Facebook or you can go to 52 beginnings.com. And you know, that’s my website. And you can you can find it on there as well. There is a link but it’s kind of long. So yeah I’m not going to say that right now, but.

Brian Pruett: [00:16:49] Just reach out to her the way she said. And you can get more information on that as well. So. Right. All right. So let’s talk a little bit more about the magazine. So what’s the name of the magazine that you currently have.

Meena Lahku: [00:16:57] Neighbors of Town Lake. All right.

Brian Pruett: [00:16:58] So it goes actually just to the town Lake area. Yeah. And is that directly mailed to the homes?

Meena Lahku: [00:17:04] It’s mailed directly to the homes. And it goes to the communities in that area they do not subscribe to. That they don’t, you know, they don’t pay for it. It just gets delivered right to their homes. It’s a private publication, so it’s not online or anywhere.

Brian Pruett: [00:17:20] And so how do you go about finding your stories for the magazine?

Meena Lahku: [00:17:24] Well, we ask for the community to submit them. So, you know, the magazine is the reason why the concept works so well. It’s a branding concept, and it works so well because the information in it is derived from the community. I’m not going around interviewing people or writing stories myself or my, you know, my content coordinator who’s fabulous. She does write the stories, but she writes them for the businesses that are sponsoring the publication. So everything is very local. All the pictures and all the content come directly from the community. Therefore, they’re going to flip through every page because they want to know, you know, if if their content got put into that particular edition or not.

Brian Pruett: [00:18:13] I think it’s funny, a lot of people talk these days that print is dead, but it’s kind of cool to see different, a lot of different community type magazines coming out at the time, because people do love still holding something in their hand, flipping the pages, reading it, looking at it. And when it comes to the community, especially a buddy of mine and I had a magazine a few years ago called Northwest Georgia Rising Stars, and it was all positive feature stories on the kids in the high schools in Bartow and Gordon counties, whether they played sports or not. And it was such a well received thing that I think people love, again, positive stories about the community. So if a businesses I’m assuming businesses, you talk about business sponsoring the magazine and it’s more or less them advertising. Correct.

Meena Lahku: [00:18:56] It’s advertising, but it also gives it also allows for the community to be able to submit that content. Right. So if a business is sponsoring, say, the pet page or the recipe page, then yes, half of it is like an ad of their own, which we also encourage them to make it more educational. Give people the reason why they should choose them. When there’s like a sea full of other businesses that do the exact same thing, why should they go to them? Right? So be a little bit more informative that way. But then the rest of the page is where the community can, you know, can submit their content and it gives them space as well.

Brian Pruett: [00:19:37] How often does the magazine is it mailed out? Is it once a month or.

Meena Lahku: [00:19:42] It’s every single month?

Brian Pruett: [00:19:43] Every single month. Yeah.

Meena Lahku: [00:19:44] And then the what we also do, which is really great, which no other company does, is we’ll take the the ads, I’ll just call them ads that are in the publication and reformat those according to the specs on Google, Facebook and Instagram and run those campaigns on those platforms as well. So they’re getting that many more impressions.

Brian Pruett: [00:20:07] So if a business is listening and wants to do that with your magazine and be a sponsor, how can they get a hold of you for that?

Meena Lahku: [00:20:13] Well, probably the same way. It would just be either through Facebook. You can find me there, you can find me through there’s a business web page. Business Facebook page that’s neighbors of Town Lake. They can that would probably be the easiest way to to look me up. Or they can look me up personally. Message me that way or go to the website.

Brian Pruett: [00:20:36] Another thing we talk about a lot on the show is networking. And I’ve seen pictures of you at networking events, so I know you network as well. So do you have a positive story you can share about networking and how it’s helped you?

Meena Lahku: [00:20:48] Um. Absolutely I think. Just just getting around like minded people that, you know, have the same goals and want to, you know, in all networking groups are different. You know, I kind of tend to, to, to go to the ones where I can make more of a personal connection and get to know people. So, yeah, it’s definitely something that I feel is very powerful and that can help everybody in every business and definitely support that. I think what I was trying to do with the event this past Friday was incorporate the 52 beginnings Compassionate Heart like, combine those efforts and create a networking opportunity that was more in the evening, as opposed to 730 in the morning, right when a lot of people can’t make it. So give them another opportunity. Give those business leaders another opportunity. And I think.

Brian Pruett: [00:21:56] It’s important to you that you mentioned about going and establishing the personal relationship side, because too many people make the mistake of going right into networking and trying to sell, and you can’t do that.

Meena Lahku: [00:22:07] Oh, yeah. Well, I kind of found that out the hard way because I had no idea how the whole networking thing worked. And yeah, I did do that. I thought that’s what we were supposed to do. And so I was actually kind of relieved to find out, no, that’s not what you do, because I wasn’t comfortable doing that in the first place. I’m more of a people person. I like to get to know people. I build relationships. If things happen, they happen great. If they don’t, no big deal either. We’re just trying to create an environment that helps everybody, you know, and it may not be for everybody. And that’s okay too, right?

Brian Pruett: [00:22:47] Which it’s kind of funny because nowadays I get more uncomfortable talking about myself than listening to about somebody. I’d rather sit down and learn about you than to talk about me all day long. So it’s definitely go in with the open mind and heart about learning and how you can help somebody else than yourself, and it’ll come back to you whether it’s immediate or not. It’ll come back to you. Absolutely. So a couple other questions for you. So first of all, the first question is other than networking, how do you get the word out about 52 beginnings 52 Compassionate Hearts. And then how do you get the word out about the magazine?

Meena Lahku: [00:23:20] Um. Well, social media is really big. That’s very helpful. So I’m not the best at that. I will admit it’s hasn’t been my thing, but that is definitely, you know, something that I’m working on is is putting more out there to. To get more awareness and for more people to participate and going to more events myself.

Brian Pruett: [00:23:55] So you’ve been on both sides of this too. So if somebody is listening first of all and is thinking about starting their own business, give them some advice on what to do. The other aspect is if somebody is listening wants to start a nonprofit, what advice for them?

Meena Lahku: [00:24:09] Well, starting with your own business, I would say definitely have a business plan and think it through thoroughly. You know what I see a lot of is people that are so passionate about doing whatever it is that they’re doing, whether they’re making something or it really doesn’t matter, but they’re really passionate about their business, but they haven’t thought about the whole business process. And that’s where I believe that businesses fail, because you can love baking cookies or whatever it is you know, or, you know, art or whatever, whatever your business is. But if you don’t have the business plan to support it and the budget to support it, then it’s going to be a rough road. And you know that that directly, I guess, relates to me when we’re talking about marketing, because a lot of people don’t have a marketing budget, and therefore they try to do a lot of it themselves, and then they end up doing so much of it themselves that they don’t have time to do the actual thing that they love to do in the first place. So. Well, and.

Brian Pruett: [00:25:22] That’s the first thing people cut to is the marketing budget. They do have it, which is the last thing. So you have to always to my, in my opinion, have a marketing budget because you can people say, well, I have too many clients, I have enough clients. You can never have enough or too many, right? What happens if that? Well dries up? You need to be constantly doing that. So share some advice on starting a nonprofit.

Meena Lahku: [00:25:44] Well, technically I’m not a nonprofit, you know, yet. It is something I am considering. And. You know, I would just say like, get really educate yourself, talk to other people who have been there, done that, not other people who are thinking about it. Right. And, you know, just educate yourself and make sure that that’s the avenue you want to go down. You know, there’s a lot of logistics behind it, a lot of there’s a lot to it. So it’s not that simple.

Brian Pruett: [00:26:23] And I’ve had several other people and non-profits on here that too, that also say that look at other people, other non-profits in the area who might be doing what you want to do and align yourself with them first and then, you know, go from there because you can always partner. Right, right. And be a part of something that’s already there. Don’t reinvent the wheel.

Meena Lahku: [00:26:40] Exactly, exactly. There’s no need to do that. Right?

Brian Pruett: [00:26:44] Right. You shared about your your year long fundraiser that you’re doing, but do you have any other events that are coming up or anything else you want to share that might be coming up you can let people know about?

Meena Lahku: [00:26:53] We have an educational event coming up in January, so we’re still working on the logistics of that, but that’s going to be our next one.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:01] And what kind of educational.

Meena Lahku: [00:27:03] It’s going to be more towards brain health and brain training. And we’re talking to some of the senior communities, local senior communities, about doing things that will help Alzheimer’s patients and dementia patients and things of that nature. So it’s going to be surrounded. You know, in that way. Okay.

Brian Pruett: [00:27:33] All right. So share one more time, either the website or the Facebook so people can follow up on that. And then again how they can connect with you.

Meena Lahku: [00:27:41] Sure. So they a website is 52 beginnings.com. And you can follow me or follow me on Facebook as well or Instagram. And it’s Meenaa. Meena Lahku. And the business page is neighbors of town.

Brian Pruett: [00:28:03] Like awesome. Meena, thanks for coming on and sharing a little bit of your story. Don’t go anywhere. We’re not technically not done with you, but thanks for coming on and sharing. We’re moving over now to miss Holly Payton, and I’m sure people have probably go, hey, I know that name. Well, her husband Stone is the one that owns the and runs the studio here. And when you hear her voice, you’ll say, I definitely know that voice because she does the intros and outros. But, Holly, thanks for being here this morning.

Holly Payton: [00:28:25] Thank you so much. I’m glad to be here.

Brian Pruett: [00:28:27] So you did something pretty incredible. Just what, a month and a half, two months ago you donated part of your body. So it’s kind of cool that when Stone shared it with me, it wasn’t somebody to directly. It was more of like a almost like a ring type thing. Can you share that? Sure.

Holly Payton: [00:28:45] Um, my best friend, Mary Guyer, we grew up in the Philadelphia area, and in February of 2021, she called to share with me that she had kidney disease. And at the end of the call, she asked, would it be okay if I sent you some information on on kidney donorship? I said, sure, and then she said, would you consider being a kidney donor? And I said yes. And so when Mary hung up the phone and she talked to her daughter Sarah. Sarah said, mom, you know, Holly’s going to have to talk to her family and a lot of people. So let’s not get too excited. And that was absolutely not the case. You introduced this by saying I did this incredible thing. People have reacted that way, and I feel like everybody in their life has somebody that they would do this for. Mary’s my son. Buddy. You know, I didn’t have to ask anybody else what they thought. Mary was my son, buddy. And the other thing I would say. If anyone is considering this. My friend Mary was challenged a little bit. She was disappointed that some of the people in her circle of friends and circle of influence didn’t jump at the chance, you know? And they said, oh, what if one of my children needs a kidney? I don’t think I can do this now.

Holly Payton: [00:30:33] And. I was raised that you pitch to the batter that’s at the plate. You don’t live your life. What if this. What if that? Mary was right in front of me. I had someone right in front of me that needed something. And it was something I could do something about. So. I contacted Emory University. Emory is the Emory University hospital. They are the hospital in the Atlanta area that has a kidney transplant program. And I was not a match for Mary. So what the. We went into the National Kidney Donor Registry and we were paired. So what that means is I’m not a match for her, but I’m donating on her behalf. And you. Let’s say you need a kidney. You, your person who wants to donate on your behalf isn’t a match. So my kidney goes to you and your person’s kidney goes to Mary. So they create a chain. And that chain can be a few people. It can be 25 and 30 people. So in a year and a half, nothing happened. By that I mean no chain was created. I was matched, but the chain. But Mary wasn’t. The chain never formed, or Mary was matched, but I wasn’t matched, and the chain never formed.

Holly Payton: [00:32:04] So we were both educated, Mary and I, from her coordinator in the Philadelphia area. Mine down here, that it would go faster for Mary if I would donate. If we would decouple, we wouldn’t be paired anymore in the National Kidney Donor Registry. And I would donate and go into the voucher program. And what? So on September the 5th, I went into have kidney donor surgery at Emory Hospital, and the next day my voucher went to Mary that someone has donated on her behalf. So she was active now in the National Kidney Donor Registry, and she’s just waiting for a match. So it you never know when that will happen, but her odds are much better now because we don’t have to pair two people, just her. And I feel in my heart of hearts that this will happen for her this fall sometime. She’s not on dialysis yet, but getting closer in the best of all possible worlds. She would get a kidney transplant before she goes on dialysis, but if that’s not the case, that’s not a problem. You can be on dialysis and stay healthy while you wait for your your kidney transplant.

Brian Pruett: [00:33:37] So with that is you mentioned the voucher part and stuff. So I guess is that part of still being I guess you’re on the list. The waiting list, like Mary is on a waiting list of certain, you know, when somebody gets one and then she moves up. Is that the way it works? Yes.

Holly Payton: [00:33:52] So in the National Kidney Donor Registry, the way it works is someone gives a kidney and you get you don’t just get. There has to be someone who is giving on your behalf. And either I give directly to you or I give it in a chain, or I give it and you get the voucher and and you will get. So I went was active in the voucher program probably in July. And in mid-August I got the call that I was a match, and it was a chain of about six people. And so I can’t know who my kidney went to or where it went. I have a feeling it got on a plane, because my surgery was at 6 a.m. and the recipient’s surgery was that evening. So I think it went on a plane. But the next day I learned that it was very successful and that the kidney was fully functioning in someone else on the operating table. So which was very cool.

Brian Pruett: [00:35:10] That’s awesome. So but you mentioned that you you can’t know is that obviously in Hollywood they can do what they want to, but you see things where people they meet their donors and stuff like that. Yes.

Holly Payton: [00:35:20] I could have requested that the recipient had my contact information. And that way they. You could have. I could have known. I could have met that person, or they could have met me. Uh, this sounds terrible. I chose not to do that because. It’s very humbling at times to receive all that wonderful good wishes. And and people are so amazed and they it’s hard for me to take sometimes. And so I thought, you know, if this person reached out, they would be so thankful. And so and you know. That would be a little awkward for me, so I didn’t. I chose not to do that. I’m just happy that I’m thrilled to death, that I heard that the kidney was functioning and the surgery went great for that person.

Brian Pruett: [00:36:28] Well, yeah, that’s that’s I mean, you got to be off the moon or the moon just to hear that. Anyway. So what kind of did you have to do any kind of like preparation or testing to, to go through before you did this?

Speaker1: [00:36:42] Sure.

Holly Payton: [00:36:42] So people should know a little bit about kidney donor ship. I learned a whole lot by doing this. Yes. So I contacted Emory and in in February and I was not in their program until June. So there is a lot of testing. There is a lot of blood work. I had to go to Emory for many hours one day. And you had a stress test, an echocardiogram, to an ultrasound of your heart before and after the stress test. You had a chest x ray. You had your blood pressure taken, you had a CT scan of your kidney. You had all all kinds of tests. Then it was during Covid. So this was a zoom call where now people would have face to face. But you met with a social worker to kind of assess your emotional and mental attitude about this. You met with the nephrologist who was a kidney, specializes in kidneys. You met with the surgeon. You met with the financial advisor from Emory. The amazing thing about kidney donor ship. Is the donor has no medical bills. The recipient pays all of your medical bills. Wow. And so when you talked financially, he was saying, you know, you’d be out of work for a time. And so, you know, were you prepared for that? I work for IBM, I’m a consultant for IBM. And IBM was unbelievably, unbelievably supportive of me. I went on short term disability so that I was paid while I was out. I didn’t have any medical bills. So that was an amazing part of this experience.

Brian Pruett: [00:38:45] That’s pretty wild because, you know, in one aspect you would think that it might be the other way around where the recipient shouldn’t have any medical bills either. Right. But I mean, that’s just really cool. So all right, you’ve already talked about you work for IBM. So you’re in the corporate world I am. And so obviously you have a giving heart, but you gave away a kidney. Um, but I know just from being with Stone, he talks about you all the time to believe good or good or bad, mostly good. But you you you too have a heart for the community. And so why is it important to be part of the community?

Holly Payton: [00:39:23] Oh my gosh. When we were trying to, we had a house in Marietta where we raised our kids and we knew we wanted to downsize and we wanted to move to a smaller community. And so we visited a lot of smaller communities around, and we came to Woodstock, and we kept coming back and kept coming back. And Stone loved that. There was music everywhere. You know, Madlife has music outside, and sometimes in the summer century House has music and reformation has, you know, there was music everywhere, and families and children and old people and young people and everybody’s downtown. And we fell in love with the community. And when we moved here over two years ago. We moved here right as the Reeves house was having their opening, and we went and I had the chance to talk to some of the people who have leadership positions in Woodstock Arts. And I was amazed. How in the world did a small town like this get the movers and shakers of Woodstock to buy in to having such a thriving art community? I just I couldn’t wrap my head around it. And so I was very anxious when we moved here to get involved. And so I. I love Woodstock Arts. I think that the people in the leadership positions do such a magnificent job. And so I have participated in art on the spot where artists create something and then whatever you create gets raffled off.

Holly Payton: [00:41:08] I teach watercolor classes at the Reeves house. I’ve taken clay classes at the Kish House, and in February of this past year, I got the chance to act in murder on the Orient Express. That was done in February at the theater. So I this is kind of funny. I have an acting degree from the University of Florida. So yes, you can work at IBM and have an acting degree college degree. I did go back and get a master’s in instructional design, and that’s what brought me to IBM. But I started taking oil painting classes when I was young, and I, I went to to college as an art major, but I couldn’t do it every day. I was taking an avocation, trying to turn it into a vocation that didn’t work. So I had painting skills, and I and I had artistic skills. When I was in the play in February, I had not acted in 45 years, but it was such a magnificent experience. So Stone, I don’t know everybody in town. Stone knows everybody in town. So he loves, loves that aspect of the community. And I have really gotten to appreciate the artistic side of the Woodstock community. They are fabulous. The opportunities abound. There’s all kinds of volunteer opportunities within Woodstock Arts. People can get involved in so many ways.

Brian Pruett: [00:42:47] Well, that’s a good point. Well, first of all, I do know that Stone loves being here because there’s beer right around the corner and he can go have his beer anytime he wants to. That’s right. And he can drive his golf cart now. So. Right. But you’re talking about the volunteering aspect of it. And I think that’s really cool and important to talk about, even if you’re in the corporate world, because, you know, there’s these small business owners who are all out doing the networking aspect of it, you don’t get to do that as much being in the corporate world. And so giving back and volunteering, I think is important to talk about because, you know, there’s these people that come, I might have worked ten hours a day. I’m so tired or whatever this weekend. I just want to do for myself. And I think when you find out of the volunteer opportunities and you do that and you give back, you get more.

Holly Payton: [00:43:29] Absolutely, absolutely. Woodstock arts.org is their website. They host Lantern series on the green. They host art exhibits on the green. They have the art a gallery at the Reeves House. They teach art classes at the Reeves House. The Kish House is where they have all their clay classes. They have the theater. You can volunteer to help put up art gallery shows. Man, you learn a lot about what happens behind the scenes and an art gallery. It’s very educational, and you can volunteer at the theater to take tickets or to hand out brochures or to work the concession stands. There’s all kinds of volunteerism at the when they have the Lantern series shows to seat people, to take tickets to, you know, serve wine and etcetera. So there’s just so it doesn’t matter what you what skills you have or don’t have, there is an opportunity for you to be a part of that world in, in your volunteering.

Brian Pruett: [00:44:49] And I think that, again, just being part of the community in whatever you do, because I know I have family members who’ve turned into hermits, they just want to stay at home.

Speaker5: [00:44:59] And.

Brian Pruett: [00:44:59] You know, and Covid did so much wrong for people in that way. But you’re right. Just giving back whatever you can do and it makes you feel good, you.

Holly Payton: [00:45:09] Know, and you meet so many wonderful, fabulous, talented, energetic people that it just everything you give to them, they give back to you.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:18] Right. So being how long have you been at IBM?

Holly Payton: [00:45:23] 22 years.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:25] Have you again been in the corporate? You don’t get to do networking I’m assuming, but have you ever been in an opportunity to do networking events and if so, do you have a positive story for networking?

Speaker6: [00:45:37] Oh.

Brian Pruett: [00:45:40] You can actually talk about the like you just talked about what the art and stuff. That’s technically everything you do is networking.

Holly Payton: [00:45:45] Everything you do is networking. I have been able I’ve been blessed to be able to go to events where IBM has a booth, conferences where IBM has a booth, and I’ve been a presenter at at conferences on behalf of IBM. And your comment earlier to Meena about networking is not about selling. It doesn’t matter whether it’s volunteering or small business or corporate business. People do business with people they like and people they trust. And I, I am often uncomfortable because I don’t sell, but I’m happy to listen to challenges your corporation might have. My expertise for IBM is in implementing major change. So major disruptive transformation or or systems and so on. And so I’m happy to listen to the challenges that you might be having and share with you my experience. If I have anything that could help you tweak what you’re doing to be a little bit more successful or share with you, I don’t know if this would work for you, but this is what I’ve found to be successful in working with organizations going through it. So it’s not about selling, it’s simply me giving to you, you sharing with me, and you build those relationships and it goes from there.

Brian Pruett: [00:47:20] And it’s kind of funny you said you’re not into selling, but technically you are, because everybody sells themselves.

Speaker5: [00:47:23] Everybody.

Brian Pruett: [00:47:24] That’s true. Yeah. So. Well let me I’ve got a couple other questions. I want to go to the. Being a corporate and a small business, I run into a lot of people. I used to be in the corporate world. I just couldn’t handle it anymore. So I started this small business. And I know you haven’t had the opportunity to start a business. Stone’s been in this situation, but do you have any advice for anybody who might be thinking about either one, staying in a corporate world or starting a business? You got any any advice for some folks?

Holly Payton: [00:47:56] So I am not an entrepreneur. I married an entrepreneur, but I am not an entrepreneur. I would say from the outside looking in. One of the biggest things that that Stone and I differ on is he is a risk taker. I am not. I take risks all the time. But I am blessed to work in a community where failure is fine because you fail fast, you learn fast, you recover fast, and you move forward. But as an entrepreneur, it’s a little bit bigger risk, you know? And so I would say if you want to start a business, you need to look at and really be self examining as to how big of a risk taker are you? I echo Echo Mina’s suggestion. You have to not only have a passion for the business you’re going to start. But you also and lots of people don’t have both of these. You have to have a business sense and a business plan. You have to understand. Where your what’s your supply chain is? All the things that I work in in IBM, you know, you have to understand your supply chain. You have to understand the finances of it, the tax ramifications. There’s a whole lot to starting a business. And you really have to have expertise or grow your expertise, educate yourself, you know, really learn about it in a lot of different things. It’s not just the passion for what the business is, but it’s all of those business aspects. So to start your own business is is, you know, there’s a lot to, to be good at for those people who, who do it. Well.

Brian Pruett: [00:50:01] The other thing you just talked about, which I think is cool and something I didn’t think about until you just mentioned it, but a lot of the folks that I know that Stone brings in here and people that I’ve had on my show are the entrepreneurs. And you said you’re married to an entrepreneur. My wife’s married to an entrepreneur. What advice would you give somebody who’s married to an entrepreneur because you got I know one of them. You got to be patient for sure.

Holly Payton: [00:50:23] You have to be patient. You have to love them very, very, very much because it’s in the beginning. It’s very up and down and it’s very uncertain. And and I like the certainty of working at IBM and, and so we made a great pair.

Brian Pruett: [00:50:42] That’s awesome. All right I want to go back to the the donation. You talked about having my somebody. Right. And the same thing goes with a business too. You have to know your why and anything. You got to know your why. So it goes by my somebody know your why. I’ve known people that say yeah, it’s marked on my driver’s license. I’m a kidney donor, but I just want or my own organ donor because I wanted a discount and that was the only reason they did it. But just share with somebody who has been thinking about that and just haven’t done it. Maybe they’re scared or whatever. You know what? What can they obviously the joy of knowing that you’re helping to save somebody, but share with somebody who might be thinking about that.

Holly Payton: [00:51:26] Sure. The. The first thing I would say is it’s a personal decision. It’s your body. Don’t be swayed by by anybody else. I didn’t wasn’t swayed because I didn’t ask anybody else what they thought of it. But it’s a personal decision. When I went in the day before the surgery and I met with the surgeon, he said to me. There’s a lot of things we only have one of, but we don’t live our lives in fear of that. We have one heart. We have one brain. We have one stomach. You don’t make decisions about how you live your life because you’re scared that you only have one of them. And he said, this should not change your lifestyle, your longevity, anything about how you live your life because you have one kidney. There’s lots of things and you do just fine. Some people are born with just one kidney and they do just fine that I had never thought of. And that was very meaningful to me. So the only I will say, the only thing that it changes for you is they don’t want you to take drugs like Advil or Aleve. That’s it.

Speaker5: [00:52:54] I can eat.

Holly Payton: [00:52:56] I know that those two drugs are harder on your kidneys. And it’s not that you could never, ever in your lifetime take an Advil again. But Tylenol is is not hard on your kidneys. So that’s why they say that. And so you could, you know, if you have a terrible headache and you can’t get you could take an Advil, but just don’t take one for another month, you know? So that’s really the only thing that it impacts I would say as far as. The actual surgery. The surgery is done. Laparoscopically. So I have three small incisions in my torso, and then I have about a 4 or 5 inch vertical incision going down from my navel. And that’s where they actually take the kidney out. So you do have this incision. But. It. You heal up very. I’ve healed up very well. You’re limited for about seven weeks that you can’t lift anything 10 pounds or heavier. But that’s okay. I live with someone who’s willing to lift the heavy stuff and do the dishes. So that was not a problem. The only challenge I have now, physically, I feel great. I can do just about anything. I’m, you know, like I said, it’s been over eight weeks now. I’m 65 years old, and. If I don’t do core muscle exercises or yoga or things like that, my back starts talking to me, you know? And I think that’s probably at any age, if you don’t have a strong core, you your back suffers. And so right now I’m, I am cleared. I am able to start slowly getting back into yoga and start doing some core exercises. And so any back issues I might have right now will get better over the coming weeks.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:09] Have you started back to work?

Holly Payton: [00:55:10] I have, I started back to work after seven, seven weeks and and I got to say for seven weeks I didn’t sit in a chair for hours. You know, I’m sitting in a chair at my computer, I’m on WebEx calls, I’m working. And that’s been a little painful on the back because you’re not used to that. But but those muscles are building up. So.

Speaker5: [00:55:34] Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:34] So I just got to know, did you make stone pamper you?

Holly Payton: [00:55:37] I did.

Speaker5: [00:55:39] I did.

Holly Payton: [00:55:40] And and over the years his pampering skills have definitely improved.

Speaker5: [00:55:45] So got practice.

Holly Payton: [00:55:46] Yeah he got practice and he did a great job.

Brian Pruett: [00:55:49] There you go. That’s awesome. Well Holly, thanks for coming on and sharing that. What I’d like to do as I wrap this up is I always like for my guests to share a quote, a word, a positive nugget for somebody to take in today, the rest of 2023, which we’re not far from being over to 2024 and beyond with. So, Mina, what you got? You’re giving me that look? Like what?

Meena Lahku: [00:56:14] Let’s see a positive quote. Yeah.

Brian Pruett: [00:56:17] Or just a word? Or are you going to make it up? It doesn’t matter.

Meena Lahku: [00:56:24] Um. You know what? Just. Live every day to its fullest potential and live like there’s no tomorrow. And maximize every opportunity with everything that you got.

Brian Pruett: [00:56:43] Holly.

Holly Payton: [00:56:44] So. The way that we say that sentiment in my family is a quote from Auntie Mame. Life is a feast and most poor bastards are starving to death. So go out and live your life as a feast and don’t be one of the others. The other thing that my family really relishes we have always said, live your life with tickets. And what that means is always have something that you’re looking forward to. It doesn’t have to cost anything. It could be a picnic in the park, but plan things so that you always have something that energizes you, that you’re looking forward to.

Brian Pruett: [00:57:26] That’s awesome. Well, and you have a fun family. I got to meet some of your family at a, at a event that we got to go to. And yeah, there’s no there’s no boring time with your family. So that’s pretty awesome. The other thing I’d like to do is to thank you is a lost art these days. So, I mean, I want to thank you for what you’re doing for the community and getting the word out for the brain Tumors organization. And Holly, just thank you for what you’ve done for the people who need kidneys and just being part of the community that way. So everybody out there listening, let’s remember, let’s be positive. Let’s be charitable.

 

BRX Pro Tip: Recognition is Powerful Medicine

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BRXmic99
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BRX Pro Tip: Recognition is Powerful Medicine
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BRX Pro Tip: Recognition is Powerful Medicine

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with BRX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you this morning. Lee, we’ve said this to each other, we’ve observed it, we’ve seen it in action, but I think it’s good to remind ourselves and continue to share with our folks, recognition is just such powerful medicine.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:22] Yeah. I think this is one of those things that whenever you get a client, it’s important to put aside some of the revenue and invest it back into the client in terms of reminding and recognizing your client about how important they are to you and the kind of the work that you’re doing with them. So, one of the things you could be doing is invest resources into thanking them, publicly recognize them. This creates camaraderie. This lets the client know they’re being appreciated, and they’re part of a special community that’s doing important work.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:54] In our business, we do this kind of recognition through mugs, badges, trophies, press releases, and other ways that we recognize the people that we serve. And I think it’s an important consideration that whenever you got a client, set aside some funds to invest back into them, to recognize them, to let them know publicly how much they are appreciated by you and your team.

BRX Pro Tip: Remove Things That Are Not Working

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BRX Pro Tip: Remove Things That Are Not Working
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BRX Pro Tip: Remove Things That Are Not Working

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] Welcome back to Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, there’s a lot of wisdom in exercising the discipline I think and, you know, taking stock now and being willing to remove the things in your life that aren’t working.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Yeah. I think this is an area that a lot of people, their first move is to add that if something isn’t working, they want to add something to whatever is going on now and then see if that works. And so, they add things to their systems and their processes. And I think if you spend as much time thinking about the things that aren’t working and removing them and try to add by subtracting, then you’re going to be better off. If you hold all of your systems, processes, and behaviors accountable and ask yourself, are they still serving you or are they still – are you still winning by doing them? Are you – is this something that’s still worth doing? And if they’re not working for you, then get rid of them.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:02] All of a sudden, if you start removing some of these things that at one point might have worked great but aren’t working anymore, getting rid of them is going to free up mental energy. Maybe you’ve been frustrated by them or you’re procrastinating because you don’t like it and you don’t think it’s working but it’s still on your to-do list and you just kind of, you know, getting you to be burnt out on your situation.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:27] Check-in with yourself regularly and stop doing the things that aren’t paying off. A lot of times we’re just doing the thing we did yesterday because we did it yesterday and there really isn’t a reason to do it today. There are lots of things in your life that at one time made perfect sense to do that just doesn’t make sense to do anymore. So, hold all of these processes, these systems, these behaviors accountable and get rid of the ones that aren’t serving you.

BRX Pro Tip: 3 Tips on Getting More Out of Your Reading

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BRX Pro Tip: 3 Tips on Getting More Out of Your Reading
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BRX Pro Tip: 3 Tips on Getting More Out of Your Reading

Stone Payton: [00:00:00] And we are back with Business RadioX Pro Tips. Stone Payton and Lee Kantor here with you. Lee, you are such a prolific reader. What advice do you have for helping us get the most out of what we’re reading?

Lee Kantor: [00:00:13] I think we’re in a golden age of information and expertise sharing, whether it’s through books, whether it’s through blogs, whether it’s through podcasts. There are so many talented, generous people sharing what they know in a variety of formats. But I’m old school in terms of still reading books, and I think that any money spent on books ultimately gives you the most knowledge per dollar than pretty much anything else you can spend money on when it comes to your self-improvement.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:40] I mean, just think about it. Just pull one usable nugget from a book. Isn’t that worth the $10 you paid for the book? So that’s number one. I think investing in thought leadership, whether it’s books or podcasts or blogs or however you do it, I think it’s money and time well spent.

Lee Kantor: [00:00:57] Second, I think that when you do invest in a book and it’s not working out for you, don’t feel obligated to read every book you buy. I mean, if you’re not enjoying it or you’re not benefiting from it in an hour or two, stop reading it or just skim through the chapter summaries. I mean, you’re not obligated to finish every book you buy, so just get out of it what you can and move on. There’s just too many books out there.

Lee Kantor: [00:01:22] And lastly, what I do to find new books is I read books that my favorite authors mention or read themselves. For example, I’m a big Seth Godin fan, so if I’m listening to a Seth Godin podcast or reading a Seth Godin book, which I pretty much read almost every one of the books he puts out, but if he mentions another author or he mentions another thought leader in his podcast or in his book, I will go check that person out, because I know that that person is influencing somebody whom I hold a lot of respect for. So I use the people that I’m currently kind of reading as a way to find the next thing to read.

Lee Kantor: [00:02:04] So, those are three tips on getting more out of your reading.

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